After the preseason tour in China, Zhao Feiyang returned to the United States with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In the next few officially arranged playoff games, Zhao Feiyang did not play much playing time. However, in the limited time, his cooperation with Dwight Howard was remarkable, which made Timberwolves fans look forward to it.
Although this transaction has greatly compressed the Timberwolves' salary space, it has to be said that the attendance at the Target Center Arena has also soared.
Previously, the team would only be full during the playoffs. This time, the arena was already overcrowded at the beginning of the preseason.
Seeing the team's prosperous performance, Philip Sanders, the team's general manager, was extremely happy.
However, he was at the end of his life due to cancer.
In a local hospital room in Minneapolis, the whole room was filled with the Timberwolves, from owners to players, and everyone came to see him off.
Mr. Philip Sanders was lying on the hospital bed looking like he was dying. He was over 60 years old and was tortured by cancer. Now he was only skin and bones, and his whole body showed unprecedented weakness.
"Philip, don't worry! Old man, I will protect our team... Don't worry, even if one day I no longer love basketball, this is the memory we have built together. , I will never sell it..."
Timberwolves owner Tyrone said.
With tears on his face, he reached out and took Philip Sanders's hand, and the latter looked up at him with tired eyes.
The two of them said nothing more, but looking into each other's eyes, they already said what they wanted to say most.
People came forward to offer condolences one after another.
After all the shareholders left, the first player to step up was Kevin Garnett.
As an old man of the Timberwolves, he has cooperated with the other party for many years, and they have a close friendship with each other.
Now the two sides will be separated forever, and the eyes of Kevin Garnett, who has always been tough, reveal an extremely reluctant side.
"Mr. Philip, I will always remember the first time I met you... you pointed at me and said to everyone, hey, look at that kid, you have to learn from him, if everyone can If he works as hard as he does, the team will surely make great achievements in the playoffs..."
"Mr. Philip, I am grateful for the days you fought side by side with me..."
Mr. Philip Sanders put an oxygen mask on his mouth and couldn't say much. He just pointed to his chest with a relieved smile.
Of course, Kevin Garnett also understood what the other party meant. The two looked at each other and smiled, and Kevin Garnett responded with the same action.
When Kevin Garnett walked away, the next person to appear was Zhao Feiyang.
Mr. Philip Sanders had been silent before, but after seeing Zhao Feiyang, he couldn't help but raise his hand to take away the "obstructing" oxygen mask.
Zhao Feiyang quickly stopped the other party, "Mr. Philip, if you have anything to say, please speak slowly! I'm listening..."
Upon seeing this, Mr. Philip Sanders stopped and took a few deep breaths before finally speaking slowly, "Zhao, you are the leader of the team. You must lead this team to the championship... ....It's a pity...I can't see you win the championship..."
"I really hope I can live for a while longer, at least to see the day when the team wins the championship..."
Mr. Philip Sanders' voice was very weak, but his words reached everyone's ears clearly.
Whether it was the team staff or the players, everyone became extremely quiet at this moment, and it could be said that there was no sound in the ward.
As for Mr. Philip Sanders's words, no one stood up to refute, and no one felt anything was wrong.
A group of Timberwolves players didn't think there was any problem at all, except for Dwight Howard, who was standing at the back of the team.
Although he is the superstar signed by the team and the nominal leader of the team, he is not familiar with coach Philip Saunders, and it can be said that the two sides do not have much friendship.
Such a scene is naturally more embarrassing.
It would obviously be rude not to come, but if you come you really don’t know what to say.
Especially Mr. Philip Sanders' words made Dwight Howard, who was standing at the back, murmur in his heart.
"What? Zhao is the leader of the team?"
"No, no, no... I am the leader of the team! This team is under my control..."
Dwight Howard felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.
But he didn't stand up to refute in this situation.
After all, he is not stupid. No matter how ignorant the world is, he knows that keeping silent is the best thing in this situation.
Soon, everyone's farewell ceremony was completed.
Mr. Philip Sanders also came to the end of his life. His last moments were left to his family. A group of people gathered in the ward to say their final goodbyes.
The players walked towards the outside of the hospital. No one had a smile on their face, especially those who had a good personal relationship with Mr. Philip Sanders, whose expressions were extremely heavy.
"Guys, let's all go back! Tomorrow night is the first game of the regular season. Our opponent is the Golden State Warriors. This time we must defeat them..."
When everyone walked to the parking lot, Dwight Howard took the initiative to speak.
He tried to use his words to inspire his teammates and let them come out of the shadows. However, what embarrassed him was that after he said these words, no one stood up to respond.
All his teammates continued to remain silent, and no one paid any attention to his words.
The atmosphere was so horribly cold that even Dwight Howard himself wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl in right away.
But the next second, Zhao Feiyang, who looked solemn and thoughtful, spoke. He stopped the players who were about to leave, "Hey, guys, wait a minute."
When Zhao Feiyang shouted, all the players, whether main players or substitutes, stopped. Even Zach LaVine, who had already sat in the driver's seat, climbed out of the car window immediately after seeing Zhao Feiyang speak.
All the teammates' eyes were focused on Zhao Feiyang.
"There is a game tomorrow, everyone should have a good rest... The Warriors are our first opponent of the season, and we must play well in this game..."
"Mr. Philip has always hoped that we can reach the finals. This may be a difficult thing, but I think it is not impossible for us... Defeating the Warriors is the first difficulty we have to overcome. ... Even for Mr. Philip, we have to win this game..."
As soon as Zhao Feiyang finished speaking, his teammates immediately shouted excitedly.
"The Timberwolves will never give up!"
"Kill the Warriors! This is what we have to do!"
"Zhao, you are our leader, we all listen to you..."
The crowd's chatter and reactions made Dwight Howard, who was standing in front of the car door, completely stunned.
At this moment, he suddenly felt that he was the most unnecessary person!
