As a seasoned star player, Yao Ming understood the underlying motives. The Chinese Basketball Association was eager for results and wanted to bring back players competing overseas for any upcoming matches.
This not only increased the risk of injury for the players but also hindered their development in their respective leagues.
"Li Feng, don't worry. You don't need to go to the Asian Championships. Focus solely on your Summer League! You've just entered the league and need to concentrate on your development. I've suffered a lot from this myself."
"I'll speak to the Basketball Association for you!"
Li Feng's heart warmed. "Brother Yao, I don't know what to say. Thank you for your care!"
"Don't be so formal with me. We'll have to team up in the future, hehe!"
With Yao's help, the Basketball Association compromised and sent others to participate in the Asian Championships.
The environment in recent years had improved significantly. It wasn't like before, where one had to hide their pursuit of playing in the NBA, which had even affected their reputation.
With these matters settled, Li Feng focused on preparing for the Summer League.
During pre-game practice, the many rookies were laughing and joking around, creating a great atmosphere.
Jennings approached Li Feng during his training and greeted him.
Li Feng had a strong impression of this player, knowing he had a peak debut, scoring a personal best of 55 points against Curry's defense in his rookie season, which deeply frustrated Curry.
However, Li Feng saw a hint of defiance in Jennings's gaze.
It was understandable. It had been years since a point guard was drafted first overall, let alone a Chinese point guard. Many American rookies were not entirely convinced, except for those who had played against Li Feng.
The Summer League, as a competition to train and evaluate rookies, typically did not have head coaches in attendance.
However, Knicks head coach D'Antoni wanted to go to Las Vegas to watch Li Feng's performance firsthand.
Upon arrival, D'Antoni immediately found Li Feng and had a long talk with him.
This might have been a first in NBA history, with a head coach proactively having an in-depth conversation with a player before their official debut.
"Li Feng, you know what? The moment I heard the team drafted you, I shouted three times, haha!"
Seeing the old man's jovial demeanor, Li Feng chuckled.
"Coach, thank you for valuing me. But I've just entered the league, and I'm worried I might disappoint you."
D'Antoni waved his hand. "You need to be confident. In terms of individual talent, you're much stronger than Nash, but Nash has already succeeded under my guidance."
"So, rest assured, I'll give you unlimited shooting opportunities and let you play your best basketball. Success will follow!"
Li Feng really liked D'Antoni. Meeting such a coach early in his career was a stroke of good fortune.
"Coach, I'm actually a team player. I don't focus on my own stats."
D'Antoni nodded approvingly. "Good, I saw that in your Olympic and NCAA games. But you need to know that the NBA is a business league, and salaries are often closely tied to statistics."
"So, you still need to pursue stats because not everyone has the time to watch the games. Many people just check the stats after the game and start commenting."
Li Feng realized this and said, "But I still think lifting the championship trophy at the end is the most exhilarating!"
D'Antoni laughed. "That's for sure, but there's only one championship among 30 teams. We will certainly strive for it, but we also need to build our own team culture."
Saying that, the coach took out a laptop, clicked it open, and displayed the profiles of all the team's players for the new season.
"Li Feng, I will build a team around you that will shock the league. Take a look at the other players. If there's anyone you're not satisfied with, I'll have management handle it."
This was normal. Every team would adjust its roster at the beginning of the season based on its characteristics, aiming for the playoffs.
The playing style of the star player would determine the playing time of the role players.
Being a coach in the NBA is both difficult and easy.
The key is to keep the star player comfortable.
Of course, some coaches are more assertive, like Popovich, but that's a special case.
In most teams, if the star player and the coach have a conflict, it's the coach who leaves, not the star player.
In fact, this could be seen from the salaries.
The top coaches earn at most a few million to ten million a year, while star players' annual salaries are tens of millions.
Li Feng wasn't very familiar with the team's players yet. He sat in front of the laptop and took a look.
The current team roster was as follows:
David Lee, Power Forward.
Harrington, Forward.
Chandler, Forward.
Gallinari, Forward.
`Duhon`, Guard.
`Larry Hughes`, Guard.
`Tracy McGrady`, Shooting Guard/Small Forward.
What surprised Li Feng the most was that the team had signed the renowned McGrady during the offseason.
However, McGrady was at the end of his career, and his body was in poor condition due to injuries.
After reviewing, Li Feng nodded and said, "Coach, I think the lineup is quite good. We should make the playoffs!"
Seeing Li Feng's confidence, D'Antoni smiled. "It's too early to say. The player roster is one aspect; chemistry is another. But we should indeed make the playoffs. Let's work hard together!"
The two then discussed tactical arrangements and each player's position within the tactics.
Generally, rookies don't have a deep understanding of tactics, so D'Antoni had intended to keep the discussion brief.
However, after chatting for a while, D'Antoni was greatly surprised to find that Li Feng had a thorough understanding of tactics.
He even eloquently elaborated on D'Antoni's preferred run-and-gun offense.
"Li Feng, why do you know so much about the run-and-gun offense?"
"Haha, Coach, you might not know this, but during training with the Wildcats, Curry and I often played run-and-gun, finishing our offense in seven seconds!"
D'Antoni felt gratified because, apart from the Suns back then, other teams seemed to dismiss this tactic.
Perhaps it was due to certain reasons that the Suns didn't reach their peak, or perhaps there were too few players like Nash.
Therefore, the run-and-gun offense hadn't become a trend in the league.
But the emergence of Li Feng and Curry reignited D'Antoni's hope.
"In that case, Li Feng, all my hopes are on you. If we can win the championship, I believe the small-ball era will arrive earlier!"
Li Feng's mind raced. He and Curry entered the NBA at the same time, but Curry still had to endure a few more years of dormancy, as his ankle issues would affect his performance.
This way, perhaps Li Feng would lead the Knicks into the small-ball era ahead of schedule!
"Coach, I will help you achieve your wish. Let's go!" The two clasped their hands tightly!
With two days left before the Summer League, Li Feng didn't rest and immediately began his training.