NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 385 Why Not Come to the Lakers

Because it was Christmas Day, the Staples Center was packed with celebrities, including the Black Mamba family, Jack Nicholson, Schwarzenegger, Taylor Swift, Leonardo DiCaprio, David Beckham, Pierce Brosnan, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, and many more.

Los Angeles, nestled near Hollywood, means you'll never miss a celebrity. It's like Hong Kong in China, where you can see stars you see on TV right on the street. There are so many celebrities here, it's like the number of officials in Beijing – you could hit one with a brick!

A lot happened last season. Jia Fei was sidelined for the entire season, while this season, the Warriors created a 73-win myth, Kobe Bryant retired, leaving behind a bunch of missed shots, and the Running Man championship solidified his determination to form a super team.

The Lakers have officially entered the post-Kobe era, and they are still searching for a true superstar to inherit his mantle. In recent seasons, the Lakers haven't officially tanked, but in reality, they've tanked relentlessly; otherwise, you can't explain how abysmal their record has become. Compared to the Philadelphia 76ers' bottomless tanking, the Lakers' tanking wasn't as obvious, but the fact is they tanked, and quite badly. The result of this tanking was a string of high draft picks: Ingram and Russell were both second overall picks, and Randle was the seventh. However, historically, the Lakers have never had a tradition of developing rookies; they prefer to acquire big names directly in free agency, like Shaq did back in the day.

The Lakers, a historically great franchise, don't have the patience to develop rookies; they can't afford to tank. But the situation is different now. In Kobe's final seasons, no star players wanted to join them. This was most evident this offseason. Despite having plenty of salary cap space and Kobe's retirement, no big-name stars came, which was quite absurd. The Lakers had no choice; they had to spend their money. So, they ended up giving Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng huge contracts, allowing these two players with virtually no potential for improvement to secure lucrative deals.

For the Lakers' management and fans, the absence of Jia Fei during the offseason remains a deep regret. The original plan was for Jia Fei to take over in the City of Angels after Kobe's retirement, completing the handover between two generations of superstars. The Lakers could then build around Jia Fei, recruit another superstar, or even trade their assets for a star, instantly completing their rebuild. Unfortunately, this perfect plan failed to materialize. What's even more unacceptable is that Jia Fei did indeed take over in the City of Angels, but he went to the team next door…

Even if Jia Fei went to another team, the Lakers wouldn't have been so devastated. But going to the Clippers is a disgrace to this powerhouse team. What do the Clippers have? Both are Los Angeles teams, but the Lakers have a much richer history, while the Clippers haven't even reached the Western Conference Finals. They're not even worthy of shining the Lakers' shoes. And yet, they lost to someone who's not even worthy of shining their shoes. Isn't that infuriating?

Watching the Clippers trade away 58-year-old Blake Griffin and acquire a bunch of useful pieces like Beverley, and get a former MVP like JaVale James for free, almost overnight they completed the team's overhaul. Meanwhile, the Lakers had money but no one came, and in the end they got players like Mozgov and Luol Deng. It's like a comedy series.

What's even more devastating is yet to come. The Lakers are currently second to last in the Western Conference, while the Clippers are second. If you don't bring up their glorious team history, the Lakers aren't even worthy of shining the Clippers' shoes this season.

During pre-game practice, Jia Fei's appearance caused a stir in the arena. Even Lakers fans couldn't help but lament that since Kobe's retirement, the team has truly lacked a leader. Who is their star player? Nick Young? Mozgov? Luol Deng?

Kobe seemed to be enjoying his retirement. He wore a grey suit today, shirt unbuttoned, looking both casual and formal. His wife, Vanessa, was adorned with gold and silver, her Mariana Trench-like cleavage suggesting that Kobe was truly going all out in raising their son—perhaps starting at 4 AM, and possibly continuing until 4 AM…

Jia Fei found Kobe and gave him a friendly hug.

"Keep your confidence up!" Kobe also offered his blessing.

Jia Fei nodded. No matter what, Kobe had many flaws, but he was truly hardworking and never backed down; he was a true warrior.

Taylor Swift also took the initiative to take a photo with Jia Fei.

"Jia, you're not a good friend! You don't even bother to contact me!" Taylor Swift couldn't help but complain.

"We're both busy!" Jia Fei deliberately made up an excuse.

“I don’t believe you! I saw a report last time that you went fishing with Kemba Walker and the others!” Taylor Swift immediately exposed Jia Fei’s lie.

"Okay, let's keep in touch!" Jia Fei had no choice; women sometimes just like to get to the bottom of things, just like they like you to delve deep into their personalities.

Many Chinese fans came to the Staples Center tonight. Not all of these fans came for Jia Fei, but Jia Fei's presence was one of the reasons they came.

Today, Jia Fei has become a "shining example for the Chinese people," and everyone likes him.

This game was naturally broadcast live across the United States, and the commentators were ESPN's chief commentator Mike Brin and guest commentator Mark Jackson, former Warriors head coach.

"Mark, in a Christmas Day game like this, there's a clear gap in strength between the two teams. Do you think the Lakers have a chance?" Mike Breen asked.

"The Lakers certainly have a chance. I think they should double-team Jia Fei and let the rest of the Clippers beat them. Don't overthink it on offense, just play well. If the Clippers' role players don't capitalize on their opportunities, that's when the chance to win will come," Mark Jackson said.

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced. The Lakers, playing at home, will start with Randle, Mozgov, Luol Deng, Nick Young, and Russell.

The Clippers' starting lineup for the away game is Jia Fei, Beverley, Wesley Johnson, Tobias Harris, and DeAndre Jordan.

The starting lineups for both teams took to the court. For the Lakers, Luol Deng and Julius Randle were so dark-skinned that from a distance you could only see their eyes. Meanwhile, Mozgov was as white as if he hadn't seen the sun in a hundred years…

Mozgov and DeAndre Jordan prepared for the jump ball near the center circle. Amid cheers from the fans, the highly anticipated Christmas Day game was about to begin.

At the start of the jump ball, DeAndre Jordan used his jumping advantage to easily gain control of the air, and the Clippers gained possession of the ball on their first offensive possession.

Beverley dribbled over and gestured to direct traffic at the top of the key.

The player guarding Jia Fei was Nick Young, who was known as "Young Hero Yang".

Nick Young is not most famous for his basketball skills, but for being the "black guy with a question mark face" that Chinese netizens love to chat with. His offensive skills are quite comprehensive, but unfortunately he doesn't like to pass the ball even more than Kobe. It seems like he just doesn't have the "pass button" on him.