The Best Point Guard

Chapter 416: Chapter 136: A Dignified and Amicable Parting

Both of those teams were under his consideration.

Of course, there was inevitably another team: the New York Knicks.

It could be considered Su Xi’s home team.

When Su Xi was still at Syracuse University, his crucial NCAA games were played at Madison Square Garden Arena. He was relatively familiar with New York City and accustomed to the East Coast weather.

However, Su Xi hadn’t made a final decision yet.

It wasn’t something that could be decided in a moment.

「...」

News of the Pacers’ championship victory dominated the headlines of every media outlet, and the 4-0 sweep was a huge surprise to everyone.

Although Popovich made some salty comments after the game, like how the Pacers had taken out two of their star guards in the final moments... his complaints didn’t hold water. After all, Bruce Bowen’s reputation preceded him.

Unlike his teammates who traveled to other cities, Su Xi returned to Indiana with Carlisle and the others. Although his house was already on the market, he still had many things to do before leaving the city.

The team owner and club executives personally greeted them at the airport, along with the governor of Indiana. Winning two consecutive championships brought immense glory to the city. At the airport, Su Xi was named an honorary citizen of Indiana, and government officials simultaneously announced that his birthday would be designated as the annual "Su Xi Day."

After some boisterous celebrations, Su Xi sat in Larry Bird’s car, holding the Finals MVP trophy.

They had a sincere and open conversation in the car.

It was as if Larry Bird knew what Su Xi wanted to talk about from the moment Su Xi said he wanted to ride with him.

Bird’s vehicle was an old Ford pickup truck. Unlike other superstars, he was a sentimental person.

Fortunately, it was quite spacious inside.

They started by talking about the scenery in Indiana.

Larry Bird shared many stories about growing up, including his loss to Magic Johnson while at Indiana University.

"Jack, do you know what the proudest moment of my basketball career is?"

He answered his own question. "Bringing you from Cleveland to Indiana. It allowed my hometown, this once-obscure city, to have two championship trophies written into the history books. That’s something I never accomplished as a player. Thank you, Jack. You’ve brought so much to Indiana."

Su Xi smiled and said, "I should be the one thanking you for helping me out of a difficult situation. Without Indiana, I wouldn’t have achieved what I have today. I was given the best environment to grow, one that even surpassed my own imagination. And I’ve made so many friends here."

Larry Bird nodded with a smile. The atmosphere was relaxed. Bird said, "How about I take you for a couple of laps around the city?"

"Sounds good," Su Xi nodded.

"This is the starting point for our championship parade this year..." Bird explained to Su Xi.

The truck wound through streets and alleys as Bird pointed things out in detail. They were both in a leisurely mood.

They soon arrived outside Conseco Fieldhouse. Bird suddenly stopped the truck at the main entrance and said to Su Xi, "Jack, what do you think of this place?"

Huh?

Su Xi was a bit slow to react. He paused for a moment, then said, "It’s great. It’s our arena..."

"No, I mean, what would you think if we erected a bronze statue of you right here?" Bird said.

Su Xi was completely caught off guard. ’A statue?’

Su Xi had never dreamed that Bird would bring up building a statue for him. Across the entire NBA, there were only a handful of players with statues outside their home arenas, and most were erected after they retired.

Su Xi quickly waved his hands dismissively. "I haven’t done enough, Larry. Thank you for the kind thought, but I mean, I’m still so young, and..."

"No, Jack, you’ve already done more than enough. Two championships—you deserve every honor. Some players go their whole lives without winning a single championship, let alone a Finals MVP."

Bird said, "We’re going to build a bronze statue for you here, and we’ll put one for Reggie Miller right next to it."

"We’ve already gotten approval from the owner, the city government, and the arena’s owners."

Bird told Su Xi, "Next, we’ll work with a designer to finalize the design for your statue. We’ll ask for your approval before it’s finalized. We aim to get this done before August this year."

Uh...

Hearing this, Su Xi was deeply moved. He was at a loss for words. He even felt that leaving now... would be a bit heartless.

But the thought was fleeting. Su Xi was a man of his own mind; he didn’t easily change a decision once it was made.

"Jack, we’ve communicated with the players’ union and submitted an application to the league. We believe that a player like you, who won a championship for the team during his first rookie contract, should be eligible for a different kind of salary contract. Otherwise, it’s disrespectful to a dominant rookie."

"For instance, right now, I believe you’re fully deserving of a supermax contract starting at thirty percent of the salary cap," Bird continued.

Su Xi was even more taken aback.

From the moment he stepped off the plane until now, Indiana had given Su Xi one surprise after another. He was closely connected to this city, and his heart was linked with its people.

Su Xi opened his mouth, trying to steady his breathing. He decided to tell Bird his decision.

But Bird spoke first. "Jack, I know you want to leave. What I want to tell you is, we aren’t doing all this because we want you to stay. We’re doing it because you deserve it."

Bird said this calmly and sincerely.

"I... Larry. I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t like Indiana. It’s that... I want to break out of my comfort zone. I want to become stronger. I want to..."

Before Su Xi could finish, Bird nodded. "I completely understand why you’re doing this. Frankly, back in my day, I had similar thoughts, I just wasn’t as brave as you. You’re a capable and ambitious person. I hope you achieve your dreams and become the greatest player of all time."

Bird pulled the truck over to the side of the road and patted Su Xi’s shoulder.

Their eyes met, and they shared a smile.

Their ’breakup’ was graceful. There were no arguments, no accusations, and certainly no undermining each other.

Su Xi, on his rookie contract, had brought the Pacers two championships.

And the Pacers, in turn, offered their blessings and tangible actions.

Could there be a better way to part on good terms?

Su Xi and Bird had dinner together, and then they went their separate ways.

Su Xi went to his house and began to clean and pack. This place held many of his memories.

Next, a moving company would pack up Su Xi’s belongings and ship them to Los Angeles, where he planned to buy a property.

This was something Scarlett Johansson had strongly insisted on, and Jessica Alba was in complete agreement. Clearly, they both wanted more of his affection.

This was why they had been constantly recruiting Su Xi for the Los Angeles Lakers.

After the Finals ended, Su Xi’s phone was flooded with their calls.

Meanwhile, a war of words had once again erupted in the entertainment media.

After the intense Finals concluded, another battlefield was opened up.

「...」

"We will get Little Sheep Su Xi, there’s no question about it."

Isaiah Thomas shared his opinion in New York: "We’ve already begun rebuilding to acquire Little Sheep Su Xi. We’re going to give the Knicks a completely new look next season, and we’ll win a championship right away. Maybe in 2006, maybe 2007, but definitely no later than 2008."

Thomas was extremely confident.

His confidence greatly excited the Knicks fans.

The New York Media had already begun publishing lengthy reports to welcome the arrival of Little Sheep Su Xi.

And they were absolutely convinced that Su Xi could lead the Knicks out of their slump and back to their glory days of the 90s.