The Best Point Guard

Chapter 420: Chapter 2: What Is Su Xi After

In fact, a week ago, Isaiah Thomas had already spoken with Su Xi about rebuilding the team.

He wasn’t trying to ’negotiate’ with Su Xi about joining. He simply assumed Su Xi was already a member of the team and laid out all their plans and decisions.

The attitude was clear: whether Su Xi came or not, they already considered him their leader.

It was a bit of a shameless tactic.

It felt as if a guy, before the girl had even accepted his pursuit, simply threw his bank cards and house keys into her hands, leaving her to figure it out.

Su Xi hadn’t made a decision before this.

Los Angeles held a considerable attraction for him. At the time, he was only about 65% inclined to join New York. He had a lot of business in Silicon Valley, two lovers constantly calling him, and Hollywood was also incredibly appealing—he was a young man, after all.

But now, the minor accident on the airport freeway had completely changed his mind.

He didn’t like the traffic in Los Angeles, nor did he like these dangerous paparazzi.

So, after a moment of silence, he said to Isaiah Thomas, "I trust your eye for the draft. I need a big man who can shoot from the high post, a blue-collar player who can grab rebounds, and an energetic sixth man."

Hearing Su Xi finally relent, Thomas immediately started shouting "Yes! Yes! Yes!" on the other end of the line, completely forgetting his composure.

Su Xi hung up the phone.

Just like that, a decision was made that would be big enough to shift the landscape of the entire league.

There was no heart-pounding business negotiation, no agonizing choice to be made.

It was a minor accident that led Su Xi to make his decision less than 30 minutes before the official start of the draft.

Kobe and Magic Johnson were still unaware of what had happened. Su Xi turned back and chatted with them for a little longer. Then, as they were parting ways, Su Xi told them frankly, "I’ve decided to join the Knicks."

This left them both utterly astonished.

The Knicks? Why?

They couldn’t understand.

Because the Knicks were an absolute mess, a veritable graveyard for superstars. What could you possibly get there besides money?

And Jack didn’t need money.

"You decided just like that, so suddenly?" Kobe asked in disbelief.

Su Xi nodded. "I’m choosing the hardest path. I know that with you, we could definitely rival Jordan and Pippen, maybe even surpass them."

"Do you really think you can carry the Knicks by yourself?" Kobe was disappointed, but his words were sincere as he tried to persuade Su Xi. "I used to think I could carry a whole team to a championship by myself, too. But when you’re faced with a complicated locker room, everyone with completely different ideas, and teammates who lack ambition, professionalism, or even basic skills..."

Kobe was speaking from personal experience.

The season that had just ended was an unprecedented failure for him. He hadn’t gotten what he wanted; he hadn’t even made it to the playoffs.

This was why he had tried so desperately to recruit Su Xi to the team.

But Su Xi’s mind was made up.

The final exchange was a bit awkward. Although they were all professionals, they had, after all, come together with the hope of teaming up.

...

"Why are you going to New York?"

That evening, in a luxurious villa in Beverly Hills, a very upset Jessica Alba was lying face down on the bed.

When Su Xi had told her his decision, she resisted with every fiber of her being, proving more difficult to handle than a wildcat.

She wanted Su Xi to stay in Los Angeles; she had already been bragging to everyone. She thought he would definitely join the Lakers, or even the Clippers. After all, the woman who loved him most was here.

Su Xi was not a man skilled at coaxing women. He didn’t have a vast vocabulary of sweet nothings, nor was he particularly emotionally intelligent. He simply lunged, pinning Jessica Alba beneath him, and in no time at all, had stripped her bare.

"Women shouldn’t interfere with a man’s career. That’s a house rule!"

Su Xi brought a hand down with a slap.

She fell silent instantly.

Then, he proceeded to treat Jessica Alba even more roughly.

Throughout the night, Jessica Alba begged for mercy.

She learned just how formidable Su Xi was.

She was convinced.

...

That very night, the Knicks selected three young players in the draft: Channing Frye, David Lee, and Ronny Turiaf.

All three were frontcourt players, even though the Knicks already had quite a few big men on their roster.

Isaiah Thomas followed Su Xi’s instructions to the letter. He was now the happiest man in the world, even though many basketball commentators found his moves baffling.

The biggest winner of this year’s draft was considered to be the Milwaukee Bucks, who took Bogut with the first overall pick. Many people felt that Bogut would be at least as good as the 2002 foreign-born number one pick, Yao Ming.

Bogut was ambitious. After being selected as the top pick, he made a series of bold pronouncements. He not only dismissed Su Xi but even declared that O’Neal and Duncan were old. He felt they had failed to uphold the golden era of centers, and that it was up to him to set things right.

With trash-talkers becoming increasingly rare in the league, his arrival added a new splash of color to the NBA.

Additionally, Marvin Williams, the youngest and supposedly most talented of the four stars from North Carolina, was selected by the Hawks with the second pick. Then, with the third pick, the Utah Jazz chose Deron Williams. Following that, the Hornets selected Paul.

This year, the Bobcats had Jordan himself at the helm, and they held the fifth pick.