The Best Point Guard

The Knicks had three draft picks: the 16th pick in the first round, and the 35th and 41st in the second.

To be honest, picks like these hardly warranted the presence of a dominant figure like Goat Su Xi in the draft war room.

But he had nothing better to do, so he figured he might as well come and have some fun.

Isaiah Thomas was happy to listen to Su Xi's advice. Su Xi, lounging on an Eames chair, looked over the data analysis and scouting reports in his hands.

He said, "We need to address the point guard position first, then shooting guard, and after that, a blue-collar big man."

Isaiah Thomas said, "Don't we already have Gary Payton and Nate Robinson?"

Su Xi shrugged. "Nate's still too short, and Gary Payton is basically here as an assistant coach. Don't expect him to actually get on the court and contribute much. He's not like Hardaway; his potential has been completely tapped out."

Isaiah Thomas was quick to agree.

Then, their war room fell silent.

In contrast, the war rooms of other teams were abuzz with ringing phones, their hotlines nonstop. Many teams hoped to turn their fortunes around on draft night, and a lot of trades happen on this very evening.

Michael Jordan was one of them. He was personally taking the reins again this year, aiming to build a Bobcats dynasty. He had immense confidence in himself, firmly believing that if he could create two dynasties as a player, he could certainly do it as an executive—perhaps even build three, surpassing his achievements from his playing days.

Why was he so confident?

'If that bastard Isaiah Thomas can do it, why can't I?'

'Besides, during our playing days, he was the one who won a championship first, the one who tried to keep me down. It was only after that I began my dynasty!'

The Bobcats also had three draft picks this year.

The 3rd, 15th, and 31st picks.

A rich haul.

The Toronto Raptors quickly made their decision, selecting the Italian player, Bariani.

Upon hearing the Raptors' decision, Jordan snapped his fingers inside the war room. "Yes!" he said excitedly. "The Toronto Raptors have proven they're as foolish as ever."

The God of Basketball was always so decisive. "They think picking an international player will change everything, but it won't. He's just a shooter. At best, he'll reach Kukoc's level."

He was glad the Raptors hadn't picked the player he wanted.

Then, the Chicago Bulls made their selection.

The Bulls selected Aldridge.

Jordan frowned slightly. "Aldridge is decent," he said, "but that's about it."

Just then, the Bobcats' GM received a call from the Bulls. John Paxson told them, "If you pick Thomas, we'll make a trade with you."

Jordan said, "To hell with that. We're not picking any damn Thomas. We hate anyone named Thomas."

And just like that, Thaddeus Young dodged a bullet.

The GM asked Jordan, "Who are we selecting?"

"The guy from North Carolina, of course."

Jordan, as usual, stuck to his North Carolina bias. "He's the next Larry Bird. Everything Larry Bird could do, he can do. Once he gets to the league, he's going to destroy everyone. Just you watch, the greatest small forward in history is here."

The GM frowned, thinking to himself, 'But every player projected to be the next Big Bird Bird has been a bust, without exception. Adam Morrison's athleticism is leagues below Bird's, and he has injury concerns...'

'But with Jordan being so insistent, he didn't dare object.'

So, he submitted the Bobcats' pick.

David Stern announced that the Bobcats had selected Adam Morrison.

The white forward walked up to the stage, a look of excitement on his face.

Su Xi watched the scene on TV from his lounge chair.

Thomas said with a laugh, "So that's the future star Jordan is counting on to beat you."

Su Xi laughed. "He definitely sees him as the next Big Bird Bird. But he'll never be able to learn Bird's core strength."

Su Xi was very confident. Even if the real Big Bird Bird returned to the league, he wouldn't be afraid. After all, he had already perfectly copied Bird's most important innate skill.

The talent of an uncanny sense of distance.

Su Xi didn't believe Adam Morrison could ever master it.

The draft continued. Su Xi watched the television with half-lidded eyes.

To be honest, none of this year's rookies particularly impressed him.

He had only watched Brandon Roy's workout with the Knicks. Roy wanted to play for the Knicks, but his draft stock wasn't high to begin with. He was an older rookie and had a history of serious injuries.

Back then, if Su Xi had wanted to, his team could have leaked unfavorable news about Rose.

Roy definitely wouldn't have been selected by the Trail Blazers with the sixth pick; he would have easily fallen to the 16th.

But Su Xi refused.

Su Xi didn't want to strengthen the team through such methods, even though he knew Roy would be a huge help.

At the same time, however, he believed that Roy's playstyle would inevitably be diminished if he played alongside him. Su Xi didn't want Roy's admiration for him to end up limiting his own potential.

Therefore, he hoped Roy would be drafted high and become a superstar.

The Trail Blazers were a good fit. They were in a complete rebuilding phase.

After losing Zach Randolph, they were practically Roy's one-man team... No, wait, they also got Aldridge by trading their fourth pick with the Bulls.

The Bobcats didn't want Thomas, so the Trail Blazers ended up helping the Bulls out.

The Bulls' motive for doing this was still to save some money.

Both the second and fourth picks are on rookie scale contracts, but there's a difference in salary.

For the Bulls to be so calculating, it really gave the impression that a petty bookkeeper could never be a prime minister.