The Best Point Guard

Who wouldn't want to hook up with Piao the Second?

But, he discovered his own son was deeply in love with Piao the Second's wife. He didn't want his son to suffer the same humiliation he had, so he warned his child to stay far away from her.

But his son refused to listen, so he took out his belt. A classic scene of fatherly love and filial piety.

Besides establishing a new brand with Nike, Su Xi also took on some of the general manager's duties.

He planned to return to Asia after the championship parade, so he participated in observing some of the rookie workouts. The Knicks had three draft picks this year: one first-round and two second-round.

With the departure of players like Hardaway, Jalen Rose, Tony Battie, and Jerome James, the Knicks actually had a heavy recruitment task ahead of them.

Isaiah Thomas actually had a great eye for draft talent, so Su Xi just observed without offering any opinions. However, the players attending the draft workouts were all thrilled, acting as if they were meeting their idol when they saw Su Xi.

Su Xi was extremely popular among young players.

Who wouldn't want to be a player like Su Xi?

Su Xi's accomplishments in three years were equivalent to what other superstars might not achieve in ten years, or even a lifetime.

They all desperately wanted to play alongside Su Xi. Some players with high draft stock even said they were willing to cooperate with the Knicks' hype machine to drop to a lower pick.

But Su Xi advised them to calm down and not resort to such underhanded tricks.

He also stated that he wasn't in charge of the Knicks' draft selections and that the team wouldn't do something like that.

At the same time, Su Xi wished them wonderful NBA careers.

Su Xi was approachable, yet principled.

This earned him even more goodwill.

Besides attending the rookie workouts, Su Xi also met with some "uninvited guests."

For example, Gary Payton.

"I think you guys need me, Jack. You need an experienced Point Guard." Payton got straight to the point as soon as he found Su Xi. "I've still got plenty of gas in the tank, Jack. You know it. My defense is still tough, my passing is solid, and I even have a post-up game."

Su Xi deliberately teased him, "But you're a notorious ring-chaser. Every team you join to chase a ring falls apart. I'm scared of your bad juju."

Gary Payton slapped his forehead and said, "Oh! No! Jack. You're not that kind of guy. With your ability, you can totally neutralize all that. Besides, the thighs I was hugging before weren't the real deal—they just looked thick. There's only one true 'big thigh' in the NBA, and that's you, Jack Su!!"

"Jack, please take me. Wherever you point your finger, that's my battlefield."

"Wherever you point, I'll charge. I'll absolutely help you beat our opponents into submission."

"I'm definitely better than Hardaway. All he did was dribble the ball past half-court. I can do so much more."

"I'll definitely follow Isaiah's leadership. I mean, he's older than me, right?"

"In the locker room, I won't say a word. You guys can do whatever you want. Just treat me like I'm not even there, okay?"

"I'll absolutely follow orders. I have no personality at all; I'm a blank slate. Wherever I go, I blend right in with the people there. You don't have to worry."

Gary Payton sounded exceptionally sincere.

Since he was being so sincere, Su Xi had no choice but to say, "Alright, I'll go talk to Isaiah Thomas for you. Whether it works out in the end will be up to him."

"Jack... I just came from seeing Isaiah. His last sentence was exactly the same as yours, just with a different name. You guys planned this, didn't you?" Gary Payton said with a look of mock despair.

Su Xi laughed and patted Payton's shoulder. "Fine. Since you've spoken to both me and Isaiah, then welcome aboard."

"Thanks! Thank you!" Payton was ecstatic.

Not long after Payton left, Stephen Jackson arrived.

"Jack, you gotta help a brother out. I can't make it in Indiana anymore. My kids are living in New York. You see how hard it is for me."

"You've met my wife. My wife is a good person. She deserves to be loved by her husband; she deserves a complete family. Let me come to New York."

Su Xi scratched his head. "But I seem to recall you have a Mexican mistress in New York."

"Ah, that's just for show! Otherwise, you get looked down on in the locker room. Who doesn't have a few mistresses?"

"But our Knicks locker room is very classy. We don't mess with that stuff. If you come here... I'm worried..."

"Jack! I am very classy! I have Shakespeare's sonnets flowing through my veins! You want me to recite one for you?!"

Stephen Jackson looked at Su Xi, his rough face filled with sincerity.

Su Xi looked back at Stephen Jackson, perfectly calm. He seemed to be waiting for Jackson to recite the poem.

In the end, Stephen Jackson couldn't recite anything.

Because he didn't have a single drop of ink in his belly.

It was all blank.

"We're really into Eastern culture over here now, all about elegant women," Su Xi continued. "If you want to join the Knicks, you should go talk to Zach Randolph first."

"Deal."

Stephen Jackson readily agreed.

Then he excitedly went to find Zach Randolph.

Next, Ron Artest also came.

"Jack, I'm a New Yorker! I'm a native of Queens, my whole family is here..."

Artest hadn't even finished his sentence.

When Su Xi cut him off. "Ron, we'll have plenty of chances to be teammates in the future. For now, go make your money. You already have a championship ring, anyway. You're in your prime right now; it's not a good deal for you to come play with me. Go get a max contract first."

Su Xi rejected Artest without hesitation.

If he was interested in a player, he would tease them a bit.

With Artest, he had no interest at all.

Because Artest was a very strong player and still on the rise, there was no need for him to come to the Knicks to ring-chase. Most importantly, the Knicks neither needed him nor could they offer him a big contract.

So why force it?

It would be irresponsible to the Knicks and also irresponsible to Artest.

Artest was very disappointed.

But he understood Su Xi's meaning. He could only chat with Su Xi for two hours, telling tales of woe and triumph, before leaving.

Besides these three, Su Xi met with a few other players, but he rejected almost all of them.

The Knicks didn't have that many roster spots, nor did they need that much talent.

He did, however, take on Gary Payton and Stephen Jackson.

Because after Hardaway and Jalen Rose left, they needed two experienced veterans to hold down the fort.

Before the championship parade, the annual draft arrived.

With nothing better to do, Su Xi went to Madison Garden to watch this year's draft from backstage.

For Su Xi, this was a novel experience. Although he had come to Madison Garden back in the day, he was a draftee at the time. Even though he had been in the green room and received draft promises from some teams, there was no way his mindset could have been as relaxed as it was tonight.

2006 was considered a weak draft year.

Everyone's eyes were on next year, because next year had a super, super, super-hyped prospect: Greg Oden.

Hailed as the most talented, most technically skilled, most well-rounded, and highest-potential super-center in NBA history.

There were almost no high-ceiling talents this year.

When Su Xi walked backstage, league officials hurried over to greet him, and the general managers of various teams also came over to shake his hand.

Although the media was full of talk about how Su Xi wasn't as good as Jordan and would never catch up to him, there was one thing no one denied: Su Xi was already the best active player. He was the league's top star, its public face.

His presence immediately lit up the place.

Su Xi greeted everyone and walked straight to the Knicks' draft war room.

Isaiah Thomas was eating a burger, looking very anxious.

Su Xi asked him, "Is it that hard to choose?"

"No, I couldn't get McDonald's, I got KFC instead..."

"Get outta here! I'm the spokesperson for McDonald's. Are you telling me McDonald's isn't better than KFC?"