The Best Point Guard

"I don’t think the Rockets are the right fit for you, and neither is Tracy McGrady. You’ll never win a championship with the Rockets. They’ll only drag you down," Su Xi said.

He was very blunt.

He didn’t have the traditional Chinese habit of being tactful and minding his own business. He just said what was on his mind.

It wasn’t that Yao Ming hadn’t considered it. Su Xi brought it up with him often.

In fact, Su Xi was constantly trying to convince him to go to the Lakers.

This even made Yao Ming wonder, ’Why is he recruiting me for the Lakers? Does he have some kind of deal with them?’

Su Xi explained, "The Lakers have a long history of developing centers—from George Mikan to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chamberlain, and O’Neal. They have a whole line of superstar centers, and their knowledge base is incredibly complete. Plus, the Los Angeles market is bigger than Houston’s. If you go there, you’ll see a significant boost in both your personal development and your market value."

"Most importantly, you and Kobe would be a perfect match. After his failed partnership with O’Neal, Kobe would absolutely appreciate you. Besides, your on-court personalities complement each other."

Su Xi’s words tempted Yao Ming.

In fact, the Lakers had also been trying to recruit Yao Ming through various channels.

All Yao Ming needed now was the right catalyst. He was on the fence.

"A tree dies when you move it, but a person flourishes."

Su Xi said, speaking from the heart.

Yao Ming fell silent.

They soon arrived at the restaurant. Scarlett had already booked a table, and they all had dinner together.

Over dinner, Yao Ming and Su Xi talked about the 2008 Olympics and the upcoming World Championship next year. Su Xi said he wouldn’t be participating in the World Championship, as he had other commitments.

The meal lasted a long time. After dropping Yao Ming off, Su Xi drove Scarlett home.

It was another night of a house full of romance.

That night, Scarlett cosplayed two characters: Catwoman and Wonder Woman. She always went the extra mile to keep things fresh.

Su Xi was a very happy man.

...

After their victory over the Rockets, the Knicks’ hold on the number one spot became even more secure. The team’s morale was at an all-time high, and the media started running pools on who could possibly stop their winning streak.

As the world was about to enter 2006, the number of internet users had grown exponentially since Su Xi first joined the league.

This, in turn, caused Su Xi’s on-paper wealth to skyrocket. Su Xi had always focused his investments on the internet. His eye for investment was outstanding; many of the companies he backed had already become industry unicorns. Almost every rising internet enterprise had Su Xi as a shareholder, to one degree or another.

But Su Xi didn’t publicize this.

He wouldn’t arrange for paparazzi to photograph him having dinner with Buffett, nor would he boast about co-investing in some company with Jay-Z.

That was the kind of thing James liked to do.

If Buffett wanted to have dinner with Su Xi, Su Xi would have to check his schedule first.

Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian didn’t give up after being rejected. In the parking lot, they claimed they wouldn’t go after Scarlett and even offered to help her attack Jessica and Fox.

But in reality, the moment they turned around, they told the media, "Scarlett is a jealous shrew. She refuses to let Su Xi have contact with any other accomplished women. She thinks she can monopolize Su Xi, a treasure meant for all of womankind, but I predict she won’t succeed. There’s an old Chinese saying: no wall is without a crack..."

When Su Xi read the report on the plane, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He had no idea why Paris Hilton, that predatory heiress, had her sights set on him. ’I would never sleep with her.’

’She’s not even my type.’

’After seeing all my girlfriends, shouldn’t they know my taste by now?’

The Knicks’ next away game was in Charlotte against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Jordan was currently the Bobcats’ minority owner, but he would soon become the team’s majority owner.

Ever since being ruthlessly rejected by O’Connor, his dislike for Su Xi had skyrocketed. He swore he would personally build a championship team and win a title before Su Xi ever did.

But right now, their record was 1-8.

Their only win was against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and that was because Garnett was out with diarrhea.

How to describe the Charlotte Bobcats?

They looked like an NBA team. They had all the requisite parts and participated in all the league activities.

Raymond Felton, Jordan’s fellow UNC alumnus in whom he had placed high hopes, was currently ranked third among the 2005 rookie point guards, just behind Chris Paul and Deron Williams.

Su Xi didn’t give a damn about Felton or the Bobcats. So, he calmly slaughtered them.

Jordan was sitting right behind the Bobcats’ bench. At the start of the game, he was on his feet, shouting reminders to the players about defense.

After the second quarter, his expression went through a rapid series of changes, like a Sichuan opera face-changer. One moment he was propping his chin on his hand, the next he was rubbing his face with both hands, then shaking his head, then staring blankly at the floor.

By the second half, Jordan was nowhere to be seen.

The Knicks ended up beating the Bobcats by 19 points.

"That’s about par for the course for Jordan’s management skills."

Isaiah Thomas said sarcastically after the game.

When asked about the Knicks’ general strategy, Isaiah Thomas said, "It’s difficult to grasp my tactical philosophy. I get it. After all, not everyone is capable of thinking from such a strategic high ground."

"We might not keep this winning streak going forever, but we will be the ultimate winners."

Thomas declared emphatically.

With a record like theirs to back him up, he could be as cocky as he wanted and it wouldn’t be out of line.

For instance, he said, "To be honest, we weren’t even trying tonight. We wanted to give Michael Jordan some face. After all, he doesn’t have much experience in this role. We couldn’t just beat him to a pulp and have him announce his retirement to go buy a baseball team for a couple of years, could we?"