The Best Point Guard

They had an almost superstitious faith in Su Xi, a heartfelt belief that he could accomplish anything.

Su Xi, however, wasn’t so optimistic.

On the flight back from Cleveland to New York, Su Xi told Thomas, "We still need to add a bruiser at center."

Hopefully, before the All-Star break.

It couldn’t be helped.

The Cavaliers were fielding two superstar big men. The Knicks had to have at least one guy who could bang with them, right? Channing Frye was completely outsized by O’Neal.

Isaiah Thomas nodded. He was also getting anxious.

’If only we had last season’s roster,’ he thought. ’With that lineup, the Knicks wouldn’t have had to worry about the Cavaliers at all.’

This season, young players like David Lee and Channing Frye had improved tremendously, and the offense flowed like mercury. But there was no denying it: without a strong presence in the paint, they were at a major disadvantage.

The games in January continued.

The Knicks continued their tear, their run-and-gun style even more extreme than the Phoenix Suns’.

The Cavaliers, on the other hand, began experimenting with more tactics after their winning streak was snapped.

’Since Isaiah Thomas already made a damn mockery of me,’ Mike Brown thought, ’I might as well buckle down and research some new tactics. What if Ilgauskas gets injured again in the playoffs?’

’I’ve got to have a backup plan.’

When O’Neal first arrived, some experts worried that he and James wouldn’t be a good fit.

But in truth, for superstars still in their prime, chemistry is never an issue as long as they’re willing to make it work.

O’Neal liked to post up and play one-on-one, while James liked to drive to the basket. On the surface, their games seemed to clash. But it could also be a two-pronged attack. Besides, once O’Neal started feasting on easy baskets, he was the greatest finisher in NBA history!

And it wasn’t like James didn’t have a mid-range jumper.

Add to that the circle of shooters Mike Brown surrounded them with.

The Cavaliers were hitting their stride.

In the eyes of respected experts like Larry Brown, they were looking more and more like the powerhouse of the East.

However, as February began, the Eastern powerhouse’s big man, O’Neal, lost his first-place spot in the All-Star voting to Zach Randolph.

Randolph was preparing for his return, and Su Xi began rallying votes for him.

"Why can’t the Knicks have three All-Star starters?"

Su Xi’s comment sent David Lee’s and Zach Randolph’s vote counts skyrocketing.

This irritated many players in the East. They refused to accept it.

But what could they do about it?

The Knicks were just that dominant. Even with Zach Randolph sidelined, they still held the league’s best record.

...

This year’s All-Star Game was held in Las Vegas—only the second time the city had ever hosted the event.

Las Vegas had always wanted its own NBA team, but for various reasons, it never panned out. Even the owner who purchased the Kings had once tried to bring a franchise to the entertainment capital.

But the league had far too many reservations.

A week before the All-Star Game, the voting results were locked in.

As hoped, Su Xi, David Lee, and Zach Randolph secured the three starting spots for the East, and Isaiah Thomas was once again named the All-Star head coach.

For a moment, their prestige was unmatched.

’Let them be smug, let them be arrogant,’ many teams muttered privately. ’We’ll see them get crushed when the playoffs come around.’

Many people were waiting for the Knicks to fail.

They felt the Knicks were too overbearing and arrogant.

Just then, Zach Randolph made his return.

At the same time, Jerome James rejoined the Knicks’ roster. The team simply hadn’t been able to find a suitable bruiser.

So, Isaiah Thomas turned his attention to James.

Jerome James was, after all, LeBron James’s kryptonite.

Unexpectedly, Jerome James’s physique hadn’t changed much since he retired. He started getting back into shape the moment he got the call from Thomas. A week before the All-Star Game, he walked into the Knicks’ training facility and announced, "I’m ready."

After one practice, he obviously wasn’t performing at last season’s level—that would be unrealistic and defy the laws of science.

But he clearly still had something left in the tank. Come the playoffs, every minute he could give them on the floor would count.

It would be enough just to give the other players a chance to breathe.

In their very first game back, with both Zach Randolph and Jerome James returning, the Knicks lost.

They lost to the New Jersey Nets.

The Nets had completely fallen to a second-tier team in the East, but the Knicks still couldn’t pull out a win.

Because the Knicks started both Jerome James and Zach Randolph.

Was that a bold move or what?

They played Jerome James until he could barely move. He was on the court for 23 minutes, and by halftime, he was sprawled out on the locker room floor, refusing to get up.

He said to Su Xi, "I’m having trouble breathing."

Su Xi smiled. "Just you wait. Your trial has only just begun."

Randolph, on the other hand, didn’t play as many minutes as Jerome James. However, in the crucial moments of the fourth quarter, Su Xi sent Randolph in to play isolation.

He was given the ball for every key play.

Randolph’s shooting was abysmal, and the Nets took the victory.

Subsequently, the Knicks also lost to the Wizards and the Trail Blazers.

The Wizards, led by Arenas, were starting to look somewhat respectable.

Su Xi and Arenas were on great terms, and Su Xi was happy for Arenas’s current success. Of course, Arenas was even happier; he’d never imagined Su Xi would reach the heights he had.

After losing to the Wizards, the Knicks lost to the Trail Blazers.

That one stung.

Because the Knicks held the Trail Blazers’ unprotected draft pick for the season, the Trail Blazers were in full tank mode, focused entirely on developing their two rookies, Brandon Roy and Aldridge.

Those two were definitely still green.

But the Knicks were also fully committed to getting their own two hefty big men, Randolph and Jerome, back into game shape.

And so, the Trail Blazers won.

Fortunately, the Trail Blazers were still the worst team in the league, so theoretically, they had the best chance of landing the number one pick.

Now, as the Trail Blazers’ record worsened, many people around the league were saying: ’If the Knicks get the number one pick, it’s game over for the rest of us.’

The Knicks were already at the height of their power, with Su Xi dominating the league.

Give him a Greg Oden, who could supposedly dominate the NBA for 20 years, and wouldn’t they rule the league for the next two decades?

Right now, the American basketball community was buzzing with hype for Greg Oden. He was being called the next dominant force, a combination of Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with a tangible presence even more staggering than O’Neal’s.

His floor was Bill Russell.

This level of hype reminded Su Xi of 2003, when the praise for LeBron James was just as intense.

But the hype around James was driven more by commercial factors.

This time, however, the experts were praising him purely from a basketball standpoint.

This gave Su Xi and Isaiah Thomas pause. Isaiah Thomas, in particular, was becoming infatuated with the idea.

He’d watched Greg Oden’s college tapes and agreed that Oden was an extraordinary talent, worth taking a gamble on.

But Su Xi said, "The league isn’t that benevolent. They won’t necessarily let the Trail Blazers get the number one pick. Besides, overwhelming favorites always seem to fail."

Now, the New York Knicks were hesitating.

’Should they make another trade?’

It was a trade Su Xi was leaning towards.

Trading Millsap for Milicic.

Milicic had bounced around and landed with the Orlando Magic. He had completely failed to live up to his draft-day hype. As the youngest player in the 2003 draft class, he was still young—even younger than some current rookies.

But he wasn’t getting many opportunities with the Magic.

The Magic’s system was built around mobility.

The Magic had their eye on the Knicks’ rookie, Millsap.

Millsap’s draft position was nothing compared to where Milicic had been selected.

However, Millsap was playing very well this season, proving highly efficient in his minutes. As the season went on, his playing time had steadily increased.

His style was very similar to David Lee’s; both were good in the pick-and-roll and had a solid mid-range jumper.

That was exactly what the Magic lacked.

So, they were the ones who reached out to the Knicks with a trade proposal.

Everyone knew the Knicks were short on seven-footers; otherwise, they wouldn’t have rushed Jerome James out of retirement.

...

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