The Best Point Guard

A huge group from the Knicks flew to Las Vegas.

It was almost half the team.

Isaiah Thomas was going to be the head coach.

Su Xi, Randolph, and David Lee were All-Star starters.

Channing Fleay, Lowry, and Millsap were playing in the All-Star Rookie Challenge.

And Novak was participating in the Three-Point Contest.

James Dolan provided the team charter. James Dolan himself also boarded the plane, swaying with a bottle of wine in hand. He was going to Las Vegas for a vacation.

Dolan had been riding high lately. No one called him a profligate son anymore.

His reputation had completely turned around. Although he didn’t care about it himself, the feeling of no one chattering in his ear was truly refreshing.

He chatted with Su Xi for a while about basketball and stocks, then went off with Randolph to study the art of the human form.

Don’t get the wrong idea. It was genuine appreciation of the human form, without a single impure thought. The two of them were on a higher plane of existence now. They could have the members of Randolph’s dance team strip and stand there motionlessly while they watched for ages.

It was quite an ordeal for those dancers. They would have even preferred if the two men had just given them a good rough-and-tumble.

But they never expected them to be so... refined.

Su Xi was still hesitating.

Trading Millsap and Novak for Milicic.

It was a trade that required courage.

Because the immediate impact Millsap had shown was already greater than Milicic’s. Milicic had already languished in the league for four seasons. He was now in a contract year, but he still hadn’t delivered a performance that matched the initial expectations for him.

Moreover, if they chose him...

When Eddie Curry returned next season, and if Portland happened to get the first overall pick, the Knicks would have a surplus of seven-footers again.

But the problem at hand also urgently needed to be solved.

The Cavaliers were already fielding the twin towers of O’Neal and Ilgauskas. Could Zach Randolph and Jerome James stop them?

Although Milicic hadn’t shown much in these four years, he had bulked up his physique. He could still show flashes of brilliance occasionally. Most importantly, even though he had been relentlessly berated by Larry Brown, his fundamental defensive instincts were still there.

In an era where full-sized centers were so scarce, acquiring Milicic could indeed solve some practical problems.

Most importantly, Isaiah Thomas kept telling Su Xi, "Jack, Milicic definitely has something left in the tank. He certainly has untapped potential. I’ve seen his highlights. He still has a chance to become an All-Star-level player."

Su Xi, of course, knew Milicic was a talented player. They were from the same draft class. For Milicic to be drafted ahead of Antonio, Bosh, Wade, Syracuse, and him—the NCAA quadruple-double winner—he definitely had to be something special. The NBA’s scouting system wasn’t just for show.

But... if they sent Millsap to the Magic, the Magic’s strength would improve visibly.

Millsap was the power forward the Magic desperately needed.

Although he was just a substitute for the Knicks with limited playing time, his role overlapped with David Lee’s.

If a trade like this went wrong, it would be a total loss.

Su Xi said he would think about it some more.

He lay down and started to sleep.

The plane was flying at an altitude of thirty thousand feet, and Su Xi slowly drifted off to sleep.

He didn’t know how long he had been asleep, but he was suddenly awakened by a loud commotion. When he woke up, the cabin was in chaos.

Looking closely, he saw that David Lee and Millsap had gotten into a fight up ahead.

Even the owner, Dolan, was alerted. He was over there, shouting a lot of harsh words before managing to separate the two.

Su Xi looked into it and found out that David Lee and Millsap had locked horns during a card game. They then had a verbal argument, which escalated into a physical fight.

There was already a competitive relationship between them, and Millsap was very ambitious. He felt that if he had enough playing time, he would definitely play better than David Lee.

So, he had a lot of pent-up frustration.

This incident was the spark that lit the fuse. He was the one who started cursing, and he was also the one who threw the first punch.

When James Dolan went over to break up the fight, he accidentally got hit by one of Millsap’s punches.

After that punch was thrown, Millsap’s career with the Knicks was basically over.

Su Xi intervened afterward.

The situation now was that they had no choice but to trade Millsap.

Millsap himself was well aware of this. He was filled with anxiety, afraid of being frozen out by the team, thrown directly to the bench, and labeled a problem rookie. If that happened, he’d be finished.

However, Su Xi told everyone present to remain silent about the incident, saying it was an internal team matter to be handled internally.

After arriving in Las Vegas and checking into the hotel, Su Xi had Millsap come to his room.

Millsap was very loyal to Su Xi, which was one of the reasons Su Xi had been reluctant to trade him.

Su Xi had a frank and open conversation with him.

He said, "We might have to trade you."

Millsap nodded. He already knew the outcome.

"You don’t have to be anxious. We’ll find a team that’s a good fit for you. I was the one who picked you, and I want to see you do even better," Su Xi said. "In fact, you’ve already proven my choice was the right one. You made it into the All-Star Rookie Challenge."

"Thank you, Jack."

Millsap trusted Su Xi completely. He knew Su Xi looked out for him. As a second-round pick, he had received many opportunities with the Knicks. It was also Su Xi who had guided him through the finer details of tactics and pushed him to perfect his skills. Without Su Xi, he wouldn’t have such good stats, let alone be selected for the Rookie Challenge.

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