The Best Point Guard-Chapter 66 - 1: Fan Leader Dolan

On the night Su Xi pulled off a super quadruple-double, the media across America went into a frenzy.

James Dolan summoned his braintrust to his mansion for an overnight meeting, calling in the head of the scouting department as well.

When they arrived, James Dolan had already opened a bottle of red wine and was ecstatic. "Was I wrong? Isn’t Little Sheep Su Xi the best player in the NCAA? A super quadruple-double plus the MOP... who else is there?"

Dolan’s expression was feverish.

He looked just like a die-hard fan who, after years of spending money to boost his idol’s chart rankings, finally saw them hit number one.

General Manager and Vice President Scott Layden sighed. He knew his boss, a long-time fan, was getting completely carried away.

Head Coach Donnie also tried to compose himself, playing along with his boss. "I just watched the game; it was truly thrilling. Little Sheep Su Xi displayed strength beyond his years, and he has a real talent for steals."

"Hahaha, right? See? I was born for basketball. How could a guy I pick be anything but great!"

James Dolan was overjoyed. "Then it’s happily decided! With this year’s lottery pick... we’re drafting him!"

With that, Dolan sat down on the sofa, took a long, satisfying sip of his wine, and said, "You guys sit down, too. I called you over because I want to hear your opinions. What Donnie just said was great—that Jack possesses strength beyond his years and a real talent for steals. What else? Donnie, keep going."

James Dolan’s eyebrows smoothed out. His expression was practically screaming, ’Hurry up and agree with me! Say more nice things about Little Sheep Su Xi! I’m his number one fan!’

Donnie took a deep breath and steeled himself.

Although he wasn’t particularly competent and had gotten his contract largely through brown-nosing...

...but now, he decided to play the part of a frank advisor. "Boss, let me break it down for you," he said. "Our record this year means we’re definitely not making the playoffs, and we’re pretty far down in the standings. So, there’s a high probability we’ll land a top-five pick, maybe even top-three."

"Using a pick that high on Jack is a bit of a gamble."

"Moreover, we can’t let ourselves be blinded by Jack’s super quadruple-double tonight. In reality, his natural talent is pretty average."

"I watched the game. He got that quadruple-double because he could dominate his opponents in the paint. He’s very strong, he has long arms, and he’s very flexible, which gave him constant opportunities for steals."

"But when he gets to the NBA, he won’t be able to dominate the paint on both ends of the floor like he did in the NCAA Championship. O’Neal, Duncan, Garnett, Weber, Yao Ming... those guys are either monstrously strong or have flawless interior technique. He’ll get completely exposed. His strengths will become weaknesses."

"Furthermore, his shooting ability hasn’t really been tested, and his ability to drive to the basket or drive-and-kick hasn’t stood out. What I’m saying is, the NBA and the NCAA are two completely different beasts."

"The opponents he faced in the NCAA are nowhere near NBA-level. Collison looked like he could do anything in the NCAA, but once he gets to the NBA, my guess is he’ll average 6 points and 6 rebounds, at best."

"Please, think twice, Boss!"

Donnie delivered a long speech, and with every word, James Dolan’s face fell further.

"Why would you say that?" James Dolan demanded.

"I’m telling the truth," Donnie said, his tone hardening.

"Just because it’s the truth means you should say it? Does it?!" The number one fan flew into a rage. He had projected so many of his own feelings onto Su Xi; he was going to use Su Xi to prove his own basketball genius. That was the fundamental reason he was so insistent on drafting him.

"Besides, your so-called draft criteria are completely wrong! All I care about is that Jack was the Final Four MOP and got a super quadruple-double. He’s a winner, and he’ll keep on winning."

James Dolan roared.

Then, he turned on Scott Layden. "And you? What’s your take? You’d better say something I want to hear."

This wasn’t even a hint anymore; it was an open-book test.

But for some reason, Layden also decided to stand his ground today.

He didn’t want a black mark on his professional career for using a lottery pick on Su Xi. ’Will I ever find another job after this? The old guy selling burgers at the entrance to the arena will laugh at me for not knowing a thing about basketball.’

"Boss, we understand how you feel. But we have to remain objective. There’s no point in us discussing this now. We should invite him for a team workout and put him through the standard NBA evaluation process. If he meets the criteria, then we’ll draft him. How does that sound?"

Layden added diplomatically, "I’m sure his draft stock won’t be that high; other teams will be cautious too. We could easily trade for a 13th or 14th pick, and that would be more than enough to get him."

James Dolan impatiently waved a hand, signaling him to shut up. He then turned to the scout, Cres. "Cres," he said, "give me a professional analysis. What do you think of Little Sheep Su Xi?"

Cres chose his words carefully before speaking.

"I think he’s worth a gamble, but it would be best if we traded for an additional mid-to-late lottery pick to do it."

"Little Sheep Su Xi’s improvement recently has been remarkable. I’ve watched every one of his games, from the first round of the national tournament to tonight. His body control has improved by leaps and bounds."

"However, just as Coach Donnie said, he hasn’t demonstrated the offensive skills to make it in the NBA, nor has he shown a great feel for the game. Defensively, I believe he’ll become an excellent, perhaps even elite, on-ball defender in the half-court. His strength, explosiveness, and flexibility will still put him ahead of the curve for his position, even in the NBA."

"But he won’t be able to go into the paint and punish mismatches like he did in the NCAA Championship."

"Most importantly, don’t we already have Alan Houston and Spreeville? We’re not short on Point Guards either. We should be drafting a big man!"

The scout’s words were diplomatic.

"Can’t we just trade them?" James Dolan said with an authoritative wave of his hand. He was dead set on paving the way for Little Sheep Su Xi today; his mind was made up.

The braintrust and the scout fell into a collective silence.

’These guys aren’t easy to trade.’

’Maybe the hot-tempered locker-room time bomb, Spreeville, has a tiny bit of trade value, but who would want the others? Alan Houston’s hundred-million-dollar contract just kicked in, and Shandon Anderson and Howard Eisley are classic examples of overpaid, underperforming players on terrible contracts.’

’Getting rid of any one of them would mean attaching a haul of draft picks.’

Seeing their silence,

James Dolan stood up, ready to show them the door. "My mind is made up. You go draw up the plan. If you’re going to do a workout, send the invitation immediately. Arrange a first-class flight and a five-star hotel for him. Don’t let anyone think the New York Knicks are cheap."

James Dolan angrily shooed his braintrust and the scout out.

He walked upstairs and turned on his computer.

A news alert popped up on the Yahoo! homepage: SUPER QUADRUPLE-DOUBLE! LITTLE SHEEP SU XI STUNS THE NCAA, AN UNPRECEDENTED SUPERSTAR.

The sub-headline read: Little Sheep Su Xi is Destined to Surpass Former MOPs like Ewing, Olajuwon, Thomas, Magic, and Chamberlain. NBA, PREPARE YOURSELF, A LEGEND IS COMING!

’Ah, that’s more like it.’

James Dolan took a sip of his wine.

’This is how it’s supposed to be.’

’The media should do what the media does best.’

’It has to be objective when it’s time to be objective!’

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