The Best Point Guard-Chapter 78 - 13: [Tryout Video]

On May 25th, Su Xi traveled from Portland to Chicago.

He was now accompanied by an executive agent named O’Connor, and his bank account had an eight-figure deposit.

"Jack, while other rookies are still scrambling for a job, you’ve already become a multimillionaire. It’s been a dream week."

O’Connor was a 46-year-old white man. He had one of those faces people just loved to hate. Even when he was beaming at Su Xi, it had taken Su Xi a full week of observation to be sure he wasn’t being sarcastic, but was genuinely trying to suck up to him.

The guy’s eyebrows were perpetually raised, he had a high-bridged nose with upturned nostrils, a prominent chin, and a small goatee. Thanks to years of working out, he was in great shape; at 186 cm tall, he was powerfully built, but his neck was exceptionally long. Even just standing still, he gave off the impression of an arrogant jackass.

In fact, he only spoke respectfully to Su Xi. With everyone else, he always put on a haughty air. The way he ferociously defended Su Xi was like an aggressive Doberman Pinscher.

He had worked at CAA for 11 years, and before that, he was with the Disney Talent Agency. He had extensive experience in negotiations and handling complex affairs; he had even served as an executive agent for Nicolas Cage early in his career. But his aggressive, high-pressure tactics often put his employers in awkward positions. By the time he found Goodwin, he could no longer make a living in the entertainment industry.

After a long, one-hour conversation, Su Xi was convinced. Once he confirmed that the guy’s advantages even included the ability to make tasteless nutritional meals palatable, he chose O’Connor—Mike O’Connor.

The deal they struck was for 260,000 USD over two years, with room, board, and travel expenses covered.

Both parties were very satisfied.

O’Connor was satisfied because he had finally landed a stable job with a base salary much higher than at CAA. Although there was no commission, he hadn’t earned any in years anyway.

Su Xi was satisfied because he had found a veteran agent who knew the business inside and out, and who didn’t require a commission. Sure, he was arrogant and aggressive, but this was the world of sports, not entertainment—results mattered more. Most importantly, he had now established a good relationship with the Goodwin Brothers. If a truly big deal came along, Su Xi would entrust it to the crafty Goodwin Brothers.

As for why he didn’t have Huang Xiaoman continue as his executive agent in the United States...

It was because Huang Xiaoman was simply too young, and she was a woman. In the agency world over here in the United States, people were naturally distrustful of a beautiful 20-year-old female agent; their gut reaction would be to see her as unprofessional. Plus, she was Asian, which made it difficult to navigate many of the complex relationships, and her experience was nowhere near enough to be the executive agent for a hot prospect.

So, Su Xi had Huang Xiaoman specialize in his domestic affairs. Back in China, she wouldn’t face these problems. Besides, Su Xi was certain she had significant influence there; she could always manage to pull off the impossible.

"Honestly, we have no reason to be so polite with Nike. The contract is signed. Why should we wait until after the draft to announce it? They’re just building hype for LeBron James. Right now, every sports media outlet is gushing about LeBron James’s record-breaking sponsorship deal. But ours is bigger! We got 140 million USD for five years, plus a 5% cut of shoe sales!"

"Boss, I’ve already contacted some media outlets. They’ll be running some stories on you soon. My connections in the media world are still pretty good after all these years." O’Connor gave Su Xi a reassuring look.

"There’s no need. We’re keeping a low profile for now," Su Xi said.

Just then, O’Connor’s phone began to ring urgently... Ever since he became Su Xi’s executive agent, his phone had been ringing more and more frequently.

Then, Su Xi saw O’Connor’s impatient expression as he yelled into the phone, "Hey, didn’t I tell you guys Jack doesn’t have time? We already sent the workout video to your inbox. If you think he’s good enough, then draft him. Don’t come sniffing around to test us; we’re not some discounted item in a supermarket display window. And don’t think we’re impressed with your ninth pick." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

SNAP!

O’Connor hung up. He was using the latest Motorola flip phone.

The moment he snapped the phone shut, he had the satisfying air of a swordsman who had just slain an opponent in ten paces and was sheathing his blade.

Su Xi gave him a thumbs-up. "I see now why you couldn’t make it in the entertainment industry."

"Boss, are you telling me to tone it down a bit?" O’Connor’s eyes narrowed, looking like a Tibetan Mastiff trying to put on the gentle expression of a Golden Retriever.

"No, keep it up," Su Xi said.

Getting Su Xi’s approval, O’Connor cheered up. He said, "Milwaukee is just some backwater town that’s never seen the world. They get the ninth pick and think they can order everyone around. I can’t stand people who think they’re hot shit."

"..."

The plane took off, and Su Xi closed his eyes. He would continue his training in Chicago. The incredible progress he had made back in Cleveland was the reason Nike was willing to bet so heavily on him.

Compared to the data report from when he first arrived in Cleveland, his stats had improved across the board.

Super Explosiveness Talent. (Upgraded from 90 to 92, top-tier in the NBA.)

Super Strength Talent. (93, unchanged. Grover believes Su Xi doesn’t need to increase his strength any further.)

Super Flexibility Talent. (Increased from 94 to 95, the first to enter the ’Super’ domain.)

Super Speed Talent. (Increased from 74 to 80, speed has now reached the NBA average. The data settings in this book are reasonable; even an obscure, average player in the NBA might have a ’Super’ talent in one area. Because no one who makes it to the NBA has poor talent. The real dividing line is between ’Top-tier’ and ’Super,’ which is the 90-100 range.)

Excellent Leap Talent. (Increased from 72 to 75, upgraded from Elite Talent to Excellent Talent.)

Elite Agility Talent. (Increased from 71 to 74, the limit of Elite Talent.)

Excellent Stamina Talent. (75, upgraded from Elite Talent to Excellent Talent, super health regen, super recovery.)

This was the content read by the Little Elf. (Little Elf Evaluation System: Ordinary, below 65. Elite, 65-74. Excellent, 75-84. Top-tier, 85-94. Super, 95-100.)

On Grover’s report, Su Xi’s stats were:

Body fat 6.8%; barefoot height 193 cm; weight 90 kg (down 1.5 kg); standing reach 262 cm (up nearly 2 cm); standing vertical leap 73 cm (up 3 cm); max standing reach 330 cm (up 4 cm); max running reach 346 cm (up 3 cm); max vertical leap 85 cm (up 2 cm). [Note: Leap Talent doesn’t just improve height. It also includes intangible aspects like takeoff space, jump quickness, etc.]

In addition, two more tests were added: the lane agility drill and the three-quarter court sprint.

His times were 11.88 seconds and 3.97 seconds, respectively.

Su Xi’s numbers in these two events were very average.

An excellent guard is usually under 11 seconds and under 3.1 seconds.

However, Su Xi’s first step was explosive. He could reach the level of a top-tier guard within three steps.

This gave people a lot of confidence in his half-court defense.

And it was something he excelled at.

While Su Xi and Rolls were still on the plane, footage of Su Xi’s workout with a chair appeared on an ESPN basketball commentary show.

"Hey, LeBron, help me set up this chair. I’m going to do a few crossovers, then some shooting."

Following Su Xi’s voice, viewers saw James place a high stool on the court. Su Xi performed a few crossovers and spin moves around the chair, then started shooting. He took five three-pointers and made three. Then he shot five free throws, making four.

Finally, he drove to the basket for a one-handed dunk.

End of workout.

This was the workout footage Miles had sent to 11 teams in the league.

"I have to say, MOP is the most arrogant, conceited prospect in this draft class. While other players were sweating buckets at the combine in Orlando, he completely vanished. Does he think he’s LeBron James? Even LeBron went to the workouts," Tom Tolbert said sarcastically on the TV show.

Sitting next to him, Jim Durham agreed with Tom’s point. "It’s his way of maintaining an air of mystery," he said. "If he actually went to the combine, if he actually played against the other rookies in his class, I guarantee his draft stock would fall even further. In fact, it’s already dropped from a lottery pick to the 20th pick."

"Now, we’ll just have to see if any team is willing to take a big gamble on him," Bill Walton said.

This was a highly influential show. For them to be discussing Su Xi so openly on television and making a joke out of his workout video was a heavy blow to his draft stock... at least, in the court of public opinion.

And so, the narrative that Su Xi was afraid to compete against his fellow rookies was spread by this episode.

...