The Best Point Guard-Chapter 86 - 18: [A Word is a Bond, a Double Blessing]

Chapter 86: Chapter 18: [A Word is a Bond, a Double Blessing]

When Arenas announced that he would use the entire 50,000 USD to buy sports gear for all the players in the training camp, the gym erupted with excitement and cheers.

Everyone was a little unsure whether they should thank Arenas, Su Xi, or... Marcus Banks.

Banks’s agent, Todolama, took out a check for 50,000 USD. He said gracefully, "We admit defeat in our bet, and we are also very happy to approve of the way Arenas is handling this money..."

"Gimme that." Arenas snatched the check and held it high.

The crowd cheered once again.

He had no intention of giving Lamasa a chance to show off.

Lamasa was a little embarrassed.

What was even more embarrassing was that he later found Su Xi. He said he hoped the matter would end here at the training camp and cryptically warned Su Xi not to publicize it. At the same time, he deliberately reminded Su Xi that he represented many players in the NBA, implying he should leave himself a way out.

To be honest, if Lamasa hadn’t used this matter to ’remind’ him, Su Xi would have never publicized it at all.

But now that Lamasa had said it...

Su Xi’s eyes lit up. He asked, "You mean, if I don’t agree to your terms, you’ll have your other star players come and destroy me?"

"You could interpret it that way," Lamasa replied very seriously.

He hoped this rookie would know to back down when things got tough. The NBA had its own unspoken rules; if you made things awkward for everyone, they’d make sure you couldn’t get on stage yourself.

Su Xi smiled. ’There’s such a good deal? A buy-one-get-one-free?’ He was genuinely delighted and said, "Alright, you can call them right now."

Huh?

"What do you mean?" Lamasa couldn’t process it at first.

"Exactly what it sounds like."

Su Xi didn’t say any more to him and walked away.

Todolama instantly flew into a rage. He had never seen such an arrogant rookie. He gritted his teeth, secretly vowing to gather all his resources to teach this clueless rookie a lesson.

Just then, someone walked over.

"You’re Marcus Banks’s agent?"

Already in a bad mood, Todolama turned to the side. He looked at this long-necked man with his chin held high and eyes looking down on everyone, and felt even more annoyed.

"What? You got some advice for me?" he said irritably.

Mike O’Connor pointed his goateed chin at Lamasa and said, "No advice. Just here to tell you something. The endorsement for the Nevada agricultural tractors went to my boss. Stop harassing Tom."

Huh?

Lamasa’s eyes widened. This was like having a piece of meat snatched from right under his nose. "Who’s your boss?"

"Jack! Jack the Goat!" Mike O’Connor said arrogantly. "The man who just destroyed Banks."

Lamasa was stunned. He never thought that Su Xi would take out Banks on the court, win 50,000 USD, and then steal Banks’s endorsement off the court. ’How can this guy be so treacherous?’

At that moment, Tom walked over.

Lamasa questioned Tom, "Did you really give the endorsement contract to that Little Sheep Su Xi?"

Tom looked calmly at Lamasa. The fact that he got along well with O’Connor suggested he also had a side that could make people uncomfortable. He lifted his chin and nodded slightly. "You saw the game. Tell me, shouldn’t I have made the switch?"

Lamasa’s teeth ground together with a GRIND. He held out his hand. "Give me the tape."

"It’s already been given to me."

O’Connor patted his briefcase, revealing a ’mocking’ smile.

He and Tom walked away, but not without telling Lamasa, "We’re off to sign the contract. Thank Banks for me. His performance convinced Nevada Agricultural Tractors to add another 100,000 USD for my boss. It’s 300,000 USD now. HAHAHAHA."

Lamasa’s fists hardened, his knuckles cracking audibly. He gritted his teeth and silently repeated a name: Little Sheep Su Xi!!

Today was the most infuriating day of his professional career.

Little Sheep Su Xi didn’t take him seriously, and his agent was even more arrogant, stealing his deal and then coming over to mock him.

So impolite!

...

The draft was getting closer and closer.

Su Xi received a green room invitation, giving him the chance to be at the Madison Square Garden Arena for the draft in person.

Before that, he received his 300,000 USD endorsement fee from the Nevada agricultural tractor factory. This was the after-tax amount. In return, Nevada Agricultural Tractors obtained the rights to Su Xi’s likeness, allowing them to use his photos in advertisements for the next five years.

Su Xi carefully reviewed the contract, then had Huang Xiaoman look it over as well. After confirming it was only for outdoor ads, promotional flyers, product manuals, and the like—and did not include television or online streaming ads—he signed the agreement.

The Nevada agricultural tractor factory was even more efficient than Nike. The contract was signed in the afternoon, and the money was in his account by evening.

300,000 USD, after taxes.

Su Xi was very happy and gave Mike O’Connor a 30,000 bonus.

"Boss, I’ve processed the tape. I’ve decided to do some promotion in the next two days. But, as you know, my influence is pretty average. I can only get in touch with smaller TV stations."

O’Connor said to Su Xi.

This was exactly the effect Su Xi wanted. He didn’t want a huge splash, in case it drove up his draft stock and made things more difficult for Bird. However, he *did* want Lamasa to hate him and have his NBA stars relentlessly target him. That way, his talent fusion could speed up again.

"I trust you to handle it," Su Xi said, patting O’Connor’s shoulder encouragingly.

O’Connor was instantly filled with pride and swore to serve Su Xi well.

For so many years, all his previous employers had said he wasn’t good at this or that, and that his strong personality made him bad at uniting people. But when he told Su Xi about his conversation with Banks’s agent, Jack didn’t blame him at all. Instead, he said, "I’m very happy that you took the initiative to defend me. And I’m even happier that you showed your personality."

At that moment, O’Connor wanted nothing more than to kneel and kowtow to Su Xi. He was so moved. He had finally met a boss who understood him.

A scholar dies for one who truly knows him!

The excitement and joy in his heart were far greater than what the 30,000 USD from Su Xi had brought him.

He had finally gained recognition, the feeling of ’being needed’.

He wished he could spill his own blood and brains for Su Xi.

His work was filled with passion. He swore he would make Jack the most commercially valuable superstar.

...

In reality, it was no longer necessary for Su Xi to do any promotion.

Because the scouts had already delivered detailed reports to the desks of every general manager.

It was a bombshell piece of information that could be said to have changed the mindset of the lottery teams.

It showcased Su Xi’s offensive potential: triple threat, drives, three-pointers, and the ability to use both hands.

It was a workout report with shocking results.

Su Xi had only received formal basketball training for a year, yet he had already become the NCAA’s Most Outstanding Player. If he still had vast potential for improvement, more and more teams would be willing to take a gamble on him.

Bird was getting antsy.

Especially after Arenas gave an interview in Chicago where he praised Su Xi to the high heavens.

"If I were the general manager of the Cavaliers, I wouldn’t want some ’Chosen One’. I’d pick Jack. This guy isn’t ’sushi’, and he isn’t a ’little sheep’—he’s the GOAT. Nobody knows him better than me."

"Listen, he’s an incredibly hardworking, talented player. The speed of his improvement is absolutely shocking. I train with him every day, and he makes huge leaps every single day. His defensive ability is extremely strong, better than 90% of the so-called defensive specialists in the league, and he can work in the paint."

"And don’t think Jack can’t play offense. I barely taught him anything, and he’s already learned my shooting style. Reid can testify to it too. Michael just taught him a few techniques for shooting with his left hand, and now he’s a real threat when he’s open. This guy is a closet lefty."

"All you experts who claimed Jack would be a late first-round pick, you’re about to eat your words."

"I can only tell you this: some guy who was supposedly a lottery pick got shut down by Jack, 5-0. That one-on-one earned me 50,000 USD, which I used to buy gear for the whole camp. That guy has already left Chicago with his tail between his legs."

"And the reason he challenged Jack to a one-on-one was because Jack completely owned him in the game, leaving him no room to breathe."

Arenas has a big mouth.

He’s always running his mouth after games.

But this time, many media outlets got inside information confirming that what he said was true.

In the week before the draft officially began, Su Xi’s draft position rose sharply.

On June 23rd, Su Xi left Chicago for New York to prepare for the draft.

To be honest, he was a little nervous. He didn’t know what would happen next, which team would pick him, or what kind of life he would start in which city.

He was full of anticipation.

He ran into Carmelo Anthony in New York.

After not seeing him for two months, Anthony had gotten a bit stronger.

Anthony took Su Xi to get a custom suit for the draft. On the way, he told Su Xi, "Jack, if I’m not picked second, I’ll be picked third."

This had been an open secret ever since the Cavaliers drew the first pick. Anthony was the second-best player in this rookie class. Since the Cavaliers had made it clear they wouldn’t consider anyone other than James, that only left the second and third picks for him.

"I don’t want to go to Detroit. They’re already a championship-level team. I won’t have room to develop there," Anthony told Su Xi.

Su Xi nodded and said, "Denver would be pretty good too."

"Has any team given you a draft promise?" Anthony suddenly asked.

"Yes," Su Xi didn’t hide it.

"What pick?"

Su Xi shook his head. "They’re not a lottery team, but they said they’d trade up."

Anthony was very happy. He said, "I hope you get picked by a team in the West, so we’ll be closer. Do you think we can become All-Stars right after we get into the league? Are we going to take down all those high-and-mighty star players? I seriously can’t wait to join the league. I want to go up against Tracy McGrady, I want to dunk on Kevin Garnett, I want to show Tim Duncan my spin move..."

Anthony was lost in his imagination.

So was Su Xi.

Only, he was thinking: ’NBA superstars, you better not disappoint me.’

’And also: when will my fifth super-talent arrive? I really hope it’s a super-jumping talent. I really want to fly through the air for a spinning slam dunk! That’s Reggie’s specialty.’

...