The Best Point Guard-Chapter 95 - 23: [The New Season Approaches]

On June 28th, just as the TV discussions about Su Xi’s "sky-high endorsement deals" were starting to die down, the New York Knicks fired Head Coach Donnie Chaney and General Manager Scott Layden. What’s more, James Dolan publicly asked on television, "What the hell? I had no idea about this trade. Why can’t it be canceled?"

James Dolan’s question left many people baffled.

’The owner really didn’t know the trade had happened?’

’And he wants to cancel it?’

’What on earth was he even doing?’

After all, the trade was a great deal for the Knicks. They got rid of Shandon Anderson’s garbage contract and acquired the frontcourt players they desperately wanted. Darius Miles was very talented, Chris Mims was a full-sized center—and a white one at that. Plus, they received the Cavaliers’ unprotected first-round pick. If the Cavaliers missed the playoffs next season, the Knicks could get lucky like the Pistons and land the second or even the first overall pick.

This was exactly what Layden and Donnie Chaney were thinking. When they confirmed the trade could go through, Layden even told Chaney, "We’ve got to give the boss a surprise. This time, he’ll surely jump for joy and thank us for this brilliant move."

On the evening of June 27th, they called James Dolan, who was on a remote island celebrating his mistress’s birthday.

James shot up from the bed.

Vivian swore she had never seen James Dolan so full of life.

She heard Dolan roaring into the phone, "Give me back my ’suxi’! I want ’suxi,’ not some genius forward or some center! Listen to me, cancel the trade right now..."

"What? It’s already done and can’t be canceled? Then you can all get the hell out! Fuck you!"

James Dolan smashed the phone.

Then, Vivian watched as the enraged James Dolan became engorged—something that hadn’t happened even after she’d worked her lips until they were numb.

That’s how furious Dolan was!

Vivian didn’t know why Dolan was so fond of suxi (sushi), but she did her best to play along. She had studied some Japanese. To create a bit of mood for Dolan, she mimicked a Japanese woman’s gentle voice, "Iku, yamete."

James Dolan displayed unprecedented rage over the trade. He fired Donnie Chaney and Layden, the very men the New York Media had just praised for making a good trade for once. Then, he signed Isaiah Thomas, who had just been fired by the Pacers, to be the new general manager.

The first task James Dolan gave Isaiah Thomas was to get Su Xi back.

It was worth noting that the head coach position at the Pacers, left vacant by Isaiah Thomas, was taken over by Rick Carlisle. Carlisle, in turn, had just been replaced as the head coach of the Pistons by Larry Brown. It was a coaching carousel in the East.

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Su Xi spent three days in New York, where he and the other rookies attended a seminar at the NBA headquarters on how to manage their finances and avoid premature bankruptcy. This was part of the NBA’s rookie care program, and they had even brought in two retired, bankrupt players to share their cautionary tales.

But few of them actually listened. After all, the NBA is a league dominated by Black players.

When Su Xi arrived back in Cleveland, he saw a giant billboard of himself on the street. Nike had placed him side-by-side with LeBron James. James was on the left, Su Xi on the right.

Rumor had it that James’s team had strongly insisted on this arrangement, as the left side was more eye-catching.

However, if they understood a bit about Chinese culture regarding positioning, they would know that the person on the right is ranked first, and the person to their left is ranked second.

Su Xi chose jersey number 33, continuing his number from Syracuse University. Some Syracuse fans figured out why he chose it: in high school, Su Xi’s jersey number was 5, Scott’s was 4, and Reggie Williams’s was 24, which added up to exactly 33. This interpretation was reported by the media and then packaged into a promotional campaign by Nike, moving many people.

LeBron James chose jersey number 23, his high school number and the number everyone thought he should wear. He was "The Chosen One," after all; it was only right that he be the successor to Jordan.

The other rookie, three-point shooter Jason Kapono from UCLA, picked number 24.

Before the press conference began, Su Xi met with Cavaliers General Manager Jim Paxson. Interestingly, Jim Paxson’s younger brother was Bulls Vice President John Paxson, and their father was former NBA player Old Jim Paxson. Jim, who stands at 6’5", had played in the NBA and was even an NBA All-Star in 1983 and 1984. He played nine seasons with the Trail Blazers and two seasons in Boston. At one point, he was the Trail Blazers’ all-time leading scorer, a record later broken by "the Glider."

After retiring in 1990, Paxson joined Portland’s management as an assistant general manager. In September 1998, he was appointed Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Cleveland Cavaliers. In 1999, he was promoted to general manager, a position he had held ever since.

Unlike his brother, he greatly admired Su Xi. He gave Su Xi the maximum possible salary for an 8th pick: a four-year, 8.96 million USD contract. He also encouraged Su Xi to practice his offense more, as he hoped Su Xi would take on a greater scoring role in the new season.

The Cavaliers’ new head coach was Paul Silas. When the Hornets fired him in June of that year, the Cavaliers immediately extended an offer.

Silas was a coach beloved by his players and had done a good job with every team he’d been with. He valued his relationships with young players and always treated everyone fairly. During his own playing career, he was a two-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-Defensive Team selection (twice on the First Team), and won three NBA championships: two with the Boston Celtics and one with the Seattle SuperSonics.

After transitioning to coaching, he studied under Chuck Daly. As a result, his coaching style had strong shades of Daly: an emphasis on defense and rebounding, respect for players’ individuality, but an uncompromising attitude.

Silas and Su Xi spoke for 40 minutes during their first meeting. He was deeply impressed with Su Xi. He said Su Xi’s defense still had room for improvement and discussed many defensive details that were eye-opening for Su Xi.

The day after the signing was completed, Paul Silas put a team together in training camp and began preparations for that year’s Orlando Summer League.

During this practice session, Su Xi finally matched up against LeBron James.

At first, the two were just jostling for position off the ball. But after Su Xi successfully defended James twice, James got serious. He began to unleash his full talent, making a powerful drive to the basket, and Su Xi immediately moved to stay with him.

As he kept pace, his speed directly increased by +1. This came as a wonderful surprise to Su Xi.

But before he could even process his joy, he turned and ran right into Carlos Boozer, who was setting a screen for James. His finger jammed right into Boozer’s ribs.

Carlos Boozer grimaced in pain, and Su Xi realized his own finger was hurting like hell.

The head coach stopped practice. Both players went to get checked out. Boozer was fine, but Su Xi had fractured his index finger.

He got a splint.

’Well, so much for the Summer League.’

While a large contingent from the Cavaliers headed to Orlando, Su Xi went to Los Angeles.

He went there to train with Sweet Melon’s trainer, Yidan Lavin. Lavin was one of the top trainers in the NBA. Unlike Grover, who focused on improving a player’s physical conditioning, Lavin was better at helping players integrate their physique with their skills. He had particularly unique insights when it came to ball-handling drills.

Head Coach Paul Silas had told Su Xi that he wanted him to play point guard for the team in the upcoming season.

So, from the beginning of July until the end of September, Su Xi stayed in Los Angeles.

His ball-handling skills improved by leaps and bounds.

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