Chapter 581 81: [I Am the GOAT]

He was very grateful.

He was afraid the team would bench him, or worse, trade him away to some backwater team where he wouldn't get any playing time, ruining his entire career.

After talking with Millsap, Su Xi went to chat with James Dolan.

Dolan was furious. He had taken a punch to the face. He insisted they had to trade Millsap.

Su Xi tried to talk him down for a bit, but then agreed with Dolan's decision.

Dolan then went off to enjoy himself.

Su Xi discussed the trade details with Isaiah Thomas. He demanded that the Magic add another draft pick.

Otherwise, it would be a huge loss.

And it had to be this year's pick, since the entire basketball world was saying 2007 was a great draft year.

Isaiah Thomas asked, "Will they agree?"

"They will. They know Millsap's value, and they're looking to make a breakthrough."

...

On the first night of All-Star Weekend, Su Xi went to the arena to watch the Rookie Challenge: the first-year players versus the second-year players.

In the end, the sophomores won. Chris Paul was named MVP.

In the NBA Rookie Challenge, the sophomores almost always dominate, with the rookies only managing to pull off an upset in very rare years. This is because the sophomores have more experience and are better adapted to the NBA.

After the game, the NBA officially announced a new trade.

The Orlando Magic had traded Darko Milicic and a 2007 first-round draft pick to the New York Knicks for Paul Millsap, Stephen Novak, and a $1 million trade exception.

The trade sent shockwaves through the entire All-Star Weekend.

Many people were baffled by it at the time.

This season, Millsap was averaging 9.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. He was a highly efficient reserve off the Knicks' bench. Many believed that if he switched places with David Lee, his stats wouldn't be any worse, and he was far more athletic than Lee.

No one expected the Knicks to actually trade him for Milicic.

The reasoning behind the trade seemed easy to decipher.

The Knicks needed a big center.

That's why they had brought Jerome James back, but he clearly couldn't stop O'Neal and Ilgauskas. So, they had to make a trade.

However, in the eyes of most, this trade heavily favored the Orlando Magic.

On the Magic Team, Milicic's performance had been mediocre. Now that Dwight Howard had fully developed, they no longer needed him as a backup. Over the past four years, he had proven himself to be a bust, his potential no longer worth exploring.

Millsap, on the other hand, was a proven contributor and was a perfect, perfect, perfect fit for the Magic's system.

With him, the Magic Team could run a five-forward lineup: Howard, Millsap, Turkoglu, Grant Hill, and Hardaway.

That lineup was the stuff of dreams.

As a result, some commentators bluntly said the Knicks were insane, that this trade by Isaiah Thomas was just strengthening the Magic at their own expense.

They couldn't understand why the Knicks would do such a thing.

Were they really that scared of Cleveland?

Suddenly, a wave of ridicule and mockery followed.

At the same time, there are no walls in the world that are truly soundproof. The story of the fight between David Lee and Millsap on the plane was also leaked. Just like that, the Knicks became the center of attention in Las Vegas.

After the trade happened, Su Xi spoke with Millsap for about ten minutes. Millsap expressed his gratitude, and Su Xi wished him all the best in Orlando.

Millsap was thrilled about being traded to Orlando. The weather in Orlando was great, and the team's playstyle was indeed a good fit for him.

Furthermore, the day after the trade, he got in touch with Dwight Howard, and they hung out together in Las Vegas.

Howard was a very sociable leader and didn't have an intimidating presence.

They did an interview together.

"Without a doubt, this is a great trade. Thank God, and thank you, New York, for sending such a great power forward to my side. We're going to rule the entire East Coast."

Dwight Howard spoke with great confidence in front of the camera.

In contrast, David Lee avoided talking about his conflict with Millsap.

Millsap also denied the rumors in the media. He said, "I had a great time in New York. We all got along well. Although we had some disputes at times, we all believed it was a form of healthy interaction."

"Jack is the greatest star I've ever seen. I'm very grateful that he chose me back then. He taught me so, so much. Without him, we wouldn't have grown so quickly. But now, we're about to become opponents. I'll definitely use what I learned from him to compete against him. I hope I can help Orlando."

Millsap said to the camera.

Su Xi watched these interviews.

He smiled.

'Classy, at least.'

On the second day of All-Star Weekend, Su Xi was busy shooting commercials everywhere.

It wasn't until the third day that he finally made it to the arena.

For Su Xi, he was already a veteran of the All-Star Game.

This year's Eastern Conference All-Stars starting lineup was: Su Xi, Wade, James, David Lee, and Zach Randolph.

The All-Star reserves were: Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Bosh, Gilbert Arenas, Vince Carter, Jermaine O'Neal, Dwight Howard, and Joe Johnson.

Compared to last season, the Pistons players were completely gone.

The players close to Su Xi held an absolute advantage.

So, during the group photo, everyone naturally gave Su Xi the center spot.

The previous backstabbing and scheming were gone. Even James stood quietly to the side.

To avoid getting called out.

After the group photo was taken, during team practice, Shaquille O'Neal specifically sought out Su Xi. "Jack, why are you guys so scared of us? You actually brought back Jerome and traded an elite player for a bust of a second pick."

O'Neal was being a little cocky. His tone was half-serious, half-joking.

This was also the most popular opinion at the moment.

But Su Xi just smiled.

He said, "Shaq, how did you get that delusion? You should know better than I do how many times I've beaten you. Why would I be afraid of someone who's never beaten me? You guys should be the ones who are scared right now, because you can't guess what we're up to."

O'Neal raised his eyebrows. He pretended to be unfazed, but in truth, he really couldn't figure out the Knicks' moves.

That's why he had come to Su Xi to try and get some information out of him.

Su Xi said, "If you want to win a fourth championship, you should get a buyout on your contract and come find me."

This 'devastated' O'Neal. He shook Su Xi by the shoulders. "I'm gonna kill you! I'm gonna kill you!"

O'Neal goofed around for a bit, and then Dwight Howard came over.

He had inherited some of O'Neal's traits, but he clearly didn't have the same status in the league that a young O'Neal had. He still had to speak to Su Xi respectfully.

"Jack, thank you for sending Millsap to us. He's definitely going to be my best partner."

"You're welcome. Didn't you also send us Milicic and a first-round pick?"

"Right, Jack. It's a win-win trade. We'll definitely meet in the Eastern Conference Finals."

"Then you'd better work hard."

Su Xi encouraged Howard.

Then, he went to warm up.

...

That night, Las Vegas was ablaze with lights, packed to the brim with fans who had traveled from far and wide.

Las Vegas had prepared a grand entrance ceremony. Before the players from both teams came out, there were individual performances.

O'Neal even performed a mask dance.

It drew screams from the entire crowd.

But when Su Xi made his entrance, he didn't do a thing. Yet he made the whole arena erupt. That's because the DJ was a huge Su Xi fan.

His introduction for Su Xi was: "Let's welcome the most dominant guard in NBA history, Goat Su Xi!!!!"

Su Xi walked onto the stage, gently folding his arms. His domineering aura was enough to awe the entire arena.

At that moment, the national broadcast camera perfectly cut to Michael Jordan on the sidelines.

Michael Jordan's expression was calm, but inwardly he was cursing.

'How is *he* the most dominant guard in history?'

'And Goat!'

'I'm the Goat!'

'G.O.A.T.!'