Chapter 624: [The Draft]

The entertainment media widely believed Jessica Alba had won the competition. On television, they sang her praises, hailing it as “a victory for first love.”

It was also a victory for the United States.

Keeping Su Xi’s love in the United States had become a consensus among American women!

They couldn’t let Su Xi play the field only to abandon them and marry a wife from China in the end.

The frenzy from entertainment channels and gossip fans spread across the internet. Su Xi could find photoshopped wedding pictures of himself and Jessica Alba almost every day he browsed online. ‘Their Photoshop skills are getting more and more advanced.’

These tiresome media outlets even went to ask Scarlett for her opinion on the matter.

Scarlett Johansson said, “Blessings. I wish them well.”

Johnson and Jessica had long since buried the hatchet. In fact, they coordinated very well together; they could always send Su Xi into a state of ecstasy.

Although they were rivals in Hollywood, the media loved to paint them as adversaries.

But now, they were inseparable in private, frequently exchanging notes.

Scarlett’s blessing only intensified the media’s frenzy.

However, this greatly frustrated those who had originally supported Scarlett, with Kevin Durant being the prime example.

Durant told the media, “It’s not fair. I respect everything Goat Su Xi has done on the court, but I think his performance in his love life is a total mess. His choice is frustrating. I think Johnson is the most suitable woman in the world for him. Why would he choose Jessica? I don’t get it!”

“If the Knicks draft me, I’m going to have to set him straight in person.”

Durant was the only man in this whole affair who managed to connect basketball with entertainment.

He was truly something else.

He even excitedly planned to try out for the Knicks, but Isaiah Thomas stated coldly and bluntly, “We have no such plans.”

“Furthermore, we have no plans to hold a tryout for Greg Oden either.”

Isaiah Thomas was playing hard to get, rejecting the two best prospects in this year’s draft class.

Then, he gave Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue a chance.

The fame of these two had skyrocketed after they were pictured at Su Xi’s dinner table.

When Isaiah Thomas invited them for a workout, their draft stock rose even higher.

Moreover, Su Xi also gave an interview where he discussed his thoughts on the two of them.

“Without a doubt, they’re two of the best players in Asia. They are highly competitive, they are champions, and they’ve beaten the Dream Team. I’m sure the American basketball world is no stranger to them.”

“Yi is a power forward with outstanding athleticism. He has a very soft touch, and his release is getting quicker and quicker. He could be the number two or number three option on a top-tier team. I’m not worried at all about his future in the NBA. As the league puts more and more value on floor-spacing bigs, a player with his combination of strength, speed, explosiveness, and touch is bound to thrive.”

“Sun is also outstanding. You rarely see that kind of coordination in a guard who’s over two meters tall. While he’s still a bit thin, I’m confident he can put on the necessary muscle. Plus, you have to remember he’s a Point Guard, and his defensive potential is excellent. He’s worthy of a first-round pick.”

Su Xi praised them to the heavens.

Then, a reporter asked him, “Will you guys draft them? You have four draft picks this year.”

“If the opportunity presents itself, we’d be willing to.”

“What’s your take on people saying you have a great eye for talent, but your taste in women is just average?”

“No comment.”

Su Xi hadn’t expected even this interview to touch on his love life.

After the interview, he decided he would lay low and stay out of the media spotlight for a while.

…

The 2007 NBA Draft was once again held at Madison Square Garden Arena.

This year’s draft was more buzzworthy than usual. It was a deep draft class, and many believed that a number of surprising, major trades would go down on draft night.

Su Xi slipped into the venue through a secret entrance at four in the afternoon. He didn’t want to make a spectacle of himself. With his current status and fame, if he so much as appeared before any prospect that night, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “You’ve got a great game,” that player’s stock would miraculously skyrocket.

The drafting abilities of Su Xi and Isaiah Thomas had been mythologized.

Su Xi was lounging in the Knicks’ draft war room, his eyes fixed on several scouting reports.

Tonight, the Knicks would have five chances to make a move.

The SuperSonics decided to trade the third overall pick, plus the fifth pick they were about to acquire from the Celtics, to the Knicks in exchange for the second overall pick.

It was a remarkable trade proposal.

In previous years, a direct swap of the second and third picks would have been considered normal.

But this year, the top two prospects were in a tier of their own, far ahead of the rest.

Just like Duncan in ’97, O’Neal in ’92, and LeBron James in ’03.

They were sure things.

The SuperSonics told Isaiah Thomas, “No matter who the Hawks select, you draft whichever one is left. Then, we’ll execute the trade.”

Thomas, of course, agreed.

But now, the Knicks hadn’t yet decided what they were going to do.

Because they were now holding the third, fifth, seventeenth, thirty-second, and thirty-seventh picks.

Five draft picks.

The Knicks had never been so wealthy.

Since the Knicks’ team-building strategy was to avoid uniting superstars, they had already turned down trades for both Garnett and Ray Allen. Meanwhile, the landscape of the league was becoming very strange, with many teams openly assembling superteams.