Su, Would You Be Interested in Joining the Spurs?

Cleveland Cavaliers bench:

"Su, you played incredibly well."

As soon as Su Yi returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers bench, Coach Mike Brown came over with a broad smile, patting him on the shoulder as he praised him.

"But maybe you shouldn't rush into taking a three-pointer on a defensive rebound?"

Coach Mike Brown still offered a gentle reminder. In his view, whether it was a fast break off a defensive stop or a regular fast break, driving to the basket for a layup was always the safest option.

What kind of player took a three-pointer right in the opponent's face, like Su Yi had just done?

Of course, Su Yi disagreed with Coach Mike Brown, but he still nodded.

He silently added, You can say what you want. I'll play my way!

Seeing how obedient Su Yi seemed, Coach Mike Brown felt his sense of accomplishment shoot up.

He hadn't felt this way once in the more than a year since he'd joined the Cleveland Cavaliers.

That was because the team's star, LeBron James, never listened to him.

To put it plainly, Coach Mike Brown was just a puppet.

LeBron James had always been the one truly steering the team.

Then his teammates, including LeBron James, all showered Su Yi with praise.

LeBron James found himself liking Su Yi more and more. It was as if a superstar sidekick had appeared right in front of him.

He believed that with Su Yi's help, he would go further this year—and might even contend for a championship!

After the brief timeout, the San Antonio Spurs brought their starters back in early.

Once their starters returned, the San Antonio Spurs immediately broke their scoring drought and put points on the board.

But with Su Yi stationed outside as a long-range cannon, the Cleveland Cavaliers had plenty of room to operate.

And as Su Yi kept moving without the ball, he drew in the San Antonio Spurs' defense like a magnet.

That created plenty of room for his teammates to shoot.

The Cleveland Cavaliers' reserves began scoring one after another.

For a while, the San Antonio Spurs' starters went toe-to-toe with the Cavaliers' bench players.

By the middle of the quarter, the Cleveland Cavaliers still held a double-digit lead.

"Coach, put me in!"

(Coach, I want to pad my stats.)

Seeing that his team had a commanding lead, LeBron James spoke up at once.

At the King's request, Coach Mike Brown quickly put LeBron James in.

As soon as he entered the game, LeBron James took over the ball and shot whenever he got the chance.

Maybe because the game was going so well, most of LeBron James's shots went in.

The entire final half of the quarter became LeBron James's personal showcase.

LeBron James: I'm padding my stats. And I'm going to keep padding them.

"Beep, beep."

When the final whistle blew, the game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the San Antonio Spurs came to an end.

The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the San Antonio Spurs 102–94, winning by eight points.

LeBron James had been "a god among men." He went 14-for-30 from the field, 1-for-3 from three, and 6-for-11 from the free-throw line, racking up a game-high 35 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, one steal, one block, and four turnovers.

After the game, reporters crowded around LeBron James to interview him.

Su Yi didn't pay it any mind and quietly headed toward the arena tunnel.

But he had barely taken a step when Popovich called out to him. "Su!"

Su Yi: ??

Su Yi looked at Popovich, who had walked over to him, puzzled.

Popovich first congratulated and praised Su Yi. Then he gave him a brief hug and leaned close to his ear. "Su, would you be interested in joining the Spurs?"

At those words, Su Yi froze for a moment. Join the San Antonio Spurs?

Popovich let go of Su Yi. Seeing him still stunned, he patted him on the shoulder. "Give it some thought."

With that, Popovich headed toward the players' tunnel.

As soon as he entered the tunnel, Popovich pulled out his phone and called the team's general manager, telling him to make a trade offer to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After just one game, Popovich was already very impressed by Su Yi's potential.

He had only brought it up with Su Yi in advance.

Whether Su Yi agreed or not, Popovich would bring him over first and sort out the rest later.

When Su Yi finally came to, he didn't know whether to be happy or sad!

Either way, he could accept staying with the Cleveland Cavaliers or going to the San Antonio Spurs.

If he stayed with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he could take LeBron James's place while the opportunity was there.

As for going to the San Antonio Spurs, he could get away from LeBron James and maybe even win a championship with the Spurs. What was there not to like?

But the decision to stay or go wasn't his to make. He was only a rookie who'd played two games.

Cleveland Cavaliers general manager's office:

Chris Grant was a little surprised when he got a call from the San Antonio Spurs' general manager. What came next surprised him even more.

The San Antonio Spurs were offering Beno Udrih and a 2007 first-round draft pick in exchange for Su Yi!

Chris Grant didn't accept right away.

He knew all too well how sharp the San Antonio Spurs were when it came to drafting players.

The Spurs' current Big Three—Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili—had all been picked in the draft.

As the LeBron Stans put it: that was "rookies teaming up."

After ending the call, Chris Grant immediately called a management meeting, and even Mike Brown had to attend.

Once everyone had arrived, Chris Grant laid out what had happened from beginning to end.

As soon as he finished, Coach Mike Brown was the first to speak up. "I'm against it. Su has so much potential. He might be the final piece we need to contend for a championship!"

As soon as Coach Mike Brown finished, another member of management chimed in. "I've watched both of the team's games. Su made a huge difference in both. He was the one who helped the team build its lead each time."

Then everyone began voicing their opinions.

Most of them were against the trade.

So the minority yielded to the majority, and the deal was ultimately rejected!

In other words, Su Yi would stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Su Yi still didn't know about any of this. He just went home and told Xu Rui that he might be traded to the San Antonio Spurs.

Xu Rui's first reaction was, "Then I'd better hurry up and buy a house in San Antonio!"

Su Yi: ￣□￣｜｜

"A Rui, it's only a possibility."

Su Yi quickly explained.

"If it's possible, then there's a chance. I'll look into it first. If the trade goes through, we'll buy a place right away. Then we can move straight in!"

Xu Rui liked to plan ahead!

Seeing that, Su Yi stopped explaining and asked, "Rui, did you find everyone on the list I gave you last time?"

"I found them all. I used the script you gave me and talked to each of them. Before I could say anything else, they all agreed.

"But they said they wanted to meet you. When do you have time to go see them?"

Su Yi's lips curled up slightly when he heard Xu Rui's words. "Maybe next week. I have to fly to Charlotte soon."