Ricky Davis, who averaged over 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, was gone. As the Cavaliers’ former leader, he departed without a hint of sentiment.

A dying man’s words are often true.

Davis’s parting words plunged Su Xi into silence; he had to seriously consider the issue. In truth, this question had been on Su Xi’s mind ever since the trade between the Cavaliers and the Knicks. It was just that his main goal at the time had been to improve his talent fusion. Now, his explosiveness and strength had entered superhuman levels, his flexibility had reached Peak Perfection, and he had even acquired superhuman talents for speed and coordination.

Su Xi had no choice but to consider a very serious question: ’It’s time to go for a championship. It’s time to meet Nike’s demanding contract terms.’

His primary objective had shifted.

Su Xi looked up. James was watching him, his eyes filled with confusion. He wanted a smile from Su Xi, some form of clarification.

He hoped Su Xi would reassure him: "LeBron, don’t listen to Ricky Davis. I’ll be your Pippen."

But Su Xi said nothing.

After a long moment of thought, Su Xi walked to the side and began practicing his three-point shot.

A thought then surfaced in James’s mind, the very same one he’d had during his first clash with Ricky Davis: ’Isn’t he supposed to be my supporting player?’

James now knew exactly how Davis had felt.

SWISH!

SWISH!

SWISH!

With Boozer passing him the ball, Su Xi drained three consecutive three-pointers. Both Carlos Boozer and Jason Kapono praised him.

"Jack, I never knew you were such a shooter," Kapono said with a supportive laugh.

Of course, it was just a joke. Su Xi was still a long way from being a true shooter.

Still, it showed just how popular Su Xi was with the Cavaliers. He, Carlos Boozer, and Jason Kapono were thick as thieves. JR Bremer, Kevin Ollie, and Diop were also close with him.

James, by contrast, seemed somewhat isolated.

He had once thought he’d neglected to build relationships with his teammates because he was too close to Su Xi. But then he realized... they just genuinely liked hanging out with Su Xi.

James made a pessimistic discovery: he had less and less control over Su Xi, and he was growing more and more... jealous of him.

Su Xi always seemed to one-up him in some way: locker room popularity, commercial endorsements, appeal to the opposite sex. Now, he even had the better ’story.’ The New York Media endlessly hyped him up, hailing him as a shining example of the American Dream. As more fans learned his legendary backstory, his step-by-step climb to the top made him seem utterly captivating.

HUFF!

LeBron let out a long, heavy sigh.

Just then, Head Coach Paul Silas gathered the team. He announced the Ricky Davis trade to the players and staff.

The Cavaliers were sending Ricky Davis, Shandon Anderson, Michael Stewart, and a second-round pick to the Boston Celtics for Eric Williams, Tony Battie, and Cedric Brown.

The whole point of the trade was to dump the bad contracts of Ricky Davis and Shandon Anderson; the Cavaliers got very little in return. Brown was a benchwarmer who rarely played. Eric Williams was a small forward, but his contract was up at the end of the season, and with James on the roster, the Cavaliers had no intention of re-signing him.

As for Tony Battie... he was unremarkable. His only real asset was a solid lower body, which allowed him to body up against most centers of the era. Beyond that, anything he could do, Boozer could do, and do much better.

Later, Stephen Silas pulled Su Xi aside for a chat. "This is good news for you," he said. "With Ricky Davis gone, you’ll be running most of his plays. The only thing you need to focus on now is improving your conditioning so you can stay on the court for longer stretches."

Su Xi nodded. ’I’ll just take it one step at a time,’ he thought.

Still, seeing Ricky Davis traded away so unceremoniously was a shock. It was a harsh reminder that this was a business. If you weren’t at the very top, you were just a commodity. Even a 20-5-5 star like Ricky Davis could be cast aside at a moment’s notice.

’A man has to control his own destiny.’

...

Su Xi was met with a roar of applause at Madison Square Garden Arena. When he was introduced, the cheers were even louder than for Knicks star Allan Houston.

Madison Square Garden Arena had been the home court for Syracuse University during the national tournament, so the New York crowd treated Su Xi as one of their own.

Amid the cheers, Su Xi waved to the crowd. Then he spotted McNamara, Hakeem, and Josh Peis. They were waving back at him, their faces full of excitement.

Six months ago, they had been fighting side-by-side on the court. Now, Su Xi was the starting point guard for the Cavaliers. In just half a year, his fame had skyrocketed. He’d become a red-hot rising star, signed a massive contract with Nike, and had his own soda commercial on TV. There were even rumors about him and Hollywood starlets... He was constantly in the news. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Su Xi walked over, just like in the old days, and high-fived them.

But there was a palpable, unspoken distance between them now. It was especially obvious when Josh Peis excitedly grabbed Su Xi’s hand and yelled, "Jack! Jack! See? I told everyone we were best friends!"