What a perfect setup.

But Su Xi said, "I’d advise you not to make that bet tonight."

"No confidence?" Barkley taunted.

"It has nothing to do with confidence. If there’s another chance, I’ll let you know ahead of time," Su Xi said.

Barkley quickly pulled out his phone. "Give me your number."

Su Xi gave him the number.

A ringtone sounded from his phone in the locker room, then went silent.

But then, the screen lit up again as three text messages arrived in quick succession.

Su Xi didn’t immediately see the messages that had come in at nearly the same time from Cavaliers owner Gordon Gander, Pacers President Larry Bird, and his agent, Mike O’Connor.

...

Su Xi and Barkley chatted for another ten minutes or so.

The players started to head off the court as the dragon and lion dance troupes and the acrobatics team from Chinatown came on for their rehearsal.

The Rockets and the NBA were taking this "China Derby" very seriously and had prepared a grand halftime show.

The NBA intended to use this game to showcase the massive success of its globalization efforts, especially since it was tapping into the world’s largest potential basketball market.

Su Xi left the court, and just as he was about to enter the players’ tunnel...

A reporter from CCTV ran over, blocking his path with a wide smile. "Su Xi, this is the greatest China Derby in history! The NBA has never had two Chinese star players face off like this. Do you have anything you want to say to Yao Ming?"

Su Xi smiled and said in Chinese, "Yao Ming, sound the air raid sirens. I’m going to launch an air strike on your paint." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Right now, at least fifty or sixty million fans across the country are gathered in front of their TVs, dying to see this incredible matchup. What do you want to say to them?"

Su Xi took the microphone and was about to speak.

The Cavaliers’ team manager hurried over, leaned close to Su Xi’s ear, and whispered, "Jack, you’ve been traded. You can’t do an interview as a Cavaliers player anymore."

Su Xi froze.

The reporter beside him was dumbfounded, too.

The foreign correspondents all had excellent English. They clearly heard the keywords, and combined with Su Xi’s expression, they didn’t need to guess what had just happened.

Su Xi let out a breath. He hadn’t thought the Cavaliers would screw him over right before such an important game, but now that they actually had, he surprisingly felt a sense of relief.

’Just as well.’

’It was for the best. No need to spare anyone’s feelings.’

Su Xi took off his Cavaliers jersey. A Chinese fan nearby started shouting, "Su Xi! Su Xi!"

Su Xi handed the jersey to the fan. "Take good care of it," he said. "This is a collector’s item now."

The fan was ecstatic.

Just then, another Chinese fan nearby asked, "Su Xi, you gave him your jersey. What are you going to wear tonight?"

Su Xi just smiled.

Then, he turned to the camera and said, "To all the fans, just wait a little longer. The *real* China Derby is coming soon."

With that, Su Xi strode toward the players’ tunnel.

The CCTV reporters filmed the entire sequence, their camera lingering on the far end of the tunnel long after Su Xi had disappeared into it.

It was a beautiful shot: Su Xi walking through the somewhat dim tunnel, heading toward the light.

...

"WHAT???"

At the commentary desk, Barkley’s face fell. He was completely blindsided and erupted, "What the hell are the Cavaliers doing? A three-team trade! You pull a three-team trade right now? I had everything all set, and now you’re telling me the game’s off..."

"Are the Hawks insane? Why would they get involved in this?" Kenny Smith was just as confused.

Earl Johnson, sitting beside them, explained, "The Hawks have been having a fire sale lately. They’re going for a full rebuild. The bad contracts they’re stuck with are incredibly difficult to offload. Across the entire league, they’re second only to the Knicks when it comes to bad contracts."

Barkley was still in shock.

About ten minutes later, the broadcast director had the trade details printed out and brought to them.

It was a three-team trade.

The Hawks sent out Stephen Jackson, Alan Hunterson, and a 2004 top-five protected first-round pick.

The Pacers sent out a slew of quality, low-cost players: Anthony Johnson ($810,000 annual salary), James Jones ($370,000), Tinsley ($860,000), Kenny Anderson ($1.07 million), and the team’s best sixth man and high-scorer, Al Harrington. In addition, they traded an unprotected 2004 first-round pick and a 2006 first-round pick.

The Cavaliers sent out Eric Williams and his bad contract ($5.54 million annually), Tony Battie ($4.4 million), and Su Xi, whose contract had been amended.

The Hawks received Al Harrington and Tony Battie’s $4.4 million expiring contract.

The Pacers received Su Xi, Alan Hunterson’s bad contract ($8 million annually), and Eric Williams’s bad contract ($5.54 million).

The Cavaliers received Stephen Jackson, Anthony Johnson, James Jones, Tinsley, Kenny Anderson, and three first-round draft picks.

From the perspective of the trade itself, it was a win-win-win; each team got what it needed.

Although the Hawks gave up a draft pick, they received a super sixth man in his prime, which addressed an urgent need. Plus, they managed to clear a bad contract.

The Cavaliers made out like bandits. They got a defensive stalwart at the three-spot in Stephen Jackson, even though he was in the final year of a minimum contract. They also acquired Tinsley, a rising star at the point guard position, the talented veteran Kenny Anderson, and a whole squad of disciplined, effective role players who had been polished by the Pacers’ system. While they gave up Su Xi, they also cleared away bad contracts and reaped future draft picks. The Hawks’ pick was especially valuable; though it was top-five protected, that would drop to top-three protection in 2005, and just top-one protection in 2006... who’s to say they couldn’t pull off a miracle like the Pistons did this year?

Besides, the price they’d originally paid the Knicks to acquire Su Xi wasn’t high to begin with.

By comparison, the Pacers were making a huge gamble. They absorbed two bad contracts and gave up so many solid players and draft picks, all for the sake of betting on Su Xi.

What if Su Xi doesn’t pan out?

Wouldn’t that mean the Pacers would be left with nothing to show for it?

The trade sent shockwaves through the NBA world.

It was as if a bombshell had been dropped.

And the epicenter of the earthquake was the Cavaliers’ locker room.

...