Tony Battie had arrived in Los Angeles.

The tower-like man was true to his word. He had negotiated a buyout of his contract. With only half a year left on it, the Hawks gave him a token sum of 500,000 USD, which he happily accepted.

He then sought out Larry Bird.

Indiana wasn’t short on power forwards, but out of respect for Tony Battie’s loyalty, Larry Bird gave him a one-year, 1.2-million-USD contract.

All in all, Tony Battie still took a loss of over a million dollars. His original salary for this final year was 4.4 million. Having already been paid for a few months, he had two or three million remaining. Now, all told, he was only getting 1.7 million. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

But Tony Battie was happy.

He just couldn’t stand James. He was determined to join Su Xi, win a championship with him, and then taunt Cleveland’s Little King: ’You can stay in that godforsaken backwater and go fuck yourself.’

Tony Battie made no secret of his hatred for the Cavaliers and James.

Su Xi, on the other hand, hadn’t said a word since leaving the Cavaliers. He offered no comment on James, the trade, or Cleveland, speaking only about the future and the Indiana Pacers’ prospects.

After their victorious first game against the Clippers, Coach Carlisle had been constantly emphasizing to Su Xi, "You need to shoot more, score more. We brought you here to be the leader. You need to be more selfish."

It was rare for a head coach to urge a Point Guard to play that way, but Su Xi was simply playing far too selflessly.

It got to the point where Carlisle worried that no one would step up when it came to the tough games.

So, they needed to prepare in advance.

The Pacers lacked a strong go-to scorer. While the team was brimming with talent, someone who could take the ball and create a shot out of nothing... they didn’t have anyone like that.

Carlisle was very worried about this. Their core inside presence, Little O’Neal, was very skilled, excellent both facing the basket and with his back to it. But he lacked that killer instinct in tough games. He was the kind of superstar who could add icing to the cake, but he wasn’t the one to deliver in the clutch.

Their perimeter core, Ron Artest, was a defensive beast, but as for offense... that wasn’t something he could master just by changing his jersey from number 15 to 23. He had a lot of offensive moves, but they weren’t very efficient. Strictly speaking, he had been promoted to the role of primary perimeter scorer out of necessity.

Besides those two, they had no other players who could create off the dribble. They used to have the inconsistent Al Harrington, but he’d already been traded.

This was a common problem for defense-oriented teams. The Detroit Pistons were the same, except they had Billups at the point guard position, and Billups was a deadly-accurate shooter in clutch moments.

Carlisle hoped Su Xi would become Indiana’s Billups.

When Coach Carlisle said this name with such gravity, Su Xi’s brow involuntarily furrowed. ’Huh?’

At this point, Su Xi’s Talents were already exceptional in many areas:

Super Explosiveness Talent: 98.

Super Speed Talent: 97.

Super Strength Talent: 95.

Super Coordination Talent: 88.

Super Flexibility Talent: 100.

Jumping Talent: 77.

Agility Talent: 79.

Stamina Talent: 76. (Recovery rate is ridiculously fast.)

In terms of skills, Su Xi now possessed the Super Entangling Defense Talent. Additionally, with his Super Coordination Talent reaching 88, his finishing ability at the rim had become much stronger; after all, his explosiveness, speed, and strength were enough to get him to any spot on the court.

But when it came to shooting off the dribble, Su Xi was lacking. He had never really played that way, and if he were to try, his efficiency might not even be as high as Artest’s.

Therefore, Su Xi was now desperate to win the championship and then receive the Super Sense of Distance Talent from Bird.

That would vastly enhance Su Xi’s offensive firepower.

...

Before the game against the Lakers began, Carl Malone, who had started a feud with Su Xi during their last encounter, was running his mouth again. He couldn’t play as he was still recovering from an injury, but that didn’t stop him from talking trash.

"The Pacers acquired a disaster. That kid can’t possibly replace what Kenny Anderson and Tinsley do. Larry Bird always liked to take the unconventional route, even back when he was a player." Carl Malone made no effort to hide his animosity toward Su Xi.

He was the same way when he kicked Magic Johnson while he was down.

This was why his reputation among the superstars of the nineties was in tatters.

"They won’t even make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. The championship? Dream on!" Carl Malone declared emphatically. "I’d bet my career on it—they will absolutely not win the championship. Fundamentally, they are not a championship team. They can’t even pick a single player to take the last shot in a clutch situation. They only look strong on the surface."

Malone’s take was actually in line with the mainstream media’s opinion.

The mainstream media still believed that a team needed a superstar to win a championship.

In all the years past, which championship team didn’t have an all-time great superstar? The Lakers had O’Neal, the San Antonio Spurs had Duncan. Going further back, the Bulls had Jordan, the Rockets had Olajuwon, the Lakers had Magic, and while Detroit was known as the Bad Boys Legion, Isaiah Thomas is the definitive number-two Point Guard in history. And before them, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson...

Did the Pacers have a player of that caliber?

They did not.

Furthermore, most people felt that Bird pinning all his hopes on Su Xi was overly optimistic. After all, Su Xi was only a rookie—what if he hit the rookie wall?

Therefore, a Lakers championship seemed inevitable. This season, they even had four superstars on their roster.

Most of the mainstream media was down on the Pacers, with some respected experts even saying the Pacers lost the trade. While the Cavaliers had been rash and, on an emotional level, had done Su Xi dirty, they had made out like bandits.

...

O’Neal had been absent the last time they played the Lakers.

This time, aside from Carl Malone, all of the Lakers’ core players were present.

Lakers fans were also crying for blood before the game, treating it as a preview of this season’s Finals.

Before the game, Ron Artest said to Su Xi, "You’d better attack more tonight. Don’t make me think you’re some coward who’s afraid to shoot."

His tone was harsh.

But as he spoke, he reached out to put a hand on Su Xi’s shoulder and subconsciously lowered his head slightly.

His expression was cold and arrogant.

Su Xi reached out, but once again refrained from patting the back of his head. "I’ll definitely score more than you tonight."

"Hmph. You’d better."

Artest walked away with a faint look of disappointment.

Although Artest was as strong as James, their personalities were polar opposites. Artest had no idea how to win people over; he’d never said a kind word to Su Xi. And yet, from the moment they first met, Su Xi had felt a natural rapport with him. On the court, their defensive chemistry was incredible.

It was like his left hand coordinating with his right.

However, just as Artest turned to leave, he ran into Tony Battie.

Tony Battie was the newcomer. Seeing Artest’s poor attitude, he reminded him, "Be more respectful to Jack. He already beat you before he even got here."

Huh?

Artest had a short fuse. He immediately gave Tony Battie a shove, but Battie didn’t budge.

Battie was a tough guy with a solid base, and he was a good deal heavier than Artest.

Artest turned and walked away.

His therapist had told him to learn to control his temper, that he shouldn’t always meet force with force. Fighting violence with violence was unnecessary.

He followed his doctor’s advice.

He had a history of mental health issues.