Coach Alvin Gentry had already planned to talk about this. Since Curry had brought it up, he naturally took over and began explaining the details of the trade.
"The Nuggets and Knicks are the main part of the trade, though it also involves the Warriors and Timberwolves. For now, I'll focus on the biggest piece, which is the Nuggets-Knicks trade.
"After the trade, the Nuggets receive Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, and the Knicks' 2014 first-round pick.
"The Knicks receive Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter, Renaldo Balkman, and the Nuggets' 2015 second-round pick.
"Add in the smaller deals involving the Warriors and Timberwolves, and this massive 13-player trade ties the record for the largest trade in NBA history.
"At the same time, this trade gives the Knicks both Stoudemire and Anthony, turning them into another major force in the Eastern Conference. Their strength is absolutely not inferior to teams like the Magic or the Celtics."
"Wow."
After hearing that, George's eyes widened, and he clicked his tongue in amazement. "Anthony and Billups were already tough enough to deal with, and now they're adding All-Star starter Stoudemire to the frontcourt.
"The Knicks really got a huge boost.
"In that case, with the Heat leading the way in the East, the Bulls, Magic, Celtics, and Knicks are all really strong teams now."
"Yes."
Alvin Gentry nodded without objection. "So, just like Curry said, after the All-Star break, our first tough opponent isn't the Nuggets.
"It's the Knicks."
"Oh!"
Everyone nodded.
Even though the Suns were now riding a 15-game winning streak, no one had any intention of relaxing, no matter who the opponent was.
And against strong teams, they would take things even more seriously.
...
Although All-Star Weekend had already ended, over the past few days, everyone was still immersed in those exciting games. Some people had even gone back and rewatched the footage.
Among all of them, Blake Su, who had won Rookie Challenge MVP, the Three-Point Contest, the Slam Dunk Contest, and the All-Star Game MVP, while also claiming seven of the All-Star Game Top 10 Plays by himself, had undoubtedly become the center of discussion.
Having almost completed an All-Star Grand Slam, he gained countless new fans over the course of one All-Star Weekend, especially female fans, whose numbers shot up rapidly.
That buzz continued for several days, until the Nuggets, Knicks, Warriors, and Timberwolves completed this massive 13-player trade.
Only after fans realized how much stronger the Knicks had become did everyone's attention gradually return to the regular season.
Of course, the effects caused by Blake Su's outstanding All-Star Weekend performance had already spread.
At noon.
After finishing training, Blake Su was returning to the locker room when his phone chimed with a text notification. He checked it and saw that his bank account had increased by a full 6.2 million dollars.
"Hm?"
Blake Su briefly calculated his salary. This amount should have been the last two months of team salary, plus his Adidas endorsement money and Lexus endorsement fee.
But there was an extra one million dollars.
"Why is there an extra million? An advance on next month's salary? But that would be too little."
Just as Blake Su was feeling puzzled, another message came in.
He opened it and saw that it was from his agent, Austin. After reading it, Blake Su immediately understood everything.
As it turned out, the extra one million dollars was a bonus sent to him by Adidas, Lexus, and the snack shops [Krispy Kreme], [Cool Stone], [Ice Breakers], and [Hershey's].
Together, the bonuses added up to exactly one million dollars.
The reason they had sent Blake Su a bonus was because his outstanding performance during All-Star Weekend had boosted his popularity, creating a chain reaction.
The products he endorsed had seen their revenue surge over the past few days.
While the company bosses made huge profits, they did not forget Blake Su, their spokesperson, and each of them sent him a bonus. Adidas had earned the most and was also the most generous, giving him 500,000 dollars.
Of course, Blake Su had a 35 percent personal cut from Adidas, so he had also earned quite a bit extra from this All-Star Weekend surge. However, personal commissions were usually paid quarterly.
So for the time being, Blake Su had not received that part this month.
That said, these bonuses did not have to be given at all.
But these companies were all smart. By giving Blake Su some extra benefits now, they were hoping to keep him next year.
As long as they could keep Blake Su, they firmly believed that he would generate even greater profits for them.
That was what the company bosses were thinking.
As for Blake Su, whether he would continue working with them next year was still uncertain.
But right now, a real one million dollars was already in his hands.
He had done nothing extra, yet he had received a million-dollar bonus in a single day.
For NBA stars who often signed contracts worth tens of millions, or even over a hundred million, one million dollars might not seem like much.
But if an ordinary office worker suddenly received a free one million dollars, they would be so happy they might lose sleep. They might even be too shocked to accept it.
Blake Su was not someone who aimed unrealistically high. He knew that no matter how much money it was, it was all earned bit by bit.
Receiving a sudden one-million-dollar bonus today naturally put him in an excellent mood.
He checked his current assets as well.
"I have almost 28 million dollars now. Converted into Chinese yuan, that's about 187 million. This money should be enough for me to make some business investments for the time being."
After looking over his assets and making a simple calculation, Blake Su decided that once Yao Ming gave him those contacts, he would gradually start working on some business investments.
...
A million-dollar bonus in one day.
Blake Su stayed in a great mood all day. After sending his mother some extra money, he found an excuse and lent Mia Quinn some more money as well.
That afternoon, Blake Su immersed himself in training.
Tonight, they would host the Jazz. Although the Jazz were not considered a powerhouse, and the Suns had already beaten them both home and away, it was still necessary to stay in peak condition.
Soon, it was 9 p.m.
At US Airways Center, the matchup between the Suns and the Jazz was about to begin.
This was the Suns' first game after All-Star Weekend.
It was also the "debut" of Blake Su after he entered the All-Star Game as the top vote-getter and won Rookie Challenge MVP, the Three-Point Contest, the Slam Dunk Contest, and the All-Star Game MVP one after another.
The hype around this game was extremely high.
"Boom!"
Amid the loud, passionate atmosphere of the home court, the game officially began.
"Jump ball!"
The opening tip was between Blake Su and Al Jefferson.
Since the start of the season, including the All-Star Game, Blake Su had not lost a single jump ball. Tonight was no different.
"Smack!"
He beat Jefferson to the ball, tipped it away, and won the jump ball.
...
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