Chapter 47: Guest Commentator

After hanging up the phone, Bird still felt a bit dissatisfied. He sat in his chair, deep in thought for a long time before picking up the phone again. This time, however, he dialed Mark’s number.

Bird planned to reach out to Xinghui He first, to gauge his attitude. If He was enthusiastic about coming to Indiana, Bird would be willing to pay a higher price. Moreover, if He showed a desire to leave the Clippers, it would make Bird’s maneuvering much easier.

Soon, Bird got He’s number from Mark.

“He, are you interested in coming to Indiana and starting a new era?” Bird got straight to the point, pitching the idea of starting an era together—something that would make most players leap with excitement.

“Haha, Larry, are you trying to lure me over so we can trade trash talk face to face? That does sound interesting,” He replied.

“Haha, that’s not a bad suggestion. If you come to the Pacers, we can swap notes on trash talk as often as you like,” Bird laughed.

He’s attitude gave Bird reason to hope.

“The Pacers are good, but Los Angeles is nice too. Personally, I don’t mind either way. If you can trade for me from the Clippers, I’d be happy to join you. If the Clippers aren’t willing to let me go, I’m just as happy to stay,” He said.

In truth, He preferred to stay in Los Angeles—after all, Hollywood was there, with all its beautiful actresses. Still, aside from a few teams in smaller cities, he had no objection to joining other teams. He figured the Clippers wouldn’t be foolish enough to trade him away, but if they were, then perhaps it would be a blessing in disguise.

So He had no intention of forcing the issue. Letting things take their natural course was best for him.

“That’s all I needed to hear. We’ll do our utmost to make this trade happen,” Bird responded. He was a smart man and understood exactly what He meant. He respected the decision—intelligent players never burn bridges with their teams. Since He wasn’t opposed to joining the Pacers, Bird now had all the justification he needed to pursue the trade.

December 25th—America’s own version of the Spring Festival.

The NBA featured its Christmas Day games, but the Clippers weren’t involved. Only the most watched teams earned the right to play on that stage.

That year’s Christmas matchups were the Spurs versus the Pistons, and the Lakers versus the Heat. The Spurs and Pistons was a rematch of last season’s Finals, while the Lakers versus the Heat was the saga of Kobe and Shaq’s love-hate rivalry. The latter, naturally, drew more attention.

He had nothing to do that day, but he was never one to stay idle. On a whim, he volunteered to TNT, hoping to serve as a guest commentator.

TNT was more than happy to oblige. He was still a sizzling topic, and his guest appearance was sure to draw in viewers.

At TNT headquarters, in the studio—

“Hello, basketball fans! Today we have a special guest at our commentary table. Please welcome our very own wunderkind, He!” The broadcast had begun even before the game, and Smith introduced He Xinghui to the audience.

He walked up with a smile and took a seat between Barkley and Smith.

“He, welcome to TNT as our guest. But tell me, why did you want to do commentary? Planning on joining us after you retire?” Smith started the banter.

“Not at all. Mainly, there’s a certain ringless big guy who once said no one would offer me a multimillion-dollar endorsement. Now that I’ve signed a big contract, I wanted to come flaunt it in his face,” He replied.

Smith burst out laughing. In that one sentence, He had poked fun at Barkley on two fronts.

“First of all, when I said that, you hadn’t shown your superhuman skills yet. Second, my comment had nothing to do with not having a championship. So stop bringing up the championship thing,” Barkley retorted.

“All right, Charles ‘No-Championship’ Barkley. I won’t mention championships anymore,” He teased, continuing to needle Barkley—his main job was to spar with him on air.

“Ninety-five million is a lot, I’ll admit. Makes me want to come out of retirement,” Barkley said, trying to change the subject.

“Charles, that’s wishful thinking. With your current physique, what team would want you?” Smith chimed in.

“No, actually, I think Charles could come back—and maybe even win a championship,” He said.

Oh? Barkley was caught off guard.

“I heard the Sparks in the WNBA are still looking for a power forward. Charles should give it a shot,” He continued, sending Smith into another fit of laughter.

He pictured Barkley in women’s athletic gear, playing basketball among women—a truly eye-watering sight.

“Haha, He’s a savage.”

“Sir Barkley for the Sparks!”

“I just pictured it, and now I’m afraid to close my eyes,”

The audience was delighted by Barkley’s roasting.

“Stop, let’s drop this topic. Too boring,” Barkley protested.

But He and Smith had temporarily formed an alliance and ignored him. “Kenny, let’s speculate—if Charles joined the Sparks, what kind of stat line would he put up?” He asked.

Smith played along: “I think he could average 20 and 10—a double-double.”

“I disagree. I think Charles could average a triple-double,” He said.

“A triple-double is tough—assists aren’t Charles’s strong suit,” Smith replied.

“No, I’m not talking assists. I mean sexual harassment. I can see him averaging 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 incidents of sexual harassment per game,” He grinned.

Smith nearly squealed with laughter.

“You guys carry on. I’m out,” Barkley pretended to leave.

“OK, we’ll drop the WNBA talk. The game’s about to start—let’s look forward to this clash between two championship contenders. It’s bound to be a great matchup,” He said, pulling Barkley back while still mentioning the championship—his fourth time in just a few minutes.

Of course, Barkley wasn’t really going to leave; it was all for the show. If he had the nerve to kiss a donkey’s backside on live television, a little roasting wouldn’t faze him.

While the banter continued, the players had already begun to take the court. As commentators, it was their job to introduce the lineups to the fans.

Meanwhile, in the TNT control room, the staff monitoring live viewership erupted in surprise. “Since He joined the broadcast, our ratings have jumped three points—and they’re still climbing.”

That was no small feat, considering how many networks were airing the game.

“That mouth of his is something else. I just watched him roast Charles and couldn’t help but laugh. No wonder the fans love him. When he retires, we have to sign him,” said the manager.

“Boss, this is only He’s first season. If he stays healthy, he could play another fifteen years. Who knows if we’ll even still be at TNT by then,” the assistant joked—thinking so far ahead was a bit much.