Chapter 318: Pre-Draft Preparations
“Boss, aren’t we going to watch the game today?”
Prince knocked on the door and stepped inside.
“Not today.”
Chen Yilun sat at his desk, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, his head buried in paperwork.
“You know the saying—you can tell what someone will be like at three. Watching one game against the Timberwolves is enough. There’s no need to sit through all of them. Those little wolves aren’t going to stir up anything anymore.”
As he spoke, Chen Yilun gestured for Prince to sit.
“Us front-office guys can’t really help much at the arena anyway. We’re better off staying here and doing our jobs properly.”
He slid a document across the desk to Prince.
“You’ve been handling the rookie scouting. With the playoffs in full swing, it’s about time we started our own work. What do you think about this year’s draft class?”
Hearing this, Prince immediately realized Chen Yilun was putting him through another round of evaluation.
After a brief moment of thought, Prince began.
“My view is that we should start from the current roster. On the perimeter, we already have Booker, Rose, Fred VanVleet, and Dejounte Murray coming back next year. We’re covered with veterans, immediate contributors, and high-upside prospects. There’s no real need to reinforce that area.”
“As for center, we brought in Zubac at the trade deadline. There aren’t many spots left for rookies. If we draft another interior player, Zubac would have to be moved.”
“For the remaining picks, I think we should look for upside on the wings. Even though Durant is closely tied to us right now, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent after this season. We have to prepare for the worst.”
“Especially since we traded away Young this year. If Durant leaves as well, our wing depth will take a serious hit. At that point, we’d be relying on Gay or Siakam to step up.”
As Prince spoke, Chen Yilun nodded repeatedly.
“Very good. You didn’t blindly chase ‘potential’ like some front offices do—you based your decisions on the team’s actual situation. But there’s one thing you got wrong.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
Prince asked immediately.
“The guards.”
Chen Yilun tapped the desk lightly with the pen in his hand.
“I’m planning to trade Josh Richardson this summer.”
“What?! Trade the starting point guard again?”
Prince froze, then frowned deeply.
Last year, the team had traded CJ to elevate Josh Richardson, and Prince had assumed that was meant to clear the way for him. He never expected Chen Yilun to consider trading Richardson again after just one season.
“That’s right.”
Chen Yilun took a sip of water and continued.
“Josh Richardson is good—but not good enough. His perimeter scoring, ball movement speed, and ability to organize the offense all fall short. He doesn’t meet my standards for a starting point guard.”
He’s a second-round pick who’s already overperforming—be happy about it instead of nitpicking.
Prince complained silently to himself. Does he think every second-rounder is Jokić? Always so picky.
“And Fred VanVleet—he’s solid too, but his size limits his ceiling. His long-term upside just isn’t great.”
Chen Yilun slowly stood up as he spoke.
“But VanVleet hasn’t fully developed yet, so we wouldn’t get good value trading him now. We’ll wait. If I remember correctly, we have his Early Bird rights this year, right?”
“Yes.”
Prince nodded. “Fred VanVleet and Caruso both joined two years ago. We have Early Bird rights for both.”
“Good.”
Chen Yilun continued.
“Sign both Fred VanVleet and Caruso to long-term deals. Keep VanVleet around five million and Caruso under ten. Pass this on to Divac and let him handle the details.”
“Boss, then who’s our starting point guard next season?”
Prince thought about it for a moment—Murray seemed to be the only option left.
“Dejounte Murray starts next season. He trained for a year and waited another. If we don’t give him something now, we’ll end up pushing him away.”
Chen Yilun flipped through the documents on his desk.
“Whether we win the championship this year or not, there’ll be significant roster changes. Same old rule—we need to clear out some spots to make room for new blood.”
Listening to Chen Yilun calmly lay out his plans, Prince felt as though decades of his basketball experience were being overturned.
Why? Wasn’t the team on the verge of building a dynasty?
Normally, when a team has a real chance at a dynasty, management does everything possible to keep the championship core intact—even handing out overpriced contracts if necessary.
So why was Chen Yilun thinking about a major overhaul at a time like this?
If not for Chen Yilun’s stellar track record, Prince might have seriously wondered if his boss had made a disastrous call.
“It’s normal that you don’t understand yet.”
Seeing the question marks practically floating over Prince’s head, Chen Yilun smiled.
“You’re on the third floor. I’m in the stratosphere. Time will prove that I’m absolutely right.”
He pointed to the documents in Prince’s hands.
“Our draft capital this year is incredible. The Knicks pick is basically locked in, and together with the Nets pick, we’re guaranteed two lottery selections. On top of that, we’ve got the Wizards’ 16th pick to work with. We’re swimming in assets.”
This year was nothing like 2016. Back then, Chen Yilun had held plenty of picks too—but they were all late selections. In his own words, it was like trying to restock inventory with a pocketful of loose change.
This time, every pick was premium. Even the second-rounders were in excellent positions.
“As long as we play our cards right this year…”
Chen Yilun walked over and patted Prince on the shoulder.
“For the next ten years, this league will answer to us.”
Hearing that, Prince’s whole body shuddered.
“Is it really that serious?”
“You have to think long-term,”
Chen Yilun said earnestly.
“I don’t think Durant will stay much longer. On one hand, our young players are developing, and the salary cap won’t be able to handle everyone. On the other hand, Durant came here for glory—and now he’s got it. A small city like ours won’t be able to keep him forever.”
So that’s it!
At that moment, Prince finally understood.
Everything Chen Yilun had done had seemed scattered and disjointed—but viewed from this angle, it all made perfect sense.
This hyena had already begun preparing for Durant’s eventual departure.
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