Chapter 322: One Thing Leads to Another
“Who?!”
Chen Yilun stared at Grunfeld with his eyes wide open.
“Sean Marks?!”
“Yes, him.”
Grunfeld nodded, clearly puzzled by Chen Yilun’s intense reaction.
Sean Marks.
This name was hardly unfamiliar to domestic fans, especially Nets supporters. In 2016, Marks took over the Nets from Billy King, inheriting a franchise that had been reduced to complete ruins.
Through one calculated trade after another, he slowly dragged the Nets out of the mud. Even this year, the team was still paying off the debts left behind from the Billy King era. Yet thanks to Marks’ maneuvering, the roster now featured Joe Harris, Spencer Dinwiddie brought in from Detroit, and Jeremy Lin signed on a minimum contract.
Under Marks’ operations, the Nets gradually reined in their bloated salary cap while piecing together a respectable, blue-collar lineup.
What truly made Marks one of the hottest General Managers in the league, however, would come later—when he used the assets he had stockpiled to gamble big on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, then traded with the Rockets for James Harden to assemble that super Nets team.
That version of the Nets ultimately became an unfulfilled dream etched into the hearts of countless fans.
But now, because of his own butterfly effect, Marks was preparing to leave for the Wizards before even finishing the rebuild?
On second thought, it actually made sense.
In just three years, Marks had already demonstrated exceptional rebuilding ability. For a Wizards team with no hope of contending, bringing him in to work his magic again was hardly unreasonable.
“Sean, huh…”
Chen Yilun murmured, sinking into thought as he listened to Grunfeld.
“So the Nets aren’t going to stop him?”
“The Nets can barely take care of themselves right now,”
Grunfeld replied.
“They don’t have the energy to worry about Sean.”
The Nets were in the middle of a major ownership transition. Mr. Tsai had already acquired 49% of the team and was negotiating to purchase the remaining 51% along with the entire Barclays Center in 2019.
At a time like this, the Nets’ management—originally assembled under former owner Prokhorov—quickly fell apart, with everyone scrambling to find their own way out.
“I see…”
Chen Yilun rubbed his chin and muttered to himself.
If that was the case, no wonder Mr. Tsai had been pestering him lately.
Previously, Chen Yilun had assumed Mr. Tsai didn’t trust the current Nets management and wanted to rely on him to build an entirely new front office. Now it seemed that Mr. Tsai had already known Marks was planning to leave, which explained why he had been so eager to contact him.
Everything had a reason behind it.
In that instant, Chen Yilun felt as if everything suddenly connected—once one piece fell into place, the rest followed naturally.
By trading DeMarcus Cousins, he had essentially sealed Grunfeld’s fate. Once Grunfeld was on the way out, the Wizards urgently needed a General Manager with rebuilding expertise. That led them to poach Sean Marks, which in turn left a vacuum in the Nets’ front office. And that was why Mr. Tsai had been so anxious to seek him out to help form a new team.
The loop was complete.
“I understand now.”
After piecing it all together, Chen Yilun’s gaze toward Grunfeld subtly changed.
Before, his interest in bringing Grunfeld over had merely been to fill the gap left by Blackstone’s departure. But now, Chen Yilun saw Grunfeld in a completely different light.
He had been struggling with how to truly get a grip on the Nets. With Grunfeld in the picture, his chances suddenly seemed much higher.
“Then it’s settled,”
Chen Yilun said with a nod.
“Go back to Washington first. I’ll wait for your news. The moment you resign, I’ll sign you immediately.”
“That would be best.”
Seeing that the discussion had wrapped up, Grunfeld stood and prepared to leave.
“Oh, one more thing,”
Grunfeld said, pausing at the door as if something had just occurred to him.
“The Wizards gave DeMarcus Cousins a verbal promise before, saying they’d offer him at least a near-max extension this offseason. But that’s definitely not going to happen. Cousins will probably make a scene when the time comes.”
“Alright,”
Chen Yilun nodded.
“I’ll keep an eye on it. If you’re still with the Wizards at that point, remember to let me know right away.”
No sooner had Grunfeld left than Prince slipped into Chen Yilun’s office.
“So, boss, what was Ernie here for?”
“Him?”
Chen Yilun chuckled.
“He’ll be your colleague soon enough.”
“Huh?!”
Prince’s mouth dropped open wide enough to swallow an egg.
“Ernie Grunfeld is coming to work for us? Boss, you’re not messing with me, right?”
“Why would I joke about something like that?”
Chen Yilun said as he sat back down at his desk.
“At most two months. He’ll be our assistant General Manager.”
“Holy hell! Boss, you really are something!”
Prince plopped down across from him.
“Ernie—one of the league’s legit old-school GMs—and you actually landed him?”
“Shh.”
Chen Yilun raised a finger, signaling him to lower his voice.
“He doesn’t know about our situation yet. Once he’s officially on board, have your people observe Ernie closely. When necessary, quietly leak him some information.
“If Ernie really joins us, that’ll be like adding wings to a tiger.”
“Understood!”
Prince nodded vigorously.
“I’ll let them know.”
“Oh, right,”
Prince suddenly remembered something.
“Latest rumor—Mr. Tsai is supposedly coming to watch the next playoff series.”
“Hm?”
Chen Yilun frowned.
“How do you know something even I don’t?”
“Mr. Tsai didn’t tell you,”
Prince said in a lowered voice.
“He went straight to Ranadivé. Supposedly, Ranadivé has already arranged a VIP box. You’ll need to be there too.”
After hearing that, Chen Yilun felt his head start to ache.
Mr. Tsai and Ranadivé had never had any real interaction. Because of him, their relationship—by all logic—shouldn’t have been good at all. So why were they suddenly watching a game together?
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