Chapter 342: Cracks in the Wall (2)
No sooner had Smith finished speaking than alarm bells started blaring in O’Connor’s head.
He had thought today’s meeting was only about deciding Lindsey’s fate. How had the fire suddenly spread to him as well?
Seeing that Smith didn’t look like he was speaking casually, O’Connor hurriedly spoke up.
“Boss, this really isn’t that simple. Lindsey has worked with the team for many years. While his performance over the past two seasons hasn’t been particularly impressive, he hasn’t made any major mistakes either. Firing him now would destabilize the organization.”
O’Connor wasn’t talking out of thin air.
Lindsey had served as general manager for a full six years, with O’Connor backing him from above. His roots within the team ran deep.
“Hmph! This is an era of fierce competition. No achievements is the same as failure!”
Smith snorted coldly, letting out a heavy breath through his nose.
For a team, whether it’s going all-in during a championship window or bottoming out to rebuild, both are valid paths.
But a team like the Jazz—stuck in the middle year after year, occasionally making the playoffs only to exit in the first round—
not only fails to secure high draft picks to replenish talent,
as a small-market team, the Jazz also struggle to attract star free agents.
Under Lindsey’s leadership, the team’s recent results might look acceptable on the surface, but in reality, it was nothing more than a slow death.
After Hayward’s departure, Smith’s patience with Lindsey had reached its limit. He was ready to replace him and bring some fresh energy to the franchise.
“Mr. Smith!”
Seeing that Smith was still fuming,
O’Connor, despite his fear, pressed on for the sake of his ally.
“Firing Lindsey isn’t difficult, but who takes over afterward? The league’s front-office talent pool is thin right now. Even those currently without jobs—I don’t think their ability surpasses Lindsey’s.”
“Boss, O’Connor isn’t wrong. Lindsey’s situation needs careful consideration.”
An unexpected voice suddenly spoke up.
O’Connor looked over in surprise. The speaker was his direct superior, the Jazz’s current President of Basketball Operations, Steve Starks.
Over the past two years, O’Connor and Starks had been locked in both open and subtle power struggles. Logically speaking, if Smith wanted to fire O’Connor’s subordinate, Starks should have been applauding. Instead, he was stepping in to defend Lindsey.
Hearing Starks’s words, Smith hesitated for a moment.
“There’s no suitable candidate right now—can’t we poach someone from another team? Isn’t that Sacramento hyena best at this sort of thing? Why can’t we do the same?”
Coach Quin Snyder, who had been quietly fiddling with his fingernails, stiffened slightly.
He had attended today’s meeting purely in his role as head coach. As an academic-style coach, Snyder rarely involved himself in front-office discussions.
In Snyder’s mind, even if Lindsey were removed, Smith would simply appoint one of his own people as the next general manager. That was why he hadn’t paid much attention to the meeting’s outcome.
But Smith’s words suddenly jolted him awake.
It seemed he might actually have a chance to push Lindsey out and install his own person.
“Ahem.”
Seeing no one else speak, Snyder thought for a moment before opening his mouth.
“If we really plan on poaching someone, I might be able to help.”
The moment Snyder finished speaking, Smith’s eyes lit up.
“Quin, do you have connections?”
In Smith’s eyes, Quin Snyder had always been the ideal head coach.
He didn’t get involved in factional infighting, didn’t complain about personnel, and worked with whoever he was given—while still delivering results year after year.
Smith had long considered Snyder one of his own.
“I can reach out to some former colleagues. I heard Sacramento’s been quite active with personnel changes lately. I can try to see if we can poach someone from there.”
“Well, that would be perfect!”
Before Snyder could even finish, Smith immediately agreed.
“We may not be able to poach Chen Yilun himself, but the people under him have been influenced by him for years. They must have learned something real. If we can bring someone over from Sacramento, it’s absolutely feasible!”
As he spoke, Smith turned toward Starks.
“What do you think?”
Starks thought carefully before answering.
“If we’re poaching from Sacramento, aside from their original general manager, Divac, I don’t think the others quite measure up.”
He began counting on his fingers as he spoke.
“Peja was only Chen Yilun’s assistant. Even if he learned something, he doesn’t have results to back it up—too risky. The rest are out of the question. Prince only joined this year.”
Starks then looked at Smith.
“But that brings us to another problem.”
“Divac is a Kings legend and one of Chen Yilun’s earliest core members. Same position, similar salary—do you really think we can pry him away?”
Thanks to the Kings’ dominance over the past two seasons, Divac’s reputation within the league had steadily improved. He had already reached the point of being coveted by other teams.
“Vlade, huh?”
Snyder said, deliberately sounding conflicted.
“He’s Chen Yilun’s right-hand man now. It’ll be hard to get him. I can try, but the odds won’t be high.”
“Just do your best,”
Smith sighed. “There’s no other choice.”
Front-office executives—especially elite ones like Pat Riley, Danny Ainge, Buford, and Chen Yilun—
team owners weren’t fools.
A superstar player might only dominate for a limited number of years. But a truly elite general manager could provide stability and success for decades.
Even back when Michael Jordan was at his peak, the Bulls’ owner still refused to fire their general manager, Jerry Krause.
“If we want to poach people from Sacramento,”
Snyder, seeing the situation gradually moving in his favor, added fuel to the fire,
“then we’d better move quickly. From what I know, quite a few teams are already eyeing Sacramento.”
Smith exchanged a glance with Starks, then spoke.
“Then let’s move fast. Quin, if I remember correctly, Chen Yilun is your junior, right? You handle the contact with Sacramento. Get it done as soon as possible.”
“Alright. I’ll make the call shortly.”
After the meeting ended, Snyder walked back to his office alone. After taking a deep breath, he dialed a number.
“Hello? Yilun—
we’re moving the timetable up.”
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