Chapter 353: Each to Their Own (1)
“Heard the news?”
In a café on the streets of Sacramento, Finch lifted his coffee, took a sip, and spoke.
“Old buddy Monty is heading to Washington to be a head coach.”
“Of course. It’s been all over the grapevine lately.”
Ham, sitting across from Finch, chuckled.
“What, are you jealous of the lead assistant spot?”
Among the Kings’ current assistant coaching staff, aside from Coach Chip, Finch had been with the team the longest.
“What’s so great about being a lead assistant?”
Finch smiled faintly.
“If I’m going to do it, I’ll do it as a head coach. What’s the fun in being a sidekick every day?”
“You’ve got quite the ambition, kid.”
Ham was genuinely surprised.
In terms of seniority, even he—a gold-medal assistant coach—had never thought about taking Malone’s top assistant position. And this youngster, only a few years into the league, was already thinking about becoming a head coach?
“Personally, I wouldn’t recommend going after a head coaching job right now.”
After some thought, Ham offered his advice.
“Other than being Malone’s assistant, you don’t really have any hard results to show yet. Don’t let the glitter of the outside world blind you.”
Ham gave Finch a meaningful look.
“I don’t know whether any teams have really reached out to you, but take my advice—this isn’t the time to act rashly.”
“If those owners are skipping over proven head coaches to come after you, they’re definitely up to something.”
Only then did Ham explain more slowly.
“Either they want you to take the blame for a mess, or they’re eyeing your Kings background and planning to bring you in as a mascot.”
As one of the league’s most respected assistant coaches, Ham had actually had plenty of chances to take over a team.
But he knew himself well—he simply wasn’t cut out to be a head coach.
His tactical ideas often had bright spots, but being a head coach was about far more than that.
Managing minutes, balancing player stamina, and setting up tactics for specific moments—
all of these were things a head coach had to handle, and Ham wasn’t particularly strong in those areas.
In the original timeline, Ham had been forced into the Lakers’ head coaching role. To put it bluntly, he was made the scapegoat for the team’s failed management at the time.
After leaving the Lakers, he immediately returned to his old role as an assistant coach.
Listening to Ham, the restlessness in Finch’s heart gradually settled.
“Take another two years to really settle in,”
Ham said reassuringly.
“From what I’ve seen, you’ve got real substance. Learn from those big names, and there’ll be plenty of room for you to shine later.”
Ham then glanced at Mark D'Agnotti, who was sitting quietly to the side.
“And you too—go keep building yourself up.”
“Why drag me into this when you guys were chatting just fine?”
Mark, the youngest assistant coach, laughed.
“I’m having a great time right now. Learning with you guys is way faster than back when I was in Oklahoma.”
“Don’t slack off either,”
Ham joked with a smile.
“You’re still handling things over in Stockton. You’ve got to make the most of that. The Kings’ player development pipeline is all in your hands.”
“That goes without saying,”
Mark replied calmly.
“I’ve poured a lot of effort into those young guys.”
Speaking of that, Mark couldn’t help sounding proud.
“Especially Dejounte—I watched him grow step by step with my own eyes.”
“Ever since that kid started learning under Rose, his skills have been improving almost daily.”
Once the conversation reached this point, the coaches’ floodgates fully opened.
“You’re not wrong,”
Ham was the first to chime in.
“That Murray kid really has a ruthless edge to him. If the team gives him a chance, he could genuinely make something of himself.”
Having seen it all in the league, Ham understood clearly.
Murray’s physical tools, combined with that fearless, all-out mentality, checked nearly every box of a potential All-Star.
“It’s just a pity,”
Mark continued.
“He suffered a major injury back in college that hurt his draft stock. Then he missed an entire season after that. Who knows if he’ll still be able to fully cash in on his talent.”
“But I hear Mr. Chen has very high expectations for him,”
Finch said casually.
“When they were clearing out perimeter players before, Chen would rather trade away a proven guy like LeVert than give him up.”
“Who can ever figure out Chen’s thinking?”
Ham shook his head.
“I even asked Coach Malone about it before. A lot of the time, even he can’t fully understand the meaning behind Chen’s moves. His understanding of operations is several versions ahead of ours.”
While the assistant coaches were chatting, the entire league was already starting to stir.
After the draft came free agency.
The biggest mystery of this year’s free-agent market was LeBron James’s destination.
Last season’s near-humiliating results had all but crushed his final desire to stay in Cleveland.
New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and several other teams were frantically clearing cap space, eagerly awaiting James’s Decision Three.
...
...
“Not enough! Add more!”
Inside a New Orleans conference room, Pelicans general manager Trajano spoke with a blank expression.
“Add more? Are you insane?”
On the other end of the call was the Lakers’ current general manager, Magic Johnson.
“Two first-round picks plus a swap, and you still want more? You think we’re some kind of bottomless ATM?”
Because Chen Yilun had traded away DeMarcus Cousins early, the Pelicans failed to form that super twin-towers lineup. Last offseason, following Gentry’s advice, they didn’t chase any All-Stars and only added a few role players.
As a result, the Pelicans missed the playoffs again last season.
Under those circumstances, the Pelicans’ franchise star Davis finally couldn’t take it anymore and demanded a trade, even making his stance clear:
Unless it was a Los Angeles team, he would not give any early extension commitment.
The “brow forcing a trade” saga arrived a full year early.
The moment the Lakers got the news, they moved without hesitation.
“I know you think Davis is already yours,”
Trajano snorted coldly.
“But don’t celebrate too soon. Davis still has two years left on his contract. Even if I force a trade, whoever gets him still has two full years to use him. Who ends up winning or losing is far from certain.”
As Trajano finished speaking, the smile on Magic Johnson’s face gradually faded.
“Trajano, there’s no need for that,”
Magic said, his tone softening.
“I believe that when it comes to sincerity, we’re absolutely offering the most. If there’s anything you’re not satisfied with, we can always keep talking.”
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