Chapter 361: The Age of Great Contention (3)
With Gay’s contract extension finalized, the Kings officially began their offseason re-signing work.
Under Chen Yilun’s direction, Booker was the first to put pen to paper, signing a five-year, $110 million extension. Shortly after that, Durant also completed his renewal—a two-year, $60 million deal that kept him in Sacramento.
With Durant’s contract secured, the entire championship-winning starting lineup from last season remained intact.
On the surface, it looked like Chen Yilun was planning to respond to change by embracing stability, forging the team into a single, unbreakable unit for the upcoming season. But in reality, Chen Yilun hadn’t been idle at all. Behind everyone’s back, he had already begun a new round of negotiations.
“You want to trade Josh Richardson?”
On the other end of the computer screen, Pat Riley stared at Chen Yilun in disbelief. “Are you out of your mind?”
Last season, Richardson had been an almost perfect fit for the Kings’ system. Offensively, he didn’t dominate the ball and made quick, decisive reads. On the defensive end, he consistently provided positive impact.
It was no exaggeration to say that Richardson was the Kings’ most ideal utility player at the point guard position.
“That’s none of your business!”
Faced with Riley’s confusion, Chen Yilun snapped back without hesitation.
There was no way he could tell him that Murray had finally been developed, Alexander was now on the roster, and Rose was anchoring the bench—leaving no real place for Josh Richardson anymore.
“Just tell me if you want him or not!”
“Of course I want him. How could I not want Richardson?”
Riley’s voice remained as lifeless as ever.
“That depends on what price you’re asking.”
“Two first-round picks. One of them can have some protection. If you’re good with that, we can trade right now!”
Chen Yilun was adamant about completing the deal before the season began, because offseason trades could ignore salary-matching rules. Once the new season started, any deal would require matching contracts, which would eat into the Kings’ already limited cap space.
In truth, Chen Yilun had been planning this move ever since Richardson’s extension. At the time, the team still had enough cap room, so he had decisively handed Richardson a long-term deal worth $10 million per year.
The purpose was to inflate Richardson’s salary early, allowing it to absorb other teams’ cap space in a future trade.
And the Heat, as it turned out, didn’t care at all about Richardson’s contract size.
Pat Riley’s team-building philosophy was unique among all NBA general managers. In his eyes, there were only superstars—and everyone else.
That “everyone else” meant role players. Aside from superstars, everyone was interchangeable. To Riley, a role player drafted in the first round was no different from an undrafted player as long as they filled the same role.
With his military background, Riley believed in training above all else. As a result, the Heat had become a paradise for undrafted players.
That was precisely why Riley was willing to trade for Josh Richardson.
Although the Heat had made the playoffs in recent years, most of those runs ended in first-round exits. Now, with the team’s cornerstone Dwyane Wade beginning to prepare for retirement, Riley needed to show some commitment to winning.
Even if it was just for appearances, he had to reinforce the roster to keep Kristaps Porziņģis on board.
“Two first-round picks is too expensive,” Riley said with a frown. “You’ve developed Richardson well, I’ll give you that. But his real trade value isn’t that high. He’s not worth two firsts. One is the most I can offer.”
“One first-round pick?” Chen Yilun shot back without backing down. “I might as well keep him for myself.”
“I spent four full years turning Richardson from a lowly second-round pick into our starting point guard. And you think one first-round pick is enough to buy him?”
“That’s different,” Riley said with a shrug, utterly unfazed.
“I acknowledge the effort you put into developing him, but that means nothing to me. I only care about his current value.”
Riley’s gaze sharpened as he looked straight at Chen Yilun.
“You’re willing to sell Richardson now because you’ve already seen his ceiling. He’s perfectly qualified as a starting ball-handler, but becoming an All-Star or a franchise centerpiece? He’s still far off.”
In just a few minutes, the seasoned Riley had already figured out Chen Yilun’s true reason for putting Richardson on the market.
“So don’t try selling me on his potential. If you don’t believe in him, this old man won’t either. All I want is his ability to absorb possessions and his championship experience.”
“Everything else doesn’t interest me.”
What a damn tactician.
Chen Yilun clicked his tongue inwardly. In such a short span of time, Riley had already seized the initiative in the negotiation.
“So what are you actually willing to offer?” Chen Yilun asked.
Riley thought carefully for a moment before answering.
“One unprotected first-round pick, plus a second-round pick. That’s my final offer.”
Chen Yilun quickly ran the numbers in his head.
His initial demand for two first-round picks had been a deliberate overask, leaving room for Riley to bargain. This price had already reached Chen Yilun’s expected bottom line.
“Fine. But I want a distant first-round pick.”
“Deal. One word is enough.”
The very next day, the two teams finalized the details of the trade.
The Heat sent their 2023 first-round pick and 2022 second-round pick to the Kings in exchange for Josh Richardson.
Through this trade, Chen Yilun also secured a mid-level exception, giving him valuable flexibility for potential in-season moves.
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“Josh got traded?”
Inside the practice facility, Murray froze in place when he heard the news, sweat still dripping from his body.
“Why?”
He couldn’t understand it at all. Richardson had firmly held the starting point guard spot last season, yet he was traded away without a sound.
“Don’t act like you’re suffering after getting all the benefits,” Rose said from the side, rolling his eyes as he trained with him.
“Your good days are coming. With Richardson gone, the team is definitely going to lean on you.”
“You’ve endured two hard years already. This is probably the best opportunity you’ll get during your rookie contract. You’d better grab it, understand?”
“I know, Master!”
Murray paused for a moment at Rose’s words, then a wave of excitement surged through his chest.
With Richardson gone, wouldn’t it finally be his turn?
“I won’t fail again!”
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