Chapter 409: Dynasty (5)
“Boss, what are you doing?”
Prince looked at Chen Yilun, who was sneaking around like a thief, and asked in confusion.
“Shh!”
Chen Yilun raised a finger and pressed it firmly to his lips.
“Did you forget last year’s painful lesson?”
At those words, memories of last season’s championship instantly surfaced in Prince’s mind.
Back then, Chen Yilun had somehow shoved him out front as a scapegoat, and he’d ended up getting completely humiliated by the players.
“Oh, right!”
Prince immediately understood what Chen Yilun meant—and realized what was about to happen.
Only then did he notice that at some point, Chen Yilun had already ditched his flashy suit and was pulling on a championship T-shirt.
Oh no—too late!
Sensing danger, Prince spun around and bolted, frantically stripping off his jacket as he ran.
He remembered last season’s lesson all too clearly.
That time, Chen Yilun had inexplicably pushed him forward, and he’d been drenched head to toe with a bucket of Gatorade. His custom-made suit had been ruined on the spot.
The one he was wearing now was just as expensive—there was no way he was letting it get destroyed again.
...
...
“I really didn’t expect you to be able to shoulder this much.”
After the routine postgame exchange of respect with the opposing players, Durant pushed Butler toward the sideline.
This guy had actually taken leave from the hospital just to be here. Given Butler’s current condition, he really wasn’t fit to be discharged, but an occasion like this was too important to miss, which was why he showed up anyway.
“When I got hurt earlier, I was honestly a little desperate. I thought we might really go down this year. Never thought you’d pull it off like this.”
Butler let out a long sigh.
“It wasn’t just me.”
Durant’s smile was impossible to hold back. “Everyone on this team stepped up. I couldn’t have won this championship on my own without them.”
“You’re starting to sound more and more like a seasoned superstar.”
Butler couldn’t help teasing him. “Don’t worry about me. Tonight, you’re the main character. Go celebrate properly.”
As he spoke, Butler rested both hands on the armrests of his wheelchair, talking almost to himself.
“Alright. We’ll talk more at the celebration later.”
After pushing Butler to the sideline, Durant glanced at the reporters following behind them like wolves, smiled, and turned to face the next round of interviews.
“How does it feel?”
Butler looked over at Cousins, who was sitting beside him, also curled up in a wheelchair, and joked.
“What kind of feeling could it be?”
Cousins gave a simple, honest smile.
“Unexpected, but also kind of inevitable. I finally won my first championship ring wearing a Kings jersey.”
With another ligament injury piled on top of everything else, Cousins’ career was essentially sealed.
For an interior player, ligament injuries were devastating. Combined with his previous knee issues, it was clear that the All-Star center’s prime was completely behind him—his career had already entered the countdown phase.
“But I don’t regret it at all.”
Cousins looked out at the players still celebrating on the court.
“Isn’t this what you live your whole life for? I got my moment. Everything after that doesn’t really matter anymore.”
As he spoke, Cousins suddenly turned to Butler, his expression serious.
“Man, I’m basically at the end of the road. You’ve still got a lot of chances ahead of you. Have you thought about what’s next?”
Cousins’ question was really the question on every Sacramento fan’s mind.
The Kings were able to assemble such a loaded roster partly because of Chen Yilun’s maneuvering, squeezing every last bit of value out of those young players’ rookie contracts.
The other major reason was Butler’s contract—so cheap it was almost a giveaway—which allowed Chen Yilun to give Jokić and Booker the extensions they deserved.
And once this season ended, Butler’s bargain contract would officially expire, making him a full-fledged free agent.
Normally, stars at Butler’s level would have their extensions settled well in advance. Yet all season long, right up until the trade deadline passed, Chen Yilun made no moves at all.
“You really had to bring this up on a day like this?”
Butler shot Cousins an annoyed look.
“I haven’t even fully figured this out myself yet.”
“Originally…”
Butler paused before continuing. “Yilun and I already had an agreement. After this season, I’d leave the team. I’ve gained enough recognition here—it’s time to start cashing in.”
“And my goals don’t really align with the team’s current plans anymore. Staying wouldn’t be good for either side. It’s better to part on good terms.”
Butler’s thinking was actually very straightforward.
To win this championship, he’d made more sacrifices than anyone else on the roster.
Despite having All-Star-level ability, he willingly played the supporting role next to Durant, taking on all the dirty and exhausting work.
Now that both of them had achieved success, Butler naturally wanted to return to being the team’s leader and prove his ability to lead a squad on his own.
At the same time, the direction set by Chen Yilun and Malone had already made it clear that after Durant eventually left, the team would shift its focus toward pushing younger players like Jokić and Booker.
Butler was fine being Durant’s second option—but he had no intention of being second to his own juniors.
So the split between the two sides was more or less inevitable.
“But this injury this year has me hesitating again.”
Just as Cousins fell into thought, Butler suddenly changed tone.
“This championship felt a little… too easy. I basically coasted to it. So now I’m torn about whether to stay here for another year. After all, Durant’s already achieved everything he set out to do in Sacramento—but I still have quite a few regrets left unfinished.”
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.