"Got him!"
As Adam Silver announced the name, the Kings' draft room erupted in cheers.
"Hold your horses—we've still got two picks left!"
Others might not realize it, but Chen Yilun knew exactly what he was doing. Picking LeVert was purely an investment—develop him, then flip him later for a solid return.
The real moves were still to come.
After a few more picks went by without surprise, it was the Kings' turn again.
"With the 26th pick, the Sacramento Kings select Pascal Siakam from New Mexico State University!"
"With the 29th pick, the Sacramento Kings select Dejounte Murray from the University of Washington!"
When the Warriors wrapped up the first round by taking Damian Jones at No. 30, the first-round draft officially came to a close.
"Think we drafted a few too many?" Malone asked lazily, reclining on the sofa.
"Too many? Not at all."
Chen Yilun replied with an easy grin. "We're not using them right away anyway. These guys are all raw prospects—only LeVert might be ready for limited minutes. We'll send them down to the G League to work on their game first."
"Good timing too. Richardson and Bojan have been grinding down there for ages. Next season, we'll call them up for real minutes."
At this point, the Kings were drowning in talent—too many players, not enough spots.
From last season's rotation alone, they still had Butler, CJ, Jokić, Booker, Young, Oden, Gay, and Ben—eight players.
Add the newly signed Durant, plus Richardson and Bojan ready to be called up, and now three rookies on top of that—the roster was bursting at the seams.
And down in the G League, TJ McConnell and Tyler Johnson were still grinding away together.
"There's just too many! We can't use them all!"
Malone laughed, covering his face. He'd never thought he'd have the luxury of this kind of problem.
League rules allowed only 15 standard contracts, with just 12 players active per game. Even after all the pre-draft trades, the Kings still had 16 contracts counting unsigned rookies.
"If we can't use them, we sell them."
Chen Yilun said it like it was nothing. "TJ and Tyler both have one year left on minimum deals. Find them a new team. Players on contracts like that are easy to move."
Last year, the two of them had dominated the NBDL, drawing plenty of attention from other teams. But their contracts were still firmly in Chen Yilun's hands.
Pick up overlooked players, develop them patiently, trade them for future assets once they're ready, then use those assets to draft and develop more talent.
It was a perfect cycle—the kind the Spurs had mastered—and Chen Yilun had copied it to perfection.
After a full year of training, those two were ready to be moved, freeing roster space for the next wave.
"Should I spread the word, then?"
Peja, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke up.
"Yeah, just mention it casually. They won't fetch much anyway."
With that, Chen Yilun turned his eyes back to the big screen.
He didn't have any picks left—but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the show.
The second round moved much faster than the first, names flashing across the screen one after another.
"With the 38th pick, the Golden State Warriors select Ding Yanyuhang from China!"
"What?!"
Chen Yilun shot up from his chair like a spring.
Ding Yanyuhang got drafted???
For a second, Chen Yilun's mind blanked out. Was he even on this year's draft list?
It wasn't an oversight on his part. In fact, even everyone back home—and Ding Yanyuhang himself—were frozen in disbelief.
"Me?"
Sitting in front of the TV with a snack in hand, Ding Yanyuhang stared wide-eyed. He'd only tuned in to see his buddy Aqi get drafted. How did his own name just show up?
"When did I enter the draft?"
At first, Ding thought he'd misheard. But when highlights of his own plays appeared on screen, he realized the drama had just landed on him.
A few minutes later, his agent burst through the door.
"I found out what happened! A couple years ago, when you, Da Wang, and Aqi were working with the NBA program, you were all added to their draft reserve list. Since we never officially declared, your names stayed inactive. But now that you're hitting the draft eligibility limit, the system automatically recognized your stats and activated you!"
"Huh???"
After last year's Summer League and the training sessions Chen Yilun arranged, Ding Yanyuhang had already transformed his game completely. Even though China's national team didn't make it past the group stage in this year's Olympics, it didn't stop Ding from shining on the international stage.
What made it funnier was—he had zero plans to go to the NBA. He hadn't even attended the draft combine. The Warriors had invited him for a tryout recently, but he thought it was just for a Summer League opportunity.
Back in 2016, stuff like this wasn't that rare. The draft entry rules were loose, so tons of players threw their names in hoping for luck. The combine wasn't mandatory either, which led to plenty of "blind box" stories.
"I'm going to play for the Warriors?!"
The sudden news left Ding completely stunned. Before he could even process it—
"With the 43rd pick, the Houston Rockets select Aqi from China!"
"With the 57th pick, the Memphis Grizzlies select Da Wang from China!"
"Three in a row?!"
Chen Yilun, sitting in his room, was utterly speechless.
He'd been planning to bring Ding back for Summer League this year—give him more time to develop under his wing, maybe work him into the rotation later on.
But the Warriors had just snatched him right out from under him!
Was this karma? He'd poached Durant from the Warriors—and now they'd turned around and stolen Ding.
"Well, that's it. Show's over."
Malone patted his pants and stood up.
"Yeah, about time," Chen Yilun said thoughtfully. "Come back to Sacramento with me tomorrow. We've still got work to do."
"What kind of work?" Malone asked, curious about his cryptic tone.
"We'll go scout some undrafted players. See if any deserve a shot." Chen Yilun replied casually while gathering his things.
"Undrafted players? We're already loaded—you still want more? What are you, a trash collector?"
Before he could blink, Chen Yilun looked up and stepped closer.
"So what if I collect trash?"
"Every single player on this team—didn't I pick them up one piece of trash at a time?"
...