"What are you saying? You hyped him up so much that he ended up like this?"
Chen Yilun stood by the bed, staring at Crowder who had already collapsed into sleep, and pressed his hand against his forehead in frustration.
Next to him, Ben lowered his head like a schoolboy caught doing something wrong by his teacher.
"How is he now?"
"Nothing serious."
The team doctor glanced over the report twice. "He just overtrained and pushed himself into exhaustion. A couple of days of rest and he'll be fine. Chen, don't take it too hard—this kind of thing happens a few times every year in the league."
The doctor was clearly fighting back a laugh.
Crowder was ridiculously easy to fool—Ben had tossed out a few hyped-up lines, and Crowder drove himself into exhaustion.
"Just wait until we get back—I'll deal with you then!"
Chen Yilun shot Ben a glare full of anger.
At that moment, a booming voice shouted from outside.
"Where's my disciple? Where's my precious disciple?!"
Peja burst into the medical room in three long strides. Chen Yilun quickly clamped a hand over his mouth and dragged him back outside.
"It's nothing. The kid just trained too hard. He just needs a couple of days of rest."
Hearing that, Peja finally relaxed, the tension draining from his face. "Good, good. Otherwise, I'd really be the sinner of the team."
Seeing him calm down, Chen Yilun added, "Peja, I know you mean well, but you can't rush things. We can't force growth."
"Yes, yes, of course!" Peja nodded furiously. "I was too impatient. I'll reflect on it."
As a member of the staff, Peja understood exactly how much Chen Yilun valued Crowder. He was seen as the last puzzle piece the Kings hoped could shore up their wing defense.
The Kings' offense might look seamless, but their perimeter defense was full of holes. None of their wings were particularly strong defenders.
That was a serious problem. In the regular season it might not matter, but come playoff time, those weaknesses would be exploited mercilessly.
After all, "defense wins championships" had always been the league's most unshakable creed.
"As long as you keep that in mind." Chen Yilun pulled Peja into his office. "You've been with Crowder these past couple of days. What's your honest take on him?"
Peja paused, carefully weighing his words.
"It's just the two of us here, so speak freely."
Chen Yilun slid open his drawer and pulled out a pack of Huazi cigarettes. While Peja's attention was elsewhere, he quickly lit one, then shoved the pack back into the drawer.
It wasn't that he was stingy—cigarettes from home were impossible to get here. This pack he had secretly snagged from Coach Wei Ping during All-Star Weekend.
"Crowder isn't quite as good as I expected," Peja finally admitted.
"It matches his draft position and what he showed on his last team. His three-point shooting isn't consistent, his athleticism is just above average, and the hardest part is his defensive instincts."
Peja gestured in the air. "His instincts just aren't there. If he wants to become a real defender, he's going to need a lot of work."
Chen Yilun nodded along.
Many fans in later years would remember Crowder as a premier 3-and-D player, but that was really just perception. His career three-point percentage was only league average. As for defense, his reputation outweighed his actual performance.
The fact that he never made an All-Defensive Team was proof enough.
"That doesn't matter," Chen Yilun said, taking a deep drag of his cigarette. "He's still young. Just work with him gradually. And don't take Divac's words too seriously. You two… honestly, I'm embarrassed to say it, but you're grown men in your forties still bickering over this stuff. It's childish."
"If it bothers you that much, I'll find you a good prospect later—let you get your payback."
At that, Peja's face flushed red. "I know, I know. I'll head out then."
After Peja left the office, Chen Yilun pulled up his system.
All his badges were still sitting unused in the system's inventory. It wasn't that he didn't want to use them—the system's badge mechanics were just too frustrating.
Once a badge was bound, it couldn't be removed. Was he supposed to hand over something he'd worked so hard to earn? And he couldn't even get it back afterward!
Only a brain-dead author would come up with something like this.
If it hadn't been for a quest at the start of the season, he wouldn't have even used the Dual-Threat Guard 101 badge.
Still, his experience at All-Star Weekend had given him some new ideas about the badges he held.
As Chen Yilun was still mulling over the thought, the cigarette burned down to the filter. He quickly finished it off and started planning his next steps.
In theory, he could afford to take a long break now.
The trade deadline had passed. All that was left was preparing for the offseason trade market and the draft.
But Chen Yilun wasn't the type to sit idle. He had originally thought he'd use his foresight to run some side ventures and become a boss himself. But once the work started, he realized—he didn't have the time. Not at all.
Besides, his life now was far more comfortable than in his previous one. It was better to just focus on what he truly loved.
Humming a tune, Chen Yilun drove out of the parking lot and headed to the airport.
Today, he had an important guest to pick up personally.
After waiting for more than an hour, his guest finally appeared.
A slightly overweight middle-aged man in a dark suit stepped out of the arrivals gate, followed by an assistant-like figure lugging several bags.
"Over here!" Chen Yilun waved.
"Thank you for making the trip. You must be Director Zhang!" The two shook hands in greeting.
"Yes, yes. Thank you, Manager Chen, for personally coming to pick us up."
The man was a representative of the Chinese Basketball Association. During All-Star Weekend, Coach Wei Ping had introduced Chen Yilun to the domestic basketball world. Now that the deadline had passed, the CBA couldn't wait to strengthen their relationship.
And it wasn't just the CBA. Coaches, managers, even youth program directors across China had been calling nonstop, all hoping to leave a good impression.
It was no surprise—they had good reason to. The NBA had long been deeply tied to China, but this was the first time a Chinese national like Chen Yilun had control over the full resources of a team.
"Come on, let's get settled. The hotel's already booked. That was a long flight—you need a good meal first."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser