On June 25th, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn was buzzing with excitement. As New York's rivals, the Nets tried to outdo the Knicks in every possible way.
"Hmm~ hmm~" After a year of experience, Chen Yilun was no longer the nervous rookie who had run to the bathroom last year. He even had the mind to hum a tune inside the draft room.
If he could, Chen Yilun would have loved to set up a hot pot right there.
The draft room was filled with his front office staff.
To his left sat his assistant general manager Divac, then assistant GM Peja, his chief financial officer, his general assistant Anjali, and several newly hired scouts. Schmitz sat second-to-last in the row.
To his right was Malone with a group of assistant coaches, trainers, and analysts. Tang Zhou had also joined by now and was sitting quietly in the far corner.
As everyone waited anxiously, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver walked onto the stage to applause.
"Ahem." Silver cleared his throat and flashed his signature smile.
"Welcome, everyone, to the 2015 NBA Draft!"
"This year, fresh young talent will once again enter the league. Alright, let's begin."
Silver took the large envelope handed to him by his assistant.
"With the first pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves select: Karl-Anthony Towns from the University of Kentucky!"
The newly crowned No. 1 pick, Towns, put on the cap emblazoned with the Wolves' logo and walked up to the stage, beaming with excitement as he posed for a photo with Silver.
After the usual process, Silver returned to the podium.
"With the second pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers select: D'Angelo Russell from Ohio State University!"
As soon as Silver finished, murmurs spread throughout the arena. Even Lakers fans couldn't hide their disappointment.
All season, major outlets like ESPN had projected a showdown between Towns and Okafor for the top two picks. No one expected Russell to jump into the mix.
Watching Russell's excitement on the big screen, Chen Yilun couldn't help but smile.
"The American Sasuke has entered the league," he muttered under his breath.
"What?" Malone, sitting beside him, turned in confusion.
"Nothing." Chen Yilun quickly shut his mouth. That joke was still too ahead of its time for the 2015 league.
The draft continued smoothly.
"With the third pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers select: Jahlil Okafor from Duke University!"
The top three picks went as expected.
But after that, things got messy due to the Kings.
The Knicks, originally at fourth, dropped to fifth, while the Magic moved up to fourth.
After a brief hesitation, the Magic selected the league's future cult icon: Mario Hezonja.
"Did the report get submitted?"
Seeing that their turn was approaching, Chen Yilun turned to ask.
"It's all submitted, just like we planned," Peja whispered.
"Good."
Chen Yilun slipped the list he had prepared into an envelope and handed it to league staff.
"Before I announce the pick, I have a trade to report," Silver said as he returned to the stage. "The Sacramento Kings have traded the 2015 fifth pick, Ray McCallum, and the Celtics' 2016 second-round pick to the Miami Heat in exchange for the Heat's 2015 10th pick, 40th pick, and a protected 2017 first-round pick."
"With the fifth pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings select: Kristaps Porzingis from Latvia!"
The strong Latvian forward put on the Kings' purple cap, then walked up to the stage to take his photo with Silver.
The old fox really had sharp eyes.
Watching Porzingis, Chen Yilun felt a shiver — the butterfly effect had just sent New York's Unicorn to South Beach.
The draft rolled on.
"With the 10th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Miami Heat select: Devin Booker from the University of Kentucky!"
Cheers erupted again as Booker became the third Kentucky player to go in the lottery that year. After hugging his family, he donned the Heat cap.
"Another guard?"
In a Sacramento bar, a group of veteran fans watching the draft voiced their doubts.
"Shouldn't we be strengthening the frontcourt? What's the point of stockpiling guards?"
"Don't overthink it. Chen Yilun definitely has a plan."
The rest of the first round proceeded mostly according to history.
"With the 26th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs select: Kevon Looney from UCLA!"
Chen Yilun, who had already tuned out and was preparing for the second round, suddenly widened his eyes.
"What?!"
He stared at the big screen in shock as Looney's highlights played.
No way! What was going on? How did Looney get picked this early?
Then a memory from a few months back flashed in his mind.
During dinner with Buford, he had casually mentioned the Spurs needed a successor for Splitter — and had even said Looney looked promising, maybe even capable of becoming a quality center.
Could his offhand remark have changed Buford's draft strategy?
It had set off a domino effect.
The Warriors, beaten to the punch, used the 30th pick on Montrezl Harrell — originally a projected second-rounder.
Harrell went to the Warriors?!
Chen Yilun stared at the surreal scene on the screen.
What the hell was going on! The Spurs avoided drafting bust Nikola Milutinov, while the Warriors might've lucked into an even better prospect in Harrell.
"What's wrong, Yilun?" Malone, sensing something was off, leaned closer. He was baffled too — earlier, during the top picks, Chen Yilun looked detached, but now at the end of the first round he was suddenly fired up.
The second round began.
The Timberwolves selected Cedi Osman with the 31st pick.
Right after, the Rockets — without Harrell — grabbed Hernangómez, originally projected at 35.
"Everything's gone off the rails!"
Chen Yilun stood in front of the big screen, counting on his fingers what prospects were still left.
"With the 39th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets select: Richaun Holmes from Bowling Green State University."
Alright, alright! He didn't slip through! Chen Yilun let out a small sigh of relief.
In fact, the competition in the second round was even fiercer than the first.
Since most second-round talents were on a similar level, many teams stockpiled early second-round picks, waiting for first-round talents to fall. After all, second-round contracts were much cheaper.
"With the 40th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Miami Heat select: Josh Richardson from the University of Tennessee!"
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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