"You better get ready, kid. With them pulling this stunt, we've been forced to act too. I'm taking your CJ!"
When Buford said that, Chen Yilun realized that his presence had already caused an irreversible shift in the Western Conference landscape.
It wasn't just the formation of the James Harden + Chris Paul duo.
The Warriors had also landed All-Star swingman Paul George.
Meanwhile, the Spurs had started their own reinforcement plan, aiming straight at the Kings. What gave Chen Yilun a headache was that he had no way of stopping Buford's blatant poaching.
Sure, he held CJ's Bird rights and could ignore everyone else's tricks to forcefully keep CJ. But doing that would completely lock up his cap space. That would be disastrous for future moves, meaning there was just no stopping Buford now.
"Should we mess with the Spurs a bit?"
Divac suddenly asked out of nowhere.
"We still have CJ's Bird rights, right? We could do a sign-and-trade with some random team and throw off the Spurs' entire plan."
After he said that, the office fell silent.
"It's theoretically possible, but the odds of success are tiny."
Peja was the first to speak.
"Exactly."
Chen Yilun nodded in agreement.
"The league's too polarized now. In the East, the Cavs, Wizards, and Raptors; in the West, the Warriors and Rockets—they've all maxed out their cap space just waiting to block us. The rest are lukewarm and don't even want CJ. Who are we supposed to sell him to?"
Hearing this, Divac immediately pushed back.
"Doesn't New York want him? Just send him to New York then!"
"They want him? Yeah right."
Chen Yilun let out a cold laugh.
"The Zen Master is only here to muddy the waters. He's great at raising prices, but when it's time to actually sign someone, he runs faster than anyone."
"Right now, he hates us to the bone. If he gets the chance to trip us up, he absolutely won't miss it."
Even though Zen Master's priority was still improving the roster, CJ—while good—wasn't on George's level as a steady All-Star.
If Popovich wanted CJ, Zen Master would gladly step aside and let the Spurs snag him just to annoy Chen Yilun.
Besides, the Knicks had cleared out all those toxic contracts and now had plenty of cap space—they could sign quality players freely in free agency.
"So we really have no options at all?"
Peja's brows tightened.
"We're just going to watch every team get stronger while we sit still and our roster gets weaker?!"
"What are you panicking for?"
Divac gestured for Peja to calm down.
"Trust the boss. When has he ever gone into a fight unprepared?"
Peja felt slightly reassured by that.
True enough—so long as Chen Yilun was here, they always had a backbone to rely on.
"So boss, what do we do now?"
Peja turned eagerly, only to find Chen Yilun sitting in his chair looking perfectly relaxed.
"Boss?"
Peja called out carefully.
"What should we do?"
Caught off guard, Chen Yilun scratched his head.
"What are we supposed to do?"
"Countermeasures!"
Peja reminded him. "All the Western teams are making huge moves. Don't we have a countermeasure?"
"What countermeasure?"
Chen Yilun stood up, walked to the water dispenser, poured himself a cup of cold water, and said,
"Didn't we already execute our original plan perfectly?"
"How is that the same?!"
Peja suddenly felt exhausted trying to communicate with his boss.
"The entire West is shifting—are we really not making a move?"
"And what move exactly?"
Chen Yilun gestured for them to sit before continuing.
"The owner only gave us so much cap flexibility this year. Re-signing Jokic and the others already used up most of it. Where's the space to strengthen the roster?"
His words felt like cold water poured over both of them.
"You two need to learn patience."
Chen Yilun sighed. "Look at Blackstone. You two are arguing like crazy, but he's still at his desk working quietly."
"Well, that's not quite it."
Right as Chen Yilun finished speaking, Blackstone stepped into the office.
"I was wearing headphones just now and didn't hear you guys, so I got here a bit late."
The four of them stood together—this was the entire Kings management team.
"Trading CJ to them isn't necessarily a bad idea."
Blackstone quickly offered his perspective.
"Are they trying to use us for Bird rights or just going for a straight-up poach?"
Blackstone had hit the key point. A straight-up poach meant both teams bidding to see who offered more. But the problem is—if CJ signs as a free agent, all of the salary goes on the cap. That's inconvenient, and they can't sign him long-term.
If they use the Bird rights, the Spurs would have the Kings—who hold CJ's full Bird rights—sign him first using those rights. Then they'd trade CJ and his Bird rights to the Spurs.
With that second method, the Spurs could sign CJ to a long-term deal, and his salary would count against the cap, letting them expand their cap space through the trade.
But every advantage has a cost. If they go with a sign-and-trade, Chen Yilun isn't going to help Buford for free. The Spurs would have to pay something significant to borrow those Bird rights.
"My guess is—"
Chen Yilun stroked his chin.
"My guess is that old man Buford plans to use their cap space to absorb CJ outright. I know him too well—he never takes a loss."
Blackstone nodded thoughtfully.
The Spurs' cap space really was comfortable right now.
Leonard's extension was signed before the salary cap spike, with an annual salary under 20 million. Aldridge's deal was just barely above 20 million. Combined, they were around 40 million—Curry's new contract alone was worth more than Leonard plus Aldridge combined.
Further down the roster, Parker and Ginobili had contracts of only a few million each. Together, the two Spurs legends barely made over 10 million.
So yes, the Spurs had more than enough cap space. Signing CJ outright would be no problem at all.
"Don't worry so much!"
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser