"This year's draft class will be a super class on par with the legendary Class of '03!"
Chen Yilun's words hit Prince's mind like a heavy bomb.
"Class of '03?! No way!"
Prince's first reaction was outright disbelief.
"No way. Is it really that exaggerated?"
As a long-time figure in the league, Prince had watched the Class of '03 grow step by step. It was genuinely hard for him to imagine Chen Yilun holding this year's rookies in such high regard.
"You don't have to believe me. After all, this is just my personal opinion,"
Chen Yilun said with a faint smile as he looked at Prince's stunned expression.
"But as the saying goes, extraordinary talents are forged in turbulent times."
"Ever since Adam Silver took office, the overall quality of the draft classes hasn't really been impressive."
As he spoke, Chen Yilun slowly stood up.
"The much-hyped Class of '14 has already had four years to prove itself, and it's clear most of them are all flash and no substance. The strongest one ended up being Jokić—who we took in the second round!"
"The Class of '15 was a well-known weak year. As for '16 and '17, it's still early, but looking at that group, I don't see anyone who can truly carry a franchise."
"So where did that kind of player go?"
Chen Yilun suddenly turned his head toward Prince and spoke each word deliberately.
"In recent years, plenty of talented players have entered the league, but they're all… missing something. Right now, the backbone of the league is still made up of players from the Stern era—guys like James and Durant. But where's the pillar for the next ten years? Have you ever thought about that?"
Listening to Chen Yilun, Prince felt like his brain was starting to lag behind.
"So all we can do is place our hopes on the future. The true prodigy hasn't arrived yet."
Seeing that Prince couldn't answer, Chen Yilun simply answered himself.
"So you're betting that hope on this year,"
Prince finally said, feeling like a tangled thread in his mind had been straightened out.
"I get it now."
"Of course, this is still just my own speculation,"
Chen Yilun said, deliberately cooling the tone of the conversation.
"That's why I've been clearing out some draft picks I don't really need lately, converting them into assets further down the line. It's all about preparing for what comes next."
In truth, Chen Yilun wasn't worried about Prince spreading this conversation around. On the contrary, he wanted Prince to pass this viewpoint through the league.
If Chen Yilun said it himself, people might think he had ulterior motives. But coming from someone else, the credibility instantly increased.
Right now, Chen Yilun's words carried gold-standard weight around the league.
Following behind Chen Yilun meant opportunity—huge opportunity.
As long as Prince successfully spread this idea, the value of the draft picks Chen Yilun held would rise even further.
While the two were talking, Chen Yilun's phone lit up.
Seeing the unread message, his face immediately brightened.
"Let's celebrate a little."
Chen Yilun walked over to his liquor cabinet. He hesitated between whiskey and champagne, then chose the whiskey.
Opening champagne at this moment felt a bit premature.
After pouring two glasses, he handed one to Prince.
"We won?"
Prince asked, instantly understanding from Chen Yilun's actions. A smile spread across his face.
"Easy win."
Chen Yilun laughed, clinked glasses with Prince, and downed his drink in one go.
"We're heading back to the Finals!"
"Nice! That's great!"
Prince said twice in a row before emptying his own glass.
Choosing to join the Kings had been an incredibly clear-headed decision. Making the Finals in his first year on the job was a major highlight for someone as new to the league as Prince.
"This year's Finals will bring a new opponent,"
Chen Yilun muttered after finishing his drink, smacking his lips.
"Boston isn't Cleveland. Whether it's Ainge or Stevens, those two are seasoned operators. Hard to say if the Finals will be that easy."
"That won't be a problem at all,"
Prince said with a grin.
"With our current roster, is there anyone in the league who can really go toe-to-toe with us?"
"Don't underestimate anyone,"
Chen Yilun warned, seeing Prince getting a bit carried away.
"Haven't we seen enough teams collapse after getting blindly overconfident?"
"Yes, yes, yes,"
Prince nodded repeatedly.
"This year's Celtics,"
Chen Yilun said after a moment of thought.
"Boston may be lacking at the superstar level, but in terms of roster fit, aside from us, they're the best in the entire league."
As the man in charge, Danny Ainge's team-building philosophy actually mirrored Chen Yilun's in many ways.
Stockpile draft picks, clear cap space, then use established influence to go fishing for big names in free agency.
If Boston weren't in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics would absolutely be Chen Yilun's biggest headache.
But the timing worked out perfectly—Boston was in the East and happened to rise during Cleveland's period of dominance.
That was why Chen Yilun not only couldn't suppress the Celtics, but had to exchange information with Ainge, even sending over valuable assets to help keep James in check.
"But that's no longer necessary now."
How to handle the Finals was Malone's problem. Chen Yilun had to think much further ahead.
With his backing, the Celtics had already become the new power brokers of the East.
Now that they'd fulfilled their role of restraining James, there was no reason to keep being so generous.
And the reason Chen Yilun had maintained such close ties with Boston before was partly because he didn't yet have his own inner circle. He had no choice but to work with old hands like Ainge and Riley—essentially bargaining with tigers.
Now that his own faction was gradually taking shape, future resources would naturally begin tilting toward his own people.
"We also need to start preparing on the Brooklyn side,"
Chen Yilun suddenly said.
Just a few days earlier, Mr. Tsai and the Nets' former owner Prokhorov had officially completed their handover. Mr. Tsai now held 49% of the Nets' shares, with the remaining 51% scheduled to transfer in February 2019.
At this point, Mr. Tsai was effectively already the one calling the shots in Brooklyn.
"Speaking of that,"
Prince said,
"Mr. Tsai has also contacted me. He wants to meet with you after the Finals to discuss potential cooperation."
"That works. Coordinate the timing later,"
Chen Yilun nodded.
"Brooklyn is a crucial part of our plan. We can't afford any mistakes there."
"Talking about that now is still too early,"
Chen Yilun concluded.
"Whether we can truly establish our dominance in the league depends on whether we can repeat as champions this year."