Chapter 211: Egg-fried rice? You must have watched too much *God of Cookery*

After this major trade, the Los Angeles Clippers' current fixed roster is: Power Forward Blake Griffin, Center DeAndre Jordan (his rookie contract just ended, and the Clippers have the right to match offers from other teams), Point Guard Mo Williams (acquired from the Cavaliers last season via the Baron Davis trade), and Randy Foye. The remaining players are Brian Cook and Ryan Gomes.

Adding the newly joined Fan Xi and Dunleavy, the Clippers now have plenty of room to maneuver, and their current salary situation is very, very healthy.

Fan Xi's annual salary for next season is 12 million USD, and Dunleavy's is around 7 million USD. Blake Griffin is still on his rookie contract, with an annual salary of 5.7 million USD. Additionally, Mo Williams has an 8 million USD salary, Randy Foye 4 million USD, Gomes 4 million USD, and Brian Cook 1.22 million USD.

Furthermore, based on DeAndre Jordan's current market value, he could likely secure a contract averaging close to 10 million USD.

Estimating from the NBA's revenue last season, the salary cap for next season will be no lower than 58 million USD, and the luxury tax threshold will rise accordingly to 71 million USD.

This gives the Clippers an enormous amount of operational space.

Just as Fan Xi finished saying "let the bullets fly for a while," his phone rang. It was the Clippers' retired-then-rehired manager, Mike Dunleavy.

Dunleavy asked Fan Xi to open his laptop for a real-time meeting.

On the other end of the video connection was the Clippers' draft war room.

Dunleavy and the Clippers' general managers were frantically busy, a scene that left Lu Yuan, who was sitting nearby, very surprised.

Originally, he thought the Clippers' only participation in this year's draft would be completing this earth-shattering three-way trade. He hadn't expected that to be just the beginning.

After the trade was confirmed, Fan Xi was able to participate in the Clippers' highest decision-making level in an official capacity.

Before this, Fan Xi could not participate in Clippers' trade decisions; the NBA has bylaws, and although no team truly follows them, Fan Xi has always insisted on procedural justice.

He didn't want to give anyone any leverage.

"Jack, we have reached an agreement with the Utah Jazz, who hold the 12th pick. We send out Mo Williams, and they send us Josh Howard, a 3 million USD trade exception, and the 12th overall draft pick."

"Should we continue to trade up?"

Fan Xi furrowed his brows, listening to the report from the draft war room.

He pulled out his own list, which contained the players he had selected after carefully evaluating everyone participating in this year's draft.

With Steve Nash promising to join, the Clippers were no longer short-handed at the point guard position; both Mo Williams and Randy Foye were to be traded. The interior already had DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin, who provided offense and defense respectively, forming the core structure, and Fan Xi didn't want to move them.

Therefore, the names Fan Xi had written down were: Leonard, Butler, Shumpert, and Thompson.

These four were the rookies Fan Xi wanted to acquire.

Currently, none of these four had been selected.

Fan Xi decided to wait a bit longer.

He said, "No need to trade up for now. Let's observe for a while."

Fan Xi stared intently at the television screen. He was no longer a spectator; every time David Stern read a name, he felt a moment of relief.

The Timberwolves, Jazz, Cavaliers, Raptors, Wizards, Kings, Pistons, Hornets, and Bucks selected Derrick Williams, Enes Kanter, Tristan Thompson, Jonas Valančiūnas, Jan Veselý, Bismack Biyombo, Brandon Knight, and Kemba Walker with the second through tenth picks, respectively.

This year was a weak draft class, so the draft order had some variations from previous predictions.

However, Fan Xi's expression became increasingly relaxed.

He hadn't expected that none of the four forwards he had his eye on would be selected early.

During a busy gap in the Golden State Warriors' selection process, old Dunleavy sent new intelligence from the war room: The Indiana Pacers are considering our trade proposal; they seem somewhat willing to trade our Randy Foye for their 15th pick this year plus Jeff Ayres and a trade exception. However, they are still wavering.

Randy Foye was the 7th overall pick in 2006 and was named to the All-Rookie First Team. Although he didn't become a star, he was diligent and a stable rotation player in the league.

The Clippers were trading Mo Williams and Randy Foye now because of Fan Xi's arrival and Nash's imminent joining.

"Hmm, keep following up," Fan Xi nodded in agreement.

Currently, none of the four forwards he favored had been picked. He believed he could almost lock in two first-round picks and would be able to get two of his targets regardless. In his heart, he wanted to get Thompson and Shumpert, as their shooting was better.

However, just as he finished saying this, David Stern walked onto the stage and announced that the Golden State Warriors, holding the 11th pick, had selected Klay Thompson.

Klay Thompson was a second-generation player; his father, old Thompson, was known as "The Skywalker," but his physical attributes appeared quite mediocre at the training camp, just as his current skin tone made it impossible to tell he was actually Black.

What left a deep impression on Fan Xi about Thompson was his shooting and defensive ability. Fan Xi believed that if he joined his wing, it would make the Clippers' spacing even more abundant. He had the potential to become a better Mike Dunleavy.

*Hoo! *

Fan Xi let out a long breath. He didn't even have time to feel regret.

He heard old Dunleavy urging: "Jack, hurry! Who do we choose?"

Old Dunleavy's voice made Fan Xi's thinking quick and agile; he had to choose one among Shumpert, Leonard, and Butler at lightning speed.

These three players were all physically strong and possessed good defensive potential as forwards.

Fan Xi thought it over and couldn't distinguish between them until he remembered seeing Leonard's wrap-around defense in a key NCAA game in his highlight tape; his defense was very clean, and he possessed a pair of astonishingly large hands.

That was the flash of brilliance.

Fan Xi made his decision: "Leonard. Let the Utah Jazz select Leonard for us."

After the decision was made, the management in the draft war room quickly coordinated with the Jazz. About two minutes later, David Stern appeared on the stage on the television.

He said with his habitual enthusiastic voice: "With the 12th pick, the Utah Jazz select... the forward from San Diego State University, Kawhi... Leonard!!!"

The camera panned over, showing a bewildered Leonard.

Leonard was a Los Angeles native, and like all young players from Los Angeles, he dreamed of wearing a Lakers jersey.

But the Lakers had won the championship last season, they didn't have a high draft pick, and after having a super rookie like Jack Fan, there was no need to pick another rookie.

Leonard had recently been a huge fan of Fan Xi, and the shocking news released earlier caught him off guard. He hadn't expected the Lakers to trade Jack; they had actually sold out the youngest Finals MVP in history just like that, and to the Los Angeles Clippers, no less.

My God, would Angelenos like the Clippers because of this?

This was truly a headache-inducing problem.

Kawhi wore the Jazz hat, prepared to go to Salt Lake City. It had a gritty, tough-minded style he liked, and he believed Coach Sloan could unearth his talent and potential.

He walked onto the stage and shook hands with David Stern with his massive palms.

Then, as he walked off the stage...

Being introverted, he had just prepared his lines about working hard for the Jazz when he heard a reminder: a new trade had occurred, the Utah Jazz had traded Kawhi Leonard to the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Clippers had given up All-Star player Mo Williams... although the whole world knew Mo Williams' All-Star status was piggybacking off LeBron James.

But... why was such a guard with a glorious resume sent to the Jazz in exchange for an unknown forward?

Kawhi Leonard's mind was completely blank, but he immediately took the Jazz hat off his head.

Subsequently, he began to get excited.

Although he had never been a Clippers fan, the Clippers were a Los Angeles team, after all. This way, he wouldn't have to leave his hometown to go to the high-altitude Salt Lake City; he had heard it was an extremely conservative city, depressing to the point of collapse.

Of course, what excited Leonard most was that he could fight side-by-side with Jack Fan.

My God.

I like this trade.

Clippers, from today on, let me fight for you. I want to follow the Duke's footsteps and dismantle the Lakers' rule in the City of Angels step by step.

This die-hard Lakers fan defected so quickly.

As Leonard beamed with joy...

Gregg Popovich, sitting in the Spurs' conference room, looked depressed. He also thought highly of Leonard and felt Leonard was the best in this rookie class. He even wanted to trade the team's high-performing George Hill to the Pacers, who held the 15th pick, but who knew... he'd been intercepted.

My God!

He was in despair. When his assistant asked if he still wanted to push the trade with the Pacers, he waved his hand: "I'm tired. Tonight is already ruined."

"Jack, Indiana has agreed to our trade proposal. They are asking who we want to pick at the 15th spot!"

After securing Leonard, old Dunleavy continued to ask Fan Xi.

Fan Xi was very calm, waiting for the situation to develop further. He said, "No rush. Let's wait a bit longer."

Fan Xi had already made up his mind; he wanted Shumpert. Shumpert looked more agile than Butler; Butler was too tough and seemed to lack some finesse, appearing much stiffer and more rigid compared to his college senior, Dwyane Wade.

Moreover, he seemed to overlap somewhat with Leonard.

Fan Xi was thinking about Shumpert.

Who knew that the Phoenix Suns, holding the 13th pick, would snatch up Shumpert in the blink of an eye.

Fan Xi was immediately depressed.

Next, the Houston Rockets, holding the 14th pick, selected the twin forward Markieff Morris.

At this point, Fan Xi only had one choice left: "Jimmy Butler."

The Pacers, holding the 15th pick, helped the New York Knicks select Jimmy Butler, the trade happened quickly, Randy Foye went to Indiana, and Jimmy Butler was transferred to the Clippers.

The Clippers had a strong presence in this year's draft.

First, they completed the earth-shattering three-way trade, keeping the Duke, Fan Xi, in Los Angeles. Then, they quickly sent out two point guards and secured two rookie forwards.

"These two trades have no practical significance, nothing more than clearing the point guard line to make room for Jack Fan. These two rookies don't look like they have anything special either; their talent and brilliance are completely lackluster in this weak draft year. The Clippers are really uninteresting."

This draft expert named Cha Te Fu De said with certainty, always criticizing the Clippers in an affirmative tone.

Ever since that three-way trade began.

Fan Xi, however, sneered at the corner of his mouth. In his heart, Leonard and Butler were precious gems; they were like two sharp swords emitting a faint blue light in their scabbards. Once drawn, they would surely shock the whole world.

"Today's draft is over. Thank you, everyone."

Fan Xi said goodbye to the executives in the war room and hung up the video call.

Although he didn't get his most preferred combination of the four forwards, he was already very satisfied to have gotten these two.

Originally, in Fan Xi's mind, his optimal plan was to get Leonard and Thompson, or Leonard and Shumpert; of course, Butler and Thompson would also be good. The worst-case scenario was Shumpert and Butler.

Now, how should he put it? Although the combination wasn't ideal, the future development prospects of these two were definitely the most worth looking forward to.

Besides, the team actually already had a small forward shooter, Mike Dunleavy.

*Hoo! *

Fan Xi let out a long breath.

Done and dusted.

"Jack, actually, you should ask Sterling for a general manager's salary. You're actually worrying about draft matters now. Tell me, Jack, who else do you plan to sign next, besides Steve Nash?"

Lu Yuan asked.

Fan Xi wrote down the current Clippers roster on a piece of paper.

Center: DeAndre Jordan.

Power Forward: Blake Griffin, Brian Cook.

Small Forward: Kawhi Leonard, Mike Dunleavy, Ryan Gomes.

Shooting Guard: Jimmy Butler.

Point Guard: Fan Xi, Nash?

The more Fan Xi looked at it, the more satisfied he felt; it was full of talent, young enough, and full of drive.

"Next, we need to find some experienced veterans. If they are willing to join and provide experience, I think it's a good thing for both them and us. I feel that next season, we can stand toe-to-toe with the Purple and Gold Legion in the City of Angels."

Fan Xi said confidently.

Lu Yuan raised his eyebrows; he thought it was far-fetched. The star power of this roster was far inferior to the Purple and Gold Legion.

"Chemical reaction is more important than anything else." Fan Xi saw through Lu Yuan's thoughts and said cleanly and decisively: "I don't think much of the Lakers' All-Star roster."

Lu Yuan didn't speak.

Chen Ye, standing behind him, said quite affirmatively: "I agree with what Jack said. I'm good at cooking, and I know that just mixing precious ingredients together doesn't make a delicious dish. Sometimes a bowl of leftover rice, an egg, and a few pieces of leftover ham can serve up a mouth-watering delicacy."

Chen Ye's words were praised by Fan Xi, who gave him a thumbs up.

Lu Yuan was a bit annoyed and retorted: "You must have watched too much *God of Cookery*. Why don't you tell me who is the egg, who is the leftover rice, and who is the ham?"

"The Boss is the egg!" Chen Ye said righteously.

Hmm?

Fan Xi furrowed his brows; he felt this sentence was a bit strange.

... ===== CHAPTER 212 =====