"Why are you being so proactive this year?"
Malone asked curiously, glancing at Chen Yilun, who was calmly sipping an iced Americano beside him.
"You really think I'm just slacking off?"
Chen Yilun replied lazily, twirling a finger in the air.
"Even if we're not making any moves this trade deadline, we still need to keep an eye on things."
Over time, even Chen Yilun's so-called "God's-eye view" was starting to fail him.
He had no one to blame but himself—the league was already a mess thanks to his meddling. The trades that once happened in his original timeline no longer meant anything.
Take tonight's supposed blockbuster, for example: DeMarcus Cousins heading to New Orleans to form a historic twin-tower duo with Anthony Davis.
But now, Cousins was happily playing pickup ball with his buddies in Washington. As for what moves the Pelicans might make instead, Chen Yilun couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought.
The group continued chatting casually as they waited for the clock to strike midnight.
"Ring ring ring!"
Mike Blackstone's phone went off first.
"Hello? Uh-huh. Got it."
After hanging up, he looked around at the curious faces staring back at him.
"Nothing big. The Nuggets traded Noah Vonleh and two future second-rounders to the Trail Blazers for Mason Plumlee."
"That old family move~"
Hearing the name Plumlee, Chen Yilun suddenly started singing without realizing it.
"What the hell are you singing about?"
Malone looked at him in shock—his assistant had just burst into song out of nowhere.
And it was some weird tune too, like he'd been possessed.
Realizing how strange it looked, Chen Yilun quickly shut his mouth.
"Sorry, sorry! I couldn't help it."
He covered his face in embarrassment. Why did he even start singing?
Damn that name—it was just too catchy.
"This trade doesn't matter," Malone said after thinking it over. "Even if the Nuggets sneak into the playoffs, they'll barely make the cut. Plumlee won't make any difference."
"Another update!"
Divac stood up, phone in hand.
"The Rockets traded Corey Brewer and a future first-round pick to the Lakers for Lou Williams!"
"What?!"
Malone immediately straightened up.
"Williams is a good one!"
The reigning Sixth Man of the Year was a master of chaos during rotation minutes.
With Dwight Howard gone, James Harden had begun transforming into that unstoppable scoring machine everyone knew he'd become.
Harden plus Lou Williams—now that backcourt combo was something the Kings needed to take seriously.
Before long, another alert came through.
"The Raptors traded Jared Sullinger and two second-round picks to the Suns for PJ Tucker!"
Though he wasn't yet the corner-three god he'd later become with the Rockets, the "Shoe King" PJ Tucker was already making his mark in the league.
"The Raptors couldn't move DeRozan, so they're patching up the roster instead."
Blackstone burst out laughing.
Everyone knew the Raptors' front office had been itching to break up their backcourt duo for the past two years because of their repeated playoff collapses—but no one wanted to take them.
A few minutes later, the news Chen Yilun had been waiting for finally arrived.
"The Warriors made a move—JaVale McGee and two future second-round picks to the 76ers for Ersan Ilyasova."
"Who?"
Chen Yilun frowned, thinking for a moment before remembering who they meant.
"Ilyasova?"
He scratched his head in confusion.
If he remembered right, Ilyasova was from the same generation of Turkish national players as Casspi, whom he'd traded away last season.
The difference was that Ilyasova mainly played power forward.
The Warriors trading for a guy nearing the end of his career?
Chen Yilun couldn't hold back a laugh.
His sources had told him Myers was in talks with Indiana and New York, supposedly discussing big names like Carmelo Anthony and Paul George.
And yet, after all that hype, this was the result?
So much noise—and nothing to show for it.
Still, jokes aside, Myers had done the best he could within his limitations.
On top of keeping last season's "Death Lineup," the Warriors had added Gasol, Whiteside, and now Ilyasova.
You could say Myers was dancing in shackles—and doing it well.
"Any other moves from Western playoff teams?"
Chen Yilun asked, finishing the last sip of his coffee.
"Yes!"
Peja stood up, phone raised.
"The Spurs traded Dewayne Dedmon and a future second-round pick to the 76ers for Jahlil Okafor."
The trade was so minor that everyone else had simply ignored it.
But when Chen Yilun heard it, he frowned slightly.
Back when Okafor entered the league, people used to call him "Little Tim Duncan."
Of course, neither his technical polish nor his physical presence came close to Duncan's—the nickname was mostly because they looked alike.
Still, Chen Yilun knew that in his original timeline, Okafor's downfall had come from poor development.
His rookie year in Philadelphia, he was just a tanking tool.
Then Joel Embiid came along and took all his touches.
After that, he drifted around the league, doomed to be a permanent benchwarmer—the guy keeping the water bottles cold.
In short, every team had wasted Okafor's most important years of growth.
But now, he was going to the Spurs—under Gregg Popovich, the best player developer in the business.
Maybe this 2015 lottery prodigy really could turn his career around.
"Keep an eye on that trade," Chen Yilun said, rolling his shoulders. "Okafor won't cause us any trouble this year, but down the line? Who knows. Better to stay alert."
"Got it!"
Peja nodded, taking note of it.
The rest of the trades weren't anything special.
The Raptors sent Terrence Ross and a 2017 first-round pick to the Magic for Serge Ibaka.
The Bulls traded Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott, and a 2018 second-rounder to the Thunder for Cameron Payne, Anthony Morrow, and Jeffrey Lauvergne—pretty much a swap of spare parts.
"Alright, everyone,"
Chen Yilun said, standing up slowly after hearing all the reports.
"The worst-case scenario didn't happen. The West is still the West. Let's stick to our plan for the rest of the regular season—keep the team competitive, keep everyone healthy, and save our strength for the playoffs!"