Watching the excited-looking Brown, a faint, ambiguous smile curved at the corner of Chen Yilun's lips.
His plan was finally moving into full execution.
Although Brown and Snyder had joined earlier, neither of them had truly shaken off the old Spurs-system mindset.
They were still just head coaches—within their teams, they didn't hold enough real power.
But once Blackstone was placed inside the organization, the 76ers would finally fall within his sphere of influence!
"Don't get too excited yet."
Seeing how thrilled Brown looked, Chen Yilun couldn't help reminding him.
"Don't sit around these next couple of days. Your boss is definitely going to talk to you soon. When he does, quietly nudge the old man a bit. As long as old Colangelo doesn't leave, nothing we do matters!"
"Alright!"
Brown nodded hard.
"I've gotta go. I can't stay here too long!"
After Brown left, Chen Yilun stretched.
"What should I do now?"
Although he was already in Philadelphia, his current situation meant he couldn't show his face publicly.
Scrolling through his contacts, a name suddenly caught his attention.
He had nothing better to do anyway—and since he was already in Philly, why not swing by Villanova?
...
...
"Who?"
Villanova head coach Jay Wright stared wide-eyed at his assistant.
"Chen Yilun. He says he's already at the school entrance and wants you to come pick him up."
"Why is he here?!"
Flustered, Wright hurriedly pulled on his suit jacket.
"He's catching me completely off guard! Hurry, hurry—come with me to greet him."
The two rushed to the entrance, where they found Chen Yilun standing alone, shivering in the freezing wind.
"Chen!"
Jay called out, rushing forward in just a few strides.
"Why didn't you give me any warning you were coming!"
"You Philly guys… ah-choo!"
Chen Yilun sneezed loudly right in the middle of his sentence.
"Your winters here are seriously cold!"
"Come inside and warm up!"
They quickly ushered him onto campus. Only after reaching the heated arena did Chen Yilun start to feel better.
"I came quietly this time,"
he said once he recovered a bit.
"Didn't want anyone else noticing."
Hearing that, Jay Wright's eyes lit up. This was great—everyone knew how many draft picks Chen Yilun controlled. If he was visiting in secret, that meant his players had a real shot at being chosen.
"Wonderful, wonderful! Don't worry—we'll keep everything strictly confidential!"
Then Jay asked with curiosity:
"So, which of our players are you looking at?"
"Two."
Chen Yilun answered mysteriously.
"One is your guy Bridges, and the other is Jalen Brunson."
"Great! Great! Great!"
Coach Wright said three times in excitement.
"They're both excellent kids! I'm telling you, Chen—they're outstanding talents. Whether you want immediate impact or long-term potential, they're absolutely worth developing."
"Mhm."
Chen Yilun casually responded.
"Let's move things along. I don't have too much time to stay here."
"Got it, got it. I'll call them over as soon as they're done with class."
Satisfied, Chen Yilun nodded.
...
While Chen Yilun was causing a stir over at Villanova, a tense meeting was underway in the 76ers' conference room.
Josh Harris sat at the head of the table, frowning.
"Still no answer from Brett?"
"None."
Brown, seated below him, shook his head. "I called him right before this meeting. He said he doesn't want to join the front office."
"This is troublesome."
Josh rubbed his temples in frustration.
After the internal political struggles, he had kicked the entire Colangelo father-and-son duo out of management. Now the team had neither an operations chairman nor a general manager.
Seeing Josh's constipated expression,
Brown hesitated before speaking.
"Actually… I have another candidate."
Josh's eyes lit up instantly.
He had tried looking for replacements recently, but found no one. With the Sixers' sewer-level record over the past few years, plus the Colangelos' baffling decisions,
every strong executive in the league avoided the position.
No surprise—the Colangelos had nearly wiped out Philly's future draft assets.
"Who is it?"
Brown paused before saying, "You know I used to work in Sacramento…"
"What?!"
Before he could finish, Josh shot to his feet in excitement.
"Is Chen Yilun willing to come?!"
He was ecstatic.
"If he's willing, he can take any job he wants. Whatever shares Ranadivé gave him, I'll give him more!"
"Stop, stop!"
Brown quickly waved his hands, trying to calm him down.
"Chen Yilun won't come. I'm nowhere near influential enough to bring him over."
As soon as he said this, Brown watched the excitement slowly drain from Josh's face.
"Chen Yilun isn't coming…"
Josh's tone carried a hint of disappointment.
"Then who are you talking about?"
"I mean Chen Yilun's deputy—Michael Blackstone. I talked to him about this a couple days ago, and he said he's willing to take the job."
"Blackstone?"
Josh rubbed his chin, thinking.
"Oh right—he used to work in New Orleans, and then Chen Yilun poached him to handle player contracts, right?"
"Exactly!"
Brown nodded vigorously.
"I know Blackstone. He's very capable. The Kings' contract for Jokic this summer—that was his work."
"But… it still doesn't feel ideal."
Josh's expression didn't reveal whether he was pleased or disappointed.
"He's always been more of a deputy. Promoting him straight into the chairman role… isn't that a bit much?"
"We don't need to make him chairman!"
Josh's assistant suddenly spoke up.
"I know Blackstone—he's definitely capable. Plus, with the Pelicans' Trajano and the Kings' Chen Yilun backing him, we'll have plenty of leverage."
"So what if he lacks seniority? Let him start as general manager. Then we can bring in someone compliant to serve as operations chairman!"