Two Titans of Los Angeles

After a day of searching, he finally locked down a target.

Chen Xi found an apartment near the arena to make it convenient for running to practice.

Rent in Oklahoma City was relatively cheap—$700 a month for a one-bedroom with a kitchen and bathroom. Relatively speaking, it was acceptable. After all, he was alone now and didn't need much space to settle himself.

Once I make a name for myself this year, the team should come to me for an early extension. Then I'll sign a big contract and think about buying a nice place to live.

Chen Xi was full of hope for the future. He'd had his eye on Westbrook's big villa for a long time. Sooner or later, he'd get himself one too!

Glancing again at the physical stats listed by the system, Chen sighed.

"After moving, I still have to train. Can't stop. There's a long road ahead."

Time came to the last day of October. The Thunder continued to host at home, welcoming the challenge of the Los Angeles Lakers.

In the new season right after Kobe retired, Lakers fans were undoubtedly lost. They still hadn't found a suitable successor to help the Purple and Gold Dynasty reclaim its glory.

At the same time, the internal strife within the Lakers' Buss family ownership had been fierce. This past summer, Jim Buss signed Mozgov to a four-year, $64 million deal and Luol Deng to a four-year, $72 million deal, effectively shackling the team's salary cap—just to spite Jeanie Buss!

Add in the recent Leak Gate incident, which left the formerly hyped rookie D'Angelo Russell isolated from the entire team. The victim of the incident, Nick Young, flatly stated he would never forgive him.

This made the atmosphere within the team extremely toxic. The Los Angeles Lakers' rebuilding seemed indefinitely postponed.

Arriving at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, the Lakers barely warmed up before heading back to the locker room to wait for the game to start.

Lakers starters:

D'Angelo Russell

Julius Randle

Nick Young

Timofey Mozgov

Luol Deng

Looking at the Lakers' roster with hindsight, it was actually still full of potential.

Randle, Russell, Ingram, Clarkson, Zubac, and even Lou Williams would all eventually carve out decent careers.

But right now? It was a complete mess.

Luke Walton, who had jumped from Warriors assistant coach to head coach at the end of April this year, hadn't yet shown any remarkable coaching ability. Maybe it was a case of a clever woman can't cook without rice. For now, he could still find an excuse—after all, the pressure of coaching the Lakers was among the highest in the entire league.

From tip-off to final buzzer, the Lakers, plagued by off-court chaos, brought that gloomy atmosphere onto the court. The game was one-sided from the very start.

With Chen Xi on the team, the Thunder's transition period firepower had suddenly increased. Add in a big man off the bench with decent offensive skills (a damn idiot—I'll find a way to write him off), and the Thunder's overall offensive efficiency soared.

In the end, the Thunder easily beat the Lakers 116-90, securing their third straight win to open the season.

Westbrook put up another triple-double—33 points, 11 rebounds, 16 assists. He was writing a brand new legend.

Chen Xi went 9-for-14 from the field, 6-for-10 from three, and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line, scoring 26 points—his second career 20-point game and a new career high.

After three straight wins, the Thunder had two days off.

Then they would fly to Los Angeles to challenge... the Los Angeles Clippers!

Of course, while others rested, Chen didn't dare to. Even after two good games, he was still a fringe player in the league. There was still a lot to improve.

For two straight days, he was in the gym from dawn till dusk.

His only companions were the basketball and Oladipo on the other half-court.

"Chris, want to run a few games of one-on-one?"

Oladipo walked over after finishing a round of shooting drills.

"Next time, Victor. I'm a bit tired right now. After I rest, I still need to hit the weight room for some strength sets."

Glancing at his stats—his driving had improved but was still at 48, and his layup at 50—Chen Xi flatly refused the one-on-one challenge that would definitely get him destroyed.

He didn't think a single Bronze Badge would let him get any advantage over Odie.

If you can't win a one-on-one, what's the point of playing one-on-one!

Oladipo gave Chen Xi a strange look. Chris Chen was usually so sociable—why was he so withdrawn during training? But he didn't say much, just turned and went back to his own practice.

On November 2nd, the Thunder's official website announced a trade between the Thunder and the 76ers.

Oklahoma City sent Ilyasova plus a first-round pick to Philadelphia in exchange for Jerami Grant.

Ilyasova clearly wasn't part of the Thunder's long-term plans. After arriving in OKC, he played only three games before being traded away again. It made you think—business is just business.

"Let's all welcome our new quality forward!"

Grant had already arrived in Oklahoma City before the news was even released on the official website. Clearly, he knew the trade was coming.

After a brief welcome ceremony, everyone immediately jumped into joint practice. During the regular season, there wasn't much time for sentimentality. Soon, they'd be flying out for an away game.

The Clippers were strong.

Or rather, any team with Chris Paul was hard not to be strong. Add in the White Mamba Griffin, Little Jordan, and Crawford, and this Lob City team had once attracted a huge fanbase.

But there's a legendary figure on their team.

Doc Rivers.

This championship coach who led the Celtics to a title in '08 (honestly, with that Celtics roster, you could tie a dog to the coaching chair and still win) has been pulling off some truly baffling moves with the Clippers lately.

Doc Rivers serves as both Head Coach and Team Operations President for the Clippers.

In the 14-15 season, Little Rivers just joined the Clippers, averaging 7 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists per game. Since he was a rookie, Old Rivers only gave his son a two-year, $6.4 million "1+1" contract. Then the next season, 15-16, Little Rivers played 67 games, averaging 8.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists—a slight improvement.

But Little Rivers opted out of his contract. Then, on July 2, the very day the trade market opened, Old Rivers handed his son a bloated three-year, $35 million deal.

The funny thing is, before that, Little Rivers told reporters he only wanted a contract close to the mid-level—around $8 million. But his loving father, Old Rivers, went straight for a big deal worth nearly $12 million a year.

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