Westbrook was already in his early thirties, after all, and was inevitably nearing the decline of his career. Not everyone was LeBron.
For the team's long-term future, the front office naturally couldn't help turning its attention to Chen Xi.
This young man was truly young!
If he developed well, he could smoothly take the reins of the Thunder from Westbrook, keeping the team in contention for a playoff spot for at least the next ten years.
So, naturally, they could just indulge his odd but harmless behavior.
"Ayton? He's all right. He's got great talent, but he might have a bit of an attitude problem."
Chen, unaware of what Presti was thinking, propped his head on one hand and spoke with affected profundity.
"Oh? You don't think much of him?"
"He's an offense-oriented center. If he had a more positive attitude, there's no reason he couldn't become a good defender. But I watched some of his college footage, and he seemed... a little squeamish?" (Just making that up—he hadn't watched any of it.)
"I see." Presti smiled and said no more.
Even a first overall pick wasn't guaranteed to pan out. Presti was actually optimistic about Ayton's future. That obvious talent, combined with his accurate shot, made it hard not to get excited.
With the second overall pick, the Kings selected Marvin Bagley. (A 2K favorite.)
Another Duke University prodigy was headed to the NBA. Duke was, after all, a college basketball powerhouse.
Without the benefit of hindsight, picking him wasn't surprising. The Kings didn't have Little Sabonis yet, and they already had the future star Fox in their backcourt.
"If you had to choose, who would you take?" Presti seemed to notice that Chen Xi was dismissive of the Kings' pick.
"Me? If it were up to me, I'd