Chapter 1 Stevens' Plan

After Stevens adopted Tang Tian's suggestion, he quickly put it into action.

Durant was quite interested in the proposal to play shooting guard. He remembered that his most enjoyable phase with the Supersonics was when he played that position.

With Durant's agreement, everything else was easier to handle.

Stevens arranged for trainers to begin weight loss programs for Durant and Siakam.

At the same time, Kuzma also underwent some weight gain, as he was going to shift from playing exclusively small forward to a hybrid small forward/power forward role.

When facing teams with relatively large wings like the Bucks and Lakers, Stevens also began using the new starting lineup ahead of time.

The backcourt consisted of Brogdon and Durant, the forwards Siakam and Davis, and Gasol at center.

Although not quite a "death lineup," the average height of this lineup was significantly higher than before.

However, experimenting with lineups always has its growing pains, and the team's record fluctuated.

Fortunately, the fluctuations were within a controllable range, and as Durant and Siakam lost weight, the fluctuations continued to decrease.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was already the end of December. The Pelicans were about to face the Spurs in their Christmas game.

The Spurs were now ranked number one in the league.

With Durant's departure to the Lakers and Tang Tian's retirement from the Pelicans, the strength of their two biggest competitors had weakened, and they were virtually unchallenged.

They were ranked first on ESPN's power rankings before the season started and were considered by the outside world to be the biggest favorite to win the championship this season.

This Christmas game was therefore highly anticipated.

Two days before Christmas, Tang Tian was at home with his children, decorating the manor in preparation for the holiday.

While they were decorating, an unexpected guest arrived at the manor.

Yao Ming.

The two had last met during the China games.

Moreover, Yao Ming's purpose in coming to the United States this time was surprising: he was here to scout players.

"Do you know that there's a very talented Chinese center in the NCAA right now?"

Yao Ming's eyes even showed a hint of excitement.

Tang Tian shook his head. Since making that suggestion, he had only occasionally paid attention to the Pelicans, let alone the NCAA.

He had retired to become an owner, and most of his time was spent on his children and family.

"A 2.13-meter center who can shoot threes, dribble for breakthroughs, and even make flying dunks. In short, he's very versatile."

Yao Ming spoke with great enthusiasm.

As a center himself, he knew how high the talent of such a center was. He even felt that with good development, that person's achievements would surpass his own.

Tang Tian was surprised, feeling that Yao Ming was exaggerating too much.

If it was really as Yao Ming said, then this talent would be many times stronger than Yi Jianlian. Could there be such an Asian player?

"What's his name?"

Tang Tian couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Lin Yi."

"Lin Yi?"

Tang Tian found the name familiar.

He thought about it and remembered that when he gave away signed sneakers during his Nike China tour, one went to Wang Quanze and another to Lin Yi.

He had a relatively deep impression of that Lin Yi, a child from a mountain village. He had also donated money to that village so they could watch the Olympics.

Later, when he was doing Nike promotional activities at the American All-Star Game, he also saw the two of them. It seemed that they had both gone to play in the NCAA.

But it couldn't be the same person.

Although it had been two years since he last saw him, the Lin Yi he remembered was just a child who wasn't even 1.8 meters tall. Could he have suddenly become a 2.13-meter giant?

Was he kidding?

Perhaps it was just a coincidence.

"Which school is he at?"

Tang Tian couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Davidson, the Davidson Wildcats. I'd like to invite you to go with me."

Yao Ming's idea was simple. He could tell from some of the footage that Lin Yi had a lot of talent and would inevitably join the national team in the future.

If Tang Tian went with him, it would be a way to plan for the future.

However, he saw that Tang Tian's expression was very surprised, almost as if he had seen a ghost.

It really was like seeing a ghost.

The Lin Yi he knew was at Davidson!

But he had never seen anyone grow tens of centimeters in just two or three years. It was completely unscientific!

Even Giannis Antetokounmpo, the most well-known example in the NBA, was said to have started as a point guard in the spring and ended up as a center in the fall.

But in reality, he had only grown from 2.04 meters to 2.11 meters.

"I'll go with you."

Tang Tian finally agreed to Yao Ming. He wanted to see if the Lin Yi that Yao Ming was talking about was the same person he knew.

That afternoon, Tang Tian and Yao Ming took a plane to Davidson, North Carolina.

It was an unremarkable town, and if it weren't for Davidson College, few people would probably come here.

Davidson College has a good academic reputation and is one of the "New Ivy League" schools.

Moreover, the school has produced many famous people, including former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Pulitzer Prize winner Charles Wright, and NBA superstar Curry.

Yes, Curry graduated from this prestigious school.

Compared to its academics, Davidson, although belonging to the NCAA Division I, has never been very strong in basketball.

Except for Curry.

Curry led the team to a historic appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight, and then made a name for himself in the NBA, which is how the school became known to basketball fans around the world.

After entering the campus, they went straight to the basketball gym.

The game was in the evening, and it had already started before they arrived.

Upon entering the basketball gym, the first thing Tang Tian saw were the many signs and banners.

This familiar scene brought back memories of his time playing at UConn.

In terms of basketball atmosphere, the NCAA was several levels above the NBA.

However, he was still surprised when he saw the words written on those signs.

"Big Demon King." (Da Mo Wang)

When he saw these words, the first thing that came to his mind was Zhou Qi.

Zhou Qi had dominated the U17 games, putting up multiple triple-doubles with blocks, and was given this nickname by fans.

However, it was clear that this Big Demon King was not that Big Demon King, but rather Lin Yi.

He then turned his gaze to the court.

A familiar face, but a completely unfamiliar height.

Lin Yi's crossover dribble past his opponent followed by a flying dunk instantly ignited the atmosphere of the entire arena.

And after the dunk, Lin Yi unleashed a string of trash talk towards the sidelines.

Tang Tian found it amazing.

It really was the same kid from back then.

Only the face was completely unrecognizable.

Yao Ming called out to Tang Tian, and the two of them chose a spot with a good view.

Tang Tian was also able to better observe Lin Yi's performance on the court.

As Yao Ming had said, Lin Yi's crossovers, breakthroughs, and even shooting were all excellent.

He was simply a killing machine in the NCAA.

And if he continued to play like this, he had a chance to compete for a top-three pick, or even the number one overall pick.

The more Tang Tian watched, the more something felt off.

Although he knew that Lin Yi was playing well at Davidson, this was far beyond just "playing well."

Slowly, he began to realize something.

Lin Yi had very likely transmigrated like him and gained a system.

This was the most logical explanation.