When the confetti finally settled and the champagne bottles ran dry, New York slowly began to breathe again.
The championship parade had wrapped up, leaving behind a trail of empty bottles, banners, and unforgettable memories.
Curry was the first to head out. After spending a few days in New York—laughing, sightseeing, and mostly being dragged into Lin Yi's spontaneous adventures—he flew back to Oakland to prepare for his wedding with Ayesha.
Before leaving, he made sure to remind Lin Yi, "Hey man, don't forget—after the wedding, we're flying to China. You promised me some of that Lin Yi summer madness."
"Oh, and bring along Olsen. Still, can't believe you're now hooked." Steph teased.
Lin said, "Yeah, yeah, rub it in. Just make sure you survive the wedding first. Mr. All I care about is basketball."
Curry laughed, shaking his head. "You sound like my best man already."
Meanwhile, Harden was a completely different story.
Lin tried convincing him to head back to Oklahoma City to rest up, but the Beard had completely fallen in love with New York nightlife.
"Leave? Nah, bro," Harden said, sunglasses on even indoors. "You don't just walk away from paradise."
Lin chuckled helplessly. "You mean bars, not paradise."
"Semantics," Harden said, sipping something neon-colored.
By the time the NBA Draft rolled around on June 23rd at the Prudential Center in New Jersey, New York will be buzzing again. Next season, the Nets were moving to Brooklyn, setting up what everyone was calling the new The Rivalry.
Still, as Lin joked to Olsen one morning, "Even if they move next door, the Nets' presence in New York is still weaker than the Clippers' in L.A. Maybe they'll have to give out free tickets to get noticed."
Olsen laughed. "That's cruel."
"Cruel, but accurate," Lin said.
On June 14th, while Lin and Olsen were going at it like rabbits, Adrian Wojnarowski, the ever-reliable breaking news machine from Yahoo Sports, dropped a tweet that shook the NBA internet.
"A major earthquake is expected on Draft Day. Stay tuned." Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝓷𝓮𝓽
Lin froze mid-scroll. "Earthquake?" he muttered. "Wait, what?"
Anyone who followed the NBA knew that when Woj spoke, the league listened. His tweets often hit before the teams even made official announcements.
Lin Yi smirked, opened Twitter for a chat, and typed out a reply.
"What earthquake? Is New York about to shake? Should I start packing?"
Within minutes, Woj replied, clearly not amused.
"Not a literal earthquake, Lin. I'm talking about a major trade."
That only encouraged Lin. He replied again.
"Got it. Funny you mention it, Woj—I've got a secret too. Let me tell you…"
He stopped typing, deliberately leaving it hanging.
Woj stared at his phone for a minute. Then five. Then twenty.
He refreshed the page—still nothing.
Is he actually about to leak something to me? Woj thought. Wait, what if he's trolling? No… no, Lin Yi's too calculated for that.
Hours later, still without a follow-up, Woj gave in to curiosity and asked his colleague Steve for Lin's number. When he finally called, no answer.
"Come on…" Woj muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He's doing this on purpose, isn't he?"
Lin Yi was quietly laughing in his apartment, phone on silent, feet up on the table.
"Revenge," he told Olsen. "Sweet, harmless revenge for all those years he kept us waiting for news that never dropped."
Olsen raised an eyebrow. "You're getting back at a journalist?"
"You don't understand," Lin said, half-serious. "Do you know how many nights I stayed up refreshing my feed, waiting for one of his earth-shattering tweets, only for it to be something like, 'Player X is considering options, decision soon.' It's personal now."
Olsen chuckled. "You're unbelievable."
"But," Lin added, his smile fading into curiosity, "if Woj's hinting at something this big, it's probably true. He doesn't play around."
He leaned back on the couch, scrolling through Twitter again.
"Which team's about to pull the trigger? The Knicks? No way, Dolan's still counting his parade money. Maybe the Lakers? Could Kobe be making another big move?"
He paused, the thought making him grin. "Nah… but wouldn't that be something?"
As the summer sun set over Manhattan, Lin Yi put his phone down, the faint noise of the city drifting through the open window.
He had no idea what was about to unfold on Draft Day—only that whatever it was, the NBA was about to shift again.
Please do leave a review and powerstones, helps with the book's exposure.
Feel like joining a for free and subscribing to advanced chapters?
[email protected]/GRANDMAESTA_30