CHAPTER 469: CHAPTER 381: CONVERSATION WITH GRANT

"Zeng, you haven’t rested yet?" On the plane, Grant came over to greet Zeng Xingyang and sat down alongside him.

"You’re the same, thinking about where to play later?" Zeng Xingyang teased.

"No, no, I’m just heading home afterward." Grant said.

Seeing that Grant seemed to have something to say, Zeng Xingyang put his iPad away.

Grant said, "Zeng, I know today should be a happy moment, and I shouldn’t bring this up, but I still want to talk to you."

Zeng Xingyang roughly knew what Grant wanted to say and nodded, "Go ahead."

"Zeng, I want to leave the team to get more opportunities. It’s not that I’m unhappy with the team or my teammates. I’ve been very happy here, but I know I can’t earn a big salary here, and there are many players more important than me in the team." Grant said.

Grant’s rookie contract was about to end, and he clearly had high expectations for himself.

Grant took a deep breath and said, "So I want to look elsewhere and see if I have the ability to get a max contract."

For Grant, having won the championship, he had fewer worries. Playing in the future was more about his status and salary; he wanted to be an All-Star, a superstar, a max-contract player.

But with the Nuggets, he had no confidence.

Because both Zeng Xingyang and Jokic were exceptional to the point of giving him some despair.

He couldn’t even imagine surpassing Zeng Xingyang and Jokic.

Zeng Xingyang nodded, "Where do you want to go? Have you talked to your agent?"

Grant replied excitedly, "Thank you, Zeng, I knew you’d understand. As for where I want to go, I haven’t decided yet. I was thinking of discussing it after everyone’s finished celebrating the championship."

Zeng Xingyang said, "Okay, if you need me to communicate with Connelly, I’ll do my best to help you get to the team you want. For now, don’t reveal your intention to leave, to avoid putting Connelly in a passive position."

Grant was touched, "Yes, yes, I understand. I’ll make sure my agent keeps it quiet, so as not to harm the team. No matter where I go, Zeng, you’ll always be my boss."

Zeng Xingyang knew that it was unlikely for either the Nuggets or Grant to continue working together, and parting amicably was the best outcome for both.

Zeng Xingyang knew that in the original trajectory, although Grant didn’t become a superstar, he did become a leader on a weaker team and earned a very high salary.

This development was indeed better than staying with the Nuggets.

When a teammate wants to leave, Zeng Xingyang won’t forcefully try to keep them; such compulsion might not even lead to good results.

On the contrary, if a player has contributed to the team, Zeng Xingyang would also help them as long as it doesn’t harm the team.

After Grant left, Zeng Xingyang rubbed his temples.

Damn, I’m just a rookie with a paltry salary, yet I have so much to deal with.

Connelly really treated me like a workhorse.

After the celebration is over, I’ll block Connelly first and contact him when the new season starts.

....

When the entire Nuggets team landed in Denver, the airport exit was filled with fans.

As Butler came out holding the trophy.

"We are the champions!"

"We are the champions!"

"We are the champions!"

Butler had only been here for one season, yet he already received the fans’ adoration.

The fans here loved Butler’s tough-guy spirit.

Whenever Zeng Xingyang or Jokic faced foul trouble, he could always step up and play the role of the second-in-command well.

And when Zeng Xingyang and Jokic played well, he would never take the ball from them, making himself invisible.

Butler nearly achieved a seamless integration with the Nuggets.

One by one, the Nuggets players walked out, and when Zeng Xingyang appeared last, the scene reached its peak.

"MVP!"

"MVP!"

"MVP!"

At this moment, the people of Denver regarded Zeng Xingyang as their hero.

Zeng Xingyang also walked quickly, waving to fans in celebration.

Fortunately, the security personnel were enough to let Nuggets players smoothly exit the airport.

After everything was arranged by the owner, there were days of consecutive celebration events, not to mention the city championship parade.

The Nuggets staff also received bonuses.

Zeng Xingyang directly told the finance department to distribute his bonus to all the staff.

This was done privately, and Zeng Xingyang did not deliberately involve his teammates; he wouldn’t morally coerce them this way.

.....

Zeng Xingyang only got up from bed in the evening the next day.

Taylor Swift had already prepared dinner, and in the evening, Zeng Xingyang brought her to a nightclub.

The Nuggets players and their families had long been waiting there.

The nightclub had been booked by the Nuggets.

As Taylor Swift arrived holding onto Zeng Xingyang’s arm, the scene reached a high point.

Teammates never quite figured out how many girlfriends Zeng Xingyang had, but they all knew his girlfriends were celebrity stars, which was enviable.

Taylor Swift, being straightforward, turned the place into a concert, performing five songs and igniting the atmosphere, earning Zeng Xingyang plenty of face.

....

While the championship celebration was ongoing, the news coverage of the Nuggets was overwhelming.

Meanwhile, Connelly and the Nuggets coaching staff were working overtime on the draft workout.

There’s nothing to be done; the game between the Nuggets and the Knights took place very late, and other teams were ready way ahead.

Many teams now were looking at which rookies the Nuggets were interested in, preparing to study them closely.

The Nuggets’ drafting in the past two years has been even more impressive than the Thunder’s, selecting rookies like Zeng Xingyang, Jokic, and Siakam, who have both the potential and immediate impact.

Such drafting acumen is envied.

To avoid leaking the chosen players, Connelly invited a lot of players for workouts, making it hard for other teams to guess his intentions easily.

The day before the championship ceremony, Xiao Ding also came to Denver for a workout.

After the workout, Zeng Xingyang invited Xiao Ding to a restaurant for a meal.

When Xiao Ding received the workout invitation from the Nuggets, he was very anxious because he had basically traveled around to many teams lately, but none of those teams promised to draft him.

Even from his agent’s mouth and some news reports, Xiao Ding got the information that he would likely go undrafted.

This was something he was very unwilling to accept.

He felt that he didn’t perform well during the Nuggets workout; there were many shots he should have made but didn’t.

So he didn’t hold much hope for joining the Nuggets.

When seated, Xiao Ding appeared a bit nervous.

Zeng Xingyang was younger than him, but his accomplishments were far greater.

Xiao Ding didn’t even know how to address Zeng Xingyang; if he were older, he could call him "brother" without any pressure...