Facts proved one thing very clearly—no matter how well you think you've prepared, even a reborn couldn't outsmart the NBA's best minds forever.
Jerry West had already shifted gears. He'd quietly gathered information on Kawhi Leonard through Leonard's uncle, Dennis Robertson, and when the Knicks snatched Klay away, the Logo Man barely blinked.
Curry, Cousins, and David Lee were already on the roster; what the Warriors lacked was a defensive wing who could grow into something special. In West's mind, Leonard was the perfect missing piece. And so, when the Knicks made their move, West calmly made his own—selecting Kawhi Leonard with the 10th pick.
The moment that pick was announced, Lin Yi and Popovich both froze. Then, almost in sync, they slammed their tables.
Lin Yi's 12th pick had been carefully prepared to poach the Spurs' target. He didn't even care if Kawhi developed slowly—just getting him under Knicks colors would've been a win.
But now? The Warriors had swooped in, stealing the Spurs' secret plan right out from under them.
The Spurs' front office, which had been negotiating a quiet trade with the Pacers to land Leonard, was caught off guard, too.
The Pacers, on the other hand, were in chaos. They'd been ready to part ways with Hill because they already had Granger and Paul George at the wings. But now that the Spurs had canceled the deal, they didn't know what to do next.
"Should we call the Warriors and see if they'll trade?" one of the Spurs executives asked.
Popovich shook his head. "Forget it. They knew exactly what they were doing this time."
He leaned back in his chair, expression unreadable. He knew this had Dennis Robertson's fingerprints all over it, but he wasn't upset. This was the NBA—nothing ever went perfectly to plan.
And as for Jerry West, Popovich knew better than anyone: if the Logo Man wanted something, he'd find a way to get it.
"Alright," Pop finally said, voice steady. "We'll move to Plan B."
…
Back in New York, Lin Yi was still staring at the screen, half impressed, half annoyed.
"The Warriors were supposed to rebuild," he muttered. "Now their roster is starting to look like a cheat code."
Right after the Warriors picked Kawhi, the Suns took Kemba Walker with the 11th pick—an obvious sign that they were preparing for Nash's eventual departure.
The Knicks, holding the 12th pick, moved to their backup plan. Since Lin would be sliding to small forward next season, the front office needed a power forward who could stretch the floor. They'd sign a veteran later, but this draft was about adding youth and energy.
The options weren't many. The remaining decent power forwards were the Morris twins, Nikola Mirotic, and Kenneth Faried.
Mirotic was immediately ruled out—he wouldn't come over from Europe until 2014, and the Knicks weren't waiting three years. Faried had energy but no shot, which didn't fit the team's spacing around Chris Paul and Lin.
That left the Morris twins—Markieff and Marcus.
Explosive, athletic, both could play inside or out.
In the end, the decision was made: Markieff Morris, 12th overall pick.
A minute later, the Pacers took Marcus Morris at 13th.
When the two brothers hugged and celebrated on stage, Harden—who had been quietly watching next to Lin—just shook his head with a grin.
"If those two end up on the same team," he said, "defenders are gonna lose their minds. You could switch jerseys mid-game and no one would know."
Lin chuckled. He'd actually heard a story from his past life—one of the twins once played in the other's jersey when one was injured, and no one noticed until afterward.
Turns out, the Knicks' decision worked out perfectly. Markieff, at 208 cm, was a better fit for the Knicks' immediate needs—a stretch four with athleticism and solid defense. Marcus, meanwhile, would later earn his reputation as one of the few players who could go toe-to-toe with LeBron physically.
For now, the Pacers just had too many wings. Development time for Marcus would be limited, and Lin was already thinking long-term—maybe, someday, he could bring both brothers to New York without paying too steep a price.
Then came the 14th pick.
The Nuggets selected Bismack Biyombo—a raw, defensive powerhouse who had slipped from the top 10 thanks to the butterfly effect Lin Yi had created. At least he still made it into the lottery.
The Jazz followed at 15, taking Alec Burks, another talented scorer whose draft stock had also slid because Leonard and Vucevic climbed up unexpectedly.
Lin thought. Funny, I remember in my past life the Jazz took Kanter and Burks. Guess some things are destined.
Finally, the Mavericks stepped up with the 16th pick, which they'd gotten through a three-team trade. Lin expected something routine… but then he heard the name:
"With the 16th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks select Kenneth Faried."
Lin blinked. "Faried? This early?"
Moments later, Woj's Twitter feed exploded. Lin refreshed the page, and there it was—
Breaking: Dallas Mavericks trade Emeka Okafor, Kenneth Faried, DeShawn Stevenson, and a 2012 first-round pick to the Phoenix Suns for Amar'e Stoudemire.
Lin Yi leaned back on the couch, whistling low.
If the Suns hadn't had such an aging frontcourt last season, and if the Western Conference hadn't been such a bloodbath, they'd have definitely made the playoffs. Even with a few missed games, Stoudemire still averaged 25 and 10 — that's not someone you just shrug off.
So yeah, it was pretty obvious who the Mavericks were targeting when they traded for Stoudemire.
Lin Yi had faced Stoudemire four times in his career so far, and their matchups had always been a back-and-forth battle. Stoudemire wasn't the reckless dunk machine from his younger days anymore, but he was still strong, still crafty, and still dangerous. With him on board, the Mavericks were about to skyrocket.
Think about it: Kyrie Irving outside, Stoudemire Dirk inside, plus veterans like Terry, Kidd, and Marion holding it all together. That's madness.
Lin Yi originally planned to grab Kenneth Faried with the 23rd pick — but that Mavericks move? That was suffocating.
And the Suns? They were clearly going all-in on rebuilding. Kemba Walker and Faried — that's like a rebooted Nash and Stoudemire pairing.
The 2011 Draft was already full of surprises, but Lin Yi knew there was no stopping the Mavericks' rise. Even if he'd taken Faried with the 12th pick, Dallas would've found another way to land Stoudemire. Judging by how fast that trade went down, those two front offices had probably been cooking it up for weeks.
Besides, Faried wouldn't have fit the Knicks as well as Markieff Morris did. A power forward who couldn't stretch the floor would've cut the effectiveness of Lin Yi's pick-and-rolls in half — and that's non-negotiable.
That's the thing about the NBA: the best front offices are good for a reason. They're always three steps ahead.
At least tonight, the blueprint for the future teams had already begun to take shape.
And as for the Mavericks?
Everyone knew they were going all-in for a title.
Losing the 2011 championship had clearly lit a fire under them. In Lin Yi's past life, that same Mavericks team got complacent after winning it all — but this time, they were moving like a team possessed.
"Seriously… I feel like I'm being targeted," Lin Yi muttered to himself, half-joking, half-exasperated.
And then the draft kept rolling.
With the seventeenth pick, the Bucks took Iman Shumpert.
With the eighteenth, the 76ers went with Chris Singleton.
At nineteen, the Bobcats used their second first-rounder on Brandan Wright.
And at twenty, the Wizards picked Tobias Harris, which could speed up their rebuild without waiting for Beal, since both Vucevic and Harris had real potential.
As for Lin Yi, he'd already made up his mind — no matter what happened next, he was taking Jimmy Butler.
The first round of 2011 was running dry, and between the Warriors' quiet scheming and the Mavericks' wild maneuvers, Lin Yi's head was spinning.
This draft… was turning into a battlefield.
...
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