While Chen Yilun was resting back home, a small discussion was underway in Sacramento's conference room.
Mike Malone took a deep breath and spoke.
"Alright, let's talk. What should we do with the team now?"
Because of the injury wave that hit at the start of the season, the roster had gone through multiple rounds of changes and adjustments. Now, with time passing, several previously injured players were gradually returning.
At this stage, the coaching staff absolutely couldn't take a one-size-fits-all approach.
They needed to evaluate how the bench players had performed and then assemble a new rotation based on that.
Hearing Malone's question, the team's lead assistant coach Monty Williams glanced at his notes and said:
"Nothing too surprising elsewhere, but Siakam has played really well since Butler got injured and Young left. His lateral help defense is exactly what we need. I personally think we should start increasing his minutes."
Thinking about it, Monty couldn't help feeling emotional.
Back when Chen Yilun was planning to trade Young, Monty had subtly voiced his concerns to Malone.
After all, once Butler got hurt, the Kings' defensive backbone relied almost entirely on the sweeping lateral defense of the two wings, Young and Gay.
Monty was a traditional coach—always conservative when it came to using rookies. So when Siakam broke out, it was like a whole new world had opened for him.
"Agreed," Ham said from the side.
"Siakam perfectly filled the gap left by Young's departure. By comparison, that Anunoby kid is still pretty raw. He needs more development."
"Then we go with Siakam."
Malone listened to the discussion and quickly made up his mind.
"As for Anunoby, let's just give the kid more room to grow."
He looked down at the data laid out before him.
"Durant has been carrying too much of the offensive load recently. That's not ideal. It's still early in the season, but we need him fully healthy when the playoffs arrive."
The moment he finished, the entire coaching staff looked up at him.
"But our main system revolves around Durant," Monty said, stroking his goatee. "If we scale back his role or give him rest days, who's supposed to take over?"
"I've actually talked to Chen about this," Malone replied, handing a file to the group.
"I want to increase the involvement of our perimeter players—not just Richardson and Booker. I'm talking about giving more opportunities to guys like LeVert and Caruso."
Monty studied the report, his brows furrowing.
"Why? LeVert's been solid, sure, but he's still a late first-round rookie. Is he really worth that much investment? And the other two off the bench—Caruso and VanVleet—they're just undrafted guys."
"With how they've been playing lately, do you still think they're just undrafted guys?"
Malone's response left Monty momentarily speechless.
"They have been performing well, but the sample size is small. Focusing our development on them based on only a dozen or so games—aren't we being too aggressive?"
"I don't think so."
A voice suddenly rose from the corner.
Everyone turned—it was Mark Daigneault, the new coach who had joined the team this year.
Malone looked genuinely surprised. Daigneault had barely spoken since arriving.
"I think I should add something," Mark said, shifting uncomfortably under everyone's gaze.
"I'm mainly responsible for working with rookies and coordinating things with the G-League, so I interact with these players a lot."
Malone nodded, encouraging him to continue.
"While LeVert and Caruso only have small-sample performances with the main team, I've reviewed their G-League numbers over the past two years. With that large sample as support, I believe they've shown enough to justify giving them development space."
"Well said."
Malone nodded repeatedly.
"And this aligns with what Chen wants. Right now, whether we're talking about guards or wings, we simply have too many of them. Increasing ball-handling opportunities for perimeter guys will help us sift through them more effectively."
There was a deeper implication in Malone's words—one that even Monty understood immediately:
The team had too many guards.
Which meant Chen Yilun was very likely planning to clean up the roster before the trade deadline or during the offseason.
And this year's draft was absolutely loaded.
If they didn't clear space now, how would they make room for new assets?
Before, the team wasn't in a hurry to sell anyone, so rookies could take their time growing.
But now that trades were in the picture, they needed to showcase those players—boost their value—then move them at a premium.
"So whose minutes are we increasing?" Ham asked.
"LeVert," Malone answered without hesitation.
"His draft slot fits, and he's already shown real scoring potential. Let the kid run wild before Christmas."
"But don't play favorites," Malone continued. "Chen told us from the start of the season: don't blindly chase regular-season wins. Focus on expanding the rotation."
"If other teams run an eight- or ten-man rotation, that's their problem. We're running eleven to twelve."
In the end, the finalized lineup was:
Starters: Richardson, Booker, Gay, Durant, Jokić
Bench: Rose, LeVert, VanVleet, Siakam, Caruso, Oden, Anunoby