Chapter 814: Chapter 814

But the man in front of him was an exception. Kevin Johnson went directly into politics after retirement.

As a native of Sacramento, Johnson was elected mayor in ’08 and has been serving ever since.

Hansen hadn’t been aware of these things before and only realized the professional connection after Divac’s introduction.

Because of basketball as a shared topic, their conversation in the car was very smooth.

Moreover, Johnson was visibly excited.

For him, Hansen’s arrival didn’t just mean vast business opportunities; more critically, it meant making Sacramento prosperous.

The American Dream is too generic when everyone has a heart for hometown prosperity and development.

In the car, Johnson shared these thoughts with Hansen more specifically.

The development of cities is phased, like Cleveland, which prospered due to industry and declined with deindustrialization; Sacramento rose because of the gold rush, and as the gold was exhausted, its prosperity naturally declined too.

Currently, it’s mainly supported by the tech industry and agriculture; it’s the largest agricultural products distribution and trade center in the U.S., and an important base for U.S. rocket engine and fuel production, but commerce is relatively weak.

This aspect will fundamentally change with the joining of a phenomenal figure like Hansen.

Look at the changes in Cleveland today; it’s not just about the increase in valuation of the Cavaliers, but the entire city has prospered directly.

The boom of the basketball market leads to commercial prosperity, commercial prosperity leads to population growth, and population growth brings further urban prosperity; this is a positive cycle.

How could Johnson not hope for his hometown to become the next Cleveland!

Moreover, in the car, Johnson revealed information that Hansen hadn’t known before.

Asian residents make up a high percentage of Sacramento’s population, reaching 17.8%. For origınal chapters go to 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⚫𝙣𝙚𝙩

This is greatly related to the 19th-century gold rush, resulting in Sacramento having a more familiar name among Asians: "Sha Ka Mian Du," a transliteration from the 19th-century Cantonese immigrants.

This was unexpectedly good news, as Hansen’s identity meant that these people could immediately make the basketball market thrive.

Hansen followed Johnson to a gathering site where a citizens’ welcome event was held for Hansen.

The scene was shocking, with three streets near the venue all blocked off, and people as far as the eye could see.

This was just Hansen’s first day in Sacramento.

When Hansen appeared on stage, the scene instantly erupted into chaos.

Just as Barkley had said, given Hansen’s stature now, it’s not about which city suits him better; he can change a city.

As mayor, Johnson first expressed a warm welcome to Hansen, and Hansen subsequently took the microphone to give a brief speech, which touched on why he chose the Kings.

Of course, those were the publicly acceptable reasons.

The reasons like the Kings being a very promising team, his love for challenges, and his fondness for the city of Sacramento, among others.

Even at the end, he also promised to bring a championship to the Kings, making the city prosper like the gold rush days.

Thus, Hansen unlocked his signature achievement: promising to bring a championship to a team upon arriving in a new city.

This promise sent the scene into another frenzy.

New fans lamented that Hansen was overpromising again, given the current Kings’ lineup is full of rookies, but old fans were already dreaming of the future.

One must remember when Hansen had made such promises before, what he brought was not just a championship, but a dynasty!

Or to mention, a small overlooked fact is that even though Sacramento isn’t big now, it’s California’s capital, and its development potential far exceeds that of Cleveland.

After the rally, Hansen headed by car to a manor in the suburbs, a temporary residence provided by Vivek.

Sacramento’s overall layout fit well with what Hansen had previously learned; most landmark buildings are located downtown, like the Rocket Research Building and the new Golden 1 Center used by the Kings since last year, also situated in the city center.

The wealthy mostly reside in the suburbs, and the city resembles Cleveland the most in terms of greenery.

The car drove along roads lined with shady trees on both sides.

However, the reasoning for this layout differs from Cleveland, as Sacramento is located in central California, not coastal but with high temperatures, focusing on hot and dry summers.

If the city didn’t have such massive planting, the urban heat island effect would significantly impact human comfort.

In fact, even with massive greenery, Hansen could feel the heat wave after getting out of the car.

This is true California style, a scene of gold rushers laboring under the scorching sun, with sweating California girls in the distance, automatically appearing in one’s mind.

At the manor, Hansen took a shower first, then began discussing trade matters with Rondo and Divac.

After Hansen made his decision, Divac had already negotiated with Griffin at the first instance, and a basic framework was already in place.

The Kings’ offered trade chip was George Hill to balance the salary, alongside one potential star, referring to either Mitchell, Tatum, or Doncic.

Compared to what the Cavaliers paid to acquire Hansen (in a non-clairvoyant state), what they’re getting now is much less than before.

That’s just the difference between sign-and-trade and a regular trade, though compared to what the Cavaliers got when James left, it’s still much more.

Of course, if Hansen insisted, the Kings could keep all three and use Hield as a trade chip instead.

But that might not necessarily be a good thing because there’s only one ball on the court.

The Kings’ previous approach of hoarding players certainly wouldn’t work as players aren’t robots and won’t act on commands.

Especially quality rookies, they need possession because possession produces stats, and stats represent contracts.

Having several players needing possession together will inevitably lead to constant internal conflicts.

Divac suggested Tatum, as Tatum currently seems less promising than Mitchell, and Doncic is still an unscratched lottery ticket.

After speaking, Divac looked at Rondo, who then turned to Hansen.

You’d think the Kings’ general manager and team veteran would be Divac, but in actuality, Rondo has more say than Divac.

You’d think Rondo is the voice, but in reality, Hansen has the final say in the Kings.

This was a fundamental requirement raised by Hansen this summer when meeting with other teams, and the Kings also have to abide by this rule.

This includes even Hansen’s own trade.

Hansen shook his head.

Tatum is the least likely to be traded because he’s the only one among the three who plays well off the ball.

After much thought, Hansen made his choice.

Doncic’s talent is definitely better compared to Mitchell, with a higher ceiling, but he requires the most nurturing effort.

You need to feed him with a lot of possessions for him to become "the" Doncic in history.

Moreover, Doncic’s defense is mediocre, requiring others to cover for him.

Of course, the biggest issue is that Doncic plays as a ball-dominant primary player type, which strongly conflicts with Hansen.

Like Irving, should Hansen support him?

That clearly isn’t realistic.

Thus, before Hansen arrived, Doncic was the most likely to become the top player.

But after Hansen came, he became the least needed person for the Kings.

In contrast, although Mitchell is shorter, he has a wide wingspan, spider-like, with excellent defense and enthusiasm.

And importantly, Mitchell had shown outstanding immediate combat power last season.

Hansen’s joining the Kings was an unexpected choice, heavily criticized by many, but he needs to quickly lead the team to fulfill the championship promise, which in return will make the critics feel slapped in the face and then criticize even more fiercely.