More than a dozen top lawyers worked through the night to revise and proofread thousands of complex legal documents.
Several large commercial banks on Wall Street began injecting cash into designated trust accounts under pledge orders.
The NBA's New York office even went so far as to open an expedited green channel for this unprecedented purpose, with dozens of examiners conducting 24/7 expedited reviews of the buyer's background.
Chris Paul Gaston cooperated fully in court by withdrawing all of the restructuring plans that had previously sparked the riots.
Matt Damon also tacitly instructed his lawyers to voluntarily withdraw their application for a temporary injunction to freeze his assets.
Meanwhile, the other two partners, Dupi and Cohen, who had originally planned to defect, hurriedly signed their names on the letter of support after receiving their share of the exit cash.
In all the overwhelming public media statements and press releases, not a single word mentioned " Lin Qi " or "a mysterious financier forcibly acquiring the Celtics."
At this moment, all the sports media across the United States and the citizens of Boston were witnessing a scene brimming with emotion on their television screens: the over-eighty-year-old Auerbach the Cardinal, an unlit cigar between his fingers, stood firmly in the center of the press conference. Matt Damon, the pride of Boston fans, stood triumphantly to his left. Hollywood stars Ben Affleck and Mark Wall stood obediently in the back row as background figures, flashing their signature white teeth at the camera. Beside them, several veteran players who had won countless honors for the Boston Celtics, and representatives of the families of those legendary retired players, made their dazzling entrances.
Each of them actually only received a tiny fraction of the shares, which had absolutely no impact on the team's actual control. However, the information and emotional value conveyed by this scene were simply too powerful! So powerful that during that city-wide celebration, not a single rational reporter was willing to spoil the mood by relentlessly pressing for information about the "mysterious financier" who was actually hiding behind the Cayman Islands shell company and pulling out $180 million in cash in just a few days.
In the audience, a senior Sports Illustrated reporter raised his microphone high and asked Damon loudly, "Mr. Damon, is this a complete victory for Boston fans?"
Damon turned his head slightly, exchanged a glance with Auerbach, who stood beside him like a pillar of strength, and then turned back to the camera with a bright smile.
"Certainly!"
Another reporter from the Boston Globe turned his camera to the protagonist in the front row. "Mr. Auerbach, as the godfather of the Celtics, why did you choose to fully support and join this sudden large-scale acquisition at this time?"
The Cardinal slowly raised his aged hand, twirling the cigar between his fingers. He leaned closer to the microphone and, in his distinctive, deep, and extremely hoarse voice, uttered a memorable line that would ignite Boston that night.
"Because these new young guys made me one and only promise in my office... They promised me that they would never again embarrass this team in front of the entire nation."
That statement became the headline of all sports news in the United States that evening.
Seeing the complete reversal of public opinion, the NBA league office executives on Fifth Avenue in New York finally breathed a sigh of relief. This was a sensitive time, with labor negotiations breaking down and the entire country facing a lockout crisis. The league headquarters absolutely did not want to see the only NBA icon team ever traded on the New York Stock Exchange dragged into a summer of news quagmire due to lawsuits from retail shareholders, protests from Hollywood stars, IRS rumors, and contract renewal scandals involving head coaches and players. The nationwide lockout was already bad enough. David Stern's office didn't want to see a second, unquenchable fire in Boston.
Thus, through a tacit understanding, the complex transfer process, which would normally take half a year, was forcibly compressed to an extremely efficient pace. Asset review passed! Supplementary explanations waived! Alliance hearing passed unanimously! Board of Directors unanimously approved through anonymous vote!
In less than two months, the Boston Celtics, a sixteen-time champion behemoth teetering on the brink of collapse amidst a storm of capital investment, efficiently completed a historic and complete change of ownership before everyone's astonished eyes.
In the league's final official compliance documents, the newly established parent company was described as "a consortium comprised of prominent Boston locals, Celtics legends, and private trust partnerships." The underlying capital structure and ultimate beneficiary organization of the consortium were not entirely transparent, shrouded in layers of offshore trusts. But for the American media, they only needed to know and believe one thing... that the shrewd and capable President of Basketball Operations, Lin Qi, had successfully brought a powerful yet extremely low-profile "mysterious financier" from Wall Street to the city.
In the bustling, beer-scented pubs of Boston, the frenzied Boston Celtics fans didn't care who the so-called mysterious benefactor was. At that moment, they only cared about, and saw, a few established facts that kept them awake at night with excitement: the greedy New York thug Gaston was finally out of the game! Rick Pitino, who had led the team to ruin, was already in the process of resigning! Auerbach the Cardinal was back at the top of the Celtics ' hierarchy! Matt Damon was contentedly silent on television! Their beloved Celtics hadn't become an empty shell drained of capital, as the newspapers had claimed!
At this very moment, in the CEO's office on the top floor of the FleetCenter, the one with the best view.
Lin Qi stood quietly before the huge, spotless glass window, his hands in his trouser pockets, looking down at the satellite broadcasting vans of various television stations gradually dispersing below. Tucked between his right fingers was a letter of supreme approval from the league, stamped with the personal signature of NBA Commissioner David Stern, which had just been dispensed from a small secure fax machine five minutes earlier.
$180 million. An extreme operation in less than two months.
A once-powerful but now-fallen team that was mercilessly swept in the first round of the playoffs and whose market value plummeted.
A damp city, recently ravaged by the fires of public opinion and capital, now filled with hostility.
A group of small Hollywood business owners, each holding 0.01% of the shares, were as excited as if it were a holiday in front of the camera.
And a the Cardinal who was brought back to the forefront to suppress the city's fortunes and the passion of all the fans.
Of course, there's also that "mysterious benefactor" who's been frantically sought after by financial reporters and sports paparazzi across the US, yet is destined never to show his face in public.
Lin Qi withdrew his gaze, a slight smile playing on his lips, forming a triumphant arc.
Outside the window, the Boston sky had finally cleared completely. A bright, dazzling ray of golden sunlight pierced through the clouds, bathing every inch of the Charles River in Boston. This great city, immersed in revelry, was completely unaware at that moment.
It has just silently and completely changed its true owner.
Lin Qi officially became the owner of the Boston Celtics.