Lin Qi picked up the private phone on the table and dialed Miller's number.
This was the first call Andrew Miller received from the team's management after becoming a full-fledged agent.
"Mr. Miller," Lin Qi's voice came through the receiver, calm and gentle, "Congratulations."
"Mr. Lin Qi," Miller's voice on the other end of the line still carried a hint of nervousness, "Thank you."
"I know this is a mandatory lockout period mandated by the league, and according to the Department of Justice's regulations, as a member of management, I cannot have any official contact with Kevin." Lin Qi pulled out a chair and sat down, twirling his pen in his hand. "So you can think of this call as two old friends who care about Kevin having a casual Late Night chat."
Miller chuckled on the other end of the phone, his previously tense nerves relaxing considerably. Of course, he remembered that over a year ago, in that restaurant in Boston, it was this very man who first told him... that someone close to a player can do far more than just play video games with him.
"I'm calling you today to reassure you." Lin Qi slowed his speech, enunciating each word with extreme clarity. "The $126 million deal Fleisher was hyping up is completely impossible under the new collective bargaining agreement. Neither Boston nor Los Angeles, no one in the entire league can offer that. But I assure you today that as soon as the season resumes, the Celtics will immediately offer Kevin the highest maximum contract available in the league under the new rules."
"Six years, $71 million. I won't shortchange him for a single year, not a penny less. We're going to keep him in Boston for the longest possible term. You can accept other offers, but what we're giving you is absolutely the highest possible offer under the new rules."
There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.
After a full five seconds, Miller finally spoke, "Mr. Lin Qi, you know, over the past year, Kevin has smashed several cups at home. He's always felt that the Boston management thought he didn't deserve a big contract and was deliberately dragging his feet. He... actually harbors resentment towards the city."
"I know," Lin Qi said, his voice completely calm and unwavering. "Because in that year, the person in charge behind that desk wasn't me, it was Chris Paul Gaston."
Miller was startled on the other end of the phone. As a novice, he instantly grasped the deeper meaning in Lin Qi's words... "In that year."
"But from the day the season resumed, the person in charge of this team," Lin Qi said confidently, leaning on the table with one hand, "Became me."
Miller's heart skipped a beat. In that instant, he realized that during the two-month lockout, a major reshuffle had taken place in Boston behind the scenes. The Celtics ' management had completely changed.
"I don't care how badly Fleisher messed up Kevin's relationship in the past," Lin Qi continued. "From the moment the season restarted, Kevin Garnett will get everything this team can offer, within the rules: the longest possible contract, a roster built entirely around him, and... an owner who truly sees him as the future, not just a cash cow."
"All you need to do now is pass on one message to him."
"The doors of Boston have never been closed to him. And this time, no one will bother with a few pittances when it comes to his and the city's glory."
Miller remained silent for a long time on the other end of the phone. When he spoke again, the nervousness of a novice had disappeared, replaced by a heavy sense of trust.
"Mr. Lin Qi, on behalf of Kevin... thank you. Money is indeed important, but for a kid like Kevin from a family like his, having an owner who truly sees him as a pillar of support and is willing to build a team around him makes him feel more secure than having a few million more on the books. I understand that. You obviously understand it too."
Lin Qi smiled and said, "See you in the semifinals, Andrew."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Qi stubbed out his cigarette.
He knew he had secured the most crucial bargaining chip.
In the long, dreary summer that followed, devoid of basketball and where even many star players struggled to pay their rent, Andrew Miller demonstrated to Boston through his actions that he was fundamentally different from a pure businessman like Fleisher.
When Fleisher was in charge, Garnett, apart from playing his heart out on the court, had almost no real commercial development off the court, except for that contract that he could never sign. He was kept on by his fixed salary.
But Miller is different. Although he doesn't have the connections of an elite agent, he has Lin Qi behind him. More accurately, he has a business network woven by Lin Qi using Hollywood resources such as Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Mark Wahlberg.
During the lockout, the Players Association couldn't pay their allowances, and a large number of millionaires who used to spend lavishly began to look worried at home. Meanwhile, Garnett, under Miller's arrangement, received one cross-industry opportunity after another that other team stars could only dream of.
First, there was an A-list Hollywood blockbuster directed by Matt Damon's close friend, who tailored a cameo role for Garnett as a rising basketball star. Although the pay wasn't much according to the Screen Actors Guild rules, the exposure from the basketball court to the big screen was something Fleisher couldn't buy with any amount of public relations spending.
Immediately afterwards, a trendy brand that had just emerged in Boston and Los Angeles came knocking with a check for cash, inviting Garnett to be their next brand ambassador. And the fund behind this brand, which held a stake, all pointed to the same name... Lin Qi.
During this long and tedious lockout, the whole of America watched as star players made fools of themselves. Some were worried about their suspended basic salaries, while others were cursing in the media about their reduced contracts; only Kevin Garnett was busy every day in Hollywood's private film sets and fashion brand photo shoots, not only making real money but also accumulating a huge amount of national fame that transcended basketball itself.
Miller couldn't recover the $55 million that vanished under the new labor rules due to Fleisher's greed, even though he couldn't do it all on the basketball court. But through this deceptive method, he made Garnett truly realize for the first time... that a brother who truly cares about you can open so many doors that you could never have seen before when you're at your lowest point.
Miller knew perfectly well who was secretly handing these opportunities over behind the scenes. He also knew that a financial tycoon of Lin Qi's stature was definitely not after such a small profit from an endorsement fee.
Lin Qi's goal was to make Garnett truly believe one thing during the most confusing, vulnerable, and disillusioning period of the lockout: Boston Boston, and the young man sitting in the president's office, genuinely considered him one of their own to rule the next decade together.
That upcoming maximum salary contract under the new regulations is also an unavoidable hard condition.
This summer's Hollywood cameos, streetwear brand endorsements, and Miller's meticulous personal companionship are the essential soft conditions.
One hand hard, one hand soft, clasped tightly together in the darkness, slowly and firmly locking this 22-year-old cornerstone of the team—who had just watched $55 million slip away and was at the lowest point in his life—onto the Boston Celtics ' chariot.
The summer of the major shutdown was really long.
The basketball world in the United States appears outwardly lifeless.
But some Celtics root systems, powerful enough to overturn the future, lie beneath this desolate permafrost...
Quietly taking root and sprouting.