The champagne from their championship victory hadn't even dried when the Trail Blazers called.
The first call came the next day from Bob Whitsitt's assistant. After a ten-minute exchange of pleasantries and congratulations, he casually dropped a comment like, "You guys played really well in the NBA Finals," and hung up.
A few days later, Whitsitt personally intervened, this time making his intentions clear: he wanted P.J. Brown and Bo Outlaw.
By the third call, he skipped the formalities and went straight to Lin Qi: "These two, you don't expect them to get much playing time, do you?"
Lin Qi didn't answer any of the three phone calls. He had his secretary write them down, replied "We'll talk about it later," then put down the receiver and leaned back in his chair.
He knew where Portland was hurting.
In the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs swept the Trail Blazers in four games. Tim Duncan and Robinson, the two big men, completely dominated the Trail Blazers ' interior defense. Then they watched helplessly as the Spurs stormed into the NBA Finals, only to see how Boston's interior defense dismantled the duo. Brown held off Tim Duncan in the low post, while Outlaw repeatedly helped, rotated, and double-teamed, cutting off all of Tim Duncan's passing lanes. They couldn't overcome the same hurdle, but Boston did. Whitsitt is the kind of person who grabs the remedy as soon as he sees it; he won't wait.
So Lin Qi wasn't in a hurry. They were the ones coming to his door, and those who come first reveal their hand.
Whitsitt didn't beat around the bush during the fourth phone call.
" Lin Qi, let's stop passing the buck. I want Brown and Outlaw. Name your price, what do you want?"
"These two players are very important to the team." Lin Qi twirled his pen halfway around. " Bob, if you really want to talk about this, don't talk about such small things. Talk about bigger things."
There was a pause on the other end of the phone. "How big?"
"Let Rasheed in."
Silence fell on the other end of the phone, this time with an unusually long pause. " Rasheed Wallace, in exchange for Brown and Outlaw?" Whitsitt snorted coldly, devoid of anger, more like a practiced pressure tactic at the negotiating table. " Lin Qi, you've got a good plan. Rasheed's talent surpasses those two combined; the price is far too low. Don't even think about it."
"He has talent, but unfortunately he hasn't lived up to it." Lin Qi didn't argue with him, but simply stated the facts slowly and methodically, "His stats have declined for several seasons in a row. Last season, he averaged less than 13 points per game and spent the entire year on the bench. And then there are his troublesome off-court issues. Bob, do you think I'm an idiot?"
Lin Qi paused, then changed the subject, directly hitting the other person's sore spot. "As for why I'm unwilling, you know better than I do. Why are you so fixated on Brown and Outlaw? Because in the recent NBA Finals, those two completely shut down Tim Duncan. You guys got swept by the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, that wasn't a good feeling, was it? You know their value better than anyone. These four phone calls were all to find a way to deal with the Spurs, weren't they?"
Whitsitt remained silent. That was tacit agreement.
"But let me tell you," Lin Qi leaned forward, "You still can't get past Spurs with just these two players."
"What's the meaning."
"You've filled the gap in the paint, but what about the backcourt?" Lin Qi said. "Look at the NBA Finals... Did you see Gary Payton's performance? You need a point guard who can control the game, tall and strong, able to score even against strong opponents, and reliable against any team. Who do you have? Damon Stoudamire. Mighty Mouse's fast, but he's only 1.78 meters tall. In the playoffs, a point guard like him is at a disadvantage."
There was silence on the other end of the line. Lin Qi could picture Whitsitt's face—the kind of speechless silence that comes from having your weakness exposed and being unable to refute it.
"I have the third pick," Lin Qi said, laying it out. " Steve Francis or Baron Davis, at least one of them will fall to this position. Their talent is even higher than Rasheed's. They're strong, aggressive at the rim, and can finish on their own—exactly the kind of point guard you need. I don't need this pick; I have Gary Payton and Billups, our backcourt is already overflowing. So, here you go. Brown, Outlaw, plus the third pick, for Rasheed. It solves your immediate problem of getting past the Spurs, and gives you a backcourt core for the next decade—a win-win. But..."
"But what?"
"I lost out on this deal," Lin Qi interrupted him, his tone certain. "You have to make up for it with draft picks."
"Haha," Whitsitt laughed, "Looks like you really don't know me. I've already used up most of my draft picks. Give you another unprotected first-round pick from 2000?"
" Bob, don't give me that crap. Your 2000 first-round pick was at best a late first-round pick. How much is that pick worth? No matter how you look at it, I'm losing money."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed only by heavy breathing.
"Then what do you want?" Whitsitt's voice was hoarse. "Do you want me to sacrifice 2002 as well?"
"Finally, you've hit the nail on the head." Lin Qi's lips curled into a smile. "The 2000 draft pick is just a bonus. You have to give me the 2002 first-round pick as well; I want it unprotected. Otherwise, there's no point in discussing this anymore. You can go back to worrying about how to get past the Spurs."
"This... this is too ruthless!" Whitsitt's voice suddenly rose, but that momentum quickly dissipated, as if she knew she couldn't escape this calamity and could only admit defeat. "Unprotected in 2002... Lin Qi, do you know what this means? What if our record was terrible in those two years..."
"That's your problem to worry about. I trust your team-building skills." Lin Qi interrupted him, his tone calm but unwavering. "You want the present, I want the future. Since your 2000 draft pick isn't strong enough, we'll make up for it with the unprotected 2002 pick. Don't hesitate, Bob. If you hesitate any longer, other teams' offers will be on my desk."
"... Okay." Whitsitt finally relented, every word tinged with exhaustion. " Brown, Outlaw, add your third pick, trade Rasheed, plus our 2000 first-round pick, plus our 2002 first-round pick. Deal?"
"Deal." Lin Qi smiled and tapped his fingertips lightly on the table.
With a soft click, the phone hung up, and the room fell silent instantly.
Lin Qi didn't rush to get up, but leaned back in the wide chair and closed his eyes to rest for a moment.
He could almost foresee how the Boston newspapers would be criticizing him tomorrow...
The outside world will definitely criticize him as a fool. Trading a third overall pick, plus two veteran rotation players who just wore down Tim Duncan in the NBA Finals, for Rasheed Wallace, a bench player in Portland who averages less than 13 points per game and has more technical fouls than highlight reels, is a deal that any commentator would consider a huge loss for the Boston Celtics.
The "loss" he just calculated with Whitsitt was half due to bargaining at the negotiating table, and the other half was just a smokescreen.
The apparent loss was just for show for onlookers; Lin Qi knew the players' actual skill level.
Rasheed is only 24 years old. His mediocre stats last season were purely due to the Trail Blazers' extremely crowded frontcourt rotation. Whitsitt agreed because the pain of being swept in the Western Conference Finals was too real, and Brown and Outlaw's performances in the NBA Finals were too effective. The Trail Blazers ' eyes are already on San Antonio; they urgently need to solve their current problems.
The Trail Blazers ' hypothetical enemy is the Spurs, but Lin Qi's hypothetical enemy is not the Spurs.
Lin Qi knew very well that the real unsolvable problem in the league for the next few years was in Los Angeles... that monster named Shaquille O'Neal O'Neal.
Given the absolute dominance that comes with his size, trying to completely stop him with just one or two players is simply wishful thinking. The only solution is to accumulate enough top-tier inside talent and wear him down through a rotation of players.
Of course, this is by no means a perfect deal without any risk.
Rasheed Wallace, nicknamed " The Rasheed Wallace," was never one to be trifled with. His easily angered temper and the trouble he caused with technical fouls were all obvious problems.
This double-edged sword, if wielded improperly, can easily cut one's wrist.
How to deal with these "thorns" on Rasheed is the next thing Lin Qi must deal with.
There's still a lot of work waiting for him in Athens.
Before that, he has to make sure the Celtics are qualified to challenge the Lakers in the new season.
[Transaction Summary]
Celtics sent:
P.J. Brown
Bo Outlaw
1999 first round, third overall pick
From the Trail Blazers:
Rasheed Wallace
2000 Trail Blazers first round, unprotected
2002 Trail Blazers first round, unprotected