"1999 NBA Draft, 18th overall pick in the first round."
Stern's voice came through the loudspeaker with an undeniable penetrating power.
" The Boston Celtics have selected... Ron Artest from St. John's University!"
boom!
The moment the names " Boston " and " Ron Artest " were read together, the entire MCI Center was stunned for a moment, then erupted in gasps and uproar.
"My God! What are the Boston Celtics thinking?!"
In the ESPN broadcast booth, after a brief moment of astonishment, the commentators immediately launched into a frenzy of mockery and sarcasm. The commentators' voices became exceptionally sharp due to their utter disbelief.
" The New York would rather hold their noses and draft a France who can't even speak English fluently and whose ability to adapt to the physicality of the NBA is completely unknown, than touch Artest, just because of his ridiculous act of skipping his tryout yesterday! Other teams are also hesitant to make a move, fearing he's a ticking time bomb that could explode with huge trouble off the court at any moment!"
Another commentator immediately chimed in, spreading his hands exaggeratedly and shaking his head with a laugh, "That's absolutely right! But look at what Boston is doing! Don't forget, just recently they brought Rasheed Wallace, the league's hottest- Rasheed Wallace who practically eats technical fouls, to Boston! Now, they've brought the biggest powder keg of the season into their arms!"
The broadcast camera then cut to Ron Artest, whose tone was full of teasing and banter.
"It seems Boston has an almost obsessive and unique aesthetic when it comes to players with extreme personalities and a lot of trouble. I can't even imagine what their locker room will be like next season... Rasheed Wallace and Ron Artest? Good heavens, the best thing Boston can do right now is to equip the head coach with a whole squad of fully armed bodyguards!"
The studio erupted in laughter.
"I seriously doubt that Mr. Lin Qi is building a basketball team at all," the guest added into the microphone with a laugh. "He's clearly trying to rebuild an upgraded version of the Bad Boys ' in the Eastern Conference. Teams coming to Boston for away games next season should probably buy personal accident insurance in advance."
Amidst the frenzied ridicule and widespread pessimism from the American media, the cameras once again focused on the talent show stage.
In the video, Ron Artest, upon hearing his name called, abruptly looked up, a flicker of disbelief and astonishment in his eyes. He didn't celebrate; he simply stood up, loosened his tie, and strode onto the stage.
Under the complex gazes of the entire stadium, Artest walked to the podium, took the Celtics cap from David Stern, and put it on his head.
The mocking voices blaring from the television in the Boston conference room were deafening, yet the atmosphere was unusually relaxed.
Lin Qi leaned back in his chair, looking at Artest shaking hands with Stern on the screen with a calm and deep gaze.
Would this be a good option? LeBron James Posey is a championship-caliber player from another world line, and Ron Artest is certainly more talented, but whether he can control his off-court issues... oh, and his on-court problems are sometimes quite significant too, so everything is still uncertain.
However, starting over, it would be too boring to simply copy the standard the Answer step by step.
The draft is still ongoing...
Finally, the Boston Celtics have another draft pick...
David Stern stepped into the spotlight once again.
"1999 NBA Draft, first round, 23rd pick."
Stern glanced down at the name on the envelope, deliberately slowing his pronunciation.
" The Boston Celtics have selected... Andrei Kirilenko from CSKA Moscow, Russia!"
Upon hearing the name, the gasps within the MCI Center ceased, replaced by a bewildered silence.
In the ESPN commentary booth, the commentators who had been talking non-stop just moments before suddenly froze. They frantically searched through their databases of international players, and it took them several seconds to regain their voices.
" Andrei... Kirilenko? An 18-year-old Russia prodigy?" The commentator pushed up his glasses, looking at the photo of a skinny, youthful-looking white boy on the big screen, his tone filled with disbelief. "2.06 meters tall, yet as light as a sheet of paper! What on earth is Mr. Lin Qi up to? He just picked a New York thug who could break a person's bones, and now he's chosen an Eastern Europe skinny guy who looks like he could be blown away by a gust of wind?"
The guest burst into exaggerated laughter again. "Maybe Lin Qi felt the atmosphere in the locker room was too tense and needed to bring in a mild-mannered Europe high school player to balance things out? Honestly, drafting a Europe kid with absolutely no NBA-level physicality in the first round, and then having to wait for him to develop, is simply a waste of a draft pick!"
The perspective shifts back to the Boston conference room.
Not only outsiders, but even the young scouts were baffled as they looked at the thin file in their hands. "Boss, we're using our precious first-round pick to select this Russia boy? His scouting report says his offense is rough and his physicality is extremely poor. Even if he makes it to the NBA in a few years, with that physique, he'll probably be devoured by the muscle-bound guys in the Eastern Conference."
The young scout shook the two thin pages in his hand, his brows furrowing. "Boss, use the first round pick on this Russia kid? The scouting report says he's extremely weak in physical duels and his offensive skills are rough. With his current physique, if he gets hit twice in the Eastern Conference penalty area, he'll probably fall apart."
"Weight can be gained, and muscle can be built." Lin Qi's gaze fell on the youthful face on the screen, his tone pragmatic and calm, "But at a height of 2.06 meters, possessing that guard-level lateral speed and defensive instincts is something that can't be trained."
What the outside world saw was just a tall, thin Eastern Europe with no real fighting or deterrent power. But Lin Qi knew what a terrifying sweeping machine this young Russia man would become in the future—"AK-47." Behind this nickname was a historically significant defensive coverage area and an all-around skill that filled the stat sheet with steals and blocks.
This was a perfect example of complementary defensive tactics.
Ron Artest excels at individual pressure; he can relentlessly engage the opponent's key player on the front line, providing the ultimate physical confrontation. Andrei Kirilenko, on the other hand, is the net that roams deep within the defensive line.
Lin Qi had already envisioned a future defensive possession: when Artest was pressing hard from the front, forcing his opponent to rush the ball or forcefully change his driving route, Kirilenko, with his terrifying wingspan and extremely agile lateral movement, could instantly complete a defensive rotation, intercepting those forced passes halfway or delivering a block directly from the weak side.
One is responsible for locking down the front, and the other is responsible for sweeping the weak side.
Lin Qi ignored the ESPN commentators' constant mockery of Boston's draft strategy on the television broadcast. He uncapped his marker and wrote Kirilenko's name on the whiteboard in the conference room.
Rasheed Wallace, Ron Artest, Andrei Kirilenko.
Looking at the three names listed side by side, Lin Qi casually tossed his pen onto the table.
Whether the outside world is celebrating or pessimistic, it doesn't matter.
But that's not enough...
Extremely tough defensive rotations and lateral movement can support the team's floor, but in the grueling playoffs, to break the tactical balance, the team needs an unconventional variable that operates outside the system.
The draft is still progressing slowly, and the general managers of each team are racking their brains to find a bargain in the late first round.
Lin Qi sat back down in his chair, picked up his water glass, and gazed through the glass of the conference room as if he could see through the long wait at the MCI Center.
The hunt in Boston tonight is not over yet.
Next, only the last piece of the puzzle remains, which is also the only remaining objective.
The 29th pick in the first round...
Manu Ginobili.