Time ticked by, and the hustle and bustle inside the MCI Center began to show signs of fatigue.
The 24th pick, the 25th pick... As teams steadily bolster their roster, the first-round picks are being rapidly depleted.
Lin Qi sat in the conference room and glanced at the clock on the wall.
Everything was going according to plan. The Argentina playing in the Italy Serie B was practically invisible in the mainstream NBA view at that time. No team would bet on a South America guard who hadn't even proven himself in a top league in the first round. Boston just needed to wait quietly and calmly pick up this piece that would change the future with the 29th pick.
The 28th pick, the San Antonio Spurs.
David Stern went back on stage and unfolded the thin envelope in his hand.
Lin Qi had already reached for the phone on the table, ready to immediately inform the team of Boston's decision after the Spurs made their selection.
However, the next name that came through the loudspeaker made Lin Qi's hand freeze in mid-air.
"In the 1999 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs selected the 28th pick in the first round..."
Stern paused.
"From Argentina, Emmanuel Ginobili!"
The air in the Boston conference room suddenly fell silent.
The young scout paused, frantically flipping through the files in his hands, his face blank. "Emanuel... what? The Spurs drafted an Argentina for this position? Wait, boss, isn't that the name you just wrote in the corner of the whiteboard?"
Lin Qi did not answer.
He slowly withdrew his hand, which had been hovering in mid-air, and stared at the player information card on the screen, which still had no photo and only a few lines of dry data.
"Why?"
After a brief moment of shock, Lin Qi's mind raced. How could the Spurs have drafted Ginobili so early without any warning?
Could it be... because I just selected Andrei Kirilenko?
The moment the thought flashed through his mind, everything made sense. As opponents who had just fought tooth and nail in the NBA Finals, the San Antonio front office was clearly on high alert for any move by Boston. When Popovich saw that Lin Qi was willing to gamble with a precious first-round pick on an unknown Russia kid, their keen senses were immediately triggered. They naturally deduced that Lin Qi's overseas draft radar had been activated, and that Boston was highly likely to extend its reach towards their well-hidden Argentina prey with the next 29th pick.
To prevent being outmaneuvered, the Spurs opted to skip the draft early.
Lin Qi leaned back in his chair and couldn't help but rub his temples. This was the grudge that had been formed in the NBA Finals; every move he made in this timeline had truly created a butterfly effect.
But now is not the time for sentimentality; the red phone on the table has started flashing, and the audition stage ahead is urging us on.
Lin Qi turned his attention back to the over-examined draft list. At this draft position, the remaining pool of rookies was practically saturated; there were no players left who could substantially change a team's talent level. Should he choose a mediocre benchwarmer, or a fringe player destined to be cut?
Just then, his gaze swept across the edge of a stack of international player profiles, and an extremely familiar name suddenly caught his eye.
Wang Zhizhi.
Lin Qi's gaze froze.
Objectively speaking, given his current level of physical strength and lateral movement speed, can he really keep up with the fast defensive rotations of the NBA? Does he really have the ability to be a rotation player in the NBA regular season? Lin Qi had a big question mark in his mind.
But at the same time, memories from another timeline surged through his mind. It was a huge "what if"... What if this tall Eastern player, possessing an incredibly soft shooting touch, extremely solid footwork in the paint, and a very high basketball IQ, had entered the NBA a few years earlier than in reality, and had been exposed to the top-level physical training and tactical systems earlier? Would he have had a completely different, much longer career? Would he have broken his original destiny?
This is a very tempting hypothesis.
However, reason was also frantically issuing warnings. Lin Qi knew very well that the environment in 1999 was incomparable to that of later generations. His identity was too special, involving a complex system and cumbersome rules. To get him to the NBA across the ocean ahead of schedule, he would not only have to go through layers of approval from the Chinese Basketball Association of China, but even simple cross-border training and communication would be a hellish operation.
Choosing him could very well result in a worthless promise that will never be fulfilled.
"Drip... drip... drip..."
The phone on the table was ringing more and more urgently, and the draft countdown was ticking away second by second. The scouts in the conference room all held their breath, staring nervously at Lin Qi, whose brows were furrowed.
"Snap."
Lin Qi grabbed the phone receiver.
Time no longer allows him to conduct a perfect pros and cons risk assessment report. Since the tactical system for the frontcourt defense has already taken shape, and since the draft position has reached this impeccable late stage, why not make the boldest investment?
"Give it a try," Lin Qi told himself. Even if he couldn't adapt to the intensity of NBA games, just the fact that he could wear the Boston green jersey would bring the team far more commercial value than expected, given the vast and untapped China market behind him.
"Tell the person in charge," Lin Qi said calmly and confidently into the phone, "That Boston's choice for the 29th pick is..."
David Stern stepped into the spotlight once again. He glanced at the envelope in his hand, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, before speaking into the microphone and reading out the name that would cause a complete uproar across the ocean a few hours later.
The Boston Celtics have selected... Wang Zhizhi from the China Bayi Rockets!