After hanging up the phone, Lin Qi called Gary Payton into his office.
The team's playmaker, who had just played all 82 regular season games and was once again selected to All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team, sat casually on the sofa, idly playing with a basketball in his hand.
Lin Qi cut to the chase and said, " Gary, the new head coach has been chosen. I need to let you know first. This new coach is a tactical genius, but he has a very tough personality. To put it simply, he's a perfectionist who can't tolerate any flaws, and sometimes his words can be quite harsh."
Gary Payton stopped spinning the ball and raised an eyebrow. "Who is it?"
" Rick..."
Before Lin Qi could finish speaking, the basketball in Gary Payton's hand slammed onto the floor with a thud. The veteran's eyes instantly turned extremely dangerous, and his voice rose eight octaves. "If you're going to bring back that suit-wearing bastard Rick Pitino who likes to yell from the sidelines and treat us like college freshmen, you'd better trade me right now. I won't play for him for a single day!"
Lin Qi quickly waved his hand and chuckled, "No, no, no, not Pitino. It's Rick Carlisle, the one who was Larry Bird Larry Bird's assistant coach in Indiana."
"Oh..." Gary Payton breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back on the sofa, his brow slightly furrowed. "Who was that? I don't really remember. Never mind, it doesn't matter. As long as it's not Pitino, I'd accept it even if you just had a wooden stake standing on the sidelines. So, what were you trying to say?"
" Rick Carlisle's tactical system is extremely tight, but he's definitely not the kind of person who's good at giving players psychological support." Lin Qi placed his hands on the table. "We need one or two assistant coaches who can act as 'lubricants.' They need to be able to connect with the players, calm the locker room when Rick Carlisle is throwing a tantrum, and most importantly... they need to be people that you and Kevin can trust."
Gary Payton stroked his chin. As a veteran who had spent ten years in the league, he knew all too well how important this "good cop, bad cop" coaching staff configuration was. He almost didn't hesitate before naming someone.
"Go find old Tim. Tim Grgurich."
"Why him?" Lin Qi asked.
"Back in Seattle, you know how awful George Carl's temper was. He nearly blew up the locker room several times, and it was only thanks to Tim that he cleaned up the mess." Gary Payton chuckled, but his eyes revealed genuine respect. "He never wore a suit to the sidelines to pretend to draw tactics on the whiteboard. Every day after practice, he'd be in his sweat-soaked workout clothes, eager to pick up rebounds for us and do extra practice with us. Sean Kemp was so out of his mind back then; if Tim hadn't been in the gym with him every day, listening to his complaints, Sean would have been ruined."
Gary Payton paused, then continued, "The guys below won't go to the head coach when they have problems, but they'll all complain to Tim. He knows how to appease those young lads who're about to strike after being yelled at by the coach, and then kick them back onto the field to keep practicing. Everyone in the locker room trusts him. Most importantly, old Tim is a pure gym rat, with absolutely no ambition for the head coach position. Your new coach, Rick Carlisle, definitely doesn't need to worry about him stealing his thunder."
"What if Portland doesn't let him go?" Lin Qi asked casually, knowing that Grgurich was recently preparing to join the Trail Blazers.
"Then let's go to Seattle and find Dwane Casey." Gary Payton offered his alternative without hesitation. " Dwane is a natural communicator. The locker room always needs a Black assistant coach who understands us. When your hot-tempered white head coach strains the relationship, Casey knows how to communicate with the guys and smooth things over."
Tim Grgurich.
Dwane Casey.
Lin Qi silently repeated the two names in his mind, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.
It was truly a strange coincidence. Gary Payton would probably never know that the two players he casually recommended based on his veteran intuition would later become Rick Carlisle's strongest left and right arms when he won the championship in Dallas.
Since those traces, confirmed by memory, have long proven that they are the perfect pieces of Rick Carlisle's coaching puzzle, Lin Qi is naturally happy to see it happen.
"Understood." Lin Qi picked up the pen on the table and wrote the two names in his notebook. "I'll have the uniform department contact them immediately. By the way, Gary, get ready for a training camp with no days off."
Gary Payton scoffed and stood up from the sofa. "As long as he keeps us winning, I'm willing to live here even during the offseason."
After seeing Gary Payton off, Lin Qi immediately picked up the phone and connected to the team's personnel director's hotline.
"Check the current contract status of Tim Grgurich and Dwane Casey." Lin Qi's voice was decisive and left no room for argument. " Grgurich should be in contact with the Trail Blazers, and Casey is still with the Seattle SuperSonics."
A few minutes later, the HR manager's reply confirmed Lin Qi's guess. Grgurich had indeed received a short-term contract offer from the Portland Trail Blazers, but he was still considering it and had not yet signed. As for Casey, although he was well-liked by the Seattle SuperSonics players, the team's new management seemed to prefer a restructuring of the coaching staff, and Casey's position was not currently secure.
"Offer quotes directly to their agents." Lin Qi didn't hesitate, revealing his trump card. "Tell Grgurich that Boston is willing to offer a four-year, fully guaranteed contract with an annual salary 30% above market value, for the position of lead assistant coach, responsible for player development and locker room communication. Also, tell Casey's team that the same four-year contract is offered for the position of assistant coach and player relations coordinator."
The HR manager on the other end of the phone gasped. "Lin, offering an assistant coach a four-year fully guaranteed contract? That's rare in the league. What if Coach Rick Carlisle wants to bring his own team after taking over..."
" Rick Carlisle will soon find that these two are exactly the team he needs most," Lin Qi interrupted his supervisor's doubts.
For a tactical mastermind, nothing is more valuable than a coaching team that can perfectly buffer conflicts between players and coaches and maintain locker room stability at all times. The four-year contract is perfectly tied to Rick Carlisle's head coaching contract. This is not only a show of sincerity towards these two top "lubricants" in the league, but also Lin Qi's deep investment in this championship system for the next four years.
Two days later.
When Rick Carlisle's flight landed at Boston Logan International Airport, he was greeted not only by team staff but also by two copies of his newly signed assistant coach contract.
Rick Carlisle carefully reviewed the two contracts in the car, a rare look of satisfaction flashing across his usually serious face.
He had indeed heard Lin Qi promise on the phone that he would be provided with a dedicated assistant to handle player relations, but he never expected the young president to act so quickly.
What he couldn't find fault with at all was the two names on the contract... Tim had already proven in Seattle in the 90s that he was the league's best at cleaning up the messes of irritable coaches and calming down star players. And Dwane Casey, on the other hand, has been recognized in recent years as a high-quality assistant coach with an excellent reputation for locker room communication.
These two people, one old and one young, one white and one black, almost perfectly filled the gaps in his personality, making him too rigid and inflexible.
"Please convey my gratitude to Mr. Lin Qi. His efficiency and extremely professional eye for people are truly remarkable." Rick Carlisle closed the folder and carefully put it into his briefcase.
The team's vice president, sitting in the passenger seat, smiled and asked, "Should we take you to your hotel to settle in first? You've been flying for so long..."
"No need," Rick Carlisle interrupted him without hesitation, his deep eyes gleaming with undisguised enthusiasm and fervor. "Tell the driver to go straight to the team's video room in the New Garden. I can't wait to get to work."