June 25, 2000, exactly three days before the start of the new NBA draft.
A desk lamp was still lit in the president's office at the New Garden. Outside the window, the air was slightly cool in the early summer Late Night of Boston, while inside, Lin Qi leaned against his large desk, which was piled high with rookie physical test data, medical reports, and scout intelligence from various teams.
A faint mechanical hum broke the silence of the office. The fax machine next to it lit up green, and an official document bearing the alliance logo slowly emerged.
Lin Qi casually picked up the paper, his eyes scanning the handwriting. It was a filing approval document recently issued by the league office— Doc Rivers officially became the head coach of the Orlando Magic Team. On the last line of the document, it was clearly marked that the Orlando Magic paid the Boston Celtics "transfer compensation": an unprotected first-round draft pick in 2001.
Looking at these words, Lin Qi's lips curled into a faint smile.
He recalled the scene a few days earlier when Doc Rivers left Boston. At that time, Doc Rivers was full of vigor, heading to Florida with boundless ambitions for the future. The Orlando Magic are now arguably the most ambitious and aggressive team in the entire league. During this summer's offseason, the Magic's management has displayed what can only be described as a crazy amount of maneuvering, clearing out a huge amount of salary cap space enough to sign two max-contract superstars at the same time.
In Orlando's grand plan, their targets are not only Tim Duncan and Grant Hill, but also Tracy McGrady. If they can land a few of these big names, the Orlando Magic will become the undisputed champions of the Eastern Conference next season.
Therefore, in the eyes of the Magic's management, the unprotected 2001 first-round draft pick they gave to Boston was utterly insignificant. They believed that a Orlando Magic with Tim Duncan or Hill would consistently rank among the league's best, and this first-round pick was at best a late-game "garbage pick." Trading a negligible late-game pick for a promising young coach and coaching staff seemed like a sure-fire win for the then-fanatical Orlando.
Lin Qi didn't expose the other party's grand plan, nor did he show any unusual reaction. He simply calmly folded the fax, opened the drawer, and carefully put it away. No matter how clever the Orlando team's plans were, no one could predict what the future would hold, but this unprotected 2001 first-round pick had truly fallen into the Celtics ' hands.
After finishing the Orlando Magic's filings, Lin Qi opened the thick black notebook in front of him. By the light of the desk lamp, he began to systematically review all the draft picks the team had acquired through a series of sweeping trades since the offseason.
It's hard to believe, but when all these chips were densely listed on the paper, even Lin Qi, who orchestrated everything, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly.
Over the past two years, he has orchestrated strategic alliances in the transfer market, utilizing a series of high-profile moves such as Mutombo, Rasheed Wallace, and Eddie Jones to not only reshape the team's roster structure but also accumulate a fortune for Boston that has made the entire league envious.
Lin Qi looked at the asset list in the notebook.
[ Boston Celtics Draft Asset Summary]
The 2000 NBA Draft had six first-round picks available.
11th overall pick in the first round (from the Dallas Mavericks, in the Dikembe Mutombo trade)
12th overall pick in the first round (from the Dallas Mavericks, in the Dikembe Mutombo trade)
15th overall pick in the first round (from the Sacramento Kings, Eddie Jones trade)
21st overall pick in the first round (from the Dallas Mavericks, in the Dikembe Mutombo trade)
28th overall pick in the first round (from the Portland Trail Blazers, in the Rasheed Wallace trade)
29th overall pick in the first round ( Boston Celtics own pick)
[Future Initial Asset Reserves]
2001 first-round draft pick (from the Vancouver Grizzlies, derived from a previous Spurs draft pick trade, unprotected)
2001 first-round draft pick (from the Orlando Magic Team, compensated by Doc Rivers, unprotected)
2001 first-round draft pick (from the Chicago Bulls, traded for Tracy McGrady, unprotected)
2002 first-round draft pick (from the Sacramento Kings, traded for Eddie Jones, unprotected)
2002 first-round draft pick (from the Portland Trail Blazers, traded for Rasheed Wallace, unprotected)
2003 first-round draft pick (from the Chicago Bulls, traded for Tracy McGrady, unprotected)
2005 first-round draft pick (from the Chicago Bulls, traded for Tracy McGrady, unprotected)
If you look at all of these assets, the sheer scale of their impact was unprecedented in the NBA at the time.
Boston alone holds six first-round picks for the upcoming 2000 NBA draft.
What outsiders might see as an enviable team asset is, in Lin Qi's eyes, a truly "happy problem."
On the one hand, 2000 was widely considered a weak draft year, with limited quality among the rookies and very few standout stars. On the other hand, teams had limited roster spots and simply couldn't afford to develop six rookies simultaneously. If they simply used their mid-to-late-stage and lottery-edge picks to select players, they would likely only end up with a bunch of bench players, wasting the team's energy and resources.
Instead of holding a bunch of draft picks with low success rates and trying your luck in a weak draft year, it's better to take a "small change for a big win" approach.
The optimal solution to maximize profits is to package these assets of varying quality and exchange them for a proven superstar, transforming the chips in hand into a core player who can directly change the team's ceiling.
Who should we replace them with?
Lin Qi leaned back in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the table...
He suddenly thought of a name.
Grant Hill.
This name, lamented by countless fans and experts in later generations, was, in its original historical trajectory, a prodigy hailed as " Jordan's successor," who, after leaving Detroit and joining Orlando, was plunged into an endless nightmare of ankle surgeries. Repeated fractures, steel pin fixation, and even infections that nearly led to amputation, relegated him to a mere spectator during his long tenure with the Orlando Magic, squandering the prime of his career.
As a time traveler, he knew that Hill's health was a ticking time bomb, a deal destined to be a complete loss.
Boston's existing medical team is simply not up to the task of dealing with this level of injury risk. To turn the tide, he not only needs to secure the player before draft night, but also must mobilize all available resources to scour the world for top sports medicine experts and tailor a state-of-the-art rehabilitation and treatment system for Hill.
If only Hill's career could be saved...
This seemingly high-stakes gamble, which appears to be a tightrope walk, will undoubtedly bring immeasurable rewards to Boston.