"As for Rod Strickland..." Lin Qi tapped the table, a meaningful glint in his eyes.
"Many people think he's just a flashy streetball player, but in reality, he's one of the pioneers in this league who brought the 'combo guard' concept to its highest level." Lin Qi looked at Margaret. " Wade's biggest problem in college wasn't his lack of aggressiveness, but rather his awkward switching between the roles of 'scorer' and 'playmaker.' The rigid 'pass the ball as soon as you cross half-court' mindset of traditional point guards was a complete waste of Wade's talent."
Lin Qi's voice carried an undeniable authority. "I want Strickland to reshape Wade's game thinking. To teach him how to stabilize the situation in a crowd of players driving at full speed, and more importantly, to teach him how to seamlessly switch between an 'attack mode' that tears apart defenses and an 'organization mode' that orchestrates the half-court offense. This is the mainstream playing style for future guards."
Margaret listened quietly. She didn't need to delve into the complex tactical terms; as the executor, all she needed to know was that these two veterans were crucial to the 13th overall pick.
"I understand, boss." She slammed her laptop shut. "I'll deliver both contracts to their agent's desk on time."
The office door was gently closed, and absolute silence returned to the room.
Lin Qi opened the large oak drawer, took out a brand new blank file folder, and wrote a line on the cover with great force, " Dwyane Wade - Development Plan".
To outside scouts, Wade is now covered in awkward labels. At 1.93 meters tall, playing shooting guard puts him at a significant disadvantage against heavy wing players around 2 meters tall in terms of physical attributes; playing point guard, his playmaking and court vision are not top-tier. Even more critical is his terrible shooting; his draft report even bluntly stated that he "cannot pose a threat from long range," and his early scoring relied almost entirely on reckless drives that involved throwing himself into the air.
Lin Qi leaned back in his chair, twirling the pen in his hand. The more obvious the flaw, the more terrifying the transformation after it was filled.
He quickly scribbled two names on the document: Chip Engelland and Mark Price.
These two shooting specialists on the Celtics coaching staff will be the focus of Wade's attention throughout his rookie season. In Lin Qi's view, Wade's shooting isn't hopeless; his problem lies in his over-reliance on animalistic instincts in his power generation mechanism. He habitually pushes the ball out stiffly at the peak of his jump, or even when his body has already begun to fall. With Engelland and Price correcting his lower body power, aerial balance, and release arc day after day, Wade's shooting mechanism will definitely evolve at a speed far exceeding that of his previous life.
As long as he can maintain consistency with that mid-range pull-up jumper, combined with his explosive drives that retain his intact meniscus, this lightning bolt will have no blind spots on offense.
After finishing the technical plan, Lin Qi's pen suddenly paused, and his brows furrowed slightly.
He realized there was a hidden, potentially fatal problem.
Strickland's combo guard mentality and penetration skills are indeed extremely lethal, but this style of play seems to be carrying a kind of chilling "curse." In Lin Qi's memories of his previous life, those number one draft guards who were known for their penetration and explosiveness, trained by this master of rhythm, whether it was Kyrie Irving, who was his rightful adopted son, or Derrick Rose and John Wall, whom he personally mentored in college, all suffered devastating lower limb injuries during their respective prime years.
This is not metaphysics, but the brutal biomechanics of movement.
Lin Qi drew a heavy exclamation mark on the paper. Frequent sharp changes of direction, sudden stops and starts during full-speed sprints, throwing himself into the air and then twisting his body to lay up – this style of play actually pushes the load on the body's joints to the limit.
The biggest hidden danger of this group of talented guards is that their explosive power is too great, but their body's cushioning and control abilities have not kept up.
Players like Derrick Rose and John Wall, when making rapid changes of direction or sudden stops, often suffer from dangerous "knee eversion" and stiff, straight-leg landings. The shear force generated instantly, several times their body weight, is entirely absorbed by the fragile cruciate ligaments, menisci, and Achilles tendons if not absorbed by the muscles. Over time, even the best physique will be ruined.
Although Lin Qi preserved Wade's crucial right knee meniscus through strict playing time restrictions during his college years, he knew very well that once Wade learned Strickland's highly lethal but extremely physically demanding style of play, if he neglected his daily training and maintenance, his originally healthy joint would eventually be destroyed by his terrifying explosiveness.
Lin Qi took a deep breath, turned to the last page of the file folder, and wrote down the highest-level medical and physical care instructions.
He demanded that the Boston medical team equip Wade with a dedicated biomechanician. The first step was to strictly prohibit Wade from excessively building up his upper body muscles in the early stages of his career in order to blindly increase physical contact, as this would disrupt his balance and unnecessarily increase the vertical pressure on his lower limbs when running and jumping.
The most crucial instruction is to change his power generation and landing habits.
"He must undergo rigorous eccentric contraction training to specifically strengthen his quadriceps around his knees, especially the hamstrings and gluteal muscles on the back of his thighs," Lin Qi noted in the file.
We can't let Wade act like a reckless fool, using his knees to absorb the impact every time he stops suddenly. We must teach him to use his powerful posterior chain muscles to cushion the enormous kinetic energy from drives, changes of direction, and landings. We absolutely cannot let his ACL and the meniscus that he's managed to preserve be left to bear the wear and tear alone.
As long as the burden on the ligaments can be reasonably transferred to the muscles, Wade can avoid as many of the injury risks that have destroyed countless talented guards as possible.
Lin Qi closed the heavy folder and locked it in the safe at the back of his desk.
A tailor-made training program has been fully established. Shooting coaches correct accuracy, rhythm masters reshape basketball IQ, post-up masters impart overall vision, and professional sports biomechanics monitoring provides comprehensive support.
Even if Lin Qi doesn't openly coach in the following year, Wade's development won't be delayed.