February 22, 1996, was the NBA trade deadline.
The afternoon in Boston was chilly and gloomy. Fine freezing rain pattered against the floor-to-ceiling windows of the FleetCenter General Manager's office, making a irritating rustling sound.
In the Boston Celtics ' general manager's office, only the fax machine blared incessantly at a high decibel level. Lin Qi, slumped in his massive leather office chair, his right leg casually crossed over his left, a sliver of unlit cigarette between his fingers, stared blankly at the transaction notices being sent out by the fax machine.
He glanced at the latest results sheet faxed from the league office on the table.
That glaring number at the top.
Chicago Bulls, 48 wins and 5 losses.
Two days ago, the Chicago Bulls had just torn Big Shark O'Neal's Orlando Magic to shreds at the United Center with a score of 102-76, a full 26 points.
At this moment, all sports programs and newspapers across the United States were frantically discussing the same thing: Could the Chicago Bulls achieve an unprecedented 70 wins? Was it possible for them to keep their losses to single digits before the end of the regular season?
It's important to understand that the all-time record currently held by the entire league is still the 69-13 record set by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1971-1972 season. In the brutal defensive environment of the 1990s, 69 wins was already widely considered an unattainable myth.
But now, with a terrifying record of only 5 losses in 53 games, the Chicago Bulls are approaching the altar that Los Angeles has kept sealed for 24 years at a chilling speed, causing the foundation of that ancient myth to tremble violently.
On the desk were scattered a pile of newly delivered mainstream American sports newspapers, still smelling of fresh ink.
Lin Qi lowered his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the bolded headlines and interview summaries.
The first thing that catches the eye is an interview with Reggie Miller by the Chicago Tribune.
At the time, the Indiana Pacers were widely recognized as the only team in the league that dared to go toe-to-toe with the Chicago Bulls, but in an interview in February, this cold-blooded killer showed a hint of wavering in his tone for the first time.
"Every night we'd watch videotapes in the locker room, trying to figure out how to limit Michael. But what drove us crazy was when you thought you'd defended him well enough tonight, only letting him score 28 points, and that rainbow-haired guy (referring to Dennis Rodman ) would grab 20 rebounds over your head. This wasn't basketball; it was like you'd unlocked the final hidden boss in a video game, and we couldn't even take down his first health bar."
Lin Qi smirked and turned the newspaper to the New York sports section.
The New York Knicks, the Chicago Bulls ' arch-rivals, underwent a massive overhaul on February 22nd, trading away key players like Charles Smith and promising rookie Monty Williams, all to free up significant salary cap space in the summer. Facing a barrage of questions from the New York media, Patrick Ewing appeared both frustrated and helpless. When asked about his assessment of the Chicago Bulls ' dominance, the gorilla-like center responded in a deep, resonant voice.
"Everyone's asking me what I think. What can I think? Sit at home and watch? Michael ( Jordan ) has been playing like an Avenger who just came back from hell this season. The New York (management) cleared out all the cap space tonight. If management tells me we traded Charles so that Michael could wear Knicks jersey this summer, then I'll try to sleep well tonight. Otherwise, we're handing Chicago our Eastern Conference playoff spot."
Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, Hakeem Olajuwon Olajuwon, the absolute core of the two-time defending champion Houston Rockets, also struggled in the Western Conference. That season, the Rockets' record declined due to injuries and the need for team cohesion. In a mid-February interview with local Houston media, the Dream even began to comfort himself with his mystical fatalism.
" Michael rested on the baseball field for 18 months, and God not only didn't take back his talent, but made him even more ruthless than in 1993. The current Chicago Bulls no longer rely solely on Michael's scoring; Scottie ( Pippen ) controls all the tactics, and Dennis ( Dennis Rodman ) has stolen the soul from their opponents. If they really do get 70 wins, don't be surprised; it's just because God has completely tipped the scales in Chicago this season."
At that time, superstars led by Barkley, Patrick Ewing, and Reggie Miller began to exhibit a dark humor of "a dead pig doesn't fear boiling water" when facing the media.
Charles Barkley complained, half-jokingly, in an interview in February.
" Michael ( Jordan ) and his Chicago Bulls are ruining the fun of this league. We play like crazy every night, and then we look in the paper the next morning and find that those guys won by 20 points again. Are we even fighting for second place in the regular season?"
Some media outlets even began to argue that the Chicago Bulls ' dominance had prematurely decided the outcome of the playoffs. An ESPN commentator openly mocked this in his column.
"The playoffs should jump directly to the NBA Finals in May, and the O'Brien Trophy should be sent directly to the United Center. This would save the other 28 teams a lot of travel expenses."
Watching the desperate cries of this series of top American basketball stars and media, Lin Qi calmly exhaled a puff of smoke.
Lin Qi held the New York Knicks ' "4-for-3" final announcement that had just been printed out by the fax machine, flicked his fingertips lightly over Charles Smith's name, and a strange, amused smile appeared in his eyes.
" The New York Knicks are definitely terrified by this number."
At the timeline of 1996, the entire league believed that the New York management was orchestrating a massive plan... a crazy sell-off to clear out tens of millions of dollars in cap space, in preparation for the arrival of " God of Basketball " Michael Jordan in the summer.
But only Lin Qi, a later acquaintance, knew how absurd and idiotic New York ' gamble appeared when compared to the truth of history.
This summer, the Chicago Bulls will not hesitate to offer Jordan an unprecedented, and likely never-to-be-repeated, $30 million supermax contract. The cap space the New York painstakingly cleared wouldn't even buy a single toe of Jordan's. Ironically, the Knicks traded Monty Williams at the deadline, who will become one of the league's top coaches; while the tens of millions of dollars in cap space they cleared, after failing to acquire Jordan, will ultimately become a pile of worthless paper used to clean up bad contracts amidst their anxiety over spending exorbitant sums on Allan Houston and Chris Childs.
This wasn't a gamble on the future at all; it was a "self-destructive escape" after being driven mad by the Chicago Bulls' despairing dominance of 48 wins and 5 losses.
Lin Qi casually crumpled up the New York Knicks ' trade announcement, then accurately tossed it into the trash can at his feet.
The entire league was frantically tearing apart teams, the entire league was self-destructing and trying to escape, but the Boston Celtics, watching from the sidelines, remained as still as a rock in the final second of the deadline.
The entire league was stunned by the incredible 48-5 record.
Lin Qi flicked his finger, and the ashes from the burnt-out cigarette scattered in the air.
No need to rush, summer is when the real show begins.