In April, the air in New Orleans was already a mixture of the humid heat of the Gulf of Mexico and the lingering warmth of Carnival.
Outside the massive Louisiana Superdome, a roar of excitement filled the air. This behemoth, usually used to host the NFL Super Bowl, was now packed with 54,000 enthusiastic basketball fans, all there to witness the final showdown of the 2003 NCAA March Madness – Syracuse University versus University of Kansas.
The VIP seating area at the very front of the venue has always been a social space for American celebrities, business tycoons, and general managers of major NBA teams.
With ten minutes to go before the tip-off, the CBS broadcast camera panned across the courtside and then froze. On the big screen appeared a man that the entire American basketball world could not ignore.
Lin Qi, dressed in a dark gray bespoke casual suit, naturally sat down in the most central position in the first row.
David Stern's suspension did indeed shut him out of the NBA locker room and arena, but it had no effect on the NCAA court.
Since the special program aired before All-Star Weekend, Lin Qi has become a figure at the center of controversy in the American sports world.
In fact, Lin Qi's team-building philosophy was very clear in that interview. The greatest players are essentially the most outstanding team players. He simply used Kobe as an example to point out the inherent conflict between the NBA's deliberately created "commercial star-making packaging" and "winning logic".
But those sports media outlets and league-appointed reporters, always eager to stir up trouble, deliberately misinterpreted Lynch's original meaning in order to create sensationalism and cater to Stern's star-making agenda. In their overwhelming coverage, the media took Lin Qi's remarks out of context, portraying him as a cold-blooded tyrant who "treated all players as cold cogs and expendable resources in the system."
After such inflammatory and negative interpretations by the media, even if Lin Qi were just sitting here quietly, it would be seen as a provocation by others.
Denver Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe and Detroit Pistons ' Joe Dumars, sitting a few seats apart, both frowned the moment they saw Lin Qi.
"What's he doing here?" Vandeweghe lowered his voice, turning to Joe Dumars beside him with a suspicious look. "His suspension doesn't end until August. He won't make the June draft, and he won't even be eligible to sign rookie contracts and trade documents in July, the first month of free agency!"
Joe Dumars analyzed in a low voice, " Boston's own first-round pick this year was confiscated by the league. But they still have four first-round picks in their hands: the Miami Heat, the Chicago Bulls, the Phoenix Suns, and the Seattle SuperSonics, but..."
"But none of these four draws are high-ranking," Vandeweghe continued.
Because of the butterfly effect created by Lin Qi, the records of these teams have far exceeded expectations. The Miami Heat, with the combination of Caron Butler, Sean Battier, and Eddie Stephen Curry, have surprisingly developed excellent chemistry, and it seems they are definitely going to make the playoffs this year. Although the Chicago Bulls have a lot of problems, they have indeed won more than ten games than last year, and their draft pick is probably only at the bottom of the lottery. As for the Suns and Seattle SuperSonics, they are both Western Conference playoff teams, and their draft picks are both in the middle to late first round.
"He has four first-round picks, but none of them are top-ten picks." Vandeweghe found it increasingly strange. "Is he planning to remotely direct the Boston management on draft night to trade up with four first-round picks plus their starting players?"
No one could fathom what Lin Qi was thinking. The more nonchalant he appeared, the more uncertain the NBA executives around him became.
Lin Qi ignored the wary gazes. His eyes remained calmly fixed on the center of the arena.
The Superdome is a football stadium, and a temporary floor was laid in the center of the arena to host a basketball game. Behind the basketball hoop, there was no wall, but a huge, dark stadium hundreds of meters away.
This distorted sense of visual space is a nightmare for all pitchers. After the game started, the players on the field were hitting mid-range and long-range shots like crazy, frequently making absurd airballs.
But there was one exception: Carmelo Anthony, a freshman at Syracuse University.
The arena's visual traps seemed to have no effect on Anthony. His well-practiced face-up jab step and soft pull-up jumper made him move through the tight defense of the University of Kansas veterans with ease.
Lin Qi leaned back in his chair and took a sip of water.
Anthony is very strong, but he's not a player who fits the Boston at heart.
Kirk Hinrich and Nique Collison are quite good.
What Lin Qi was truly interested in was the University of Kansas on the other side of the court, and the eerie atmosphere that permeated the bench of this long-established powerhouse.
The University of Kansas boasts one of the nation's top inside-outside duos, Kirk Hinrich and Nique Collison. Logically, this tactically disciplined team shouldn't have fared so poorly in the finals.
But Lin Qi's gaze swept over Kansas head coach Roy Williams, and he keenly sensed the atmosphere of discord in the locker room.
Throughout the Final Four, the entire United States was abuzz with rumors that Roy Williams would be leaving to coach at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina, after the season. For a team vying for the national championship, the prospect of their head coach "defecting" was a deadly poison that could destroy the team's trust system.
Clang!
Collison missed another crucial free throw. In this extremely physical final, the Kansas players, facing no defensive pressure at the free-throw line, delivered a dismal performance, making only 12 of 30 attempts.
Ultimately, Kansas's desperate three-pointer missed, and the score remained 81-78.
Syracuse University celebrated wildly, while the Kansas players collapsed dejectedly to the floor. Roy Williams walked expressionlessly into the tunnel; this once-victorious team had fallen at the last hurdle under the erosion of rumors.
Once a team's cohesion falters, even the greatest talent can self-destruct at crucial moments.
As confetti rained down from the sky, the Superdome erupted in a frenzy of celebration.
But beneath the commotion, a suppressed anger permeated the Kansas fans' section of the stands. As Lin Qi stood up, he could clearly hear several local fans in blue Kansas jerseys in the back row hurling insults.
" Roy's soul has already flown back to North Carolina! He betrayed us before the finals!"
Even several familiar sports reporters in the corridor were whispering among themselves about this sensational gossip that had swept across the United States. The rumors had fully fermented during the semifinals, like a poison gas bomb, silently eroding the psychological defenses of this strong team.
As Lin Qi listened to the emotionally charged insults and gossip, he calmly patted the confetti off his suit.
The NBA general managers in the front row all stood up, watching Lin Qi's retreating figure with a belly full of doubts. They were still racking their brains trying to figure out which starter Boston would trade this year and which rookie they would try out.