The main conference room of the Olimpia Basketball Club in Milan.
The whiteboard was covered with densely packed player data charts and training schedules. Lin Qi arrived a week later than the main Boston contingent. At this moment, he was sitting at the conference table, flipping through the thick "Combined Training Camp Week 1 Evaluation Report" in his hands.
Over the past seven days, Rick Carlisle has led the Boston players in closed-door training matches against several key EBA teams in Milan. Because the EBA has fully aligned its infrastructure and rehabilitation facilities with Boston's " Auerbach Center " standards, the training coordination between the two sides has been very smooth.
Sitting opposite Lin Qi were EBA President Maurizio and several Europe directors in charge of youth training and tactical evaluation.
"The results of the first week's competition are quite telling," Maurizio, pointing to the data in the report. "These EBA teams were completely outmatched by Boston's starting lineup. While they had some technical highlights, in terms of physical strength, lateral speed, and fouling standards, these young players simply couldn't handle the pressure from players like Garnett and Artest."
Lin Qi closed the report without showing any disappointment. This was an objective assessment of the gap in strength.
"That's normal. They need time to build up their muscle mass and get used to high-intensity physical contact," Lin Qi said calmly. "That's why we're selecting and developing four core 'seed teams' within the EBA. Resources can't be distributed evenly; we must focus on nurturing this future backbone."
"We've finalized the personnel structure as you requested," Maurizio, flipping through the memo. "However, the coaching staff still needs a unified approach to the specific tactical and technical development."
Lin Qi stood up, walked to the whiteboard, picked up Mark, and wrote down the names of the four teams.
"The first team Panathinaikos in Greece. They'll bring together Dimitris Diamantidis, Carlos Delfino, Dejan Bodiroga, Luis Scola, and the promising Darko Miličić. This team focuses on 'iron-clad defense and half-court offense.' They aim to establish a top-tier defensive discipline system, combining the rigor of Europe tactics with high-intensity physicality. Contact Dino Radja and have him go to Athens to coach the interior, specifically overseeing Miličić's training."
Diamantidis was originally Lin Qi's top target player to bring back to Boston in this summer's free agency market. He even personally called Diamantidis, promising him an important rotation spot with the Celtics and a substantial salary.
But the stubborn Greece refused to leave Europe. In his own words, "I'd rather drink ouzo in the Athens sun than freeze in Massachusetts, and I certainly don't want to be a substitute for those arrogant United States in the NBA."
No amount of persuasion could change his mind. In the end, Lin Qi had no choice but to give up and simply go with the flow, letting Panathinaikos keep him in Greece.
It was Diamantidis's "arrogance and stubbornness" that completely opened up Lin Qi's strategic thinking.
Since it's impossible to poach all of Europe's top talents to the NBA, why not simply build a few truly competitive "super teams" in Europe that can rival the NBA championship?
"The second team, our Big Ben in Italy, Olympia Milan. This lineup is characterized by 'space and versatility.'" Lin Qi wrote down the names of Goran Dragić, Michael Pietrus, Boris Diaw, Andrei Bargnani, and Nenad Krstić. "This team plays a dynamic offense; Boris Diaw and Bargnani both have excellent passing vision and shooting range. Let the coaching staff downplay their traditional positional concepts and use quick passing and outside shooting to stretch the defense."
In Lin Qi's vision, Milan must follow the technical style of modern basketball.
Boris Diaw and Bargnani's passing vision and shooting ability, combined with Goran Dragić's speed, perfectly suited Milan's transfer market demands.
In terms of business planning, this is not only a flagship showcase for Puma to promote its avant-garde basketball style in Europe, but also a candidate platform that Lin Qi has reserved for top stars (such as Kobe ) who may test the Europe market in the future.
"The third team Virtus Rome. Kyle Korver and Matt Bonner are already established in Europe, along with Leandro Barbosa, Andres Nocioni, and Andrei Biedrins. Speed and shooting are their strengths. The core strategy of this team is run-and-gun, grabbing rebounds and pushing the fast break, utilizing Barbosa's sprinting ability and the three-point shooting from the wings."
Rome's approach was a tactical attempt based on differentiated competition.
Shooters like Korver and Matt Bonner, whose contracts in the United States are limited but whose shooting skills are extremely high, can secure stable tactical roles at Rome. Combined with Barbosa's speed, Nocioni's attacking prowess, and Biedrins's cuts to the basket, this team focuses on transition offense and outside shooting, avoiding the slow-paced, positional play that traditional Europe teams excel at, and using speed and space to establish an advantage.
"The last team, Royal Madrid. José José Calderón, Rudy Fernandez, Eisen Ilyasova, Sio Oberto, Mark Gasol. They play pick-and-roll, emphasizing high basketball IQ in screens, cuts, and inside playmaking, maximizing the execution of team basketball."
Royal Madrid, on the other hand, relies on Spain's high football intelligence and tradition of passing and movement. José Calderón's playmaking and Mark Gasol's ability to support from high positions determine that the team's ceiling lies in teamwork and tactical execution.
From a market perspective, Real Madrid is the most important strategic foothold for EBA to expand into the Spain region and Southern Europe.
Lin Qi put down Mark marker and sat back down in his chair. Ironclad defense, spatial dynamics, high-speed run-and-gun offense, pick-and-roll—these four directions will be the tactical testing ground for EBA for the next few years.
The meeting room fell silent for a moment as Maurizio and several other executives carefully took notes on these specific strategic indicators.
"Mr. Lin Qi, the tactical plan is very clear. But we must face an objective reality." Maurizio paused his writing, raising a rational concern. "Judging from the performance of Greece Panathinaikos vs. Los Angeles Lakers game in June of this year's ' World Series,' the gap in physical talent and technical and tactical skills cannot be bridged in a short time."
"It really can't be rushed." Lin Qi nodded, having a clear understanding of this.
"Most of these kids are still quite young, their bones haven't fully developed yet. With standard professional diet and strength training, it will take them at least three to five years to reach maturity in terms of physical fitness and competitiveness."
Lin Qi looked at everyone and gave them a clear timetable for phased goals.
"2006 to 2008. This is the period we anticipate for our teams to realize their full potential. During these three years, the young core players of these four teams will gradually enter their prime." Lin Qi calmly set the tone, "My goal is that, five years from now, at least one of these four teams will have the ability to create suspense in World Series, even against the NBA champions."
Maurizio slammed the memo shut, looking at the densely packed names and future tactical plans on the whiteboard, a subtle sense of emotion welling up inside him.
Sometimes, when he's alone Late Night reviewing his performance, he can't help but laugh at himself, wondering what he really is in this massive capital machine. Perhaps he's just a cog in Lin Qi's machine, efficiently executing his will. But when he looks around at the Europe basketball scene today and sees that the thirty clubs under the EBA have long since escaped the financial quagmire of the past, no longer struggling with tens of thousands of euros in broadcast revenue each season and the infighting among local powers, and even possessing the most advanced modern training facilities in all of Europe, he has to admit that they are doing something of profound historical significance.
The people in Europe always carry a lingering idealism in their bones. For Maurizio, reviving the independence and dignity of Europe basketball is no longer just a pretty slogan written in a business plan, but a grand blueprint that is becoming a reality. He has discovered that he genuinely believes in it and is willing to devote his heart and soul to it.
The most direct proof is the series of World Series held over the past two years. Although, in terms of absolute competition, the top teams in the EBA still showed some gaps in direct confrontations with the NBA champions, these two high-profile clashes have completely ignited a global viewing frenzy.
Today, EBA's global broadcasting rights contracts are soaring, and its influence and commercial monetization capabilities have put enormous pressure on the traditional international basketball order. Traditional official organizations like FIBA, once aloof and unchallenged, are now forced to seriously consider how to coexist with EBA in the face of such absolute professional power, and are even proactively contacting EBA offices through intermediaries to explore the possibility of future cooperation on international events and commercial rights.
Times have changed, and the power to control the rules is quietly shifting.
"By the way, boss," Maurizio snapped out of his thoughts, turned to the next page of the memo, and brought the topic back to the specific operations at hand, "Besides the formation of these four seeded teams, what about the expansion of the EBA league over the next two years, and the meeting with the special envoy that FIBA is preparing to send? How do you think we should discuss that?"
Lin Qi picked up the bottled water on the table again, unscrewed it, and took a sip.
"Contact with FIBA remains open, but the bottom line is very clear: there is absolutely no room for negotiation regarding the EBA's core commercial sovereignty, schedule independence, and club asset autonomy. If they want a share of the international basketball market, or if they hope to call up our players during national team match days, they can offer real money or commercial rights in exchange. There are no free lunches."
Maurizio nodded and made a mental note of this core principle.