October 3, Boston Auerbach Training Center.
At the annual preseason media day, the four half-courts on the first floor of the training facility were transformed into temporary press conference halls early on. The parking lot outside was filled with broadcast vans from more than a dozen national television networks, and the arena was filled with cameras, reflectors, and directors shouting out the schedule.
For the past four years, Boston has held its Media Day every October, and the atmosphere has always been relaxed, reflecting the reigning champions. But this year is different.
Three months ago, losing Game 7 of the NBA Finals in Los Angeles marked the first time this team, which had dominated the league for four years, started the new season as a "loser." Coupled with O'Neal O'Neal's move to Chicago, Jason Kidd's joining the San Antonio Spurs, LeBron James's arrival in Cleveland as the number one draft pick, nearly a hundred reporters from all over the United States had a bellyful of sharp questions.
The player interview area opened first at 10:00 AM.
Chris Paul Pierce, wearing his brand-new Celtics #34 green jersey, had barely sat down in front of the camera when a dozen or so voice recorders were thrust into his mouth.
" Chris Paul, the league has scheduled your season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers," an ESPN beat reporter asked loudly. "As the core player of a four-time champion team and an All-Star forward, you'll be directly matched up against this year's number one draft pick, LeBron James. The entire American media is calling him ' The Chosen One.' What are your thoughts on this matchup?"
Pierce adjusted the microphone and glanced at the densely packed cameras below the audience.
For the past two weeks, Pierce has seen Nike's promotional video for that high school student every time he turns on the TV, and he's gotten quite tired of it.
"How many games did Cleveland win last year? Seventeen?" Pierce countered. "I don't quite understand why everyone's suddenly so interested in a seventeen-win team. As for that young man, he played well in high school, but this is the NBA. Let's wait and see on the night of October 29th."
A New York reporter nearby followed up, " Cleveland also held a media day yesterday, and their leading scorer, Ricky Davis, said in an interview that he believes the team drafted LeBron to find someone to pass him the ball and assist him in scoring. Do you think the Cavaliers will have locker room problems in the opening game?"
Gary Payton, who was sitting not far away waiting to have his official photos taken, burst out laughing when he heard this.
Pierce shook his head as well. "Rickie's ideas are always interesting. But that's a headache for Coach Chris Paul Russ, it's none of our business."
On the other side of the backdrop, Garnett's interview was much shorter.
Several reporters surrounded Garnett, trying to get some information out of him about the topic of "high school seniors commenting on juniors": " Kevin, eight years ago when you entered the league as a high school student, you faced a lot of skepticism, while LeBron has already secured a $90 million endorsement contract before even playing a single game and is known as the Sacramento Kings. What do you think about this?"
Garnett adjusted his wristband without any expression.
"The contract size is a matter between the agent and the shoe company. If there are no questions about our team, I'm going to practice now."
After saying that, Garnett got up and left, leaving several reporters who wanted to ask further questions standing there.
The veterans were either aloof or prickly, and the reporters, unable to dig up enough sensational stories, quickly shifted their attention to the main press conference stage.
At 10:30, Lin Qi and head coach Rick Carlisle walked side by side into the main interview area and sat down behind the long table.
The sound of camera shutters clicking rapidly filled the air. In the eyes of sports reporters across the United States, the young helmsman who single-handedly led the Boston Celtics to four consecutive championships and also served as the behind-the-scenes owner of Converse was the real focus of the day.
The veteran reporter from the Boston Globe was the first to get the microphone. "Mr. Lin, the league landscape changed drastically this summer. Shaq O'Neal was traded to the Chicago Bulls, moving directly into the Eastern Conference. Many believe that the Chicago Bulls, with Shaq and Jay Williams, will completely end the Celtics' dominance in the Eastern Conference. How do you assess this new rival?"
The audience fell silent, everyone staring at Lin Qi, wondering if he would retaliate like Rasheed Wallace.
Lin Qi pushed the microphone in front of him, a gentle smile on his face.
"First of all, I must Jerry Reinsdorf and the Chicago Bulls management; they made a truly amazing trade."
Lin Qi said sincerely, " Shaq is still the most dominant center in the league. As long as he holds his position in the paint, any team will need to double-team him with two or three players. The Chicago Bulls acquiring Shaq means that from today onwards, they are one of the biggest favorites for the Eastern Conference and the NBA championship."
Just as the Chicago reporters in the audience showed expressions of satisfaction, Lin Qi subtly changed the subject and continued.
"Of course, to fully unleash Shaq's power, I believe Coach Beal Cartwright will slow down the pace of the game, patiently lobbing the ball into the low post every possession, ensuring Shaq gets more than 25 post-up opportunities per game. Although Jay Williams and Jamal Crawford are both young guards who love to run and play, and Brian Grant also needs interior space, I believe that with Shaq's leadership charisma in the locker room, the young players in Chicago will be happy to make the sacrifice and focus on watching him play one-on-one."
"Furthermore, when the Chicago Bulls' young rookies face contract renewals next summer, Mr. Reinsdorf must be prepared to pay huge luxury taxes for several years in a row. As a fellow Eastern Conference, I greatly admire Chicago's generous investment."
Several veteran journalists in the audience listened with twitching lips, their pens flying as they took notes.
Lin Qi's words, on the surface, were praising the Chicago Bulls' strength, but in reality, every sentence was aimed at the Chicago Bulls ' sore spots.
Who in the entire league doesn't know that Chicago Bulls owner Reinsdorf is a penny-pincher? He wouldn't even spend the money to re-sign Jordan and Pippen back then, and now Lin Qi is directly labeling him as "generous in paying the luxury tax," putting him on the hot seat. What's even worse is his assessment of ball possession. Jay Williams just developed his skills in the summer and wants to be the core player, Lin Qi's comment, "The whole team is outside watching Shaq's isolation plays," will appear verbatim on the front page of the Chicago Tribune tomorrow morning. No wonder the proud young men in the Chicago Bulls' locker room are not happy about it.
Rick Carlisle, sitting next to him, picked up his water glass, took a sip, and concealed the smile on his lips.
At this moment, a TNT reporter raised his hand and took the microphone. "Mr. Lin, since you mentioned championship favorites, and even after Michael's retirement, the Celtics are still ranked first in the odds of winning the championship this season, who do you think is the biggest obstacle for the team to defend their Eastern Conference and contend for the NBA championship this year?"
"The odds are just numbers bookmakers use to attract attention; they don't count," Lin Qi shook his head, his expression becoming more serious. "We lost the NBA Finals last season, so we're not the defending champions anymore, we're the challengers. If we're talking about the truly top-tier team this season, without a doubt it's the San Antonio Spurs."
Lin Qi looked at the camera, his tone resolute.
" The Spurs already had Tim Duncan, and this summer they signed Jason Kidd in free agency, along with Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. A top-three power forward in the league paired with a top-three point guard—Coach Popovich has a richer roster than anyone else. If the Spurs don't win 65 or more games and make it to the NBA Finals next season, that would be surprising news. In comparison, we in Boston are just an ordinary team trying out new playing styles and trying to stay healthy."
The reporters exchanged bewildered glances. Everyone could tell that Lin Qi was determined to have Popovich take the Bullets for Boston.
Immediately afterwards, a reporter from Cleveland stood up and raised the most talked-about topic of the day.
"Mr. Lin, let's talk about the season opener. David Stern scheduled the Celtics to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the opening game, which will be broadcast nationally. Nike has invested unprecedented promotion in LeBron, while your Converse brand has just signed Wade and Kobe. Many people see this opening game as a head-to-head matchup between you, Nike, Boston, and this future king of the league. Will you ask the team to teach this number one draft pick a special lesson in the opening game?"
Dozens of cameras zoomed in instantly.
Lin Qi looked at the reporter and calmly said, "It's just a regular season game, there's no need to make such a big deal out of it. LeBron is a very talented young man, with excellent height and court vision. Cleveland getting the number one pick was just luck."
After a pause, Lin Qi added in a calm tone.
"As for whether we need to teach him a lesson... I think LeBron needs to resolve the issue of ball distribution at the Cleveland training camp before he meets us on October 29th. After all, Ricky Davis publicly stated yesterday that LeBron is going to the Cleveland Cavaliers to be his assistant."
"In Boston, from Kevin and Chris Paul to the rookies who just joined this year, everyone's only thought is how to win. Nobody ever argues about who's whose sidekick. If a team can't even figure out who to pass the ball to, I think they have far more to worry about on the court than shoe ads."
A suppressed chuckle rippled through the room.
The Cleveland reporter blushed slightly, opening his mouth as if to argue, but Lin Qi had already glanced at his watch, smiled, and stood up. "Sorry everyone, the team has a practice at 11:00 AM, so that concludes today's interview. Thank you all for coming."
After speaking, Lin Qi nodded to the audience and turned to leave the press conference hall with Rick Carlisle.
Behind him, hundreds of reporters immediately erupted in a frenzy, grabbing their phones to dictate today's headlines to their respective newspaper headquarters.
Walking down the corridor back to his third-floor office, Rick Carlisle closed the door, chuckled, and loosened his tie. "You just used Ricky Davis's comment to stab Cleveland. Chris Paul Russ is going to be furious when he sees the paper tomorrow. He's been racking his brains trying to keep Davis in check these past few days."
" Russ is a good coach, but the Cleveland Cavaliers' management is too muddle-headed," Lin Qi, walking behind his desk and taking off his suit jacket to drape over the back of his chair. "Since they decided to build the team around the number one draft pick, they should have decisively gotten rid of troublemakers like Ricky Davis during the offseason. Keeping a lone wolf like him padding his stats in the locker room, coupled with Nike's marketing team that revolves around LeBron James every day, it's no wonder the Cleveland locker room is in chaos."
Assistant General Manager Sam Presti walked in with a schedule and handed it to Lin Qi.
Lin Qi glanced at the schedule and turned to Rick Carlisle.
" Rick, we're playing the Pistons tomorrow night. Don't worry about the preseason wins and losses; these games have only one purpose: before we go to Cleveland, get the whole team familiar with the transition offense and the Boston Pick-and-Roll -roll movement."
Rick Carlisle nodded, picked up his tactics notebook, and said, "Understood."