"After the money is sent, have the Converse people present old Charles with a few bloody examples of past mistakes at the dinner table."
"First, talk to him about the losses that would result from staying in school. Bring up Ed Cotta from the University of North Carolina and Khalid El-Amin from the University of Connecticut a few years ago. Ed Cotta played as the starting point guard at North Carolina for four years, winning a bunch of college trophies, but because he stayed in school for too long, his 6'0" (1.83m) height and shooting weaknesses were scrutinized by scouts with a magnifying glass for four whole years, and he was ultimately not drafted in 2000."
"And then there's Khalid Amin, who led Connecticut to the national championship in his sophomore year, refusing to be drafted in the first round and choosing to stay in school for his junior year. As a result, his stats dropped in his junior year, and his draft position plummeted to the 34th pick in the second round. He ended up with a non-guaranteed minimum contract and was eliminated from the league after less than two years."
Presti nodded slowly. "These two things are common knowledge in North Carolina; old Charles couldn't have been unaware of them."
"Add the risk of injury to him as well," Lin Qi continued. "I'll have Converse tell old Charles that college injury insurance only covers juniors and above who are projected to be in the top ten. Chris is just a freshman; he doesn't even meet the minimum requirements for insurance."
"He plays over 36 minutes a game in the Atlantic Ocean Coast Conference, and every time he drives to the basket, he's battling against 6-foot-10 (2.08 meters) giants. He's a surprise weapon this year, but next year all teams will double-team him. If he were to tear his meniscus or ACL in his sophomore year, without a professional contract to back him up, he wouldn't get a single penny in compensation."
Presti picked up his paper cup, took a sip of water, and quickly jotted down a few names in his notebook.
"Finally, let's lay the rules of shoe contracts out in the open," Lin Qi said calmly. "Tell Charles that Converse has prepared a five-year, $20 million rookie shoe contract this summer, specifically for young point guards entering the league in 2004. If Chris Paul announces his candidacy this April, regardless of his draft pick, this contract will be signed immediately. But if he stays in college as a sophomore, Converse will spend that entire budget on Devin Harris or Ben Gordon this June. By the time he comes out next year, the budget will be gone, and that offer won't be available."
Presti gripped his pen, his fingers tracing the edge of the paper. "Give my brother a respectable job with a $200,000 annual salary, secure a long-term sponsorship for Dad's gas station, and then use the old story of El Armin's drop in the draft and the $20 million shoe contract to push him further. Old Charles is a businessman himself; he definitely knows what's in his best interest... But boss, Chris Paul's stubborn. What if he's still attached to Coach Proser and insists on staying at Wake Forest to help the coach win a tournament?"
"Then... let's consider their master-disciple relationship."
Lin Qi opened the drawer on his right, took out a directory of Southeastern public relations firms, and slammed it on the table. "About two weeks after Converse's people have finished contacting his family, when old Charles and CJ Chris Paul start persuading him to run for office, find a third-party public relations firm registered in Atlanta or Charlotte, slip some bribes to a few local sports radio stations in the Atlantic Ocean Coast League and columnists for the Charlotte Observer, and spread the word."
Presti leaned forward slightly.
"Winston Salem, where Wake Forest University is located, is less than an hour and a half north of the Virginia border, just Oak Hill Academy," Lin Qi said, drawing a line on the tabletop map. "Let the local reporters write in their columns that Coach Skip Proser privately complained to his assistants that his point guard was at a disadvantage defensively in the high-intensity half-court battles of the playoffs, and that Wake Forest needs to increase its backcourt depth if it wants to contend for the national top four next year."
"Then they released a definite statement, saying that Wake Forest's top assistant coach secretly drove to the Oak Hill Academy last night to try and poach Rajon Rondo, who was already being targeted by Kentucky. He promised that if Rondo changed his mind and went to Wake Forest instead, Rondo would be the starting point guard next season, and Chris Paul would play shooting guard."
Presti put down his pen and looked up at Lin Qi: "That's a pretty underhanded move. Oak Hill is too close to Vick Forest; even without evidence, these rumors sound like the truth."
"One message isn't enough; we need a multi-pronged approach to make him believe it's not just baseless." Lin Qi said calmly, "At the same time, spread the word that Wake Forest's scouting team is aggressively pursuing Darius Washington, a five-star high school point guard in Florida, and Gregg Palouse, the top high school point guard in New York, promising their parents plenty of playing time. Also, Wake Forest's current sophomore guard, Justin Gray, is a lone wolf. Have the PR firm hire some shills to call local radio hotlines, saying that Justin Gray's family has a lot of complaints about Chris Paul dominating the ball in his freshman year, and that there's already discord in the locker room."
Lin Qi leaned back in his chair. "Even if a nineteen-year-old is very sentimental, what do you think he'll feel when his dad and older brother are constantly nagging him, he has a Converse check Converse twenty million dollars right next to him, and then he turns around and checks the local newspapers and radio, and all he hears is that his most trusted head coach is secretly hiring a point guard from out of state to threaten his position, and even his teammates are ostracizing him?"
"He'll think that Coach Prosser's gesture at the funeral was just a recruitment tactic," Presti chimed in. "He won't have the nerve to confront Coach Prosser directly. Even if he did, Coach Prosser would swear it wasn't true. Once there's a rift between the two, and with his dad and older brother giving him a little push, his desire to stay at the school would probably vanish completely."
"That's not enough. If he's still hesitant ten days before the draft registration deadline in mid-April, we'll give him the final straw."
Lin Qi pointed to the NCAA compliance manual on the table. "In 2000, Auburn University forward Chris Porter was suspended for the entire season after the NCAA found out he had secretly accepted $2,500 from an agent to pay his mother's rent, and his draft position dropped from the lottery to the late second round. Last year, University of Michigan's Chris Webber was even more serious; his family accepted money from sponsor Ed Martin during his college years, and he was indicted by a federal grand jury. Even the tournament flags on the roof of the University of Michigan arena were taken down."
"After Old Charles's gas station signed the Converse contract with CJ Chris Paul and the first advance payment was deposited into the account, in April, we had a public relations firm send an anonymous letter to a local college sports reporter in North Carolina, saying that the NCAA Compliance Investigation Committee had its eye on Converse's commercial sponsorship of Chris Paul's family and was preparing to obtain Old Charles's gas station's bank statements to thoroughly investigate whether Chris Paul had violated any regulations."
Presti paused, his hand gripping the pen. "Once the NCAA investigates, not only will Chris Paul be suspended for his sophomore year, but Wake Forest University will also be severely punished, and Coach Chris Paul will lose his job. At that point, to protect his family's reputation and to avoid implicating Coach Prosser and Wake Forest University, Paul's only way out is to immediately announce his withdrawal from college amateur status and hire an agent to enter the 2004 NBA draft before the NCAA investigation takes action. Once he enters the professional league, the NCAA won't be able to interfere."
The office fell silent, with only the ticking of the wall clock audible.
"Sneaker brands are eyeing the promotional value of star players' brothers and fathers, and local media are making up rumors about college recruitment—it's all normal business dealings." Lin Qi closed the Wake Forest University folder and pushed it back to Presti. "Even if someone feels something's wrong and complains to the league afterward, Stern sends people to investigate, they can only trace it back to Converse's regional marketing department at most."
"There's something I need to make clear, Sam," Lin Qi instructed. "Until Chris Paul officially submits his candidacy papers to the league office in April, none of us in the Celtics scouting team are allowed to go to Winston-Salem. Leave all the work to Converse's marketing department and their PR firm."
Presti rearranged the four or five files on the table, secured them with metal clips, and stuffed them into his briefcase. "I'll get on with it now."
"Go ahead." Lin Qi stood up, walked to the window, and pulled up the blinds. "And while you're at it, go downstairs and tell Rick Carlisle I've approved fourteen days of leave for Ron."
"They can both relax for two weeks now."