boom!
The entire studio broadcasting the live show across the US completely crashed. Two seasoned commentators, who had seen it all before, even stood up from their seats, holding their heads in their hands, their expressions nothing more than utter disbelief.
"A high school student?!" The commentator practically roared into the microphone, spitting all over the screen. "What on earth is Jerry West doing?! He gave away the team's only All-Star, a scoring threat averaging 21 points per game, and after finally acquiring the eighth pick, he... he selected a mere 17-year-old kid who's never even played a single day of college basketball, and even publicly told the media before the game, 'Whoever drafts me, I'll go play in Italy '?! This is utter nonsense!"
"Absurd! This is the most absurd, insane, and irrational GM move I've ever seen in my career! Los Angeles fans are probably already gathered outside the Forum ready to smash West's office windows! They traded away the All-Star scoring champion and got back a high school kid who probably can't even read a clipboard! This kid's bones would be broken in the NBA paint!"
It's not just the commentators who've gone mad.
In the Boston office, the scouting director's eyes widened, his lips turning slightly blue, as he looked incredulously at the composed Lin Qi: "Ling, that old fox West... he really doesn't want to keep his job this time, does he? Ceballos is a top-ten asset in the league at the small forward position, and he's trading him for a skinny high school kid? If he doesn't perform, all the prestige he's built up in Los Angeles tonight will be completely wiped out, and Jerry Buss. Buss will definitely fire him on the spot!"
Rick Adelman shook his head and sighed, "That's too aggressive. Even if this kid named Kobe performs exceptionally well in the tryouts, he's still only 17. In the NBA, 17 means you don't even qualify to go to a bar, and you want him to go up against Michael Jordan? Jerry West is going to become the laughingstock of the entire league this time."
Hearing the overwhelming doubts and pessimism around him, Lin Qi leaned back in his large office chair, simply smiled, and offered no explanation.
He looked at the 17-year-old boy on the TV screen, wearing an ill-fitting suit, his eyes gleaming with an almost stubborn and cold light. The boy was wearing a Los Angeles Lakers hat, a smug smile on his lips.
The entire United States was mocking the high school player success rate. In the 1990s, when the belief in inside muscle and the idea that having a center meant victory was paramount, a 17-year-old perimeter player was seen as a huge burden that would require years of development.
But Lin Qi knew all too well what kind of obsessive and terrifying Black Mamba blood flowed in the veins of this young man who was belittled by commentators across America as a "young punk." In the next twenty years, he would use five championship rings and an 81-point massacre in a single game to slap the faces of all the commentators who mocked him tonight until they were swollen and bruised.
"You only saw the surface, but you didn't see Jerry West's true intentions."
Lin Qi finally spoke, his voice unusually calm in the stuffy office, instantly silencing everyone's noise.
The scouting director and Adelman both turned to look at him.
Lin Qi didn't explain anything.
The whole of America was mocking the high school student's fighting ability, but Lin Qi knew clearly what kind of obsessive and terrifying Black Mamba blood flowed in the veins of that boy named Kobe. And this high school student, in the cradle where Jerry West had completely cleared the obstacles for him, would grow up very quickly.
However, Jerry West's madness tonight has only just begun.
With the ninth pick, the Toronto Raptors made a respectable selection, choosing Samaki Kemba Walker from the University of Louisville.
Next up is the tenth pick.
David Stern didn't even give the American audience a moment to catch their breath before walking back onto the stage with a smile.
The Los Angeles Lakers have completed another trade, acquiring the 10th overall pick in the NBA draft from the Indiana Pacers.
In the studio, the commentators, who had just calmed down, could even hear each other gasping for breath.
" The Lakers again?! How is that possible?! How many assets do they still have left to sell? Who have they put on the trading block this time?!"
" Nique Van Exel!" The commentator's voice trembled as he looked at the trade offer that had just been faxed over, as if he had witnessed the end of the world. "Insane! Utterly insane! The Lakers traded their starting point guard, the Van Exel repeatedly hit clutch game-winning shots in the playoffs, nicknamed ' Nick the Quick, ' to Indiana! The Pacers got the tough point guard they'd always dreamed of, and the Lakers, all for this tenth pick!"
" The Lakers have dug their own foundation!" The commentator was incoherent, pounding the table frantically. "One night! First, they traded away their scoring champion Ceballos, then their starting point guard Van Exel! The Lakers ' core perimeter players have been completely dismantled overnight! Are they planning to have their head coach play point guard tomorrow?!"
" The Los Angeles Lakers selected Predrag Stojaković ( Peja ), from the Greece league."
"Pre... Drag?" The commentator, referring to the complicated pronunciation sheet for Europe players, stammered and even comically pronounced the name. "A... a Serbia striker whose name we can't even pronounce properly? Oh my god, according to the latest report from Europe scouts, this guy named Peja isn't even planning to report to the NBA this year! He's made it clear he wants to stay in Europe and continue playing!"
At this moment, the entire United States was plunged into a state of utter absurdist black humor.
"Let me help Los Angeles fans sort out the logic of tonight's events." The commentator took a deep breath and said to the camera with an almost self-deprecating tone, " Jerry West traded away his team's All-Star scoring leader who averaged 21 points per game, traded away his playoff starting point guard who averaged 7 assists per game, and what did he end up with? A high school student who never even entered college, and a Europe couldn't even set foot on United States soil this year? How is this team supposed to play next season?!"
Adelman, sitting on the sofa in Boston, shook his head repeatedly, his facial muscles twitching. "This West... he usually seems like a very composed person, but tonight he's treating the team like a deck of cards, throwing it around recklessly? Selling off all the key players and trading them for a bunch of useless long-term assets, what exactly is he trying to do?"
Lin Qi looked at the commentator's exasperated face on the screen, took a small sip of his slightly cold coffee, and his eyes flickered with a kind of loneliness and understanding, as if he had found the only kindred spirit on the entire plain.
"He's paving the way for the future," Lin Qi said slowly, his voice not loud, but it instantly silenced everyone in the office.
" West's trade of Ceballos and Van Exel may seem like self-destruction, but have you considered their salaries? They cleared two substantial contracts. Kobe will become their backcourt core in the future, while Peja, playing in Europe, is a strategically valuable long-range gamble that doesn't take up any salary cap space. He vacated all the perimeter positions, ball possession, and salaries, not for any other reason."
"He's clearing out his options in preparation for this summer's free agency, in order to Shaquille O'Neal Big Shark O'Neal."
If O'Neal agrees to move to Los Angeles, what he needs is absolute low-post possession and clear space in the paint. Nique Van Exel's tendency to hold onto the ball and Ceballos's aggressive pressing will both become obstacles for O'Neal.
While everyone was mocking him as a madman, West had already meticulously pieced together the " OK Duo "—the future team that would sweep across America and achieve an incredible three-peat—in his mind, creating a closed loop. At that moment, apart from Lin Qi, the time traveler with a cheating perspective, no one in the entire league could understand the strategic grand plan of that old fox from the West Coast.
Eleventh place followed closely behind. David Stern had just stepped back onto the podium when the commentator in the live broadcast room covered his face with his hands, his voice filled with pleading and near-breakdown.
"No... it can't be the Lakers again, can it?! Are they going to sweep the entire lottery tonight?!"
The Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers have completed an instant trade! The Lakers sent Elden Campbell, a future second-round draft pick, and some cash to the Warriors in exchange for the Warriors ' eleventh overall pick.
David Stern calmly tore open the envelope. " The Los Angeles Lakers have selected Jermaine O'Neal from I. Klay High School."
"Another high schooler!" The commentator was utterly defeated, leaning back in his chair and letting out a desperate, cold laugh. " Jermaine O'Neal, 17 years old, tall enough, but skinny like a bamboo pole that would break at the slightest touch. In high school, he can use his height to block shots over those shorter guys, but in the NBA, full of muscles and elbows, he'll get his ribs broken by those seasoned interior players!"
" The Golden State Warriors desperately need a mature, ready-to-play center to relieve the defensive burden on their young number one draft pick, Joe Smith. So, trading their 11th pick for Campbell, who averages 13.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 2.6 blocks, was perfectly reasonable. The Warriors ' management deserves full marks tonight. But what about the Lakers? Of the three players West drafted tonight, two are 17-year-old high schoolers, and one is Europe we haven't even seen before... In next season's opening game, none of these three rookies will provide the Lakers with even the slightest help!"
"I'm officially announcing this tonight," the commentator said, spreading his hands towards the camera, " that Jerry West has been officially diagnosed with mental instability tonight. He has completely gambled away a team that could have easily made the playoffs, throwing everything into a high school mystery with a very low success rate that nobody can understand."
In the Boston office, the air seemed to freeze, and everyone's eyes shifted from the television screen to Lin Qi sitting behind his desk.
Lin Qi simply stood up slowly and walked to the tall floor-to-ceiling window. He looked down at the deep, tranquil Boston night, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
"He's not crazy at all," Lin Qi said, hands in his trouser pockets, his back to the crowd. "Quite the opposite, he's the only truly sober person in this short-sighted and mediocre league, besides myself."
"What the media and those so-called experts saw was that he traded away three players who could score and were in their prime, in exchange for three greenhorns who now seem like 'trash' and 'burdens'," Lin Qi said softly. "But what I saw was that in just two hours, he used surgical precision and ruthlessness to build a solid framework for the Lakers for the next ten years."
"A top-tier perimeter talent with sky-high ambitions, a future top-tier stretch shooter from Europe who can be nurtured freely, a young defensive anchor who can provide interior security, plus a bunch of salary cap space that's been completely cleared out—enough to swallow two big fish whole." Lin Qi turned around, his eyes gleaming with fighting spirit. "Once O'Neal arrives this summer, this Los Angeles Lakers, which has been ridiculed and cursed by the entire American media all night long, will overnight become a team that no one will underestimate or mock."
A deathly silence fell over the office.
The scouting director's Adam's apple bobbed as he looked at his young boss's confident expression, then at the commentator still hysterically yelling on TV, and suddenly had an extremely absurd and intense feeling... His young president of basketball operations and Jerry West, the " The Godfather " of the West Coast, were practically demons cut from the same mold.
They all possess a terrifying vision that allows them to pierce through time and space and directly capture the power shifts that will occur a few years later, when everyone else can only see the ruins and chaos before their eyes.
The twelfth pick quickly passed without any major incident.
On the big screen, the Charlotte Hornets ' green Hornets logo began to flash, and the countdown entered its final five minutes.
"Ring ring--!!"
The red secure telephone on the desk suddenly rang shrilly.
The scout director on the sofa suddenly perked up, jumped to his feet, strode to the table, and whispered, "Lin! Charlotte's on the phone! Those guys must be frantic right now!"
Lin Qi watched the distant view on the screen showing the Hornets' management in complete chaos at the scene, then slowly reached for the microphone and held it to his ear.
"I am Lin Qi."
"Lin! Something's happened! Everything's in complete chaos!!"
From the other end of the microphone came a low, almost raspy growl from the Charlotte Hornets' general manager, accompanied by a tidal wave of the chaotic background noise from the New Jersey arena. "That madman Jerry West snatched Kobe Brian with the eighth pick!"
The Hornets' general manager was breathing heavily on the other end of the phone, speaking rapidly, " David Stern's assistant is right next to me, watching closely. Only two minutes left! Lin, who do you want? Give me a name right now!!"
Compared to the other person's hysteria, Lin Qi was very calm. He even slowly tapped the list on the table with his fingers.
Lin Qi leaned back in his chair, his deep gaze piercing through the heavy night outside the window, and slowly uttered a name.
"Who?!" The general manager of the Hornets was visibly taken aback, but time was of the essence. He didn't have time to ask any more questions, and just gritted his teeth and yelled at his assistant, "Did you hear me?! Write it down... and send it over right now!!"
A chaotic commotion erupted on the other end of the phone, followed by a loud "snap" as the Hornets manager abruptly hung up.
Two minutes later, David Stern walked steadily onto the stage again with a smile.
The studio commentators, who had been furiously criticizing the Lakers' suffocating play, all had a playful look on their faces when they saw Charlotte's envelope being handed to them.
On stage, David Stern slowly opened the envelope, cleared his throat, and read out the name that once again plunged the entire nation into confusion.
" The Charlotte Hornets have selected Steve Nash from Santa Clara University!"