In mid-March in Boston, a light drizzle was still falling.
In the video room on the basement floor of the New Garden, three Sony Trinitron televisions were lit side by side, displaying a videotape of the college championships that had just been shipped from State of Texas.
The main lights were off in the room; only the light from the television screen illuminated the long table.
Lin Qi sat in the leather chair, holding a thermos, flipping through a scout file in a brown paper bag beside him. Sam Presti stood by the television, remote control in hand, pausing the video on the leftmost TV.
The screen is frozen on the floor of the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
In the very center of the image is a Black guard wearing an Oklahoma State University orange and black jersey. He has a square face, a wide mouth, a slightly raised chin, and a large tattoo on his right arm. The hem of his oversized jersey is tucked into his shorts, and he has habitually rolled it up twice.
Tony Allen.
"The Big 12 tournament just finished, and veteran coach Eddie Sutton led Oklahoma State to the championship."
Presti pointed to player number 24 on the screen. "This kid is averaging 16 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2 steals per game. He just won the division's Player of the Year award. But yesterday I was having dinner with some scouts from Western Conference teams in Dallas, and when I mentioned his name, everyone at the table shook their heads."
Lin Qi looked down and opened the scouting summary report printed from the ESPN draft column on the table.
The report was written by Chad Ford, a columnist who has become famous in the last two years for his online draft predictions. In this booklet for management teams across the United States, Tony Allen's name is listed far down the list, with rather harsh comments below it.
He's an over-22-and-a-half-year-old draft pick with no potential to be developed. His outside shooting form is stiff, his release point is low, and his three-point shooting percentage is less than 28%. On offense, he only knows how to charge straight to the basket, never slowing down, and frequently charges at opponents in half-court situations. To make matters worse, his early career is a mess. He grew up in a predominantly Black neighborhood on Chicago's West Side, and for the first two years of college, he attended two different community colleges due to failing grades and fighting. He has a volatile temper and is extremely difficult to manage.
Lin Qi glanced at the few lines of text and casually tossed Chad Ford's report aside.
The scouting culture in the league has become incredibly corrupt in the last two years. Ever since Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Paul Gasol emerged, draft experts like Chad Ford have been obsessed with any tall, 2.11-meter Europe white player, even if that player can't run or jump properly, they'll tout him as the next Larry Bird Larry Bird. Conversely, a senior black guard like Tony Allen, who struggled his way up from community college and has an unattractive shooting style, is seen as no different from a rotten cabbage on the street.
On the same page of the report, Chad Ford even ranked a 19-year-old Russia giant named Pavel Kerr in the top ten of the lottery, touting him as a rare Eastern Europe inside Wizards, completely ignoring the fact that the kid had a pituitary problem and would be out of breath after running two laps on the court.
"Are those scouts outside really that bad? They only look at age and jump shot form now?" Lin Qi took a sip of water and asked casually.
"Pretty much." Presti smiled, flipping through the internal team log in his hand. " Tony Allen's foundation was indeed too rough in the first two years. When he played at Crane High School in Chicago's West Side, he was teammates with Eddie Stephen Curry, who is now on the Chicago Bulls. Back then, he was just a rough guy who only knew how to rely on physical strength. In his freshman year, he went to Butler Community College in Kansas, where he couldn't even remember the most basic tactical positioning. He failed four courses in the final exams and was expelled. In his sophomore year, he transferred to Wabash Valley College in Illinois. Although he averaged 14 points per game, no one in the entire 12-year conference dared to take him, fearing that he was just a streetball thug who only knew how to fight. In the end, it was Coach Eddie Sutton who, despite pressure from the school's board of trustees, picked him up with the last scholarship spot."
Presti pressed the remote, rewinding the recording by thirty seconds and replaying it. "And this kid is definitely a bit neurotic on the field, easily scaring away general managers who prefer well-behaved players. Look here."
On the television screen, Texas's star Brandon Morton was dribbling the ball in a one-on-one situation. Tony Allen, bent over, moved his thick calves rapidly across the floor, his chest pressed directly against Morton's. Morton tried to change direction twice but couldn't get away even a fraction of a step, forcing him to the sideline for a traveling violation.
After the whistle blew, instead of high-fiving his teammates, Tony Allen grabbed his jersey collar with both hands, tilted his head back, and yelled at the searchlights on the arena roof, his eyes wide open, muttering curses to himself.
"He's like this every game," Presti said, pointing at the screen and laughing. "Last month against University of Kansas, after stealing the ball, he went one-on-one and insisted on trying to do a windmill dunk, but the ball just flew off and hit him on the back of the head. Coach Sutton substituted him out on the spot and made him run fifty shuttle runs in the empty arena afterward until he was vomiting bile. But the next morning at six o'clock, he was still the first one to arrive at the arena to mop the floor. Isiah Thomas from New York was talking about him on the phone the other day, saying that this 22-year-old Chicago hoodlum who can't shoot and is a bit dim-witted would be too much for the Knicks to handle."
Lin Qi stared at the screen as Tony Allen was being yelled at by coach Sutton as he left the game, obediently wiping his sweat with a towel while keeping his head down.
Outsiders only saw his crazy dunks and muttering to himself, but Lin Qi saw his six-foot-nine-inch arms, his astonishingly fast lateral movements, and his unwavering lower body strength during physical confrontations.
Lin Qi had another consideration in mind.
Dwyane Wade has grown too fast in Boston these past two years. Wade's style of play, which involves shifting his weight below his knees and driving hard to the basket while hanging on the defender, is so versatile that there are almost no guards in the entire league who can defend and limit him one-on-one.
Tony Allen on the screen is one of the few players in the US who can hold his own against Wade in terms of footwork frequency, lower body strength, and aggressiveness in setting screens.
Bringing Tony Allen to Boston would allow him to serve as Wade's best whetstone in the training facility. During the regular season and playoffs, Allen wouldn't need to guard Wade; he could simply be unleashed to relentlessly attack the opponent's star guard. Conversely, if this kid falls into the hands of another Eastern Conference playoff team, he could become a major headache specifically designed to counter Wade and Pierce in future playoff encounters.
As for poor shooting and a bad temper, those are nothing in Boston. The coaching staff has Chip Engelland, who is dedicated to coaching corner spot shooting, and the locker room has Garnett, Pierce, Ben Wallace, Artest, and Gary Payton. Tony Allen's Chicago street temper won't even make a ripple in front of Artest and Gary Payton.
" Sam, don't believe Chad Ford's rankings."
Lin Qi put down his thermos and pointed to the screen. "This kid's physical foundation and defensive instincts are too solid. The mainstream media is pessimistic about him now because no one has seen him compete up close yet. Once Oklahoma State wins all the way in the upcoming NCAA tournament, and then he goes to individual tryouts with various teams in May, as long as those coaches see him defending lottery guards from his draft class so badly in one-on-one drills that they can't even dribble, his market value will immediately skyrocket."
Presti's expression turned serious, and he nodded. "Indeed. Once he gets a real test on the court, any discerning coach will see his defensive value. By June, his draft position will probably be unstoppable."
"No matter where his draft position ends up, even if we have to use a first-round pick to snatch him, this guy has to stay in Boston."
Lin Qi closed the manila file, his tone leaving no room for negotiation. "A defensive stalwart like him, with his stable lower body, fearlessness of collisions, and ability to specifically counter penetrating guards, comes along only once every few years in the entire league. With us, he's Dwyane's best sparring partner and bodyguard. If he falls into someone else's hands, he'll become a weapon specifically designed to wear down Dwyane. You personally contact Coach Eddie Sutton and keep an eye on his workout progress. This summer, no matter the cost, we'll bring this stray dog back to Boston."
"Understood, boss." Presti looked down and drew a heavy red line in his notebook.