Chapter Summaries

In June 1994, Lin Qi persuaded Celtics chairman Paul Gaston to let him control basketball operations for a year by wagering that he could reach the playoffs and restore home attendance to the league’s top ten without increasing payroll. After Gaston accepted, Lin Qi prepared to target an undervalued prospect in the upcoming draft, with Jerry West and the Lakers also watching the same range of picks.

• Lin Qi asked Paul Gaston for full authority over the Celtics’ draft, trades, and free agency, promising to make the team a contender.
• Gaston insisted that the Celtics cut payroll and spend no more than they had the previous season.
• Lin Qi wagered that the Celtics would make the playoffs and reach the league’s top ten in home attendance without raising payroll, staking his job, salary, and reputation if he failed.
• Gaston accepted the wager and signed a note granting Lin Qi control of basketball operations until the following summer.
• Lin Qi left the meeting and considered the June 29 draft, where the Celtics held the ninth pick and Jerry West’s Lakers were interested in the same range.

At the 1994 NBA Draft, Lin Qi surprised everyone by having Boston select Eddie Jones instead of hometown favorite Eric Montross, who was then picked by the Lakers. Jerry West recognized Lin Qi’s move and began pursuing a deal with Miami, while Indiana’s Donnie Walsh considered approaching Boston about a trade.

• Before the draft began, Lin Qi told Boston’s staff that they would not select Eric Montross.
• With the ninth pick, Boston selected Eddie Jones, shocking the crowd and ruining Jerry West’s plan to draft him for the Lakers.
• After learning Lin Qi had made the pick, West chose Montross tenth and called Miami’s Lewis Schaffel to discuss trading him.
• Pacers general manager Donnie Walsh reconsidered his plans and told his assistant to contact Boston about meeting Lin Qi.

During the 1994 NBA draft, Lin Qi made a series of trades to reshape Boston’s assets, acquiring Sean Elliott and turning Sherman Douglas into future draft picks and role players. The draft continued as Lin Qi prepared to pursue more deals with Milwaukee, Phoenix, and Seattle.

• Lin Qi traded Dee Brown, Acie Earl, and a lottery-protected 1995 first-round pick to Detroit for Sean Elliott, whose kidney problems had damaged his trade value.
• Lin Qi traded Sherman Douglas, Vern Fleming, and Scott Haskin to Indiana for the fifteenth pick, then selected Eric Piatkowski with the pick.
• Lin Qi traded Piatkowski to the Clippers for a heavily protected future first-round pick.
• Lin Qi sent Vern Fleming to the Philadelphia 76ers for Gregg Graham, Eric Leckner, and a 1996 second-round pick, then traded Leckner to Detroit for another 1996 second-round pick.
• Lin Qi kept the injured Scott Haskin as a potential future trade asset and told his staff the two second-round picks could help secure a major deal.
• Lin Qi called Milwaukee, Phoenix, and Seattle to pursue more trades as the draft continued.

Lin Qi reshaped the Celtics’ roster through a series of draft-night trades, acquiring young talent, useful contributors, and future picks while lowering payroll. After Jerry West warned that he would retaliate over the Montross deal, Lin Qi hinted that their rivalry would grow in two summers.

• Lin Qi traded Ed Pinckney and a second-round pick to Milwaukee for Blue Edwards and Derek Strong, then selected Andrei Fetisov for the Bucks.
• Lin Qi sent Xavier McDaniel and Danny Schayes to Phoenix for Wesley Person’s draft rights and a future second-round pick.
• Lin Qi traded Blue Edwards to Seattle for Rebrača’s signing rights, two future second-round picks, and several reserve players, including Magic Johnson.
• Lin Qi reviewed the Celtics’ draft-night acquisitions and learned that the team’s total payroll had fallen.
• Jerry West called Lin Qi to threaten payback over the Montross deal, and Lin Qi answered that they would be competing over more than a ninth pick in two summers.

Lin Qi completed trades that brought Sam Cassell, P.J. Brown, and Zan Tabak to Boston while preserving the Celtics' core players and first-round picks. With the roster framework in place but attendance still a concern, he enlisted Red Auerbach to pursue a star who could draw fans.

• Lin Qi persuaded the Houston Rockets to trade Sam Cassell and Zan Tabak to Boston for Rick Fox and two future second-round picks.
• Lin Qi arranged a deal with the New Jersey Nets that sent Derek Strong and two future second-round picks to New Jersey for P.J. Brown.
• The Rockets and Nets accepted Lin Qi's final offers, and he listed the completed trades on the strategy-room whiteboard.
• Lin Qi told Auerbach that Boston needed a star to boost attendance, and Auerbach agreed to help him pursue one.

Lin Qi persuaded Robert Parish to stay with Boston for the Old Boston Garden’s final season, then helped sign Dominique Wilkins after Auerbach won over the injured veteran with an appeal to his pride. The Celtics announced Wilkins’s signing amid doubts about the team’s prospects and renewed excitement among longtime fans.

• Lin Qi offered Robert Parish a contract to remain in Boston as a mentor for Magic Johnson and a symbol of the Celtics’ history.
• Robert Parish agreed to stay with Boston, and season-ticket interest surged after the announcement.
• Auerbach met with Dominique Wilkins and persuaded him that Boston valued his fighting spirit despite his injury and the league’s doubts.
• Lin Qi negotiated Wilkins’s contract and promised him Boston fans would cheer for him at the Old Boston Garden.
• The Celtics announced Wilkins’s signing, drawing criticism from commentators and renewed interest from longtime fans.

Lin Qi completed Boston’s roster by signing several undervalued free agents suited to the new rules and trimming the team to a 15-man lineup. As Jerry West warned him that their rivalry would intensify in 1996, Lin Qi promised to make a storm in the Eastern Conference first.

• Lin Qi signed Dana Barros, Bo Outlaw, and Elliott Perry to bolster Boston’s shooting, defense, and transition play.
• Lin Qi added Aaron Williams and Marty Conlon as minimum-contract insurance for Robert Parish.
• Lin Qi released or moved unwanted salary-matching players, placed Scott Haskin on injured reserve, and finalized Boston’s 15-man roster.
• Boston’s local media mocked the unusual roster as “Lin Qi’s general store.”
• Jerry West called Lin Qi to recognize his summer moves and warn that they would compete for resources in 1996.
• Lin Qi told Jerry West he would first show how much of a storm Boston could stir up in the Eastern Conference.

During the Celtics’ first training-camp scrimmage, Sam Cassell and Dominique Wilkins clashed over control of the offense, while Wilkins tested rookie Eddie Jones. Lin Qi viewed the friction as competitive fire and left the team’s unity to be forged by winning, with the season opener against Pat Riley’s Knicks looming as the real test.

• In the scrimmage, Cassell chose a midrange jumper instead of passing to Wilkins, then called for a high screen while Wilkins waited for the ball in the post, provoking an open challenge over who controlled the offense.
• Lin Qi stopped Chris Ford from ending the scrimmage, and Sean Elliott used a joke to ease the tension between Cassell and Wilkins.
• Wilkins scored on Eddie Jones in two straight post-up possessions, but Jones shut down Wilkins’s third attempt and forced a miss.
• After practice, Wilkins told an assistant coach to keep an eye on Jones and make sure the rookie did not slack off, signaling his respect for Jones’s defense.
• Lin Qi told Ford that the players’ competitiveness was an asset and said Robert Parish would steady the locker room when the time came; he identified the season opener against Pat Riley’s Knicks as the team’s true test.

David Stern’s 1994 rule changes gave Lin Qi’s carefully assembled Celtics a chance to challenge the Knicks’ physical style in the season opener. Boston used speed, perimeter shooting, and a small lineup to take the lead, but New York remained a formidable opponent.

• David Stern announced a shorter three-point line, stricter restrictions on perimeter hand-checking, and tougher penalties for dangerous fouls.
• Lin Qi displayed the new rules at his office and recognized that players such as Dana Barros, Wesley Person, Sam Cassell, and Eric Perry suited the coming changes.
• The Celtics hosted the Knicks at the old Boston Garden, where a full crowd made the arena-attendance side of Lin Qi’s wager look promising.
• The Knicks exploited Patrick Ewing’s size inside, but Sam Cassell drew fouls and scored from midrange while Eddie Jones turned steals into fast breaks, leaving New York ahead by only four at halftime.
• Chris Ford sent out a small lineup, and Boston spread the floor, hit perimeter shots, and used Bo Outlaw’s clean blocks to take the lead with a 16-4 run.
• Pat Riley called consecutive timeouts, but the Knicks did not concede defeat.

The Celtics overcame the Knicks in their season opener, as Robert Parish's defense of Eddie Jones helped unite the team and Sam Cassell assisted Dominique Wilkins for the decisive three-pointer. After the win, Lin Qi recognized that Orlando's Shaquille O'Neal posed a major threat to his lightweight frontcourt.

• With five minutes left, Anthony Mason knocked Eddie Jones to the floor and was ejected for a flagrant two, prompting Robert Parish to stand between Jones and the Knicks.
• Cassell pulled Jones up, and Jones calmly made both technical free throws as the Celtics rallied together.
• With the game tied and two minutes remaining, Cassell drew a double-team and passed to Wilkins, who hit the go-ahead three-pointer.
• The Celtics defeated the Knicks, and the players celebrated while Lin Qi watched from the tunnel.
• Lin Qi worried that his team could not handle Shaquille O'Neal and put on a tape of the Orlando Magic to study him.

The Celtics endured a midseason slump as Dominique Wilkins struggled with an All-Star snub and clashed with Sam Cassell over his ball-hogging in a loss. Robert Parish stopped the locker-room fight, but Lin Qi knew his intervention had only bought the divided team temporary peace before the season’s final stretch.

• The Celtics went two and five during a grueling stretch, and Boston newspapers criticized Lin Qi’s roster and several aging players.
• Dominique Wilkins was left off the All-Star roster for the first time since returning from his Achilles injury, and the snub heightened his frustration.
• Wilkins took 27 shots and scored 31 points in a Celtics loss, disrupting the team’s offense and drawing criticism from Sam Cassell.
• Wilkins and Cassell argued in the locker room until Robert Parish ordered them to stop, reminding them that winning required teamwork and sacrifice.
• Lin Qi thanked Parish, who said he had intervened to prevent infighting from ruining the team’s playoff chances.
• Lin Qi recognized that Parish’s authority had only secured a temporary truce and turned to the work ahead before the regular season’s final sprint.

Lin Qi established strict roles and workload rules for the Celtics to protect Dominique Wilkins and sharpen the team’s offense and defense. Boston finished February 8-5 and held a playoff spot, while the chapter ended with Michael Jordan preparing to return in a number 45 jersey.

• Lin Qi limited Wilkins’s regular-season minutes to preserve him for the playoffs, and Wilkins agreed after Lin Qi promised him a decisive role in the postseason.
• Lin Qi gave Sam Cassell authority to run the offense but ordered him to feed Dino Radja in the low post during each quarter’s first six minutes; Cassell accepted the requirement.
• Lin Qi assigned Eddie Jones to guard opponents’ strongest perimeter scorers, earning Wilkins’s quiet approval of the rookie’s defensive potential.
• The Celtics followed their new roles and went 8-5 in February as Wilkins regained form, Cassell improved his distribution, Radja anchored the half-court offense, and Jones strengthened his Rookie of the Year case.
• Lin Qi reassured disappointed reserve scorer Dana Barros that the Celtics valued him and urged him to prove himself with transition threes in the playoffs.
• Lin Qi looked toward March as Michael Jordan, preparing to wear number 45, tightened his basketball shoes in Chicago.

As the trade deadline approached, Lin Qi rejected offers for Dominique Wilkins, Dino Radja, and Sean Elliott, keeping the Celtics’ roster intact for their playoff push and arena attendance goals. Days later, news from Chicago eclipsed the trade rumors: Michael Jordan was coming back.

• Lin Qi turned down an offer of a young rotation player and a second-round pick for Dominique Wilkins, valuing Wilkins’s scoring and drawing power at the Old Boston Garden.
• Lin Qi rejected a key rotation player and future first-round pick for Dino Radja, citing Radja’s importance to the Celtics’ half-court offense.
• Lin Qi refused a package of fringe players and salary-matching contracts for Sean Elliott, whose locker-room leadership and wing depth were vital to the team.
• The Celtics made no trades before the deadline, while Lin Qi reserved his draft picks for a future pursuit of Kevin Garnett.
• A few days after the deadline, news broke from Chicago that Michael Jordan was returning to basketball.

After Michael Jordan returned to the NBA, the Celtics faced the Bulls in a nationally watched game, where rookie Eddie Jones endured Jordan’s attack and earned his respect with a crucial defensive stop. Boston lost, but Lin Qi saw Jones’s resilience as a valuable gain as the playoffs approached.

• Michael Jordan announced his return to basketball, and Lin Qi told coach Ford to use the media distraction to help the Celtics improve their teamwork.
• Lin Qi focused on Eddie Jones’s defense against Jordan during Boston’s home game against Chicago.
• Jordan repeatedly scored over Jones through the first three quarters, but Jones remained determined and kept guarding him.
• Jones disrupted Jordan’s turnaround fadeaway with a clean swipe in the fourth quarter, drawing a huge reaction from the Boston crowd.
• The Bulls won, and Dominique Wilkins told Jones that Jordan’s serious response showed he had earned the superstar’s attention.
• The Celtics finished March 8-8, and Lin Qi considered Jones’s growth a valuable gain as the playoffs neared.

The Celtics finished the regular season 47–35 and earned the Eastern Conference’s fifth seed, fulfilling Lin Qi’s wager and securing him a five-year contract with final authority over basketball operations. As the team prepared to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first playoff round, Robert Parish urged his young teammates to fight for one another.

• Dominique Wilkins hit a late game-winner after Sam Cassell passed out of a drive, and Cassell showed greater patience as a playmaker.
• The Celtics went 6–1 in April and finished fifth in the East with a 47–35 record, meeting all three conditions of Lin Qi’s wager.
• Paul Gaston offered Lin Qi a five-year contract with final authority over the Celtics’ basketball operations, and Lin Qi signed it.
• Robert Parish told the team that playoff success depended on fighting for one another on defense.
• The Celtics drew the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, and Lin Qi gave the players two days off before they traveled to Cleveland.

The Celtics defeated the Cavaliers 3-2 in a grueling first-round playoff series, with Dominique Wilkins, Sam Cassell, and Eddie Jones deciding Game 5. Lin Qi then turned his attention to the Eastern Conference semifinals against Pat Riley’s New York Knicks.

• The Celtics used Dana Barros and Wesley Person to speed up Game 1 and beat the Cavaliers on the road.
• Mike Fratello adjusted his defense in Games 2 and 3, disrupting Sam Cassell and wearing down Dominique Wilkins as the series became tied 2-2.
• Dominique Wilkins carried the Celtics’ offense with crucial midrange baskets in Game 5, and Sam Cassell gave Boston a one-point lead with a floater in the final minute.
• Eddie Jones stole the Cavaliers’ last shot attempt, sealing the Celtics’ 3-2 series victory and their place in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
• The Celtics celebrated in the locker room while Lin Qi assessed their weaknesses and looked ahead to Pat Riley’s New York Knicks.

The Boston Celtics lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals to the New York Knicks, but earned respect for pushing the league’s toughest team to the limit. After the defeat, Lin Qi received a call from Jerry West about acquiring a cornerstone talent in the upcoming draft, and he focused on Kevin Garnett.

• The Knicks used relentless pressure, physical defense, and Patrick Ewing’s strength to tie the series at 3-3 and force a decisive Game 7.
• In Game 7, Dominique Wilkins’ tired legs, Radja’s inability to secure rebounds, and Sam Cassell’s missed floater helped the Knicks defeat the Celtics four games to three.
• Dominique Wilkins praised Eddie Jones for his performance against John Starks, while Robert Parish acknowledged the young team’s fighting spirit.
• Boston’s media praised Lin Qi’s roster-building after the Celtics exceeded expectations by reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals.
• Jerry West called Lin Qi, recognized his summer moves, and urged him to pursue an elite cornerstone from the upcoming draft.
• After the call, Lin Qi thought of Kevin Garnett as the player who could restore Boston’s glory.

After leading the Celtics to 47 wins and a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Lin Qi realized his roster could not overcome dominant interior teams and that the league’s easy bargains were disappearing. He decided to pursue high-school prospect Kevin Garnett in the upcoming draft, even if securing him meant trading away players Boston had grown to love.

• Lin Qi reviewed the Celtics’ turnaround, the players he had assembled, and the success that earned him a five-year contract and full authority over basketball decisions.
• Lin Qi recognized that other teams had learned from Boston’s tactics and that his lightweight roster had been exposed by the Knicks’ size and Patrick Ewing in Game 7.
• Lin Qi concluded that the Celtics needed a franchise cornerstone to challenge the Magic and Bulls, rather than more bargain acquisitions.
• Lin Qi recalled Jerry West’s warning about the draft and focused on Kevin Garnett, whom he knew could transform the franchise.
• Lin Qi decided that acquiring Garnett might require offering core players in a major trade, despite the backlash he expected from fans, media, and Gaston.
• Lin Qi left the arena resolved to make the draft his next gamble and pursue the future he alone could foresee.

In June 1995, Lin Qi used the Spurs’ need to reacquire Sean Elliott and unload Dennis Rodman to negotiate a three-team trade and secure draft picks from Gregg Popovich. The deal left Lin Qi holding San Antonio’s protected 1997 first-round pick, which he intended to use as leverage when the Spurs’ fortunes collapsed.

• Lin Qi welcomed Gregg Popovich, who asked to get Sean Elliott back after Elliott had recovered and thrived in Boston.
• Lin Qi reminded Popovich that he had taken the medical risk on Elliott and demanded payment beyond the original price.
• Lin Qi offered to arrange for the Chicago Bulls to take Dennis Rodman, relieving the Spurs of their locker-room problem.
• Lin Qi proposed sending Elliott, Marty Conlon, Aaron Williams, and Haskin to San Antonio in exchange for Rodman and Willie Anderson, whose contract the Spurs risked losing in the expansion draft.
• Lin Qi demanded the Spurs’ 1995 first-round pick and their top-three-protected 1997 first-round pick.
• Popovich accepted the deal, unaware that Lin Qi planned to use the 1997 pick’s protection clause to force the Spurs to bargain for its return.

Lin Qi negotiated a three-team trade sending Dennis Rodman to Chicago and bringing players and draft picks to Boston. With the deal finalized, he prepared to use the acquired picks in a broader strategy targeting the 1995 draft.

• Lin Qi convinced Jerry Krause that Rodman could complete the Bulls’ championship lineup and negotiated Will Perdue, Chicago’s twentieth pick, and a protected future second-round pick for him.
• Popovich and Lin Qi finalized a three-team trade that sent Rodman to Chicago, Sean Elliott and other players to San Antonio, and players and multiple draft picks to Boston.
• Lin Qi assured Boston’s scouting director that Willie Anderson could replace Sean Elliott’s defensive role on the wing.
• Lin Qi viewed the Spurs’ protected 1997 first-round pick as a valuable asset and considered the trade the first move in a larger plan for the 1995 draft.