Chapter Summaries

On the eve of the 1999 draft, Lin Qi traded Robert Horry to the Utah Jazz for two first-round picks, adding to Boston’s growing collection of draft assets. He accepted criticism for dismantling the championship roster as part of a long-term plan built around young players and salary flexibility.

• Lin Qi received urgent trade offers from teams seeking Robert Horry after Horry’s clutch performance in the Finals.
• Scott Layden offered two 1999 first-round picks, numbers 18 and 23, for Horry, and Lin Qi accepted while adding cash compensation.
• Lin Qi considered how Boston’s media would condemn his trades of Brown, Outlaw, and Horry, but believed their contracts would restrict the team’s future flexibility.
• Lin Qi reflected on his strategy of using draft picks and rookie contracts to build Boston’s future before draft night arrived.

At the 1999 NBA draft, Lin Qi watched other teams make their picks while Boston waited, and Ron Artest unexpectedly fell to the eighteenth selection. Lin Qi decided Boston would take him, but the chapter ended before the pick was announced.

• The Chicago Bulls selected Elton Brand first overall, while Lin Qi noted the team’s young stars would compete for offensive touches.
• The Vancouver Grizzlies selected Steve Francis second, and the unhappy guard reacted badly to being drafted by Vancouver.
• The Portland Trail Blazers selected Baron Davis third, and Lin Qi said Boston had traded the pick for assets he wanted.
• The New York Knicks selected Frédéric Weis fifteenth instead of Ron Artest, who had missed his workout after partying.
• The Chicago Bulls selected Jeff Foster and the Atlanta Hawks selected Carl Bowdler, leaving Artest available as Lin Qi’s planned eighteenth pick approached.
• Lin Qi told Boston’s staff to call in the selection, but he had not yet announced the player’s name.

The Boston Celtics selected Ron Artest and Andrei Kirilenko in the first round of the 1999 NBA draft, drawing widespread ridicule. Lin Qi saw them as complementary defensive pieces and waited for the final pick, his predetermined target, Manu Ginobili.

• The Boston Celtics selected Ron Artest with the eighteenth pick, prompting media mockery over his volatile reputation.
• Lin Qi considered the risks of drafting Artest but decided that rebuilding by following the expected path would be dull.
• The Boston Celtics selected Andrei Kirilenko with the twenty-third pick, and a scout questioned whether the thin prospect could handle NBA physicality.
• Lin Qi explained that Kirilenko's height, lateral speed, and defensive instincts made him a valuable partner for Artest.
• Lin Qi wrote Rasheed Wallace, Ron Artest, and Andrei Kirilenko on the whiteboard and waited for Boston's final first-round pick, Manu Ginobili.

Lin Qi’s plan to draft Manu Ginobili at twenty-ninth was disrupted when the Spurs selected him one pick earlier, forcing Boston to choose another prospect. Lin Qi took a gamble on Wang Zhizhi, leaving his NBA future uncertain but opening a possible path to a major Chinese market.

• The Spurs selected Manu Ginobili with the twenty-eighth pick, surprising Lin Qi and his scouts.
• Lin Qi realized his selection of Andrei Kirilenko may have alerted the Spurs that Boston was targeting overseas players.
• With Ginobili gone and few strong prospects remaining, Lin Qi considered drafting Wang Zhizhi despite doubts about his readiness and the difficulties of bringing him to the NBA.
• Lin Qi told Boston’s representatives to select Wang Zhizhi with the twenty-ninth pick.

Lin Qi asked David Stern to help arrange Wang Zhizhi’s move to Boston through an official China-US basketball exchange rather than a standard player buyout. Stern agreed to send a league representative with Boston’s management to Beijing, where the next hurdle awaited.

• Lin Qi explained that Wang Zhizhi’s national team and club commitments made Boston’s standard buyout process difficult.
• Lin Qi proposed that Boston spend $1.5 million on sports equipment and medical support for China through an NBA-backed technical exchange program.
• Stern recognized the proposal as a way to advance the NBA’s international growth and agreed to have the league’s legal department review it.
• Stern promised to send a league executive to Beijing with Boston’s management as a special representative for the official exchange program.

In Beijing, Lin Qi and an NBA representative negotiated with Chinese sports officials and the Bayi Team over Wang Zhizhi joining the Boston Celtics. Lin Qi’s proposal addressed concerns about the national team and ended with both sides agreeing to cooperate.

• Chinese officials and the Bayi Team representative explained their concerns about Wang Zhizhi leaving before the Sydney Olympics and questioned the $350,000 buyout.
• Lin Qi presented a China-US basketball exchange program approved by NBA headquarters, including more than $1.5 million in sports medicine equipment and rehabilitation support.
• Lin Qi promised that the Celtics would release Wang Zhizhi unconditionally for national team camps and competitions while continuing to support him during his absence.
• Lin Qi argued that playing in Boston would improve Wang Zhizhi’s skills and physical conditioning before the Sydney Olympics.
• The Chinese official and Bayi Team representative accepted the proposal, and the official shook hands with Lin Qi to seal their cooperation.

As the Celtics’ free agency activity stalled, Lin Qi left Boston to meet Maurizio Gherardini in Milan after arranging a secret invitation. He kept his plans to himself, leaving Gherardini to wait for their discussion the next day.

• The Celtics re-signed Eddie Jones, Ron Harper, and Ben Wallace but made no other moves as Lin Qi was unreachable.
• The Boston Globe criticized Lin Qi’s absence, and angry Celtics fans demanded answers on sports radio.
• A team spokesman told reporters that Lin Qi was handling important personal matters before fleeing in his car.
• Lin Qi reviewed plans to liquidate his Amazon holdings on a flight to Milan, where he expected to retain more than two billion dollars after expenses and taxes.
• Lin Qi met Maurizio Gherardini at Milan Malpensa Airport and promised to explain his plans the next day.

Lin Qi acquired controlling ownership of Olympia Milan for eight million dollars, taking on its debts and promising to rebuild the club. He told Gherardini that Milan was only the first step in creating a European talent pipeline and asked him to help run all of Europe.

• Gherardini warned Lin Qi that European clubs were deeply tied to local communities, but Milan's financial collapse had left a rare opening for an outside buyer.
• Lin Qi offered to assume Olympia Milan's debts and buy absolute control for eight million dollars, arguing that the club's creditors needed immediate help rather than its historical value.
• During negotiations, Gherardini told Lin Qi that Joe Bryant had once dreamed of buying an Italian team, including Milan.
• After Stefanel's headquarters could no longer delay, Lin Qi signed the deal and became Olympia Milan's owner.
• Lin Qi explained that he had bought a position from which to build a European talent pipeline, then asked Gherardini to help him run all of Europe.

Lin Qi recruited European coaches Sergio Scariolo and Igor Kokoškov, then signed Dino Radja, Raja Bell, and Stephen Jackson to build Milan into a development ground connected to the Boston Celtics. The chapter ended with Bell and Jackson accepting Lin Qi’s plan to sharpen their skills in Europe and earn a path back to the Celtics.

• Lin Qi convinced Maurizio Gherardini that his chosen European candidates had potential despite their modest résumés.
• Lin Qi offered Sergio Scariolo a high salary, tactical authority, and time to experiment, and Scariolo agreed to coach Milan.
• Lin Qi and Igor Kokoškov spent two hours discussing tactics before Lin Qi offered him the position of Milan’s lead assistant coach, which Kokoškov accepted.
• Lin Qi chose Dino Radja, Raja Bell, and Stephen Jackson as Milan’s three non-EU players, despite Gherardini’s doubts about Bell and Jackson.
• Lin Qi asked Radja to bring Boston Celtics standards to Milan and told Bell and Jackson that strong play in Europe could earn them a place with the Celtics; Jackson agreed.

Lin Qi negotiated to acquire Joventut, a debt-ridden Spanish club whose youth academy could give him a foothold in European basketball. He left the deal determined to keep his broader plans from reaching Boston, while the club’s future role in his talent network remained secret.

• Lin Qi and Gherardini discussed how Spain’s sports laws made member-owned Real Madrid and Barcelona impossible to buy, while shareholding clubs like Joventut could be acquired.
• Lin Qi met Joventut shareholders led by Soler and offered to assume the club’s debt, buy their shares, and protect their public standing.
• After hours of negotiations, Lin Qi and the shareholders settled on a purchase price that the businessmen accepted.
• Gherardini warned that news of Joventut’s new owner would eventually spread, and Lin Qi said he only needed to keep it from crossing the Atlantic.
• Lin Qi regarded Joventut’s youth academy as a European outpost for the Celtics and a way to reach future talents including Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Rudy Fernández, and Ricky Rubio.

Lin Qi laid out a three-hundred-million-dollar plan to build a European basketball network through small-team acquisitions, a Paris training and commercial complex, and suburban real estate investments. He then told Gherardini to arrange a trip to Athens so he could personally approach Greece’s powerful basketball owners.

• Lin Qi and Gherardini discussed buying overlooked Italian and French second-division teams to develop prospects, scout talent, and conceal their wider operations.
• Lin Qi proposed buying a Paris club, renaming it the Paris Celtics, and building a high-standard training base in the northern suburbs.
• Lin Qi privately planned to replicate the sports-and-commercial complex model near major European cities and estimated total costs of roughly three hundred million dollars.
• Lin Qi instructed Gherardini to begin carrying out the acquisitions and construction plans step by step.
• Lin Qi asked Gherardini to arrange a trip to Athens so he could meet the owners of Panathinaikos and Olympiacos despite Gherardini’s doubts they would sell.

Lin Qi met Pavlos Giannakopoulos in Athens and proposed a partnership between the Boston Celtics and Panathinaikos, using a symbolic stake to bypass NBA restrictions. Pavlos accepted the deal, leaving the two clubs set to cooperate on training, tactics, and exhibition games.

• Pavlos Giannakopoulos greeted Lin Qi warily and accused him of coming to poach a Panathinaikos player.
• Lin Qi praised Panathinaikos and explained that Pavlos wanted to build a European super league capable of rivaling the NBA.
• Lin Qi proposed Celtics-Panathinaikos exhibitions and joint offseason training camps, but Pavlos doubted the NBA would approve them.
• Lin Qi offered to buy a ten percent, non-voting stake in Panathinaikos to establish a legal affiliation between the clubs and enable their cooperation.
• Lin Qi offered access to the Celtics' training systems, tactics, and analytics, and Pavlos accepted the partnership.

Lin Qi persuaded David Stern to approve a European exhibition tour for the Celtics, funded by European clubs, and then secured support for making the tours a regular NBA globalization program. The chapter ended with Stern signing the agreements under strict financial-compliance rules.

• Stern questioned Lin Qi’s proposal for a European training camp and exhibition game, especially its five million dollars in appearance fees for Celtics players.
• Lin Qi argued that sending Garnett, Gary Payton, and Pierce to Europe would strengthen the NBA’s market position without costing the league or Boston money.
• Stern approved the European event after Lin Qi explained that European clubs would cover expenses, player fees, and injury insurance.
• Lin Qi proposed an annual European Tour, and Stern agreed to encourage other NBA teams to seek European partnerships if European clubs alone funded all costs.
• Stern signed the memorandum and warned that any compliance violation could cost the Celtics their first-round picks for five years.

Lin Qi finalized the Celtics’ roster for the 1999–2000 season and reviewed the league’s payroll rankings. Boston had the league’s third-highest payroll, but its finances remained within safe limits.

• Lin Qi reviewed the completed roster, including the main squad and players developing overseas, and decided against further sweeping changes.
• Lin Qi permanently deleted the roster document after confirming it was correct.
• Lin Qi opened the updated payroll spreadsheet and saw that the Celtics ranked third in league payroll at $63.06 million.
• Lin Qi noted that the new salary rules had not yet brought harsh luxury-tax penalties and that Boston’s payroll remained financially manageable.

Lin Qi revealed that the team was traveling to Europe for exhibition games and training, with generous pay and perks, and introduced Mark Price as a player development coach. He also worked out a flexible consultant role for Dominique Wilkins, leaving the team’s European trip as an eagerly anticipated celebration.

• Lin Qi told the players that their approved trip would take them to Milan, Greece, and other European cities for exhibition games and joint training, with about $350,000 in net income for each person.
• Lin Qi promised top accommodations and meals and offered to reimburse players for bringing their families, prompting the team to celebrate.
• Lin Qi introduced Mark Price as a player development coach, and Price joked that he had returned from retirement to earn formula money for his son.
• Dominique Wilkins told Lin Qi that he planned to retire as a Hawk and join Atlanta’s front office but also wanted to help Boston.
• Lin Qi offered Wilkins a flexible special consultant position, and Wilkins accepted so he could work with both teams and pursue commentary.

At the Celtics’ European training camp in Milan, Paul Pierce and Dejan Bodiroga traded moves and defensive insights in a competitive one-on-one session. Afterward, Andrei Kirilenko worked on his shooting with Mark Price’s guidance while Lin Qi watched, pleased with the camp’s cooperative atmosphere.

• Dejan Bodiroga used his signature fake push-and-pull move to score against Paul Pierce, then explained how rhythm and wrist control made it effective.
• Paul Pierce adjusted by reading Bodiroga’s hips and footwork, but Bodiroga used a shot fake and pivot to slip past him for a reverse layup.
• Pierce demonstrated how he used shoulder contact to read a defender’s balance and create space for a fadeaway, and the two exchanged insights.
• After the other players left, Andrei Kirilenko continued his extra three-point shooting practice, as required by Lin Qi.
• Mark Price corrected Kirilenko’s shooting form, and Kirilenko’s next shots went through the net more consistently.
• Lin Qi watched from the stands and was pleased to see the players sharing skills and helping one another improve.

In Athens, Paul Pierce struggled against the Greek team’s physical defense and hostile crowd before adapting with a move Dejan Bodiroga had taught him. He scored over three defenders, earning Lin Qi’s confidence that he could become Boston’s centerpiece.

• Paul Pierce was knocked down by the Greek center, and Dominique Wilkins explained that FIBA allowed zone defense and lenient physical play.
• Greek fans threw a banana near Pierce and aimed laser beams at his face, while Lin Qi stopped Ron Artest from charging into the stands.
• Pierce calmed himself, then used a crossover to get past his first defender and drove toward the paint.
• Pierce used Dejan Bodiroga’s Whip move to evade the Greek power forward’s help defense.
• Pierce absorbed the center’s contact and made a hanging fadeaway, then taunted him as he retreated.
• Dominique Wilkins praised Pierce’s blend of styles, and Lin Qi declared that Pierce was the centerpiece he wanted.

At Olympia Milan, Sergio Scariolo and Igor Kokoškov taught Kevin Garnett to use his mobility and height from the high post to draw double-teams and find open teammates. Garnett embraced the new role and demanded another chance to practice it as Lin Qi watched from the stands.

• Kevin Garnett scored a smooth turnaround jumper, but Sergio Scariolo criticized the possession for failing to disrupt the defense.
• Igor Kokoškov explained that Garnett’s fadeaway let defenders stay with Paul Pierce and Chauncey Billups, and urged him to face up at the elbow instead.
• Garnett drove into the paint after a drive fake, drawing a three-man trap and spotting Pierce, Billups, and Ben Wallace open.
• Garnett passed over the defenders to Pierce, who made an open three, and Kokoškov explained how Garnett could become the team’s tactical hub.
• Garnett demanded the ball at the elbow for another repetition while Lin Qi watched from the stands.

Lin Qi put Paul Pierce through an extreme ball-handling and finishing drill against four defensive groups, testing his skills as fatigue and pressure mounted. Pierce survived the final challenge from Ron Artest, while Lin Qi made the starting small forward spot an incentive; the Celtics’ tougher tactical training was still ahead.

• Lin Qi set up a nonstop, high-contact drill requiring Pierce to get a shot off within eight seconds against four groups of defenders.
• Bruce Bowen pressured Pierce into a 2-for-5 start and a shot-clock violation over five possessions.
• Raja Bell and Stephen Jackson trapped Pierce in tight spaces, forcing repeated turnovers and limiting him to one basket.
• Eddie Jones stole the ball once and forced rushed shots before Pierce saved the ball and beat the buzzer with a one-handed finish.
• Lin Qi promised Ron Artest the starting small forward spot if he held Pierce scoreless, and Pierce answered Artest’s pressure with a difficult banked basket on the final possession.
• Lin Qi approved of Pierce’s performance as the team prepared to begin further drills against traps and different defensive systems.

Lin Qi introduced motion offense as a way for the Celtics to make their championship offense less predictable, and the coaches turned its principles into four rules for practice. After several collisions and misreads, the players executed a coordinated sequence that ended with Eddie Jones hitting a three, though the system still needed refinement.

• Lin Qi explained to David Blatt, Sergio Scariolo, Igor Kokoškov, and Doc Rivers that the Celtics needed reactive offensive choices instead of relying on fixed routes and isolation.
• Blatt, Kokoškov, and the other coaches helped define four rules for spacing, quick decisions, backdoor cuts, filling open spots, and attacking switches or double-teams.
• Blatt taught the four rules to the starting lineup, but the first attempts broke down as players collided and missed reads.
• On the seventh restart, Garnett's early roll drew a double-team, Wallace screened for Pierce and then moved to the corner, and Pierce passed to Eddie Jones for a made three.
• Scariolo called for a different defensive coverage to test the players' reads, while Lin Qi judged that the drill had begun to produce the tactical system he wanted.