Chapter Summaries

After Grant Hill signed a seven-year, $93 million contract with Boston, Lin Qi's independent medical examination revealed that Hill's ankle was in far worse shape than Detroit had admitted. Lin Qi persuaded Hill to undergo a lengthy experimental rehabilitation plan and then prepared to challenge Detroit and push the NBA to strengthen injury disclosure rules.

• Lin Qi arranged an independent examination, and Dr. Thomas Clanton found delayed bone healing and signs of damage around the screws in Grant Hill's ankle.
• Dr. Clanton warned that playing the next season could cause another fracture and end Hill's career, while Lin Qi explained that Detroit's doctors had underestimated the danger.
• Lin Qi proposed replacing Hill's hardware and following an experimental treatment and an eighteen-month rehabilitation plan, candidly explaining its risks and potential benefits.
• Hill agreed to cooperate unconditionally with Boston's medical team, trusting Lin Qi to protect his future career.
• Lin Qi instructed his assistant to file a complaint with David Stern and the NBA League Medical Committee, demand Hill's full medical records from Detroit, and seek changes to the league's injury disclosure rules.

Lin Qi secured a Celtics ownership stake and a seat on the NBA Board of Governors, then persuaded David Stern to compensate Boston for Detroit's concealment of Grant Hill's injury. The league approved two unprotected Pistons first-round picks, a disabled player exception, and a proposed medical review committee, while Boston agreed to keep the fraud allegations private.

• The NBA formally approved Lin Qi's 5 percent ownership stake in the Celtics and appointed him Boston's representative on the Board of Governors.
• Lin Qi told David Stern that Detroit had misdiagnosed and concealed the severity of Grant Hill's ankle injury, presenting specialist reports as evidence.
• Lin Qi demanded two unprotected Pistons first-round picks, a disabled player exception for Hill, and a league-run independent medical review committee.
• Lin Qi offered to frame Hill as a tragic hero and keep Detroit's fraud allegations out of the press if the league granted Boston compensation.
• Stern signed a memorandum approving the two picks and the exception, and asked Lin Qi to prepare a proposal for the medical committee.

Jerry West resigned from the Lakers after Jerry Buss refused to give him an ownership stake, and Lin Qi called to offer him a place in Boston. West said he planned to rebuild the Grizzlies, while the Lakers’ post-Finals turmoil set the stage for a major announcement about Kobe and O'Neal.

• Jerry West asked Jerry Buss for a minority stake in the Lakers, but Buss refused, and West resigned.
• Lin Qi called West to express respect and invite him to Boston, but West declined and said he would join the Grizzlies.
• Lin Qi concluded that West’s departure would worsen the Lakers’ internal conflict and leave Kobe vulnerable beside O'Neal.
• The Lakers held a four-hour internal meeting, after which Los Angeles media reported that the team had issued a major signal.

After the Lakers’ Finals defeat, Phil Jackson argued that Kobe Bryant was too inexperienced and arrogant to understand teamwork, and that only failure could teach him to change. Jerry Buss decided Los Angeles would put Kobe on the trading block, leaving the Lakers’ future in the hands of other teams.

• Boston newspapers highlighted Lin Qi’s question, “Who is Kobe?”, as a rebuke of the Lakers’ team-building and Kobe’s role in their defeat.
• Mitch Kupchak reported that Kobe was training obsessively and that his conflict with Shaq had become impossible to ignore.
• Phil Jackson compared Kobe’s sheltered rise with Michael Jordan’s painful early defeats and concluded that Kobe was currently uncoachable.
• Jackson told Buss that Kobe needed to experience failure, but the Lakers and Shaq could not wait for him to mature.
• Buss agreed to offer Kobe to every team in the league and ordered Kupchak to send a fax announcing that Los Angeles was open to trade offers.

Lin Qi learned that the Lakers had put Kobe Bryant on the trade market after a bitter feud with Shaquille O'Neal and pressure from Phil Jackson. He traced the breakup to the Lakers' Finals loss, Kobe's ultimatum, and the team's decision to prioritize O'Neal, leaving Kobe's future in Los Angeles uncertain.

• Lin Qi received a league bulletin announcing that the Lakers would listen to trade offers for Kobe Bryant.
• Lin Qi ordered Los Angeles newspapers and scouting reports, then read accounts of Kobe and Shaquille O'Neal's explosive argument after the season.
• A newspaper argued that the Finals had exposed O'Neal's unmatched value and Kobe's vulnerability against Boston's perimeter defenders.
• Lin Qi read that Phil Jackson had sided with O'Neal and urged Jerry Buss to make him the team's sole tactical centerpiece.
• Lin Qi concluded that the lost championship, Jerry West's departure, Kobe's ultimatum, and pressure from Jackson and O'Neal had pushed the Lakers to put Kobe on the trade market.

Lin Qi analyzed the Lakers, Bulls, and Suns’ three-team trade, which sent Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion to Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant to Chicago, and Tracy McGrady to Phoenix. He expected Kobe to become a major individual star in Chicago but predicted Boston’s cohesive team would stand in his way.

• The Lakers, Bulls, and Suns agreed to trade Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion to the Lakers, Kobe Bryant to the Bulls, and Tracy McGrady to the Suns.
• Lin Qi explained that the Lakers gained a better fit beside Shaquille O'Neal, while Phoenix moved Kidd because of concerns about his conduct and chose McGrady as a new star.
• Lin Qi said Jerry Krause wanted Kobe to vindicate his own legacy, while Kobe saw Chicago as a chance to lead a team and challenge Michael Jordan’s legacy.
• Lin Qi told his assistant that Kobe would score heavily in Chicago but would struggle to reach the summit through individual heroics alone.
• Lin Qi predicted Boston would be the obstacle that could force Kobe to learn the value of teamwork.

Lin Qi analyzed the Lakers’ trade of Peja Stojaković and Jermaine O'Neal to the Clippers for Lamar Odom, Quentin Richardson, and a protected first-round pick. He concluded the deal strengthened Phil Jackson’s system and left the Lakers with a formidable new starting lineup that threatened Boston’s title defense.

• Lin Qi learned that the Lakers had traded Peja Stojaković and Jermaine O'Neal to the Clippers for Lamar Odom, Quentin Richardson, and a protected 2002 first-round pick.
• Lin Qi explained that Mitch Kupchak and Phil Jackson wanted to remove players associated with Jerry West and reshape the roster around their own vision.
• Lin Qi said Jermaine O'Neal and Peja Stojaković did not fit the Lakers’ roles or defensive needs, while Lamar Odom suited the Triangle Offense as a versatile facilitator.
• Lin Qi described Quentin Richardson as a tough, inexpensive spot-up shooter who could fill the Lakers’ need at shooting guard without demanding the ball.
• Lin Qi listed the Lakers’ new starting five as Jason Kidd, Quentin Richardson, Shawn Marion, Lamar Odom, and Shaquille O'Neal, and judged them Boston’s toughest title-defense obstacle.

Lin Qi reviewed the completed roster and coaching staff he had assembled for Boston, weighing how each hire would support the players and help Rick Carlisle grow as a coach. With the staff in place, Lin Qi decided it was time to begin preparations for the new season in Europe.

• Lin Qi reviewed the signed fifteen-man roster and the coaching and support staff he had assembled.
• Lin Qi planned for Tim Grgurich and Dwane Casey to temper Rick Carlisle’s demanding style and help him adapt to the roster.
• Lin Qi assigned David Blatt to introduce dynamic passing and cutting, while specialist coaches would develop players’ skills, conditioning, and health.
• Lin Qi relied on Daryl Morey, Masai Ujiri, Dominique Wilkins, and Robert Parish to strengthen scouting, player development, and team support.
• Lin Qi closed the file and decided preparations for the new season should begin in Europe.

Lin Qi reviewed Olympia Milan’s season and summer plans with Maurizio Gherardini, then set off for Rome to oversee the newly acquired club. Milan had strengthened its roster with Gianluca Basile and Fabricio Oberto, while Raja Bell and Stephen Jackson had developed under the team’s European system.

• Gherardini told Lin Qi that the offshore fund had outbid Claudio Totti and finalized the takeover of Virtus Rome through Giovanni Malagò’s transition committee.
• Gherardini reported that Raja Bell had improved his outside shooting and Stephen Jackson had learned to read defenses and play within a system under Sergio Scariolo and Igor Kokoškov.
• Lin Qi and Gherardini discussed Milan’s need to improve its roster while working within strict foreign-player limits.
• Gherardini presented five-year deals for free agents Gianluca Basile and Fabricio Oberto, who would not occupy foreign-player slots.
• Lin Qi approved the Milan plans and left with Gherardini for Rome to handle the acquisition and assemble a new group.

In Rome, Lin Qi planned Virtus Rome’s new arena and rebuilt the club around a modern coaching staff and a group of promising players. He left Gherardini to secure the contracts and local political support needed to carry out his plans.

• Lin Qi offered Claudio Totti the general contract for a new arena in exchange for help clearing city approvals, with construction payments tied to milestones.
• Lin Qi chose Marco Crespi as head coach and named Nick Nurse and Chris Finch as assistant coach candidates.
• Lin Qi ordered Virtus Rome to pursue Argentine players and use their ancestry to obtain European Union passports, asking Totti to help with the paperwork.
• Lin Qi assigned a non-EU roster slot to Chris Andersen and ordered the club to sign Anthony Parker and Kenny Atkinson despite Gherardini’s doubts.
• Gherardini agreed to arrange the coaching and player contracts for Virtus Rome.

Lin Qi persuaded Rome power broker Claudio Totti to promote the “5+5 Plan,” which would loosen Italian league restrictions to allow five foreign starters while reserving five roster spots for Italian youth. Totti agreed to lobby politicians and wealthy investors, leaving Lin Qi with a powerful ally for pushing the plan.

• Claudio Totti told Lin Qi that the South American players’ passports would be ready the following week.
• Lin Qi proposed making Italy Europe’s second basketball powerhouse by allowing five foreign players and reserving five roster spots for Italian youth.
• Lin Qi promised that a stronger league would bring visitors, sponsorships, broadcast revenue, and lucrative contracts for Totti’s arena and commercial developments.
• Lin Qi offered to build a top American-style training base to help persuade conservative politicians that the plan would develop Italian players.
• Claudio Totti agreed to host a reception and convince Rome’s council members that rejecting the plan would cost the city money and harm Italian basketball.

Lin Qi sought a way around Baskonia’s costly contract claim over Luis Scola and recruited Belgrade lawyer Miško Ražnatović to challenge it. Miško accepted the case and promised to find a legal loophole within three days.

• Maurizio Gherardini told Lin Qi that Baskonia demanded three million dollars to release Luis Scola and that a conventional lawsuit could take a year and a half.
• Lin Qi refused to pay Josean Querejeta, warning that doing so would invite European clubs to exploit his teams’ contracts.
• Lin Qi called Dino Radja, who recommended Belgrade lawyer Miško Ražnatović as an expert in basketball contracts.
• Lin Qi and Gherardini traveled to Belgrade, where Lin Qi asked Miško to challenge Scola’s contract and arrange legal notarizations for Argentine players seeking European Union passports.
• Miško reviewed the Baskonia contract, accepted Lin Qi’s offer of a litigation budget ten times larger than his current case, and asked for three days.

Lin Qi recruited Miško Ražnatović to build a youth academy in Belgrade after resolving Scola's transfer problem. Miško proposed buying Avala Ada, and Lin Qi revealed he intended to build a basketball empire with a path to the Europe Champions League.

• Miško told Lin Qi that Scola's buyout would cost at most four hundred thousand dollars and that FIBA clearance would take three or four weeks.
• Miško described the overlooked young talents in the Balkans and explained that he ran a small agency to help them.
• Lin Qi paid Miško ten thousand dollars, then offered to fund a youth academy and put Miško in charge of it.
• Miško warned that Red Star and Partizan carried major debts and political complications, then proposed buying Avala Ada, a club with clean books.
• Lin Qi approved the Avala Ada purchase and said he wanted a prestigious route to the Europe Champions League, declaring that he intended to have it all.

Lin Qi persuaded Miško Ražnatović to help him acquire Red Star and build a basketball empire through a holding group that would also include Avala Ada and BeoBasket. Miško accepted the offer and pledged to establish the group, setting their plan to take control of Belgrade basketball in motion.

• Miško recommended acquiring Red Star rather than Partizan, citing Red Star's debts and the influence of its fan organization, Delije.
• Miško proposed making Red Star the public powerhouse while developing young players separately through Avala Ada.
• Lin Qi offered to place Red Star, Avala Ada, and Miško's BeoBasket under a Cyprus-registered holding group, with Miško as its chairman and nominal owner holding five percent.
• Lin Qi explained that Miško would gain control and status while contracts and Lin Qi's capital protected the partnership.
• Miško accepted Lin Qi's offer and promised that Belgrade's business registry would soon recognize the new sports group.

Lin Qi planned to found the European Basketball Association (EBA) by recruiting Europe’s top clubs and guaranteeing them annual cash payments in exchange for the league’s broadcasting and commercial rights. He prepared to risk $21 million on the first season, betting that the new competition could attract broadcasters and become profitable.

• Gherardini explained that the split between ULEB and FIBA and the clubs’ dependence on wealthy owners had left European basketball financially unstable.
• Lin Qi proposed forming EBA with distressed clubs, oligarch-backed teams, and member-owned clubs such as Real Madrid and Barça.
• Lin Qi offered founding clubs $1 million in upfront annual payments in exchange for EBA control of their league broadcasting and commercial rights.
• Lin Qi explained that his four already-purchased clubs would be founding members, reducing his effective annual guarantee outlay from $13 million to $9 million.
• Gherardini warned that broadcasters would likely offer only a small first-season guarantee or advertising revenue, leaving Lin Qi to cover most of the costs.
• Lin Qi committed to a $21 million first-year investment for guarantees, operations, promotion, and arena upgrades, hoping to build a league that would become self-sustaining.

Lin Qi and Gherardini developed a plan to attract top European basketball clubs to EBA with large guarantees and championship prizes, while allowing them to compete in other leagues. After arriving in Milan, Lin Qi began working on the plan’s financial framework.

• Lin Qi proposed a $1 million annual guarantee and prizes of up to $5 million to attract elite clubs, accepting that EBA could lose $15 million to $20 million in its first year.
• Lin Qi explained that EBA would initially use nonexclusive agreements, letting clubs keep playing in domestic leagues, ULEB, and FIBA competitions as long as schedules allowed.
• Lin Qi and Gherardini reasoned that EBA’s prize money and midweek schedule would encourage clubs to prioritize EBA over time and help attract stronger broadcasting contracts.
• Lin Qi told Gherardini to prepare the EBA Founding Memorandum as they arrived at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport.
• After landing at Milan Malpensa Airport, Lin Qi rejected Gherardini’s suggestion to rest and began working on EBA’s financial framework.

Lin Qi mapped out the EBA League’s finances, planning to acquire six European clubs and secure partnerships with six more through arena investments. His projections left a $331 million cash cushion after five years, but he realized his plan still lacked one item.

• Lin Qi calculated his businesses’ annual net cash flow at about $80 million and projected $3.2 billion in cash at the start of 2001.
• Lin Qi budgeted about $169 million to assume debts, buy stakes, and fund operations for six financially troubled clubs.
• Lin Qi planned to partner with Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, Real Madrid, Barça, Fenerbahçe, and Maccabi Tel Aviv by building arenas and securing commercial rights.
• Lin Qi allocated $170 million for acquisitions and $3.1 billion for arenas, aiming to bring all thirteen founding teams into the EBA League.
• Lin Qi warned that Celtics payroll growth could strain cash flow, then realized his projections were missing one item.

Lin Qi revised his European acquisition plan after calculating the clubs’ potential future losses, then designed a dual-company structure separating the EBA League’s club and event operations from arena ownership. He instructed Gherardini to have the legal team prepare the structure, leaving the league plan ready for the next stage.

• Lin Qi calculated that continued losses could require an additional $68 million in 2004–2005 and added a three-year performance clause requiring management replacement if the teams failed to break even.
• Lin Qi proposed separating club and event operations from arena investment and management to reduce antitrust concerns and isolate the businesses’ finances and risks.
• Lin Qi reasoned that the real estate company could lease venues to outside events, pay dividends to him, and potentially pursue a future REIT listing.
• Lin Qi called Gherardini and ordered the legal team to draft the dual-company structure, using the Netherlands and Luxembourg as incorporation jurisdictions.

Lin Qi announced that the Celtics would play thirteen European clubs in August, offering large bonuses and demanding that the team compete without holding back. He also helped Rick Carlisle and David Blatt prepare to use a motion offense, leaving Carlisle nervous but ready to test the system on tour.

• Lin Qi told the Celtics players they would play thirteen games across Europe, with a $500,000 base allowance and bonuses for wins.
• Lin Qi explained that Garnett, Gary Payton, Türkoğlu, Wang Zhizhi, and Grant Hill would not join the tour, leaving eleven players to travel.
• Lin Qi rejected Chauncey Billups's suggestion that the Celtics let opponents save face and urged the team to dominate their European rivals.
• Lin Qi told Rick Carlisle to shift from controlling every play to guiding players through the motion offense, while David Blatt explained how players should read and react to defenses.
• Carlisle accepted that the players would need to develop instinctive decisions and admitted he felt nervous about giving them more control.
• Lin Qi reassured Carlisle that the European games would be a testing ground for the system, and Carlisle and Blatt prepared to work on it during the month.

In August 2000, Lin Qi and the Celtics traveled to Milan for a highly publicized game against Olympia Milan, where their first back-to-back championship team drew a sold-out crowd. After the team practiced its motion offense and prepared for the hostile arena, the opening tip began the game.

• Lin Qi boarded a charter plane with the Celtics as they left Boston for Europe.
• Hundreds of Italian fans welcomed the team in Milan, where Lin Qi said all twelve thousand tickets for The Forum had sold out.
• Lin Qi briefed the players on Olympia Milan and warned Artest to keep his fists to himself.
• Rick Carlisle and David Blatt led the Celtics through motion-offense drills, and Carlisle admitted he might have needed to loosen his coaching reins sooner.
• Rick Carlisle rallied the Celtics in the locker room, and Pierce led the team onto the court as the referee tossed up the opening tip.