Chapter Summaries

Boston's players spent an afternoon in Milan after dominating European exhibition games, while Stephen Jackson introduced the rookies to local customs. Garnett sent the team back to the hotel to prepare for their intrasquad scrimmage and keep building chemistry.

• Gary Payton made Brian Scalabrine carry the team's luxury shopping bags through Milan.
• Gerald Wallace and Tyson Chandler tried to order sugary iced coffee, but the waiter insisted the café served only espresso.
• Stephen Jackson ordered espresso and ice water, then made iced Americanos for the rookies and warned them about Italian food and nightlife.
• Paul Pierce and Ben Wallace discussed Boston's easy wins over European clubs, while Andrei Kirilenko quietly noted the strength of European basketball.
• Kevin Garnett tipped the waiter and told the team to return to the hotel and save their energy for the next day's intrasquad scrimmage.

At the Olimpia Club training facility, Lin Qi explained why Brian Scalabrine belonged on a roster full of talented, volatile players. After Scalabrine showed his basketball IQ with a smart screen and pass, the coaches assigned him a role and a training plan to help him survive in the NBA.

• Brian Scalabrine was knocked down by Kevin Garnett during practice, while Rick Carlisle questioned Lin Qi about keeping the struggling rookie.
• Lin Qi said Scalabrine's good nature, low-cost contract, willingness to help teammates, and intelligence made him a useful fit for the locker room.
• Scalabrine set a screen, drew Ben Wallace out of the paint, and passed to Gerald Wallace for a dunk.
• Rick Carlisle recognized Scalabrine's tactical awareness and told the coaching staff to train him for a specific role.
• Tim Grgurich told Scalabrine to master the playbook, Mike Boyle prescribed extra strength training, and Chip Engelland assigned him five hundred catch-and-shoot threes a day.
• Scalabrine accepted the plan, and Rick Carlisle sent the team back to practice strong-side backdoor cuts.

Boston’s reserves dominated Panathinaikos in garbage time as Wang Zhizhi used smart defense and outside shooting to frustrate Željko Rebrača. A scuffle broke out after Rebrača shoved Wang, and Boston finished with an 86–121 victory.

• Rick Carlisle sent Chauncey Billups, Stephen Jackson, Wang Zhizhi, and Brian Scalabrine onto the floor with Boston up by 30 points.
• Wang Zhizhi redirected Željko Rebrača’s low-post charge and stole the ball.
• Wang Zhizhi screened for Billups, then hit a three-pointer off Billups’s pass to extend Boston’s lead.
• Rebrača missed a hook shot, then shoved Wang Zhizhi after they landed, prompting Stephen Jackson and players from both teams to crowd around.
• Wang Zhizhi told Rebrača to play ball, while Rick Carlisle praised Wang’s improved ability to withstand contact.
• Boston defeated Panathinaikos 121–86.

After Boston’s 35-point rout exposed European basketball’s shortcomings, Maurizio Gherardini urged club owners to accept sweeping upgrades funded by the EBA. The owners faced a choice between modernizing their clubs and being left behind, while Lin Qi quietly departed.

• After the game, Maurizio Gherardini presented European club owners with evidence of the gap between European basketball and the NBA.
• Gherardini argued that European players needed better strength training, conditioning, and rehabilitation to handle the NBA’s physical demands.
• He announced that EBA clubs would have to upgrade their training facilities and hire specialist coaches and medical staff.
• When Bologna’s owner worried about the cost, Gherardini promised that the EBA would fund the upgrades and absorb early losses.
• Gherardini urged the owners to sign the memorandum and build a modern European league, and Lin Qi left the suite without speaking.

Lin Qi avoided shorting before the September 11 attacks, then used leveraged purchases during the market panic to earn nearly three billion dollars for Lin Qi Capital. After paying taxes on his personal performance fee, he arranged to buy the Boston Celtics from his offshore company and route the funds to the EBA League.

• Lin Qi rejected David Cohen’s proposal to short the market and ordered him to keep the fund’s four billion dollars flexible until panic created an opportunity to go long.
• After the September 11 attacks, David followed Lin Qi’s orders and used fourfold leverage to buy S&P 500 and Dow Jones ETFs and options during the market’s September 21 low.
• David closed the positions after the market rebounded, reporting nearly three billion dollars in profits and a personal performance fee of nearly six hundred million dollars for Lin Qi.
• Lin Qi paid the taxes on his performance fee, leaving 360 million dollars in his personal U.S. bank account.
• Lin Qi told Richard to arrange a 300-million-dollar purchase of the Boston Celtics from its offshore parent company and transfer the money through offshore entities to EBA’s operating account in Zurich.

Lin Qi's bid to acquire full ownership of the Celtics stalled as James Dolan and other owners questioned his September trading profits. Lin Qi called in David Stern's favor over the Donaghy scandal, and Stern promised to endorse the acquisition and secure approval.

• Richard told Lin Qi that the ownership committee had delayed approval over a moral review of Lin Qi's trading profits, pushed by James Dolan and other conservative owners.
• Lin Qi argued that his trades had provided liquidity during the market crisis and that the owners' objections disguised prejudice and resentment.
• Lin Qi called David Stern and reminded him that Lin Qi had helped contain the Tim Donaghy scandal and preserve the league's credibility.
• Stern agreed to call an emergency board meeting, defend Lin Qi's market operations, and formally endorse the acquisition.
• Stern promised Lin Qi that ownership approval would arrive within days and that he would be treated as a true league partner starting on opening night.

After Lin Qi completed his purchase of the Boston Celtics and the NBA announced an intercontinental championship series, the defending champions faced hostile questions at media day. Kevin Garnett defended the team’s physical style and its right to compete, and the Celtics left with the season opener one week away.

• The NBA approved Lin Qi’s acquisition of the Boston Celtics and announced the upcoming Pinnacle Showdown between the NBA and EBA champions.
• At media day, a New York Daily News reporter challenged Rick Carlisle over Boston’s physical play and its suitability to represent the NBA.
• Kevin Garnett took Carlisle’s microphone and insisted the Celtics would not change their style or surrender their place in the World Championship without being beaten on the court.
• Ron Artest backed Garnett with a silent nod, and Carlisle said the team would let its results answer its critics.
• The Celtics ended media day early and left the facility as the season opener approached.

With Paul Pierce refusing to play shooting guard because he feared the Celtics would trade him, Lin Qi reassured him and signed him to a six-year extension with a no-trade clause. Lin Qi then extended Ben Wallace for six years, leaving the team to calculate its payroll.

• Rick Carlisle told Pierce he needed to play shooting guard, but Pierce refused because he believed players at that position were always traded.
• Lin Qi asked Pierce why he opposed the position, and Pierce admitted he feared being traded and wanted to retire in Boston.
• Lin Qi offered Pierce a six-year, $80 million extension with a no-trade clause and a fifteen-percent trade kicker, and Pierce signed it.
• Lin Qi called in Ben Wallace and negotiated a six-year, $60 million extension with him.
• With Pierce and Wallace extended, Lin Qi turned to calculating the Celtics' payroll.

Lin Qi reviewed the Celtics’ finances and concluded that the luxury tax would make an $80 million payroll his limit for long-term stability. He accepted a projected loss next season as a temporary cost, but resolved to prevent sustained losses that could invite NBA intervention.

• Lin Qi studied the Celtics’ five-year financial forecast and marked $80 million as the payroll break-even limit once the luxury tax began.
• Lin Qi planned to acquire the New Garden so the Celtics could combine arena income with team revenue and better absorb future costs.
• Lin Qi noted that the Celtics were projected to earn more than $40 million in net profit during the coming season, before the luxury tax took effect.
• Lin Qi saw that the confirmed payroll for 2002–2003 would reach $88,423,000 after Pierce’s and Big Ben’s extensions and other contract increases.
• Lin Qi calculated that the excess payroll would create a substantial loss, then resolved to accept short-term losses for a championship while avoiding prolonged losses that could trigger league takeover.

After reports predicted a $20 million loss from the Celtics’ contracts and luxury tax, Lin Qi confirmed the team would lose about $17 million. He rallied the players to focus on defending their title, and the fired-up Celtics charged toward the season opener.

• Larry Coon published an analysis predicting the Celtics would lose about $20 million in 2002-2003 because of their payroll and the luxury tax.
• Paul Pierce and Ben Wallace read the reports in the locker room and realized their extensions would cost Lin Qi personally.
• Lin Qi told the team the loss would be around $17 million and ordered Pierce to stop worrying about his finances.
• Lin Qi challenged the players to bring the O’Brien Trophy back to Boston, and Garnett led them in a defiant Ubuntu chant.
• Rick Carlisle watched as the energized Celtics charged out of the locker room toward the season opener.

The Boston Celtics received their championship rings before opening the 2001-2002 season against the Orlando Magic, whose roster included several former Celtics. Boston turned the game into a rout, and its second unit continued the dominance as Andrei Kirilenko blocked Gilbert Arenas and Stephen Jackson dunked over Brad Miller.

• David Stern presented championship rings to the Celtics and former players Michael Redd, Hedo Türkoğlu, and Brad Miller, while Boston's current players showed little emotion.
• The Celtics faced the Orlando Magic with an intimidating intensity, and Paul Pierce opened the scoring with a three-pointer over Michael Redd.
• Boston smothered Orlando's offense, with Ron Artest harassing Mike Miller and Garnett blocking Jermaine O'Neal Jr. at the rim.
• The Celtics built a 31-12 lead in the first quarter, prompting Doc Rivers to call timeout and send in Gilbert Arenas and Hedo Türkoğlu.
• Rick Carlisle brought in Boston's second unit, and Andrei Kirilenko blocked Arenas before Stephen Jackson drove downcourt and dunked over Brad Miller.

The Celtics crushed the Magic 115-72, with Brian Scalabrine making his NBA debut and hitting a three-pointer during Gino Time. After the game, Lin Qi congratulated the team and invited everyone to a steakhouse to celebrate.

• The Celtics carried a 41-point lead into the fourth quarter as Stephen Jackson, Andrei Kirilenko, and Wang Zhizhi dominated the Magic reserves.
• Rick Carlisle put Brian Scalabrine into the game, and Scalabrine sank a three-pointer during the arena’s Gino Time celebration.
• The Celtics defeated the Magic 115-72, with Paul Pierce scoring 32 points, Kevin Garnett recording 24 points and 15 rebounds, and Gary Payton handing out 12 assists.
• Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and other former Celtics players exchanged greetings with their former teammates after the final buzzer.
• Doc Rivers complained to Lin Qi about the lopsided loss, and Lin Qi told him to improve O'Neal Jr.'s low-post game.
• Lin Qi invited the Celtics to a steakhouse, and the players cheered at the prospect of celebrating together.

After Artest spiked Lin Qi’s Bordeaux, Lin Qi gave the Celtics players blunt advice about protecting their money and urged them to invest in Amazon and Nvidia. The next morning, Beth told Lin Qi what he had said, and he realized he had accidentally revealed his knowledge of the future.

• While Lin Qi was away, Artest secretly mixed water of life into his Bordeaux.
• After drinking the wine, Lin Qi warned Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Chauncey Billups about financial risks and urged the players to invest in Amazon and Nvidia for the long term.
• The next morning, Beth told Lin Qi that he had nearly suffered alcohol poisoning and recounted his drunken advice to the players.
• Lin Qi realized that his drunken words had revealed spoilers about the future, but Beth took them as business foresight.

David Stern sent Stuart Collins to investigate the Celtics’ finances, claiming the league wanted to protect Boston from losses caused by its championship spending. Lin Qi countered the investigation by revealing that he was pursuing the acquisition of New Garden and its surrounding commercial assets, leaving Stuart with little to report beyond Boston’s expanded business plans.

• David Stern told Russ Granik that Lin Qi’s spending could trigger a league-wide arms race, so he ordered an auditor to investigate Boston under the guise of offering special care.
• Stuart Collins scrutinized the Celtics’ accounts and questioned players about possible budget cuts, but Stephen Jackson mocked his concerns by recalling the team’s extravagant steak dinner.
• Lin Qi summoned Stuart to his office and challenged the league’s selective concern by pointing out the Portland Trail Blazers’ and New York Knicks’ much higher projected spending.
• Lin Qi showed Stuart a letter of intent and bank documents indicating that Lin Qi Capital had entered negotiations to acquire New Garden and nearby commercial assets.
• Lin Qi told Stuart to assure Stern that the Celtics would not go bankrupt or burden the league, and urged the commissioner to focus on other teams.

As the Nasdaq continued to plunge in late 2001, Lin Qi pushed his firm to keep buying tech stocks while Celtics players invested millions on his advice. The New Garden ownership transfer was completed, but Lin Qi remained exposed to the risk of liquidation.

• Kevin Garnett ordered his adviser to invest two million dollars each in Amazon and Nvidia and revoked the firm’s authority over his account.
• Paul Pierce invested his Nike endorsement money, and Chauncey Billups also bought the two tech stocks on Lin Qi’s advice.
• Lin Qi instructed Mark to keep buying Apple, Nvidia, and Amazon despite warnings that the firm’s leveraged accounts could face margin calls.
• Margaret told Lin Qi that the New Garden ownership transfer was complete and Stern’s auditor had returned to New York.
• Lin Qi joked to Margaret that Kevin Garnett might blame him and kick him off a building if the firm’s positions were liquidated.

Lin Qi checked Grant Hill’s recovery and learned that his ankle had healed and he had developed a three-point shot, but his return needed to wait until late February or early March. Hill stayed in Boston for three more months of contact training, with a planned comeback before the playoffs.

• Lin Qi visited the New Garden practice facility before his flight and watched Grant Hill complete balance and shooting drills.
• Dr. Clanton reported that Hill’s ankle bone had healed, while Mark Verstegen explained how Hill had relearned to move with less strain on his ankle.
• The shooting coach said Hill had practiced nearly three hundred thousand three-pointers and had become a capable perimeter shooter.
• Verstegen recommended three more months of training before Hill returned to games, despite medical clearance to play immediately.
• Lin Qi agreed to keep Hill away from the media and told him to prepare for a comeback next March, before the playoffs.

Kevin Garnett mentored Tyson Chandler off the court but pushed him harshly during practice, exposing the gap between the veteran’s polished all-around game and the rookie’s raw abilities. Chandler showed his strength as a finisher with a powerful dunk, while Lin Qi concluded that he should focus on his role and develop gradually.

• Kevin Garnett took Tyson Chandler to a nightclub and warned him to avoid alcohol and trouble, while Lin Qi and Margaret let them go.
• During practice, Garnett overpowered Chandler in the post and berated him for attempting a midrange jumper.
• Rick Carlisle told Chandler to build weight and work on free throws and midrange shooting before expanding his game.
• In a scrimmage, Chandler cut along the baseline, caught Garnett’s no-look pass, and slammed the ball through the hoop.
• Lin Qi reflected that Chandler’s greatest value lay in efficient interior finishing and that he needed to develop one step at a time.

After Stephen Jackson and Ron Artest fought during practice, Lin Qi brought them to George Mumford for psychological counseling and learned that both were driven by fears of losing the places they had fought to earn. He told them coach Rick Carlisle planned to play them together in tough games, leaving them to decide whether to turn their rivalry into teamwork.

• Stephen Jackson and Ron Artest brawled during a Celtics scrimmage after Jackson accused Artest of being unable to handle contact.
• Lin Qi took the two players to George Mumford's studio for counseling.
• Jackson explained that his unstable career had made him fiercely protective of his livelihood, while Artest admitted he feared losing his starting spot.
• Mumford connected both players' aggression to the survival fears they had developed in Port Arthur and Queens.
• Lin Qi told Jackson and Artest that Carlisle planned to use them together in tough games and warned them that disrupting the game plan would send them to the G League.

Lin Qi and Rick Carlisle reviewed the Western Conference’s strongest teams and analyzed how the Lakers, Mavericks, Kings, and Spurs had improved. Lin Qi ordered Grant Hill’s final rehabilitation stage kept secret, planning to surprise Boston’s rivals in February.

• Rick Carlisle warned Lin Qi that the Lakers’ deep roster and veteran stars made them a major threat, despite their age and defensive limitations.
• Lin Qi explained that Phil Jackson was copying Boston’s nutrition and load management strategies to keep the Lakers’ older players fresh for crunch time.
• Rick Carlisle analyzed how Mutombo had strengthened Dallas’s defense and how Eddie Jones and Rashard Lewis had improved Sacramento’s system.
• Lin Qi argued that Chauncey Billups was a better fit for Boston than Tony Parker and noted that Eddie Jones had become more decisive after his time with the Celtics.
• Lin Qi told the medical staff to keep Grant Hill’s final rehabilitation stage confidential so Boston could surprise its rivals in February.

At the Celtics’ tense locker room, rookie Brian Scalabrine kept the veterans entertained and helped ease the strain between Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson. After losing a one-on-one challenge, he defended himself with a tactical explanation that made the team laugh and secured his role as the locker room’s buffer.

• Rasheed Wallace sent Scalabrine to fetch coffee and pick up Paul Pierce’s dry-cleaned suit.
• Kevin Garnett challenged Scalabrine to defend Pierce, Jackson, and Garnett, with a humiliating penalty if he failed to get a stop.
• Pierce, Jackson, and Garnett each scored easily against Scalabrine, leaving him with no stops.
• Scalabrine argued that his failure reflected the Celtics’ defensive system, not his individual defense, because he had been denied help from Big Ben.
• Pierce and Garnett laughed at Scalabrine’s excuse, and the veterans’ attention shifted away from Artest and Jackson’s conflict.