Both Old Buss and Jerry West were shrewd individuals, masters of concealing their emotions. Any information they revealed through their expressions was essentially what they wanted their opponents to "know." Their true intentions always remained hidden beneath the surface.
What they didn't realize was that He Xi Meng was their equal in this regard, a "cunning" individual of the same caliber. His youthful appearance, however, served as his best camouflage. To both Old Buss and Jerry West, He Xi Meng merely seemed more mature than other young men his age, and nothing more.
They believed that through this initial negotiation, they had a firm grasp of He Xi Meng's inner desires. Although they hadn't secured his verbal commitment, they felt they were close to finalizing the contract.
Unbeknownst to them, the reality was the exact opposite. It was He Xi Meng who had essentially figured out the Lakers' bottom line.
In the Lakers' grand design, Shaq was number one, Kobe number two, and He Xi Meng, at best, was to be number three. They hoped He Xi Meng would focus wholeheartedly on developing into a top-tier point guard, ideally without encroaching on Kobe's shot attempts. This way, the three would each have their distinct roles, creating a balance of power. On one hand, it would prevent any single player from dominating the entire team like Michael Jordan, making management easier. On the other hand, with their positions spread out, it would avoid internal competition and foster a stable team triangle.
From the Lakers management's perspective, it was clear that Jerry West absolutely would not grant He Xi Meng "partial management authority." For most players, "partial management authority" was tantamount to "special privilege."
Jerry West, a man driven by a strong desire for control, wouldn't even grant special privileges to the Lakers' undisputed leader, Shaq, let alone their supposed third option, He Xi Meng.
Despite He Xi Meng's repeated assurances that his desire to participate in management was solely to help the team refine its roster and select promising young talent, the Logo Man refused to believe him.
"I've been in this league for decades, and you think I need a whippersnapper like you to teach me how to pick rookies?"
This was Jerry West's inner monologue. Deep down, he refused to acknowledge He Xi Meng's request for special privileges. However, outwardly, the Logo Man's response was: "Everything is negotiable! I look forward to our next meeting…"
As a result, when the three of them left the Lakers' club building, Cui Tian Ci, with a look of optimism, said to He Xi Meng, "It looks like you're staying in Los Angeles! I see the owner and the general manager really value you! They absolutely won't let you leave the Lakers!"
He Xi Meng exchanged a glance with John. John, a seasoned ladies' man, was not only adept at understanding women but also men. In John's eyes, He Xi Meng understood that John could also see through the Logo Man's intentions.
"How about you say it?" He Xi Meng tentatively asked John.
John shrugged. "While I've never understood why you're so insistent on getting involved in the Lakers' management, but…"
John turned and patted Cui Tian Ci's shoulder. "Kid, you're still too naive, too easily fooled! That old fox West hasn't promised anything. He's been warning He Xi Meng, both openly and subtly, not to meddle with management's power… No money, no power… If you absolutely had to choose between money and power, the old fox's advice would be to take the money…"
Cui Tian Ci looked bewildered and turned to He Xi Meng. "Is that really true? Why couldn't I hear any of that?"
He Xi Meng nodded. "My understanding is the same as John's. Jerry West isn't Harris. He's too experienced, too confident, and too controlling. He simply refuses to believe what I'm saying… I don't think we'll be staying with the Lakers. Let's start contacting teams across the league. We can focus on the Spurs and see if they have any salary cap space…"
As expected, three days later, at the draft, Jerry West didn't even invite He Xi Meng to attend.
However, Jeanie did call, asking if He Xi Meng was interested in attending a celebrity party, mentioning she needed a handsome escort that night…
He Xi Meng politely declined Jeanie's kind offer, as his attention was focused on that year's draft.
The 1999 NBA Draft had quite a few promising rookies.
Among the lottery picks in the first round, from the first overall pick Elton Brand, second pick Francis, and third pick Baron Davis, all the way down: the 4th pick Odom, 6th pick Szczerbiak, 7th pick Hamilton, 8th pick Andre Miller, 9th pick Marion, 10th pick Jason Terry… all were rookies with significant potential.
Beyond the top 14 picks, there were also the 16th pick Artest, 18th pick James Posey, 23rd pick Devin George, and 24th pick Kirilenko… In the second round, there was Chinese player Wang ZhiZhi and Argentine player Ginobili.
The Logo Man might have thought He Xi Meng's desire for draft recommendations was either a bid for team privileges or possibly a recommendation for fellow Chinese player Da Zhi…
But in reality, He Xi Meng's most desired recommendations were the 24th pick, defensive specialist Kirilenko; the 9th pick, athletic marvel Marion; the 4th pick, all-around prince Odom… or perhaps, late second-round pick Ginobili.
Would he recommend Da Zhi? Yes, he would. But recommending Da Zhi wasn't the core reason He Xi Meng was seeking draft recommendation rights.
The Logo Man, thinking he was being clever, used the Lakers' first pick in the second round to intercept the Mavericks and bring Wang ZhiZhi to Los Angeles!
With that pick, the Lakers had originally intended to select Villanova point guard Selenstand. However, the current Lakers team already had He Xi Meng, Fisher, and Tyronn Lue, making the point guard position overcrowded. After the experience of last season's finals, their interior presence was clearly lacking. Therefore, even from a team-wide perspective, passing on the smaller Selenstand and selecting the bigger Wang ZhiZhi was a perfectly reasonable choice.
Of course, He Xi Meng knew that another consideration for the Logo Man in choosing Wang ZhiZhi was this: "Look, I've signed the compatriot you wanted me to recommend, so you'll sign with us obediently now, right?"
Jerry West believed he had a perfect understanding of the NBA players' psychology. He never anticipated that from the moment he didn't invite He Xi Meng to this year's draft, He Xi Meng had essentially declared his departure from the Lakers…