Almighty Coach

Ten days later, Dai Li returned to Los Angeles.

Blake looked at Dai Li who was full of spring, and asked involuntarily, "Li, did you succeed in your marriage proposal?"

Dai Li nodded, then grinned like a fool.

"Congratulations, it seems that I have time to apply for a visa to China so that I can attend your wedding." Blake congratulated.

"It's still early to get married. As for where the wedding will be held, I haven't decided yet. Maybe it will go to Hawaii. Then you don't need to apply for a visa." Dai Li pointed to the door, and continued: "I just transferred Turn around, today our training center doesn’t seem to have many people, there are fewer customers than usual, and it seems that there are even fewer coaches going to work.”

"All the black coaches in the center asked for leave and went to participate in the protest in front of the Stark estate." Blake said.

"Protest? Why?" Dai Li asked.

"Haven't you read the news recently? Stark, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, broke a 'recording door'. He had a recording that was released, which contained remarks that discriminated against black people." Blake replied.

Dai Li nodded: "I know about it. When I was in China, I saw some reports. It seems that this Stark has made racially discriminatory remarks before. This is not the first time he has done such a thing."

"It is true that this guy has a history of racial discrimination, but this time it seems to be more serious. This time the 'recording gate' has caused an uproar. In front of the Stark Real Estate Company, there are many blacks protesting every day. I think for the sake of To quell the incident, the NBA will definitely impose heavy penalties on him." Blake said.

"How much is the fine?" Dai Li smiled disdainfully: "Stark can be considered a real estate tycoon, he is worth billions of dollars at least, and a fine of tens of thousands of dollars for such a rich person is just a drop in the bucket That's all."

"This time it's not just as simple as a fine, the NBA can force him to sell the team." Blake continued to explain: "In other words, it is to permanently kick Stark out of the NBA."

"So serious?" Dai Li was a little surprised, and continued to ask: "But the Clippers are Stark's property and are protected by law. If Stark doesn't sell, the NBA will have nothing to do with him, right?" ? The NBA has no right to buy and sell by force.”

"It is said that as private property, the Los Angeles Clippers are indeed protected by law, and Stark does not need to sell the team. But the Clippers have issued a statement from the coach to the players, as long as they are black. Refusing to work for Stark, I heard that the black head coach of the Clippers has already written his resignation. And the fans are also very disgusted with such racial discrimination, and they will boycott the Clippers.”

Blake went on to explain: "If this continues, no one will watch the Clippers' games, no one will buy jerseys and souvenirs, and advertising sponsors will leave. The market value of the Clippers will plummet, and Stark's worth will also fall. It will shrink. Instead of losing money, it is better to sell the team quickly, anyway, Los Angeles is a big ball market, even if it is a bad team, it can be sold for a good price."

"How much do you think the Clippers can sell?" Dai Li asked casually.

"It must be more than 1 billion U.S. dollars." Blake replied.

"So expensive?" Dai Li gasped, "The Clippers' record isn't that great. They are basically at the bottom of the Western Conference. How can they be so expensive?"

"I'm going to say less on purpose, who made this Los Angeles! In recent years, the NBA's ball market has been very good, and it's also a Los Angeles team. Buying it is bound to appreciate in value. I guess the specific transaction price will definitely be far away." Far more than 1 billion US dollars!" Blake continued: "Stark bought the Clippers in the 1980s. At that time, he only spent 10 million US dollars, but now he can sell at least 1 billion. Thirty years One hundred times the income, this is not counting his income from running the team for the past 30 years, this deal is really a bargain for Stark."

...

New York, NBA league headquarters.

NBA Commissioner Adams is listening to the report of the assistant.

"Stark has let go. He said that if the price is right, he is willing to sell the Los Angeles Clippers." The assistant said.

Adams nodded: "I knew that the old fox, Stark, said before that he would not sell the team no matter what. He just wanted to sell more money and wait for the price. It seems that we let the wind out before The price of one billion US dollars is unable to impress this old guy."

"Yes, he is greedier than we thought. Before we deliberately released news that there was a buyer willing to spend one billion dollars to buy the Clippers, he was completely unmoved, and he also told the media that he would not sell the team. And Now that someone has bid more than 1.5 billion U.S. dollars, he let go, really showing the true nature of a businessman's bargaining." The assistant said.

"US$1.5 billion is definitely not Stark's reserve price. He will definitely ask for more. This old fox bought the team for more than 10 million, but now he wants to sell it for 1.5 billion!" Adams changed his voice. , Then said: "But the team is expensive, which is also good for our NBA league. The team is getting more and more valuable, and the team's owner is willing to spend money to invest, and our NBA league can develop faster. The value of the NBA will go up as well."

"What you said is." The assistant said and handed a document to Adams, and then said: "Mr. President, so far we have received dozens of intentions to acquire the Clippers, and these four are bids exceeding 1.5 billion. USD. I have sorted out their background information, please have a look.”

Adams opened the folder and looked at it carefully.

"The Seattle consortium, their background is the big names in the Silicon Valley technology industry, including shareholders of Microsoft and Intel. It seems that these technology industry bigwigs also want to develop into sports."

"Bay Area Entertainment Group, they are currently the highest bidder, but how many of their major shareholders are Las Vegas gaming companies? No, we have already signed with the Las Vegas gaming group The three-year strategic cooperation agreement has legalized the betting of NBA games. If they are allowed to control a certain team, it is tantamount to letting them control the entire industrial chain. Overhead." Adams said and shook his head self-consciously: "So no matter how much they pay, they can't sell the team to them."

"Shixin Investment Group, the bid is the second highest. Their behind-the-scenes boss is the richest man in India. He is known as the 'Rockefeller of India'. This guy is worth close to 50 billion U.S. dollars. If the Clippers are sold to him, the NBA will It's a good thing to have one of the richest team owners."

"Dingtian Sports has a Chinese capital background, and its main shareholder is the Chinese real estate giant Dingtian Group. Although their bid is not high, there is a huge market behind it, and it is also the market that our NBA league most hopes to expand. And there have been no Chinese stars in the NBA for many years."

Thinking of the huge market of more than one billion people, Adams already has a decision in his mind.

...

The central meeting room of Dingtian Group is holding a shareholder meeting here, and those who can appear here are major shareholders with relatively large shares.

The content of this meeting was mainly to discuss whether to acquire the Los Angeles Lakers. This kind of investment of more than one billion U.S. dollars is also an extremely important investment project for Dingtian Group. This investment amount is even higher than that of land kings in first-tier cities, and it is still in U.S. dollars. Xiao Dingtian will not If one person decides, it is natural to have a board meeting to make the decision.

"I think this investment is feasible. Domestic real estate cannot continue to rise, and the cost of acquiring land is getting higher and higher, so it is imperative to diversify investment. Moreover, there are only 30 NBA teams in the United States. An NBA team is a high-quality asset, which is very suitable for the group to invest in. So I agree with this investment project." A gray-haired shareholder said.

"I also agree with this investment project. Compared with other investment projects, buying an NBA team must be a relatively low-risk investment project." Another person paused, and then said; "It's just that I'm worried, Will this take up a lot of funds from the group? And this investment is in US dollars, can we raise so many US dollars?"

Xiao Dingtian signaled his assistant Huang Zhicheng with his eyes, and Huang Zhicheng immediately opened his mouth to report: "Dear shareholders, in terms of funds, I need to report to you. We have already received a clear answer from the foreign exchange bureau, and they will not give us a report. So much foreign exchange has been approved, so a large part of the funds for the acquisition of the Los Angeles Clippers needs to be raised by ourselves.”

Xiao Dingtian gave a dry cough at the right time, and then Huang Zhicheng said: "A few years ago, we made some overseas investments, including stocks of large companies, US dollar bonds, and real estate. These investments have also made some gains. If we To buy the Los Angeles Lakers, you need to sell a large part of your overseas investment."

"Need to sell overseas assets!"

"Overseas assets have been accumulated with great difficulty over the years. It would be a pity to sell them."

Shareholders began to discuss in low voices, apparently everyone was reluctant to give up these overseas assets.

Xiao Dingtian seemed to have expected this to happen a long time ago, so he went on to say: "Of course, there is another way, that is to use these overseas investments as collateral, obtain loans from foreign banks, and then go to buy the Los Angeles Lakers. However, it is much more difficult to obtain loans abroad than domestically.”

"In China, with our four words 'Dingtian Group', we can borrow tens of billions from the bank. Sometimes we can delay the repayment time, and we can also discuss with the bank. The bank knows, we take With the money, we bought the land and built the building, which can be sold quickly and the loan can be repaid easily. But in foreign countries, our 'Dingtian Group' signboard is not so easy to use."

"Chairman Xiao, what do you mean?" the gray-haired shareholder asked.

"I mean, after we bought the Los Angeles Clippers, we need to make a profit as soon as possible. As long as the Clippers can make a profit, it is tantamount to proving to the bank that we have the ability to repay the loan, so we are under pressure to repay the loan. It will be much lower." Xiao Dingtian said.

"The chairman is right. But I don't know much about team operations. To be honest, I don't even care much about basketball." Another shareholder said with a smile.

"I think it is very simple to make a profit. Just let the team sign a Chinese player. There have been no Chinese players in the NBA for a long time. When we buy the Clippers, we will immediately sign a player from the CBA. Going to see the water dispenser can also attract domestic attention, and it will definitely not be a problem to make a profit by then." Another person said.

"The key is the level of our domestic CBA players, whether they are good enough to play in the NBA. As far as I know, those who watch the drinking fountains in the NBA are also better than our CBA players." Another shareholder said.

"Then just sign someone to be the mascot." The person before said.

"It's not good to just sign an individual. If the player is not well-known in China, even if you sign him to the NBA as a 'water dispenser administrator', it will not attract too much attention from domestic fans. If you want to sign, you have to sign someone in the country The CBA is more powerful and well-known. Those powerful and well-known players are the main core of the CBA team. And now the CBA game is also in progress, and the CBA team will definitely not let it go. Even if we It is not easy to find a 'mascot'."

Xiao Dingtian coughed again, motioning everyone to be quiet, and then he said: "Guys, I have an idea. Since it is not easy to find a suitable Chinese player at this time, we can find a Chinese coach. NBA There have been Chinese players among them, but there has never been a Chinese coach, and the attention that a head coach can attract must be more than a drinking fountain on the bench."

All eyes were on Xiao Dingtian.

Xiao Dingtian went on to say: "The head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers is a black man. A few days ago, he submitted his resignation letter based on Stark's racially discriminatory remarks, declaring that he would not work for Stark. And his This behavior also drew applause from the American black groups, and some even called him a defender of equal rights. After our investigation, the reason for his resignation was that he found a better job, that is, the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. coach."

"A month ago, the Bucks fired their head coach because of the team's poor record. They have been looking for a new coach, and the owner of the Clippers, Stark, is a miser. He paid the coach The salary is very low, so the head coach of the Clippers has long wanted to change jobs. The racial discrimination incident caused by Stark just gave the head coach of the Clippers an excuse to change jobs. The Bucks offered a two-year contract."

"The current Los Angeles Clippers do not have a head coach, and the job of the team's head coach is temporarily replaced by the previous assistant coach. So we can find a Chinese coach to be the new head coach of the Clippers."

After Xiao Dingtian finished speaking in one breath, the shareholders began to discuss in low voices again.

"Can we find a suitable coach in China?"

"Even if you can't pick a player who is capable of playing in the NBA, how can you find a coach who can coach an NBA team?"

"Our own national men's basketball team is looking for foreign head coaches, right? If domestic coaches are really capable of coaching NBA teams, does the men's basketball team still need to hire foreign head coaches with high salaries?"

"Did you forget that Dai Li won the best coach award?"

"I remembered, he can be the coach of the US team! This Dai Li seems to have something to do with Chairman Xiao's daughter?"

"Yes, it is said that he is Xiao Dingtian's future son-in-law. Does Xiao Dingtian mean to let Dai Li be the head coach of the Clippers?"

"It must be like this, the fat and water don't flow into outsiders' fields!"

"But I remember that Dai Li is a track and field coach, right? Does he know basketball?"

"Chairman Xiao dared to mention this matter, which means that Dai Li must know basketball. Besides, he can be the head coach of the US track and field team and has won awards in the world. How can he not have two brushes?"

"Soon, if Xiao Dingtian proposes that Dai Li be the head coach of the Clippers, do we agree or disagree?"

"Nonsense, Xiao Dingtian wants to take this opportunity to promote his future son-in-law. If you object to this kind of thing, Xiao Dingtian will lose face? What's more, Xiao Dingtian is just such a daughter, the chairman of Dingtian Group The position will definitely be handed over to his daughter in the future, and when the time comes, everyone will bow their heads and see them, so why should we object? Why don't we be a favor and sell their Xiao family face!"