Bishop of the Devil

As Richard expected, it was not as easy for him and Jordan to take over the new army as Jordan thought.

In Stern's office at NBA headquarters in New York.

"Mr. President, we just got a call from Jordan about military expansion." Xiao Hua stood respectfully in front of Stern and reported to Stern.

Stern frowned.

"Michael? Hasn't he recognized the reality yet? Didn't you tell him? He has no chance!" Stern said with a smile.

If Jordan has sufficient financial resources and good team management capabilities, then Stern may still want to leave this new team to Jordan to manage.

But now that Jordan has insufficient financial resources and poor business capabilities, Stern will definitely not be able to agree to Jordan's offer.

Besides, even if Stern agrees, the owners of other teams probably won't agree either.

The reason is simple, this matter concerns the interests of these bosses.

Many of the benefits of each team must be pooled by the league and then distributed evenly.

If this new army keeps losing money, then the profits of each team will be reduced, and they naturally do not want to see this happen.

Jordan has profoundly proved that he is really not the material to be selected!

…

After listening to Stern's words, Xiao Hua smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"Mr. President, something has changed now. Jordan has roped in someone..."

"Huh? You hooked up with someone? Who..." Stern looked at Xiao Hua warily, and a villain's face suddenly popped into his mind. Who else could it be if it wasn't Richard...

During the previous All-Star Game, he also watched the live broadcast and saw the scene of Jordan and Richard shaking hands, and his heart was already pounding.

"Richard!" Xiao Hua directly reported Richard's name.

Stern's face suddenly turned from white to red, and then from red to white again...

"Damn it! Why is there such a Richard everywhere..."

"What did Jordan say?" Stern asked eagerly.

"He said that he and Richard were going to work together to take over the new army. In terms of capital verification, they will split it 50-50. Each of them will put up 150 million US dollars in cash, and then the equity will be split 50-50!"

"In terms of team management, the team's lineup construction is fully left to Richard."

Xiao Hua conveyed all of Jordan's original words to Stern, which immediately made Stern feel a little bit pained...

Looking at this posture, it is obvious that Jordan and Richard have already made a plan.

Both parties have even arranged the equity distribution!

For a moment, Stern was thinking a lot about how he could stop this.

He didn't want Richard to get involved in the new army, although he knew that if Richard and Jordan took charge of the new army, there would be absolutely no reason to lose money.

But he just doesn't want Richard to enter the NBA's real talkative group.

At present, Richard is just the management of a team, and he has already made himself miserable. What if he becomes the owner of a team? !

But even if he didn't want to, after thinking about it for a moment, Stern found that he had no way to stop the combination of Jordan and Richard.

The combination of these two people is simply invincible...

On the issue of race, Jordan is black and Richard is yellow. No one can find any fault in this aspect.

In terms of profitability, with Richard and Jordan as a living brand, it will definitely be no different.

In terms of financial resources, it was agreed that the two of them would have 150 million each, so they were obviously well prepared.

If Stern had full power to make the decision on this matter, then he would definitely exclude these two people and directly appoint Robert Johnson as the boss of the new army.

But now he really can't make all the decisions!

For such a big event, all NBA management and all owners must vote, and then the final winner will be selected.

If Jordan and Johnson really competed alone, Jordan would probably lose miserably.

But now that Jordan has Richard tied up, it's completely different...

Even if Stern doesn't like Richard, he is also very aware of Richard's terrible connections in this alliance.

When the voting meeting is held, I am afraid that Johnson will not be Richard's opponent at all.

This made Stern let out a long sigh. How could a troublesome guy like Richard appear out of nowhere...

Ever since Richard entered the league, he seems to have never had a comfortable life for a few days!

Now even if he wants to stop Richard from joining the new army, he has absolutely no way...

"No, is Richard qualified to expand the army? He doesn't seem to be qualified..." Stern got the point.

Xiao Hua shook his head, "Mr. President, he is qualified.\

,""The rules stipulate that players cannot become owners or managers of the team, but they do not stipulate that managers cannot become owners. Richard is completely in compliance with the rules. Of course, when he actually gets the qualifications to expand the team, he will definitely have to Left the Pistons."

Xiao Hua's words sounded rather convoluted, but the meaning was simple and clear.

That is, Richard is not a player, and the league has no control over his movements...

"Then introduce a rule to restrict the team management from owning all or part of the team's equity!" Stern's mind was really bright, and he came up with the best way to deal with it in a short period of time.

He has even thought about it. This new rule is called Richard's Rule No. 3!

But Xiao Hua smiled bitterly and shook his head, obviously feeling that Stern's plan was a bit unreliable.

"Mr. President, if we do this, I'm afraid the owners of each team will be unwilling. Many of them hold concurrent positions within the team. If this rule is introduced, they may have to resign and hire new management. "

"It would increase their costs and they would definitely object."

As Xiao Hua said, many team owners or shareholders are actually part-time managers in the team.

If this rule is enacted now, it means that these bosses or shareholders will have to resign, and they will have to recruit for the vacant positions.

Management salaries are quite high, which invisibly increases the costs of these teams.

In a big market like the Lakers or Knicks, people don't care, they don't care about the money.

But some teams in small markets are already struggling, and now Stern has to increase the team's operating costs. It's surprising that they are happy!

…

Stern was dumbfounded, but he ignored this problem. Good guy, are we going to let Richard become the owner of an NBA team? !

…

"Well, let's do this. We don't restrict shareholders from being part-time managers, but we restrict them from joining the coaching staff. Isn't this okay?"

"There is currently no shareholder in the league who takes up the coaching position of the team. I think they will definitely not refuse this!"

Stern can't do anything with one move, and if he tries another move, he has to give Richard some eye drops anyway, and he can't be allowed to sit in the position of team boss so comfortably.

Xiao Hua nodded, that's okay...

However, the introduction of this rule makes no sense at all. If you don't let Richard be the head coach, will he really be so honest and not get involved in the team's affairs?

He could sit next to the team's bench during the game, like Mark Cuban of the Mavericks...

Even in the previous NBA, there were team owners sitting directly in the middle of the team's bench, sitting with the players.

Even if Richard does not hold a coaching position, he can still influence the progress of the game from the sidelines.

So this rule is just taking off your pants and farting, which is superfluous.

However, since Stern wants to introduce such a rule, there is nothing harmful to the interests of the league, so Xiao Hua has no need to dissuade him.

"Then let's settle it. This rule is called Richard's Rule No. 3!"

Stern is all smiles...

Early the next morning, the official announced the latest news, or to be precise, the latest rules.

"Richard's Rule No. 3: Shareholders who own all or part of the equity of a team are not allowed to join the coaching staff of their team or other teams!"

As soon as this news came out, the entire alliance was dumbfounded...

There is nothing wrong with the rules. There is no conflict with the players or the owners of each team. The main problem is the name of the rules.

Richard's Rule No. 3? !

What does this matter have to do with Richard? He doesn't seem to have any equity in the team at the moment. Why would the league name this new rule after him?

Most people were ignorant and confused, but the truly top executives in the alliance frowned.

They know that the league is about to expand. Every team owner knows this. If they don't nod, how can Stern possibly expand.

Now that such a rule has been suddenly introduced, it can explain a lot of problems.