Bulldozer of the NBA’s Restricted Area

As soon as the 29th passes.

The 30th is the fourth round of labor negotiations.

At this time, league officials have felt the seriousness of the situation. After all, there is still a time bomb hidden in Greenville.

If the negotiations in New York fail, Greenville may explode.

At that time...if the players collectively go on strike and the league is suspended, the loss of revenue will be immeasurable.

So on the eve of the fourth round of negotiations, Stern, as the president of the league, couldn't hold it in anymore. He called the base camp and wanted to communicate with Li Shengli first. But what he didn't expect was... Li Shengli actually hung up on him?

Stern didn't believe it when he said there was no memo number.

Because he and Li Shengli exchanged numbers last season, but at that time he was still talking to a player as the president, but now it's different. As the president, he comes to the door... and he has to accept Li Shengli's rejection?

It was originally speculated that Li Shengli played the role of a negotiator and an off-site organizer in this negotiation, but this time he hung up the phone repeatedly, which further confirmed Stern's suspicion.

Li Shengli, are you awesome?

Well, Stern wouldn't say such things, but that's what he had in mind, and he was very angry!

Although the labor negotiation will involve the league's top stars, it is just a public statement and support for the players union, but Li Shengli's base camp is completely different... As the league's super giant, he relies on personal connections and personally organizes a large number of players. Endu wants to report the illegal assembly here.

…

"Hey, Lee, good evening!" Stern spoke eagerly.

"Oh, good evening, Mr. Stern. What's wrong so late?" Li Shengli glanced at Jordan, but Jordan knew very well what Stern meant by calling now, and he also leaned forward to listen. .

What's the matter?

What can happen?

Aren't you pretending to be confused because you understand? !

Stern pondered for a while and said: "Well...it's nothing important. Oh, by the way, is Michael on your side? I know that many players have gone to your territory recently."

Just say I'm not here!

Jordan gestured to Li Shengli with his mouth. After all, Stern was also his nobleman in a strict sense and had a good relationship. Li Shengli opened his mouth and said: "Michael? Oh, he is here, but you know, he likes You should be gambling with other people..."

…

"Fuck, don't get excited!"

"Who gambled on horseback, and you framed me?"

"Isn't it true to say so..."

Jordan was so angry that he lowered his voice to Li Shengli to make sure they would not be heard. Stern on the other end of the phone coughed a few times and clearly understood the purpose of this communication.

Labor negotiations will resume tomorrow.

Once something goes wrong, Greenville is full of people. If something goes wrong, they will rush to New York and apply for a parade. This is not a good thing to do.

Therefore, in order to ensure that the negotiations will not be interfered by labor force, Stern needs to help the league's bosses determine... how tough Greenville's attitude is and how hard it can go.

If Greenville gets tough.

In order not to intensify the conflict, we can only delay the fourth round of negotiations until the labor team starts their offseason vacation. Instead of just finishing the finals and not starting vacation plans, at least we can't go to the parade. .

And if it is Greenville, the attitude is moderate.

This shows that the bargaining chip of labor is lower in the negotiations, and the management can test the bottom line of the players union step by step without affecting the regular season. After all, there are still three or four months until the start of next season.

Obviously, there are various signs that... Li Shengli is Greenville's attitude, even if Li Shengli himself denies it.

You said you are not organized?

Do you even believe it yourself?

When talking to Li Shengli, Stern felt in a bad mood because he was no longer the dominant party, and this time... Li Shengli inexplicably became the labor representative.

In fact, Li Shengli also knows Stern's thoughts. After all, the elderly think tank led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is not a vegetarian, and has given all suggestions and opinions... He must support the players union no matter what. After all, all players are involved in labor negotiations. It's one.

As for being tricked by Ewing?

This matter can be settled later, because it is unwise to engage in internal strife and gang up on Ewing now.

…

"Ahem, it's actually nothing." Stern coughed a few times and said, "I'm just asking if you have any plans to return to China recently. I want to arrange some activities this offseason. You know, the last activities If it is very successful, your personal influence and commercial value increase should also be good, which is good for us all."

Let’s not talk about the truth or falsehood of this statement.

As long as Li Shengli agrees, Stern can immediately arrange it. It doesn't matter whether it is true or not. In fact, he doesn't want to agree because the labor negotiations have not been reached. At this juncture, no one can let go!

…

"Wait and see, I have too many friends here and I need to receive them."

"Oh...does it take a long time? The offseason isn't long!"

"Well, it's been a long time. It's still lingering. There's nothing I can do."

"Why, are there a lot of people? They are all your friends anyway. You can go back to your country and prepare first. There were some problems with the last event because we didn't understand the situation there, but I think it will be much better if you deal with it."

Are you still bothering me? !

Li Shengli understood Stern's helplessness. This seemingly unintelligent hint was actually conveying his thoughts and wanted Li Shengli not to get involved, but it was unclear whether he would live or die.

"Okay, Mr. Stern, I understand what you mean. No need to beat around the bush. Ask me, are there many people here?" Li Shengli was too lazy to be coy and said directly: "You should be watching the news, you can talk. It's all up to me. Our attitude is to support the union's negotiations and cooperate with the union's work. You have no choice, and neither do I. As for the unnecessary words, you should tell Ewing, after all, he is the chairman!"

"But the problem is...most of the people are with you, which is the biggest hidden danger in negotiations!"

"I can't help it, I wasn't the one who called you."

"Do you believe this? I know you didn't say anything, but do you dare to say that these people are not coming after you?" Stern was really at his wits end, sighed, and finally said politely: "Okay, I know your attitude. I will discuss the extra work with the players union. In addition... I think the relationship between us will not become tense because of this issue. Things will pass. This will not affect our private life. Relationship."

"Of course, go to bed early."

"Okay, you should go to bed early too!"

…

As soon as the phone was hung up, Li Shengli and Jordan looked at each other.

"This attitude is okay. Stern seems to be quite kind, but in fact he rarely talks like this, and when this happens..." Jordan patted Li Shengli and sat back in his seat.

"That proves that your organization's attitude will affect the negotiation process. Maybe tomorrow's management will make concessions."

"Damn, I told you it wasn't organized by me." Li Shengli cursed, and then thought of Ewing, who didn't look very smart, and he forced himself to join him?

"Damn it, Ewing tricked me once. I have to talk it over with him the next time we meet, otherwise I'll feel uncomfortable."

"He can't help it. After all, you are the only one who can gather big-name players in a short period of time. It just so happens that Shaq and Mourning have two billion-dollar contracts, and people like Karl and John are also here. If you don't borrow It’s also difficult for the union to negotiate on your territory.”

"You can say anything nice, but I can't be mean!"

"It's up to you. I can't control it anyway, so just wait for tomorrow's news. Everything you can do has been done. The following is Ewing's business. I hope this negotiation goes smoothly, although it has little to do with me. "

"Yes, we have done everything we can do here." Li Shengli lay back and said, "The maximum salary is restricted every year. My life is so hard, where can I earn more money for retirement? Hey, I hope Ewing on the front line won’t be timid or make any mistakes.”