The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 939 Harsh Conditions

"Good afternoon, my dear friends. Yesterday in New York, the American people suffered a deadly attack. I am deeply shocked by this horrific and terrible event and express my strongest condemnation."

On the afternoon of September 12, Gan Guoyang held a press conference in the conference hall on the first floor of the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas to issue a statement on the terrorist attack in New York that occurred the previous day.

Gan Guoyang paused briefly at the beginning of his speech, making anyone who didn't know better think he was about to say, "I take full responsibility for this attack," which made Wang Fuxi in the audience tense.

The hall was already packed with reporters from various media outlets, microphones, cameras, and video cameras all pointed at Gan Guoyang, capturing every detail of his face and recording every word he uttered.

This is the second person to give a nationally televised address since the 9/11 attacks—that's right, after receiving news of Gan Guoyang's upcoming press conference at noon, major television networks such as Fox, NBC, and Columbia immediately decided to dedicate a period of time to broadcast the speech live.

This is a privilege reserved for heads of state, allowing their voices to resonate throughout the country and even the world in the event of major emergencies or unforeseen incidents.

“A year ago, I made a vow in New York that if I was innocent, the Twin Towers would weep for me. But today, I want to say that I weep for the Twin Towers, and I weep for everyone in this world who has lost their lives because of violence, power, and terror.”

Unlike President Bush, Gan Guoyang did not focus solely on 9/11, but condemned all acts of human violence, planned aggression, and terrorism.

Of course, Gan Guoyang did not intend to get too involved in such topics; it was not his area of ​​expertise.

His main goals in this speech were twofold: first, to distance himself from the attack, claiming that he did not make a prediction but was merely expressing his anger through rhetoric.

Secondly, the announcement that Las Vegas will establish an NBA team is intended to boost the US stock market and public confidence.

"Finally, I would like to quote a verse from the Bible, Isaiah, page 9: 'The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light, and a light has been given to those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death.' I believe that light will always be with everyone, no matter where they are. The sun never sets; we just happen to turn our backs on it. I hereby announce that Las Vegas will be seeking to have an NBA team, becoming the league's 30th member. A significant portion of the team's future revenue will be donated to the victims of this event, as well as to the firefighters and police officers who sacrificed their lives and health in the fight against the disaster."

"Thank you everyone, God bless everyone who has a kind and righteous heart."

After Gan Guoyang finished his speech, the audience erupted in enthusiastic applause and a barrage of questions.

What will the Las Vegas teams be called?

Will the league allow Las Vegas to have a team?

"When is the earliest we can expect to see this team on the field? Is it next season?"

Questions came one after another, but Gan Guoyang only held a press conference today and did not answer any questions.

Answering questions would take all afternoon.

Therefore, Gan Guoyang could only apologize to the reporters, saying that he could not answer these questions at the moment and that he was only making a statement regarding the 9/11 attacks.

However, the matter was not over. Gan Guoyang left under the protection of security personnel, and Gan Guohui, the vice president of Gump Sports Asset Management Company, came on stage to answer reporters' questions on behalf of Gan Guoyang, temporarily blocking the wave of public opinion.

On the elevator back to the office, Wang Fuxi questioned Gan Guoyang: "Why did you bring up the team building issue out of the blue? You didn't mention this when we were going over the draft. How is Guohui supposed to cover for you now?"

Gan Guoyang said, "We have to hold on even if we can't. What haven't we overcome?"

"Then you should also discuss it with me, so that Guohui and I can be prepared."

"Well, the atmosphere's got the mood right, so there has to be some real action. Bush's about to send troops to fight, to retaliate, and to bring the killers to justice, so I have to do something too. What do you think I can do? Go and capture Bin Laden?"

Who is Bin Laden?

"Huh? Bin Laden... um... anyway, I know what I'm doing, so don't worry."

"You know perfectly well what you're doing. If you say something out loud, we'll have to clean up your mess!"

Gan Guoyang knew that Wang Fuxi had indeed suffered a lot of injustice over the years, especially the spy case. Wang Fuxi had been under tremendous pressure, having to support her husband while also taking care of her elderly father and two children.

Gan Guoyang's remarkable achievements despite being at a disadvantage are absolutely inseparable from Wang Fuxi's strong support behind the scenes. Otherwise, with his backyard in turmoil, he really wouldn't have been able to concentrate on basketball.

After getting off the elevator, he tried to hug his wife, but Wang Fuxi pushed him away, saying, "Since you made that boast, you have to do the right thing. You need to deal with Stern first! If he disagrees or gets stuck somewhere after you've made that boast, it won't just be me who loses face. It's already September, and there's only one month left. Normal teams should be starting training camps by then. Do the math yourself, is there any chance you can make it in time for this season?"

Wang Fuxi raised a very real problem: it's fun to talk big, but to solve problems, one obstacle after another lies ahead, and it's a race against time.

Gan Guoyang nodded and said, "I've almost got David Stern sorted out. He'll be flying to Las Vegas tomorrow to talk to me about the franchise, and I'll bring Oscar Goodman along. Also, Adam Silva is one of my men, and he'll be on my side. In addition, the owners of small teams like the Bucks, Wizards, Hornets, Raptors, and Grizzlies will support me. You know, I haven't been idle this year; I've been going around recruiting people."

Gan Guoyang was telling the truth; David Stern was a tough nut to crack, but not the only one to crack.

While David Stern wields considerable influence and power in the NBA, the league is essentially a sports and entertainment company comprised of 29 owners.

Therefore, the board of directors composed of the bosses is the real source of power, and Stern's power was granted by them.

If you only try to win over Stern without winning over the bosses behind him, all your efforts will be in vain.

Conversely, if you can win over these bosses, then winning over Stern is just a matter of time and opportunity.

Gan Guoyang spent a lot of time winning over these owners, especially the smaller teams that have been struggling to operate in the past two years.

Because after Stern took over the league, the championship was monopolized by a few teams.

Since the 1984-1985 season, only five teams—the Lakers, Trail Blazers, Pistons, Bulls, and Heat—have won the NBA championship.

Among the teams that made it to the finals, there were very few teams from small markets (Portland was transformed into a large market by Gan Guoyang).

In particular, the Portland Trail Blazers dominated the league with 10 championships and 3 dynasties. While this brought the league to a very high level and gave the NBA a lot of attention and reputation, it also greatly widened the "gap between rich and poor" and made the upper and lower limits of teams very different.

In the 90s, many fans in smaller markets knew at the start of each new season that their teams would be just there to make up the numbers again, especially Western Conference teams, who were basically just feeding the Blazers and Forrest Gump.

Over time, the fans' enthusiasm for watching the games was greatly affected, and their support for the home team was insufficient. On the contrary, the Trail Blazers have cultivated a large number of fans over the past ten years and have made a fortune both on and off the court.

Portland made a fortune, while other teams made small profits or even risked losses. This has made smaller clubs very dissatisfied with the current league landscape, believing that Stern is too focused on a few super teams.

After Gan Guoyang retired in 2000, the Portland dynasty came to an end. In the 2000-2001 season, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Trail Blazers 4-2 in the Western Conference Finals to advance to the NBA Finals and finally taste the championship.

The problem is that Los Angeles is a big market, and the smaller clubs still didn't benefit from Forrest Gump's retirement. On the contrary, Forrest Gump's departure led to a decrease in attendance and viewership, resulting in a drop in overall revenue.

At this point, Gan Guoyang started to rally support, saying that if they supported him in starting a team in Las Vegas, he would be willing to use a portion of the new team's earnings to subsidize smaller clubs.

Gan Guoyang even proposed that a special clause be set up in the league's collective bargaining agreement in the future, so that the most profitable teams in the big markets should allocate a portion of their profits to the teams that are losing money or earning less.

"The alliance is a unified whole. Some people will be winners and others will be losers, but that doesn't mean losers are unimportant. After all, if there are no opponents, where will the winners come from? We must establish a more reasonable profit distribution system to ensure the interests of everyone."

This idea immediately resonated with many small club owners: who wouldn't be happy if Agan came to give us money?
We've been playing the NPC role for years, serving as the backdrop for super teams. Those of us who are supposed to be the backdrop should get a bigger share, otherwise, if we quit, who will these super teams fight?

Moreover, Las Vegas's ability to attract money is well-known, and as early as the 80s, some people had the idea of ​​moving the team to the gambling city.

However, gambling and basketball are indeed incompatible. Many gambling incidents in the 50s and 60s had a very bad impact on college basketball and professional basketball markets.

So even today, the NBA still publicly maintains that gambling is a red line, while privately it covets it but cannot obtain it. Looking across the entire United States, only Forrest Gump could have accomplished this; only his reputation, wealth, and methods could have made it happen.

Only he could build a team in Las Vegas, and people would believe that gambling would not harm the competition and fairness of the NBA.

That evening, Gan Guoyang met with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman in his office.

Goodman is 62 years old and looks to be in very good spirits. For a politician, the early 60s are the prime of life.

After becoming mayor of Las Vegas, he made sweeping reforms to urban planning, construction, and industrial development.

He renovated the downtown area's architecture, approved the construction of many new public venues and sports facilities, and attracted funds from across the United States and even the world to transform Las Vegas into a bigger, newer, and more outstanding entertainment city.

Gan Guoyang's NBA plan is one of Goodman's biggest concerns. He has long desired to own a professional team in Las Vegas and has been dreaming about it.

In 1999, shortly after becoming mayor, Oscar Goodman went to New York to meet David Stern, only to be repeatedly rebuffed. As a fellow lawyer, David Stern treated Oscar Goodman with the cold indifference of a dough that had been left out overnight.

But after starting to work with Gan Guoyang, Oscar Goodman watched as Gan Guoyang, while negotiating and making preparations, had already built up the team's structure.

He couldn't help but wonder, was Forrest Gump really that confident? If the league didn't agree, all this preparation and money would be wasted.

As a result, the day after 9/11, at noon today, Goodman received a message from Gan Guoyang that Stern would come to negotiate tomorrow.

After watching Gan Guoyang's televised speech in the afternoon, and hearing Gan Guoyang publicly state that he would bring an NBA team to Las Vegas, Goodman couldn't contain his excitement and went to MGM to meet with Gan Guoyang.

The mayor of Las Vegas waited in line downstairs for more than two hours without even having a meal before being allowed to go upstairs to Gan Guoyang's office for a face-to-face meeting.

"Oh Sonny, you have no idea how hard it is to see you these days. I've been waiting so long my stomach is rumbling. And you're eating?"

Gan Guoyang is enjoying his energy meal in his office. In the afternoon, he goes to work out for an hour and a half without fail to maintain his muscle vitality.

"I prepared one for you too, have some."

"Oh no, thank you, I really can't eat. I watched your televised speech, and now I'm wondering who the president really is. The biblical passages you quoted were more powerful than Bush's! Some people are already saying you're the underground president of America."

In his televised address, Bush quoted a psalm from the Bible: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

"Don't flatter me, Oscar. I'm just an athlete. I want to live for another two years. Be prepared for tomorrow's negotiations with David Stern; it could take a long time."

"Okay, I'll prepare a comfortable and spacious meeting room..."

"No! No! It can't be comfortable, it can't be spacious. Find a stuffy, cramped, old office, preferably with creaky chairs. The air conditioning should be broken, and don't provide ice water or drinks, just hot water."

"Is...is this okay?"

“That would be perfect. I like this kind of negotiation environment, and I think David will like it too.”

On September 13, David Stern arrived in Las Vegas with his assistants and executive team.

In fact, in the past NBA expansions, the consortiums always sent a bidding team to New York to present their team-building plans to the expansion committee.

Now the tables have turned; the NBA has sent a team to Las Vegas for negotiations, and the commissioner himself is leading the effort.

In fact, the vice presidents and assistants of the NBA office also found it strange. Even after the 9/11 attacks, did the NBA need to rush to make such an extensive statement?

Stern disregarded the objections and insisted that having a new team in Las Vegas would be very important for the NBA and for the United States.

People were even more confused. Stern had always been a staunch supporter, stating that he would never allow the NBA to be associated with gambling.

In reality, everyone knows that Stern wasn't that averse to gambling; he had been seeking effective ways to integrate professional sports and betting.

However, due to tradition and his adherence to a slow and steady approach, he is exceptionally cautious about gambling.

But for some reason, his attitude did a complete 180-degree turn this time, and he was eager to go to Las Vegas to negotiate with Forrest Gump.

Upon arrival in Las Vegas, Gan Guoyang personally went to the airport to greet them, and then took the group to Las Vegas for a day of delicious food and drinks.

This tactic is called "courtesy before force"—it makes you feel comfortable first, and then it starts to make you uncomfortable.

The formal negotiations were held in an old, unrenovated conference room at the Tropical Garden Hotel, the oldest hotel in Las Vegas.

David Stern sensed something was wrong as soon as he entered the room. He asked Gan Guoyang, "Sonny, are you trying to outlast me again?"

Gan Guoyang said, "What are you talking about? I'm just adhering to the principle of thrift and frugality, and I hope our talks can be kept low-key."

Stern, of course, didn't believe it. He was already sweating. He knew Gan Guoyang's methods; his negotiation tactics of lingering on the old man were unbeatable.

If you're not satisfied, we'll talk to you until you're dizzy, your eyes are glazed over, and you can't even remember what you're saying or thinking anymore. All you want to do is agree as soon as possible and end the negotiations.

Gan Guoyang sat down, and to be honest, the people in the NBA office felt a little uneasy when he sat there.

In labor negotiations and hearings, everyone has witnessed Gan Guoyang's extraordinary energy and quick thinking, which is just as formidable as he is on the basketball court.

“You don’t need to be like this, Sonny. We’re not here to fight, we’re here to cooperate.”

"Seeking competition within cooperation and cooperation within competition has always been my guiding principle. This makes cooperation stronger and competition less harmful. Okay, David, let's not waste time. You know me. Let's get straight to the point and talk about the NBA team franchise in Las Vegas."

"Okay, I understand. I'll get straight to the point. To sum it up, the league has agreed to grant Las Vegas a new franchise to create a new NBA team."

As soon as Stern finished speaking, Gan Guoyang's team cheered. They had won before even starting negotiations?

However, this is not a victory in negotiations, but a victory accumulated over more than a year of behind-the-scenes work.

Gan Guoyang remained calm, waved for everyone to quiet down, and asked, "Tell me your conditions, David."

Stern pulled a piece of paper from his briefcase and had his assistant hand it to Gan Guoyang, saying, "These are the basic conditions we've listed, mainly concerning revenue distribution, turnover requirements, salary cap limits, and the sharing of broadcasting and advertising costs. Regarding the betting portion, if certain requirements aren't met, the team will need to use shares as collateral to make up for that portion of the revenue. What do you think, Sonny?"

No matter how panicked Stern was after 9/11, he still retained the shrewdness typical of a Jew.

Didn't you want to coordinate with the teams to distribute revenue and give money to the smaller teams?
If I satisfy you, you'll make more money for me. If you make it, great; if not, I'll cut off your flesh.

Gan Guoyang took the paper that was handed to him and glanced at it. Some of the conditions were indeed quite harsh.

However, he was not afraid. He still had cards to play. Under the current conditions, he would just have to wait it out first.

(End of this chapter)