The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 940 Entering the game personally
As both sides expected, the negotiations proceeded quite arduously, with neither side willing to compromise on certain conditions, leading to a fierce struggle.

In terms of intensity, this negotiation confrontation is no less than an NBA Finals game, and it is a test for both sides in terms of physical and mental strength.

The debate mainly focused on two aspects: First, Stern demanded that Las Vegas suspend all basketball-related betting activities.

This is clearly unacceptable for Las Vegas, as basketball betting is one of the major components of gambling, and cutting it would significantly reduce Las Vegas's revenue and turnover.

Gan Guoyang proposed establishing an oversight committee, with other league staff members serving on the committee, and setting up an office in Las Vegas to monitor the flow of gambling funds and ensure that betting does not affect the outcome of the games.

Stern, of course, disagreed with such a suggestion, believing that the committee was simply incapable of preventing betting from infiltrating the sports arena.

Moreover, with its offices located in Las Vegas, corruption was inevitable, so shutting it down was the best option to eliminate the threat.

The two sides became entangled on this issue, spending the entire morning attacking and defending it.

Overall, however, Gan Guoyang was on the offensive, while Stern, on the defensive, was gradually backing down.

Finally, Gan Guoyang revealed his trump card, saying, "David, if NBA teams didn't come to Las Vegas, gambling would still exist. Why should gambling disappear just because the NBA came to Las Vegas? That doesn't make sense. The influence of gambling has always been there; the key is how to control it. I bet that there are referees and players in the league who gamble on games, and that has absolutely nothing to do with whether there are teams in Las Vegas or not."

"On the contrary, the NBA's move to Las Vegas allows for better management and control of betting issues. The NBA could establish a betting oversight commission, headquartered in New York, to monitor all betting activities related to the NBA, without impacting NBA players and industry professionals. Then, we could sign an agreement where a portion of the NBA's annual betting revenue would be distributed to the NBA and equally among each team. How does that sound?"

The morning's negotiations touched on the core issue: the distribution of economic benefits.

With such a huge turnover and revenue from gambling, do you think Stern would budge if you didn't give some of it to the NBA?

Gan Guoyang had already discussed this trump card with Oscar Goodman and the Las Vegas Industry Association.

Of course, the negotiation process was also very difficult; touching interests is always much more difficult than touching the soul.

Gan Guoyang eventually convinced the industry, stating that if they did not cooperate now, it would become increasingly difficult to cooperate in the future, and the NBA's asking price would continue to rise.

For the sake of long-term interests, the industry association finally agreed to Gan Guoyang's proposal and was willing to cooperate with the NBA on revenue sharing.

Everyone knows that once an NBA team moves to Las Vegas, it will definitely boost the city's tourism and gambling industries.

After receiving a satisfactory reply, the cunning Stern did not give an immediate answer, but instead said that it was lunchtime, time to eat and rest, and they would continue in the afternoon.

Gan Guoyang didn't seem to care. He stood up and said, "I have another suggestion. I recommend that Mr. Adam Silva serve as the chairman of the oversight committee. I think he is capable of this position."

Silva, sitting next to Stern, had a complicated expression on his face; it was hard to tell whether he was happy or embarrassed.

Stern glanced at Silva, then stood up as well, nearly losing his balance and falling to the side.

Silva quickly helped Stern up and asked, "Mr. President... are you alright?"

"It's okay... It's too stuffy in there, I'm a little dizzy... It's okay."

This was the effect of Gan Guoyang's "enduring the old man" tactic. A high-intensity battle lasted all morning, the water was hot, and the air conditioner was broken, leaving Stern dizzy and disoriented.

"Should I call 911 for you?" Gan Guoyang asked with concern when he saw that Stern was a little dizzy.

Stern's forehead twitched; now, whenever he heard the number 911, his heart would pound.

"Thank you, no need, I'm fine." Stern gritted his teeth and left the conference room; it felt much better outside.

Gan Guoyang was quite generous with lunch, treating the NBA delegation to a delicious and lavish Chinese meal.

Stern didn't stand on ceremony. He had expended a lot of energy in the morning, and he might have to work hard again in the afternoon, and even tomorrow, so he should eat more.

Meanwhile, the NBA delegation members discussed the matter privately and were satisfied with the conditions offered by Gan Guoyang.

Although the NBA has long since emerged from the mire of bankruptcy and losses, capital is never satisfied.

2000-2001赛季，NBA的总收入在25亿美元左右，相较于2000赛季的30亿美元显著下滑。

This is the first time the NBA's total revenue has declined so much since Stern became NBA commissioner, and the impact of Gan Guoyang's retirement cannot be ignored.

Although the total revenue of $25 billion is already a lot, the league's profits are also over $5 million, which is quite considerable.

But in the world of capital, there is always only growth, never decline. $5 million wiped out last season's profits.

It's still uncertain whether the new Las Vegas team will generate revenue, but the betting bonuses are a real thing.

Once this partnership is finalized, we can receive a sum of money for free every year. Who wouldn't be happy about that?

At this point, Stern could not go against the majority opinion, and during dinner, everyone unanimously agreed.

Thus, the first important problem was solved.

Negotiations continued at 1:30 p.m. Stern agreed to Gan Guoyang's suggestion to establish a gaming oversight committee and to allocate a portion of the profits as alliance revenue.

After reaching an agreement on this, the two sides held further discussions in the afternoon on issues such as the new team salary cap, expanded draft rules, and advertising revenue sharing.

These were relatively minor issues, and the two sides quickly reached a consensus after their initial exchange.

The toughest and biggest hurdle, the second point of contention, unfolded in the final stage of the negotiations.

David Stern has demanded that Las Vegas teams achieve a total revenue of $10 billion over the next five seasons.

If this cannot be achieved, as Stern said, the team's shares will be discounted and used to compensate the league.

To put it bluntly, if your revenue doesn't meet the requirements, the other teams will band together to take you down.

With $10 billion in revenue, the company needs to achieve an average of $2 million in operating income per season!

It's worth noting that the Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA champions last season, only had a revenue of over $3000 million a year.

At its peak, the Portland Trail Blazers had a revenue of just over $5000 million a year, which dropped to $01 million in 2000.

Therefore, for the current NBA, $2 million is simply an impossible task.

Gan Guoyang wasn't stupid, so of course he couldn't agree to that number, and the two sides launched another fierce attack and defense in the afternoon.

Gan Guoyang initially disagreed with the performance-based agreement, saying, "I'm here to increase your income, why are you setting such a high sales target for me?"
Am I here to harm you?

Stern, however, said, "You might actually be the one to harm us."

This expansion was unplanned, involved gambling and casinos, and was further complicated by the 9/11 attacks, making it extremely risky.

To hedge against the risks brought by the arrival of a new team, a performance-based agreement is necessary, but the amount and duration can indeed be extended.

This time, Gan Guoyang backed down and agreed to the bet, but wanted to increase the term to 10 years and reduce the amount to $8 million. "10 years, $8 million, that doesn't reflect your management skills, Sonny. It's too long and too little," Stern said sarcastically.

Gan Guoyang thought to himself, "I haven't even mentioned the 11 million in 9 to provoke you yet." Seeing Stern's deadpan expression, Gan Guoyang was furious.

"Then let's settle for 5 million over 10 years, or this is my bottom line. If we can't reach an agreement, then forget it, and all the previously promised benefits will be wiped clean!"

The two sides have already reached many agreements, and even without this betting agreement, the team owners can still make a lot more money.

Seeing that Gan Guoyang was about to overturn the table in a fit of anger, David Stern softened his tone and gently comforted Gan Guoyang.

Stern was actually terrified inside; the huge impact of 9/11 had left a deep hole in his psyche.

That's why he made an exception and led a delegation to Las Vegas for negotiations. This means that, from the outside perspective, it was the NBA that was begging Gan Guoyang to build a new team.

As for proposing various harsh conditions during negotiations, it was a professional habit of Stern's. Besides, he was not the sole decision-maker; he was responsible to his bosses.

So his relationship with Gan Guoyang was half negotiation and half acting. In short, they couldn't let the show fall apart. They just had to endure it. Stern had also endured for more than ten years.

Stern then backed down again, extending the timeframe to seven years and reducing the total revenue to $500 million, much better than the previous five years and $1 billion.

But this is still an incredibly high number, with an average annual revenue of $7000 million, an amount that no team has ever reached before, including the former Portland Trail Blazers.

Gan Guoyang's team also expressed difficulty with this figure. Wang Fuxi even told her husband, "If it really doesn't work, let's just give up. This revenue amount is too terrifying. 7000 million US dollars is equivalent to two Los Angeles Lakers."

In fact, the revenue figures show that many NBA teams are operating at a loss or with very thin profit margins.

Because the league salary cap reached $3500 million in 2001, and that was the soft cap; teams often paid more than that in reality.

The following season, the 2001-2002 season, the league will also introduce a luxury tax system. Teams that exceed the cap by too much will be penalized with a tax, which will be another expense.

With total revenue of only a few million or ten million US dollars, most teams would be operating at a loss after deducting player salaries and other costs.

Without league subsidies, or with very little league revenue sharing, some teams in smaller markets are operating at a loss, gaining publicity at a loss.

Gan Guoyang fell into deep thought, holding onto his last trump card without ever using it.

He was calculating whether $7000 million in revenue would be too difficult for the team.

He doesn't actually care about sharing profits with other teams, and he's confident he can earn enough revenue.

However, Gan Guoyang had his own calculations in mind, and he was thinking further ahead, not just about the $5 million over these 7 years.

Seeing that Gan Guoyang was still hesitant to speak, Stern became anxious again, thinking that he might as well lower the price again, 4 million over 8 years, 5000 million per year would be fine.

Gan Guoyang spoke first, saying, "I can agree to a 7-year, 5 million yuan betting agreement and am willing to abide by its rules. But what if I win the bet? What if I fulfill the 7-year, 5 million yuan requirement? And then I get nothing? Just fulfilling the requirement without any reward?"

Stern said, "If you want to add any conditions, just say so."

Gan Guoyang said, "Okay, I have a condition. If I meet this challenge, the NBA must agree that for the next 50 years, it cannot sign any explicit cooperation agreements with gambling companies, including advertising for gambling companies or engaging in strategic partnerships. The NBA can only enjoy a share of the gambling industry's profits and cannot directly participate in gambling."

The scene erupted in uproar, and some members of Gan Guoyang's team couldn't sit still any longer.

Oscar Goodman leaned in and whispered, "Sonny, you didn't discuss this with us beforehand. Doesn't this cut off any possibility of further cooperation between the NBA and us?"

Gan Guoyang said, "The cooperation between the NBA and the betting industry should end here. Las Vegas has a team, and the betting companies give the league a share of the profits. Do you really want the NBA to become like WWE?"

On the other hand, Stern's team was also caught in a debate, and in fact, Gan Guoyang's condition was more righteous.

The problem is that the bosses and executives are all thinking about expanding the scope and depth of cooperation in the future to earn more profits.

Is Forrest Gump trying to put a ceiling on the path of cooperation and get stuck at the current level?

Both sides have their own agendas, and Gan Guoyang can be said to have stood on both sides' positions, yet also on the opposite side.

Just like his long-standing identity, he is Chinese and also a product of American basketball.

For most people, this would be called a two-faced person, but Forrest Gump is an exception; he is the same sun.

It was already past six o'clock in the evening. Everyone hadn't eaten, and they were exhausted, hungry, and sleepy, on the verge of collapse.

After much thought, firstly, it's highly unlikely that Forrest Gump will be able to complete this bet; everyone can just wait to see how the Las Vegas teams are divided up.

Secondly, even if you accidentally complete the task, the dividends and profits will be high enough that you won't lose money.

Finally, it's still hard to say whether the NBA will be able to cooperate with betting companies, so there's no need to worry unnecessarily.

Therefore, everyone stopped arguing and simply adjusted the time limit from 50 years to 30 years.

For the next 30 years, deep cooperation with betting companies will be prohibited; the specifics will be detailed in the memorandum.

After reaching a final agreement on this issue, the marathon negotiations that lasted all day finally came to a conclusion.

When Stern stood up from his chair to shake hands with Gan Guoyang, he almost fainted again.

When the two emerged from the negotiation room, a large number of reporters who had been waiting for a long time set off a flurry of flashes.

Stern drank a glass of orange juice and ate some snacks, and felt less dizzy.

Next, the two went to the hotel's media room to announce the results of the negotiations.

Stern took to the podium and officially announced that Las Vegas would welcome a brand new NBA team next season.

"We hope that the arrival of this team will bring a glimmer of hope and a bit of comfort to the whole of America. God bless America."

Stern breathed a sigh of relief, having accomplished another remarkable task, and achieving a negotiated outcome despite being at a significant psychological disadvantage.

Regardless of the conditions, 5 million over 7 years is an "impossible" task for any team.

In the end, Forrest Gump might very well have benefited someone else, and thinking about this made Stern feel much better.

The shadow of 9/11 faded slightly in his heart.

Then it was Gan Guoyang's turn to speak. He adjusted the microphone and, under David Stern's gaze, said: "Given that Las Vegas will be welcoming a new team, in order to ensure the establishment and growth of the new team, I have decided... to make my second comeback as a player and join the new Las Vegas team!"

David Stern's expression shifted from a smile to a blank face and then to a deathly pale one, his eyes never leaving the back of Gan Guoyang's head and his back.

Only one thought popped into his head: "I fucking got tricked by you again, Sonny!"

(End of this chapter)