Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 585 The Lazy Fat Man

Rupert Murdoch, a top international media mogul, suddenly divorced and then married a Chinese woman less than half his age, causing an uproar.
The incident quickly spread, causing a huge sensation and discussion throughout the United States. It immediately became a hot topic in the media and among the public, and continued to receive public attention!

Marrying Rupert Murdoch completely changed Wendi Deng's life trajectory, transforming her from an ordinary Chinese woman into an international celebrity socialite, significantly boosting her net worth and social status.

Of course, she also faced a lot of criticism. Everyone believed that Wendi Deng married Rupert Murdoch for money, which sparked a wide discussion and reflection among the public on interracial, cross-cultural, and high-society marriages, involving social concepts such as love and money, marriage and interests!
Meanwhile, in the NBA playoffs, the Houston Rockets lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, failing to reach the NBA Finals;
In the Finals, the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs faced off against the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks. The Spurs easily defeated the Knicks 4-1 to win their first championship trophy in franchise history. Second-year rookie Tim Duncan also won his first Finals MVP award with 27.4 points, 14 rebounds and 2.2 blocks.

"The New York Knicks are amazing! The eighth seed in the East has made it to the NBA Finals?"

Aaron was astonished. They upset the Miami Heat, the top seed in the East, in the first round of the playoffs, and then went straight to the Finals.
As for the San Antonio Spurs winning the championship, Aaron was not a surprise. The Knicks are not even that good. It's a real pity for the Rockets.

Jack Wells, standing nearby, shook his head. "The Rockets didn't play well enough. Barkley deserves a lot of credit for eliminating the Jazz."

"And O'Neal's performance wasn't good enough!"

Aaron took a sip of his drink. "The coach needs to keep a closer eye on this fatso. He's so lazy. Is he really satisfied with just one championship?"

"However, Tracy McGrady has made good progress, and his combination with Shaquille O'Neal will be a pleasant surprise."

Tracy McGrady's rookie contract expires next year, and the Rockets will definitely want to re-sign him.
After this lockout, the NBA has set a limit on the maximum contract for players. After rookies, the maximum contract for stars is 6 years and $7090 million. This year, Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant both signed maximum contract extensions at this level!
The NBA stars of the '96 generation must hate Kevin Garnett to death, since he had a super contract of $1.26 million over 6 years.

Moreover, Kevin Garnett and the Timberwolves signed this agreement in 1997, and it is in effect starting this season.

"By the way, Aaron, at the NBA draft a couple of days ago, we selected Wang Zhizhi, the Chinese basketball player you wanted, in the second round with the 22nd pick;"

"However, I heard from club staff that the Bayi Rockets, the CBA team Wang Zhizhi plays for, won't allow him to play in the US!"

Jack Wells has always known that Aaron values ​​the Chinese market, and the Houston Rockets' selection of Wang Zhizhi must have taken this into consideration.

Furthermore, David Stern also placed great importance on the overseas promotion of the NBA, especially after Michael Jordan's second retirement.

Aaron frowned, almost forgetting that this was the Chinese Men's Basketball Association!

Aaron was at a loss. "David Sent has always had his eye on China's huge market. We'll try to lobby him when the opportunity arises, in cooperation with the alliance."

Anyway, with the Rockets' current roster, a mid-to-low second-round draft pick won't have much of an impact! Jack Wells was somewhat skeptical, "Does that mean they don't understand the influence of the NBA? Or is it a personal issue with the players?"

Aaron shook his head. "Those things over there are all politically connected; they can't be considered private business models."

"Give it some time, and people will definitely come to the US to play. In any case, the NBA is the highest level of basketball league in the world!"

"By the way, did you go to the Wizards' home arena, MIC Arena, in Washington, D.C., for the draft a couple of days ago?"

Jack Wells nodded. "I'm a real basketball fan, I'm going."

"And what's more, we ran into Michael Jordan, who has invested in the Washington Wizards and will be joining their management team!"

After Michael Jordan retired and failed to become a shareholder of the Chicago Bulls, sports tycoon Ted Leonsis from Washington, D.C., came to Chicago and met with Michael Jordan.
Ted Leonsis owns Monument Sports Entertainment (MSE), which holds a 44% stake in Washington Sports Entertainment, as well as the NHL's Washington Capitals. Washington Sports Entertainment, in turn, owns the NBA's Washington Wizards, the MIC Sports Center in Washington, D.C., and other businesses.

Ted Leonsis not only persuaded Washington Sports Entertainment to sell 5% of the Washington Wizards to Michael Jordan, but he also sold 10% of Monument Sports Entertainment to Michael Jordan himself.
Because Michael Jordan wanted to manage the team himself, the Washington Wizards also appointed him as the club's president of operations.

As a result, Michael Jordan spent $2000 million to buy a 5% stake in the Washington Wizards and a 10% stake in Monument Sports Entertainment.

"Ted Leonsis, this guy started out in the internet communications company; a few years ago, AOL acquired his company for a high price."

"I can't believe this guy became a manager for the Wizards this year!"

Ted Leonsis was not a major shareholder of the Washington Wizards to begin with; he had only recently acquired control of the organization. Inviting Michael Jordan to join the team was a smart move.

Moreover, in April, Yahoo announced the acquisition of Broadcast.com, a sports broadcasting website, for approximately $57 billion in stock. The website had only been established for four years.
The acquisition price caused a sensation, and the website's founders, Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner, received a large number of Yahoo shares, becoming billionaires.

Mark Cuban, that guy is the future owner of the Dallas Mavericks, which are currently still the property of Texas IT tycoon Ross Perot!
Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks are building a new home arena that is incredibly luxurious and has an investment that surpasses that of the Houston Dawn Center and the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Last year, Dallas voters approved the issuance of $1.4 million in government bonds to support the construction of a new arena, and signed a 30-year naming rights agreement with American Airlines for a total of $1.95 million. With the addition of funding from the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and the NHL's Dallas Stars, the budget for the American Airlines Center in Dallas is $4.2 million.

(End of this chapter)