Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 260 One City, One Star
The NBA headquarters is located at 645 Fifth Avenue, in the Olympic Building, on floors 14 to 20.

Take the elevator to the 15th floor, exit and walk along the corridor to the end, where you'll find David Stern's office.

It's not very big, about the same size as Tang Sen's office in the training center, probably only 30 square meters.

But the view is nice, with huge floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides overlooking Central Park.

The decor is rather old-fashioned, with the walls covered in reddish-brown solid wood trim.

His desk was also ochre red.

Next to the entrance is the reception area, with a set of coffee-colored leather sofas, and opposite is a display case filled with various souvenirs.

Tang Sen walked into the office.

There were no outsiders inside, only David Stern, the leader who had almost become the symbol of the league.

He was working when he saw Tang Sen. He immediately put down the documents in his hand, smiled, stood up, and greeted Tang Sen with a handshake.

If there were a camera set up next to us at this moment, it would feel like a talent show.

Stern warmly invited Tangsen to sit down and then asked him what he would like to drink.

Tangsen was somewhat wary of Stern.

This is a big shot.

Moreover, in Tang Sen's mind, Stern, who appeared to be all smiles, was actually a ruthless person.

After all, he's a lawyer by training; without some tricks up his sleeve, he wouldn't have gotten to this position.

Dealing with such people requires extreme caution, lest you be betrayed without even realizing it.

The secretary served coffee.

Stern began by thanking Tang Sen.

It is said that Townsend's arrival brought the Knicks a great season.

He said he is a New Yorker himself and is very pleased to see the Knicks rise again.

Tang Sen thought to himself, "Don't just thank me. You're the real hero of New York for giving the Knicks the number one draft pick."

He also apologized, saying he knew the team was very busy and that it had affected Tangsen's work.

Very humble.

But the more this happened, the more wary Tang Sen became.

After some small talk, Stern cut to the chase without further ado.

He got up, took a document from his desk, and handed it to Tang Sen.

"Tang, we've come up with a plan that needs your support."

Another plan?

Tang Sen was somewhat allergic to this word.

Tang Sen opened the folder and glanced at it twice before his heart skipped a beat. He quickly glanced at Stern and subconsciously sat up straight.

Stern is about to do something big.

The plan begins with Stern's intention to make changes to the draft.

The most significant change is the alteration of the joint training program.

It was changed from a tryout to an official rookie training camp.

The deadline for audition registration was at the end of April.

Then, starting in May, it lasted until June 15th, a full month and a half.

Organize a rookie training camp under the official name.

Please have Tang Sen take charge of training all the rookies who have signed up.

Most importantly, scouts from each team can stay at the training camp to observe the training status of all the rookies.

Tang Sen glanced at Stern again, unable to understand why he had made this adjustment.

The NBA Combine began in 1989, the same year that the draft rules underwent a major change.

The purpose of joint tryouts, to put it simply, is to give all rookie players a chance to make their debut and allow all teams to come and select them.

But in the end, this thing became more about form than substance.

One thing is certain: those draft favorites can skip the joint tryouts.

What's really important are the individual tryouts arranged by each team afterwards.

Now, they've simply changed it to a training camp to train and improve skills.

This might be a good thing for the players.

not always.

Tang Sen frowned.

The players might not even be willing.

Because a training camp that lasts for a month and a half may improve their skills, it will also expose all their weaknesses.

Now that the problems have been exposed, how can their agents still defraud teams and sign players with high draft picks?

Stern's actions are going to ruin everything for all agents.

Most importantly, who will pay for the training camp?

It's not fair to ask the players and agents to pay for it; they wouldn't agree to that anyway.

Then the team has to pay for it.

Doing this is actually a good thing for the team, as it can minimize the chances of misjudging and choosing the wrong players.

Sure enough, as Tang Sen flipped through the pages, he saw the arrangements for the expenses.

The fees for Tangsen are tentatively set.

After all the expenses are determined, each team will bear the payment proportionally according to their ranking.

Simply put, the team that gets the number one draft pick gives the most.

Also reasonable.

If you select the most talented players through a long training camp, then it's okay to bear a little more cost.

The key issue is that this move has had a huge impact on all aspects of life.

For example, the trading of draft picks.

After this, who would easily trade lottery picks?

Furthermore, doing so will inevitably lead to a large number of players not playing in the NCAA and instead participating in the draft earlier.

With their own prestigious brand and Kwame Brown's precedent, many people will surely choose to do the same.

Would the NCAA be happy with that?
This is not over yet.

There's another part of the plan.

The rookie training camp will continue after the draft.

The summer league was shortened, and then training camp continued until the start of the new season.

Tang Sen looked up at Stern again.

He just smiled and didn't say a word.

Clearly, this is another reference to Brown.

Brown trained with me before the draft, and by the time he entered the league that summer, his skills were already fully developed and ready to be used. In his first season, he scored 20 points and 10 rebounds, helping the team win the championship.

Stern's actions suggest he intends to hand over a sufficiently mature rookie to the team before the start of the new season.

The expenses will still be borne by the team.

The key point is that Stern had previously created the Townsend Rule, which prohibits teams from paying for players to train with him.

Now look what's happened! With this whole mess, you might as well just cancel that regulation altogether.

And that's not all.

This is only the first part, about the rookies.

There's a second part. "The One Person, One City Plan?"

Tang Sen frowned.

The second part, like the Knicks' Road to Glory plan, also had a name given by Stern.

It's called "One Person, One City".

Or, to put it another way, one city, one star player.

His plan is for Tang Sen to organize a star player training camp during the offseason.

Each team is allowed to select one key player to train with Tang Sen.

The costs will be shared by the player and the team.

The purpose of this plan is very clear: to improve the strength of each team's core players and drive the team's development.

Tang Sen put down the folder.

They did not speak immediately.

Stern smiled and asked, "Don, what do you think of this plan?"

Tang Sen didn't know what to say.

First of all, it will definitely benefit me.

This is equivalent to the alliance stepping in to help them attract customers.

More than sixty rookies, 29 star players, nearly a hundred people.

For me, that must be a huge amount of income.

The workload is certainly huge.

However, you can lead a team and achieve results through group badge effects and titles.

So it's not a big problem.

I had originally planned to sell more at lower prices this summer to expand the scale of my training camp.

Tang Sen leaned back on the sofa, silently calculating.

They advertised themselves as a million-dollar training camp, featuring 29 star players over three months, and charging a mere $100 million isn't expensive.

That makes a total of 2900 million.

After deducting all expenses and the team's costs, I should be able to keep at least half of what I owe.

There are also rookies.

Even if you pay sixty rookies half their salary, that's still close to ten million.

In other words, if this matter is successfully completed, I could earn more than 20 million yuan in one summer!
Tang Sen took a deep breath.

My heart is fluttering, I'm so excited!
However, it will probably be quite difficult to accomplish this.

Tang Sen said, "David, the agent, the rookie, and the players' union—won't they object?"

Especially the players' union.

Many role players will then ask, why can star players have their teams pay for Tang Sen to train with them, but they can't?

Isn't that unfair?

Moreover, not every star player is willing to train diligently.

For example, Shaquille O'Neal!
After a long season, we finally have an off-season to relax, but instead we have to train?

This is overtime work!

Not every player has the ambition to improve.

Also, there are 29 teams, with 15 players per team, and that's how big the entire NBA league is.

He runs his own training camp to help rookies improve their skills and establish themselves in the league more quickly.

If 58 rookies come in every year, does that mean 58 active players also have to be eliminated?

Every year, new players are constantly entering the league. If they all have the ability to establish themselves in the league, then in just a few years, there won't be any spots left in the league.

In today's league, new rookies keep coming in, but only a few succeed, and the rest are eliminated.

In addition, the continuous elimination of veteran players in the league eventually led to a delicate balance.

If rookies' abilities suddenly surge, that balance will be disrupted.

From the team's perspective, they have a cheap and useful rookie, and a veteran with average ability but a high salary.

Given the choice, I would definitely choose the former.

The league's elimination rate will only get higher and higher.

Furthermore, if the players become stronger and stronger, like the Knicks are now.

We really need to cultivate the next Garnett, the next Jordan.

Those five starters are all star players, so there's no way to win this game.

With so many players' interests at stake, would the players' union agree to this?
If they don't agree, it'll be difficult for the investors.

Is another shutdown imminent?
“David, have you considered what I’m saying?” Tang Sen asked in return.

Some things sound good, but when it involves the interests of all parties, things become difficult.

Stern, a lawyer, spoke slowly. He smiled and said, "Don, you've considered everything very thoroughly."

"However, we have considered all of these things as well."

"But there is no doubt that there are many benefits to doing this; talented players will find it easier to become stars."

"As you know, every year there are many geniuses of all kinds who, because they do not receive proper training, fade into obscurity."

"I am heartbroken by this situation."

Tang Sen secretly curled his lip.

Whether you're heartbroken or not, only you know.

But Stern is right. Out of 58 rookies a year, it would be amazing if even one-fifth of them turned out to be successful.

"For teams, weaker teams won't miss the opportunity to become stronger by making the wrong picks in the draft. They can be confident in acquiring excellent rookies."

"Gradually, the strength of the teams in the league will become more and more balanced."

"And each team will have more star players, making the games more and more exciting."

Tang Sen has to admit this as well.

As players become stronger, the games become more exciting, and the league's revenue may even increase.

Stern continued, "As for the attrition rate issue you mentioned, we have given it serious consideration and come up with a solution."

"Expand the army!"

He gave the answer.

Tang Sen's heart skipped a beat.

Yes, the attrition rate is high and there aren't enough positions, so we need to expand the force.

The NBA is a business league, and no one has stipulated that there will always be only 29 teams.

30, or even 40 teams.

There are so many cities in the United States, and many of them are eager to have an NBA team.

More teams mean a larger football market.

Tang Sen looked at Stern in surprise.

This old man is playing a long game!

Stern maintained his smile and said, "Don, you have incredible abilities that can help us complete this plan."

"I hope the League becomes stronger and stronger, and we welcome more and more people to join the League, even you!"

He gave me a knowing look.

Tang Sen understood immediately.

(End of this chapter)