My absurd experiences in North America over the years

The sea breeze, carrying the coolness of the Pacific Ocean, seeped through the gaps between the skyscrapers in the financial district, slightly lowering the temperature in the bay area in late July.

The signing ceremony between Li Fu and Cohan was not a big event; it was held in the conference room at Cohan's former team headquarters.

Cohan's fingers trembled slightly as he signed the hundreds-of-pages-thick acquisition contract. He had owned the team for sixteen years, yet they had only made the playoffs once.

Despite achieving the upset victory in that playoff run, he had no other highlights. Bay Area fans criticized him almost every year, and he had heard the boos from Oracle Arena for many years.

Now, it's all over.

No, he should have assumed a different identity.

"Congratulations, Mr. Li," Cohan put down his pen, looked up, his eyes slightly red, "From today onwards, the Warriors are your team."

"No, it's ours," Li Fu corrected, then signed his name on the contract. "You retain 8% of the shares and remain the honorary president in charge of basketball affairs. You also have a stake in the future of this team."

Cohan paused for a moment upon hearing this from the honorary president, then gave a wry smile. "I haven't won in sixteen years. Are you sure you want me involved in decision-making?"

"You might just be unlucky. You know this team better than I do, including the players, staff, arena, and our fans," Li Fu said with a smile. "Your advice is very important to me."

He certainly wouldn't let Cohan participate in decision-making, otherwise he wouldn't have appointed Cohan as honorary president. But 8% of the shares plus a nominal position is enough to keep the local political and business network in the Bay Area friendly to the new boss. This deal is a win-win situation no matter what.

As for winning... is there anyone more suitable than him?

However, to be fair, he really wanted to lead Cohan to victory at least once.

After all, if Cohan hadn't sold the team and had persisted for a few more years, the team would have had a future, because they had already selected the cornerstone of that future – Stephen Curry.

This future superstar has just finished his rookie season.

Upon hearing Li Fu's reply, Cohan remained silent for a moment, then his eyes reddened slightly. He understood what being the honorary president in charge of basketball affairs meant.

After the signing ceremony, Paul pulled Li Fu aside.

"Li, there's something I must remind you of." Paul opened his notebook. "That $1.6 million interest-free loan, according to the IRS, large related-party transactions that don't charge any interest are considered gifts or disguised dividends under the presumed interest rule, and thus generate taxable income at the company level."

The presumed interest rate is a tax specifically designed by the IRS to prevent taxpayers from circumventing gift tax or transferring income through interest-free or low-interest loans.

The IRS will "assume" that a loan has generated interest and tax it accordingly.

The scope of application includes loans between relatives, companies and shareholders, and employers and employees. The amount range is also very broad, with exemptions only possible for loans below $10000.

Li Fu was aware of the presumed interest clause because Jackson, the head of JPMorgan Chase's private banking division, had once provided him with a $5 million bridge loan.

He later learned that it wasn't completely "interest-free," but rather the minimum legal lending rate of 1%.

He used it for less than a year, accumulating approximately 400 million in interest.

This is mandatory by the IRS; otherwise, they will face a tax audit, meaning they have to collect the tax whether they want to or not.

Even if the lender doesn't collect the money, the IRS will still calculate the tax based on the lender's receipt of the money. In short, the IRS will collect taxes regardless of your specific circumstances.

Li Fu nodded. "You can go and talk to Cohan."

This is not a big deal.

The statutory minimum interest rate, which is the applicable federal rate, is currently slightly higher than 1%. The NBA league office typically takes three to four months to approve acquisition contracts, meaning that the interest would be around four to five hundred thousand US dollars.

This is a drop in the ocean compared to a loan of 1.6 million.

When Cohan negotiated the loan with Paul, he didn't hesitate at all. "It's only right. I'm already extremely grateful that Mr. Li is willing to lend me money in advance to help me settle my tax disputes."

Ultimately, Forrest Capital provided Cohan with a $1.6 million bridge loan at an interest rate slightly higher than the AFR.

Forrest Capital was tax-integrity, and Cohan's immediate crisis was completely resolved.

The news of the team's acquisition spread rapidly within the industry.

The San Francisco Chronicle published the news the following morning: "Warriors change hands; Forrest Capital acquires the team for a record $4.5 million; former owner Cohan retains a minority stake in management; Li Fu arrives in the Bay Area."

The entire bay area was instantly in an uproar.

However, no polarized opinions emerged.

Some cheered, "Finally, we've gotten rid of that mediocre boss, Cohan!" Others were also cheering, "Is Li Fu going to bring his talent to the basketball world, to the Bay Area?"

One huge advantage of consistently winning is that even if you're an amateur, others will think you're just faking it.

However, what truly ignited public opinion was Lacob's public statement after the failed acquisition.

That afternoon, Lacob held an impromptu press conference in Silicon Valley. He stood in front of the microphone, his face ashen, his voice filled with suppressed anger.

"My team and I had reached a verbal agreement with Mr. Cohan for the acquisition; however, at the last minute, he unilaterally reneged on his promise and sold the team to someone else. This is blatant deception..."

Financial and entertainment reporters, even tabloid reporters, were frantically snapping photos, some even broadcasting live.

A few hours later, Cohan released a written statement through his public relations team, which was equally strongly worded.

"Mr. Lacob's so-called verbal agreement was based on his bypassing of the formal bidding process and his private contact with me, whereupon he threatened to withdraw from the bidding process and forced me to make an informal commitment."

"This practice itself disrespects the rules of trade, and even less so me. As for the so-called deception, I simply wanted to hand the team over to someone more suitable and capable of bringing a championship to the city of Oakland. I think no one should question that Mr. Li was born to be a winner!"

The last sentence of the statement was particularly jarring: "Before Mr. Lacob accuses others of breaking their promises, perhaps he should first ask himself, who broke the rules first?"

……

The two sides exchanged barbs, and the media continued to follow up with reports, making the public opinion field extremely lively.

Li Fu, the central figure in this media storm, remained silent throughout the entire process.

Reporters waited outside Forrest Capital's Los Angeles branch, where Paul repeatedly stated, "Mr. Li is currently focused on the team's transition and is not accepting interviews at this time."

Li Fu sat in his office, flipping through the Warriors' current situation report compiled by Thompson, oblivious to the noise outside the window.

By now, he's weathered all sorts of public opinion storms, so this is nothing to him!

He just wants to integrate the Warriors as soon as possible.

The Warriors are currently in a mess. In the 2009-10 season, they only achieved a record of 26 wins and 56 losses, ranking third from the bottom in the Western Conference.

The team's salary structure is also chaotic. Core player Monta Ellis has a huge contract of 6 years and $6600 million, but his position overlaps with that of rookie Stephen Curry, and their playing styles clash.

Head coach Don Nelson is getting old and has many conflicts with the management.

The fan base is crumbling, home attendance has been declining year after year, and fans frequently boo the home team while chanting "MVP" for the away team's star player.

This is a team that is rotten to the core.