The best teammates in the NBA

Chapter 242 The Magnified Butterfly Effect (8000 word chapter)
2011 is destined to be a difficult year for the NBA. Although the audience of the Finals once again hit a record high of 1500 million viewers, the players union and the league still failed to reach an agreement.

As early as May 5, the players union formally submitted a lawsuit to the America Labor Arbitration Institution.

Accused the NBA of using intimidation and intimidation in the new labor negotiations to force the players union to sign a new labor agreement that is unfavorable to the players.

The filing of the lawsuit also represented the players union and the league officially tearing their skins apart, but considering that the finals were about to take place, neither side made a big deal out of it.

It's a pity that after the finals, the dialogue between the two sides ended without a problem again. The players union believed that the NBA was doing nothing, and several dialogues were deliberately delaying time, trying to intimidate the players with a lockout.

This kind of statement is actually not wrong. The league just wants to use procrastination in exchange for favorable terms, and most owners are willing to wait. expenditure.

The bosses believe that once the lockout really occurs, conflicts will arise within the players union, and the NBA has also used some small tricks, such as bypassing the union and finding some leading players to negotiate.

This kind of behavior is provocative in the eyes of the players union. Of course, the workers will not give in. The players also know their position. No star player will be the dog of the league...

However, most Chinese fans don't care about these news, and everyone is still immersed in the joy of Li Ze winning the championship.

Since G5 of the finals was held on the 9th, due to the time difference, the day of Tianchao happened to be Friday. After the last game of the NBA finals was broadcast in the morning, at 18:35 in the evening, the sports program Basketball Park on the fifth day of the Central Committee came to the thunderstorm. team topic.

This show is good everywhere, and it almost blows Li Ze to the sky, but Director Zhang once again contributed a famous sentence, but it almost broke the defense of the fans of the Celestial Thunder.

"The Thunder team can win the championship, and the draft is really eye-opening! To be honest, I have been to Oklahoma City so many times, and the population of this place is about the same as that of our Tiantongyuan. It is really not easy for a small ball market!"

The host Yang Jian saw that Director Zhang was telling the truth, and immediately smoothed things over:
"The Thunder's football market is also good. There is only one sports league here, so the fans are very enthusiastic. I am deeply touched by this!"

It's a pity that Director Zhang couldn't hug this topic as soon as it started, and continued to laugh and complain in the show:
"The fans are really enthusiastic, but if the team continued to choose Seattle, the Sonics won the championship, Gary Payton, Sean Kemp, Ray Allen, Lewis, plus Now the Thunder's three young men, the team's background has suddenly risen!"

"... "

This is no wonder for the elderly. Every time I come to Oklahoma City after getting off the plane, I have to drive for an hour to reach the home arena. There are not many tall buildings in the entire main city.

It is inevitable for Director Zhang to be disappointed. After all, Ah Lian is in New York, running back and forth between the two places. In contrast, Oklahoma City has become a village...

Once the show was aired, the Thunder fans who liked Li Ze were not happy. Why can't Oklahoma City fail?

Many fans complained directly on the forum, saying that Zhang's guidance of Komi must be nonsense!

Li Ze is so good, the Thunder will be so strong, and the city will definitely not be bad!

In short, giegie is great, the team is also great, and the city where he is located is equally great, as long as you speak bad things, you are a black giegie...

If the general manager Presti, who is far away in Oklahoma City, heard Director Zhang's words, he would probably have to break his defense.

Since the players union and the league have not yet reached an agreement, once the existing labor agreement expires, a lockout is bound to occur, which also brought great trouble to his work.

During the lockout period, the team cannot negotiate with players, nor can it sign and trade players. At the same time, players cannot use the team's training facilities for any reason, and the team cannot hold summer training camps, exhibitions, team meetings and coaching rallies. …

This is bad news for the Thunder. After winning the championship, Presti originally wanted to take the opportunity to do more activities and try to get some commercials by the way. It's completely cold...

The most important thing after the lockout is that the team website can no longer use the player's image, and it can't use the player as a promotional representative. These two regulations directly made Presti feel numb!

Obviously the team has the youngest MVP+FMVP in history, but Li Ze cannot be used to promote it during the offseason. How does this make the Thunder play?
"Sam, the Lakers have officially announced that Time Warner has bought the Lakers' regional broadcast rights for the next 30 years at a high price of 20 billion. Of course, this also includes the Los Angeles Sparks."

"God! This contract allows the Lakers to have an annual income of nearly 1.5 million. No wonder Fox Sports and KCAL-TV finally gave up the contract. This is incredible!"

Presti couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth when he heard the words of the two staff members, and he also confirmed a piece of news...

The Celtics also have a new broadcast deal with Comcast SportsNet New England.

This agreement allows the Celtics to obtain a 20% stake in this regional sports channel, and the local media revenue is expected to double directly, and $5000 million is not a problem!

The two veteran teams released news after the finals, as if they were showing their muscles, so what about the championship?

We can still make money without a championship!
Presti, as the team's general manager, saw the news and naturally picked up lemons. The Lakers got such a broadcast contract, and the team's market value directly increased by 40%!

The Lakers, which stopped in the Western Conference semifinals, actually got a super broadcast contract. Thinking that his boss is still worrying about the team's local broadcast, Presti felt helpless.

The broadcast contract can indeed make a lot of money for the team. The league stipulates that the broadcast fee for the city where the team is located and the surrounding area within a radius of 70 miles from the arena is the center of the team. Therefore, each team has a place to broadcast. immediate requirement!
After winning the championship, team owner Clayton Bennett united several shareholders and once again lobbied Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett. The team and the city worked together to get a decent salary. Local broadcast contracts.

But it's a pity that there has been no progress in the past two days. Of course, there are many broadcast companies who are interested. After all, the Thunder has three superstars, but when they heard that the Thunder planned to make all free channels for the next two years, everyone started Tai Chi...

"Do you think there will be support from fans if we charge for broadcasting next season?"

After reading the news, Presti was so sad that he couldn't help but discussed the matter with the Thunder staff.

"The boss will not agree. This is the promise he made when he moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City. He can't just win the championship and start making Oklahoma City fans spend money. If this is the case, wouldn't it be better to stay in Seattle? ?”

"I believe that most Oklahoma City fans don't like to spend money to watch the game on TV. We have been broadcasting it for free for the past two years, and the fans are also used to this broadcasting method."

"Actually, it's the same in all regions. I saw a lot of Lakers fans on Reddit scolding Old Buss..."

"Our work has also yielded some results in the past two days. We got a new contract for the naming rights of the arena, a 12-year agreement, $1 million in the first year, and an annual increase of 300%. I think it's not bad!"

Hearing this, Presti was even more sad, 300 million dollars is a drop in the bucket for the big contract that is about to be renewed. Although Love''s Travel Stops, a chain retail company, also plans to increase sponsorship, it is destined that the amount will not too big.

They're sponsoring a live kissing camera after all...

Presti felt that something seemed to change after the Thunder won the championship, but nothing seemed to change.

The fans are more enthusiastic, broadcasting and sponsorship are still stretching their hips, and thinking of the impending lockout and the new labor agreement, Presti silently complained:
"Let's prepare for the draft. This may be the only thing that can be done in recent months..."

...

On June 6, after resting in Oklahoma City for two days, Li Ze went to New York again non-stop.

The youngest MVP+FMVP in history made him famous in America's sports circle.

With such an achievement at the age of 20, America's sports reporters will certainly not let go of this hot spot.

Just after the finals, Time Warner's "Sports Illustrated" sent a special invitation to Chapman.

The established magazine has a huge user base, with nearly 2000 million people reading it every week.

Although Li Ze prefers their swimsuit special issue, becoming the cover character of Sports Illustrated, plus an exclusive interview, can still bring him a lot of popularity, so he must accept this job.

And the interview with the "New York Times" also could not be refused. Big Machine Records has always cooperated very well with the other party. Li Ze also had to agree to this simple request.

After a week or so in New York, he still has to go on to Los Angeles. The B/R interview with the bleachers has to continue, and the invitations from Yahoo Sports, ESPN, and TNT have to be greeted with a smile.

After all, in the selection of MVP and FMVP, the senior reporters of these sports media have all contributed. In order to continue to maintain a good relationship, various activities have to give face...

In New York in June, the average daytime temperature is around 6 degrees, so the pedestrians on the street are also very cool.

"Don't tell me it's the tiny house Tyler talked about!"

Li Ze looked helplessly at Chapman beside him, who could only helplessly shrug his shoulders, and then comforted him in a low voice:

"This apartment is really good, and it will definitely increase in value in the future. Uh, the lower floor is owned by Peter Jackson, the director of "Lord of the Rings". It took me a lot of effort to get him to sell the house to Taylor!"

Li Ze was a little speechless in his heart. He didn't care about the director of "The Lord of the Rings". There was no such thing as a celebrity plot with him. The main reason was that the house cost more than 1800 million dollars. He felt a little heartbroken when he thought of it, prodigal bitch !
He promised Taylor to contribute half of the capital, and thinking that this girl will buy a house in July, Li Ze feels that the money earned from music will sooner or later become a house...

This apartment is located at No. 155 Franklin Street, New York. It has 7 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. The upper and lower floors are connected to form a super-large duplex apartment. The decoration taste of the big director is really good, and the overall is low-key and luxurious.

To make money, you have to spend. Li Ze gave himself a psychological massage. At present, part of the dollars he earns from music is invested in Keds, and part is reserved for the Dutton family. The remaining 1/3 is for him to spend personally.

Coupled with the millions of dollars in the rookie contract, the daily expenses are completely fine, but according to Taylor's spending, his "creation" speed has to be accelerated...

Seeing Li Ze slumped on the sofa, Chapman suddenly became salty, and couldn't help comforting him again:

"Don't worry, Kayce, we still have two quarters of unaccounted income, good concerts will continue to bring in dollars."

"Don't forget that your singles are still on the billboard. After re-shooting the MV, we will re-promote the whole album, and it will definitely sell a lot!"

The studio album Night Visions sold well, topping the US Rock Albums, Alternative Albums and Digital Download sales charts in its first week of release.

At present, several singles are still in the top 40 of Billboard, and the sales in the UK are also very good.

"Sports Illustrated is really going to give me the Sportsman of the Year award? Doesn't this thing need PR? I remember we don't have a PR fee for sports."

Hearing Li Ze's straightforward words, Chapman couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth, and then began to explain:

"In America, sometimes there is some sportsmanship, the most important thing is your age."

"20 years old! You have won two such important achievements in the NBA, and you deserve the award. Of course, after winning the award, it will be difficult to refuse the other party's invitation. Sports Illustrated is a weekly magazine. In short, this must be a Good thing!"

Li Ze sat up straight and asked Chapman again:
"Besides shooting the cover, is there anything else that needs to be paid attention to during the interview?"

"Praise teammates, coaches, opponents, show some confidence appropriately, and promote the team by the way, and promote the record company if you have the opportunity, that's all!"

"The editor-in-chief Paul Fechenbaum is a very easy-going person. Don't worry, media reporters can tell stories better than you. As long as you answer his questions normally, the rest of the work is their business."

Li Ze couldn't help curling his lips, making that out of nothing again.

Just like his image in China, he actually went to nightclubs a lot, but the domestic media turned a blind eye and promoted him as a model player.

The same is true for America. Most of the stars had a miserable childhood, and finally relied on basketball to counterattack, win Bai Fumei, and reach the pinnacle of life. This kind of old-fashioned story, the audience can't get enough of it.

The most typical example is the Lakers. If there is a role player who performs very well, then the media in Los Angeles can pick up all his life in the past few decades and process it into a short sad essay.

Of course, some players are really miserable, but there are still some that rely on marketing, and star players are no exception. There is no way, after all, fans like counterattacks...

"The old magazine workflow is so boring, don't tell me tonight's talk show, it's the same!"

Chapman gave Li Ze a strange look, and then said in a mysterious tone:

"Don't worry, it's also an NBC program. Jimmy is much younger than Jay Leno, and "Late Late Show" is more relaxed, suitable for young people like you!"

Li Ze didn't notice the tone of the other party at all. He had watched talk shows since he was a child, and most of them were chatting all the time. He stood up and moved his body again.

Tonight is going to be on the show, and Alexandra will come to pick him up after that, and the friendly match has to continue...

"Don't pick me up at night, maybe Presti will talk to us about the contract after a while, don't forget to bring two professional sports agents, the new labor agreement will definitely change, remember Prepare in advance."

"It's a trivial matter, don't be late for tomorrow morning's activities."

"... "

"The Tonight Show" is an evening talk variety show created by NBC. China's Art Life is actually somewhat similar to this show, and it is a household name in Amelia.

But Li Ze is quite indifferent to this show, too many zz are correct.

Therefore, Chapman helped him choose the "Late Night Show", which has just risen in recent years, during the NBC invitation.

The headquarters of NBC is in Rockefeller Center. As one of the three major commercial broadcasting companies in America, the reception process is impeccable.

Jimmy Fallon was the host of the 62nd Emmy Awards last year and is currently one of the most popular TV hosts in America.

The first time the two met, the popular host who used to be a one-man show actor gave Li Ze a big hug.

"Kayce, welcome to my show. I'm a big fan of yours. I was there when you broke Wilt Chamberlain's record at Barclays Center. God, that was incredible!"

Although Jimmy Fallon was wearing a dark gray suit with a white shirt and a black tie, he looked serious, but his tone of voice was cadenced and his expression was extremely exaggerated.

"Wow! I didn't expect that I also have superstar fans. Can you tell me what is going on tonight? You know, this is the first time I've been on a talk show."

Li Ze was wearing a dark blue handmade suit with a simple gray shirt.

He even fiddled with his hair for the show. At the same time, he wore the silver snake earring given to him by his blond sister on his left ear. He looks young and handsome, but he exudes a mature atmosphere, so he looks very attractive...

If the few female spectators at the scene were not stopped by the staff, they would have charged up to take a group photo at this time. Seeing Li Ze waving at them, there was another commotion.

"Don't worry, Kayce, Chapman and I are old acquaintances, tonight's theme is joy, take it easy, just treat it as an ordinary talk show!"

Li Ze looked at Jimmy Fallon, and always felt that the other party was going to make trouble. After all, this guy in front of him once performed comedy sketches on NBC's Saturday Night Live, and his ability to organize is really excellent...

The live arrangement of "The Late Show" is very simple. Dozens of live audiences act as the atmosphere group, plus a small band. The host Jimmy Fallon sits behind the table, and Li Ze sits on the small sofa beside him. The two talked almost face to face...

When the on-site director signaled that it could start, the atmosphere group burst into cheers.

"Welcome to the Jimmy Late Show. I am very happy to invite the youngest MVP in the NBA to the scene tonight, and he is also an excellent music producer. Let us welcome Kayce-LI together!"

Li Ze also smiled and simply raised his hands to applaud. The host Jimmy finished the opening and immediately asked with a smile:

"The NBA Finals have just ended, and I'm very curious. Who do you think is the most difficult opponent in the entire playoffs?"

"Definitely the Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki is crazy!"

When the host Jimmy heard Li Ze's words, he immediately asked in an exaggerated tone:

"Wow, I thought you were going to say Kobe or James, after all, they are more topical, aren't they?"

The audience at the scene all smiled heartily. As New York fans, seeing the Lakers and Heat lose the championship, everyone is in a good mood...

"But in fact, the two of them did not bother me too much. We swept the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals. In the finals, Gentleman swept the Heat. So, you know!"

The atmosphere group suddenly chirped, and Jimmy Fallon asked again at this time:
"We all know that there will be some trash talk in the NBA game. After you have played in the league for two seasons and achieved such achievements, will any player talk trash to you?"

Li Ze did not speak, but put on a serious look, stretched five fingers with his left hand, and posed twice to the host Jimmy.

"What?"

"Talk to me after winning 5 championships!"

"You're done! I'm going to destroy you in the low post tonight!"

Li Ze imitated Kobe's tone, and then shrugged his shoulders after speaking, acting very helpless...

"Oh! Is this really Kobe?"

"Of course, that's the kind of trash talk I get, old-school players always like to talk about the championship!"

The host Jimmy slapped his forehead at this time, and asked curiously again:
"Did you give a response? I mean, what should players do when they encounter this kind of, uh, championship trash talk?"

"Kobe has 5 championships. There was really nothing to say at the time, but we eliminated the Lakers in the end. Victory is the best response!"

The atmosphere group at the scene booed again. At this time, the host Jimmy changed the subject and immediately chatted about things in his childhood:

"Kayce, we all know that you spent elementary and junior high in the University of Montgomery. It is a beautiful place. You joined the chorus when you were still in junior high. The program team even found a precious video for this. !"

When Li Ze heard this, the corners of his mouth twitched, thinking of the embarrassing experience of the chorus team in junior high school, he felt like he was going to die...

Sure enough, in the next second, the scene switched directly to the video. When everyone saw Li Ze wearing a school uniform, with white powder on his face and thick eyebrows, and a loveless expression appearing on the screen, the atmosphere group burst into laughter .

Coupled with the proud look of the little girl holding his hand, the expressions of the two are in stark contrast, and everyone laughs even more happily...

"Is this something that can be shown on an NBC show..."

The person who took the video seemed to be trembling all over because of their expressions, so the picture looked a little unstable. When the two sang together, the little girl's voice was high, and Li Ze's voice was depressed. This strong contrast made the scene once again all smiles...

"Thank you very much to Taylor's mother for providing this precious video. God, when I watched it for the first time, the people on the show laughed like crazy. You two have changed so much when you grow up!"

Feeling the joyful atmosphere of the scene, Li Ze laughed out loud on the surface, but he couldn't complain in his heart:

"Is the final destination of DIVA a sketch..."

The "Late Night Show" program eventually turned into Li Ze's small solo concert. Almost all of the half-hour program was promoting his and Taylor's album.

In order to make money, Li Ze had to perform as a performer, almost singing and dancing Rap directly!
On the morning of June 6th, Li Ze woke up directly from being crushed. Looking at Alexandra on her body, he couldn't laugh or cry. This person regarded him as a pillow and hugged him tightly.
Gently pulled twice, and found that Dabo Yujie was still tightly wrapped around him, and suddenly realized that the other party was pretending to sleep, lifted the quilt on his body, and slapped his right hand hard:
"Snapped!"

"what!"

Alexandra suddenly exclaimed, seeing Li Ze's smirk, she immediately rode on him and beat him fiercely.

"Get up! I have to go to Sports Illustrated to shoot the cover at 10 o'clock, and I have an interview in the afternoon, so I can't be late!"

"It doesn't matter! I haven't slept enough, I went to bed so late last night, skipped breakfast, and slept a little longer!"

Due to the intense friendly match last night, the black-haired Dabo Yujie was severely deprived of sleep at this time. Under the blessing of getting up, the two fought and played another overtime match.

In the end, he really didn't have breakfast, and Li Ze was almost late, the goblin is harmful!
As a world-renowned sports magazine, the front desk girl who was in charge of receiving Li Ze was also very ZZ correct, one black and one white, the two of them looked quite standard, and immediately notified the editor-in-chief Paul when she saw Li Ze's arrival.

"Kayce, welcome to Sports Illustrated. In fact, we wanted to do an exclusive interview about you last year, but it's not too late now. Come on, let me show you around the headquarters first!"

"Thank you very much for your hospitality!"

After editor-in-chief Paul took Li Ze around for a long time, the two sides quickly got to the point. However, the morning was all about filming, and most of the staff also watched the NBA. The scene turned into a fan meeting for a while.

With enough time, Li Ze chatted with the staff, and involuntarily talked about this year's draft.

"The Cavaliers won the No. [-] lottery. I bet there must be something shady!"

"James left Cleveland, the league wanted to compensate the Cavaliers, after all, Cleveland's current ball market is too bad."

"Shet! The Knicks rank first in market capitalization. This year they traded Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, but they were eliminated in the first round!"

"Kayce, will you choose New York in the future? We all hope to see you at Madison Square Garden."

Hearing such an inquiry, Li Ze just replied with a smile:

"I'm only 20 years old, everything is possible in the future, let's leave the problem to time!"

"If the Knicks can also select a player like Kayce, then the future will definitely rise. Unfortunately, in recent years, New York has been the grave of newcomers."

"Okay guys! This is the end of the small chat. There is still a lot of work to do today. After the shooting in the morning, there will be an interview in the afternoon. Everyone hurry up."

The work flow of professional sports magazines is very standardized, and there is no finishing touch in the afternoon interview, and all the questions are well-regulated.

Editor-in-chief Paul also assured Li Ze that as long as the magazine is released next week, the reading volume will definitely exceed 3000 million!
This is also due to the popularity of the "Late Night Show" last night. Viewers who don't watch the NBA will involuntarily have a good impression of Li Ze after watching this episode.

Everyone loves stories, Amelica, and everyone loves skits!
Sometimes the attention of NBA stars is not as good as that of a well-known singer, but with the blessing of 2-in-1, Li Ze has completely broken the circle this year.

When he returned to Alexandra's home in the evening, Li Ze couldn't help his stomach twitching when he saw some blackened steaks on the dining table.

"Alex, why don't you go out to eat at night? It always feels weird staying at your house, I'm afraid your father will appear suddenly!"

Li Ze quickly reminded this sister that if she was found playing a friendly match at home, something serious would happen.

Alexandra gave Li Ze a white look, and said very calmly:
"We're all adults, aren't we? Do you dislike my cooking? Don't change the subject!"

"."

The arms couldn't be twisted, but fortunately, the dishes were poorly presented, but they tasted pretty good. While eating the steak, Li Ze saw that Alexandra was still looking lazy, and asked again:

"Don't you have a suitable script yet? You don't want to say goodbye to Hollywood after making a movie, do you?"

"Hollywood movies are like an assembly line. A lot of rubbish is produced every year. Little actors have to make that kind of brainless bad movie in order to make a living, but I'm not interested in participating in it."

Li Ze suddenly couldn't complain. Alexandra's so-called lack of money is actually gnawing on the old. After returning to New York, this sister went directly to the law firm where his father was a partner.
"If you're bored, just do me a favor. The album needs to be re-shooted with a music video, so you won't have to take care of the printer at the law firm every day!"

Alexandra was overjoyed when she heard the first half of Li Ze's sentence, but she instantly frowned when she heard the second half, and immediately glared at Li Ze and shouted:

"What does it mean to take care of a printer!"

"."

After dinner, it was a rare leisure time, but when Li Ze swiped the prediction of the 2011 draft pick on his mobile phone, he just drank the juice he was importing and almost spit it out:

"What the hell! Klay's No. 11 pick? Kawhi Leonard No. [-]? Jimmy Butler No. [-]?"

"Is this ESPN's ranking? An amplified butterfly effect?"

　Thank you for your subscription support~
　　After getting through Friday, I will definitely increase my efforts on the weekend. I failed to catch fish today.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)