Basketball: The Chosen Victim

Chapter 17 The Rage of the Cavaliers Boss
Daniel Gilbert, the millionaire owner of the Cavaliers, sits on a large boss chair with his arms crossed, with the veins on his forehead exposed, staring at the "Candid Man" on the desk.

Obviously, he is not in a good mood at the moment.

The phone rang, and it was Chris Grant, his newly appointed team general manager:
"Boss, the "Honest Man" still refuses to withdraw the manuscript..."

"Damn it, just buy them for me! I don't believe it anymore, that traitor doesn't recognize the maximum salary, and this local tabloid dares not recognize the money?!"

Gilbert yelled on the hands-free, he is one of the top three wealth value existences among NBA team owners, and he is also the most generous among them, and some of them are endlessly spent by Mane!
"Boss, I believe..."

Grant laughed dryly. As the general manager who ascended from the original position of assistant general manager, he tried to make some jokes with Gilbert these days to narrow the distance between the two.

"Get out! Do you think you are very humorous? Before tomorrow, if you don't withdraw the manuscript, I will withdraw you!"

Gilbert hung up the phone fiercely, finished cursing, and fell into deep self-doubt again——

Did he usually behave too kindly, which caused his subordinates to recruit a bunch of crouching dragons and phoenix chicks?

Sighing, Gilbert dialed David Stern again on speakerphone:
"Stern, it won't work like this! The bargaining power of the players in the league has skyrocketed, and the balance between the players and the team has been completely broken. How can the team play in the future? Can you deny this deal from the league level? ?”

"I understand your feelings, Gilbert, believe me, I deeply understand your feelings!"

Stern paused. As the president of the NBA, he has also had a headache recently.

Before that, "That Decision" was just a bad start, but now "Irreplaceable" has greatly deepened this imbalance.

Many stars who couldn't win the championship ring due to team lineup problems and didn't even make the playoffs began to move around, hoping to play like James for a summer!
But in this way, the commercial ecology of the league will be endangered. After all, the loyalty of the stars is gone, so how can fans be expected to spend money on souvenirs of those teams?
Thinking of this, Stern said worriedly:

"The broken balance you just mentioned is indeed a problem. We are studying it and believe that this loophole should be filled when the new labor agreement is launched next year... But you know, this deal has already been made, No one can deny it anymore.”

Gilbert angrily tore the "Candide" on the table into pieces, and roared angrily:
"Obviously I offered the highest price! Why, why did you go to another team!!"

Stern reassured:

"Gilbert, think about it another way. If you do this, don't you save a lot of money every year?"

But Gilbert didn't take this set:
"I haven't omitted this word in my dictionary! What I need most is Mane! Stern, I told you this when I bought the team in [-], and I will tell you again now, what I need is to win. The satisfaction it brings!"

Gilbert's words obviously shocked Stern, a money fanatic, he digested it for a while before laughing:
"Gilbert, among the team owners, there are not many people who really play the team. Paul Allen is one, and you are one. Others operate the team as an industry."

Stern's words reminded Gilbert:

"That's right! Stern, you've hit the point! These people are not as rich as me and Allen!"

"You can modify the rules of the luxury tax to be progressive. The more you exceed, the more you pay. If you exceed [-] million, you will pay [-] million. If you exceed [-] million, you will pay [-] million!"

"In this way, Alisson's second-generation boatman will not be able to pay the luxury tax! If this happens, the Big Three will be disbanded! Will I be able to form a new Big Three? Haha..."

Stern fell silent. He was just teasing, but he didn't expect Gilbert to be serious!
Progressive luxury tax, I have to say, this is indeed a brilliant idea...

If you want to form a giant combination, you should pay more taxes to the league, and then distribute the taxes to the owners of the major teams. This will not only calm the anger of others, but also get more dividends for the league management.

However, he never expected that such a clause was proposed by Gilbert...

You know, although doing so may dismantle the Big Three, Alisson refused to pay the luxury tax, and you Gilbert, last season when James was not paid the maximum salary, the league paid the most luxury tax. you……

It can only be said that if you have money, you can do whatever you want!
"This proposal is worth studying, from Cavaliers owner Daniel Gilbert!"

Stern said with forgetfulness, "Don't worry, the league pays great attention to game balance. If you want to play, you can play, but if you want to whore for nothing, there is no way!"

Hearing this, Gilbert finally squeezed out a smile. This was the best revenge method he could think of.

Stern finally exhorted: "Gilbert, I know you have money, but don't make trouble with money, pay more attention to that Chinese player, maybe he will bring you unexpected wealth!"

"You know the statistics of the league. Over the years, the NBA's global income basically depends on China!"

Gilbert expressed his understanding, and took advantage of the conversation to suggest that Stern also arrange some resources, and the two ended the conversation happily.

Just hang up the phone, the bell rang again, it was Grant:
"Boss, the "Honest Man" rejected the offer, saying we couldn't afford it...but under pressure they decided to withdraw the manuscript..."

Gilbert felt angry and funny when he heard his uneasy words, and scolded directly:
"Idiot! People say we can't afford it is just a joke! The boss of "Honest Man" knows me very well. I let you say that. After he realized the seriousness of the matter, he immediately put pressure on the people below!"

"Are you reporting these insignificant details to me now, are you trying to annoy me!?"

Grant immediately sneered and said:
"Ahaha, how dare I be mad at you, I know they are joking, so I told you."

"I won't say, you know what a fart!"

Gilbert's face was dark, and he continued: "Have you found any news yet? Grant, my patience is limited now, you better prove your worth!"

Grant heard the words and answered in a hurry:

"They also said... By the way, they also said that the source of this article actually came from Wu Di! The columnist was originally entrusted by the coach of the Ohio State school team to write a soft article about Wu Di, but Wu Di specifically asked that The columnist hacked him!"

"what?"

Gilbert was a little surprised, but his eyes lit up immediately:
"This kid is very smart."

"Huh? Really?"

Grant thought he had misheard. Although Gilbert was generous, he had never been a gentle master. Rude words were the norm. In his impression, he had never praised anyone.

But now, he actually praised such a Wu Di who made people blacken him?
Gilbert doesn't like irony, does he?
No wonder Gilbert scolded him the worst, but he made him the general manager...

Grant's eyes widened, recalling some of the things that had happened before, he seemed to suddenly understand something.

"Smarter than you anyway!"

Gilbert chuckled. Only by doing this can Wu Di get attention safely. Otherwise, any praise will be a poison.

But he didn't bother to explain to Grant. Although he made Grant the general manager, what he valued was Grant's execution ability, and if something happened, someone would stand up and take the blame.

At the beginning of this season, he decided to participate in this game more deeply!
In fact, what Stern said is a bit superfluous, as a self-made entrepreneur, no matter how much money he has, he can't live with it!
On the contrary, Gilbert really wants to make money, but he doesn't like the small money of the team, and wants to make big money in business!

The word "Quick Loan" in the Quicken Loans Arena is his business, but it is not a small loan, but a large loan such as a house loan and a car loan.

Grasp the big and let go of the small, which has always been Gilbert's creed of success.

As for the lending business, if you want to expand the scale, you rely on one word, reputation.

Therefore, he needs the team to keep winning. In order to win, even if he pays a sky-high luxury tax to build a giant combination, he will not hesitate!

"Have someone drive over my Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended Edition and greet the media team. I'm going to pick Wu Di back to Cleveland in person!"

(End of this chapter)