When pride still matters

Chapter 371 The First Supersonic Speed

"I hope you're not bored."

Presti's last words reminded Yu Fei of something from his rookie season.

Yu Fei was deeply impressed by Jordan's way of handling many things, and many of them even affected his current principles of doing things. But there is one thing about Jordan that Yu Fei does not have.

That is Jordan's possessiveness about his own commercial value.

Jordan didn't like teams making money in his name, which is what every team with a superstar will do.

This is why Jordan and the Wizards' then-executive Susan O'Mary were incompatible.

O'Mary wanted to squeeze every bit of value out of Jordan, but Jordan always felt that commercial value was his bargaining chip. If the Wizards wanted it, they had to make concessions to him in some aspects. This self-reliant mentality caused Jordan to mess up all DC's personnel relationships, and also laid the foundation for his light-speed purge by Pauline after his retirement.

Yu Fei doesn't mind this kind of thing, especially now.

Only if the Sonics make money off of him can they prove they are a franchise that can make a financial impact on Seattle.

If the team gives up on maintaining this relationship, wouldn't it indirectly signal to fans that they are ready to leave?

After saying that, Yu Fei left.

It's just that neither Presti nor Bennett expected that something fierce would come from the sky.

Otherwise, as Nick Licata said, a team that loses money every year doesn't deserve the best arena. It is also a waste.

The part Presti is responsible for is alienating the team from Seattle fans. Measures to alienate fans include but are not limited to raising ticket prices, no longer paying tribute to the team's history, pressing the reset button on team building, and drastically reducing community-related activities. , place a large group of poorly qualified staff at the front desk.
The plan went so well that as of June this year, Seattle's approval rating in the city was down 20% compared to last year.

Initially, this was part of Clay Bennett's whole bigger plan, and Presti was just following orders.

If the SuperSonics, which owns the Key Arena, is running with a heavy burden, then Yu Fei's performance so far is basically running towards the "big market shame" plaque while carrying the debuff of the home court and the broken management. .

Presti watched Yu Fei leave.

Every day, Yu Fei is busy.

Yu Fei's transfer tripled the SuperSonics' support, and the lifeless ball market suddenly became popular. So far this summer, Yu Fei's No. 44 jersey has topped the league's best-selling jersey list.

The chain reaction of joining the super giant, the almost terrifying commercial value and the ability to attract money shocked Clay Bennett.

If he had to use one word to describe Yu Fei's life in Seattle, Presti would use the word "rush."

He knew Bennett had decided to move the team, but the plan was made at the top.

Presti said: "It's up to Lanny if he is willing. He is the president of the team. I am not qualified to ask him to engage in community activities."

Even the majority shareholder of the team would not care about the team as much as he does.

Just one week into the season, the Sonics made $2000 million.

“I won’t get bored,” Yu Fei said, “Also, I hope to have Lenny (Wilkens) go with me. He is the most famous local basketball practitioner. With him around, things will go much smoother. "

Presti only knew part of the team's move.

It's common knowledge that Bennett wants to move the Sonics. Just like people knew he was lying when Schultz Howard promised he would keep the team during his press conference announcing the Sonics' change of ownership.

He even noticed the team's lack of community activities.

The average player avoids this thankless task, but he clearly knows that this is the most direct way for the team to contact local fans.

According to the SuperSonics' internal statistics, if this situation continues, by the end of the season, the SuperSonics will easily meet the basic indicator of a large-market team - season revenue of US$100 million.

Bennett, a lifelong Oklahoman, vowed to have an NBA team in his hometown, but the commercial gains created by Yu Fei made him no longer firm.

So the latest news Presti got was a change of plans.

But how to change and where to change, he didn't know, and Bennett didn't say anything, so these measures to alienate fans were not revoked until Yu Fei took the initiative to report this issue.

Public opinion, politicians, alliance will, boss wishes.

These are the four difficulties Yu Fei faces. Now, he has shaken his boss's determination.

Presti still feels that the relocation of the SuperSonics is the general trend. All attempts to keep the team have been exhausted during the Schultz Howard era. If the Sonics were not unprofitable in the local area, Seattle, which is full of rich people, would definitely Not going to sit back and watch the opportunity to both make money and keep the team in the Emerald City.

Since the coffee king sold the team to outsiders, there are only three possibilities.

Only out-of-town defenses are willing to buy, the coffee king wants revenge on the fans, or... the craziest possibility for Presti - the league needs to punish Seattle as a warning to other cities: Teams that don't support you will lose you. team. So, the Sonics were sold to out-of-towners.

Therefore, Presti believes that Yu Fei has little hope of success, but his courage is commendable. This is completely a Don Quixote-style choice.

He admired such people. Although they could not help, they would not be a hindrance. Moreover, if he had to choose between the Emerald City and the Explosive City, he would still prefer the city where it rained.

Seriously, how many sane humans would choose a city that is world-famous for bombings by madmen?

Just as Presti's thoughts were wandering, his boss called.

Bennett only had a brief sentence on the phone: "We have just formulated a new financing plan, and the draft has been sent to your mailbox."

"Do you want Fry to know about this?"

"Not yet."

The phone hung up. It was Bennett's style to be direct. He would not spend ten minutes talking nonsense and then use 10 seconds to say what he wanted to say. Presti opened the draft financing proposal in his mailbox.

"WTF?!!!"

※※※

Lenny Wilkens never thought he would be following the league's most powerful player at a "Save Our Sonics" rally handing out souvenirs of Sonics history.

Wilkens' initial impression of Fei was not good. He only thought that he was a combination of Big O and Wilt, a person who thought highly of himself and was greedy for data.

For him, the worst thing about such a person is that he does not understand the importance of respecting his teammates and the team. Because they see themselves as greater than God.

But during the training camp, Wilkens had made a guest appearance as a player. When Yu Fei received a pass from him and scored, the arrogant active first man looked at him unexpectedly and asked like an idiot. : "Lanny, have you ever played ball before?"

At that moment, Wilkens smiled: "Yeah, I've played before."

Unbeknownst to the First Man, he had inadvertently accomplished what many lifelong actors in the 50s and 60s were unable to do - make Lanny Wilkens laugh.

Now, he's still the No. 1 player, and he's more involved in the team's community activities than anyone else.

He wore a T-shirt with the SuperSonics logo and handed out gifts to randomly selected fans.

"Fry, save our Sonics!"

one fan shouted excitedly.

“I can’t do this alone, so I need your help and support.”

Yu Fei responded with a smile.

If a person's charm has a numerical value, then the first person's current charm will be full points.

There was no arrogance, no condescension, not even a hint of impatience with fans who demanded so much.

He reminded Wilkens of Magic Johnson at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

That's a monster who can sign autographs for fans for 5 hours in a row without getting tired.

A born public figure.

During this period, an old man appeared. He was wearing the No. 1978 jersey of the 79-43 season (Jake Sikma). He kept saying that he was a fan of the SuperSonics in the late 60s, the era of the league's national expansion. For this identity alone, he deserves three souvenirs because he doesn't know if the team he has supported for forty years will still be here next year.

"OK, then I'm going to test you." The first person asked, "Who was the first star in the history of the SuperSonics?"

If his answer wasn't Lenny Wilkens, the first guy would just give him a souvenir.

Unexpectedly, the old man actually said an unfamiliar name: "No. 21, Bob Rule (Bob Rule PF/C), he is the original Sonics."

The first person who didn't know the authenticity looked at Wilkens.

"He's right." A nostalgic look appeared on Wilkens's unwavering face. "Bob was the original Sonic."

"Is he right?"

"Completely correct."

"You are the most senior fan today, can you tell me your name?"

"Joe Kennedy."

The first person was happy when he heard this: "Are you an optimist?"

"Hahaha, how do you know?"

Wilkens didn't say a word. This high-ranking best player in the league dealt with all kinds of fans today, but he didn't show the slightest bit of unprofessionalism.

As the biggest face of the league, he fully fulfilled his mission and made fans feel respected and valued.

Wilkens believes that those fans who came into contact with the first man today will never forget it in their lifetime.

A few hours later, they were on their way home.

"Lanny, do you think we have enough time?"

Wilkens rarely saw lack of confidence on the young man's face.

After seeing so many Seattle-supporting fans in person, he should be optimistic, but instead his mood turned negative.

"Don't you think there's enough time?"

"I don't know." Yu Fei said, "The fans I met today are the most loyal fans. They will support the team no matter what. I just gave them some encouragement on behalf of the team today. However, those who do not support the team What about the people? What does the things I do mean to them?"

Wilkens always has only one expression, just like those unsmiling people in the second dimension.

Yu Fei's pessimism about the future made him feel that despite his omnipotence, he also had the fragility of a mortal. When he felt that no matter how hard he tried, it was not right, he would of course doubt whether he could accomplish his goal.

"Do you know the Mariners?" Wilkens's voice is like Morgan Freeman's, giving people a sense of time and years. "They almost moved away in 1995..."

(End of this chapter)