I was determined to be bad, but I went straight to the Basketball Hall of Fame

Chapter 502 Help him face
Min Congda arrived in Michael Jordan's 2700-square-meter mansion in Charlotte, North Carolina in the afternoon.

Jordan's daily schedule is very busy, but he still spared precious time to meet with Min Congda.

After all, Min Congda has become famous in the league in the past two years. From the perspective of a team manager, he is much "excellent" than Jordan.

Of course, Jordan is Jordan. He is the most important stroke in the history of basketball. No matter how he is a boss, a management or a coach, his brilliance cannot be dimmed a bit.

Jordan met Min Congda on his tennis court. He just finished playing tennis and won over his tennis coach.

Then, wearing a towel, he handed Min Congda a cigar, shook hands with Min Congda, and sat down to smoke the cigar by himself.

Jordan didn't know what was going to be discussed in the meeting, and Adam Silva didn't tell him.

It stands to reason that Jordan would not agree to such a meeting, but the president spoke, and it was Smart-Min again, Jordan still wanted to give this face.

He also wondered in his heart, more than half of the season has passed, and the trade deadline has passed, what can Smart come to talk about?
Definitely has nothing to do with player trades.

Is it a business cooperation?

If it is a business cooperation, just talk to your own agent, there is no need to meet in person.

And now that Jordan is the big boss, he basically won't do any more endorsements or advertisements.

He has successfully promoted from a top wage earner working for the league to an upper class figure who controls the destiny of the team.

Could it be that this guy is here for the "pilgrimage"?

For many basketball fans, Jordan is the out-and-out "Holy Mountain".

How many fans who love basketball, including many NBA stars, are proud to meet and shake hands with Jordan.

It stands to reason that a veteran basketball player like Min Congda is also Chinese, and Jordan knows his influence in China.

However, the two met before at the shareholders meeting after the lockout. Jordan was very impressed with Min Congda, and Min Congda didn't seem to have any special feelings for Jordan.

If he really wanted to make a "pilgrimage", there was no need to take this time to come and meet at Jordan's house alone.

With these thoughts flashing through his mind, Jordan is now very confused. He saw Min Congda take the cigar, light it, put it in his mouth and take a puff.

"Cough cough!"

Min Congda coughed twice, and Jordan smiled. It seemed that this kid didn't smoke cigars very much.

"This smell is a bit choking." Min Congda said.

"Just get used to it," Jordan said, taking another drag.

He is a heavy lover of cigars, and he liked to smoke when he was playing.

Cigars represent victory, he likes cigars, and he likes victory even more.

"Cigars represent victory in the NBA, don't they?" Min Congda asked knowingly.

"Of course, the victory cigar. I used to wear him every time I won the championship." Jordan recalled his glorious experience of winning the championship in the past. It was the pinnacle memory of his life and will never be forgotten.

"Then... don't you have a chance to enjoy such a victory cigar moment in the future?"

Min Congda took another puff, this time he didn't cough, but frowned, and said this very heartbreaking sentence.

Jordan's complexion changed slightly, and he said, "Smart, did you come here just to curse me? I think our meeting is almost over, and I still have something to do."

Qiao Dan was about to get up and leave, and Min Congda's rudeness irritated him.

Min Congda said, "Do you really think the Charlotte Bobcats can win the championship? To be honest, do you have confidence?"

Jordan is an extremely confident person, especially when he was a player, his confidence was overwhelming, which is the key to his success.

But there were two stages in which Jordan's confidence was hit.

One is when he was playing baseball, he finally found out that he did have areas that he was not good at.

He's really not good at baseball.

One is now, when you are the team management and the owner.

Whether it is a small boss in the Wizards or a big boss in the Bobcats.

Sometimes he can't wait to take off his jacket and put on his jersey to play in person.

Unfortunately, he can't, even if he can, he tried it when he was in the Wizards, but it didn't work.

The NBA is no longer his world.

Even the god of basketball must obey the laws of nature.

He realized that he has never been able to touch the team management.

After entering the Bobcats in 06, this is already the sixth season, and it is reasonable to complete the reconstruction in six years.

But looking at the rapidly rebuilding teams next door, as well as the draft picks, Jordan didn't know what the Bobcats picked or what they were playing.

Especially this season, as the regular season is coming to an end, the Bobcats have recorded the longest losing streak in history with 23 consecutive losses!
Their record is also very likely to be only single-digit wins, which is a huge shame no matter how you look at it.

As the big boss of the team, Jordan's heart is bleeding, it's too bad, it's a complete humiliation to him.

Therefore, when Min Congda asked this question, Jordan, who has always been confident, lost his confidence.

He didn't answer Min Congda's question directly, but said: "I don't know why I answer your question, I think you should leave."

Facing Jordan's extremely oppressive eviction order, Min Congda did not back down.

Before he came, he had thought about how to talk to Jordan about it.

Min Congda has always been a straightforward person, but this time he didn't.

He understands Jordan's temperament, he must arouse Jordan's emotions, so that he is interested in listening to his advice and completing a difficult team change operation.

Min Congda stood up, took a sip of his cigar, and lightly exhaled a smoke ring.

Said, "You see, I got used to it by the third draw, which means I'm a born winner, doesn't it?"

When he said this, Min Congda sighed eighteen times in his heart. It feels really uncomfortable to lie.

What a born winner, I just want to be the biggest loser!Lose to me!

Min Congda continued: "The reason why you want to answer my question is because I can take you together to relive the wonderful moments of Victory Cigar."

Jordan frowned and said, "You want to come to the Bobcats as the general manager? If that's the case, I welcome it very much."

Hearing that Min Congda had the intention of coming to the Bobcats as a manager, Jordan sat down again. He was really interested in this.

Min Congda's operation over the past few seasons is a model for the research of various teams, and he slapped the management of many NBA teams in the face.

His accurate draft and fewer transactions have proved to the world that the player management model with frequent transactions is often meaningless, but it is the useless work of the management to work for the job.

It is the right way to draft solidly, train your own young players, and make good use of the rookie contract bonus.

The era of trying to make a team rise by relying on one or two shocking mid-season trades is gradually going away.

In the first ten years, the league often had this kind of mid-season trade, which changed the fate of the team.

For example, the Pistons traded for Rasheed Wallace in 04, making up the Pistons and becoming the championship.

In 08, the Lakers got Gasol in the middle of the season and built a small Lakers dynasty with two championships in three years.

At that time, the league set off a frenzy of arms race at every turn, traded aggressively in the middle of the season, and piled up star players.

In the past two years, this momentum has slowed down significantly, because the cost performance of large transactions in the middle of the season has declined significantly.

For example, the Knicks got Carmelo Anthony in a season of slander, but the Knicks did not rise rapidly.

All teams have begun to pay attention to draft picks, carefully study the CBA rules, make good use of new agreements, and make good use of rookie contracts.

From this point of view, Min Congda is a "foresight", walking in front of everyone.

If someone like him can come to the Bobcats, Jordan is of course very happy.

It's just that Jordan doesn't understand, Min Congda is doing well in the Clippers, why not come to the Bobcats?

Technical poverty alleviation?
Min Congda knew that Jordan had misunderstood, he thought the wrong way, shook his head and said, "I didn't come to Bobcats to be the general manager, but I hope you go to the Clippers to be the boss."

Now Jordan is interested.

Is there such a thing in the world?

He only heard of bosses looking for employees, or employees going to the boss to apply for a job.

It was the first time he heard that an employee took the initiative to invite a boss back.

Jordan felt unbelievable, and said: "Did Sterling ask you to come? He doesn't want the team anymore?"

Min Congda shook his head and said, "No, Mr. Sterling, I don't want to sell the team."

Although Sterling is a puppet and obeys Min Congda's words, it is not enough for Min Congda to sell the team if he says he will.

If Min Congda could command Sterling in this way, the Clippers would have gone bankrupt long ago, and it would be over if he made money randomly.

Hearing what Min Congda said, Jordan's expression became a little complicated, as if he understood something.

He said: "I am the owner of the Bobcats now. I can't own two teams at the same time, and I don't have that much money."

Min Congda said: "Money is not a problem, and it is not a problem if you are the owner of the Bobcats. It only depends on your wishes. Are you willing to be the owner of the Clippers?"

Lost in thought, Jordan took off the towel from his shoulders and put it on his lap.

It would be a lie to say that he doesn't want to be the owner of the Clippers. The entire league knows what the Clippers are doing now.

It has strong strength, the most important thing is that it has great potential, and it is located in Los Angeles, and its market value is rising steadily. It is a very high-quality asset.

But if Sterling doesn't want to sell, how can Jordan get the Clippers?
Why did Smart, the general manager, "betray" his boss and want the Clippers to change hands?

Thinking that it was Adam Silva who introduced the two to meet, Jordan smelled a conspiracy.

If it was the player era, Jordan would definitely reject this kind of thing, and he would let Min Congda leave.

How could he join if he couldn't beat it?He must lead the Bobcats to a championship.

But he is no longer a player, but a boss, a capitalist.

This is evident during labor negotiations.

During the labor negotiations, many former celebrities stood on the players' side and spoke out for them, thinking that the bosses should provide enough income to distribute to the players.

But Jordan stood on the side of the boss and shareholders, thinking that the players were too greedy and asked for too much.

Because Jordan is the boss at this time, and he is no longer the basketball god who is all-powerful on the court.

He is just a person.

Jordan said: "No one will refuse to be the owner of the Clippers, but... I don't know how to achieve it."

Min Congda smiled and said: "This is not something you need to care about for the time being. As long as you are willing, there is nothing impossible, isn't it?"

Min Congda's words aroused Jordan's ambition for a while, indeed he was once omnipotent.

Jordan took a sharp puff on his cigar, obviously a little emotional, but he needed to know more details.

He asked Min Congda: "When do you say you will be in charge of the Clippers? Next season? Then should I consider selling the Bobcats now?"

Min Congda shook his head and said, "No, just swap."

"exchange?"

"Don't you know Ilf Levin and John Brown?"

"Oh~ You said you used to be the boss of the Braves and the Celtics?"

"Yes."

The two people Min Congda mentioned were the owners of the NBA Boston Celtics and Buffalo Braves in the 70s.

Among them, Ilf Levine owns the Celtics, but he is not happy being the boss of the Celtics, and has a tense relationship with the "boss killer" Auerbach.

At the same time, he was born in California and was tired of the cold weather in the east. He missed the sunshine of California.

On the contrary, John Brown, the owner of the Buffalo Braves, lost confidence in the Braves with a poor record at the time, feeling that the team had no future.

He needs a strong giants team to realize his dream of a championship.

It just so happened that David Stern, a legal counsel in the NBA, proposed a team swap proposal, which is a brilliant idea in the history of the NBA and asset transactions.

He moved John Brown's Buffalo Braves first, from Buffalo to sunny San Diego, California.

Then, let Levin and Brown carry out a team ownership transaction, Levin and Brown switched identities, Levin successfully became the owner of the San Diego Braves, and Brown became the owner of the Celtics.

This team transaction can be described as unprecedented, and I have to admire the development of the US financial market and David Stern's rich imagination.

After Levin came to California, he renamed the Braves to the Clippers, and sold the Clippers to Sterling a few years later. Since then, the Clippers have started a long Sterling era.

What Min Congda has to do now is to complete another swap transaction.

Jordan understood this. It turned out to be like this. You don't need to sell the team, just change it.

Such a trade wouldn't be a problem if league commissioner Adam Silva was behind it.

But Jordan still asked: "But, does your boss Sterling want to change teams? If he doesn't want to, there is nothing he can do."

Min Congda laughed and said: "Mr. Sterling has gained a lot in the past two years. For him, retiring early may not be a decent way to quit. You know, after so many years, he is not a very good boss. .”

What Min Congda said is correct, Sterling's reputation is really not very good.

Whether it's the owner, the players, the fans, or the management, they don't like this guy.

In the past three years, he didn't care about anything, but it was the stage of his best reputation.

Jordan took a sip of his cigar and said, "Then what if he doesn't want to be decent?"

Min Congda said: "Then I will help him face up."

(End of this chapter)