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

Chapter 572 My Mistake
Livingston had no idea that Min Congda was such a relaxed, open-minded and joking person.

In his imagination, the general manager who has transformed the Clippers in three years must be an elite manager who is rigorous in running the army and has a sense of style.

The NBA's management is full of such white elites. They are well-educated, enthusiastic, polite, and have high IQs, but they have ruthless decisiveness at critical moments.

It's like a scumbag who is perfect at picking up girls. When we are together, he talks sweetly and does everything perfectly, but once he decides to break up, he will be merciless.

Livingston is an experienced person. He reached the peak of his life at a young age, but a sudden disaster made him fall to the bottom, so he has seen the warmth and coldness of human relationships, and experienced what it means to turn one's face like a book, and what it means to be displaced.

He has a deep understanding of the enthusiasm and indifference of the NBA management. The reality of this league is outrageous.

But Livingston only sat down and chatted with Min Congda for a while, and he could feel that Min Congda was different from those white elites.

There was a clear stupidity in his eyes, and he spoke without any purpose, without feeling any subtext.

It seems that giving Livingston a three-year guarantee contract is not his decision at all, and he has no expectations or ideas.

It's as if Party A and Party B have signed a contract and paid the money. It stands to reason that Party A should make various demands so that the money can be worth the money.

Especially for Party B with serious injuries like Livingston, Party A is generally not polite, there will be no honeymoon period, but directly ask for what kind of performance must be played, etc.

But Min Congda didn't. He just kept chatting and joking with Livingston, and he was also very concerned about his injuries, asking him if he was in good health, but if he was not feeling well, he had to take a good rest, and don't force it.

Of course, Livingston said that his injuries are no longer a problem and he can play well.

But Min Congda shook his head and said: "The body is the capital of the revolution, and the injury must be healed completely. You were injured in the Clippers in the past. Now that you are signed back, the first requirement for you is that you must take care of yourself." As long as you're healthy, nothing else matters."

This was the first time Livingston heard such a statement, and he didn't know what to say for a while.

After participating in the team's simple training in the afternoon, the team trainer told Livingston, "Mr. Smart has always been like this, you have to get used to it slowly. He never talks about victory, just let you be yourself, Enjoy basketball, enjoy the team."

"Is it just that?"

"It's just like that? Hehe, you must think that he is just pretending. Take a look at it slowly, and you will understand...Oh, yes, I came to the Clippers the year before last. You were in the Clippers before. You Do you feel any changes in the team?"

"Change...everything has become very new, the training hall, gym, cafeteria, the restaurant here is really luxurious. Oh yes, and there is...the atmosphere, which is very different from the Clippers in the past."

Livingston can't say, the Clippers feel completely different to him in the past, different from any team he has been on.

What is the difference?Perhaps as the trainer said, it will take a while to know.

On February 2, a major event happened in the Los Angeles basketball circle. The owner of the Lakers, the legendary Jerry Buss, passed away.

The boss who created the legend of Zijin has finished his life as a winner.

Min Congda, as the general manager of the Clippers, was invited to attend Jerry Buss' memorial service together with owner Shelley Sterling.

Min Congda’s deepest impression of this old man was that when he first joined the league, he met him in a Las Vegas casino, and the two had some verbal conflicts.

At that time, Jerry Buss wanted to impart some successful experience to Min Congda, but was rejected by Min Congda who wanted to go bankrupt!

Thinking about it now, Min Congda regretted it in his heart. He should have listened to the outdated experience of old Bass back then.

Looking at the current situation of the Lakers, maybe the Clippers have already gone bankrupt?
Although at the memorial service for Jerry Buss, everyone was sad, and O'Neill and others who delivered the speech even shed tears.

But everyone knows that the death of the leader of any power and wealth group will inevitably usher in a bloody struggle.

The Bass family owns the biggest giant in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers, but the problem is that they only really own the Los Angeles Lakers, and the other professional teams they own are not worth mentioning in terms of market value or fame.

In addition, the Bass family has no other big properties, so this big family is pointing to the Lakers.

The old man is dead, and the children must compete for the largest family property, and at the same time, they must ensure that it will not be taken away by outsiders.

Before, because he was worried that Phil Jackson would be too involved in the internal affairs of the Lakers, and his meritorious service was overwhelming, so after failing in the playoffs in 12, he terminated the contract with this meritorious coach.

Jenny - Buss and Jackson's twilight love also followed.

Now that old Buss is gone, the battle for control of the team between Jenny Buss and Jim Buss will soon come to the fore.

This is actually a good thing for the Clippers, another team in Los Angeles.

The Clippers have been suppressed by the Lakers for so many years, and now they have finally turned around. If the Lakers fall into civil strife again, the huge sports consumer market in Los Angeles and even California will be invaded by the Clippers.

Now, the sales of the Clippers' jerseys and peripheral products are very good, rising steadily.

Before that, Los Angeles was full of purple and gold color schemes, and the Lakers' yellow and purple jerseys could be seen everywhere.

In just two or three years, the red and blue colors of the Clippers have become a new fashion trend.

Many young people say that the Lakers' jerseys and color schemes look too old-fashioned, and the red and blue of the Clippers are more vivid and trendy.

It is an indisputable fact that the Clippers are constantly attracting more young people.

Therefore, at the memorial service in Bath, Shelley Sterling, who was sitting next to Min Congda, had a heavy face, but she was quite happy in her heart.

Once the legend of Bass is gone, the Lakers will be in civil turmoil, the Clippers will stand out, and Shelley Sterling's road to basketball queen will really start.

As for Min Congda, he really didn't think so far. He only thinks about the Huawei Center now, and he believes that the half of the Huawei Center is built, and the team will be short of money, and bankruptcy is not far away.

In fact, the construction of Huawei Center did encounter many problems.

The number one problem is that the arena is too big. At the same time, comfort, beauty and practicality must be taken into account, which puts forward extremely high requirements for design and construction.

Budget overruns are almost a given, and money must be added.

However, in order to realize her ambitions, Shelley Sterling gave the project enough financial support.

She believes that Min Congda is in charge of basketball affairs, and she will handle money issues. She even asked her ex-husband Donald Sterling for money, and she must let the project continue.

The boss and the manager clearly have their own concerns, but they can't see each other, and they cooperate very well, so that everything can run in an orderly manner.

At the end of the memorial service, David Stern, who came to attend the memorial service, stopped Min Congda, took him to the parking lot, let Min Congda get in the car, and the two wanted to chat.

Min Congda was very vigilant and said, "David, you don't want to kidnap me, do you?"

Stern waved his hand and said, "What's going on in your mind? I have something to tell you, get in the car!"

Min Congda got into the back seat, and after Stern got into the car, he went straight in and said, "Jerry Buss passed away. What do you think of this?"

Min Congda was taken aback, and said, "What do you think? Congratulations and funerals."

Stern thought that Min Congda was playing dumb, and said: "The Lakers' Bass siblings will definitely fight for power! At that time, Los Angeles will be the world of your Clippers.

Stern didn't say anything, but Min Congda didn't think of this at all.

As soon as he said that, Min Congda said, "That's a good thing for us."

Stern said: "But it is not a good thing for the league."

"You're retired, why do you care so much?"

"..."

"Smart, I know that you were the one behind the Lakers Paul deal, right?"

"Yes...it's me, what's the matter, I...I hope that the Clippers can have an opponent in Los Angeles. In this way...competing with each other in this way can make the market bigger and bigger, isn't it. Look now, Los Angeles, and even the whole of California How prosperous the basketball market is, it is already number one in the United States!"

Min Congda said something against his will. He asked Paul to come to the Lakers in the hope that the Lakers could suppress the Clippers. Who would have thought that the Lakers would not live up to it? Kobe's decline was obvious, and Paul lost the chain at a critical moment. Why is it so useless?
Stern listened to Min Congda's words, but nodded again and again, and said, "What you said makes sense. Smart, your vision is really very long-term. In the past, many people underestimated you."

Stern almost said, "The league has decided, you should be the NBA president".

Although Min Congda had a mediocre IQ, he could hear the meaning of Stern's words and asked, "Do you want me to help the Lakers? So that the Lakers can continue to compete with the Clippers in Los Angeles?"

Stern said: "I know that such an idea is very unsportsmanlike, but I will not hide it from you Smart. The business alliance needs balance. Of course, we don't want to manipulate the results of the game. I hope you can compete healthy and let The Lakers can maintain competitiveness and unite internally. Only by working together can the market grow and do a good job.”

Although Stern's idea was in Min Congda's arms, he was secretly helping the Lakers.

But from the standpoint of a Clippers man, Min Congda felt unreasonable, and said: "Why? When the Clippers were rotten like a piece of shit, why didn't the Lakers say to help the Clippers and make the Clippers stronger? Compete with the Lakers to expand the market? Now that the Clippers have risen and are on a good road, the Lakers are not doing well, but we want to help our competitors. How can it make sense?"

Stern nodded. He agreed with Min Congda's anger, but at the same time Stern pointed out sharply: "At that time, the Los Angeles Lakers ensured that most teams in the NBA had income and food. Without them, the NBA's ratings Many loss-making teams have to rely on the Lakers' income to make up for it. The Clippers were able to survive in the first place because of the blessing of the Lakers in Los Angeles."

There are also transfer payments in the NBA, and teams with high profits will subsidize loss-making teams.

In fact, there are such controversies in many professional leagues. The rich teams contribute most of the league's revenue, and then they have to transfuse blood to the small ball clubs, causing their own interests to decline.

At the beginning, if there is no small ball to "play with", how can it highlight the strength of the giants?
Just like online games, rich players contribute most of the income, but it is also very important for a large number of ordinary players to play with them. This is a good game ecology.

Min Congda knew that what Stern said made sense, and said, "Then what do you want me to do? Send Curry, Harden, and Gasol to the Lakers!?"

Min Congda wanted to do this in his heart, but the system didn't allow it!

Stern shook his head and said: "I said, we are not trying to manipulate the result of the game! I hope the Lakers can maintain enough stability in the team so that the team has a good competitiveness."

Min Congda said: "Then who do you want me to support? Jenny, or Jim? I think Jenny is good. I can feel that she really loves basketball and this team."

Stern shook his head again and said, "No, you don't need to support it."

"No need to support? You are right, I am the general manager of the Clippers, and it is useless to support anyone."

"Smart, I know that Donaghy was killed by you."

When Stern said this sentence suddenly, Min Congda broke out in a cold sweat.

Almost two years have passed since the Donaghy incident, and now there is no sound.

Stern suddenly said, Donaghy was sent to kill by Min Congda?
Min Congda shook his head and said, "Don't talk nonsense about David, I'll sue you for slander. Donaghy's death has nothing to do with me."

Min Congda thought to himself, if you had a heart attack back then, it would really have something to do with me, and if I wanted to kill you, I would kill you.

Stern smiled and said, "The FBI already has clues. Donaghy's death is related to the Italian chef in your restaurant. Have you ever sent him to China?"

Min Congda's heart skipped a beat, could it be Christopher?This guy is really possible, but he really didn't ask Christopher to kill people.

Min Congda didn't respond directly, but said: "Why, you want me to kill the Bass family? You are right. If the Bass family has only one child, then naturally there will be no struggle."

Stern said: "No, it has nothing to do with the Bass family, you don't have to support either side, it has nothing to do with them."

"It has nothing to do with the Bass family, what do you mean, could it be..."

Min Congda's IQ finally took the high ground, and he understood what Stern meant.

The league hopes to kick the Bass family out and let another owner take over the Lakers.

As the largest giant in the league, the Lakers have the poorest boss, which also limits the development of the Lakers to a certain extent.

Min Congda said: "You want to kick the Bass family out? But... what does this have to do with me, besides you have retired David, can't you take good care of yourself?"

Stern said: "Because you have experience in this matter, didn't the owner of your Clippers just change?"

Stern adjusted his glasses and spoke very calmly, but it caused quite a stir in Min Congda's heart.

He thought to himself: "It was really my mistake not to piss you off at the beginning."

(End of this chapter)