NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 235 “Enemies” everywhere (daily chapter)

In early August 2001, Fortune magazine used an intriguing cover title when reporting on Li You:
"Clay-Lee: NBA Entrepreneur."

The article in this issue of the magazine provides an in-depth introduction to the impact of Li You's basketball style on NBA games. In addition to boasting about his championships over the past few years, it also takes a look at Li You's off-court endorsement income.

Athletes rarely appear in this magazine. Although it is sold as a monthly magazine, the subscribers of Fortune magazine and Time magazine are not much different, and the influence is also not small.

When everyone noticed the income estimate, they all took a breath:

"Off-site endorsement income is close to $5000 million."

Looking at the young man wearing a light blue formal suit and taking a photo with a pile of trophies in the magazine, after marveling, some people also felt excited:
"A rich young man!"

Although Li You represents American Express and Hertz, after the release of this magazine, his agent Mark Bartelstein's phone was still bombarded with calls.

Yacht clubs, private jet operations, party companies, start-ups, real estate agencies, modeling services.
As long as they can spend money, they will come to you again!

Including Li You's salary, the expected income is almost 6000 million U.S. dollars. Under Armour's shares and fund investment are not included. Some people are already crazy:
"Super big fat sheep!"

The above are all conservative estimates. Li You is very cautious in his endorsements. It is not ruled out that this part of the income can increase. Thinking of the green and beautiful sword, some young players almost have green eyes with envy.
Although Li You's income is far behind that of Nike's big daddy, he is definitely in the first echelon among athletes.

The NBA has also followed suit and seems to want to attract outstanding basketball players from all over the world through successful players like Li You.

If the influence of the NBA championship is a bit meaningless, the income issue made Li You break the circle again.

David Stern has been promoting the culture of the NBA and the league's basketball philosophy recently, but this thing is a bit empty.

But Li You's income makes most basketball players feel excited.

What is the purpose of playing ball?
In the final analysis, you still have to make a lot of money. On this basis, you will pursue more. The inclusive culture promoted by the NBA is indeed not as practical as a "role model" like Li You!
What's even more interesting is that Li You is only 193cm tall, which is still the size of a normal person. Although his body looks strong, his skin color and relatively immature face are very deceiving.

After watching the news, many basketball players have an illusion:
"I can do it too!"

Li You never complained about referees in front of the media, nor did he complain about the NBA's "dress code." Apart from occasionally mocking some old opponents on the court, he was definitely a model player most of the time.

As for the Knicks' collective prostitution reported by some media, Li You also did it!

Li You and Michael Jordan gambled wildly in Las Vegas for a week, and a group of people changed their ways to play with girls. News such as this has long been drowned in the praise.

After entering August, NBC channel will broadcast a documentary about the Knicks - New York Dynasty at 8:21 every Sunday.

One episode per week, each episode is exactly one champion, lasting for one month, continuing to maintain Li You's popularity.

The first episode, which was broadcast on the night of August 8th, took the audience to review the record set by Li You.

Starting from the bench, he went from being the youngest double-double in the NBA to tying Michael Jordan in the playoffs and setting a record of 24 points in a single quarter.

季后赛最年轻20+10，19岁135天，打破1985年迈克尔-乔丹的纪录，成为NBA季后赛历史最年轻拿到30+10的球员.
The clip is always accompanied by commentator Marv Albert's passionate "YES!"
After the Knicks lost to the Bulls, the mood also ended, with player interviews interspersed throughout. In the first episode, Starks was half the protagonist.

The good brother, dressed in formal attire, faced the camera and seemed to recall the scene of losing. He pondered for a long time before expressing his feelings:

"McDunner once again ended New York's championship dream, but unlike before, we think the Knicks will win next season!"

"I felt Lee's energy. 19 years old? Everyone underestimated him at the time."

After saying this, Starks' smile suddenly became extremely bright and he said seriously:
"We are really united and everyone realizes that Lee's arrival means a championship!"

In the second half of the first episode, there are more scenes of the game between the Knicks and the Bulls. Every time the two teams play against each other, Mars collides with the earth.

In the last game of the regular season, Li You hit a quasi-winner. With the successful defense at the last minute, the Knicks locked in the first place in the regular season. Jeff Van Gundy jumped up and down on the sidelines and shouted. Celebrate wildly.

Compared with the follower temperament back then, the bald young handsome man in the camera was more graceful. Recalling that exciting scene, Jeff Van Gundy still waved his arms excitedly and said loudly:
"Unbelievable!"

"No matter how many times I recall it, I still feel excited. We got the home court advantage in the playoffs. Everyone in the Knicks felt it. The Bulls are old!"

"After the game, we hugged in the locker room and Lee fist bumped with everyone. I still remember him confidently encouraging every teammate: It's our turn to win the championship!"

In the 98 playoffs, when the Knicks easily swept their opponents in the first two rounds, the players hugged and celebrated, and the voice of Bob Costas came from the TV again:
"The Knicks challenge the defending champion again!"

The audience watching the documentary on TV saw the entanglement between the two teams again, saw Michael Jordan being frantically flanked, and saw Michael Jordan swearing loudly and angrily.

The live sound recording is very clear and can naturally create a tense atmosphere.

Just after returning to the United Center, after the Bulls successfully pulled back a victory, the camera showed Li You encouraging everyone in the locker room.

In Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, after Mike Dunton hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer, the documentary also faithfully restored the boiling scene at the United Center.

At the same time, the camera also showed the scene where McDuck punched and roared, the Knicks returned to the bench, and many players stared blankly.

Different from the past, the documentary restored the scene when Li You took over the tactical board and drew the tactics
Jeff Van Gundy didn't feel embarrassed when he faced the camera again. Instead, he smiled calmly:
"Lee was born for the big scene! In the end, the Knicks' tactic was to give him the ball!"

The audience in front of the TV once again saw 0.9 seconds, a super long three-pointer, Li You's "watch-wearing" moment.

When Larry Johnson faced the camera, he seemed to be still recalling the scene, and finally laughed and said:

"That was the best assist of my life! I will never forget that round!"

After the ups and downs of the Eastern Conference Finals, "Karl Malone's painful moment" soon came.
When Malone missed the free throw, the mellow Ewing in the camera smiled so much that he grinned to the back of his head. He didn't care about Malone's feelings at all and said happily:

"God answered me! I know the Knicks are going to win the championship!"

The last scene of the first episode of New York Dynasty was when Li You raised a finger, the Utah duo left the scene lonely, and Starks and Ewing hugged each other and burst into tears.

When the camera showed Starks again, the veteran seemed to have just watched the clip and seemed to be thinking back to his career. Finally, he was moved to tears and said seriously again:

"This is the best moment of my career, thanks to Lee, he saved me!"

"."

In the 62-minute documentary, although Li You doesn't have many scenes behind the scenes, most of the highlight moments belong to him.

The emotional narration by several veterans, coupled with Jeff Van Gundy's well-founded praise, resulted in the film being a documentary about the Knicks, but the viewing experience was more like a personal show.

After the first episode aired, New York fans watched it with gusto, and Bulls and Jazz fans directly broke through the defense.

The chain reaction was that Pippen, Rodman, and Steve Kerr all had bad faces when being interviewed:

"We're not that stupid! I don't like to talk about the Bulls in this way, we have 5 championships!"

Pippen complained about this in an interview when he returned to Chicago. However, this reaction was considered by the New York media as breaking the defense. The next day's newspapers began to review "Pippen's contribution to New York."
Karl Malone was also very angry, but with his past record, he simply refused to be interviewed.

With such a guilty conscience, it is natural to be criticized. The New York Post reviewed Malone's hip-stretching performance at critical moments in his career.
After dancing for two days, Phil Jackson finally couldn't stand it anymore and joined the war of words. A documentary made the offseason lively again.

The ratings of the documentary were indeed good, and coupled with the frequent spats, the public enjoyed watching it.

Li You has been in the UK for a week at this time. Due to the World Cup qualifiers, Dayang here pays more attention to the national team.

In this period of the Premier League, Manchester United has completed three consecutive championships, and its dominance is very strong, which is completely beyond the comparison of "Suo Hai" and "Teng Hai" in the later period.

After visiting several clubs including Arsenal, Liverpool, Leeds United, and Chelsea, I was not as optimistic as I had imagined.

On the afternoon of the 11th, Li You and the others also had to prepare formal attire because they were going to attend "Hot Girl" Victoria's party in the evening.

Bobby's memory is very good. Combining some financial information and field inspections of the stadium, he couldn't help but frown slightly and suggested:
"Most football clubs still struggle to make a profit, and certainly the fans here seem loyal, but ticket revenue and sponsorships don't stop losses."

Several people came to Manchester and chose a 10-star hotel 5 minutes away from home to experience the local culture and observe the real fan environment.

As a listed football club, Manchester United's public financial statements are naturally very beautiful, but for a few people, everyone believes that seeing is believing.

As he gained more funds, Bobby's temperament became more mature and he became more cautious.

The two stood by the window, staring at the scenery of the world's first industrialized city. Li You thought for a moment, and then said:
"After winning the Triple Crown in 99, this club has had a wide impact around the world."

"Competitive sports still rely on results. Good results can bring more income."

"The most important thing is that unlike other top clubs, which are mostly privately held and run purely based on personal preference, Manchester United is a listed football club."

"Revenue and profit mainly come from continuing operations, and I think revenue from tickets, sponsorships, and television broadcast rights will continue to rise in the future."

"Not to mention the player buying and selling. If globalization continues, this will be a good investment."

As an out-and-out American, Bobby actually prefers basketball. He also watches football and baseball. Most of his knowledge of football comes from the World Cup.

As if he did not expect Li You to be optimistic about the development of the Premier League, Bobby licked his short blond hair, raised his eyebrows, and said meaningfully:

"Tell me about your plan. You should know that many football clubs here are losing money."

"With your current financial resources, it is difficult to maintain operations!"

Li You likes to hear different opinions, and he is not sure that the acquisition will be successful:

“I need a leveraged buyout!”

"We directly buy Manchester United's shares at the secondary level, which can reduce the acquisition cost. If the acquisition fails, making money by stock trading can also reduce losses."

"Continue to mortgage the stocks acquired from the secondary level, use the mortgage money to acquire them again, and then reduce the acquisition cost!"

"I will not spend too much money. I will borrow funds from JPMorgan Chase and some personal relationships by mortgaging assets such as Old Trafford Stadium." "There is still a part that needs to be solved by hedge funds. This part of the loan Just pay the interest in kind, I need to extend the payment time, you will help me, right?"

After Bobby Akers heard the plan, he showed a meaningful smile. He did not understand the operation of the football club, but after hearing the general plan, he guessed Li You's plan:

"Are you going to saddle this club with huge debts?"

Li You shrugged his shoulders, nodded and admitted, and then continued to simply add:

"After the re-listing, we will even have the opportunity to make money. Everyone can get what they need. I think the loans are relatively safe and can be realized in theory."

"As for whether it can repay its huge debt, I have confidence in Manchester United."

"If you have time, you can feel the football atmosphere here. There is a World Cup qualifier at Old Trafford in early October. Unlike the United States, people here only love football."

Bobby nodded thoughtfully at this time. The acquisition of a football club turned into a financial operation, which is indeed feasible in theory, but the influence of the British government needs to be considered:
"You want this club to become a family business? It's an interesting idea and I suggest you have more children."

Li You smiled, this was indeed his plan, there would always be children.

Bobby's girlfriend Laura is a blond Irish immigrant girl who is a nurse. Her brothers are both firefighters. The family can be called a firefighting family.

When the blonde girl appeared in the room, she still couldn't let go. She didn't expect that Li You and Li You spent money like water after coming to the UK.

Compared to Ivana who just swipes her card when buying things without looking at the price, and even poses in front of reporters, Laura feels particularly uncomfortable.

Li You stopped talking about the acquisition and instead quietly teased Bobby next to him:
"Your partner doesn't seem to like you. If the partner leaves, things will be difficult."

When Li You found out about the internal affairs of the company, Bobby twitched his lips and did not respond directly:
"I am the right one and I have always created value for the company!"

High returns are always accompanied by high risks, and some deviant transactions naturally make the partners of Ax Capital tremble.

Li You stopped gossiping about these things. When he noticed that Ivana appeared in the room with a suit, he walked over and hugged the blond white rabbit, and said to the two people on the other side:

"Enjoy the party tonight! Stop by David Beckham's Castle, this guy is a real star."

"."

In the 1998/1 finals of the 8 World Cup, Beckham kicked Simeone and was sent off with a red card. After Dayang was eliminated by Argentina, Public Enemy was born.

The Daily Mail wrote an exaggerated headline after the game:

"Ten lions and a fool!"

Angry fans believed that Beckham focused too much on the succubus Victoria, which led to his crotch stretching during competition.

The marriage between the two is becoming less and less optimistic, but Victoria still goes her own way, continuing to accept endorsements for her husband, and even trying to penetrate into the American market.

Li You didn't have a good impression of the couple, and they were only superficial friends. When the Spice Girls were touring in New York, the two of them had said hello, and they were just acquaintances.

However, as Li You's influence in the United States gradually expanded, some people naturally took the initiative. Victoria held the party that night just to welcome Li You's arrival.

"Beckham Castle" is located in the village of Aldrie, a suburb of Manchester. The residence covers an area of ​​12 acres and the building area is not small.

As well as a host of bedrooms and bathrooms, there's a swimming pool, football pitch and a helipad.

Most of the visitors tonight are people from the entertainment and fashion circles, and of course some of Beckham's Manchester United teammates are also indispensable.

Solskjaer is polite, dressed like a gentleman in formal clothes, and smiles and chats with everyone he meets.

Beckham, who had already shaved his head, was in a bad mood. His results in the World Cup qualifying matches were poor, and he, the "big sinner", took the blame again.

Maybe he couldn't tell his wife too much. After drinking a few glasses of wine, Beckham took the opportunity to complain to Li You:

"I watched the game in New York, and the fans there were very enthusiastic, completely different from the British fans!"

"They even burned my jersey and hung a dummy wearing my jersey in a London bar! God! Everyone was cussing me!"

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said this."

In the past few years, Beckham was in high spirits, and the American media also gossiped about his love story every day. When Victoria was touring in New York, Beckham also flew to the United States.

After getting married, Beckham's mental state was obviously not as good as in previous years. However, considering the public opinion here, Li You could only give out poisonous chicken soup:
"If you want to achieve greatness, you have to go through some hardships. Maybe this is God's test for you!"

"That's what competitive sports are like. Don't give up hope until the last minute. God will always take care of those who are prepared."

After complaining twice, he felt much better. Beckham would not say these things in front of women most of the time, and he didn't think big stars could understand athletes.

Li You dragged Beckham to chat with the Manchester United players, and even showed off his footwork at the end, which caused several people to exclaim.

Giggs, Scholes, Roy Keane, seeing these three, some memories appeared in Li You's mind.

When the party came to an end, Victoria looked at her husband who had drunk too much and could only whisper:
"Ferguson doesn't like us. I want David to go to the United States to develop in the future. An athlete's career is full of uncertainty."

"Lee, you understand!"

Victoria, who was wearing a white dress, also felt depressed at this time. It felt really bad to be criticized by everyone.

Li You nodded. Beckham, who came from a working-class family, might not think too far ahead, but a woman who has worked hard in the entertainment industry for many years desires more.

After returning to the hotel in the evening, Ivana also shared the gossip news she got from the "wives group".

"It is said that the coach has a lot of power in the Manchester United team and everyone has to listen to him!"

"He can even intervene in Beckham's marriage, which is incredible!"

In the impression of the blond white rabbit, coaches serve superstars. In the Knicks, Jeff Van Gundy brags about Li You every day and interferes with his private life?This is simply unimaginable.
The two of them had just taken a shower. Li You was good at understanding the human clothes, and slowly plucked the blond white rabbit opposite him naked.

Ivana didn't care about the sudden change. The two of them always played some small games. After snorting, they simply squeezed into Li You's arms.

Li You whispered something in a low voice, causing the other party to chuckle twice. Feeling the body starting to twist in his arms, a thought suddenly appeared in his mind:

"This plump figure can give birth to several fat boys!"

"."

The Sun reported on last night's party, and soon the New York media also discovered that Li You had been staying in the UK for too long.

However, the second episode of the documentary has just been aired. As Charles Oakley's remarks that "the Spurs are a bunch of softies" fermented, a new round of war of words broke out.

Ewing was so proud that he became a star after retiring.

In the end, Olajuwon did not end up with the Rockets. In early August, he was traded to the Raptors, eventually getting the Rockets a 2002 first-round pick and a 1 second-round pick.

This transaction also triggered heated discussions among football commentators. The championship center failed to stay with the team, and the Rockets' transaction was somewhat unkind.

The Lakers are eager to jump in, but there is no player they like in the free market. Just like the Knicks have a trade exception but cannot spend it, there is really no big fish this year.

At the end of August, the Mavericks sent away their 8 second-round draft pick to the Heat for Tim Hardaway.

By trading the exception and second-round picks to obtain these chips, Pat Riley seemed to have lost money, but in fact, he had begun preparing to rebuild the team.

On August 8, the New York media finally saw Li You again.

The Knicks training camp is about to start. When he returns to New York, Li You, who has not touched the ball for two months, naturally has to practice with the team in advance.

That night, after the third episode of the New York Dynasty documentary was broadcast, O'Neal broke his guard again. The reason was that Li You repeatedly emphasized when cheering Ewing in the film:
"Don't worry about the fat guy on the opposite side. He can't defend the pick-and-roll at all. We can sweep them this year!"

"."

In this episode of the documentary, Ewing has become the strongest human shield, and Li You takes over the team. Therefore, it is Li You who speaks in the locker room many times.

Although some clips have been "stopped", some of Li You's remarks still offended some players. What impressed many viewers were his comments about Kobe:

"Don't worry, guys! Let the kid on the opposite side continue to take action. Believe me, he will forge the iron by himself!"

"."

Most of the viewers who watched the documentary laughed. Kobe, who was far away in Los Angeles, was already furious:

"The enemy of life!"

The ratings for this episode of "Three Consecutive Championships" have increased a bit, and many fans have also learned about another side of Li You:
"Absolute confidence!"

Li You always expresses his attitude modestly in interviews. In the locker room, Li You doesn't care about the performance of his opponents most of the time, and his way of encouraging his teammates is also unique.

On the morning of the 27th, when Li You woke up at his home on No. 82 Street, the unemployed homeless man Kristen Little was left at home.

Still soundly asleep, the little follower showed no sign of waking up, and his whole body was wrapped around Li You.

It was rare that there was no sponsor event. Li You hugged the girl, suddenly thought of something, and called out the talent panel.

Noticing that [Karl Malone's extraordinary physique] had disappeared and been completely digested, Li You was speechless:
"You can still digest talent without touching the ball?"

"."

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(End of this chapter)