NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

Fortunately, even the longest speech eventually comes to an end. After Jordan spoke for four or five minutes, he seemed to have run out of things to say. Then Lin Tian saw Stern grab the microphone with Havlicek's speed and say with a smile, "Thank you, Michael!"

"Thank you, Michael, for your help! Now, let's hear what Lin has to say."

"What the hell am I supposed to say? Give out the trophy!" Lin Tian cursed, but he used Chinese, which no one at the scene could understand. Whether the Chinese fans watching on TV could decipher his meaning from his lip movements was another matter entirely.

However, when the microphone came into Lin Tian's hands, as the head coach, although he was too lazy to say much, he still had to say a few words.

"I'm proud of my players. We've accomplished so many amazing things together. I'll remember tonight, I'll remember this season. And, shouldn't we raise a glass? I've been waiting for this for so long, and my guys have been waiting for this for so long! And I think Bill is about to fall asleep!"

A simple sentence drew a burst of laughter from the entire awards stage. Stern didn't care about Lin Tian's undisguised teasing and continued with a smile: "Then, let's congratulate the 2010-2011 season champion."

Charlotte Lynx!

As Stern uttered the last word, a large amount of smoke and celebratory ribbons immediately erupted from both sides of the podium, and Rose, as the team captain, raised the trophy, roaring and shaking it.

All the Bobcats players were also excitedly yelling and shouting, reigniting their enthusiasm that had been cooled down by the two long and tedious speeches!

Celebrate! Go crazy!
The biggest winner this year!

The Larry O'Brien Trophy was passed around among the Bobcats players, coaches, owners, and team doctors, with everyone sharing in the joy of the evening.

Then, after everyone had finished celebrating, Stern continued, "So finally, the last suspense of the night, the voting for Bill Russell's Finals MVP award, is complete, and the answer is in my hands."

"Let's see who the player who wins this award tonight is..."

Stern deliberately slowed down the pace to build suspense, leaving viewers in front of their televisions scratching their heads in frustration.

Miller said, "Yao or Rose? Both of them have a chance, and it would be reasonable for either of them to win. Their contributions are equally significant, and the Bobcats cannot be considered a strong team if either of them is missing."

“According to convention, it should be Rose,” Jackson said. “He scores more points per game.”

“Derrick Rose!” Stern read out the name of the final winner after glancing at the envelope in his hand.

Rose paused for a moment, then stepped forward, took the trophy from Russell's hands, shook hands, hugged him, and walked to the center of the podium.

"I should share this award with my teammates. We are all MVPs. Without any one of them, we could not have achieved this. Thank you for their support, thank you for the screens you set for me, and thank you for your selfless dedication and hard work."

"I also want to thank everyone who supports me, especially my mother. She is my source of motivation for playing basketball. She is the person who keeps me working hard. Without her, I would have long since fallen into the streets and drugs. Without her, I would definitely be hanging around in some weird place."

"Without my mother, I am nothing. In my heart, she is the real MVP!"

"And for me, this is just the beginning. I will not be proud or arrogant because of this. My career has just begun. I have countless roads to travel and a lot to catch up on."

"Let's fight side by side, let's keep moving forward together! Charlotte, this is all for you!"

After Rose finished speaking, he waved the trophy in his hand again, and everyone cheered and shouted once more.

The official process is now completely over.

The rest of the time belongs to the Bobcats!

They returned to the locker room and celebrated and cheered even more wildly!

They went through the motions at the post-game press conference, then headed to a Dallas nightclub for a wild and unrestrained night.

It wasn't until the following evening that the entire Bobcats team reunited. Exhausted and sleep-deprived, they were all somewhat listless, but their eyes shone with an irrepressible and unconcealable joy.

champion!
This is the first championship for the entire Bobcats team, except for Barnes!
Especially for players like Yao Ming and Carlos Boozer, who are already nearing the end of their peak, winning a championship at this time would be enough to excite them for a long time, and even be something they cherish for a lifetime.

That's the magic of the championship.

It was 2 a.m. when the Bobcats' chartered plane landed at Charlotte Airport.

They had a great time the night before and got up late, and the flight between Dallas and Charlotte was long, so they landed really late.

Even so, when the Bobcats players stepped off the plane and out of the tunnel, they were greeted by enthusiastic fans!

Countless fans filled the mountains and fields, and within sight, there were only enthusiastic fans waiting to greet the passengers at the airport.

"Champion! Champion! Champion! Champion! Champion!"

"Again! Again!"

"we are the champion!"

"The strongest team in history!"

"King Charlotte!"

The roars and chants of the fans resounded through the sky. This was Charlotte's first championship in history, and the most glorious moment in Charlotte's sports history!
The players were also thrilled by the fans' excitement and jubilation. Their fatigue disappeared again, and they cheered, jumped, and celebrated the championship with the fans.

Some of the more flamboyant ones even started rapping and dancing.

This delay meant that by the time the Bobcats left the airport it was already 3 a.m., after they had been causing a ruckus there for a full hour.

And this is clearly just the beginning.

In the days that followed, the Bobcats players were greeted with endless celebrations, parties, revelry, and all sorts of parties, not to mention the most important event of the year: the championship parade, a must-do for every team after winning the title!
By the time the victory parade ended, it was almost July.

It wasn't until this point that the team finally disbanded. Everyone went their separate ways: some went on vacation, some made money, some started training camps, and those with injuries took the time to rest and recover.

As for Lin Tian, ​​he originally wanted to fly back to Los Angeles to take care of his daughter after the championship parade, but before he could go back, Jordan pulled him into his office.

"Are you going to give me a bonus or a raise?" Lin Tian sat casually across from Jordan, showing no respect whatsoever for his boss.

"You think you're short of that little bit of money?" Jordan snorted, indicating that he shouldn't give me that idea.

“It’s not bad, but nobody complains about having too much money.” Lin Tian said, “I can only give you 20 minutes. Tell me, what do you want me to do? I’ve already booked my plane ticket; I have to go to Los Angeles tonight.”

"F*** it! It's 9 a.m.!" Jordan couldn't help but curse, "Your flight is at 8 p.m., and you're telling me you only have 20 minutes?"

"You have 19 and a half minutes left. If I were you, I'd hurry up." Lin Tian shrugged, unmoved by Jordan's roar.

Jordan could only sigh and calmly say, "The league may have to shut down."

"Oh! Right, I almost forgot about that!" Lin Tian clapped his hands, as if he had just remembered it.

Yes, he just remembered.

He hadn't paid any attention to this matter when he was leading the team.

The news that the league would suspend the season has actually been circulating for a long time.

Of course, others were just worried about a lockout or had a premonition of it, but Lin Tian knew very well that a lockout was going to happen this year! It would just be shorter than the last lockout, and the two sides would reach an agreement faster. If he remembered correctly, this season should start at Christmas and consist of 66 games. In addition, the infamous back-to-back games were also a product of the lockout!
In fact, the two sides had already held a negotiation during this year's All-Star Game, which ended in disagreement.

As for the reason why they couldn't reach an agreement, it's quite simple: money!
Although the last collective bargaining agreement signed by both parties updated and standardized various contract templates, transaction rules, team expenditures, salary caps, luxury taxes, and other things, it is clearly outdated after so many years.

Or, to put it another way, the party that suffers a loss hopes to add something new to protect its interests.

That is, the investors!
This time, it's the owners again who want to renegotiate the agreement and significantly revise the collective bargaining agreement. They're complaining bitterly, saying that team salary expenditures have reached 57% of the league's total revenue in recent years! And at the current rate, salaries keep rising while revenue hasn't changed much. The owners are saying that if this continues, salary expenditures alone will reach 60% of the league's total revenue!

Is it reasonable for employees to earn more than our boss?
Many team owners complained bitterly, saying they were losing money while gaining publicity, that they were not making ends meet, and that if things continued like this, they would have no choice but to sell the team.

Simply put, it's a group of billionaires who team up to complain about being poor.

Of course, it's worth mentioning that some of these people are genuinely poor.

Jordan.

Although the Bobcats won the championship this year, it doesn't affect the fact that Jordan's total personal wealth is at the bottom of the league. He is not only the poorest owner in the league, but also the kind of person who is extremely poor.

The 29th poorest owner in the league is Spurs owner Pete Holt. This guy sells tractors, and without the Spurs team itself and some real estate, his total net worth is only $3 million.

After deducting his real estate holdings and the Bobcats' net worth, Jordan now has just over $1 million.

It's barely a third of Holt's.

That gives you an idea of ​​how 'poor' he was.

Of course, Jordan wouldn't have been this poor. He could have easily made over $2 million, which is about the same level as Holt. But he insisted on divorcing in 06, giving his ex-wife a settlement of $1.6 million, which was known as the biggest divorce case and the highest settlement in the United States.

After this severance payment, Jordan has become the poorest owner in the NBA.

Not to mention that since Lin Tian made his name, his sneakers have been selling better and better, taking away a large share of AJ's market share, which has even caused Jordan's most profitable business, sneaker sales, to be greatly reduced.

If Jordan wants to make a comeback, he'll have to wait a few more years, until his investments and the brand value of Air Jordan see another boost.

But regardless of whether Jordan divorced or not, whether he finished last or last, his poverty is undeniable.

Therefore, Jordan naturally became the main force and leader of the management in this labor negotiation.

Looking back more than a decade ago, Jordan was the spiritual leader and pillar of the team during the last lockout!
Now, however, they have completely changed their stance and identity.

Life is unpredictable; your perspective is determined by your circumstances!

You have to worry about whatever position you're in.

Far away.

In summary, the investors' attitude this time was quite tough, and their main demands were as follows:
1. Establish a hard salary cap. No team's total salary can exceed this hard salary cap at any time, under any circumstances.

2. Lower the maximum salary ratio and eliminate or increase the difficulty of obtaining Bird rights, making it harder for players to continue ignoring their right to renew contracts above the salary cap.

3. The labor and management should split the profits 55/50, and the total salary of the labor side must be reduced from the current 57% to 50%.

These three conditions constitute the main contradiction between the two sides. In addition, there are a large number of peripheral details that need to be discussed and studied.

The response from the labor representatives to the three conditions set by the employers was quite simple.

"Go to hell! You're dreaming!"

The first negotiation between the two sides during the All-Star Game also ended in failure.

That wasn't the end of it. The two sides then held three more rounds of negotiations after the regular season ended, during the playoffs, and after the finals.

As for the results, there were no exceptions.

The more they talked, the more tense things became. The atmosphere between the two sides worsened, the more volatile it became, and the more volatile it became.

Jordan sought out Lin Tian this time specifically for this matter.

Three days later, the two sides will meet again in New York, which will be their last effort before July 1.

July 1st marks the expiration date of the previous collective bargaining agreement between the two parties. If no agreement is reached by then, unfortunately, the offseason will be suspended, and both parties will have to halt all basketball-related matters, including but not limited to signings, trades, transfers, negotiations, and any form of team activities and training.

The league's offseason will be suspended and halted.

"I hope you can talk to the players and ask them to give up some things. They've already received enough. With your status, position, and prestige, it shouldn't be a problem, Lin! Our goal is to prevent the league from shutting down and to keep it running smoothly. A shutdown would seriously damage everyone's interests and the league's image!"

Jordan looked at Lin Tian earnestly and said, "We're all doing this for the good of the league, and we all love this league, don't we? Would you be willing to help me, Lin?"

Seeing Jordan's earnest gaze, Lin Tian nodded without hesitation and said, "Sure, I'll help you. I thought it was something serious."

"Really?" Jordan, who had prepared a whole bunch of arguments to persuade Lin Tian and was ready to spend the whole morning or even the whole day arguing with Lin Tian, ​​was incredulous. When did Lin Tian become so easy to talk to?
"Of course it's true. When do we sign the contract? Can you give me a bank account number or will you pay in some other way?" Lin Tian said confidently.

"Contract? Transfer? What do you mean? Do you want payment? Tell me how much you want, and I can apply to other bosses! As long as things can be settled, everything is negotiable." Jordan paused for a moment, then understood Lin Tian's meaning.

That bastard! He won't do anything without a reason! He even wants payment.

No problem, payment is negotiable! Jordan was even relieved that Lin Tian wanted payment! Once he received the money, this guy would definitely do his best, so there was no fear of the job not being done.

"No, you've misunderstood, Michael. I'm the one giving you money," Lin Tian said. "You sold the team to me, of course I have to give you money. What, you gave me the team, and you're giving me money? Are you doing charity?"

"What is that?" Jordan thought to himself, his mind going blank.

"What? You want me to negotiate for you, to help the owners exploit the workers? I need a reason and a right to do that! I need to be the team owner to represent the owners in negotiations! Otherwise, why should I do this?"

Hearing this, Jordan finally understood.

He had been tricked by that bastard Lin Tian again.

This guy isn't trying to negotiate for me at all! I need your help, and you want my life savings?

"Can you help?"

"Why didn't you speak up for the investors back in '98?" Lin Tian retorted.

"I was a player back then, and you're not a player anymore now!" Jordan roared.

"Who says I'm not? Didn't you see my condition? I can come back and play again in a minute!" Lin Tian retorted, "Besides, even if I don't come back, I still have to deal with the players as a coach. You want me to betray them? What kind of coach am I then?"

"If you want my help, you have to give up the team. Nothing else is possible."

"I'll give you 10% of the shares!" Jordan said viciously, then, perhaps knowing who Lin Tian was, quickly added, "I'm selling you 10% of the shares!"

"I'll leave you 10% of the shares," Lin Tian said, completely unmoved. "How about it?"

"I'm serious about talking to you!" Jordan's patience was dwindling.

"Am I not serious? Am I not cooperating? I'm also trying to give you the right and simple solution." Lin Tian spread his hands to indicate that he had done his best.

"I'm not going to waste my breath on you, just tell me if you can help!"

"Yes, give me the team!"

"FUXX! Go to hell!" (End of Chapter)