Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 392 Han Sen's Decision

The Kings also attached great importance to this meeting. In addition to General Manager Divac, the team president and owner Vivek Ranadive also came.

Although he had been talking to Ajiali for many years, it was the first time that Hansen met Vivek.

Unlike Ajali, who was born in the United States, Vivek was born in India and is an American-Indian who immigrated to the United States.

He gives people the impression of a typical Indian elite grassroots, looking kind but with a shrewd look in his eyes.

Originally, the meeting with the Kings was just a formality, but Divac, as the main communication partner, was trying hard to explain the conditions that the Kings could offer.

The Kings can let Rondo serve as the team's president of operations, and Hansen will have full say in the management.

The Kings now have a large number of high-quality rookies. If Hansen needs them, they can be used as bargaining chips to build a strong championship team for Hansen.

He also mentioned Hansen's significance in reviving the Kings.

Nowadays, many fans in Sacramento choose to drive more than 100 kilometers to Oakland to watch the Warriors game.

If Han Sen joins, this situation will be completely reversed.

So in a sense, although the Kings and Warriors are not teams from the same city, the competitive relationship between them is similar.

This will also be a very challenging thing.

Han Sen nodded from time to time.

He could feel the Kings' sincerity in wanting him, and just like he had done with other teams he had met before, he made the other team feel that he was very interested in joining them.

But to be honest, what Divac said did not ultimately impress him.

These are things he can achieve by staying with the Cavaliers, and other teams are also fully capable of providing.

Of course, the meeting took place in a pleasant atmosphere.

Finally, it’s almost the end and the process is almost complete.

It was at this time that Vivek, who had been listening to the entire conversation, wanted to say something private to Hansen.

Han Sen did not refuse, simply because the other party was Ajiali's father and he would probably use emotional things as a bargaining chip.

However, after everyone else left, what Vivek said was completely different from what Hansen had expected. It could even be said that it was far beyond Hansen's expectations.

"If you choose to come to the Kings and bring the team a championship, I will give you 10% of the team's shares as a gift when you retire."

Han Sen raised his eyebrows.

This is no small sum.

In the Forbes team market value rankings released this year, the Knicks topped the list with a market value of $36 billion.

As for the Kings, their market value reached $1 billion last season because the team moved into the new arena, 13.75 Center.

10% would be $1.375 million.

Of course, this is not money that Han Sen can get.

He could get much more money than this.

Just like after all those years he played with the Cavaliers, the Cavaliers' market value soared directly from the bottom of the league to third, second only to the Knicks and Lakers.

Therefore, if he can be successful in the Kings, the money he can get can be multiplied several times, reaching hundreds of millions.

This brings us back to the most fundamental question: What is Hansen’s ultimate goal of maximizing commercial value?
Yes, it makes money too.

Therefore, if he could really get the shares, Han Sen would make money much faster than through other business operations.

Faced with such conditions, it was hard for Han Sen to remain unmoved.

"I'll seriously consider it." Although he had some ideas, Han Sen was not in a hurry to agree.

After seeing Vivek off, Hansen began to seriously consider Vivek's proposal.

This involves something that Han Sen has never mentioned to anyone, which is what he plans to do after retirement.

Should I use the money to enjoy life, or continue to do things related to basketball.

If it's the latter, then the only thing he could possibly do is be the boss.

That was what Han Sen had planned to do.

He is very influential now and earns a lot of money from off-field endorsements, but that money is still not enough compared to what is needed to buy a team.

From the perspective of buying a team alone, the right time was before the new labor agreement came into effect in 2016, because the market value of NBA teams did not skyrocket at that time.

But now, it would be more difficult.

Therefore, it is a more feasible method for him to obtain shares, become a small owner of a certain team, and then sell those shares to become the owner of another team.

But there is a problem involved here, that of redeeming shares.

Because the NBA has clear regulations that players cannot be team owners at the same time, that is, own shares in the team.

That's why Vivek proposed to give Hansen the shares as a gift after he retires.

In other words, it's something like a drawer agreement.

However, even if this kind of agreement is signed in letter, because it does not comply with the regulations, the initiative to fulfill it lies entirely with Vivek.

To give a most real example, it is the incident between the Wizards and Jordan.

After Jordan retired, he bought 5% of the team's shares and became a minority owner.

After the Twin Towers incident happened in the United States, Jordan made his second comeback. He sold the 5% stake back to the team owner Pollin, and reached an agreement that when he retired again, Pollin would sell the 5% stake back to Jordan at the original price.

Everyone is familiar with what happened next. With Jordan's comeback, the Wizards' market value increased significantly, and Pollin was unwilling to sell his shares to Jordan at the original price.

Will Vivek do the same thing as Pauline?
Han Sen couldn't be sure.

Theoretically, given his relationship with Ajali, Vivek would fulfill his promise.

But when interests become big enough, they are no longer directly related to feelings.

After thinking about it all night, Hansen held a second round of meetings the next day. This time the teams were narrowed down to three, namely the Nets, Clippers and Kings.

Moreover, this meeting was not public, but a private communication with the bosses.

He gave the owners of the three teams a new proposal.

The NBA stipulates that players or their relatives cannot own shares in the team, because if the player is also the owner, he will help the team through methods such as voluntarily reducing his salary.

But NBA rules stipulate that there are loopholes in any rule.

Just like the league's trading rules, from the Big Z clause to the poison contract, they were gradually improved after loopholes were exploited time and time again.

Regarding equity, Hansen had previously thought of letting Rondo take over the team's management. It is reasonable for the management to hold shares in the team, right?
As for what agreement there is between him and Rondo, that is another matter.

Of course, this is still a drawer agreement. If Rondo chooses to expose this kind of thing, he will be severely punished by the league.

But compared to believing in Vivek, Hansen would rather believe in Rondo.

After all, he has traveled through time and space for so many years, and Rondo is the person with whom he has the closest relationship. So Han Sen's idea is that he will directly spend money to buy 10% of the shares through Rondo.

As the saying goes, "It's better to put money in your pocket than to put your hope on receiving something as a gift."

Cai was the first to withdraw.

He is a cautious businessman. After finally entering the NBA and becoming the first Chinese owner in NBA history, he does not want to take the risk of doing such a thing.

Because once it is exposed, all his previous efforts will be wasted, which he cannot accept at all.

Ballmer and Vivek agreed.

To Ballmer, the Clippers are just a "toy" and he can play with them however he wants.

For Vivek, although Hansen's plan was somewhat unexpected, he really wanted Hansen to change the Kings.

For this reason, he even thought about it for a while, gritted his teeth and added: "I agree with your plan, and the conditions I promised you before are still valid."

What this means is that Hansen will first purchase 10% of the shares through Rondo, and then when he helps the Kings win the championship and retires, Vivek will give him another 10%.

In other words, it’s buy one get one free, which adds up to a total of 20%!

This is a very scary number.

Although some teams will also give a portion of shares to meritorious players after the players retire, such as Cuban gave shares to Nowitzki in "History", but that is only 1%.

Han Sen's is twenty times!
Considering the potential appreciation of the Kings, if the market value of the Kings grows to 50 billion, Hansen will be able to get billion by selling his shares.

This is not impossible. You have to know that before Hansen traveled through time, the market value of the Warriors exceeded that of the Knicks and reached 80 billion.

"No matter what decision you ultimately make, I appreciate what you have done for the Kings over the years." Vivek then stated his motivation for doing so.

Needless to say, he knew that Ajiali's suggestions came from Hansen.

This is a bit surprising, but it makes sense if you think about it carefully.

Put yourself in my shoes. My daughter, who doesn’t know much about basketball, suddenly gives me some advice every year, and those suggestions have proven to be effective.

Then your first thought is definitely not that your daughter is cheating, but that there is an expert behind her guiding her.

This was not really a secret, so it was not difficult for Vivek to find out who the master was.

Vivek's conditions are very tempting, but Hansen still prefers to go to the Clippers.

Because going to a big city was his goal from the beginning.

And he believed that if the same conditions were offered to Ballmer, Ballmer would agree without hesitation.

But at this moment, something happened that made Han Sen change his mind.

Los Angeles County Mayor Villaraigosa publicly stated that if Hansen signs with a Los Angeles team, a 25% tariff should be imposed.

Anything that happens may seem incredible, but it is closely related to the background behind it.

This was a time of political change in the United States, when the trade war officially began, and the county governor clearly wanted to make progress too much.

If it was just the remarks of a county mayor, Hansen would not care so much. However, after the remarks fermented, FOX Sports conducted an online survey, which received support from a large number of Los Angeles citizens.

The men in Los Angeles do love basketball, but living in the Truman world, they are more hostile towards the University of the East.

Han Sen could accept being attacked because it would generate a large amount of haters, but living in a city full of hostility would make him feel very uncomfortable.

Han Sen eventually found Vivek.

After getting the answer from Hansen, Vivek's face instantly turned red.

This was a completely different impression from what he had given Han Sen before, but he was also really excited.

He stood up and shook hands with Han Sen, and said something that impressed Han Sen: "We are not in a player-owner relationship, we are partners."

It's a rough truth. Hansen can get 10% of the shares if he joins the Kings, so he is a hidden shareholder of the Kings.

In other words, every game Hansen played on the court from then on, and every bit of value added for the team, was his share. He was working for himself.

Because Hansen has yet to make a decision, many of the big fish in this year's free market have also not made a decision.

For example, George has been hesitating whether to join the Lakers or the Warriors.

Finally, the day came and Han Sen simply announced his decision on his personal social media.

“I’m going to be joining the Sacramento Kings.”

It was a simple sentence, but it caused the entire league to go haywire.

As expected, everyone else felt like they were being fooled.

Hansen said he wanted to join a team in a big city, but ended up going to a decent small city like Sacramento.

Han Sen's move was a perfect tribute to James.

Well, the amount of anti-fans Han Sen got this time is even higher than when he supported James' decision.

Of course, the most excited ones are naturally the Kings fans.

This is simply a competition to chase the goddess. The least favored spare tire finally succeeded in winning the heart of the goddess.

This feeling of counterattack can make people climax right on the spot.

In fact, right after Hansen announced his decision, the entire city of Sacramento went into a frenzy.

Although this place is not a sports desert like Cleveland, it is not much better. The only championship of the ancestors was in the ancient times in 1951, when the team was still called the Rochester Royals.

As for the rest, except for the Princeton Kings during the Adelman era, this team can be described as a bad team at other times.

It is no exaggeration to say that if the Timberwolves are the Crouching Dragon, then the Kings must be the Young Phoenix.

TNT's latest show also analyzed Hansen's motivation for choosing the Kings.

"Unless the Kings offer Han shares, I really can't think of the possibility of him joining the Kings, but we all know that is impossible." Kenny Smith's analysis is still very pertinent.

"Maybe this is Han's 'bad habit'. He has been helping some teams that seem unlikely to win the championship to succeed. He is a 'dream maker'." Barkley said another possibility.

From Memphis to Cleveland, and now to Sacramento, Hansen has faced more and more challenges each time.

"So what do you think of Han's previous statement that he wanted to go to a big city?" Kenny Smith asked.

"Did he say that? I just remember him saying there was no challenge in staying in Cleveland," O'Neal corrected in time.

The idea that Hansen was going to a big city was something that was speculated by reporters, but the team that Hansen chose to meet later fit that theory.

In fact, in comparison, the Kings are a more "challenging" team as Hansen publicly said.

"And places like big cities, when you go there to live after retirement, you may even feel bored," said O'Neal, with the look of a veteran.

"I think what's more important is that times are changing. I don't think Han's commercial value can only be reflected in big cities. He is already a global phenomenon," Barkley added.

"No matter what, the Kings will welcome the real king."

(End of this chapter)