Champion Rules

Chapter 296, Section 292: Before I retire, I really hope to see another miraculous man appear (Seeking monthly votes!)

David Stern strongly agreed with Lynch's direct and to-the-point opening remarks.

He didn't want this exhausting tug-of-war to drag on indefinitely.

Michael Jordan's face was as hard as iron; his thoughts were completely opposite to Lynch's.

He had no intention of resolving everything tonight.

He will continue to stand by his position.

Whether or not it can be resolved is not up to that bastard to decide.

But Michael Jordan also softened his stance slightly, revealing that he wasn't being unrealistically tough.

He knew that at this point, it was almost impossible for the investors not to back down.

So he agreed:
"Based on various considerations, the implementation of a hard wage cap may indeed be worth reassessing."

But the revenue split between the players and us must be reduced to 50/50. This is the fairest and most reasonable revenue sharing ratio.

Lynch countered sharply:

"Then let me ask you this: Bill Davidson bought the Pistons for $6 million in 1974, and now his widow, Karen Davidson, can sell the team for $630 million."

Is this because Karen Davidson is very good at business?

answer me!
The league's ratings have skyrocketed in recent years, returning to the peak levels of the golden age of the 90s.

We've achieved the same domestic viewership as you did back then, and in addition, the alliance now has an international influence that it didn't have in the 90s.

You get a 3000 million annual salary, but we have to take a pay cut? What kind of bullshit logic is that?
Answer me! Look in my eyes!

They've even brought up fairness and reason; without our efforts, would the team's market value have skyrocketed? Would your revenue have increased?
Yes, yes, our investors themselves play the best basketball in this league.

"What a load of rubbish!"

A small burst of laughter came from the conference room. Only the genius knew how Lin Qi managed to make such a serious negotiation sound so humorous.

Michael Jordan did not answer, after all, he was the biggest supporter of the "player dominance" theory back then.

In his view, the Bulls only made money because of him.

Thus, in an era without a fixed maximum salary, he received an annual salary of 3000 million, a figure that remains unmatched to this day.

At this moment, when someone smashed his forehead with the "crown of worth" that he had forged himself, the former owner of the crown could only swallow his rebuttal.

In the suffocating silence, Daniel Gilbert interjected, speaking so quickly it seemed as if he were escaping something:
"If the salary split remains unchanged, what other solutions do you plan to use to guarantee revenue in smaller markets?"

Daniel Gilbert made a classic "Sonny Corleone mistake".

He made the workers immediately realize that the management was not united and that some people had different opinions.

MJ still wanted to maintain the bottom line of pay cuts, but Daniel Gilbert had already quietly handed over this trench to someone else.

It's like last season when Carmelo Anthony still wanted to compete for the championship, but LeBron James no longer cared about winning the championship and was focused on becoming the leader.

With their two paths clashing head-on, how can they possibly reach the other side of victory together?
Sure enough, an argument immediately arose.

Michael Jordan abruptly turned his head, looking incredulously at Daniel Gilbert, who had previously been the toughest member of the investors' camp besides himself:

"Dan, what do you mean by 'if the salary split remains the same'? There are no 'ifs'! Absolutely no 'ifs'!"

Daniel Gilbert waved his hand: "Michael, whether there are 'what ifs' or not depends on everyone's opinion. It's not up to you to decide."

The other representatives from the investors nodded: "Michael, don't be nervous. We're just discussing it; we're not saying we have to give up this bottom line. But this negotiation ship can't stay stuck in the reef forever, can it?"

With just two simple sentences, Michael Jordan's central position collapsed.

He no longer takes the lead.

Lynch almost stood up to give Daniel Gilbert a standing ovation. He had accomplished something Scottie Pippen never even dared to dream of in his life—taking the core position from MJ!

Lynch said that there must be something special about Cleveland.

Before this, there was the Cleveland chosen one who relinquished military power in five parts.

The Cleveland Cavaliers owner has now relinquished military power with just two sentences!
And there's also the Cleveland dunk champion who slid down the ground!

Cleveland, the home of America's most highly skilled people!
The disagreements among the owners are understandable. The previous NBA lockouts did not actually have a significant impact, but that does not mean the league will be so lucky every time.

The NHL experienced a major shutdown during the 03-04 season, which directly caused it to fall from the second-best league in North America to the fourth.

Nobody wants something like this to happen.

Just as cracks were spreading in the power struggle within the capitalist camp, David Stern seized the opportunity to make a proposal that he had prepared long ago.

This proposal came from his aide, Adam Silver, who is also the next president of the league.

He proposed the concept of a "revenue-sharing system".

It's not just about allowing workers and employers to share the revenue.

Allow investors to share in the revenue as well.

Let the big teams subsidize the small teams.

David Stern's approach was to increase the luxury tax and implement a series of measures, including, but not limited to, teams whose salaries exceed the salary cap for three consecutive years will lose their mid-level exception.

The key point of this new luxury tax rule is that 50% of the total luxury tax collected by the league will be distributed proportionally to non-tax teams.

Big teams pay a higher price to secure championship rosters, but the more they contribute, the more subsidies smaller teams receive.

This still cannot guarantee absolute fairness, but at least it can prevent smaller teams from incurring losses.

The proposal received widespread approval from the investors' representatives, but Michael Jordan looked grim.

These useless bastards!

They only asked you to lick their feet, they haven't even brought out the seafood yet, and you've already given in?
Can you muster the same courage I had when I got my vasectomy?
The last negotiation ended because Jordan, who is five centimeters shorter, suddenly had a fit, pointed at David Stern's nose and cursed him.

During this negotiation, Wade, who was five centimeters taller, suddenly erupted, slamming his steel-like fist onto the negotiating table with thunderous force, scattering documents everywhere.
“David, we don’t want to hear your opinion! This is a negotiation between labor and management, and you don’t belong to either side! No matter what Lynch or anyone else says, I will not accept it!”

The investors are wavering.

Some people want to follow Daniel Gilbert's lead and would rather have less than let a shutdown happen.

Some people are pinning their hopes on Michael Jordan, fantasizing about lowering player salaries.

Negotiations stalled again, and David Stern clutched his head.

It looks like the cold winter will continue.

Michael Jordan's current strategy is to stall until the season is suspended and see how the players react.

Lynch remained calm and composed. When Daniel Gilbert interrupted MJ, he knew that victory was in his grasp.

Now, we can almost play the last card and completely solve this problem.

“Michael, if you continue to be so stubborn, I will have to dissolve the players’ union.”

"What!?" Everyone present, like MJ, had eyes full of confusion.

"This way, players can participate as individual employees in a class-action antitrust lawsuit against the league, arguing that the lockout is an illegal group boycott. NFL owners' lawyer David Boyce has agreed to represent the players and join the lawsuit; he has experience in this area, and we are sure to win!"

Michael Jordan's face contorted between shock and rage for a good ten seconds, his confidence waning: "Dissolving the union requires the players' support."

"That's not something you should worry about."

"If you think you can, then show me!"

The negotiations ended there, with both Derek Fisher and Billy Hunter covered in sweat.

Although he knew that dissolving the union was only temporary, and although Lynch had mentioned this plan long ago.

But they still didn't want things to come to this.

Labor's actions were faster than MJ had anticipated.

The very next day, before the smoke from the negotiations had even cleared, a swift referendum by union members had been completed—the players' union, a banner that had stood for decades, was dissolved procedurally with over 99% of the vote. That afternoon, stars including Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and Kevin Garnett filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NBA in California federal court.

As promised, they gave Lynch their full support.

The investors have no chance of winning; their only option is to return to the negotiating table.

Michael Jordan is still determined to fight back, and he has consulted with numerous lawyers.

But what ultimately broke him was not time, but the pressure from within the investors.

During an internal meeting with the owners, Daniel Gilbert stated bluntly: "Lynch is clearly prepared, and they're still willing to talk, so we can still benefit. If we miss this opportunity and the season is suspended, we'll lose even more! Wake up, we can't become the next NHL!"

Most team owners have chosen to support Daniel Gilbert, and Michael Jordan has lost control over the hardliners.

He could get the Chicago Bulls to willingly follow him on his campaigns, but he couldn't get the owners of the 29 teams to willingly suspend operations with him.

With over 80% of people supporting restarting negotiations, Michael Jordan's opinion is no longer relevant.

Just one week later, labor negotiations resumed.

The dust settled at the end of January, with players and owners voting on the new collective bargaining agreement. Ultimately, the owners approved the signing of the new agreement with a vote of 25 to 5.

In the new agreement, the percentage of player salaries remains unchanged at 57%, and the soft salary cap system will continue to be implemented.

The super luxury tax rules have come into effect, and the revenue-sharing scheme has also been officially implemented.

There are also some minor details, such as the league introducing the "Lynch Clause":
Players who were named MVP during their rookie contract, or who were selected as starters twice in the All-Star voting, or who were selected to the All-NBA Team twice.

When signing their second career contract, they can receive a maximum salary contract that accounts for 30% of the team's salary cap (a 5% increase over the old contract).

The tense labor negotiations came to an end, with both sides reaching an agreement before the old labor agreement expired without any major incidents.

The scarlet alert for the nuclear explosion has been lifted, and shutdown has become a terrifying but distant concept.

Micky Arison of the Miami Heat and Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks are the only two owners who have publicly disclosed that they voted against the new collective bargaining agreement.

They all disagreed with the so-called revenue-sharing plan. They didn't understand why the team that earned more was obligated to share money with the team that earned less.

The new rules mean that these capitalists, who eat meat without spitting out the bones, will not only have to spit out the bones this time, but will even have to share some of the meat with others.

But neither of these two individuals are small-market owners, which is enough to show that MJ's hardline faction completely failed in the negotiations.

Michael Jordan knew very well that this was the beginning of the complete collapse of his influence.

At the dinner following the signing of the new labor agreement, David Stern searched everywhere for Lynch.

When he saw the King of New York, Lynch was holding a glass of juice and talking to James Dolan.

Of course, the two non-marriage advocates didn't discuss which models they were going to make a fuss about tonight.

Instead, they were discussing their Manhattan plan.

Currently, the Los Angeles Clippers' record is fluctuating.

The good news is that they definitely won't make the playoffs.

The bad news is that the presence of Blake Griffin and Tyson Chandler makes it difficult for them to reach the bottom of the Western Conference, preventing the ship from sinking to the deepest part of the Western Conference.

Lynch gently swirled the juice in his glass, deeply disappointed with Blake Griffin's performance.

You're paid the salary of a top scorer, so why can't you do the work of someone who competes for the top score?
You really should learn from Kyrie Irving in this regard!

If it weren't for Kyrie Irving leading the team to two number one draft picks in three years, would LeBron James have been able to stage that touching homecoming scene?
Given the uncertainty surrounding the Clippers' draft pick, James Dolan tentatively asked Lynch, "Are there any players we can put on the trading block for the number one pick?"

Lynch answered bluntly, "No! Not a single name!"

This season, the Knicks have already undergone one roster change.

If the media finds out that the Knicks are trading players for the number one draft pick, it will damage locker room cohesion. That nascent dynasty mentality will instantly crumble into quicksand.

Everyone was giving their all to win the championship, but then they realized that the team might trade anyone.

If it were Lynch, he wouldn't be interested in continuing to dedicate himself to the team.

The Manhattan Project is important, but we must also secure this championship right now.

James Dolan nodded; he respected Lynch's opinion. Now, it was up to Sam Presti to come up with another solution.

At that moment, he noticed David Stern smiling and waving at him from a short distance away.

He smiled and gestured, then moved away from Lynch to make room for the NBA commissioner.

David Stern leaned close to Lynch, raised his glass, and said, “Thank you, Lynch, you averted a disaster. God above, I’ve never seen any player in nearly thirty years bring the labor side together so closely. Now, we don’t need to worry about whether next season will even exist.”

Lynch nodded, accepting the praise with composure. "It's all what I should do. As the most influential player in the league," Lynch said without any modesty, "I should shoulder these responsibilities."

After Lynch finished speaking, David Stern gave him a meaningful look:
“You know Lynch, I’m about to retire. People say that MJ is the most successful product of my idol-making campaign. I admit that I played a little role in promoting MJ’s success, but the key was still himself.”

Before I retire, I really hope to see another miraculous man emerge and take the league's influence to the next level.

"Keep going, Lynch, I know you can do it."

After saying that, David Stern took a sip of his drink and waved his hand, saying, "I won't bother you any longer."

Last season, David Stern felt fear when Lynch won the championship.

He feared that Lynch's consecutive championships would disrupt the competitive balance of the league.

This season, David Stern clearly saw that far more people expected the New York Knicks to build a dynasty, or even for Lynch to surpass his three-peat, than those who wanted to see them fall.

Yes, having a champion every year creates an atmosphere that "this league is very competitive and the games are very suspenseful".

However, this approach would prevent the creation of any dominant team or any truly dominant player.

This is actually not a good thing for the NBA.

Therefore, his attitude towards Lynch completely changed.

Furthermore, since Lynch resolved this shutdown crisis, he personally hopes that Lynch can succeed.

If he can create a second legend like Michael Jordan before he retires, then his career will be without regrets.

Lynch swirled his wine glass, wondering why David Stern had suddenly brought this up.

He did indeed help David Stern a lot, nipping what would have been the longest shutdown in history in the bud.

But Lynch didn't do it for David Stern.

He did it for his own benefit, as well as the benefit of the other players.

Michael Jordan earned $90 million a year in the 3000s, while current players can only earn a maximum of $2000 million under the current collective bargaining agreement.

The cap on player salaries was already going backwards, and now it's going to be lowered? Isn't that absurd?
Lynch knew very well that he was worth 3000 million or even more.

He simply didn't want the rules to bind himself and others.

Therefore, he doesn't need David Stern to thank him.

But David Stern just seemed to be implying something else.

Lin Qi smiled slightly and didn't think about it any further.

how?

Could he possibly replicate the infamous "Knicks envelope freeze" from his first lottery draft in 1985?
Lynch resolved the labor dispute crisis. He is a natural leader; every step he takes is planned and purposeful, and his execution is exceptionally strong. At least in the hearts of this generation of players and fans, Lynch is undoubtedly the GOAT. — Derek Fisher, president of the players' union, commented on Lynch in his speech at the dinner party.

I'm glad Lynch helped us solve the problem, but that doesn't mean our competition is over. You know, I absolutely respect him, but one thing is one thing. — Carmelo Anthony on his relationship with Lynch.

I don't want to talk about anything related to the "revenue-sharing plan." Right now, I only care about the dynasty! — James Dolan quickly dodged the reporters' cameras.

I believe a basketball player should focus solely on basketball, nothing more. — LeBron James's justification for his absence from labor negotiations.

In his last interview, LeBron said that as a public figure, he's more than just a basketball player. But this time... it doesn't matter. LeBron's classic left-brain-right-brain struggle is something we're all used to. — Stephen A. Smith commenting on LBJ's remarks.

Given Lynch's current reputation and influence, even if he were to win three consecutive championships, Michael would still be the GOAT, without a doubt. Don't rush to attack me, as for Lynch, he will be the MOAT! Mythology Of All Times! — Charles Barkley discussing the GOAT debate.

(End of this chapter)