Chris Wallace didn't expect that the lineup he was proud of would be vulnerable to the Clippers.
But he still comforted himself that it was just a regular season game. If the two teams met in the playoffs, the situation would definitely be different.
For young teams, the regular season is a process of growth, especially for a talented rookie like Griffin who is only in his second season.
Their progress is often visible to the naked eye. They are learning lessons in every game and growing upward in every game.
Wallace is still confident that the combination of Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Conley will definitely make a mark in the Western Conference in the future.
Min Congda didn't care so much about his young players, and his thoughts were all on the Great Western Forum Arena.
Today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, people from New York will come to negotiate. If they don’t know the church’s trump card, the Clippers will be too passive.
Therefore, even if Daddario didn't contact him in the past two days, Min Congda didn't think too much and let her go. She just wanted to see the old man Jerry West.
The day after the game, at noon, Wallace met Jerry West and Min Congda, and the three of them met at a restaurant in Los Angeles to chat.
For this reason, he did not fly away with the Grizzlies. After all, friends have to help each other, and West himself wanted to meet Min Congda.
The first time West met Min Congda was during the 2009 Summer League. At that time, Min Congda had just become the general manager of the Clippers and went to Las Vegas with the team to eat, drink and have fun.
During the game between the Clippers and the Grizzlies, West appeared briefly for a while and then left. At that time, he only had a superficial impression of Min Congda.
After all, there are very few Chinese faces in the NBA circle.
Except for players like Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian, there are almost no Chinese coaches or management.
Usually there are some physical therapy rooms, operations, planning, etc., and there will be people with yellow skin and black hair.
Jerry West was surprised at the time why such an unknown Chinese would become the general manager of the Clippers.
After that, West will more or less see news related to Min Congda in the media.
After all, when he first entered the league, Min Congda was really capable of making trouble and became the traffic controller in the NBA at that time.
After that, he made a series of transactions, operations, and drafts, and single-handedly led the Clippers to become a strong team in the league.
Last year, not only did they go 8-0, but they also made a breakthrough by allowing the Clippers to enter the conference finals. In two seasons, they accomplished something that the Clippers had not been able to do in the past 40 years.
West, a legend in the league, was impressed by him, so when Chris Wallace called and said that Smart-Min wanted to have dinner with him the next day, West immediately agreed.
He happens to be in Los Angeles and has long wanted to meet and communicate with the Clippers general manager in private to see who he is.
The first thing Min Congda felt when he saw West was "tall", which was almost the most he felt in the NBA.
There is no way, why is his height just an ordinary person, and the NBA is always about 2 meters.
Curry, who looks thin in the photo, is a burly man in reality, and Min Congda is used to being a dwarf.
However, when the three of them sat down, if there were other people watching, it was obvious that Min Congda was not afraid at all in terms of aura.
David Stern is not tall, but he is the most powerful person in the league. Min Congda is not even afraid of Stern, but can be afraid of West.
After a brief introduction and greetings, Min Congda, as usual, spoke quickly and did not mince words, and asked: "Jerry, loyal Central Bible Church, are you familiar with this organization?"
West nodded and said: "Yes, I know that I was the one who bought the Great Western Forum Arena. Chris told me before that the Clippers wanted to buy this arena. Come down."
"That's right, but New York Madison Entertainment Company stepped in and wanted to seize the purchase rights of the Great Western Forum. But according to my judgment, the price they offered will not be higher than ours. I want to know what the church's motivation is. The reason is to cooperate with New York instead of selling to the Clippers. Can you do me and the Clippers a favor?"
West cut a piece of steak into his mouth and chewed it. After thinking for a while, he said: "More than ten years have passed. The head of Central Bible Church has changed, but there are still some friends I am familiar with. I can Let me help you find out some information. After all, you also helped the Lakers a lot in the transaction, so I should help you."
Min Congda knew that West was talking about Paul's transaction.
He smiled and said: "Every transaction is a win-win situation, there is no such thing as helping or not. Then I leave this matter to you, I owe you a favor."
West nodded, and they changed the topic to basketball. The three of them talked about team building and basketball style.
It must be admitted that when he is not causing trouble, Min Congda's basketball talent is visible to the naked eye.
Talking about the current layout of the league, it is called accurate.
And he insists on writing post-game posts on the NBA-Batman blog all year round, no matter how tired he is, he keeps writing every day.
Even when the coach is the busiest and most worried, he will update an English post-game review on the focus game at least every two days.
This has greatly improved Min Congda's tactical thinking ability and strategic planning ability.
Therefore, this guy's ability to talk on paper is absolutely top-notch.
West is a grumpy man who doesn't talk much in daily conversations.
But Min Congda was able to chat with him back and forth, and they had a great time.
Chris Wallace was very surprised when he saw this. When he worked with West in the past, he was often criticized by the old man.
After lunch, West wiped his mouth, said he had something else to do and left first.
"See you next time you have a chance. I've been in Los Angeles recently, and Chris will give you my phone number. If you have any questions, call me."
Min Chongda expressed his thanks to West and then sent Chris Wallace to the airport. The Grizzlies had already left first.
On the way, Chris Wallace said to Min Congda: "Smart, would you like to consider inviting Mr. West to be a consultant to the team?"
Min Congda was shocked and thought, do you want me to die? I'm just asking him for a favor, why should I ask this great man to come to the team as a consultant?
Do you think I haven't won enough games?
Seeing that Min Congda was silent, Wallace said: "Smart, you are not so blind, are you? Don't you see that West really wants to work for the Clippers as a consultant?"
"Really? Didn't he say that I did a big favor to the Lakers, so I want to give back?"
Wallace shook his head, thinking that as a Chinese, you don't know anything about American people and sophistication.
Although West is a Lakers legend, he has won multiple honors as a player, coach, and general manager with the Lakers. He can be said to be one of the most successful basketball players in NBA history.
But now that he is so old, do you think the Lakers have given him a position? A person with such outstanding achievements was kicked out after winning three consecutive championships in 2002.
The reason is also very simple. The Buss family has absolute control over the Lakers. They do not allow people with "high achievements to shake the master" to appear.
If you work for the Lakers and Buss family and achieve brilliant results, I will give you enough money and glory.
But if your contribution is too great and fans, players, and even other shareholders think that you can replace the Bass family, then Bass and his children will nip the threat in their infancy.
Pat Riley is one, Jerry West is another, and Phil Jackson is the next. The Buss family has always been wary of and fearful of such "workers" who have contributed too much.
There is no way, who makes the Buss family "poor"? The Lakers are so golden that they dare not give it to others. After all, there are many people who are staring at the Lakers, the hen that lays golden eggs.
Once a family declines and lacks talents to inherit the family business, the powerful managers below will join forces with external forces to gradually squeeze the family out of the management through various means.
In the end, through capital, the entire team was renamed. The Lakers continued, but Buss no longer.
Stories like this have happened every day in the hundreds of years of capital history in the United States.
For those famous and legendary companies, how many of their major shareholders, management, and founder families are in charge?
Some founding families can be considered good enough to live comfortably with their shares, while others have completely lost their ownership and just leave their names behind.
Therefore, Old Bass was very careful about this matter, paying great attention to the training of his children, and at the same time, he was wary of famous figures.
Riley went to the Heat and became the godfather, and he was an extremely ambitious man.
West actually doesn't have that big ambition. He is a more pure basketball person.
But he was still pushed out of the Lakers management and went to the Grizzlies to prove himself.
He did not forget to assist his old club and sent Gasol to Los Angeles, achieving Kobe's second glory.
It shows that there is real affection. Look at Riley, the deal with the Lakers was to take away O'Neal, and this summer they brought back Odom.
Unfortunately, the Bass family will not accept West's favor.
It's okay that Old Bass is here now, but when Old Bass dies, his children will no longer have any affection for West.
At that time, maybe all your free Lakers season tickets will be canceled for you. What a favor.
Therefore, West's help to Min Congda was not to repay him for helping the Lakers get Paul. He had something to do with him.
This love needs to be repaid elsewhere, otherwise I won’t be able to help you find out about the church.
Min Congda asked: "I remember, isn't West working as a consultant for the Warriors?"
Wallace said: "Yes, West is a consultant to the Warriors, but the consultant is not a coach. He can be a consultant to many teams. This is an identity, and it is also a contract. Do you understand?"
During the 2011 offseason, the Golden State Warriors signed West and asked him to be the team's basketball consultant and provide guidance for team construction.
This is equivalent to rehiring the old leader, and you don't have to work on duty. You just need to provide resources and draft opinions to the team, and you will get a lot of money.
The Clippers also have this kind of consultant, and that is Mike Dunleavy. This old boy is still being raised in Brooklyn.
I don’t know what kind of job he plans to do in the future. Anyway, as long as he doesn’t become the head coach or general manager, he can always hold the position of consultant.
West can work as a consultant with the Warriors, and naturally he can work as a consultant with the Clippers at the same time. West obviously doesn't want to leave the California area.
It just so happens that the Clippers are still in Los Angeles, rivaling the Lakers in the same city. If it can help the Clippers further surpass the Lakers, West shouldn't be too happy.
But Min Congda was in trouble. Should he let West serve as a consultant for the team?
What if he becomes a consultant and makes the Clippers' performance improve by leaps and bounds?
"Actually, it is not that easy to make rapid progress. He is just a consultant, not a coach. As a consultant, Lao Deng can't help much. It is equivalent to getting a contract to support him. I think this NBA team is different from those There is no difference between state-owned enterprises. They often support some elderly people and have connections. The NBA is a small circle, and the connections are extremely special. If I don't let West come to the Clippers, the acquisition of the Great Western Forum Arena will encounter problems. . This is a really important plan. The Clippers' results are just like this. If they are neither better nor worse, they will not be able to beat the Lakers in the playoffs!"
After some weighing, Min Congda decided that having West as a consultant was not a big problem.
He is no longer so obsessed with the Clippers' record, as long as they don't win the championship.
This season, he thinks the Clippers can't beat the Lakers or Cavaliers. If they can't wait for another Western Conference Finals, what can they do?
The decision-making power of team management is still in his own hands. If West wants to put forward any constructive suggestions at that time, he can just deny them!
What's so scary about an old man?
So, Min Congda said: "What you said makes sense, but I was negligent. In that case, I will personally hire Mr. West to be the team's basketball consultant and ask him to help the Clippers with basketball-related matters." .”
Wallace nodded and said: "Smart, you have really made a profit. West is a man with great hands and eyes in the league. He will help you."
Min Congda thought to himself, he can just help me win the Great Western Forum. As for basketball, I won't listen to him not having to worry about it. 33
Through Crete Wallace as an intermediary, the Los Angeles Clippers drafted a contract the next day, contacted Jerry West, and hired him as the Clippers' basketball consultant.
In this way, West serves as a consultant for both the Warriors and Clippers. It seems that he is going to encourage the two underdogs in California to encircle and suppress his old club, the Los Angeles Lakers.
It can only be said that the grievances and hatreds in the NBA circle have not ended. A talented person like West will always find a way to get revenge when he is angry.
West accepted the Clippers' invitation and naturally had to do something. He contacted his church friends in the afternoon to learn about the situation.
Soon he got the relevant information and informed Min Congda of the reasons why the loyal Central Bible Church was unwilling to cooperate with the Clippers. There were two main reasons:
First, the New York Knicks are backed by Chase Bank. Chase Bank has recently been working hard to expand their business in culture and sports. Chase has also been cooperating with churches.
Wells Fargo, the bank behind the Clippers, is not particularly active in this regard. It only provides loan financing and has little interest in the acquisition itself.
Second, the church does not trust Min Congda very much and does not want to do business with a Chinese general manager.
After Min Congda learned the news, the first thing he could understand was that the financial backers behind them were more active and powerful, so it was normal for him to prefer New York.
But the second point is, isn’t this racial discrimination? I’m Chinese and you don’t want to do business with me?
After thinking about it, it was useless. After all, in the United States, anti-racial discrimination mainly targets black people and is of no use to Asians.
On the contrary, Asians are often discriminated against by black people, and black people who resist discrimination still discriminate against others. Where can they find reason?
Min Congda has stayed in the United States for two years and has a relatively deep understanding of the ethics of this place.
New York will send someone to discuss the matter tomorrow. It is unlikely to reverse these two points now.
He can neither convince the bank nor change his skin color, so what should he do?
Of course, Min Congda would not give up just yet. At this time, he would instead think of some simple and unpretentious tricks.
He thought for a while and called Christopher: "Christopher, I want to eat your pizza. Send me one."
Some people died, but not completely...
