The championship parade is scheduled for Friday at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time.
Behind every grand event, there is a lot of preparation work by the staff.
Unlike the Lakers, the Lakers team has very rich experience in championship parades. They have conducted five championship parades in the 21st century alone.
This is the first time the Clippers have done it. Before the start of the playoffs, the Clippers did not expect that the team would win the championship, so they did not make any advance preparations.
Such a huge event must be held in one week. According to Min Congda's requirements, it must be luxurious and grand, and it must be more grand than the Lakers' championship celebration. The time can be said to be extremely tight.
To this end, Rosser and the Clippers management team gave full play to their imagination. They first packaged and sold the live broadcast rights of the Clippers' championship celebration to YouTube.
Because the Clippers and YouTube had an in-depth cooperation before, and web live broadcasting was gradually emerging, YouTube was very happy to take over this live broadcast, with a signing fee of up to 10 million US dollars!
The reason why the signing fee is so high is because the Clippers have handed over all advertising agency management rights to YouTube, which is responsible for negotiating with advertisers, and all advertising revenue belongs to YouTube.
In just one week, if the Clippers were to negotiate advertising partners and solicit sponsorships, it would definitely be too late.
It is definitely a wise move to make good use of the resources at hand and package and sell copyrights.
Secondly, the Clippers invited Los Angeles singers and celebrities to support the Clippers.
Not to mention Clippers VIPs like Beckham, Clippers team logo designer Kanye West was also invited to perform a live rap performance.
Kanye West's normal appearance fee is very expensive, but the Clippers allow West to promote his new Coconut shoes. All Clippers players who have not signed sneakers will wear Coconut sneakers. West has He didn't ask for any appearance fees, and even brought a few celebrity friends from the rap circle to support him, which made him another fortune.
With the 10 million from the YouTube channel, plus the free attendance of celebrities such as West, the remaining expenses for floats, hotels, security, etc., add up to not much money.
So Rosser was right, not only did they not spend any money, they also made money!
"At the end of this championship parade, we should have an income of US$3 million! If we accept some more small brand endorsements, this income can go up!"
The so-called small brand endorsements refer to some local brands that YouTube does not support, such as food stores, sports equipment stores, fashion stores, etc.
The stores in these places don't look fancy, but if they cooperate in sponsorship promotion, the amount of sponsorship funds will still be considerable.
For example, some food stores can provide free catering and alcohol services for the entire parade to enhance the visibility of their stores in Los Angeles.
In this way, the Clippers not only don't have to spend money to prepare meals for the players and staff, but they can also collect a lot of sponsorship fees. Why not?
The highly developed capital market has the power to monetize your fame quickly without wasting it.
Min Congda obviously underestimated the huge economic effect brought by the title of "championship", especially since this is the Clippers' first championship.
The Lakers have won too many championships, so every time they win the championship, the championship adds more to their reputation, which is the icing on the cake.
The Clippers are different. They have been waiting for the championship for 40 years. They are popular and popular. Everyone is tired of watching the Lakers win. Finally, Los Angeles has a new champion, and the attention is naturally very high.
And unlike the Lakers, the Clippers have a lot of new and young fans. These young people are very fanatical and have good spending power. They are high-quality consumers in the future, and businesses are happy to cultivate them.
Therefore, the Clippers' series of plans for this championship parade went quite smoothly, and sponsors and celebrities rushed to catch up on the popularity of this championship.
Min Congda's head was pounding after listening to Rosser's report. He originally thought that this parade would cost more, but why did he still make money?
"Listen to me Rosser, it's just a few million, don't covet this small amount of money. Well... wait until the championship parade is over, donate this money, just donate it to... donate it to the previous thing, African Youth Basketball Development Foundation! I took the lead in establishing it.”
"No problem Mr. Smart, I will contact the foundation and donate the remaining profits!"
Rosser implemented Min Congda's decision without hesitation. Anyway, the Clippers will not be short of money in the future.
Banks are rushing to lend money to the Clippers, and businesses are trying to get sponsorship from the Clippers.
A championship brings money rolling in.
After hanging up the phone, Min Congda took a deep breath and drove to the city center to participate in the championship parade in the afternoon.
In Los Angeles in June, the weather was so hot that Min Congda felt a little dizzy from the sun.
The Clippers prepared a huge float to parade on the road, and all members of the Clippers accepted the cheers of the fans on the float.
The golden championship trophy was shining in the sun, and the smooth trophy reflected Min Congda's twisted face.
He felt like a clown.
"Why are you still parading in your car for people to watch? Isn't this just parading on the streets in China?"
"The culture of Americans is different from that of Chinese people. According to our Chinese approach, we should find a big hotel and have a good meal."
"Damn, it's too hot and sunny today. It's killing me."
The entire Clippers team was very happy, and only Min Congda was unhappy.
Even though Min Congda is so low-key, the Clippers players still refuse to let him go.
During the speech session, everyone pushed him to the front of the stage and asked Min Congda to deliver his winning speech.
Min Congda, who was pushed to the stage, had no choice but to pretend at this time.
You can’t say that I’m unhappy when we won the championship, right?
Min Congda was heartbroken and thought: "The team will go bankrupt in two years. Let's win a championship as a souvenir. I might as well brag now. If you get slapped in the face in the future, it won't have anything to do with me. I won't care." Become the general manager."
So, Min Congda took the microphone and said to everyone: "This year we won the championship! But we will not only have one or two, three or four, nor will we only have five or six, but at least seven !”
As soon as these words came out, those who knew about football, those who didn’t, those who liked the Clippers or not, those who were present and not present, those who watched the live broadcast and those who listened to the radio, fell silent.
Curry, Randolph, Harden and others who had been interacting passionately with the fans also turned their heads and looked at Min Congda, with doubts in their eyes.
It seems to be saying, Smart, what are you talking about? Not one or two, not three or four, not five or six. You want seven?
The fans at the scene were also stunned and looked at each other.
Is General Manager Smart drunk? Is this such an exaggeration?
There are really not many people in NBA history who dare to set up a Flag like this.
Even if it is established, there are very few things that can still be realized.
And when people set a flag, they usually mean "we will definitely win in the next game", such as Rasheed Wallace in the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals.
Or even more awesome, "We're going to win the championship next year," Pat Riley after winning the championship in 1987.
The reason Riley shouted this slogan is famous because since the end of the Celtics dynasty in 1969, no team in the NBA has been able to win consecutive championships for nearly 20 years.
Under this circumstance, Riley dared to shout the slogan of consecutive championships in advance, and achieved it in the 1988 season, which of course left his mark in history.
Of course, after winning the championship in 1988, Riley didn't dare to shout anymore, because it was too difficult for them to win the championship that year.
They had a tiebreaker with the Pistons, and the final victory was quite controversial. As a result, they were beaten by the Pistons in the finals the next year, and their dream of three consecutive championships was shattered.
Phil Jackson, the greatest head coach in modern basketball and the machine behind three consecutive championships, once said, "Three consecutive championships is the limit."
Indeed, for modern basketball, salary space, competition, and player fatigue all make it increasingly difficult to win consecutive championships.
After the destruction of the Celtics dynasty in the 1960s, only Jackson could bring three consecutive championships, and no other team or team could do it.
Min Congda is good. Although he didn't say seven consecutive championships, your seven championships are scary enough, brother.
After saying these words, Min Congda looked at the surprised people and thought, I just said it casually, do you really believe it?
Seven championships, then I can never complete my damn mission in this life, and I will die in this damn general manager position for the rest of my life.
"I'm just saying what I think, why should I be surprised? A person should have dreams, right? Be happy!"
Everyone gradually came to their senses, forget it, just treat him as nonsense, and the carnival continued.
This parade lasted from 2:30 in the afternoon until the evening, when the sun set.
The parade float finally stopped at Staples Center, where Kanye West began his rap performance.
The American crowd was so excited that Min Congda felt noisy. He really wanted to go home early, but unfortunately he couldn't.
The related celebrations lasted until late at night, and the exhausted fans and players dispersed and went back to their homes.
As the event comes to an end, the Clippers' memories of the 2011-2012 season also come to an end.
For Min Congda, this is undoubtedly a failed season.
But seeing everyone so happy, when he returned home, he thought, "If I can bring everyone's happiness at the expense of me, is it worth it?"
"Stop farting, Min Congda, hurry up and complete your mission and start a new life situation!"
"Stop playing basketball all the time!"
He thought so in his heart, but his mind had already drifted to the 2012 draft.
This year's draft will be held in New York on June 29.
Because it has been decided not to be involved in this draft, and full power is left to Olshey and the team's draft working group, the draft has nothing to do with Min Congda.
But after all, with the No. 1 pick in hand, Min Congda still has to pay attention to see who the team will select.
After the major mistake in the 2009 draft, Min Congda believed that he should learn from the lesson and never act alone and choose someone with a good shooting ability.
You must go with the crowd and choose whatever everyone thinks is good.
Min Congda opened the draft map of the 21st century and found that the recognized No. 1 pick was often not the best among the rookies.
2000 can be called the smallest draft year in NBA history, with not even a single superstar.
No. 1 pick Kenyon Martin was well-deserved, but he still missed out on the Rookie of the Year award and was won by Mike Miller.
Needless to say, in 2001, Kwame Brown was the well-known parallel import number one pick.
Yao Ming was very good in 2002, but the best player that year was Stoudemire with the ninth pick.
There was no doubt that James was indeed the strongest in 2003, and the Cavaliers knew they had to choose him.
Howard also deserved the title in 2004, no problem.
Bogut was far behind in 2005, and Paul was the best.
In 2006 and 2007, the number one pick was not very good, and he was a center.
Until 2008 and 2009, the two point guards proved to be geniuses.
Therefore, Min Congda can see that anyone who has been superstitious about big men in the past ten years or so will most likely be in trouble.
Even if he is not good at it, there are still better players than him among the rookies in the same class.
"If I had chosen Griffin in 2009, he would have been reimbursed in the first season, and the Clippers might have been on the verge of bankruptcy. Even if he came back later, he wouldn't have been able to perform like Curry! It was a mistake, it was really a mistake. Got it!"
"If they pick another defender in this year's draft, I will definitely veto it. Although I have agreed not to interfere, I can't just watch the same mistakes happen again!"
Min Congda, who had just won the championship, began to worry about the Clippers next season.
The principle I had set before was that I would not participate in the draft, but my heart was still full of worries.
Before the draft, Min Congda couldn't help but call Olshey and ask him about his preparations for the draft.
Olshey said: "Actually, we have nothing to prepare. We only have one No. 1 pick this year, and the other picks have been traded away. And our candidate is also very clear, it is University of Kentucky power forward Anthony Davis. He is the undisputed No. 1 pick this year.”
"Indisputable? Was Blake Griffin also indisputable in 2009?"
Olshey was stunned for a moment and said: "Uh...well...Mr. Smart, if you have any instructions, just tell us and we will definitely comply with them."
Griffin was indeed the "undisputed" No. 1 pick in 2009, and the Clippers management wanted to win him without even a second thought.
But it is arguable that Curry is a better and more groundbreaking player than Griffin.
This time Olshey and others also made repeated comparisons and inspections, just to break the inertia of thinking and see if they could find the second Curry.
But after repeated inspections, they collected a lot of scouting information, and the final result was that Anthony Davis was the best.
Now Min Congda seems to have objections, and Olshey is all ears. If he has new ideas, the draft team will definitely follow them.
Min Congda said: "Anthony Davis, is he a power forward? Is he an inside player?"
"Yes, it's the inside. This year he won the NCAA championship. MOP (Most Outstanding Player)."
"Hmm... Insider, NCAA champion, Most Outstanding Player... Who was the last No. 1 pick who won the NCAA championship and Most Outstanding Player?"
"Uh...it's Danny Manning, and he's also from our Clippers team."
Olshe's historical knowledge is still very solid.
Although the NCAA is the highest honor in college basketball, in recent years more and more talented players are just passing through college basketball.
Entering the NBA after playing only one year is difficult to achieve in the NCAA. After all, there are many NCAA schools and they are all eliminated in a single game.
Therefore, many of the top-ranked rookies in recent years have relatively average NCAA results.
Unlike in the 1970s and 1980s, talented players would play for three to four years. Some superstars in the NCAA have won championships or reached the semi-finals and won MOP.
Nowadays, those who get MOP are often players with average talent who have played in college for many years.
Therefore, in recent years, the honor of MOP has not been very valuable in the NBA, and the draft picks have not been high.
For example, Corey Brewer, Shane Battier, Mario Chalmers, Kyle Singler and so on.
Even some MOPs are not very good at playing in the NBA.
What a coincidence, the last MOP pick was Manning, selected by the Clippers in 1988.
"Manning, is he the forward who has been greatly affected by injuries? How is Anthony Davis's physical condition?"
"Davis' injury situation is relatively average. He was injured in college, but he is really talented. I think..."
"Okay, Olshey, I agree with your choice, just him. I'm just asking, the decision is yours."
In the end, Min Congda agreed to choose Anthony Davis, which made Olshey a little confused. He couldn't figure out what Smart was thinking.
"Mr. Smart is indeed an unpredictable person. He is unfathomable and unfathomable."
(End of chapter)
