Livingston had no idea that Min Congda was such a relaxed, open-minded and fun-loving person.
In his imagination, the general manager who transformed the Clippers in three years must be an elite manager who is rigorous in running the army and also has a graceful manner.
NBA management is full of such white elites. They are all well-educated, enthusiastic, polite, and have high IQs, but they have ruthless decision-making at critical moments.
It's like a scumbag with perfect ability to pick up girls. When we are together, he talks sweetly and does everything perfectly, but once he decides to break up, he will be merciless.
Livingston is a person with experience. He reached the peak of his life at a young age, but a sudden disaster made him fall to the bottom. Therefore, he has seen the warmth and coldness of human relationships, and has experienced what it means to turn the page like a book, and what it means to be displaced.
He has a deep understanding of the enthusiasm and indifference of NBA management. The reality of this league is outrageous.
But Livingston only sat down and chatted with Min Congda for a while, and he could feel that Min Congda was different from those white elites.
There was a clear sense of stupidity in his eyes, and his words had no purpose and no subtext.
It seems that giving Livingston a three-year guaranteed contract was not his decision at all, and he did not have any expectations or ideas.
Just like Party A and Party B signed a contract and paid the money, it stands to reason that Party A should make various requirements so that the money can be worthwhile.
Especially for Party B who has serious injuries like Livingston, Party A is generally not polite and will not have any honeymoon period. Instead, they directly make demands on what kind of performance they must perform, etc.
But Min Congda didn't. He just kept chatting and joking with Livingston. He was also particularly concerned about his injuries and asked him if he was in good health. However, if you are not feeling well, you should rest well and don't force it.
Of course, Livingston said that his injury is no longer a problem and he can play well.
But Min Congda shook his head and said: "The body is the capital of the revolution. You must fully heal your injuries. You were injured in the Clippers. Now that I have signed you back, the first requirement for you is that you must heal your injuries." Take good care of your own health, nothing else matters.”
This was the first time Livingston heard this statement, and he didn't know what to say for a while.
After participating in the team's simple training in the afternoon, the team's trainer told Livingston, "Mr. Smart has always been like this, you have to get used to it. He never talks about victory, he just lets you be yourself. Enjoy basketball, enjoy the team.”
"Is that all?"
"Is that just like this? Haha, you must think he is just pretending. Just watch it slowly, you will understand... Oh, by the way, I only came to the Clippers the year before last year. You were with the Clippers before. You Do you feel there are any changes in the team?"
"Changes...everything has become very new, the training hall, gym, canteen, the restaurants here are really luxurious. Oh, by the way, there is also...the atmosphere is very different from the Clippers in the past."
Livingston couldn't tell. The Clippers gave him a completely different feeling than in the past, and it was different from any team he had ever been on.
What's the difference? Maybe as this trainer said, it takes a while to find out.
On February 18, a big event happened in the Los Angeles basketball circle. The legendary Jerry Buss, the owner of the Lakers, passed away.
The boss who created the legend of Zijin has finished his life as a winner.
As the general manager of the Clippers, Min Congda was invited to attend the memorial service of Jerry Buss along with owner Shelly Sterling.
Min Congda's deepest impression of the old man was when he met him in a Las Vegas casino when he first joined the league, and the two had some verbal conflicts.
At that time, Jerry Buss wanted to teach Min Congda some successful experience, but Min Congda, who was only thinking about going bankrupt, refused!
Thinking about it now, Min Congda felt regretful. He should have listened to the outdated experience of old Bass.
Looking at the current situation of the Lakers, maybe the Clippers have already gone bankrupt?
Although everyone looked sad at Jerry Buss's memorial service, O'Neal and others who gave a speech shed tears.
But everyone knows that when the leader of any group with power and wealth dies, there will inevitably be a bloody struggle.
The Buss family owns the Los Angeles Lakers, the largest club in the NBA, but the problem is that they only really own the Los Angeles Lakers, and the other several professional teams they own are not worth mentioning in terms of market value or reputation.
Apart from this, the Buss family has no other big industries, so this family is pointing to the Lakers.
After the old man dies, the children will definitely have to compete for this largest family property, and at the same time, they have to ensure that it is not taken away by outsiders.
Previously, I was worried that Phil Jackson would be too involved in the internal affairs of the Lakers and his achievements would overwhelm the team. Therefore, after the failure of the playoffs in 2012, I terminated the contract with this meritorious coach.
Jenny Buss and Jackson's twilight love also came to nothing.
Now that the old Buss is gone, the battle for control of the team between Jenny Buss and Jim Buss is about to come to the table.
This is actually a good thing for the Clippers, another Los Angeles team.
The Clippers have been suppressed by the Lakers for so many years, and now they have finally turned around. If the Lakers fall into civil strife again, the huge sports consumption market in Los Angeles and even California will be occupied by the Clippers.
Now, the sales of the Clippers' jerseys and peripheral products are very good and rising steadily.
In the past, purple and gold colors were everywhere in Los Angeles, and the Lakers' yellow and purple jerseys could be seen everywhere.
In just two or three years, the Clippers' red and blue colors have become a new fashion trend.
Many young people say that the Lakers' jerseys and colors look too old-fashioned, and that the Clippers' red and blue are more bright and trendy.
The Clippers continue to attract more young people, which is an indisputable fact.
Therefore, at the memorial service in Bath, Shelly Sterling, who was sitting next to Min Chongda, looked heavy but felt quite happy in her heart.
Once the legend Buss leaves, the Lakers will be in civil strife, the Clippers will thrive, and Shelley Sterling's journey to become the Queen of Basketball will truly begin.
As for Min Congda, he really didn't think so far ahead. He was only thinking about the Huawei Center now. He fully believed that when the Huawei Center was halfway built, the team would be short of money and would be close to bankruptcy.
In fact, the construction of Huawei Center did encounter many problems.
The number one problem is that this arena is too big. At the same time, it must take into account comfort, beauty and practicality, which places extremely high requirements on design and construction.
Going over budget is almost a sure thing, and you will definitely have to spend more money.
However, in order to realize her ambitions, Shelley Sterling gave the project sufficient financial support.
She believed that Min Congda was in charge of basketball affairs and she would take care of the money issues. She even asked her ex-husband, Donald Sterling, for money to make sure the project went ahead.
The boss and the manager obviously have their own concerns, but they can't tell each other, and they cooperate very well, allowing everything to run in an orderly manner.
At the end of the memorial service, David Stern, who came to attend the memorial service, stopped Min Congda and took him to the parking lot. He asked Min Congda to get in the car and the two wanted to chat for a few words.
Min Congda was very vigilant and said: "David, you don't want to kidnap me, do you?"
Stern waved his hand and said, "What is going on in your mind? I have something to say to you, get in the car!"
Min Congda got into the back seat. After Stern got into the car, he walked straight in and said, "Jerry Buss has passed away. What do you think about this?"
Min Congda was stunned and said: "What do you think? I am happy and mourning."
Stern thought Min Congda was pretending to be stupid and said: "The Buss siblings of the Lakers will definitely have a power struggle! By then, Los Angeles will be your Clippers' world.
Not to mention Stern, Min Congda would never have thought of this.
As soon as he said that, Min Congda said: "That is a good thing for us."
Stern said: "But this is not a good thing for the league."
"You're retired, why do you care so much?"
"..."
"Smart, I know that you were behind the previous trade of Paul to the Lakers, right?"
"It's...it's me. What's wrong? I...I hope that the Clippers can have a rival in Los Angeles. In this way...the market can grow bigger and bigger by competing with each other, right? Look at now, Los Angeles, and even the entire California The basketball market in China is so booming, it is already No. 1 in the United States!"
Min Congda said something against his will. He asked Paul to come to the Lakers in the hope that the Lakers could suppress the Clippers. Little did he know that the Lakers were not up to par. Kobe Bryant declined significantly, and Paul dropped the ball at critical moments. How could it be so useless?
After listening to Min Congda's words, Stern nodded repeatedly and said, "What you said makes sense. Smart, your vision is really very long-term. Many people have underestimated you in the past."
Stern just had to say, "The league has decided that you should be the NBA president."
Although Min Congda has an average IQ, he can still hear the meaning of Stern's words and asked: "Do you want me to help the Lakers? So that the Lakers can continue to compete with the Clippers in Los Angeles?"
Stern said: "I know that such an idea is very uncompetitive, but I won't hide it from you Smart. The business alliance needs balance. Of course, we don't want to manipulate the results of the game. I hope you can compete in a healthy way and let The Lakers can remain competitive and unite internally. Only by working together can both parties make the market bigger and better."
Although Stern's idea is exactly what Min Congda wants, he was secretly helping the Lakers.
But from the perspective of a Clippers man, Min Congda found it unreasonable and said: "Why? When the Clippers were rotten like a piece of shit, why didn't the Lakers say that they would help a bunch of Clippers and make the Clippers stronger? Compete with the Lakers to expand the market? Now that the Clippers have risen and are on a good path, the Lakers see that they are in trouble, but we have to help our competitors. How can this make sense?"
Stern nodded. He agreed with Min Chongda's anger, but at the same time Stern pointedly pointed out: "At that time, it was the Los Angeles Lakers who ensured that most NBA teams had income and food. Without them, the NBA's ratings would have been reduced. The rate will drop a bit, and many teams that lose money will have to make up for it with the Lakers' profits. The Clippers were able to survive in the first place because of the Lakers' presence in Los Angeles."
There are also transfer payments in the NBA, and teams with high profits will subsidize loss-making teams.
In fact, many professional leagues have this kind of controversy. The wealthy teams contribute most of the league's income, and then have to provide blood transfusions to the small clubs, causing their own interests to decline.
If there is no small ball club to "play with" in the beginning, how can we highlight the power of the giants?
Just like online games, wealthy players certainly contribute most of the income, but it is also important for a large number of ordinary players to play with them. This is a good game ecosystem.
Min Congda knew what Stern said made sense and said: "Then what do you want me to do? Send Curry, Harden, and Gasol all to the Lakers!?"
Min Congda wanted to do this, but the system didn't allow it!
Stern shook his head and said: "I said, we are not trying to manipulate the results of the game! I hope the Lakers can maintain enough stability so that the team can have good competitiveness."
Min Congda said: "Then who do you want me to support? Jenny or Jim? I think Jenny is good. I can feel that she really loves basketball and this team."
Stern shook his head again and said: "No, there is no need to support it."
"No need to support me? You are right. I am the general manager of the Clippers. It is useless to support anyone."
"Smart, I know that you sent people to kill Donaghy."
Stern suddenly said these words, which made Min Congda break into a cold sweat.
Nearly two years have passed since the Donaghy incident, and now there is no voice.
Stern suddenly said, Min Congda sent people to kill Donaghy?
Min Congda shook his head and said: "Don't talk nonsense David, I will sue you for defamation. Donaghy's death has nothing to do with me."
Min Congda thought to himself, if you had a heart attack, then you would really have something to do with me. If I want to kill you, I will kill you.
Stern smiled and said, "The FBI already has clues that Donaghy's death is related to the Italian chef in your restaurant. You sent him to China, right?"
Min Congda was shocked, could it be Christopher? It's really possible for this guy, but he really didn't ask Christopher to kill anyone.
Min Congda did not respond directly, but said: "Why, you want me to kill the Bass family? What you said makes sense. If the Bass family only has one child, then naturally there will be no struggle."
Stern said: "No, it has nothing to do with the Bass family. You don't have to support any party. It has nothing to do with them."
"It has nothing to do with the Bass family. What do you mean? Could it be..."
Min Congda's IQ finally reached the high ground, and he understood what Stern meant.
The league hopes to kick the Buss family out and let another owner take over the Lakers.
As the biggest club in the league, the Lakers have the poorest owner, which to a certain extent also limits the development of the Lakers.
Min Congda said: "You want to kick the Bass family out? But...what does this have to do with me? Besides, you have retired David, can't you take care of yourself and take care of yourself?"
Stern said: "Because you have experience in this matter, didn't the boss of your Clippers just change?"
Stern adjusted his glasses and spoke very calmly, but it caused quite a stir in Min Congda's heart.
He thought to himself: "It was really my mistake for not making you mad to death."
(End of chapter)
