One Thousand Six Hundred and Forty-Three. I Don't Have the Money

The Wall Street Journal broke the news that Price Investment Group, owned by upstart businessman John Price, was preparing to acquire the Los Angeles Clippers. Considering the company's internal composition, in order to increase the success rate, Price Investment Group invited Magic, the small owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Johnson, John's friend Mickey Schultz, the youngest son of Schultz, the owner of the chain coffee brand Starbucks, and Chinese businessman Cai Chongxin also invested.

After many negotiations with NBA business negotiators, Price Investment Group officially made an offer to the NBA, investing US$1.7 billion to acquire the Clippers and making an offer to the league.

The league is very happy. It is finally about to be sold. They bought it back for US$1.5 billion and paid a poverty line salary of more than US$50 million for one year. The key is that the Clippers' ticket revenue dividend this season is only 38 million. Advertisers Withdrawal of investment one after another...

However, after investigation, Price Investment Group is an investment company in which Sun Ce has a stake. The league's operating procedures have changed. For example, when the Hornets were sold, they first accepted the offer and then initiated a vote by league bosses. This time, the league initiated the vote first. , whether to accept the offer has been resisted by all owners across the league, including Grizzlies owner Robert Pera.

On the morning of May 23, Sun Ce, who had come to Los Angeles to go fishing with Curry, Klay Thompson, Paul George, and Harden, was not surprised at all when he heard the news.

For him, this is not bad news, but for the league. There is really no one to take over the current mess of the Clippers. They are all going to the Nets. The Nets’ Russian tycoon owner Prokhorov There are huge economic problems, and I want to sell the Nets, which currently has a market value of more than 2 billion U.S. dollars.

The reason is the oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia. For the Saudi royal family and the Russian government, the price war is affordable, but for these private oil bosses, the price war is a devastating blow.

1.7 billion U.S. dollars, not to mention investment, the income from buying national debt is not cheap, not to mention that they have to pay more than 10 million in salary every season, and the league is eager to make a move quickly.

But the league did not accept the offer. Sun Ce thought it was normal. The owner of his own team also objected to Sun Ce's company buying the team. Sun Ce didn't think there was anything wrong. This was normal. It was unusual for Robert Pera not to object to Sun Ce. .

On the 20th, the day after the Grizzlies were eliminated in the second round, John contacted Sun Ce and talked about buying the team.

During the regular season, John had already begun operations, but Sun Ce's season was not over yet, so he did not discuss this matter with Sun Ce. After obtaining the funds, he did not make an offer immediately, but waited until Sun Ce's season was over.

As for getting partners to buy the Clippers together, the apparent purpose is to increase the success rate, but in fact they have no money... Their investment company has a high market value, but it is just market value.

There are many industries to invest in. At present, many of the companies invested in have not yet started to make profits, and those that have made profits have not yet reached the stage of paying dividends. It is impossible to sell them. The available funds from John's side are less than 20% of their quoted prices. More money will affect the normal operation of the company.

The person who took the lead was Mitch Schultz, the youngest son of the Starbucks owner. Mitch Schultz's father owned the Seattle SuperSonics back then. After John's lobbying, Mitch Schultz agreed to invest.

However, even so, Sun Ce did not think that the first offer would be successful. There was no doubt that the first offer failed.

If the team changes ownership, unless the league manages it, it requires the consent of more than half of the league's team owners. Sun Ce's company buys the team. Even if Sun Ce doesn't pay, it's just a company in which he has shares that buys the team. The other 29 bosses in the league will collectively be opposed to.

In terms of rules, Price Investment Group stated that Sun Ce would not occupy any shares in the purchased team, which was not considered a violation, but other team owners would not be able to pass that test.

If you can't pass it, you can't pass it. Sun Ce really doesn't care because he has no plans to go to the Clippers now.

However, a guy wearing No. 24 jersey who was fishing together was not calm anymore.

…

On May 20, the day after playing against the Spurs, Sun Ce did not fly back to Memphis with the team. Instead, he took Zu Ge directly to Los Angeles. Less than 4 months into his pregnancy, Sun Ce was deemed to be in labor by his mother. Pregnant Lily Collins soaks up the sun.

On May 22, Paul George also came to Los Angeles. The season had just ended. Paul George had not yet thought about his future decision. He returned to his hometown to rest, mainly to see what choice Sun Ce would make this summer.

The first thing Paul George did when he arrived in Los Angeles was to go to Sun Ce's house. He didn't talk much. He made an appointment to go fishing together today, the 23rd.

Two days later, Sun Ce has put aside the shadow of losing in the playoffs. He is very worried about losing to such an opponent and feeling the opponent's strength. He turned this into motivation and prepared to rest for half a month. During this period, he The Grizzlies front office talks about what the front office is going to do, makes its own decision, and then gets back into practice.

Sun Ce also informed the Grizzlies that he would need to take a two-week rest, so the Grizzlies were not in a hurry to talk to him about executing player options or renewing his contract.

Since it was an appointment to go fishing, Sun Ce immediately thought of the Wave combination. It happened that Klay Thompson also returned to his father's house in Los Angeles on the evening of the 22nd. Sun Ce called Harden and asked Harden to call Curry out with him.

As we fished this morning, the news that John failed to acquire the Clippers came to light.

Players or fans who follow Sun Ce all know that Sun Ce's charity fund of Price Investment Group has injected funds.

Curry didn't know how to complain. Sun Ce actually wanted to be a boss while playing basketball, but he didn't think it was strange that Sun Ce wanted to do anything terrible. Instead, he thought it was too normal; Harden felt it was so amazing...

Klay Thompson didn't react much. He knew that if Sun Ce really made any decision, such as leaving the Grizzlies, he would tell him.

Just like Curry's idea, people who are familiar with Sun Ce, the NBA superstar, didn't find it strange when they saw this news. It was too much like something Sun Ce could do.

But Paul George couldn't stay calm!

He immediately found Sun Ce and asked, "Brother San, are you going to the Clippers?"

"No."

"..."

Paul George was mentally prepared. If Sun Ce wanted to go to the Clippers, he could try to follow him. The Clippers had just got the No. 1 pick. If they lost Sun Ce, the Grizzlies might agree to use the No. 1 pick to trade him for Paul George.

Paul George had already prepared himself mentally, but who knew that Sun Ce would answer so decisively that he would not go.

What was the purpose of buying a team?

"Didn't you see what was written in the news? It's not me who wants to buy a team, but the company that I cooperate with wants to buy a team. I won't spend a penny of my company's money on buying a team. How can I buy a team with 1.7 billion?"

"Is that so..." Paul George heard what Sun Ce said, and it seemed to be the case.

Sun Ce made a lot of money, but it was impossible for him to have more than 1 billion US dollars in cash to buy a team. Paul George knew it very well, but he had the same idea as others, that is, he thought that this was something Sun Ce would do.

This kind of unconventional thing is too consistent with Sun Ce's style of doing things.

Originally, the offseason had not started yet, and Paul George didn't plan to consider these things. He wanted to wait until the offseason started, and then see Sun Ce's decision and make his own decision.

But now, Paul George couldn't help asking, "Brother San, will you change teams this summer? I heard that the Pelicans and the Suns have made offers to you."

Every summer, teams make offers to Sun Ce. Paul George didn't think there was anything wrong with it before, but this year the situation is different. It's not impossible for Sun Ce to leave.

However, the possibility of Sun Ce staying is far greater than leaving. No matter where he goes, it's like starting over, and it doesn't make much difference to Sun Ce where he goes to make money. With Klay Thompson and Randolph, Paul George thinks Sun Ce is more likely to stay.

It's just that he's not sure now, because all the companies in which Sun Ce has shares are buying NBA teams!

There are rumors that more than these two teams want to make offers to Sun Ce, but these two teams have a greater chance.

Both the Pelicans and the Suns have room to take the maximum salary, and the Suns can even make room for two maximum salaries. The Pelicans have the advantage of Irving, Anthony Davis, and Eric Gordon, and the Suns have the advantage of DeAndre Jordan.

Sun Ce did not hide his feelings and replied, "I want to stay and play with you, Klay and Zach, but the team seems to be clearing up salary space. I don't know what they are going to do. Let's see how they do it before I make a decision."

Paul George nodded when he heard this. He also had to look at the situation of the team before making a decision. Sun Ce's stay or departure would have a greater impact, and Sun Ce's commercial value, strength and desire for honor were greater than his. He would definitely look at the situation of the team first.

After failing to defend their two consecutive championships, the Grizzlies will definitely make some changes. In Paul George's view, the team has already started to change by sending Gasol away. The team's structure has been completely changed, and it is not surprising what operations will be made next.

The premise is to keep Sun Ce.

So, Paul George calmed down again, waiting for the team's operations and waiting for Sun Ce to make a decision.

…

《The Lord Acquires the Clippers》

All major media outlets are headline-grabbing, including .T, who has a good relationship with Sun Ce. No matter how good the relationship is, it is also for traffic. This will definitely trigger attention to the explosive point. .T, of course, focuses on traffic and, like other media, starts to hype this matter.

Because John did a good job of keeping it secret before, the news was exposed very suddenly.

Sun Ce wants to buy a team. Although fans who read the news know that this is not exactly the case, it is not much different from Sun Ce buying a team, because the investment company in which Sun Ce has shares took the lead. This matter immediately attracted the attention of all fans who are currently paying attention to the NBA, and even the limelight of the Lakers-Madison battle, which is called the "epic Western Conference Finals", was stolen!

On the other hand, another No. 24 player who was preparing for the game in San Antonio couldn't help but go to the gym to box for two hours!

Their Lakers and Spurs played against each other in the Western Conference Finals this time, which was called an "epic duel" and became the focus of people's attention.

But!

That damn bastard came out to steal the limelight again!

Players want to buy a team, such a thing... Kobe thinks it is something that the guy can do, but it is too hateful! Why not make trouble at any other time? Why not make trouble when the Lakers are at their most dazzling time? Kobe felt that the guy was coming for him!

……

……

The relationship between players is not as complicated as fans think. After all, playing basketball is their job. From the perspective of the NBA, the competition among teams is actually to create profits together. Therefore, Sun Ce and other players are both opponents and "colleagues between different departments."

Although the four friends who went fishing together had different ideas about "Sun Ce bought a team", they didn't have any special emotions or changes in their relationship.

Players make different amounts of money. James has bought shares in the Premier League team. Nash also owns a team in the Canadian Football League, which he bought specifically for his brother to play. Magic Johnson also received shares from the Lakers when he was playing...

On May 25, the Eastern Conference Finals started. In the first game, the away Heat took the lead and defeated the Bulls 86-83, directly taking away the home advantage.

Facing the experienced Paul, Rose didn't play well. The main reason was that the Heat was stronger in overall defense. Unlike the 76ers, who only had Gasol protecting the rim, the Heat formed a very deep lineup by trading James and Bosh. With the crazy improvement of the defensive strength of the two teams, the Heat had the upper hand in the first game and won the away game.

On May 26, the Western Conference Finals kicked off. Compared to the Eastern Conference, which had unknowingly returned to the iron-blooded battle mode, the Lakers and the Spurs played an amazing offensive battle in the West.

In the end, with James' 31 points, 12 rebounds and 17 assists, JR Smith's 5 three-pointers, Leonard's 16 points, and Kobe's 16 points in the final quarter and 30 points in the whole game, the Lakers defeated the Spurs 136-131 away.

The Lakers' score of 39-29 in the final quarter was too explosive. The Spurs still maintained a slight lead in the first three quarters, but Kobe scored more points in the final quarter than in the first three quarters. James took advantage of Kobe's threat and led the team to play a crazy quarter and reversed the Spurs.

The key point is that JR Smith scored 4 three-pointers in the first three quarters and scored a total of 17 points, allowing Kobe to rest more and give full play in the final quarter.

After the first game of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals, although the two sides had different rhythms, one side was a bloody battle, and the other side was a more suitable offensive battle, the strength of the two sides was not much different, and the team with a slightly inferior record performed better.

Both sides were defeated by the underdogs, which was more interesting than the team with the home advantage winning the game steadily.

As time passed, the NBA playoffs were proceeding normally, and the heat about Sun Ce's acquisition of the team continued. The teams that had finished the 13-14 season were also doing their own things for the next season.

As time passed, after entering June, the Eastern and Western Conference Finals also entered the most intense stage.

After losing a home court, the Spurs defended the second home court, and on May 31, the Spurs, who played their first away game in Los Angeles, experienced an overtime. Relying on Duncan's 4 points and 3 blocks in overtime, the Spurs beat the Lakers 121-118 and regained the home advantage.

In this game, Duncan scored 34 points, the highest in the playoffs since 2008, plus 17 rebounds and 7 blocks. In this game, he seemed to have returned to 2003, with a brutal data of 34+17+3+7.

On June 2, the Lakers defended their second home court, and the score was tied 2-2. On June 5, in San Antonio, the two teams will have a decisive battle.

The West was intense, and the East was even more dramatic.

The Heat won two consecutive away games at the beginning, and it seemed that they were going to sweep the Bulls, but when they came to the Heat's home court, the Bulls also won two games in a row.

The progress of this game was dazzling to the fans... Compared with the West, you and I have a game back and forth, the East is simply like the Yao-McGrady combination against the Mavericks in 2005, and they couldn't even defend the home court. It was magical.

The two teams will have a decisive battle on June 4.

Compared with the West, it is more or less predictable, and there are points that can be analyzed, such as James' desperate first three quarters, Kobe's harvest of the game, and the Spurs pointed at Duncan, the oldest player in the team, as soon as the overtime came... The East simply couldn't understand it! Of course, no one in the West can be sure that the other side will have the last laugh.

Both teams have the ability to win away games. The Lakers are stronger in this regard, but the Spurs are not bad either. Although there are no two superstars averaging 30+ points in a series like the Lakers, Gay averages 25 points, Duncan averages 23 points, Danny Green averages 14 points, Ginobili averages 17 points, Dio averages 11+5+5, Parker averages 13+9... The Spurs' team strength is not inferior to the three major outside superstars of Kobe and Len.

However, the more this is the case, the higher the attention is, and the more difficult it is to predict, the more fans look forward to it!

Just when the Eastern and Western Finals became the most concerned thing for basketball fans again, new news appeared about the things that stole the limelight before!

On June 3, the day before the Eastern and Western Conference Finals, the Wall Street Journal broke the news that there was a major adjustment in the senior management of Price Investment Group. Sun Ce withdrew from the board of directors of Price Investment Group. The charitable foundation under Sun Ce and Price Investment Group changed from capital injection cooperation to a commissioned form of loaning funds to Price Investment Group.

Generally speaking, when cooperating with investment banks and investing in a certain asset, investors have to bear more or at least the same risks. In most cases, investors bear 80% to 90% of the risks. No investment bank will accept Sun Ce's commissioned investment method, but it is not impossible to do so.

This is just a small news reported by the Wall Street Journal, but it has once again become the hottest topic in the basketball world!

However, in the eyes of the media, experts, and fans who are watching the excitement, John Price is determined to buy the Clippers, and the probability is not high. If Sun Ce is not such a good player, there is no problem. The key is that Sun Ce is now the best player in the league in the eyes of many fans.

But no matter what, the name John Price has become popular in the fan community!

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