At Los Angeles International Airport, Dai Li stood at the exit of the pick-up aisle, looking longingly at the people coming out.
Finally, Xiao Yunan's figure appeared in Dai Li's sight.
Dai Li immediately came over and took the suitcase from Xiao Yunan's hand.
"You are usually so busy, I never thought you would find time to come to the United States to see me." Dai Li said with a smile.
"Smelly! I didn't come here specifically to see you. I came to the United States for business, and I came to see you on the way." Xiao Yunan's coquettish tone made Dai Li feel itchy.
Then Xiao Yunan lowered her voice and continued: "We, Dingtian Sports, bought the Los Angeles Clippers. The contract has been signed, but there are still some legal procedures that have not been completed, so it has not been announced to the public."
"You bought the Clippers?" Li Dai showed a surprised expression. He continued: "I have read some news reports. There are many rumors about the Clippers' transaction, and some Chinese investors want to acquire the Clippers. I originally thought that the news about the fleet was just fake news released by the media for the sake of hype, but I didn’t expect it to be true, and the Chinese acquirer was still you.”
"In recent years, many domestic companies have begun to expand overseas and purchase overseas assets on a large scale. Those of us who are engaged in real estate are even more keen on overseas investment, especially investment in some overseas fixed assets. However, overseas fixed assets held The cost is relatively high. In comparison, NBA teams are better assets. You can make money by operating the team, and the team can also appreciate in value. You can make money even if you sell it in the future." Xiao Yunan said.
"As far as I know, the Clippers owner Stark's asking price is not low. How much did you spend?" Dai Li asked.
"1.7 billion US dollars." Xiao Yunan replied.
"So many?" Dai Li took a breath of air.
Dai Li and Blake had communicated before. At that time, Blake believed that the Clippers could be sold for more than 1 billion US dollars. Dai Li felt that even if there was a premium, it would only be sold for 11.2 billion at most. But I didn't expect that the final transaction price reached 1.7 billion. This is half more than Dai Li’s previous estimate.
"In fact, spending 1.7 billion US dollars to buy the Los Angeles Clippers is indeed a bit expensive, but the NBA has been developing very well in recent years. If in the next few years, more outstanding Chinese players can join and open up the domestic market, Then this investment will have a better return." Xiao Yunan continued: "If there are no accidents, I may have to stay in Los Angeles for a period of time in the future to be responsible for the operation of the Clippers."
"Really? That's great. We finally don't have to live apart." Dai Li immediately showed excitement, and he couldn't help but hold Xiao Yunan's hand.
Xiao Yunan let out a long sigh: "It's just that the current Clippers team is just a mess. The team has no star players, the results are last in the Western Conference, and more importantly, even the head coach has resigned."
"I have seen relevant reports. Because of Stark's racist remarks, the black coach of the Clippers refused to work for Stark and has resigned from the Clippers." Dai Li said.
"Then do you know that this head coach has already found a job as head coach in the Bucks?" Xiao Yunan smiled disdainfully, and then said: "He just resigned on the pretext of racial discrimination, Star Grams is a miser. His salary for the head coach is only 3 million US dollars, which ranks second to last among all NBA head coaches. The one lower than him is the 2.8 million US dollars for the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies. So he has long wanted to leave the Clippers. Now that he has the excuse of racial discrimination, he does not have to pay liquidated damages even if he resigns.
Dai Li nodded silently: "The salary of 3 million US dollars in California is really not as much as the 2.8 million US dollars in salary in Tennessee. California has always had high tax rates, and Tennessee is one of the seven states with no state tax. One, and there are also a lot of tax relief policies. So if you calculate it this way, the salary of the head coach of the Grizzlies will actually be more."
There are several states in the United States that are exempt from state tax, such as Texas and Nevada; some states are exempt from consumption tax, such as Oregon; and some states have exemptions in property tax, gasoline tax, etc.
For coaches with an annual salary of millions, or NBA players with an annual salary of tens of millions, saving a few percent of state tax is equivalent to making a lot of extra money, so people like the Rockets and Spurs The teams in Texas have an advantage when it comes to paying players, because the players actually receive more salary.
In places like California, where taxes are relatively high, players will receive a relatively large discount on their actual salary, and just paying various taxes is enough to make them lose their skin. Fortunately, the teams in California are all in big ball markets, and players can make up for more taxes through commercial value.
Just listen to Xiao Yunan continue to say: "The position of head coach of the Clippers is temporarily represented by the assistant coach, but this is not a long-term solution. So I came to the United States this time to solve the problem of the Clippers coach. I What dad means is that I hope you will be the head coach of the Clippers."
"Me?" Dai Li suddenly felt a little unprepared.
Dai Li really wanted to tell Xiao Yunan that he was not a basketball coach and his understanding of basketball was not very good. He was not even as good as a professional player, so he might not be qualified to be the head coach of an NBA team. But when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them. Went back.
"I became famous through track and field, not basketball, and I am not a professional football coach. The whole world knows this. Dingtian Group spent 1.7 billion US dollars to buy the Clippers. The team coach is such an important position. How could Yunan's father easily hand over this position to me, a coach with a background in track and field? Track and field and basketball are different sports. Being good at coaching track and field does not mean that you can coach basketball."
"Xiao Dingtian can do hundreds of billions of business, so he doesn't even have this common sense, right? Even if Xiao Dingtian doesn't understand sports and has no common sense about sports, the people around him can't be ignorant, right? It involves 17 For a team worth 100 million U.S. dollars, someone will always remind Xiao Dingtian. I don’t believe that a real estate giant like Dingtian does not have a professional think tank team. When it comes to an investment of 1.7 billion U.S. dollars, Xiao Dingtian will never make a hasty decision."
"And there are many excellent basketball coaches in the United States. I know four or five people who have been coaches of NBA teams and are now unemployed. In addition, the assistant coaches of those strong teams are not just ordinary people. For example, it is more than enough for the assistant coaches of the Spurs and Warriors to become head coaches of other teams. It shouldn't be difficult to hire such people to be the head coaches of the Clippers."
"According to the current market situation in the NBA, hiring an excellent coach with coaching experience will cost four to five million U.S. dollars. I can afford this amount. Dingtian Group is very wealthy and has spent 1.7 billion U.S. dollars in acquisition fees. , you shouldn’t care about spending the extra four to five million dollars to find a professional basketball coach, right?”
"Then Xiao Dingtian did it intentionally when he asked me to coach the Clippers. I just proposed to Yu Nan a few days ago, and now Yu Nan's father wants me to be the head coach of the Clippers. Is this considered a promotion? It should be. It's not that simple. In addition to promotion, it may also be a test." Li Dai thought about this and frowned as he thought.
"Xiao Dingtian is not testing my ability. I can win the best coach in Lawrence. There is no doubt about my personal ability. I believe no one in the world will question my ability. In this way, he is testing Can I contribute to the Dingtian Group? To put it simply, I want to see if I am of use to the Dingtian Group. I am a coach and I am not good at business, so maybe I will be the one to coach the Clippers. The most useful place for Dingtian Group."
"In other words, Xiao Dingtian hopes that I can contribute to the Dingtian Group. Xiao Dingtian only has a daughter like Yunan, and Yunan is also the future heir of the Dingtian Group, so I, the future son-in-law, also need to make a contribution In some ways, at least I can’t let outsiders think that I am a pretty boy who is of no use to the Dingtian Group.”
At this time, Li Dai couldn't help but think of the "Kowloon Seizing of the Progeny" incident during the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Emperor Kangxi sent errands to the princes in order to test them. In order to leave a good impression on Kangxi, the princes also crossed the sea to show their magical powers.
Dai Li let out a long sigh: "I can't refuse this position as head coach of the Clippers. For Yu Nan, I have to take over this job. It's not easy to be the son-in-law of a rich family!"
…
Back home, Dai Li asked Xiao Yunan to rest first and catch up on the jet lag, while he sat in front of the computer and began to look up information about the Clippers.
Most information about NBA teams is public and can be easily found online, so through the Internet, Dai Li can understand the situation of the Clippers.
The Clippers' current record is 16 wins and 40 losses, ranking second to last in the Western Conference. Judging from this record alone, they have missed the playoffs with the Clippers.
For this kind of team that is destined not to make the playoffs, the best option is to completely mess up, lose as many games as possible, achieve an extremely bad record, and then get a high pick in the new round of draft lottery. Picks to select a potential rookie in the draft. If you can get the top three draft picks and select one of the No. 2 picks, that would be the best thing.
However, the Clippers' first-round pick is not in the hands of the Clippers themselves.
Five years ago, in order to compete for the championship, the Clippers formed the so-called "Big Three", which means bringing together three star players. This "Big Three" model was the best way for NBA teams to win the championship at that time. Lineup combination.
At that time, in order to form the Big Three, the Clippers used their first-round picks in the next few years as bargaining chips to acquire two All-Star players from other teams. This behavior was equivalent to using the team's future in exchange for the ball. team now.
However, luck is not on the side of the Clippers. The Clippers' Big Three have begun to suffer from injuries since the day they were formed. Someone of the three star players will always be injured, sometimes one is injured, and sometimes one is injured. Sometimes two people are injured at the same time. The injured person recovers and the other one will be injured again immediately. Of the 82 games that season, the Clippers' Big Three played together in less than 20 games.
The next season, one of the "giants" was reimbursed for the season. When he returned, his condition was not as good as before, and he could no longer meet the standards of a "giant".
At the same time, the problem of age also began to show up. When the "Big Three" joined the Clippers, they were already over 30 years old and had entered a period of decline. As the saying goes, time is not forgiving. After these two years, the statistics of the "Big Three" of the Clippers are obvious. has declined, and the All-Star level data of that year no longer exists.
The "Big Three" also knew that it was impossible to compete for the championship with three old guys who were in rapid decline. So after the expiration of their contracts, the three decisively chose to go their separate ways and pursue pursuits with other teams. One championship, and the Clippers' "Big Three" were disbanded. Not only did the Clippers fail to win the championship, but they also lost the team's future by trading away the team's draft rights for the next few years.
Therefore, it makes no sense for the current Clippers to fail. They have no draft picks in their hands. Even if they achieve the last place, they are just a wedding dress for others. They got the draft picks from the Clippers for nothing. team.
The only benefit that the "Big Three" has brought to the Clippers is that it clears up the team's salary space. The salaries of star players are relatively high. When high-paid players leave, the Clippers will naturally get more salary space, and the Clippers can also use the high salaries to dig out some star players from other teams or the potential of those whose rookie contracts have just ended. Newcomer.
As a big ball market, Los Angeles is still quite attractive to players. If the Clippers are willing to offer a maximum salary, those All-Star players who are not trying to win the championship but just want to make more money may still be attracted to the Clippers. The team came.
As for potential newcomers who have just finished their rookie contracts, although they are restricted players, the Clippers can also poach them with high salaries and make a higher offer. As long as the opposing team is reluctant to match the Clippers' offer, then the Clippers can also Get a potential new guy.
Whether it is directly attracting All-Star players with a maximum salary, or poaching potential stocks who have just finished their rookie contracts with high offers, they can immediately form combat effectiveness, and the Clippers can also quickly recover. Although it is not enough to win the championship, they still have a chance to impact. Just for the playoffs.
However, the Clippers chose another path, which was to completely rebuild.
Without draft picks in hand, the Clippers naturally cannot rely on poor performance to obtain high-ranking rookies. Therefore, the path of rebuilding by continuously poor performance and hoarding a few No. 1 and No. 2 picks cannot be implemented immediately.
Since the Clippers have ample salary space, they resort to taking over junk contracts to acquire draft picks.
There are always some junk contracts in the NBA. For example, a team spent a lot of money to sign a certain player, but the player's performance did not meet expectations. It is obvious that the salary is high and the performance is low, which forms a junk contract. Every year in the NBA, there are those "waste guys" who earn tens of millions of dollars in salary but don't play.
As a team, of course we hope to clean up these junk contracts and let go of those "waste guys" who can't play and still receive high salaries, but other teams are not fools and will not take over if there is no benefit. Therefore, if the team wants to get rid of the junk contract, it must pay some price, such as adding an excellent player, a potential rookie, or simply giving a future draft pick. With such benefits, there will be a successor. Come and take over.
The Clippers acted as a receiver. They took over junk contracts from other teams and at the same time obtained the other team's outstanding players and draft picks.
The negative impact of this is that the huge junk contract also locks up the Clippers' salary space. Before the junk contract ends, the Clippers will have no extra money to attract big-name stars.
Looking at the information about the Clippers, Dai Li showed a depressed expression.
"The junk contract the Clippers have taken leaves them with no extra money to recruit new players. This means that the Clippers can only rely on the existing lineup. With the Clippers' current weak lineup, It’s impossible to achieve good results.”
"Furthermore, the Clippers' draft picks have been traded away, so it's useless to mess around. The picks obtained by taking over junk contracts now seem to be relatively low in the draft. There are no high-ranking draft picks. Quan, this team has no future at all."
"As for the past, the Clippers' best result was only the second round of the Western Conference. Let alone the championship, they didn't even enter the Western Conference finals."
"It seems that what I am about to take over is a team with no past, no present, and no future! Another hellish challenge!"