Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 322 322. Agreement Reached!Buy the New Jersey Nets!Be your own boss next season!

In a blink of an eye, the time came to February.

Although the league introduced a new rule "illegal pick-and-roll" for the Grizzlies in November, after a period of adaptation, the Grizzlies still found a way to break the illegal pick-and-roll.

And invincible in the next period of time.

As of the end of January, the Grizzlies' record has come to 47 wins and 3 losses.

Not long ago, the matter between Luke and the major shareholder of the Grizzlies Heisley was pushed by the media.

After all, no one thought that Luke, who is the head coach of the Grizzlies, is already an invisible rich man with a worth close to [-] million.

And some people said on the Internet that Luke is likely to buy his own NBA team this summer.

Originally, this kind of speculation was just for fun among the fan groups, but with the close contact between Luke and the New Jersey Nets in February, this undoubtedly caused an uproar from the outside world.

As we all know, the Nets have been in a state of loss for the past two years due to the team record and operating relationship, and the big boss of the Nets is currently burdened with a debt of up to 1.6 million US dollars.

The Nets in New Jersey want stars but have no stars, and they want a market without a market. The current mix in the league is even more miserable than that of the Charlotte Bobcats who joined the NBA in [-].

So far, the Nets' record is only 4 wins and 43 losses. This kind of result is simply terrible.

Even the media predicted that the Nets are likely to have the worst record in a single season since the establishment of the NBA this season.

Right now, the Nets' home ticket price has been lowered to the price of cabbage.

It's not a joke in name, but the price of cabbage in the real sense!
According to local media in New Jersey, the Nets' ticket price in January is only $[-].

How cheap is this price?

Take the defending champion Grizzlies this season as an example. The cheapest home tickets for the Grizzlies currently sell for more than 300 US dollars, and the positions slightly in the front row are basically thousands of dollars.

And once the playoffs are entered, the price of the Grizzlies' home tickets will be doubled.

But even so, every game is still full. Even in some focus games, the Grizzlies' home tickets are even more difficult to find.

In contrast, the Nets' attendance in each game is less than 20%, which is the premise of the Nets' home tickets for only six dollars.

Looking around, the Nets' games are basically played in an empty field, unless the Nets play at home against some very interesting teams like the Grizzlies, Lakers, and Cavaliers.

Otherwise, the attendance of the Nets at home is simply unbearable.

There is no doubt that the operation of the Nets has collapsed, and it is not an exaggeration to say that the team is bankrupt.

While the Nets boss is burdened with a debt of up to 1.6 million, he is currently anxious like ants on a hot pot.

As early as December last year, the big boss of the Nets announced the news of the sale of the Nets to the outside world.

However, no one is willing to take over the current potential and state of the Nets team.

Under normal circumstances, the Nets will be sold to Russian billionaire Prokhorov for $2.25 million this summer.

But right now, Prokhorov has not yet intervened in the purchase of the Nets.

Luke, who knows this well, knows that this is an opportunity that belongs to him.

The regular season just entered February, and Luke got in touch with the Nets in private, and the two sides are currently discussing the acquisition of the Nets.

If everything goes well, Luke is likely to become the boss of the Nets next season.

Luke knew very well that he had to solve the Nets' problems before Prokhorov could react.
Even if the official conclusion of the transaction has to wait until this summer, the two parties must sign a contract with high liquidated damages in advance.

Otherwise, once the Russian tycoon wants to intervene, it will be difficult to win over this "giant crocodile" with Luke's worth of 3 million US dollars.

Luke is bound to win the acquisition of the New Jersey Nets.

It's not that Luke can't wait to change from being a coach to being a team owner, but looking at the entire history, the acquisition of the Nets this summer is definitely a deal that is sure to make a profit, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a blood profit.

Missing this opportunity, Luke can only compete with Michael Jordan for the opportunity to acquire the Bobcats.

But Michael Jordan has already taken money to become a shareholder of the Bobcats management, and he is considered a minority shareholder of the Bobcats.

Even if Bobcats owner Robert wants to sell the team, the first choice is definitely Michael Jordan who has a shareholder status, not Luke who has no friendship.

In addition, no team in the league can accept it for less than $3 million.

Even if the current market value of each team is completely insignificant compared with later generations, but Luke's personal financial resources are relatively limited, and buying the Nets is definitely the most sensible choice.

With Luke's draft vision from God's perspective, coupled with the contacts accumulated in the league over the years.

After buying the Nets, Luke only needs one summer to make this team usher in earth-shaking changes.

At that time, Luke will run the team in New Jersey for two years. When he earns enough money, Luke can consider moving the Nets to other places.

Whether it is Brooklyn, which is very close to New York, or Seattle, which once had NBA culture, these two places are good personal choices.

Of course, everything starts with Luke buying the Nets.

At present, Luke is in close contact with the owner of the Nets in private, but the two sides still have a lot of details to discuss, and it may be difficult to reach a consensus in a short time.

Before the end of the season, Luke also has to ensure that the Grizzlies win the championship.

Only when the Grizzlies win this season's championship trophy can Luke maximize the benefits of his 20% stake!

…………

As the time came to the end of February, the All-Star Weekend held in Dallas this season officially came to an end.

A total of five Grizzlies have been selected to this year's All-Star lineup this season, four of whom were selected as starters, namely Chris Paul, Kevin Martin, Tim Duncan and Marc Gasol.

As for the fifth Grizzlies player selected to the All-Star team, it is not the starting small forward Sean Marion, but the former scoring champion Allen Iverson.

With the unparalleled dominance of the Grizzlies this season, Iverson was once again selected as a Western All-Star after a year.

Although compared with the peak period, Iverson's popularity has declined seriously, but looking at the entire league, Iverson's number of fans is still very large.

The main reason why Iverson, who played for the Detroit Pistons last season, was not selected as an All-Star was the serious decline in his personal status.

After all, after the league changed the All-Star voting rules, fans currently only account for 50% of the votes, and the remaining 50% is determined by the media.

Different from fans voting, the media will vote these star votes for those players who have performed really well. Feelings are not considered in the media voting.

This is why Allen Iverson lost the All-Star selection last season.

However, this season, Iverson took advantage of the Grizzlies' historical record to be selected as the Western Conference All-Star.

Although he was only a substitute, with the deliberate support of Western Conference head coach Luke, Iverson still won the All-Star MVP in the [-]-[-] season.

As the highest honor of an entertainment event, AMVP naturally has moisture in its gold content, but Iverson, who won the AMVP trophy again, still has a happy smile on his face.

Iverson is very aware of his current physical state, and it is almost impossible to imagine being as good as he was when he was young.

Regular season MVP, finals MVP, these things have long missed him.

Being able to win the All-Star MVP is already something Iverson didn't dare to think about before joining the Grizzlies.

It is worth mentioning that the Lakers star Kobe Bryant missed this year's All-Star weekend due to a torn Achilles tendon, which allowed Kevin Martin to replace Kobe as the starter, otherwise Martin would still not be as popular as Kobe.

Even though Martin's Grizzlies played a very explosive performance, but in the United States, Kobe's popularity is in full swing, and few players in the league can overwhelm Kobe in terms of popularity.

After the All-Star break, the teams began to fight for the final playoff spot.

Of course, this certainly does not include the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies locked in the league's No. [-] position early in the season.

As of the end of February, the Grizzlies' record has reached 60 wins and 4 losses, and there are only 18 games left before the end of the regular season.

As long as the Grizzlies win 16 of them, they will be able to tie their best record of 76 wins and 6 losses last season.

Once they can win 17 games, the Grizzlies will once again set a record in NBA history with a record of 77 wins and 5 losses.

There is no doubt that the focus of the league's most attention at present must be the Grizzlies.

Everyone wants to see if the Grizzlies can once again break the NBA's historical record and sweep the league with a record of 77 wins and 5 losses, becoming an indelible myth in NBA history.

At the same time, Chris Paul and Tim Duncan have always occupied the top two regular season MVP lists.

The difference from the first half of the season is that Chris Paul, who had always been far ahead of the top of the MVP list, is now Paul and Duncan staggering back and forth.

Before the season is completely over, no one knows which player Paul or Duncan can win the regular season MVP.

But one thing is certain is that this year's regular season MVP will definitely be produced between Chris Paul and Tim Duncan, and other players are simply not qualified to step in and share this honor.

Even though James averaged 29.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game this season, the record gap between the Cavaliers and the Grizzlies is huge.

Even if James risked his old life, there is no way to smooth this out.

In addition, third-year rookie Kevin Durant also played a very explosive performance this season.

The data of 30.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game not only locked the season's scoring champion in advance, but also let the outside world see the huge personal potential of Kevin Durant.

In stark contrast to Durant is naturally Greg Oden, the No. [-] pick in the same year. Whenever the media crazily praises Durant through the news, Oden will definitely be pulled out to play the role of the unlucky ghost.

As the saying goes, there is no harm if there is no comparison. Before the [-] draft, the media praised Oden so badly, and now they scold him so badly.

No one cares about how many injuries Oden has suffered over the years, and no one cares about how much effort the Thunder have put in to cultivate Kevin Durant, the scoring champion.

What the outside world sees is always the final result. When Kevin Durant gradually ascended to the altar, he became the star with the most explosive scoring ability in the league.

Greg Oden has gradually disappeared from the crowd due to consecutive knee operations, and even the starting center position in the Trail Blazers has not been guaranteed.

All of this has provided Durant with a lot of exposure channels.

I am afraid that only Kevin Durant knows how sour it feels to step on a talented center who is rare in a century to become the king of rookies in the same class.

…………

In the sprint stage of the last one and a half months, the Grizzlies have undoubtedly become the team that all fans look forward to.

During this period, the Grizzlies' home tickets were not only hard to find, they were even fired by scalpers to five times the usual ticket price!
No fan would like to miss a game in which the Grizzlies create miracles with their own eyes. It is this kind of mentality. When the Grizzlies started to increase the ticket price, the fans still came to watch like moths to the flame, and there was no loss due to the increase in the ticket price.

The craziness on the Grizzlies side has made the owner of the Nets envious. Looking at the cheapest position on the Grizzlies side, they can sell for more than $600, and then look at their best front row position, which can only be sold for $20. The Nets owner almost knelt in the toilet and cried for three days and three nights.

It is worth mentioning that Luke's plan to acquire the Nets is progressing smoothly, and the two parties have already finalized the next contract.

Just wait for Luke to lead the Grizzlies to the championship this season, and then reappear in the eyes of fans next season as the owner of the Nets.

This news is currently only spread within a small area of ​​the Grizzlies and Nets. The outside world does not know that Luke has completed the acquisition of the Nets.

Otherwise, the news of the Grizzlies head coach Luke's acquisition of the Nets will definitely become a well-deserved hit in the past two days. Even if you look at the entire sports circle, this matter is definitely a shock.

According to Luke, although he will appear in the public eye as the owner of the team next season, all matters in the team will still be taken care of by himself.

Whether it's drafting, signing or trading, these things Luke has to do by himself.

At least within two years, Luke will use the ability of "God's Eye" to build the Nets into a luxurious battleship similar to the Grizzlies as soon as possible.

Only with enough stars in the team and a good enough record in the regular season can this dilapidated Nets team turn around in a short period of time.

Otherwise, the team will be in a state of loss for a long time, and even if Luke still has some funds left in his hands, it will be difficult to maintain it for too long.

Fortunately, Luke has already greeted Tim Duncan and Iverson. If everything goes well, Luke will bring the two legendary stars Duncan and Iverson to the Nets this summer.

Both of the contracts signed with the Grizzlies can choose to test the free market this summer.

It is foreseeable that with the joining of these two balloon stars, the popularity of the Nets in the new season will definitely usher in a blowout development.

In addition, after taking over the Nets, the first thing Luke has to do is to perform a super-level change of the lineup.

Trade all those players who are not satisfied with them, and let the New Jersey Nets become a clean stream in the [-] offseason!
　Create a different Nets!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)