Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 63

The Utah Jazz, ranked eighth in the Western Conference, have a record of 44 wins and 38 losses. They squeezed the 42-40 Clippers out of the playoffs.

Led by head coach Alvin Gentry, the Clippers, joined by strong Elton Brand, have won 11 more games than last year, and that's still because of the main forward Lamar Odom. Injuries and suspected drug possession issues have only played 30 games intermittently.

Missing the playoffs, it is natural to announce that the Clippers' 01-02 season is over.

As one of the most stingy bosses in the league, Donald Sterling seldom proposes renewal invitations to players whose contracts have expired, resulting in frequent changes in the Clippers' lineup, including the change of the head coach every two years, but the general manager of the team Elgin Baylor's position is extremely stable, from 1986 to the present.

The team's four juniors, Brand, Maggette, Odom and Quentin Richardson, are all facing contract renewal issues. The parallel import champion Olowokandi is also in the last year of his rookie contract. Baylor uncharacteristically continued to shoot, and the contract renewals of Brand, Maggette and Richardson were finalized one after another.

Then, news and rumors that the Clippers intend to seek a deal came out in the media one after another. For example, the Clippers plan to use Brand, Odom, Miles and Olowokandi to sign first and then trade, and package and trade the leader of the Timberwolves Star Kevin Garnett, such as using this year's high pick plus Polish spear Eric Piakowski to trade the Cavaliers' assist king Andre Miller, and using Maggette as the main body to trade the Pacers Titans Artest and so on.

The door to trade has not yet been opened, and the Clippers' series of moves have made many teams eager to move.The excitement is not inferior to the playoffs.

After all, in the first round of the playoffs, the probability of an upset is really not high.

Dr. Jerry Buss' weekend party didn't happen again on Friday night.

This time he was in the office that he no longer used frequently, and the seven championship trophies on the display rack were shining under the light.

Dr. Bass moved the trophy slightly, leaving an empty spot.

Jim stood on the other side, watching Dr. Buss do it all.

"One vacancy is not enough, old man, there must be more than the number of Celtics. Auerbach has already smoked enough cigars. For his health, we have to help him quit smoking."

Dr. Buss laughed and returned to his seat.

"Sterling, a miser, is very happy this time. Could it be that you introduced young models to him again? It's just that Elgin has suffered a lot, and the lineup that has finally improved a little bit, so the spirit is probably lost after such a toss. Jim pulled up a chair, sat across from Dr. Bath, and poured half a glass of red wine for each of them.

"Basketball is a tool for Donald to make money. As for whether he can win a championship, he doesn't care, as long as the Clippers are always profitable. I helped him a lot back then, and now he is still willing to take care of such a small matter. .” Dr. Buss picked up his glass and took a sip.

"I just remember that when you bought the Lakers, you didn't have enough money, so you sold the house to him at a low price to raise money." Jim laughed.

"That's right, although those houses sold at a loss, I got the Lakers, and the value I created was much higher than that of several houses. Moreover, after Donald saw the success of my running the team, he also planned to buy a basketball team." team, which is now the Clippers."

This memory is not in Jim's understanding today, and Jim quietly listened to Dr. Bath recalling the past.

"The Clippers were still in San Diego at the time, and Donald didn't want to leave Los Angeles, so he wanted to move the Clippers here too. At that time, David Stern had just taken office, and he wanted to fine Donald $2500 million in the name of illegal operations." Said. At this point, Dr. Bath couldn't help laughing.

"20 million dollars 2500 years ago? Stern is really ruthless, this is planning to kill the miser!" Jim sighed, according to Sterling's temper, he would never pay the money of.

"Stern is a lawyer who is good at citing regulations. The 2500 million US dollars includes expansion fees for us. Of course, the league will get the bulk. But Donald and he are on the same team, and the owners of each team have their own ideas. This fine has not yet been implemented. But Donald is in a hurry, one day he can’t move to Los Angeles, and he earns a lot less money every day. In his view, all the money he doesn’t earn is a loss.”

Jim coughed twice. Sterling's notoriety has spread far and wide. Stern has long wanted to punish him, but because of Sterling's reluctance, there are a bunch of bosses who secretly support him, including Dr. Bass.

"So I came forward to mediate and told Donald and the league that I didn't need the expansion fee. At the same time, I helped Donald intercede with the league. In the end, the league only fined him $600 million and let the matter go. Do you think this has helped him a lot? Dr. Bath drank the rest of the wine in the glass and laughed.

"Well, this is much better than a young model, not to mention that you and Hefner have been pimping him all these years. But according to what you said, I don't think it's enough to just let them spread rumors , gotta be serious. I just don't know if Elgin will agree." Jim helped Dr. Buss refill his drink.

"Unlike Jerry West, poor Elgin is just a puppet of Donald. When he was the general manager of the Clippers, his salary was only $3000 a month. Yes, you heard me right. Donald just wanted him influence, while for rookies, Donald’s attitude is to sign and trade and then sell, often adding cash as a condition to achieve the purpose of profit.” Dr. Bass explained, compared to Jim, he is more interested in This old friend is more familiar and understanding.

"So our proposal is actually what he has always done? That's great. Whether my plan can be implemented smoothly depends on his help." Jim's eyes lit up, and the knot that he had been thinking about before was finally resolved. The key to breaking the game.

"I'll take care of what Donald needs to do. As long as he doesn't ask him to pay, he has to give me some face. In addition, I called Erwin. You can talk to him during this time. He may Can help. I can assure you, he is absolutely reliable."

Jim nodded in agreement. Although Magician Johnson has always been unfavorable to Jim, Dr. Bass has spoken, presumably Magician will fully assist in this operation.

"I'm waiting for your good news." Dr. Buss raised his glass and touched Jim's glass lightly.

Soon, good news came from Salt Lake City. The Lakers swept the Jazz 3-0, avenged their elimination that year, and easily advanced to the second round of the playoffs.

卡尔·马龙场均仍然能贡献20分8篮板5助攻的全面数据，斯托克顿也能得到13分10个助攻的两双表现，但站在他们对面的不是会被奥斯特塔格搞得难受不堪的鲨鱼，更不是当年连续投出4个三不沾的科比。

In the second round of the playoffs, the Lakers will face another old rival, the Dallas Mavericks.

　Elgin Baylor may be the hardest basketball player. Even as the general manager, he still takes the courier's salary.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)