NBA: I am the card dealer

Newport Beach is not far from Beverly Hills.

This is a property that Xue Liancheng purchased after coming to Los Angeles. He currently lives here. The environment is pretty good and it is considered a relatively famous community in Los Angeles.

After Kobe drove him here, he left.

Xue Liancheng had just returned home and washed up when he heard Zhuang Yan's voice: "Xue Liancheng, you're back?"

Then he just muttered to himself: "Where did he die?"

Xue Liancheng rolled his eyes and poked his head out from upstairs: "Please! I'm not deaf, okay?"

Zhuang Yan's expression immediately changed, and he said seriously, "I have something to tell you."

Xue Liancheng naturally knew what was going on, and hurried downstairs: "What happened?"

Zhuang Yan shook her head: "Alexander is such a profiteer. He insisted on asking for 2 billion. How can we afford it?"

Alexander, whose full name is Leslie Alexander, is a household name because he is Yao Ming's boss, known as the number one miser in the NBA and an object of scorn by the Chinese people.

Many fans believe that Yao Ming’s career should have been more brilliant, but unfortunately he had such a boss, which caused Yao Ming’s career to flash by like a meteor.

That's right!

Zhuang Yan was negotiating with the Houston Rockets.

Xue Liancheng's memory was still clear. He knew that Alexander was going to sell the Rockets this summer, so he asked Zhuang Yan to try to negotiate.

but.

When he heard the offer of 2 billion, his heart instantly sank.

Paul hasn't even been traded yet, and this has become a sky-high price.

However, Harden unexpectedly replaced Westbrook and won the MVP early this season, which did bring a boost to the Rockets, so it is understandable that Alexander asked for a high price.

Zhuang Yan shook his head helplessly: "Let's look at other teams. We definitely can't afford the Rockets. It would be too uneconomical to be a small shareholder."

Xue Liancheng also has some sentimental feelings. He also grew up watching Rockets. Now that his sentiments are shattered, there is no doubt that he feels regretful.

but.

Feelings are nothing compared to money. He quickly calmed down. "Since the Rockets can't do it, let's look at other options. We need to be quick! Otherwise, by the time the league approves it, the new season will have already begun."

Zhuang Yan: "I understand, but with the new round of TV broadcast contracts signed, there are not many owners who want to sell the team now. I think we can try to see which bad team is willing to sell, or those in small markets. Such teams can still be sold at a premium. After all, once you join, the team's market value will surely increase several times."

This is indeed true.

According to historical trajectory, the Golden State Warriors is a living example. With Curry's popularity and consecutive championships, the Warriors' valuation has soared all the way, from 09 million in 3.5 to more than 60 billion after winning another championship.

With such a huge investment, there is still more than twenty times the return!

It is definitely an example of genius investment.

This is also the reason why Xue Liancheng is willing to raise money to do something big.

He knows that broadcasting contracts will explode even more in the future, so he must buy a team as a base while the team valuations are cheap now.

After thinking for a while, he remembered that in 19, the billionaire Prokhorov sold the Nets to Tsai Chongxin, and the price had increased several times by the time he sold it.

However, the Nets are also very expensive, and their current estimated value should be more than 10 billion. Although their record is sloppy and they have made a series of mistakes since Prokhorov took over, which led to them being stuck in a quagmire in recent years, after all, they have a good geographical location. The Brooklyn district is located in the center of New York City, and they have no shortage of fan support.

Therefore, it seems unrealistic to want to defeat the Nets now.

After pondering for a long time, he thought of the Jazz.

However, the Jazz were sold in 21, and the team's market value had exploded at that time. I don't know if the Jazz owner has any intention of selling the team now.

After thinking for a while, he still didn't know which team to buy from: "It's not so easy to get a small ball market now. The new broadcast rights have just been signed and the market value is rising. They will definitely ask for a high price."

Zhuang Yan: "I have already contacted several teams. The most important thing is which city you like to live in, so that I can focus on the discussion."

Xue Liancheng raised his eyes slightly: "The most important thing is that the price is right, I have no connections, um... which teams are there?"

Zhuang Yan: "Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers, these are the teams we can talk about for now. Their owners have agreed, so we should be able to negotiate. It's just a matter of price."

Xue Liancheng frowned: "Charlotte Hornets?"

Jordan wanted to sell the team, which was something he didn't expect.

But it’s not surprising. All the good news has been released and people are cashing out at high prices!

This is the nature of businessmen.

Jordan was not successful in managing a team, but he was definitely a genius in business.

With the signing of the broadcasting contract two years ago, many people predicted that the NBA's ratings were basically coming to an end, and further development would require international promotion, so it was understandable that Jordan sold the team.

But isn’t seven years a bit too short?

After all, Jordan still loves basketball very much. He did not hesitate to make a comeback in the Wizards just to get some shares of the Wizards. In the Hornets, Jordan also went out to practice with the Hornets from time to time and trained some excellent players.

It is indeed a bit unexpected that they are willing to put the team on the shelf now.

Zhuang Yan: "Yes! Jordan is also a businessman, there is nothing strange about this."

Xue Liancheng: "Have you discussed the specific price?"

Zhuang Yan: "It's just the contact stage. The price needs to be discussed in detail."

Xue Liancheng: "Is that so..."

In fact, the business conditions of these potential sellers are not very ideal. Either they are in small markets, or they have not made the playoffs for many years in a row, and they have not demonstrated any decent competitiveness at all.

For example, the Pistons are not a small city, but the Auto City has gone bankrupt and the situation is not optimistic. It is an old city with little vitality. After the Pistons' Five Tigers era ended, they were unable to regain their glory.

For example, Cleveland, a small city in the north, is not far from Detroit, but the city size is far smaller than Detroit. Currently, Irving and Love are still there and have certain competitiveness, but with the departure of James, they basically have no hope of winning the championship. However, this city is too small and there is no hope at all.

For example, the Phoenix Suns are not a small city, but from the Barkley era to the Nash era, they have experienced ups and downs, but have not won a single championship. Booker currently seems to have a lot of potential, but that's just an appearance.

As for the Charlotte Hornets?

It is also a small basketball market, and currently relies mainly on Jordan's appeal to gain a foothold in the league. People remember the Charlotte Hornets first through Jordan.

The last one is the Utah Jazz. That’s Salt Lake City, standing on a plateau. It’s a thoroughly central city. How good can its economy and population be?

and so.

If possible, of course Brooklyn, New York is the best, and Houston is also good. They are all real big cities in North America.

The market is big enough and the appeal is strong enough. Most importantly, such a city naturally attracts stars and there is relatively less resistance to reinforcement.

Didn’t you see that the Bucks chose Al-Farouq Aminu back then? Even Al-Farouq Aminu disliked the fact that there was no market in Milwaukee, a rural area. You can imagine how difficult it is for a small ball market to survive.

Not to mention the star players who have been trained. Once they become famous and make a lot of money, they naturally yearn for big cities.

Therefore, these stars are basically trained for big cities.

Like O'Neal, going straight from Orlando to Los Angeles.

Like James, according to historical trajectory, he flew to Miami, and then flew to Los Angeles after returning.

Like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who won the championship in Milwaukee and then went to Los Angeles.

Like Leonard in history, are the Toronto Raptors good to Leonard? Very good, but Leonard still did not hesitate and went straight to Los Angeles.

Like George, after many twists and turns, he still went to Los Angeles.

Basically, as long as the stars become famous, their final destination is almost always big cities, and there are very few players like Duncan.

This is the convenience of big cities, which have a natural advantage in recruiting players.

of course.

There is nothing wrong with that. Who doesn’t want to live a life of luxury and debauchery in a big city?

Especially the richer people are, the more they like the glamorous world of big cities.

So he is still a little worried that when he sells the team, the price will be discounted because of this reason.

Zhuang Yan: "Which city do you prefer?"

Xue Liancheng: "With the little money we raised, is there still room for choice?"

And this is actually the biggest point.

Three years passed in a flash, and the endorsement contract he signed basically gave the merchants sky-high returns, so now he has renewed contracts with several brands in one go, and of course, the prices have also risen.

But the brands have tasted the sweetness and don't mind spending more.

What's more, Xue Liancheng is at the peak of his career after winning three championships, and his future is bright. In this situation, they are willing to spend a huge amount of money.

I have already signed two contracts as the brand endorsement agent, and excluding taxes, the total cost is nearly 200 million dollars.

Then he mortgaged Under Armour's shares and borrowed another 200 million yuan.

Then he borrowed another 100 million for his portrait rights.

Adding the money raised by the consortium and his own salary contract and earnings from business activities, the total amount is nearly 300 million.

Their current total funds are only $800 million, which seems to be a lot, but it is only enough to buy one-third of Alexander's equity.

There is no need to think about teams from big cities, we can only look at teams from small markets.

For teams like Sacramento, Memphis, and Milwaukee, which have recently changed owners and others have foreign owners, they are not interested in making money, but mainly focus on building their own reputation and expanding their influence, so it is basically impossible for them to sell the team.

and so.

The teams listed by Zhuang Yan were basically selected from them.

The outside world knows nothing about this.

Xue Liancheng participated in the champion parade as usual, and the draft lottery was soon announced, and rumors began to fly around like snowflakes.

But Xue Liancheng didn't have time to pay attention to these things. Instead, he often stayed in the villa and kept in touch with Zhuang Yan at all times.

The result frustrated him.

Jordan asked for 15 billion. My God, the Charlotte Hornets, an unknown and bad team, actually dared to ask for 15 billion?

It's simply unbelievable.

In another five years, when a new round of broadcasting agreements are signed, it will be about right to sell it at this price. But what about now?

Just ask for an exorbitant price.

He knew that this was business, raising the price and paying back the money on the spot, but this was too outrageous.

The Pistons owner Gores was even more outrageous, offering a price of 20 billion.

Damn it!

When Xue Liancheng heard the price, he was almost stunned.

As a result, the remaining teams’ offers are still very high, but they seem much more reasonable when compared.

The former owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Gunder, is interested in selling his 15% stake and is currently offering a price of 2 million.

If he stayed in Cleveland, he could only be a small boss. After all, Gilbert owned a complete sports league and it was impossible for him to sell off the basketball business.

Phoenix owner Robert is willing to sell his 14% stake for $37 billion.

This is also a pure premium. Currently, after a professional accounting assessment by a consortium, 37% of the Suns' shares are only worth about million. Robert sold them for double the price. Isn't this just slaughtering pigs?

Utah Jazz owner Smith is only willing to transfer part of his shares, about 3%, and can only be a small boss.

There is basically no need to discuss this, because what Xue Liancheng wants is to control a team, not to become a small boss and work for others.

So all in all, these quotations are not very reliable.

It’s almost like they have the attitude of “buy it if you want, don’t buy it”, and they are not in a hurry to sell.

The worst thing is, he was in a hurry to buy it!

Because he knows that in two years, as ratings continue to rise and league revenue increases, the market value of these teams will rise even higher.

That's right.

They don't have to do anything and the team's value will increase dramatically.

and so.

He desperately needs to buy this offseason.

Another week passed, and the price had not dropped much.

Zhuang Yan called again: "Xue! I feel like this won't work. We have to cut the Gordian knot and finalize it as soon as possible."

Xue Liancheng: "..."

Who doesn’t know this!

But the problem is, people are not in a hurry!

Sudden.

An idea suddenly occurred to him. "How about you contact the Nets' owner, Prokhorov?"

Because he knows what will happen in the future, and Prokhorov, as a gold tycoon, has an absolute sense of smell. As long as the signs are given out, the person who is anxious to sell will most likely be Prokhorov.

of course.

The most important thing is how you talk.

After all, the Nets are really expensive, and if you add the Barclays Center, it will be an astronomical figure.

However, Prokhorov was very smart and kept a trick up his sleeve. According to historical records, he first sold 49% of the shares to test the price, and the Barclays Center was also leased to the Nets.

It was only three years later that all the stocks were cleared out.

This means that he only needs to acquire 49% of the shares now, and there is still time to pursue the rest.

Zhuang Yan: "This is very expensive!"

Xue Liancheng: "You go and contact them. I'll figure out the money aspect."

There are too many consortiums willing to buy him now.

of course.

You want others to pay you, and they also want to squeeze out your value. It's just a matter of each taking what they need.

but.

He could raise funds in another way, that is, using his image and rising fame to raise funds, and at most pay interest.

He believes that there are still many people willing to trust his golden signboard.

Especially those domestic tycoons, they are not short of money.