Min Congda arrived in Michael Jordan's 2,700-square-meter mega-mansion in North Carolina, Charlotte, in the afternoon.

Jordan's daily schedule is very busy, but he still finds precious time to meet Min Congda.

After all, Min Congda has made a name for himself in the league in the past two years, and from the perspective of team managers, he is much more "excellent" than Jordan.

Of course, Jordan is Jordan, and he is the most colorful stroke in basketball history, and no matter how he is a boss, a manager, or a coach, he can't dim his brilliance.

Jordan met Min Congda on his tennis court, having just finished a tennis game and won his tennis coach.

Then he draped himself in a towel, handed Min Congda a cigar, shook hands with Min Congda, and then sat down and smoked his cigar by himself.

Jordan didn't know in advance what he was going to talk about at the meeting, and Adam Silva didn't talk to him.

It stands to reason that Jordan will not agree to such a meeting, but the president spoke, and it was Smart Min again, and Jordan still had to give this face.

He also wondered in his heart, more than half of the season has passed, the trade deadline has passed, what is there to talk about Smart's coming?

It definitely has nothing to do with player trades.

Is it a business partnership?

If it is a business cooperation, you can just talk to your agent, and you don't need to meet in person.

And Jordan is now a big boss, and he basically won't do any endorsements and advertisements anymore.

He has gone from a top worker working for the league to a man in the upper echelons of the team.

Could it be that this guy is here for the "pilgrimage"?

For many basketball lovers, Jordan is an out-and-out "holy mountain".

How many basketball fans, including many NBA stars, are proud to meet and shake Jordan's handshake.

It stands to reason that a veteran basketball player like Min Congda is Chinese, and Jordan knows his influence in China.

However, the two had met at the shareholder meeting after the shutdown before, and Jordan was deeply impressed by Min Congda, and Min Congda did not seem to have any special complex for Jordan.

If he really wants to "make a pilgrimage", there is no need to take this time to come and meet alone at Jordan's house.

These thoughts flashed through his mind, and Jordan was puzzled now, and he saw Min Congda take the cigar, light it, put it in his mouth and take a puff.

"Ahem!"

Min Congda coughed twice, Jordan smiled, it seemed that this kid didn't smoke much cigars.

"It's a little choking." Min Congda said.

"Just get used to it." Jordan said, taking another puff.

He is a heavy cigar smoker and has been smoking since he first played.

Cigars represent victory, and he loves cigars and prefers victory.

"Cigars represent victory in the NBA, don't they?" Min Congda asked knowingly.

"Of course, the Victory Cigar, I've always had it in my mouth every time I won a championship in the past." Jordan recalls his past championship glory, which was the pinnacle of his life and will never be forgotten.

"That's... Won't you ever have a chance to enjoy a cigar moment like this again? ”

Min Congda took another sip, this time he didn't cough, just frowned, and said this very damning sentence.

Jordan's face changed slightly, and he said, "Smart, did you come here to curse me?" I think it's almost time for our talks to end, and I still have a few things to do. ”

Jordan was about to get up and leave, and Min Congda's rudeness stimulated him.

Min Congda said: "Do you really think Charlotte Bobcats can win the championship? To be honest, do you have any faith? ”

Jordan is a very confident person, especially when he was a player, and his confidence was bursting, which was the key to his success.

But there were two phases when Jordan's confidence was hit.

One was when he was playing baseball, and he finally realized that he did not have an area that he was good at.

He's really not fit for baseball.

One is now, when I am the manager of the team, the boss.

Whether it's a small boss in the Wizards or a big boss in the Bobcats.

Sometimes he wants to take off his jacket and put on the shirt and play in person.

It's a pity that he can't, and even if he could, he tried when he was a wizard, but it didn't work.

The NBA is no longer his world.

Even the gods of basketball have to follow the laws of nature.

He realized that he had never been able to touch the management of the team.

This is the sixth season since he took over the Bobcats in '06, and it stands to reason that the rebuild should have been completed in six years.

But looking at the teams next door that were rapidly rebuilding, and the team that the draft picked was accurate, Jordan didn't know what the Bobcats were choosing and what they were playing.

Especially this season, when the regular season is coming to an end, the Bobcats have played the longest losing streak in history with 23 consecutive defeats!

Their record is also very likely to be in the single digits, which is a huge shame no matter how you look at it.

As the big boss of the team, Jordan's heart is simply dripping blood, it is so bad that it is completely humiliating to him.

Therefore, when Min Congda asked this question, Jordan, who has always been confident, also lost his confidence.

He didn't answer Min Congda's question directly, but said, "I don't know why I want to answer your question, I think you should leave." ”

In the face of Jordan's extremely oppressive eviction order, Min Congda did not retreat.

Before he came, he thought about how to talk to Jordan about it.

Min Congda has always been a straightforward person, but this time he didn't.

He understands Jordan's temperament, and he has to arouse Jordan's emotions so that he is interested in listening to his advice and completing a difficult team change.

Min Congda stood up, took a puff on his cigar, and gently exhaled a smoke ring.

"You see, I'm used to it when I get to the third bite, which means I'm a natural winner, doesn't it?" ”

When he said this, Min Congda sighed eighteen times in his heart, and it felt really uncomfortable to lie.

What a natural winner, I just want to be the biggest loser! Lose to Lao Tzu!

Min Congda continued: "The reason why you want to answer my question is because I can take you with me to relive the beautiful moment of the victory cigar. ”

Jordan frowned and said, "You want to come to Bobcat as the general manager?" If that's the case, I'd love to welcome it. ”

Hearing that Min Congda had the intention of coming to Bobcat to be the manager, Jordan sat down again, and he was really interested in this.

Min Congda's operations in the past few seasons have been a model for teams to study, and have slapped many NBA team management in the face.

His precise drafts and fewer trades have proven to the world that the trade-heavy player management model is often meaningless, and that management is working for the sake of work.

Solid drafting, developing your own young players, and making good use of rookie contract dividends is the right way.

The days of trying to make a team rise with one or two shocking mid-season big trades are gradually gone.

In the first decade, the league often had these big mid-season trades that changed the fortunes of the team.

For example, in '04, the Pistons traded to Rasheed Wallace to make the Pistons Five Tigers and become the champion.

In 08, the Lakers got Gasol in the middle of the season, building a small Lakers dynasty with two championships in three years.

At that time, the league was in a frenzy of arms races at every turn, spree-trading in the middle of the season, and piling up star players.

This momentum has slowed significantly over the past two years, as the value for money for large mid-quarter deals has declined significantly.

For example, the Knicks got Carmelo Anthony in the season, but the Knicks did not rise quickly.

Teams are starting to focus on draft picks, carefully study the CBA rules, take advantage of new agreements, and make good use of rookie contracts.

From this point of view, Min Congda is a "prophet" and walks ahead of everyone.

If someone like him could come to the Bobcats, Jordan would certainly be more than happy to do so.

It's just that Jordan doesn't understand, Min Congda is doing well in the Clippers, why do he have to come to Bobcats?

Poverty alleviation through technology?

Min Congda knew that Jordan had misunderstood, he thought the opposite, shook his head and said, "It's not that I came to Bobcat to be the general manager, but I want you to go to the Clippers to be the boss." ”

Now Jordan is interested.

Is there such a thing in the world?

He had only heard of bosses looking for employees, or employees looking for jobs from bosses.

It was the first time he had heard of an employee asking a boss to go back.

Jordan felt incredulous and said, "Did Sterling ask you to come?" He doesn't want a team anymore? ”

Min Congda shook his head and said, "No, Mr. Sterling, I don't want to sell the team. ”

Although Sterling is a puppet and obeys Min Congda's words, he is not so good that Min Congda says that he will sell the team.

If Min Congda could command Sterling like this, the Clippers would have gone bankrupt long ago, and let him mess up the money.

Hearing Min Congda say this, Jordan's expression became a little complicated, and he seemed to understand something.

"I'm the owner of the Bobcats now, I can't have two teams at the same time, I don't have that much money," he said. ”

Min Congda said: "Money is not a problem, it is not a problem that you are the boss of the Bobcats, it just depends on your wishes, whether you are willing to be the owner of the Clippers." ”

Lost in thought, Jordan took the towel off his shoulders and draped it over his lap.

To say that you don't want to be the owner of the Clippers is fake, and the whole league knows what the situation of the Clippers is now.

Strong and most importantly with great potential, and located in Los Angeles, the market value is rising, making it a very high-quality asset.

But if Sterling doesn't want to sell, how can Jordan get the Clippers?

Smart, the general manager, why would he "betray" his boss and want the Clippers to change hands?

Thinking that it was Adam Silva who introduced the two to their meeting, Jordan smelled a sense of conspiracy.

If it was a player era, Jordan would definitely reject this kind of thing, and he would let Min Congda leave.

How could he join without being able to beat it? He had to lead the Bobcats to the championship.

But he is no longer in the position of a player, but of the boss, the capitalist.

This is evident in the collective bargaining.

During the collective bargaining, many former celebrities stood on the side of the players and spoke for them, believing that the bosses should give enough revenue to distribute to the players.

But Jordan was on the side of the owners and shareholders, believing that the players were too greedy and wanted too much.

Because Jordan is the owner at this time, he is no longer the basketball god who dominates the court.

He's just a human being.

Jordan said: "Nobody is going to say no to being the owner of the Clippers, it's just... I don't know how. ”

Min Congda smiled and said, "This is not something you need to care about for the time being, as long as you are willing, there is no impossibility, isn't it?" ”

Min Congda's words aroused Jordan's ambition for a while, and it is true that he used to be an omnipotent person.

Jordan took a sharp drag on his cigar, obviously a little excited, but he needed to know more details.

He asked Min Congda: "When did you say you became the owner of the Clippers?" Next season? So should I consider selling the bobcat now? ”

Min Congda shook his head and said, "No, just swap it." ”

"Swap?"

"Don't you know Ilf Levin and John Brown?"

"Oh~ you said that once the brave and the boss of the Celts?"

"That's right."

The two men Min is talking about are the owners of the NBA's Boston Celtics and Buffalo Braves in the 70s.

Among them, Ilf Levin owns Celtic, but he is not happy to be the boss of Celtic, and has a tense relationship with the "boss killer" Auerbach.

Born in California, he was tired of the cold weather in the East, and he missed the California sun.

Conversely, owner John Brown, who owns the Buffalo Braves, lost faith in the Braves with a poor record at the time, feeling that the team had no future.

He needs a strong team to make his championship dream come true.

It just so happened that David Stern, who served as legal counsel in the NBA, came up with a team swap proposal, which is a brilliant idea in the history of the NBA and in the history of asset trading.

He first relocated John Brown's Buffalo Braves from Buffalo to sunny San Diego, California.

Then, Levine and Brown made a team ownership trade, and Levine and Brown swapped identities, Levin successfully became the owner of the San Diego Braves, and Brown became the owner of the Celtics.

This team deal is unprecedented, and we have to admire the development of the US financial market and the rich imagination of David Stern.

When Levin came to California, he renamed the Brave to the Clippers, and sold the Clippers to Sterling a few years later, and the Clippers began the long Sterling era.

What Min Congda has to do now is to complete another swap transaction.

Jordan understood this, it turned out that this was the case, there was no need to sell the team, just change it.

Such a deal would not have been a problem if Adam Silva, president of the Alliance, had the backing of it.

Still, Jordan asked, "But does your boss Raheem Sterling want to change teams?" If he doesn't want to, there's nothing he can do. ”

Min Congda smiled: "Mr. Sterling has already made a lot of gains in the past two years, and for him, retiring early is not a decent way to exit. You know, he's not been a very good boss over the years. ”

Min Congda is right about this, Sterling's reputation is really not good.

Whether it's the owner, the players, the fans, the management, they don't like this guy.

He didn't care about anything in the past three years, but it was the stage of his best reputation.

Jordan took a puff on his cigar and said, "What if he doesn't want to be decent?" ”

Min Congda said: "Then I'll help him be decent." ”

(End of chapter)