Chapter 265: The new Fan Xi Clause, Sima Zhao's heart is known to all

Ballmer has enough confidence in his "money power," and at the same time, he has strong hopes for Fan Xi. He knows that in today's league, the only player who can lead the Clippers to a higher level is Fan Xi.

Fan Xi has already proven that he has the ability to be in the top ten of the league, and he can burst out with amazing energy at critical moments. Coupled with his past history, his resume with the Lakers, and his legend of defeating the Big Three in the Finals, the NBA cannot find a player more suitable for the Clippers than Fan Xi.

Only Captain Jack can lead the Clippers to rush out of the desperate Los Angeles.

This is the consensus of Ballmer, Sterling, and all Clippers fans.

But right now, Fan Xi is leaving.

This matter caused a monstrous wave.

A bigger wave came when Fan Xi entered the hotel room. Donald Sterling announced his agreement with Fan Xi, and he showed the contract in front of the media.

And he also told the media: "I have decided to leave the NBA; I just don't know how to handle this advance agreement well."

Sterling counterattacked at the moment of death.

He pushed Fan Xi to the forefront.

Quickly, the content of this agreement was spread to the whole world.

The publication of this contract dropped everyone's eyeballs.

At this time, everyone seemed to understand one thing: Why did Jack want to leave the Clippers? Could it be because of this agreement? Could it be that Jack would retire because of this agreement?

Many people started discussing whether the agreement Fan Xi signed with Sterling counts as an under-the-table agreement and whether it can be scrapped.

More people discussed, if Fan Xi's agreement is true, then according to NBA regulations, does he have to retire directly?

After all, for Fan Xi, if he can buy the Clippers for 750 million US dollars, the money he earns through the Clippers will definitely be higher than his salary for his entire career.

A war of words started in the media.

Everyone is providing different views. Some say this is an obvious under-the-table agreement, the Clippers should be punished, and this contract should be scrapped.

Others say that Fan Xi didn't sign another contract with the Clippers at all; his original contracts were all signed with the Lakers, which in any case cannot be counted as an under-the-table agreement. Even, this agreement doesn't specify how long Fan Xi has to play for the Clippers, and it doesn't even mention renewal.

The NBA can't control it.

However, what the NBA can control is whether Fan Xi can still play. The collective bargaining agreement is written clearly: players cannot hold team shares. Of course, some players will hold some shares on behalf of others, but not the parent team. For Fan Xi to have such an opportunity to buy an entire team, and it is the parent team, this is the first case in NBA history.

"This is a very absurd thing. I mean the agreement itself and the current situation. This is something I have never seen before. Frankly speaking, I also want to acquire some shares of other teams after retirement, but the current situation is beyond imagination."

Shaquille O'Neal spoke in the media; he was the first player to express his attitude.

In fact, as early as earlier this year, the media exposed that Shaquille O'Neal held a portion of the Nets' shares.

It is not strange for players to buy small amounts of team shares after retirement.

"Moreover, I highly doubt whether Jack can take out so much money. Although he makes a lot of money, he has his own shoe brand, his advertising sponsorships are all over the world, and he has invested in many interesting projects. However, this is 750 million US dollars."

Shaquille O'Neal has his own views; he thinks Fan Xi might not be able to catch this pie that fell from the sky.

After Shaquille O'Neal spoke, many other players stood up to speak. For example, Kevin Garnett, Garnett is currently the player with the highest salary income in NBA history. His career has entered the final stage, and he has also been talking about hoping to acquire a portion of the Timberwolves' shares recently.

Because a long time ago, the Timberwolves owner also promised him something similar.

It's just that he didn't sign any agreement.

It was just a verbal agreement.

So, when he saw Sterling make this matter public and cause an uproar, he stood behind Fan Xi. Although he had no friendship with Fan Xi, he firmly supported him.

"Why not? Jack has such power. This is a very normal commercial contract. Who can guarantee that the Clippers' market value won't decline in the future? Sterling chose the bottom line, and Jack gave him a promise that he could get at least 750 million US dollars."

"Now, Sterling wants to sell his team, and Jack can of course take the team with this contract. If he is short of money, he can call me; I am very interested in buying shares."

Kevin Garnett supported him clearly. Of course, he also displayed his idea of wanting a piece of the pie without reservation.

In contrast, LeBron James was full of concerns in the media.

He stated: "This will break the league's balance. If Jack Fan is both a player and an owner, he will break the collective bargaining agreement, which is not conducive to the healthy development of the league."

But privately, LeBron's team also contacted Lu Yuan, expressing willingness to buy the team with Fan Xi. He hopes to occupy a portion of the shares and invest at a valuation higher than 750 million US dollars.

Undoubtedly, this is a sweet pastry.

Everyone knows that it is super cost-effective for Fan Xi to buy the Clippers for 750 million US dollars. (You know, historically in 2014, the Clippers sold for 2 billion US dollars when they were sold cheaply.)

No one is a fool.

Even the arrogant Ballmer, known for his "money power," was shocked when he learned of this agreement.

He quickly asked his assistant to contact Fan Xi and told him: "Must be humble, humble, and humble."

Fan Xi answered his call, and hearing his fawning tone, Fan Xi couldn't help but ask him: "Why were you arrogant before and fawning now?"

"I still like your unruly appearance."

Hung up the phone.

Fan Xi gave him a closed door.

However, he was not angry at all. In the United States, it is like this: when you master favorable resources, even the most arrogant people will lower their heads to fawn over you.

Including Ballmer. Ballmer is not short of money, but what he lacks is the opportunity to buy the Clippers. The existence of this contract makes his "money power" unable to be exerted, because under the current situation, only Fan Xi can buy it, and it is at the price of 750 million US dollars.

No matter how high a price Ballmer offers, he can't buy it.

Who told Sterling to be so sure at the time, thinking that this was a cake that Fan Xi would never be able to eat, so he simply gave a "promise without substance" in the terms.

This time, he went all-in.

Fan Xi made a fortune.

Ballmer and Lu Yuan contacted each other. Fan Xi decided not to care about this matter anymore and handed it over to Lu Yuan and his team to handle it entirely.

Ballmer proposed to buy the Clippers together with Fan Xi. Fan Xi buys it for 750 million US dollars, and then he buys 51% at a valuation of 1 billion US dollars.

That is to say, Fan Xi only needs to pay 250 million US dollars to buy 49% of the Clippers' shares, which can solve the urgent need for Fan Xi, who has not yet raised 750 million US dollars.

However, Lu Yuan rejected Ballmer.

He told him in tough words: "Are you here to dismiss a beggar?"

This trick didn't work, so Ballmer came up with another move. He publicized it through the media, trying to deny Fan Xi's agreement from the root, saying that if Fan Xi wants to acquire the Clippers, he must give up his career, otherwise this is a naked under-the-table agreement that violates NBA regulations.

However, Lu Yuan quickly had the most famous law firm in Los Angeles issue a statement that this agreement is protected by law, and the NBA agreement cannot override the law. Moreover, this is just a commercial bottom-line contract between Fan Xi and Sterling, and Fan Xi and Sterling have no other transactions with the Clippers.

At the legal level, Fan Xi and Lu Yuan have long been impeccable.

Then only one thing is left that can threaten Fan Xi.

However, just at this time.

Lu Yuan issued a statement: "Jack Fan does not rule out actively buying out the remaining contract and retiring from the NBA."

Once this statement came out.

It directly cut off all clauses that Fan Xi could not acquire the team from the source.

But at this time, another problem arose.

Fan Xi is not playing anymore?

Fan Xi, the number one in global commercial value in the league, is not playing anymore? He hasn't reached the peak of his career yet; he still has an infinitely bright future. Why is this?

Fans are very confused.

Although fans of many teams don't like Fan Xi, and even hate Fan Xi.

But if there is no Fan Xi in the NBA, they will also feel it is a pity.

Of course, for Miami fans and Jean Bas in Los Angeles, this is great news. Although Fan Xi picked up another big bargain, he retired, so they can sleep soundly.

At this time, many voices also emerged in the NBA commentary circle.

Many commentators who used to spray Fan Xi to the point of being ashamed jumped out one after another. They accused Fan Xi: "How can you not play ball for money? What about your professional ethics? What about your basketball spirit? What about your dreams?"

Before this, they had sprayed Fan Xi's professional ethics and basketball dreams to nothing, saying that Fan Xi only cared about picking up girls and only cared about making movies.

But now... when it is really about to be lost, they picked it up again to persuade Fan Xi.

People's double standards.

It is worth mentioning that when Lu Yuan released the news that Fan Xi was going to retire, Hollywood quickly threw out an olive branch.

Thanks to the rising box office of Fan Xi's new movie, the global box office exceeded 100 million US dollars in the first weekend, and it has now accumulated 460 million. More and more people believe that Fan Xi will be the next box office superstar.

Marvel publicly called out to Fan Xi: "Come on! Jack, we will tailor a hero for you."

Paramount even offered a movie contract with a guarantee of 60 million US dollars for 5 films.

This means that even if Fan Xi leaves the NBA, he has a very good place to go. He has always been a topic star; he can be very successful in Hollywood. His retirement doesn't mean unemployment, not to mention that he will also own the Clippers, and he has also invested in many other industries.

In this short one-year career, Fan Xi has gained wealth and prestige that other NBA players cannot accumulate in their entire careers.

"I hope the league finds a way to keep him. NBA owners should take action."

Kobe Bryant suddenly stood up and spoke at this time: "This affects not only the fans, not only Los Angeles, but also the interests of all teams."

Kobe's speech accelerated the planning of the league, which was already undercurrent.

Originally, those owners only communicated with David Stern privately.

Now, David Stern decided to hold a capital meeting.

Letting players hold shares is strongly requested by the labor side, and the capital side is strongly opposed to it. Because this is difficult to control for breaking the monopoly position of the capital side, allowing players to further improve their status, and sharing their interests.

If it were an ordinary player, they might not care at all.

But Fan Xi is a superstar in the league now. Although his commercial value and influence are not as good as LeBron James in the United States, he has already formed a trend of overtaking in the world.

No one is willing to go against money.

It is not that there is no precedent for the NBA to break the rules.

Michael Jordan took a special channel when he renewed his contract with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls offered Jordan a shocking 30 million annual salary in the 90s, and it was a one-year contract. No one in the NBA has broken this annual salary to this day.

The reason why Jordan was required to sell his equity in the Wizards was because Jordan no longer had strong dominance at that time, and what Jordan owned was only a small share, and he didn't take it seriously.

If Jordan in his prime and Magic Johnson in his prime faced Fan Xi's situation today and proposed to retire.

The league's owners would definitely gather together for a "difficult" meeting.

Jean Bas took the lead at the meeting and clearly put forward her opinion: "Why hold another meeting? If Jack Fan retires, let him retire. Do you want to destroy the overall situation of the NBA for him? Today Jack Fan stands up and wants shares, tomorrow LeBron James stands up and wants shares, what will the NBA become?"

Jean Bas was very annoyed.

She thinks that a precedent should not be set for Fan Xi.

Supporting her was the owner of Miami, who also had a deep hatred with Fan Xi. He also didn't support it and clearly opposed it.

Other teams seemed ambiguous.

As the most profitable team in the NBA, New York Knicks owner James Dolan is very interesting. He neither opposes nor supports. He said: "When voting, whichever side has a higher support rate, I will support whoever."

This is a standard hippie. Born as a rich second generation, he didn't do less harm to the girls in New York when he was young. What should be played and what should not be played, he has played.

It can be considered a free life.

At this time, Mark Cuban stood up and said: "Jean. You said that a precedent should not be set for Jack, but in fact, you already set a precedent for Jack last year. Look at his rookie contract."

Mark Cuban questioned, and all the owners followed suit. Of course, the owners and their representatives were very graceful; they just laughed lightly.

Jean Bas was angry and ashamed: "This is the most shameful thing in Lakers history, so we must avoid the same thing from happening."

"Haha, the most shameful thing in Lakers history? Then can you tear the championship banner of last year from the Staples Center?" Mark Cuban poked her again.

Now, Jean Bas couldn't speak.

Everyone saw her two-facedness.

At this time, Mark Cuban said: "My attitude is to agree to Fan Xi's acquisition. After all... at that time, no one knew that Sterling would have such an incident. This is a result of accidents superimposed on accidents. Jack is innocent; he is just lucky enough to be favored by God and received this reward."

"But at the same time, we must avoid new accidents. We must formulate rules and no longer allow the next player to obtain team shares while playing."

"In addition, we must also propose constraints. For example, we agree to Jack acquiring the Clippers, but he cannot continue to play for the Clippers for more than three years. And he cannot get a contract other than the maximum salary. His contract must be included in the Clippers' salary cap, and there must be a certain degree of growth within the calculation range of the salary cap. He must pay a price..."

Mark Cuban had been prepared for a long time, and David Stern looked at him with a smile. It seems they had communicated before.

When Mark Cuban made this proposal, the owners and owner representatives present were restless.

Fan Xi cannot continue to play for the Clippers for three years, which means all teams have the opportunity to get Fan Xi.

This is a good thing.

Who doesn't want to get Fan Xi?

The atmosphere in the conference room changed significantly, and even the expression of the Miami owner was no longer so firm.

Jean Bas's face was extremely ugly. She realized that she might not be able to succeed in this meeting.

Just at this time, someone stood up.

"I support!!"

"I strongly support!!"

New York owner James Dolan stood up and patted the table. Before, he was still a hippie and cynical, but now he has changed.

"But I think the regulations should be modified. Jack Fan cannot play for the Clippers for two consecutive years!! Hahahaha! And, after two years, he must come to the East! Hahahahaha!!"

James Dolan laughed very happily.

Sima Zhao's heart is known to all!

... ===== CHAPTER 266 =====