[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-golden-age-of-basketball":3,"chapter-the-golden-age-of-basketball-the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1887":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Golden Age of Basketball",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1445354,1896,"Chapter 1887 3: Entering the Game in Person_2","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1887",1887,"\u003Cp>The negotiations continued at 1:30 pm, and Stern agreed with Gan Guoyang's suggestion to establish a Gambling Commission and allocate a portion of the dividends as League revenue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reaching consensus on this, both parties further discussed the new team's salary cap, expansion draft rules, and advertising revenue sharing in the afternoon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These were relatively minor issues, and after some exchanges, both parties quickly reached an agreement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the most challenging and significant hurdle, the second point of contention, unfolded in the final stages of the negotiation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>David Stern demanded that the Las Vegas team must achieve a total revenue of $1 billion over the next five seasons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If unable to meet this, as Stern said, the team's shares would be discounted and compensated to the League.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In essence, if your revenue doesn't meet the requirements, other teams will unite to take you down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A $1 billion revenue means an average of $200 million in annual revenue per season!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bear in mind, last season's NBA champion, the Los Angeles Lakers, had just over $30 million in annual revenue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Portland Trail Blazers, at their peak, only had a revenue of over $50 million a year, and in 2001 it dropped to $20 million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, for the current NBA, $200 million is essentially an impossible task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang isn't foolish and would certainly not agree to this figure, leading to another intense debate in the afternoon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang first disagreed with this wager agreement, saying, \"I came to increase your revenue, how can you set such a high sales target?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Am I here to harm you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Stern responded, \"You might indeed harm us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This expansion was unplanned, involving gambling and a casino city, plus the impact of the 9\u002F11 events, making the risks extremely high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To hedge against these risks from bringing in a new team, a wager agreement is necessary, though the amount and timeframe can indeed be relaxed a bit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Gan Guoyang took a step back, agreeing to the wager but demanded to extend the timeframe to 10 years and reduce the amount to $800 million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"10 years, $800 million, that's not in line with your business level, Sonny. Too long and too little,\" Stern said with a sarcastic remark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang thought to himself, \"I haven't said 11 years $900 million to provoke you yet,\" and seeing Stern's stubbornness, he became quite annoyed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then let's make it $500 million over 10 years. If not, that's my bottom line, and if we can't agree, then forget it; the previously promised benefits will all be written off!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The parties had already reached many cooperations before, and even without this wager agreement, the team owners could still earn quite a bit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Gan Guoyang on the verge of walking away, David Stern softened his tone to pacify him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Stern was very anxious internally; the huge impact of the 9\u002F11 attacks had struck a massive blow to his spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That's why he exceptionally led a delegation to Las Vegas for negotiations; after all, this would seem to outsiders that the NBA is pleading with Gan Guoyang to establish a new team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for laying down various harsh conditions in the negotiations, it's part of Stern's professional habit, and he's not the sole decision-maker, he has to be accountable to the team owners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the interactions between him and Gan Guoyang were half-negotiation, half-show; it was not to let this drama fall apart—it was all endurance, something Stern had experienced for more than a decade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, Stern took another step back, extending the time to 7 years and reducing the total revenue to $500 million, which was much better than the previous $1 billion over five years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, this is still an outrageously high number, requiring average annual revenue of $70 million, which is a figure no past team, not even the Portland Trail Blazers, has achieved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang's team found this number challenging, and Wang Fuxi even told her husband, \"If it truly doesn't work, just let it go; this revenue figure is too awful. $70 million is like two Los Angeles Lakers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, the revenue figures indicate that many NBA teams operate at a loss or with very thin profits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because in 2001, the League's salary cap reached $35 million, and that was a soft cap, with actual team payments often exceeding this figure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next season, the 2001-2002 season, the League will also establish a luxury tax system, penalizing teams that exceed the cap by too much, which will be another expense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most teams only have total revenue in the range of several million to over $10 million, and after deducting player salaries and other costs, it's essentially a loss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without League subsidies, or with very little revenue-sharing subsidies from the League, some small-market teams are effectively operating at a loss for visibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang fell into contemplation, holding his last trump card in his hand, hesitating to use it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was calculating whether $70 million in revenue was truly difficult for the team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn't concerned about sharing money with other teams and was confident he could earn enough operating income.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Gan Guoyang had his own long-term calculations, not just the 7 years and $500 million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Gan Guoyang's prolonged silence, Stern became anxious again, pondering whether to lower it further to 8 years, $400 million, making it $50 million annually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ultimately, Gan Guoyang spoke first, saying, \"I can agree to the 7 years, $500 million wager agreement, and I'm willing to abide by the terms of the agreement. But what if I win the bet? If I fulfill the 7-year, $500 million requirement, is there nothing for me? Just fulfilling the requirement with no reward?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stern said, \"If you want to add any conditions, just say it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",965,"2026-06-06T01:42:08.237Z",1,"novelbin.me","6c29fe42db5607ab89eb094215e42e415857f4baaa6d2b2b4e25516cd4f9046b","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1888","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1886",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]