Chapter 2255 - 7: New Beginnings

Chapter 2255: Chapter 7: New Beginnings

The opening ceremony was very successful. It caused quite a stir in a small circle, yet remained low-key on a larger media scale.

This aligns with Gan Guoyang’s usual approach, naturally with the help of his wife, Wang Fuxi. As the nominal owner of the Glory Team, she is far more than just the "First Lady of Vegas." In the business empire Gan Guoyang built single-handedly, she is like Lady Lv, the true number two, a partner.

Because she was attending the NBA shareholders’ meeting in New York, Wang Fuxi did not appear at the restaurant opening ceremony. Another reason was that Wang Fuxi had always disapproved of Gan Guoyang investing too much energy in the restaurant business, thinking it would dissipate his focus. With more and more matters arising for the group, he still had the mind to cook and prepare dishes.

After returning home, Gan Guoyang proactively called Wang Fuxi to tell her about the home situation and the status of the children.

Wang Fuxi didn’t ask much about work but was more concerned about Gan Guoyang’s health and asked if he had any arrangements for the evening.

"What plans can I have tonight? Just soak in a bath, watch a movie, relax a bit. There’s still a heap of things to do tomorrow."

"If you don’t have plans, I have one for you, go meet a woman."

"What? What’s this arrangement? You don’t need to do this. You need to trust me."

"Don’t flatter yourself. I want you to meet Jenny Buss. She has arrived in Las Vegas but didn’t get a ticket to the restaurant opening ceremony. She wants to see you."

Hearing the name Jenny Buss, Gan Guoyang snorted lightly. Regarding this princess of the Lakers, Gan Guoyang had always had a poor impression.

"I’m afraid she doesn’t have the direct qualification to see me. Let her father come."

"Alright, stop putting on airs. She’s representing her father, Jerry Buss, who is in New York."

"Okay, I’ll arrange it."

Wang Fuxi then informed Gan Guoyang that at the shareholders’ meeting in New York, David Stern raised two key issues.

One was the labor negotiations in the summer of 2011. Once again, it’s time for the labor agreement to expire, and every time there are labor negotiations, preparations are made in advance.

Gan Guoyang has already left the Players Union. The current chairman of the Players Union is Antonio Davis, who succeeded after David Robinson’s retirement, undoubtedly another of Gan Guoyang’s men.

However, Gan Guoyang is no longer very interested in controlling the Players Union, as his attention has already shifted from the basketball court to other fields. Yet his lingering influence still exerts a powerful impact on labor negotiations.

As expected, this labor negotiation is not going smoothly. Both sides have again fallen into intense disputes and conflicts, and it can be foreseen that the 2012 season will usher in another labor confrontation.

The second issue is the matter of a successor. David Stern has been in charge of the NBA for almost 30 years, and as he is getting older, there is a need to discuss the matter of succession with shareholders.

Currently, there are mainly two factions for the next league commissioner. One supports Stern’s assistant, the league’s deputy commissioner and second-in-command, Adam Silva.

He is a trusted aide of Stern, having joined the NBA in 1992 and worked in multiple positions, deeply trusted by David Stern. Many shareholders also support and agree with his becoming the next commissioner.

The other faction supports Mark Tatum, who joined the NBA in 1999 and is the executive vice president of NBA global marketing, with Vietnamese heritage.

Currently, the issue of a successor hasn’t reached an official vote. It’s just being discussed privately, with both factions maneuvering, hoping that their supported person will rise to power.

Among them, the majority supports Adam Silva, mainly medium and small teams like the Bucks, Raptors, and Magic. They believe that if Adam Silva rises to power, he will focus NBA’s development efforts on the North American homeland, protecting the interests of medium and small teams, and shift the development focus from "draining small teams to support dynasty big teams" to enabling everyone to win championships. Small clubs will no longer be the blood banks of big teams.

The remaining minority of big city teams, like the Los Angeles Lakers, the Las Vegas Radiance, and the New York Knicks, all hope for Mark Tatum to rise to power. Especially the Lakers and Radiance, as Tatum has always worked in the global marketing department, and the Lakers and Radiance have the largest overseas market shares, maintaining close relations with Tatum.

Both teams do not want the new commissioner to dilute the competitiveness of the two teams but to continue implementing David Stern’s will—supporting superstars, fostering big city dynasty teams, and transforming the NBA into something like Europe’s football leagues, where the aristocratic teams bleed and win championships, while medium and small teams make money to sustain operations.

From a global market perspective, this seems right, because fans from other countries watch the aristocratic teams and superstars. The overseas fans of the Lakers and Radiance account for more than half of the entire NBA’s fanbase.

But from the North American market perspective, local fans will undoubtedly support their hometown teams. If the medium and small teams consistently perform poorly, it would be hard to revitalize the local market eventually, becoming vassals of aristocratic teams and talent pools for stars.

Therefore, the commander-in-chief succession struggle is essentially a battle over direction.

If Adam Silva rises to power, the NBA will adhere to the local route, further expanding the North American market and competing with the NFL and Major League Baseball for a share of the pie, with the global market as a supplement.

If Mark Tatum rises to power, the NBA will further engage in global expansion and may even organize overseas leagues to seek to dominate the global basketball market, making the NBA championship truly a "world champion."

In a sense, this is a struggle for the NBA version of "glorious isolation" and "global conquest."

Wang Fuxi certainly supports Mark Tatum wholeheartedly, pursuing the global route. Her plan for Gan Guoyang to arrange an alliance with Jenny Buss is to unite with the Lakers, allowing the two teams with the greatest global influence in the league to join forces in supporting Tatum’s rise to power.

Gan Guoyang understood his wife’s intentions, but he still harbored some doubt about whether to fully support Tatum.

It wasn’t due to a sports strategic judgment but because he gradually sensed a whiff of economic and political flavors, causing concern: the economic collapse triggered by the subprime crisis had dealt a heavy blow to the global economy. Will the global economic entities remain active in the future?

Also, American society’s disregard for 9/11 firefighters signifies the gradual death of the 80s and 90s’ Golden Age values in America. Will the new era continue to follow the old order? Or is a more conservative and fragmented era gradually approaching?

Gan Guoyang didn’t know. His memories of the past life were about to run out, and the future ahead was just as hazy.

The agony and challenge of being the captain lie in that while the air on the deck is fresh, all the dangers beneath the sea surface are your responsibility.

However, Gan Guoyang still listened to his wife’s instructions, called Jenny Buss, and arranged to meet her to discuss the alliance between the teams and the singular support of Tatum.

Gan Wenshan was enjoying the beautiful evening belonging to young people in a hotel, spending a passionate night with a blonde girl. As usual, after everything ended, he chose to leave, unwilling to stay in the room any longer.

The girl sent him numerous text messages in succession, hoping to keep in touch and asking when she could visit his home.

Gan Wenshan deleted the messages, pulled out the SIM card, threw it into the trash can, then took out a new SIM card from his pocket and inserted it.

The previous card had accumulated enough trouble, and it was time for a new beginning.

Tao Jingwen returned home, finding it empty and desolate, yet his mood felt so much better, genuinely better.

He believed that Ah Gan would help him solve his problems. He repeatedly reminisced about the few minutes he spent meeting Gan Guoyang, a memory imprinted deeply like a pilgrimage.

In the past, he disdained religious believers, thinking it was all superstition, a spiritual crutch for those with a lack of willpower or low cultural levels.

Until today, he realized why people need a God, a deity, because, many times, people are indeed so fragile and powerless when facing destiny.

Suddenly, his phone lit up. Tao Jingwen saw someone had sent him a text message. It was the loaner, who asked: "Are you the one who teaches chemistry?"

"Yes."

"Can you do me a favor?"

Tao Jingwen only hesitated for a second before replying: "Of course, anything within my capability, I will help."