Chapter 204
Li Chen was delighted after reaching a preliminary verbal agreement with the Lakers. Of course he was happy, because he had taken another step closer to becoming the first Yellow Race owner in the NBA.
Furthermore, Old Bass promised that if the trade was completed, he could get his close associates to agree to Li Chen becoming an NBA owner.
Old Bass felt that Li Chen's trade demands were too simple, even making him feel somewhat unworthy of them, which is why he made this decision.
Old Bass's promise was a pleasant surprise. Now, with Dolan's and Old Bass's promises combined, he estimates that more than half of the NBA team owners will agree.
Thinking of this, Li Chen's lips curled into a slight smile.
Just then, his phone rang again. He picked it up and saw that it was Kobe calling.
After answering the phone, he laughed and said, "Hehe! What, are you trying to thank me?"
However, Li Chen was overthinking it. Why would Kobe thank him?
Kobe then demanded, "What do you mean? Are you looking down on me?"
The smile on Li Chen's face froze for a moment.
Kobe's words really caught him off guard. A normal person would be grateful, but Kobe is just not a normal person.
Li Chen seemed to know what Kobe was thinking.
In Kobe's view, Li Chen did this to help him and to find him a partner.
Last season, Kobe truly realized that he really needed a helper, because he couldn't carry the team to the Playoffs on his own.
But Li Chen did so much to help him, and he couldn't take it all in... well, he was just too touched.
While Li Chen's motivation for helping Kobe was undeniable, he also had his own ulterior motives.
After thinking it over, Li Chen decided to reveal his thoughts to Kobe. He had no choice but to tell him; this stubborn guy would probably ruin his plans if he threw a tantrum.
Although Li Chen gave Kobe an explanation, Kobe still felt that Li Chen was trying to help him, but he could barely accept this excuse.
After hanging up the phone with Kobe, Li Chen was inspired by Kobe's words.
Kobe just said that there was no need to pay such a price to get the Lakers to agree to his small request. He believed that if he had just told Old Bass what he wanted, Old Bass would not have refused.
This statement suddenly reminded Li Chen of some talented players who could genuinely influence the attitudes of higher-ups. For example...
Thinking about this, he kept recalling the contact information that socialite LeBron James had given him at the end of this year's All-Star Game.
He didn't pay much attention at the time, but now he regrets it a bit. Fortunately, he has a very strong memory, and after thinking for more than ten minutes, he finally remembered LeBron James' phone number.
Everyone in the NBA knows about the deal LeBron James signed with Nike, and everyone is laughing at James.
James' heart was bleeding! But there was nothing he could do. He could only train hard and try to beat Li Chen to win the regular season MVP within the allotted time.
Under immense pressure from Li Chen, Emperor Zhan James is now extremely diligent. Although he no longer gets up at 4 a. m. to train, he still gets up around 5 a. m. to train.
When Li Chen remembered James's number, he dialed it without hesitation.
When the call connected, James's surprised voice came from the other end, "Chen, is there something you need?"
In James's view, he and Li Chen were only at the acquaintance stage, and the reason he asked for Li Chen's phone number in the first place was to see if he could make a trade with Li Chen if he really couldn't win the regular season MVP.
Goodness, no one else has ever done this, actually pushing our Emperor Zhan to this point. Li Chen is truly one of a kind.
Therefore, in James's view, it should be him contacting Li Chen other way around. Now, Li Chen has taken the initiative to call him, so how could he not be surprised?
Li Chen didn't waste any words and explained the purpose of his call.
Li Chen's words left James speechless, unable to react for a long time. The happiness had come too suddenly, making LeBron James feel somewhat unreal.
This couldn't be simpler for him. At this moment, James felt incredibly grateful to Li Chen —it was a whopping $150 million!
A few days later, the Knicks requested a trade from the Rockets, offering to take Knicks except Li Chen in exchange for Yao Ming.
Morey echoed his response to the Lakers, stating that Yao Ming is not for sale for the Rockets.
Li Chen wouldn't be foolish enough to immediately unleash a powerful move, trading three for one. Instead, he would gradually increase his stakes.
Meanwhile, NBA team owners were also in a meeting, all complaining that the Knicks were too strong, especially the teams that were swept last season.
Yes, once the Knicks' three-point shooting got going, no team could withstand their barrage of threes. Even when down by 20 points, they could easily catch up; they were simply unstoppable.
This seriously damages their vital interests. Dolan of money, but they don't!
Dolan had no intention of compromising, but then Li Chen's questionable actions left Dolan speechless. "I'm standing up to those team owners here, and you're setting fire to my backyard, trying to trade away the championship roster?"
However, Dolan was still grateful for Li Chen's clever move, because he knew that in the end he would be the one to compromise, after all, there were too many people criticizing the Knicks' team owner this time.
It could be said that Li Chen saved face, but the rich second-generation Dolan was very unhappy. He was unhappy with those NBA team owners, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Therefore, the team owners meant that this trade had to be completed.
After Dolan finished his meeting, he called Li Chen in a huff and started hurling insults at him. In the end, Li Chen had no choice but to make a verbal agreement with Dolan: if the Knicks failed to defend their NBA championship this season, Li Chen would have to sign another three-year contract with the Knicks.
But as a cheater and a prophet, would he be afraid of these things?
Two months later, the Knicks again offered the Rockets a two-for-one trade for Yao Ming.
It's important to understand that Yao Ming's commercial value is not as enormous as it used to be.
Although his average score is around 20 points, not to mention Li Chen, even Wang Zhizhi's average score is 18 points, so the two are not much different.
Yao Ming's commercial value isn't as high anymore, so he's not untouchable. Li Chen was well aware of this, so he was quite certain the Rockets would trade for Yao Ming; it was just a matter of how much.
Although Yao Ming is not untouchable, the Rockets still want to maximize their profits, so the greedy Morey did not budge.
At the same time, Morey also used the media to hype up the situation, saying that apart from Li Chen, the other players on the Knicks were all useless.
Anyway, they belittled the Knicks players to the point of being worthless. Although what they said was true, Li Chen was still very unhappy.
Li Chen knew he had to make a statement to shut them up, so he didn't let Alvin Gentry make another offer.
When the 2005-06 season started, the Knicks did not make any further offers, which made Morey somewhat uneasy, considering that the Rockets' owner had subtly wanted to facilitate the trade.
But now the Knicks don't want to make a trade, how can that be allowed!
So Morey made a demand: JR Smith, Ariza, Crawford, Wang Zhizhi, plus a first-round pick.
Morey's outrageous demands left Li Chen speechless. He thought to himself, "Morey, you're a real dog!"
Li Chen wouldn't agree to such a request unless he was stupid, and even if he did, Dolan wouldn't agree.
Morey's private offer then appeared on the Knicks' official website.
Good grief, this offer has caused a huge uproar. The core roster of a championship team is so worthless? One for four, plus a first-round pick? Are you kidding me?
Morey never expected the Knicks to publicize this, subjecting him to ridicule and sarcasm. He hated Alvin Gentry.
Alvin Gentry thought, "What does this have to do with me? I'm just a puppet!"
On November 3, 2005, the Knicks played their first game of the season.
To prove the strength of players like JR, Li Chen only played in the first quarter of this game.
Then I sat in the rest area and watched my teammates play the entire game.
Although Li Chen only played one quarter, Li Chen would always give his teammates a gentle pat on the Headpat during each timeout.
After the start of the second quarter, the Knicks began raining down three-pointers. JR Smith hit one, followed by Crawford, Ariza, and Wang Zhizhi.
The Knicks' three-pointers completely stunned the Celtics, led by Paul Pierce, and despite their best efforts, it was to no avail.
By the end of the third quarter, the Knicks were leading the Celtics 100-70, a 30-point advantage.
Other teams in the league have truly realized how terrifying it is when the entire team can shoot three-pointers.
Li Chen didn't play much in the following month, but the Knicks still managed a 13-game winning streak in November.
In reality, Li Chen uses the [Headpat] in every game, which is a buff that increases all attributes by 10%!
When Morey saw the Knicks' players' abilities, his initial concerns vanished, and he decided to make a move.
He decided to make another offer, but instead of asking for an exorbitant price, he requested a three-for-one exchange.
Li Chen could accept the offer, but that's not how business is done. In the end, after a lot of haggling, the Rockets, Knicks, and Lakers reached a trade agreement, a three-way deal that would reshape the NBA landscape.
The Knicks traded JR Smith, Ariza, and Yao Ming Crawford to the Rockets for Yao Ming and a valuable first-round pick.
The Lakers traded a first-round pick and Odom to acquire Yao Ming.
Actually, the Lakers didn't want to give up their first-round pick, but Li Chen this was Dolan's bottom line, so the Lakers had no choice but to give up a first-round pick.
It's important to understand that the Knicks were the biggest losers in this trade, though that's only on the surface.
With Yao Ming as his teammate, Kobe was beaming with joy; Kobe practically became the epitome of "rational Kobe."
Meanwhile, Li Chen's WeChat account was officially launched in November. On the first day of its launch, the number of downloads and registrations reached 10 million, which is 10 times that of the original timeline.
This is the result of collaboration from all parties. It's not surprising that Tencent and Baidu have achieved such results through continuous promotion on their websites.
Star Investment Company also advertised on the streets and alleys.
At the same time, this version of VX is different from the original; it not only has chat and payment functions, but also Huabei (a credit service) function.
At the same time, an installment payment agreement was reached with JD. com.
JD. com attracted a large number of users by offering installment payment options, thus capturing a significant portion of Taobao's user base.
Jack Ma was completely stunned; he was dumbfounded by JD's move, which truly impressed him.
However, what reassured him was that JD. com deals in high-end products, Jack Ma knew that there were still many poor people in China, so making money from the poor was the key.
On the other hand, although Li Chen also had shares in JD. com, he was not satisfied with the status quo. He wanted to deliver another heavy blow to Taobao before it could gain a foothold, which was to establish Pinduoduo and steal Taobao's low-end users.
In fact, Li Chen had been working on this project for a while, and it was expected to go live around the beginning of 2007. At the same time, he also established his own courier company.
As for not having money? Will selling Google stock suddenly become profitable? Besides, his endorsement fees are very high now, after all, he's a two-time Finals MVP, and he also gets a share of the shoe revenue.
Meanwhile, the Village BA program is also doing well, and it has now covered several provinces, including Guizhou, Jiangxi, and Inner Mongolia, which are all impoverished provinces and autonomous regions.
As for the reason? Because as someone who has been through it all, he knows how bad basketball can be, because only the poor know how to train hard and seize opportunities.
On the same day that JR Smith and others left, Li Chen encouraged them to play well, prove themselves, and say that they would be better off without the Knicks.
The three were also very excited. Li Chen had been so outstanding with the Knicks, which led to even greater recognition from the fans. This was because Li Chen turned the tide in crucial moments. Therefore, they also wanted to go out and prove themselves.
The loss of three key players has significantly weakened the Knicks, much to the dissatisfaction of Knicks fans.
They're clamoring for Alvin Gentry, the team's general manager, to be fired.
This made Alvin Gentry feel very wronged, and he often criticized Li Chen in private.
Li Chen didn't care about Alvin Gentry's complaints.
During the All-Star Game in February, Li Chen didn't perform well, and the All-Star MVP was won by James.
At this point, the media began to predict the Knicks' downfall and Li Chen's failure.
Even Knicks fans were dissatisfied with Li Chen's performance.
In contrast, the Lakers in the Western Conference have performed exceptionally well this season with the addition of Yao Ming, and Yao Ming and Kobe have a great chemistry.
They outperformed the peak Spurs to claim the top spot in the Western Conference. Even this season's dark Dallas Mavericks, had to avoid their dominance.
With his confidence boosted, Kobe would call Li Chen all the time to show off, acting all high and mighty.
Li Chen just smiled faintly; in fact, this was also a way to annoy Popovich.
You know, during the NBA NBA Finals, he said he was waiting for Popovich in the NBA Finals, and if he didn't make it to the NBA Finals, he would definitely give that old guy a good dressing down.
But to Li Chen's surprise, the Rockets performed exceptionally well, with their three-point shooting team playing particularly well. This made Li Chen frown; something was wrong!
In late April, the regular season ended, and the Knicks barely made it into the Playoffs.
The regular season MVP has also been announced.