Basketball, It's Finally Coming Back!

He was determined to win this championship.

No one could take it from him.

While Li Fei was strategizing in New York and honing his blade, the financial titans of Wall Street had likewise turned their eyes toward the storm sweeping across the entire North American sports world.

At Goldman Sachs headquarters at 85 Broad Street, smoke hung thick in a conference room overlooking the Hudson River.

"So, everyone is in agreement?"

Lloyd Blankfein, the future CEO of Goldman Sachs who chaired the meeting, asked in his trademark slightly raspy voice. His gaze swept over the dozen or so partners present, elites who understood better than anyone on the planet how to leverage capital to move the world.

"Yes, Lloyd."

A senior sports industry analyst adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his tone resolute. "The foundation of the 'FLY' brand is Li Fei, and Li Fei's foundation is the NBA. An NBA lockout is like suddenly cutting the fuel to a Ferrari racing at full speed. In the short term, 'FLY's' growth momentum will inevitably be suppressed. That is simply how the market works; it is beyond anyone's will."

Another partner in charge of IPOs added, "We've already sounded out our counterparts at Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. Everyone agrees that, until the lockout ends, any discussion of taking 'FLY' public is meaningless. Its current valuation carries far too much uncertainty. David Falk's decision to delay the listing is the only correct one."

Blankfein nodded, his fingers lightly tapping the expensive mahogany conference table with dull thuds.

"But," he said, abruptly shifting gears as his eyes sharpened, "what we should be discussing isn't what 'FLY' is worth now, but what it will be worth once the lockout is over."

He rose and walked to the enormous floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the hazy