The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!

NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said, "The labor agreement that just expired was not a win-win system; that agreement led to huge financial losses for our teams. We need a sustainable business model that allows all 30 teams the opportunity to compete for a championship, pays the players reasonable salaries, and achieves significant economic returns under excellent management."

In response to the comments of these two heavyweights, the player union replied, "The league has manipulated their financial statements, they are trying hard to portray the team owners as victims, to gain public support, which worked for them in '98, but this time, the same thing won't happen again!"

It's clear that both sides are being very tough.

The main offseason has just started, and there is plenty of time; they are not in a hurry to determine the winner immediately.

And although both sides are tough in front of the media, they are very much well-informed to schedule round after round of negotiations.

Su Wan hasn't been paying attention to these matters; he was very clear that all this would end at some point in the future. There were only two things he needed to do: first was to play in the Asian Championship and secure a ticket to next year's Olympics. The other was to contact most of the confirmed players for the New York Knicks' new season when he returned to New York and take them to undergo special training in preparation for the new season.

The "Shortened Season" in '98 was a "big shuffle," with countless veteran superstars indulging themselves during the long offseason, thus losing form dramatically, with "Rain Man" Kemp being the most famous example.

It was also the rise of new power!

Tim Duncan created his "sophomore legend" that year.

Su Wan was quite sure that these guys from the New York Knicks were very reliable, except for Artest... but just in case, there were a few guys he needed to personally take through special training in the summer.

This was also to make New York stronger for the new season!

All for the defense of the championship!

The goal of winning the gold medal at the Asian Championship went smoothly.

Even without Yao Ming, Su Wan alone swept through Asia and successfully won the gold medal at the Asian Championship, ensuring that the Huaxia Men's Basketball Team would enter the Olympics next year.

Afterwards, Su Wan went directly back to New York.

It was already late July, and as Su Wan knew, the labor negotiations were still fiercely ongoing.

To increase the leverage in negotiations, the then head of the player union, Fisher, called Su Wan, hoping he could attend the next round of talks.

Su Wan agreed.

Soon the media reported this.

When LeBron saw the news, he immediately had Richie Paul call Fisher, hoping he could also participate in this round of negotiations.

Fisher tactfully declined, "The Cavaliers' owner will be present, and to avoid exacerbating the conflict, it's better LeBron stays away."

The main issue with this lockout was that the NBA owners weren't making money.

But there was another problem, equally present:

And that was the issue of the small-market owners, who couldn't retain superstars, and were very discontented.

They specifically mentioned LeBron James's "The Decision" on ESPN!

Gilbert said, "If every NBA player betrays us like LeBron did, with such arrogance, then I don't know why we're paying such high salaries to nurture a City Son!"

In this regard, Fisher also had no words to rebut, and he naturally didn't want LeBron present at the negotiation table, becoming a 'defect' that could affect the talks.

From LeBron's perspective, he felt his influence had waned. If he were still the "Chosen One," would he be excluded from these talks?

When he heard that Wade and Chris Bosh also attended as "superstar" representatives, his mentality just collapsed.

Being second to Su Wan was already aggravating enough, now he couldn't even match Wade and Chris Bosh...

Resentment filled his eyes.

And at this time, he saw a report on Su Wan, in which the total US dollar amount Su had earned over the past year in New York was roughly estimated.

The final figure, exceeding one hundred million dollars, blinded him.

Comparing it to his past year, when he had almost only his shoe contract and player contract as "earning power," he suddenly remembered Jay-Z's words, and the deal he talked about.

His eyes began to struggle,

He was not willing to give up his soul for this.

He prided himself on being a man of self-respect.

But...

Looking at his current public sentiment and his commercial value, he felt just like those washed-up celebrities.

No, he could not allow himself to fall into such an ending!

His eyes suddenly became determined, and then he dialed Jay-Z's number: "Buddy, I've made up my mind..."

Upon hearing this, Jay-Z's voice was hard to contain the excitement, "It's about time, LeBron. Trust me, after this, you and Diddy will become real family, and in the future, whatever problems you have, you can ask him for help!"

LeBron spoke directly about what he needed: "I want media support for my voice, I want to become the 'Chosen One' again!"

Jay-Z said he would convey these requests to Diddy, and then hung up.

In less than five minutes, Diddy called him back, and his tone was also very excited: "You've finally come around, LeBron. Rest assured, I'll definitely help you get back to your former media status, trust me! No one knows better than those who've been in the entertainment industry how to get voices of support... We'll talk about the specifics when we meet!"