Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 1019 Trouble has struck! The Crown Prince is plotting a rebellion! Trouble has struck again!

Unbeknownst to Lin Tian, ​​a storm was brewing in Stern's office at the same time.

"Who the hell made this decision? Why didn't you consult me? Give me an explanation, give me an explanation right now! FUXX! Don't you know what kind of bastard Lin is? Don't you know Lin has the temper to flip the table and quit at any time?"

"Provoke him? You sons of bitches! You're all just killing each other with nothing better to do than mess with him!"

Stern was absolutely furious!

Because there's one thing he really didn't lie to Lin Tian about: he genuinely didn't know about this matter, and it had absolutely nothing to do with him.

After all, Stern has already officially announced his retirement schedule. He will leave the league in two years and enjoy a happy retirement.

This is such a large alliance, with intertwined interests and complex interpersonal relationships, involving transactions of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.

Such a large undertaking cannot be simply abandoned by Stern on a whim.

To put it bluntly, if the old man hadn't made preparations and contingency plans in advance, and he had suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and gone to see God tonight, someone would have had to go to God to bring him back so he could finish his work before going to chat with God.

So even though there are still two years until retirement, various handover tasks have already begun, including the transfer of power, personnel changes, smoothing out various relationships and introducing people, and appropriately delegating authority to the successor. In other words, Xiao Hua has begun to take over and adapt little by little, department by department.

Although Stern is still in office and has two years left before retirement, he is increasingly becoming a hands-off manager.

He really doesn't care about suspensions or fines anymore.

Even if we stop caring, even if we no longer need to report these things to him.

But why ban Lin Tian, ​​and with such a bizarre and excessive ban, without even consulting him? Stern thought the people below had gone mad, and in fact, he couldn't understand why either.

Why did you have to provoke Lin Tian?

Or rather, Stern's words were actually directed at Silver!

Stern has left suspensions and fines to his successor, Adam Silver, and has handed them over to his successor.

Stern knew that he was the one making the decisions, so he was curious to know what Silver was up to.

Therefore, after venting his anger in front of everyone and smashing up an office, Stern had vented his frustration and also given everyone a taste of his own medicine.

Then, without changing locations, he simply kicked everyone out, telling them to think it over and give him an explanation.

Finally, he looked at Xiao Hua, the only one left in the office.

Xiao Hua, being very understanding, quickly closed the office door and tentatively asked, "Is it serious?"

"What do you think?" Stern looked at Xiao Hua and said, "Don't tell me you don't know who Lin is."

Give me an explanation.

"I just think..." Xiao Hua was about to speak when Stern interrupted him.

"I don't care what you think, I want to hear the truth. I don't want any explanations. I just want you to tell me exactly why you did it, without beating around the bush. Tell me simply and directly, and then we'll work together to figure out how to deal with this matter and this crisis."

"What kind of crisis is this?" Adam Silver couldn't help but say. "I don't think we really need to be afraid of him. Lin is a superstar, but he's already 38 years old. He might retire after this season, and even if he doesn't, he'll only play for another 1-2 years at most. Why should we be afraid of him?"

"Why are you afraid of him?" Stern laughed in exasperation, shaking his head. "It's not fear, it's knowing how important he is to us, knowing how much profit and value he can bring us! All the bosses in the league need him, they all need him to sell tickets. Let me put it this way, if those bosses had to choose between you and Lin..."

"They won't hesitate; they'll just kick you out!"

"So, the question comes back to you: why did you do this?"

"It wasn't me..."

"Didn't I say honesty?!" Stern angrily smashed another ashtray, glaring at Xiao Hua. "Honesty!"

"It's time for the league to undergo a generational change." This time, Adam Silver actually listened. He stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "The younger generation should take over. What we should be looking forward to now is the 03 generation and the 05 point guard duo. No, they are no longer suitable."

"It should be Durant, Rose, Westbrook, Irving, and Wall; these are the future of the league and its truly important assets!"

"Instead of Kobe, Lin, Duncan, and other old guys, they should retire from the stage of history. And the first step we need to take is..."

"So you're just getting rid of this real old guy, right?" Stern suddenly interrupted, staring intently at Xiao Hua. Things he hadn't understood before suddenly became clear during Xiao Hua's explanation. Stern understood.

Xiao Hua's target was not Lin Tian at all, nor even the so-called old-school forces that should be eliminated, as he claimed.

Adam Silver wasn't doing anything like making an example of someone to scare others or improving the league's image.

He's not stupid; on the contrary, Xiao Hua is very smart! If he wasn't smart enough, how could he have been handpicked by Stern as his successor?

So how could Xiao Hua not know who Lin Tian was, and how could he not know how much benefit Lin Tian could bring to the alliance?

So he wasn't targeting Lin Tian at all.

Xiao Hua wanted to eliminate himself.

Although he is about to officially take over and become the new leader of the league, Adam Silver can't wait any longer. He is eager to erase Stern's mark and build his own stars, system, and a completely new operating model.

The closer it got to Stern's retirement, the more anxious Silver became, feeling he couldn't wait any longer.

He couldn't wait to prove himself.

He wanted to replace Stern.

He wanted to eliminate Stern's influence on the league as soon as possible.

This time, however, Silver presented Stern with a huge media trap and a difficult problem.

In Xiao Hua's plan, it was highly likely that Lin Tian would overturn the table and quit, as he knew Lin Tian quite well.

This incident isn't a big deal; it's just a few suspensions and fines. The fans might protest, Lin Tian might protest, but so what? It's just a minor public relations crisis.

But it's certainly not a small matter, given Lin Tian's status and standing among basketball fans worldwide, in the sports world, and even in Hollywood. Such a blatantly excessive punishment will undoubtedly provoke the anger of fans and condemnation from the public.

At that time, Stern will definitely be under a lot of pressure and will be overwhelmed.

However, for the sake of the league's prestige and credibility, Stern obviously couldn't say that it was his subordinates who did it and that it had nothing to do with him, let alone say that he would cancel or reduce the punishment after taking all factors into consideration.

This will have a greater impact on the league's image!

So what will Stern do?

Xiao Hua didn't know.

Anyway, Xiao Hua thought about it a lot before handling this matter, but couldn't come up with a reasonable solution.

The only thing he could think of was to not respond, downplay the impact, and divert attention by doing something else, letting time wash everything away. As he just said, this is just a public opinion event, which at most sparks some discussion among fans, but will not have any real impact.

But for Stern and the investors who actually put up the money, the impact will be significant.

Stern's prestige will decline further. The bosses will think that Stern is too old to make such a mistake on such a low-level and childish issue, and that he is indeed no longer able to take on the job of running the alliance.

Of course, it's nothing serious, and it won't cause any big fuss like a boss riot or a desperate attempt to fire Stern. It's just a seed, a seed that Silver planted in everyone's heart.

The seeds of the idea that "Stern is past his prime, the league belongs to the young" were sown.

Ideally, Stern would retire early because of this, allowing Silver to take over directly!

Even without early retirement, Stern, disheartened, would certainly have accelerated the transfer of power.

In any case, Xiao Hua is guaranteed to make a profit.

As for Lin Tian? He's just a player. No matter how much profit he brings to the league, he's still just a player.

Xiao Hua wasn't afraid of him at all.

Especially since you, Lin Tian, ​​are already 38. If you were 25, Adam Silver would still have to pamper you. You, Lin Tian, ​​can still uphold the reputation of the league for the next 10 years.

But now?

Hmph, let's become victims of the last era together with Stern.

It would be even more perfect if the two of them had a complete falling out and overturned the table!

Xiao Hua's plan was incredibly well-conceived; he believed that this matter would be entirely beneficial to him and would not affect him in the slightest.

Even if Stern were to find a scapegoat, he wouldn't be able to find one. Xiao Hua was absolutely confident that he could get away unscathed.

But at this moment, when faced with Stern's direct questions and his electric gaze, Adam Silver's usual confidence and decisiveness suddenly vanished, and cold sweat broke out all over his body. Although the central air conditioning in the NBA headquarters was at a perfect temperature, Silver felt that it only took him 3 seconds to be completely soaked.

Xiao Hua felt like he had been seen through.

He realized he had completely underestimated Lin Tian's power and his standing among all the league's bosses. He was smart; otherwise, Stern wouldn't have chosen him. So, he immediately thought of things he hadn't considered before.

Because of Lin Tian's return, the bosses were willing to accept the so-called "God Clause 2.0". Because of Lin Tian's return, the bosses were immediately willing to give up a portion of their profits to reach a labor-management agreement, because they knew that it represented greater benefits.

Then, when the season started, Lakers ticket prices skyrocketed, and ticket prices for games between Lakers and other teams also skyrocketed. As a result, ticket prices for all teams in the league increased to varying degrees.

The Lakers saw the largest increase, rising by almost 15%, while even the teams with the smallest increases, such as the Timberwolves and Raptors, still saw gains of 3%-5%.

For the bosses, Lin Tian's comeback meant that a cash cow had returned.

Compared to these profits, his position as the designated next president is truly insignificant. If Lin Tian is truly determined to overturn the table, even if it means refusing to play in the All-Star game or retiring out of anger, then the wrath of these bosses will be immense…

At that point, Xiao Hua wouldn't just be unemployed and disappear from the industry; he felt he might simply vanish from the world!

He was being too simplistic and presumptuous. He mistook Lin Tian for another player, but clearly, Lin Tian wasn't!

At the same time, he underestimated Stern. The guy's reaction was too fast; he sorted everything out in almost half an hour.

Stern's power remains undiminished!

Now that Stern has a complete grasp of Silver's thoughts, it's Stern's turn to think.

What should we do?

……

In Los Angeles, Lin Tian was already hanging out with Claire. Judging from his appearance, he was clearly unaffected by the suspension and didn't seem to care about it at all.

He called Stern not because he was furious and couldn't stand it anymore, but simply because Lin Tian didn't want to be manipulated or bullied.

If you want me to be a role model, fine, but first offer me some benefits and let's talk. If you just do it this way, don't blame me for flipping the table.

But after flipping the table, Lin Tian went about his business as usual; such a small matter was none of his concern.

The ones who should be feeling melancholy and troubled are the officials in the alliance.

Not long after, Theron came out of the room and said with a smile, "A five-game suspension means you can rest for almost half a month."

"Looking for a vacation spot?" Lin Tian asked casually. "How about going to Alaska to see the Northern Lights? Isn't now the best time to see the aurora in that town of Banks? I'll book a room right now."

"Alaska is too far, and I still have filming to do," Theron said, glancing at Lin Tian. "Do you know how many film contracts I have?"

"Hollywood's number one actress, sexiest woman, can you spare a few days to go on vacation with me?" Lin Tian asked with a smile, putting his arm around her.

"Claire has to go to school."

"Why bring her if we're not going to?" Lin Tian didn't even hesitate, immediately excluding the poor little thing: "Let's find a room with a glass roof where we can see the sky directly from inside!"

"I can hear you." Claire stopped playing with her toys, wrinkled her nose, and was quite upset about being abandoned.

"Even if you can hear me, you still have to go to school." At this moment, Lin Tian began to assert his fatherly authority.

"Stop fooling around." Theron stood up from Lin Tian's arms and said, "I thought you would be very angry."

"I'm furious, I'm super furious." Lin Tian nodded and said, "I just called Stern and gave him a piece of my mind, and I'm waiting for him to give me a solution."

"What if he doesn't give you a satisfactory solution?"

"Then we'll have a weekend off in February. Oh, and the league also stipulates that if you're selected for the All-Star game but are injured and can't play, you'll miss at least one of the two games before and after the All-Star game."

"It means you can't get injured this weekend; you can recover by the weekend. It's a way to deal with troublesome players."

"So what do you mean?"

"What I mean is, of course, that we won't play either of the two matches, and we'll take about a week off to go on vacation." Lin Tian became more and more relaxed and excited as he spoke.

He suddenly realized that Stern had really treated him well!

This is such a good thing, I'm just letting myself rest like this. With this and that, I might suddenly have an extra month of rest time.

How joyful!

Thinking about this, Lin Tian's depression subsided considerably.

Of course, he wouldn't back down, he still wouldn't let it go, and he certainly wouldn't take the initiative to call Stern again. What Lin Tian was thinking now didn't matter; he had to maintain a high profile.

You must come to my alliance to beg me.

After all, it is the NBA that needs Lin Tian, ​​but Lin Tian's current situation means he doesn't need the NBA at all.

And to be honest, even if Stern were to call Lin Tian now and ask him how to resolve the issue to his satisfaction, Lin Tian wouldn't know what to ask for.

There's nothing more to ask for. Is there anything else Lin Tian wants that he can't get and needs the Alliance to give him?

What he can't get, Stern doesn't have the ability to give to him either!

He wanted to be the President of the United States, but Stern didn't have that kind of power.

This is clearly not good news for the league.

If Lin Tian has something he wants and a clear goal, then everything is negotiable. As long as there is a price, then we can talk. The worst thing is if you have nothing and just say, "I'm not happy."

That would really be a headache.

However, Lin Tian really didn't expect that this matter would involve a power struggle among the alliance's top brass.

Who could have imagined that the crown prince would rebel?

What Lin Tian didn't expect was that the alliance actually backed down this time.

Not only did they back down, they even slid down to their knees and begged for mercy.

That afternoon, before Theron had even left for work, Stern called.

"Let's talk, Lin. What do you want this time to let it go and be willing to attend the All-Star Game as usual?" Stern was as direct as ever. He knew Lin Tian and knew what kind of person this guy was into.

"What do you think? But I need to make my bottom line clear first. I can't play in the All-Star Game. You can select someone in advance to replace me and become an All-Star starter." Lin Tian, ​​who hadn't even thought about what he needed, directly asked the question, indicating that you name your price and I'll negotiate, and he also directly stated his bottom line.

If an apology and some compensation are all it takes to settle this, then this guy is too easy to bully.

You must be given some truly painful punishment.

"You haven't thought this through at all. You don't need anything, and the league can't give you anything. You're not even angry anymore, are you?"

"Yes." Lin Tian was always completely honest with Stern: "But that doesn't mean I'm easy to deal with. After all, I'm injured, and I'll definitely suffer a serious injury in February."

"I know, I understand." Stern paused, then said, "So I have nothing or any benefits to offer you. I can only offer my apologies and sincerity on behalf of the Alliance."

"No, David, we're all old friends. Is it really necessary to resort to these childish tricks?" Lin Tian snorted coldly. What apology and sincerity? Trying to get something for nothing, huh?

If apologies were enough, what would be the point of having police?

"Of course, this isn't a trick to fool children, sigh." Stern gave a wry smile, paused, and then said, "How about I make you the next president of the league?"

"Are you kidding me? I'm trying to have a proper talk about compensation, and you're trying to push me into a fire pit?" Lin Tian never gave Stern any face, so when he heard that Stern actually wanted him to switch places with him, he naturally started to spew insults.

"I was just kidding," Stern said, letting out another long sigh. "But if you want, it doesn't have to be a joke, because I really need a new successor now."

"A new successor?" Lin Tian was shocked.

Why make such a big deal out of it?

Should the crown prince be deposed outright?

"I can't tell you the specifics, but this is my sincerity. What I can tell you is that although my retirement hasn't been widely publicized, many people in the industry know about it. The handover of power started last year, and my original plan was to complete the handover in three years."

"Leaving behind a perfect silhouette, he departed with a flourish."

"And this year I've started to expand and delegate authority. I'm downplaying my influence and presence in the league, but now I have to work for another two years."

"How about it? Is this enough sincerity?"

"You mean, for my sake, you killed Xiao Hua, the successor you've been grooming for over ten years, and now you want to choose a new successor? Just because he insisted on severely punishing me and gave me an excessively harsh suspension?" Lin Tian's tone remained quite calm, as if it were none of his business, and he said, "Just because of something so trivial? I don't think I have that much influence."

"You certainly have that much influence. If you were to announce your retirement directly, none of us could bear the consequences. And I believe that if I don't give you a satisfactory answer, you will definitely do it, right?"

"But I also admit that it's not just because of this that I feel the league needs to make other adjustments and needs to find a successor, but your matter is very important."

"Lin, you know me. I won't lie to you or fob you off with this. This isn't an empty promise. I guarantee that Adam won't be the next president of the alliance. This is my sincere offer to you after careful consideration."

"But it doesn't benefit me at all. Why should I care about the change of leadership in the alliance? What does it matter to me who is the boss between the two of you?" Lin Tian answered casually, but his mind was already racing.

Although it's still unclear what these two are up to, the basic outline has been pieced together.

Stern was unaware that the suspension was Silver's decision, and he was very dissatisfied with it, which he certainly used to develop something new.

As for the intricacies and grudges involved, Lin Tian didn't care.

All he cared about was what benefit he could get from it, what he could gain from it.

As for the power struggles and factional infighting within the alliance, what does that have to do with Lin Tian?

"You just feel like you've lost face, haven't you?" Stern said. "I'll give you back your face, let you regain your dignity, and show the Alliance's respect for you, and show that you are indispensable to the Alliance."

"Is this alright now?"

"More or less."

"The All-Star Game?"

"No way, don't even think about it."

"I think we can still talk."

"Beep...beep...beep..."

Lin Tian hung up the phone. (End of Chapter)