Chapter 539: Chapter 377 Go See a Ghost

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To hell with it

Adam Silver was not yet the one in charge; he was just the assistant to the one in charge.

But he already possessed the dignity of the one in charge, and when he described the plan to Yu Fei, it felt less like a plan and more like something that was destined to happen.

In that moment, Adam Silver represented the will of the League, and he wanted Yu Fei to know that things under the League’s leadership would surely be accomplished.

However, Yu Fei had seen people with an even stronger presence than him. Adam Silver couldn’t scare him.

After patiently listening to Adam Silver, Yu Fei said, “Adam, your plan is pretty good, but these circumstances only apply to the time before I arrived because I have my own plan. Do you want to hear it?”

This was exactly what Adam Silver wanted.

The League’s office wanted to know if Yu Fei came to Seattle simply with passionate intentions to stop the Supersonics’ relocation, or if he came with a plan.

Now hearing directly from Yu Fei that he had a plan, Adam Silver didn’t know whether to be relieved or annoyed, for the League’s relocation plan might be affected.

“I really want to know how you plan to stop this,” Adam Silver said deliberately, “The Commissioner wants to know as well.”

Yu Fei began to explain, “I am a reasonable man, and I am not seeking reputation for myself alone. I hope that in the end there will be no losers. Therefore, the most basic requirement I’ve proposed to Clay is to give me three years. The contract between the Supersonics and Key Arena expires in the summer of 2010. I will find a way to win the support of Seattle for the team before then. If I succeed, the Supersonics will get a new arena in the 2010s. I will help the team fully develop the local market, and naturally, the League will profit from it. In this way, everyone will be happy, and I believe everyone can accept this outcome.”

The plan was not complex; it was simple, even too simple to feel, almost making it seem like there was no challenge.

.cO

However, the difficulty of spreading one’s influence throughout the city of Seattle to expand the Supersonics’ fan base from 900,000 to at least 1.8 million was unpredictable.

Yet, Adam Silver had already seen the influence Yu Fei had on the basketball market.

Key Arena had gone from the quietest market in the entire League to the hottest, and it only took a few months.

The Supersonics’ approval rating was increasing every day.

If Yu Fei could lead the Supersonics to perform well in the playoffs, the fairy tale story of the 1995 Mariners could very well happen to the Supersonics.

Once public opinion shifted, the basic logic behind all policies in the United States, an election country, would be fully reflected in Seattle.

The Seattle city council did not support the financing plan for the Supersonics because only 30% of voters were in favor, meaning 70% were against. Naturally, they wouldn’t risk angering 70% of the voters to please the 30%.

If Yu Fei could turn public opinion around, then the council’s obstacles would also vanish.

Considering Yu Fei’s success in Milwaukee, Adam Silver truly felt that it was only a matter of time before public opinion shifted.

But did Yu Fei have enough time?

“It has been many years since the last basketball boom in Seattle, and the sport has become the third-most popular locally,” Adam Silver said. “Everyone is a fan of the Mariners, and many are fans of the Seahawks. To rebuild trust among fans and gain their support in such a short time, you need to win a championship.”

It seemed that everyone was in agreement.

Yu Fei himself knew that to make the team’s popularity explode in a short period, the only way was to win a championship.

That was the simplest method, but also the most difficult one.

So, what seemed to be the simplest task was actually the most difficult.

Durant does not deceive me, indeed.

In the end, Adam Silver said, “I will communicate your plan to the Commissioner.”

For Yu Fei, the most important outcome of tonight’s conversation was that it took away his feeling of being ‘in single-player mode’.

Since transferring to the Supersonics in early July this year, nobody except for Bennett had given him any direct feedback.

Yu Fei could only interpret some positive signs from Bennett’s increasingly proactive attitude.

But now, through Adam Silver, the League let him know that what he was doing in Seattle was indeed affecting the already confirmed relocation plan.

Stopping the relocation went from being an impractical fantasy to a possibility.

After one night, the Supersonics left Seattle again to challenge the Texas Big Three in the Western Conference.

However, this journey was not smooth because the Big Three of Texas had a very strong inside game, and they were also part of the steady Western Conference playoff teams.

This part of the schedule signified the end of an easier start to the season for the Supersonics, who had faced more weak teams than strong ones.

They left Texas with a weary 1-2 record.

“The Seattle version of Big Fei seems much easier to deal with than the Milwaukee version,” Caron Butler said proudly after the Spurs swept the Supersonics and defeated them on their home court.

Yu Fei didn’t have the time to pay attention to this person right now.

The Supersonics will submit a new arena financing proposal to the city council in mid-January of the next year, and he needs to heavily promote this before it happens.

It’s foreseeable that the new financing proposal will still fail, but it’s a necessary attempt.

Moreover, Yu Fei also wants to use this matter to test Clay Bennett’s true intentions. Is he, as Adam Silver said, full of lies and solely focused on moving the team out of Seattle, even though he has proven he can generate substantial profits?

End of December

The Christmas Battle

As a part of the NBA, being scheduled for the Christmas Battle means that your team is very popular, so you should take advantage of your own traffic to make a huge profit during the most important holiday in the United States.

In the past few years, the Supersonics were always left out.

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But this year, when Frye Yu returned to Seattle in July, he had already reserved a spot for them in the Christmas Day game.

At least in Seattle, everyone loves Frye Yu.

Clay Bennett loves Frye too, but he admits that it’s the business value that Frye represents that he truly loves.

If it’s just the man himself, Bennett doesn’t like him.

It’s normal; no owner would genuinely like a player who tries to rise above the franchise rights.

On this special day, as an owner, Bennett was supposed to go to Key Arena to oversee the game.

However, as a lifelong Oklahoman, he couldn’t leave his hometown on such an important day. His wife would be unhappy.

As part of an upper-class Oklahoma City family, the Bennetts gathered together on Christmas Eve.

Aside from Bennett’s own family, there were also members from his wife’s side of the family.

“Big Guy, haven’t you taken care of it yet?” an elder from his wife’s family casually called Bennett by his nickname, “Will we be able to watch NBA games in OKC next year?”

With forced cheerfulness, Bennett replied, “Jerry, you can watch NBA games at home right now.”

As he spoke, the TV began showing this year’s Christmas Day game–it was the SuperSonics versus the Knights.

It was common knowledge that Fei and James had fallen out, and scheduling these two to play on a night that called for harmony showed the scheduler’s perverse sense of humor.

“Is that Frye?” Bennett’s wife asked.

“Yes,” Bennett smiled, “That’s Frye!”

He believed that Fei would not let him lose face.

Then the disrespectful old man said again, “That’s the Chinese guy who’s stopping you from moving the team?”

“That’s him.” Bennett responded respectfully.

“You are the boss, right, Big Guy?”

“Yes.”

“Then don’t let those guys who depend on you for their salaries call the shots!”

“Of course.” Bennett responded quietly, “I know what to do.”

Then another elder from his wife’s family said, “Big Guy, maybe you should get rid of the troublemaker.”

The troublemaker could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in profits in a single year!

Bennett wanted to shout this out.

But he couldn’t.

Seeing her husband’s complexion grow worse, Bennett’s wife, Louise Gayloud, said, “Clay, Sam just called you.”

“When?” Bennett asked.

Louise said, “Just now; I forgot for a moment. Maybe it’s something important…”

This gave Bennett a reason to temporarily excuse himself.

“Excuse me.”

Bennett moved away from the center of the family gathering and went up to the balcony on the second floor, where he straightened his tie fiercely.

Every time, he couldn’t stand up straight in such gatherings.

He was Oklahoma City’s most famous Big Guy, but his renown wasn’t due to his size but because he didn’t seem as tough as he appeared on his path to making a fortune.

His company got its footing with the sponsorship of his wife’s family, and his business flourished from the promotion by a newspaper under his wife’s family, The Oklahoman. It could be said that much of what he had today was thanks to the Gayloud Family.

That was why he couldn’t raise his head in front of the Gayloud family elders, he always wanted to change this situation, but clearly, as long as his power remained in Oklahoma City, he couldn’t break away from the Gayloud Family.

But now, things had changed.

Fei had come.

Seattle had become a place where he could embark on great endeavors.

Lately, Bennett had been thinking, why can’t he own an expanding team in Seattle?

Why must he risk a fallout with Fei to move the team back to his hometown?

If Oklahoma had an NBA team, would his image in the eyes of the Gayloud family change? Undoubtedly, nothing would change.

But what if the once decayed SuperSonics under his leadership became the most attractive franchise of the Northwest Region? Perhaps he wouldn’t have to stick to his small patch in Oklahoma City, and he wouldn’t have to listen to the endless nagging of the Gayloud family.

Who said that a lifelong Oklahoman must always remain in Oklahoma?

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His heart could forever be with them.

But his business could take off elsewhere.

Bennett walked swiftly to the room, turned on his computer, and with a speed he himself could hardly imagine, deleted the pre-planned financing proposal.

Relocation plan? To hell with it!!!

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