Gan Guoyang hung up the phone and said to Wang Fuxi, "So, boss, are you satisfied with this trade?"
Wang Fuxi detected the displeasure in her husband’s tone and consoled him, "I know you’re not very happy with this trade, but the situation is what it is now. As the owner, I have to consider the team from a long-term perspective. Especially since you’re preparing to retire, the team needs a better box office guarantee."
Gan Guoyang nodded to show his understanding, but he still felt somewhat uneasy. In his career, such mid-season large trades were rare.
Although the team’s performance in November was unstable, Gan Guoyang himself was in great form. He was confident that with the current lineup, they could make a breakthrough in the playoffs.
Even though facing top teams like the Suns, Mavericks, and Trail Blazers, they were at a disadvantage, once in the playoffs, as long as he could play, anything was possible. He anticipated that the team could enter the playoffs from the upper bracket and then strangle the Suns or Mavericks in the semifinals, and then figure out a plan in the West Finals.
Looking at the entire league’s situation, once they break through the Western Conference, the Eastern Conference Celtics showed signs of internal chaos (poor performance in November), the Heat were aging, and other teams were not a climate. There was confidence to push for the championship.
As Ah Gan with 11 rings in hand, as long as the lineup was healthy and intact, he was inclined to not trade. He had always been very confident in his team-leading power.
But Wang Fuxi, as the team owner, had more concerns. She had to think about not only this season but also the next and a series of operations afterwards.
Because Ah Gan was indeed not young anymore, in the NBA, he only had the present, not the future, but Glory had to continue to exist.
Next season, Gan Guoyang will retire, and Glory will lose its most powerful box office guarantee. Although Yao Ming was very popular, his influence couldn’t compare with Ah Gan.
Gerald Wallace has shown some stardom in the past two seasons, but in terms of popularity, he was still far behind. If they relied only on Yao Ming and Wallace, Glory’s revenue would undoubtedly face tremendous challenges and pressures.
These past few seasons, Glory made quite a bit of money, but the existence of a betting agreement caused most of the team’s profits to be handed over to the league and other teams. Coupled with the renewals of Yao Ming and Wallace, and payment of luxury taxes, the team’s cash flow was very tight.
The betting agreement was 500 million over 7 years, calculated from the 2001-2002 season and extending to the 2007-2008 season. After finishing this season, there would still be one more season. If Ah Gan really didn’t play anymore and revenue fell short, a portion of the shares would be swallowed up by the league, and they were unwilling to let that happen by any means.
This was one of the reasons teams were unwilling to sell popular stars to Glory. Watching Glory get better and better, what was the bit of dividend revenue worth? Holding equity was the long-term interest.
In recent years, Gan Guoyang’s personal income was mostly used to support 911 firefighters, providing settlement fees, medical benefits, etc., for the disabled and sick. Supporting people was costly as a long-term expense.
Ah Gan’s two proudest achievements, investing in SMIC and supporting firefighters, could not have happened without Wang Fuxi’s strong financial backing. Logically and emotionally, he had to support his wife’s trade decision.
As an owner, from the financial perspective, Wang Fuxi had long been planning to recruit a popular perimeter star so that in the new season, ticket prices could be raised, a wave of season tickets sold to increase revenue, and once Ah Gan retired next season, this perimeter star could still partner with Yao Ming inside and out to maintain competitiveness and ticket-selling capability.
Ray Allen, Baron Davis, Tracy McGrady, Carter, etc., had all entered Glory’s sights, but either the asking price was too high, or they simply refused to trade with Glory.
The Lakers would rather trade McGrady to the Magic in exchange for expiring contracts and draft picks than take Glory’s good chips, simply not wanting to provide Ah Gan with excellent perimeter support.
In the Lakers’ management’s view, Ah Gan had won too many championships from them, and they didn’t want to assist him any further.
After picking and choosing, Allen Iverson became the only decent option. The 76ers had tolerated Iverson for a long time, and the 76ers’ owner, Ed Snyder, had some friendship with Gan Guoyang and was relatively friendly to Ah Gan among the many owners.
Historically, Ah Gan’s team had no significant grudges with the 76ers, and Ah Gan had a good relationship with Dr. J. Now, Iverson had become a burden the 76ers wanted to shed, so they were happy to do this favor.
Moreover, given Ed Snyder’s understanding of Iverson, whether he would be a strong support or a bomb after joining Glory remained to be seen.
In recent years, Iverson caused quite a lot of trouble in Philadelphia. As he approached the age of 30, the competitive state of such a small guard could plummet drastically. Simultaneously selling a favor to Ah Gan while potentially planting a mine, for the Jewish owner, it was a good deal.
"I’ll call Miller and Ariza and then... I heard Iverson’s personal life habits have always been poor. I think once he gets to Las Vegas, he won’t get used to it. How about finding someone to help with his daily life, family matters, children’s schooling, and make sure he can focus all his energy on playing? What do you think?" Gan Guoyang asked his wife.
Wang Fuxi bit her pen, nodded, and said, "Then I’ll have Da Feng and Xiao Feng help him with his daily affairs. I’ve always trusted their work. I hope Iverson will feel at home when he gets to Las Vegas."
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A week after leaving the 76ers, Iverson had been quietly staying at home. He wasn’t in the mood to hit the nightclubs and hang out with his pals but was instead constantly watching the news on TV, waiting for the trade to happen.