Chapter 1051 – LA Wind and Rain
After Lunar New Year, Feng Yu returned to LA because of an NBA match between LA Wind and Rain and Portland Trail Blazers. Paul Allen had called Feng Yu to tell him that his team will beat Wind and Rain easily, just like the previous time in Portland.
Feng Yu snorted. Although Blazers is a stronger team than Wind and Rain, the Blazers had only won by 8 points in their previous meeting.
In basketball matches, single-digit score differences mean both teams are on the same level. If one player is on-form that day or the team is on a winning streak, the team might win.
Today, Paul Allen will be watching the match on the sidelines, and he said he will be in a good mood when he sees his team beating their opponents easily.
Feng Yu really hated Paul Allen. Elgin Baylor had told Feng Yu that if the Blazers had not created problems, their plan of reconstructing the team would be more successful.
LA Wind and Rain had gotten the draft pick, and signed the player recommended by Feng Yu and Coach George Karl. However, Wind and Rain had to take on two bad contracts to do that. This had increased the team’s salary stress, and they cannot sign any big names from the free market in the next three years!
Team Manager Elgin Baylor is very respectful to Feng Yu. When he was under Donald Sterling, his salary was only 300,000 USD, the lowest among all the team managers. He was getting an even lower salary than the managers from small cities like Milwaukee, Toronto, etc.
LA Lakers’ manager is getting 2 million USD annually, and the average salary of NBA team managers is around 70,000 to 80,000 USD. Furthermore, the LA Clippers are from a big city in the US!
But the attendance of Clippers’ matches is too low, and the team owner’s refusal to spend money on better players is one of the reasons. Elgin Baylor had suggested reconstructing the team, but the boss does not agree.
After Feng Yu had taken over the team, Elgin Baylor’s salary was increased to 800,000 USD, and he was promised incentives if the attendance reaches a certain percentage. This is almost three times of Elgin Baylor’s previous year’s income!
Although George Karl is a coach that focuses on defensive play, he is also good at attacks. LA Wind and Rain’s core players are all rookies, like Vince Carter. Many people had said Wind and Rain will regret it when they signed him.
But now, Carter’s had proved those critics wrong. Within two months, Carter quickly became a fan favorite with his impressive dunks. This increases the attendance, and the team gained lots of fans, despite them not qualifying for the playoffs.
Another player, Paul Pierce, is also good at offensive plays and is well-liked by Coach Karl. Rashard Lewis, who was the last player remaining in the “Green Room,” can even shoot three-pointers. Although he is still weak in some areas, he can create openings for Carter and Pierce.
The only player, the Coach, does not like is Point Guard Rafer Alston. If his first choice Point Guard is not injured, he will never use Rafer Alston.
The first choice Point Guard was supposed to be the NBA first overall pick two years ago but was rejected because of injuries. Wind and Rain had used multi transfers to sign him. Coach Karl said that if this Chauncey Billups is recovered, he will become a very good Point Guard.
The sixth player is called Mobley, and he will be partnered with Ca.s.sell.
The rest of the players are former Clippers’ players and a few ‘bad contacts’ players. These players are experienced, and some even have playoff experiences. They can help in developing the rookies.
Elgin Baylor had warned the senior players that the rookies will be the core of this team. If anyone of them dares to bully them, they will be suspended!
The star player Feng Yu wanted to recruit initially was Scottie Pippen, but he is happy with his current team now. If possible, he would want to recruit Jordan, but Jordan had retired, and he will not be enticed by money.
After Jordan, the Bulls had lost another member of their Championship team. Pippen had wanted a bigger contract, but the Bulls’ boss refused.
Wind and Rain made an offer of a 5-year contract worth 90 million USD for Pippen, but he signed by Portland Trail Blazers with a 5-year contract worth 80 million. The Blazers told him that he can continue to win the championship if he joins them and will be bigger than Jordan in the future!
So, Pippen signed the deal, and he was traded for a few players.
But Wind and Rain still managed to sign one of the players from the Bulls’ championship team. They signed Dennis Rodman for a 3-year contract worth 5 million USD. This is a good bargain, as Dennis Rodman cannot get along well with his teammates at the Bulls. Elgin Baylor was afraid no one in the team can control Dennis Rodman’s foul temper.
But Feng Yu told Coach Karl that it’s fine. If the Coach and team manager cannot keep Rodman under control, he will deal with him! Furthermore, Coach Karl had promised that he can control Rodman.
Dennis Rodman is a good player, and he averaged 12 rebounds per game. His defense had helped the team and can stop those senior players from creating trouble.
Wind and Rain had not only got the draft picks rights for this year. They had gotten some of the drafts picks rights for next year. The future of this team is bright.
Feng Yu is very satisfied with Elgin Baylor’s performance. This team might not qualify for the playoffs, but the team is doing much better. Everyone believes that if the team can get two better players next year, they can surely enter the playoffs!
Carter and Pierce are outstanding, and both had gotten the NBA Rookie of the month award. This is the first in NBA history for a team to have two top rookies.
The team’s offensive style had let fans remembered LA Showtime. Although LA Showtime is from the Lakers, the basketball fans in LA does not care. This team is also a LA team.
Today, Elgin Baylor had purposely spread the news that the Boss of LA Wind and Rain will be watching the match on the sidelines, and their tickets were sold out.
Feng Yu suspects that these people are not here to watch the match. They are here to watch Paul Allen, and he argues. After all, both teams had argued on the media more than once.
Many people also know that these two Microsoft shareholders dislike each other!
Many fans like to watch fights on the court, but if they can see two teams’ bosses fight, it will be perfect. They don’t even mind if they had to pay ten times the ticket price!