The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 143 Truck-Gump
New York, CEO's office.

David Stern stared at the phone on the table, hesitating for a long time.

He picked up the phone receiver, put it down, picked it up again, and put it down again.

After going back and forth several times, he finally picked up the receiver and dialed the number he didn't want to dial.

The dial made a "click...click...click..." sound. After Stern finished turning the dial, he cleared his throat and let out a breath, clearly having made a significant decision.

"hello?"

"Hi Larry, this is David. There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

"I know, I was just about to bring up Gan's matter with you, I was preparing..."

"Wait, Larry, wait a minute, let me hear you out. I want to tell you my decision directly..."

"Decision? What decision? Didn't you call me to discuss this?"

"No, I just wanted to inform you of the Alliance Office's decision regarding Gan's punishment."

"Then you can just call the New York Times or some other media outlet and hold a press conference. Do you think I don't read newspapers or watch TV?"

"Larry, I respect you and want you to know before the official punishment notice is made public. I respect you, after all, Gan is your player."

"If you truly respected me, you wouldn't have said it was just a notification instead of a discussion. You're in your office, right? Be there in fifteen minutes, and we'll talk face-to-face."

“Hey Larry, Larry, I’m telling you this is the final decision, don’t even think about it… Larry… Larry?”

David Stern listened to the dial tone and could only slam the phone down.

He lay back in the chair and took a deep breath. The feeling of fatigue traveled from the soles of his feet to his scalp, a slight tingling sensation.

He never showed his weariness in front of the public or others; he was always radiant, with a smile on his face, and unhurried and composed.

He was incredibly energetic, able to work sixteen to eighteen hours a day, but since officially taking over as NBA commissioner in February 1984, the sheer volume of work and countless unexpected events left him feeling physically and mentally exhausted.

“I hope for a period of stability so that we can shift our focus away from Stepien’s image as an NBA traitor and onto the game. I see our team hitting rock bottom and getting stronger. I see the implementation of the salary cap and cable TV revenue making the team more profitable. I look forward to sharing the profits with the players, who will account for 53% of the total revenue. Ultimately, we will focus on international competition, and we will look to markets around the world, where people are very interested in professional basketball and the NBA.”

Stern recalled that when he first took office six months ago, he was asked by reporters what he wanted to accomplish as the league's president, and he gave the above answer.

This is Stern's strategic plan to extricate himself from the messy Joker news, shift public attention to the games, increase revenue, support the players, and then expand into overseas markets to broaden his fan base.

This seemingly simple strategic plan, while seemingly calm, reveals its sharpness. It focuses on both the present and the future, concentrating its attention on "the game" and "the players," indicating that the Stern era will be a true era for players.

This strategy will profoundly impact the entire league over the next thirty years, but for now, with Stern less than three hundred days in office, he must turn his attention from the lofty future to the quagmire beneath his feet.

He still needs to focus on solving the two major problems that the league has faced since the 70s, two quagmires that have mired the NBA: drugs and violence.

The secretary knocked on the door and said that Mr. Larry Fleischer was downstairs and about to come up. Stern quickly got up from his chair and tidied his appearance.

He groomed his beard in front of the mirror, trying to make him look more composed and mature. He was 12 years younger than Larry Fleischer, and every time he talked to him, he felt like he was being scolded by an elder, which Stern disliked.

Throughout the years-long labor negotiations, Fleischer was Stern's biggest adversary, with the two representing the labor and management sides respectively.

The protracted tug-of-war and repeated negotiations complicated the relationship between the two, much like the relationship between labor and capital, where they hated each other yet depended on each other.

Stern needed Fleischer's support because he had access to the largest pool of players; almost all retired and current NBA superstars had connections with Fleischer.

Stern realized early on that the NBA should be a player-driven league. Fans come to the arena and turn on the TV to watch games, hoping to see excellent players perform, not coaches yelling from the sidelines and directing players to execute tactics that fans simply cannot understand. Therefore, he had to maintain a good relationship with Fleischer, but their positions and identities meant that they could not have a good relationship; in certain areas, they were sharp enemies.

Stern still remembers that after the salary cap agreement was basically finalized, Fleischer brought his men to the league office to audit the accounts to ensure that the league had no hidden income. Every expense was dug up, including a roll of toilet paper and a box of condoms.

Fleischer started out as a tax lawyer and is also a certified public accountant. He has connections in the IRS, so nothing escapes his notice.

At the time, the entire NBA management and staff felt like they had been stripped naked and laid out to dry in the sun. Stern felt humiliated, but it was a price that had to be paid to push forward with the salary cap system.

After that, David Stern was always on edge whenever he talked to Fleischer. He hated being seen through and hated that his beard and smile were no longer effective at faking it.

The office door slammed open, and Stern immediately sat up straight in his chair, cursing inwardly, "That rude Russian, he doesn't even know how to knock."

Larry Fleischer, after entering the room, threw a stack of newspapers onto Stern's desk, then pulled up a chair and plopped down, saying, "David, I strongly advise against suspending Gan. A fine is fine, but I just heard you want to suspend Gan for three games? Three games? What the hell are you thinking?"

David Stern tried to keep a smile on his face and said to his old rival, "Larry, you've always been a refined man, but you should watch your words."

Fleischer said, “Yes, you’ve always been louder than me, but I don’t agree with you doing that in this matter.”

"It is the league's right to punish players, as well as its obligation to maintain order."

"The league's obligation is to maintain order? Bullshit! The league's obligation is to get more fans to watch the games! Suspensions will only cause a loss of viewers. Also, on November 9th, Irving grabbed Bird by the neck and punched him twice, why wasn't Irving suspended?"

During labor negotiations, Stern was often the one shouting and yelling, while Larry Fleischer was always calm, composed, and composed.

But this time the situation was reversed. Fleischer slammed his fist on the table at Stern because the league was going to suspend Gan Guoyang.

As for the reason: three fights broke out in four games, one resulted in bloodshed, one resulted in a tooth loss, and one resulted in the player being thrown around and completely disoriented.

This dump truck crashed all the way from Portland into the so-called tough Eastern Conference, causing several teams to complain and creating quite a stir in public opinion.

On November 9th, the Philadelphia 76ers challenged the Boston Celtics in Boston. The meeting between these two arch-rivals was naturally full of tension.

全场砍下42分的拉里-伯德不停对着拿了6分的J博士挑衅，嘴里念着“42:6，42:6”。

Irving, who is usually mild-mannered, couldn't hold back any longer and grabbed Bird by the neck, punching him.

This game had a great impact; although it wasn't broadcast nationwide, it was streamed on local television stations.

The footage of the two men choking and fighting was quickly broadcast on major television news channels, causing some negative impacts on the one hand, but also arousing the interest of many fans to watch NBA live broadcasts on the other.

After all, just playing ball can be a bit boring, and fighting too intensely isn't good either. People love to watch matches that are exciting and full of conflict.

For various reasons, the league ultimately did not suspend Irving for initiating the fight, but only issued a symbolic warning and imposed a fine.

“Irving and Bird did have a conflict, but it didn’t cause any particularly bad consequences. Moreover, Irving has always been a mild-mannered and friendly gentleman. This time, he only acted impulsively because Bird went too far. Bird has also expressed that he has reconciled with Irving. So we did not impose a suspension, but we did give him a warning and a fine.”

"And look at your Forrest Gump. On November 20th against the Nets, he knocked out Nets center Mike Gominsky in the third quarter, knocking out one of his front teeth! On November 24th against the Philadelphia 76ers, he elbowed Moses Malone in the eyebrow during a layup in the second quarter, causing him to bleed profusely. The two got into a fight, and he threw Maurice Cheeks, who came to break up the fight, onto the scorer's table. On November 27th against the Detroit Pistons, he tackled Bill Laimbeer in the fourth quarter, causing Laimbeer to hit his head and suffer a concussion... And that doesn't even include the time he elbowed Kirk Rambis in the Lakers, knocking him unconscious and having him carried off on a stretcher."

"Larry, you know what people call Forrest Gump these days? Truck-Gump! Do you think I should suspend him?"

Faced with Stern's outburst, Larry Fleischer remained calm. He tapped the newspaper on the table with his finger and said, "David, before you make a judgment or decision, you'd better listen to the public's opinion. Don't sit in your office and shut yourself off. Public opinion is important. You should know that NBA rules are not laws made by Congress; they can be adapted to changing circumstances. Look at how much people love him and what they expect from the upcoming games. I think you'll change your mind, David."

Stern looked at the stack of newspapers in front of him, then at the sly look behind Larry Fleischer's glasses, hesitated for a long time, and finally snatched them to start reading.

(End of this chapter)