The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 518 The Wise Man

Gan Guoyang took the next available flight back to Los Angeles.

Because he knew that the draft would be held soon after the finals.

If, as Tang Jianguo said on the phone, Jerry West has indeed resigned from the Lakers, then the Trail Blazers must quickly acquire this experienced and highly qualified general manager and involve him in the draft and trade processes.

While the Trail Blazers' failure in the 89 playoffs was partly due to the negative impact of Fleischer's death, that was only the direct cause.

Imagine if the Trail Blazers had been strong and unstoppable like in '86 and '87, then Fleischer's passing would only have allowed Gan Guoyang to turn grief into strength and use a championship to comfort his old friend's spirit in heaven.

The reality is that the Trail Blazers in the 88-89 season had too many flaws, and their margin for error was already very small.

If the team's goal is to finish the regular season smoothly and become a strong contender for the championship in the playoffs, then they have done a good job.

But their goal is a four-peat, to climb to the next level after a three-peat.

They have clearly done far too little.

Even if Fleischer doesn't have any accidents, they and the Lakers would only have a 40/60 chance of reaching the Western Conference Finals.

Even if Gan Guoyang has a breakout performance and makes it to the finals, what are his chances of winning against the Detroit Pistons with their roster at its peak?

Buckwalt is an excellent manager, especially in scouting low draft picks and discovering overseas talent, where he is arguably the best in the league.

Terry Porter, Jerome Kossie, Hornacek, Mark Bryant, Sabonis, Petrovic, and Cliff Robinson, a rookie closely watched by the Trail Blazers in this year's draft, all demonstrate Buckwalt's ruthless eye for talent.

But the draft is only part of the manager's job, and it is especially important for rebuilding or emerging teams.

Once the lineup is formed, when it needs to be improved, when it needs to be taken to the next level, when it needs to establish a dynasty, Buckwald is slightly lacking.

The Trail Blazers' three-peat was inseparable from Stu Inman's contributions. He sacrificed himself to bring back Bill Walton and received advance notice to help send Gilmore to the team.

But now that he's working for the Miami Heat, and the two teams are practically bitter rivals, Inman, no matter how much he still longs for his old team, no matter how much he'll always be a Trail Blazer, has to consider his new team first.

In the Heat's acquisition of Drexler in 1988, no one would believe that Inman had no part in it.

In addition to roster building, the general manager also has to oversee the overall situation, be responsible for the team's logistical support, handle conflicts between players, maintain relationships with the management of other teams, and deal with the NBA official office, among other tasks.

After Tang Jianguo acquired the Trail Blazers, he implemented an expansion strategy and launched a massive marketing campaign for the team.

The Trail Blazers' fan base across the United States has surged, the team's staff has expanded rapidly, and the team has added many new departments and positions.

The once small and beautiful pioneer has become large and chaotic, which is a great test of the general manager's communication and management skills.

Bill Shawnley once complained to Gan Guoyang that when the Trail Blazers were first established, the management team consisted of only seven or eight people.

The team consists of a CEO, a copywriting secretary, a manager, two trainers who also serve as receptionists, a finance manager who handles ticketing, and two sales assistants.

With Shawnley in charge of publicity and broadcasting, that's about all the people who have supported an NBA team.

Now, "we have so many departments and employees that we could almost manage a small country," Seanley said.

That's obviously an exaggeration, but personnel expansion is inevitable, and it's not just the Trail Blazers; after all, the team's market value has reached hundreds of millions of dollars.

A company worth hundreds of millions of dollars cannot be managed by just a few people, so Buckwalt, a general manager with a scout background, was somewhat stretched thin in his management.

Moreover, he has a boss who likes to come up with sudden ideas and is always trying to organize community events and commercial shows. Buckwalt often has to deal with non-basketball related work, which distracts him and puts him under a lot of pressure.

Mid-season, Buckwalt has the opportunity to trade Kiki Vandeweghe to bolster the team's roster.

However, Tang Jianguo disagreed with his preference for Van de Wesley's playing style, stating that purging championship veterans was not his style, and that he appreciated loyalty.

He said that it's unfair to demand loyalty from players to the team; the team should also be loyal to the players. Otherwise, it's an exploitation and psychological bullying of the players.

Tang Jianguo's behavior of pandering to fans and the team, and putting on a show to create the image of a good boss, ultimately prevented the Buckwalt trade from being completed.

When a boss like that called to say he wanted to hire Jerry West as general manager, Gan Guoyang was sure he didn't fully understand the significance of having West as a manager.

A manager like West, who dares to go against his boss, won't be as easy to talk to as Buckwalt, and he might not cooperate with his business promotions.

Tang Jianguo just thought that West had a very prestigious name, a former Los Angeles superstar, and it would definitely be good for adding prestige.

Midway through the season, he considered inviting Wilt Chamberlain to be the Trail Blazers' head coach to boost public opinion. Therefore, Gan Guoyang must return as soon as possible and, before Tang realizes his mistake, try to find an experienced, well-connected, and insightful leader for the team.

It is said that the person who knows you best is your strongest opponent.

Gan Guoyang played with the Lakers for five years, and he knows how much work West did behind the scenes.

The Lakers have always been the Trail Blazers' biggest rival in the West, and West deserves a lot of credit for that.

After a flight of more than ten hours, the plane landed at Los Angeles John F. Kennedy International Airport at night.

Gan Guoyang and his entourage disembarked from the plane, where Tang Jianguo and his men waited for them in the VIP lounge.

Of course, there was also a group of reporters and photographers waiting outside the VIP room, who had been invited by Tang Jianguo.

"Sonny! Welcome back to the embrace of your second home!"

Upon seeing Gan Guoyang, Tang Jianguo opened his arms to give him a warm welcome.

Gan Guoyang stepped forward and hugged Tang Jianguo tightly, but whispered in his ear, "Is the news accurate? Otherwise, I'll give you a good tumble right now."

Tang Jianguo tensed up and whispered, "It's absolutely true, Jack Nicholson told me! He resigned on the second day of the Finals."

After speaking, the two separated and faced the reporters' cameras. Amidst the clicking flashes, Gan Guoyang smiled, while Tang Jianguo, as always, frowned slightly.

This is what Tang Jianguo likes to do most: take photos with stars from the sports and arts worlds and appear on the front page of newspapers and magazines.

What appears to be a publicity stunt is actually a business strategy. By keeping himself in the high-profile spotlight, Tang Jianguo has inadvertently increased his credibility.

Just like those brainwashing advertisements, although the content is simple and repetitive, it keeps lingering in front of your eyes and ears again and again, and gradually you become familiar with it and thus gain trust.

This allowed Tang Jianguo to always borrow a lot of money from banks, partly because he had a huge amount of real estate as collateral, and partly because of his highly famous face.

This method has been used by many people throughout history and across the world.

Gan Guoyang gave a brief interview to the reporter.

After being asked a few questions, Tang Jianguo, in a manner that seemed to protect Gan Guoyang from harassment, led him away to the parking lot.

Once seated in Tang Jianguo's extended luxury Cadillac, the two could finally get down to business.

"You've brought a bunch of reporters here again. Will you die if you're not in the media spotlight?"

"Yes, they will die," Tang Jianguo replied with certainty.

"Let's talk about Jerry. Is he willing to come to Portland? We've played four rounds of series."

"I don't know, but we should at least give it a try, shouldn't we?"

"Give it a try? You mean you're gambling?"

"What else? Life is a gamble, Sonny."

"Tell me how to gamble," Gan Guoyang said, not wanting to waste any more words with Tang Jianguo.

"Tomorrow at noon, Jack Nilcoulson and I are inviting West to play golf at the Country Club. You can come along."

"Nicholson? He's a die-hard Lakers fan. Will he help persuade West?"

“Oh Sonny, what are you talking about? What do you mean by persuading West? Great people make decisions not by being persuaded, but by being attracted. Like when I asked you to come back home, did I persuade you? Only second-rate stars like Drexler can be swayed by sweet talk. True wise men see the situation clearly and make their own judgments. What we need to do is help him see it clearly. And you are the greatest player in the world, he needs to get to know you.”

Gan Guoyang pondered Tang Jianguo's words; he occasionally gave the impression that Tang was quite intelligent.

"Will you invite the media tomorrow?" Gan Guoyang suddenly asked.

"Oh, uh, well, I have a few journalist friends who said they'd like to come along and see for themselves; they're your fans..."

"This is a private meeting with Donald! Taking fewer photos won't kill you, so don't let them come."

"OK."

(End of this chapter)