Chapter Thirty-Four: The Worst Boss Sterling

  On the way home, Aili asked Ye Feng: "After the match with Kuai Chuan, are you free?"

  After beating the Suns, the Lakers rested for a day at home and Ye Feng had nothing to do that night. "If you have time, what are your plans?"

  "Airi sighed and said: 'It's not me, but my dad. He wants to have a midnight snack with us and chat with you. You'd better be mentally prepared, he's an asshole.'"

  Airi has never said anything good about her father, Ye Feng scratched his head and smiled: "Uh... I'm willing to have dinner with him, maybe we'll get along well?"

  "Believe me, he's only here for the money. If he makes any unreasonable demands, just ignore him."

  It seems things are not simple. Ye Feng asked: "What requirements will he raise?"

  Ariel sighed again. "He hopes you can join the Clippers next year. You're definitely not interested, right? You said you want to win a championship with the Lakers, it's too hard for the Clippers to win a championship."

  It turns out that Clippers boss Donald Sterling is not concerned about his future son-in-law, but is calculating to lure Lin Feng to join his own team. If the Clippers do not renew their contract with Brand this season, Lin Feng is a good alternative, affordable and of good quality.

  Sterling had a bust-up with Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish earlier today.

  Beller wants to give a max contract to Brandon, who is seeking a refund for the season, and introduce Warriors star guard Byron Davis next season to form a luxury lineup. This is not a small sum of money, and they will definitely have to pay luxury tax. Sterling doubts how much state Brand can still have after his serious injury, many players are abandoned after being seriously injured once, he does not want to take hundreds of millions to risk it. Giving a big contract to Carmelo at the end of 2006 has already made him furious, and he cannot tolerate having three people with annual salaries of over 10 million in the team.

  What's even more infuriating to Sterling is that Maggette's agent has also been in talks with the Clippers about a contract extension, seeking a long-term deal worth tens of millions of dollars. Baylor thinks Maggette is also a force to be reckoned with. "Mr. Sterling, Maggette is averaging 20 points per game this season, he's the team's top scorer, shouldn't his demands be considered? Otherwise, he'll definitely opt out of the final year of his contract after the season."

  Sterling didn't mince words, he was furious. "You mean I'm supposed to sign four guys with million-dollar salaries? What level are they on when they're together? What's our goal for next year? 82 wins and a championship? Do you think I look like an idiot? Is 'New York' written on my forehead?"

  This year, the Clippers' wealth created by Sterling has decreased. Los Angeles fans have always only valued the Lakers and ignored the Clippers, which makes him very unhappy. Sterling is a stock market investor who bought the Clippers for $12.5 million in 1981. The team's poor performance has also made him a lot of money. He is not like Ball who spends money to accumulate stars and compete for championships. His pleasure lies in picking up bargains.

  When Sterling's daughter brought up the idea of tanking this season and trading away Blake Griffin next season to draft a young core, he was thrilled with her plan. The Clippers could easily pick two good young players and get rid of those overpaid underperformers. This is what Sterling wanted most. He didn't care about wins; he cared about dollars. In his mind, money always came first, and for the sake of money, not only would he trade away players, but he'd also sell the Clippers if the price was right. As a Chinese man, Leaf had made a fortune from Yao Ming's Rockets owner Alexander, which had left Sterling green with envy for years.

  Ye Feng has memories of the future, and he knows better than anyone else how rotten Donald Sterling is. If one word could be used to describe him, perhaps the most suitable would be "pervert"!

  Sterling is infamous, not for being unconventional like Mavericks owner Mark Cuban or shrewdly calculating like Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, but for one scandal after another.

  He was notorious for being frugal. After purchasing the Clippers in 1981, he rarely gave out large contracts to players and was extremely stingy with coaches and general managers. He consistently ranked as the worst owner in sports according to a ranking of all professional sports owners by the American sports magazine Sports Illustrated. When the team moved to Los Angeles, they played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, which had outdated facilities that the Lakers had stopped using 20 years prior. In the first three years after moving to Los Angeles, the Clippers averaged fewer than 8,500 fans per game, but this was still more than double what they drew in San Diego. Sterling never considered moving because the rent for the arena was only a few thousand dollars and it was easier for the team to turn a profit.

  Secondly, Sterling is a troublemaker who has been involved in numerous lawsuits. In 2003, he was sued by a woman for sexual harassment. In 2006, he was also sued for refusing to rent apartments to blacks and women with children. In 2010, he was sued by the team's general manager, NBA legend Elgin Baylor. He was then exposed by the media for refusing to pay medical expenses for his assistant coach who had cancer, but ultimately the Clippers players came together to help their coach through the tough time. When people saw the humanitarian care of the Clippers players, they also confirmed Sterling's ugly face - this guy is a scumbag.

  Sterling's mismanagement of the team is well-documented. Under Sterling, the Clippers have experienced countless foolish trades, disastrous drafts and endless injuries, perhaps only a masochist would be suited to be a loyal fan of the team before Griffin arrived.

  An owner who doesn't even want to reimburse an employee's surgery costs is naturally not willing to splurge in the free agent market. Even being in a big city like Los Angeles, the Clippers were barely scraping by before they drafted Griffin and brought in Paul.

  The above is normal, Sterling has some stunning things.

  Sterling would mock his own teammates. At every home game, he liked to sit on the sidelines and then yell insults at his own players.

  Sterling also disrespected fans, a fan won $1,000 in a free throw shooting contest at the Clippers game but Sterling refused to give him the prize money. The fan happened to be an attorney and sued Sterling for fraud.

  To save money, Sterling had the team's coach, Silas, personally tape ankles for players. When the Clippers went to China for an NBA promotional event, Sterling hired a former model named Patricia Simmons as the team's vice president of human resources and had her take over the coach's office; when Silas returned from China, he found his things stacked in the hallway.

  Stern also dared to lay off David Stern, making a big joke in the NBA. In 2010, at the Las Vegas Labor Convention, various team bosses gathered, and the meeting was hosted by Stern. During the proceedings, the following dialogue occurred.

  Sterling: "You wouldn't want to hear me talk."

  Stern: "No, I'd like to hear."

  Sterling: "You don't want to."

  Stern: "No, come on, let's hear it."

  Sterling: "Alright, I think you're fired. You've got a great handle on how the market works, but when it comes to the Alliance, you lack a firm hand."

  What happened later was not further revealed by the anonymous source. Perhaps because both of them were surnamed Si, they had been one family hundreds of years ago and thus settled in harmony. (Stearn: You're the one who's surnamed Si...)

  Sterling's most arrogant hobby is that he often takes his own little girlfriend to the locker room of the fast boat. He will point at the players who are showering after the game and say to his little girlfriend, "Look at these beautiful black bodies." The players protested multiple times but to no avail.

  Ye Feng's previous life was a reporter, he knew too much about Sterling. If the Clippers want to have a future, the boss must change people. If Aileen gets control of the team, it is a great blessing for Clippers fans. As long as Donald Sterling is still the decision-maker of the Clippers, he will not join. He doesn't mind coming to negotiate, this is a good opportunity for Aileen.

  December 5, the Lakers vs Clippers derby match was held at Staples Center. The floor was covered with Clippers' carpet, but fans were cheering for the Lakers before the game, which was a bit strange.

  The play-by-play announcers for this game are Ralph Lawler and Mike Smith. Ralph Lawler, born in April 1938, is now 70 years old, and has been the voice of the Los Angeles Clippers for many years, both in the radio and television eras. Smith has also announced for 12 years.

  The two commentators first expressed their concerns about the Clippers' prospects and then commented on the Lakers' lineup, believing that this season, due to the outstanding performance of Baynam and Ye Feng, the Lakers' strength has risen to a higher level and returned to the ranks of strong teams.

  When he took the field, Ye Feng was ranked fifth from last, after Radmanovic and before Bynum. This was a deliberate arrangement by the Lakers, implicitly indicating that Ye Feng's role in the team had surpassed Radmanovic.

  When introducing Ye Feng, the audience applauded continuously. When Bayern came on stage, the applause was significantly weaker. After the opening ceremony, Bayern stood beside Ye Feng and smiled wryly: "Buddy, you're too popular now, I played so beautifully and didn't get this effect."

  Ye Feng lightly punched him and smiled: "Jealous? In this game, if you get two double-doubles again, your popularity will definitely surpass mine."

  The game was about to start, and Ye Feng sat back down on the bench. Ailier was sitting across from him on the court, not far away was her father, with Donald Sterling and his young girlfriend. Ailier waved at Ye Feng, who immediately waved back. What made him embarrassed was that Sterling also stood up and smiled at him, waving his hand in a very familiar manner.

  This old man is laughing so lewdly, if a reporter notices our actions, who knows what news will come out tomorrow, such as "Fast Boat Boss Has Already Accepted Lakers Son-in-law?" Ye Feng thought to himself.

  Lakers' starting lineup remains unchanged. Clippers' starting five: Chris Kaman, Tim Thomas, Corey Maggette, Cuttino Mobley, Sam Cassell.

  The referee threw the basketball into the air and the game began!