Chapter 436: Absolute Control
When Yang Mo received Lu Xuefei's call, he felt unwell. He could clearly feel the chill in his spine. Last time, he picked on the entire Girls' Generation. Is this demon going to do something else this time?
"Don't worry, brother-in-law. I have arranged the plan to the best of my ability. Don't worry about doing the work. Have you had a great time with Girls' Generation recently? Ahaha!" Lu Xuefei smiled ambiguously and continued, "By the way, prepare well for the competition. I will contact you after your competition. My plan will definitely not disturb your work."
Lu Xuefei said this before she hung up. She'd insisted it wouldn't affect Yang Mo's competition, but after hearing that, how could Yang Mo even think about preparing for the competition? All she could think about were her close friends. Who knew which one would be targeted by the little devil? The image of fucking nine of them at once was still swirling in Yang Mo's mind. It was a nightmare. Furthermore, the aphrodisiac's rush was too uncomfortable.
But the match was a done deal, and whether Yang Mo was prepared or not, he would arrive as scheduled. On the morning of the match, Yang Mo arrived at Madison Square Garden early for practice, as usual. He practiced with his six tennis balls. After nearly two months, he could only sink around four balls per pass, occasionally five, but rarely six. This was undoubtedly a frustrating experience for him. Ever since he obtained the hexagram, nothing had ever stumped him. But now, these six balls had truly trapped him.
What Yang Mo didn't know was that Stockton felt even more frustrated than he did. Yang Mo was able to consistently throw in four goals every time in less than two months, and even had a 30% chance of throwing in five goals, which was much better than he had been in the past. Since he was a child, he had practiced almost until high school to reach this level, which meant that Yang Mo's two months replaced his seven or eight years of hard work.
How could Stockton not be sad with such a comparison? If he knew that Yang Mo was still upset about his slow progress, he would probably jump into the river to commit suicide or strangle Yang Mo to death.
Through this period of tennis training, Yang Mo truly felt that his passing had improved significantly. Without interference, Yang Mo could pass the basketball anywhere he wanted in a static position. However, once he started moving, the probability of his passing was greatly reduced. In short-range situations, Yang Mo was almost perfectly capable, sometimes even managing to land a perfect ground-and-shoot pass or two, provided the distance was not too far.
After practicing for nearly an hour, Isaiah Thomas accompanied Dolan and his son to the court. These two rarely visited the players, always watching games in the VIP box and leaving immediately, with almost no interaction with the players. But this time, they took the initiative to seek out Yang Mo, and even came to visit in advance.
Seeing Yang Mo, both of them put on a flattering smile. Unlike other players, Yang Mo can be said to be an equal shareholder of the two, although his equity is much smaller than theirs. However, in terms of the impact on the stock price, Yang Mo is more effective than them. This season, due to Yang Mo's joining, MSG's stock price has risen repeatedly, and the net worth of both father and son has increased by at least 20%. With such a large profit increase, it is difficult for them not to regard Yang Mo as the God of Wealth.
"Yang, long time no see, how are you doing recently?" Little Dolan greeted Yang Mo enthusiastically as soon as he came up. He was strongly opposed to the team buying Yang Mo and giving up James before, but now, he has become the most determined and hardcore fan of Super Yang. As for LeBron James? Who cares? James can't let his net worth increase by 20%, but Super Yang has done it.
"Not bad." Yang Mo nodded with a smile, put down the tennis ball in his hand, walked to a seat on the side, and sat down side by side with old Dolan.
Old Dolan wasn't one to keep things in suspense. He shook Yang Mo's hand and said directly, "Yang, we came to you today specifically to cheer you on. We hope you can win tonight's game. As you know, we're about to announce ticket prices for next season, and we're also planning playoff tickets . Right now, we need a significant game to prove our market value."
"Yeah, I know." Yang Mo nodded. He was half a businessman, and he also held shares in MSG. As the Knicks' revenue increased, his wallet would also become fatter, so there was no need for him to be at odds with money.
Seeing Yang Mo nod, Dolan said quickly, "So, we hope you can switch to offensive mode from the first quarter tonight. Our team's offensive power is very low right now, and you are our sharpest weapon. If you can maintain your attack for four full quarters, our chances of winning will increase significantly."
"Hmm?" Yang Mo frowned slightly and asked, "Do you think our team's offensive power is weak?"
Yang Mo suddenly asked this question, and the atmosphere became a little awkward. Dolan didn't know how to answer. He coughed slightly and then continued with Yang Mo's words: "Although they are not weak, there are very few players who have the ability to attack independently, and even fewer who can tear apart the opponent's defense alone. In fact, there is only you."
"Next season, we will increase our investment and will definitely trade for at least one All-Star player." At this time, Isaiah Thomas next to him quickly added that as the general manager of the Knicks, he needed to insert a few words about the strategic deployment for next season during the conversation between the two bosses to avoid being affected.
"Okay, I understand what you mean." Yang Mo suddenly slapped his thigh, stood up, and said to Dolan and his son: "I will aim to win this game and spend less time practicing passing the ball."
Yang Mo's words were as good as a complete revelation. Duolan and his son exchanged a glance, each smiling slightly and secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
The Dolans breathed a sigh of relief, but Yang Mo secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He felt a little unhappy. Although this was also good for his wallet, he always felt that this was a kind of constraint. He increasingly disliked others interfering with his will.
So, after Duolan and his son left, he called Lu Xueman. Soon, the call was connected.
"Please help me check the equity distribution of MSG. How much equity do Dolan and his son have, and how much equity do we have. If we have enough cash, I hope to completely control the right to speak by buying up stocks in the market." Yang Mo asked very directly.
Lu Xueman on the other end of the line was silent for two minutes before answering him: "We have sufficient cash, but now is not the best time to make an acquisition. MSG's stock is at its highest point in history, and it would be irrational for us to buy it now."
“So when is the best time to go shopping?”
"Wait until you lose in a row, or when bad news comes out about your team." Lu Xueman on the other end answered very straightforwardly.
"Um..." Yang Mo hesitated for a moment and said, "Can we artificially create some negative news to cause the stock price to plummet, and then we can enter the market and buy up the stocks?"
“This will take time.”
"Okay, I'll give you some time." Yang Mo calmly stated his ultimate request: "I don't want anyone to tell me what to do on the basketball court."
"I understand." Lu Xueman nodded on the other end. After a while, she suddenly asked something unrelated to work: "By the way, do you know what Xue Fei has been doing recently? She's been so secretive. She even flew back to China half a month ago and spent a week playing."
"Domestic?" When Yang Mo heard this word, her heart skipped a beat and she felt very disappointed.
At this time, Lu Xueman asked again; "What's going on? What's going on in the country? Do you know anything?"
"No, no." Yang Mo denied repeatedly: "I'm just curious why she returned to China. She must be having no friends here and it's not fun."
"Well, that's probably the reason. She's really bored here. I'll find a chance to send her back with my mom after a while when she's in better shape. My mom has always said that it's too boring here and not as lively as back home."
"Okay, I'll buy a villa for my mother in the country then..."
Just as Yang Mo was about to take advantage of Lu Xueman, she was scolded back by Lu Xueman: "Go to hell, you are still my mother now, you can call me mom after we get married."
The two flirted and laughed for a while, then hung up the phone reluctantly.
After finishing the call and putting the phone aside, Yang Mo suddenly noticed a new figure on the court. And it was someone Yang Mo felt was completely impossible and shouldn't be on the court: Tracy McGrady.
How did he get here? According to legend, didn't he never practice?
Yang Mo was full of curiosity. Although McGrady's training attitude had improved a lot since joining the Knicks, the term "extra training" was really unfamiliar to him. Today, he actually arrived at the stadium half a day earlier to warm up for the first time. It was so weird.
Yang Mo was just feeling weird when McGrady came to him with the ball and sat down next to him. As soon as he sat down, he said to Yang Mo, "Looking at your expression, you must be very curious about why I'm here, right?"
"Yeah." Yang Mo nodded very directly without any polite words.
"I came here for you." McGrady smiled and said, "Now there are rumors that we have a conflict. It seems to be true. I think I should resolve it with you."
"Haha." Yang Mo grinned and said, "I have long regarded what the media said as shit."
"You're much more relaxed than we were back then," McGrady shrugged, recalling with a touch of sadness. "Back then, we had to please the reporters because they were the only way for stars to communicate with the fans. We had to get our words across to the fans through them, and the fans could only understand us through them. Gradually, they had the power of life and death over us. Back then, it was impossible to provoke the reporters like you did because they would write about you like you stunk like shit, and then your future and your business prospects would be over."
"Now they still write about me as if I stink like shit." Yang Mo asked in confusion.
"It's different. The Internet is so developed now, the media or reporters don't have the ability to really ban a player, just like you." McGrady suddenly stretched his waist and sighed sadly: "Times have changed!"
