The outskirts of Phoenix.
Jerry Colangelo stood at the entrance of his villa, a broad smile on his face as he watched Brian’s family arrive.
"Sofia!"
He immediately opened his arms and embraced his granddaughter as she leaped into them.
"Dad," Brian greeted him before heading inside on his own.
While his wife and mother were preparing dinner, the father and son sat in the villa’s garden, chatting as they watched the two children play.
"I heard someone gave Chen a luxury car today and invited him for a meeting. Do you know who it was?" Jerry asked, picking up his wine glass. He then followed up, asking if Chen Yu was back yet.
Brian rubbed his face in frustration. "I already called Chen. It was Paul Allen who invited him. They flew a plane together to an airfield in the Mojave Desert, then went to Las Vegas. They’re taking Paul’s private jet back to Phoenix from there, so they probably haven’t landed yet."
Brian’s voice was full of melancholy as he mentioned them flying a plane.
Gifting a rare classic car, taking Chen Yu to experience a WWII fighter plane... to recruit Chen Yu, Paul Allen had truly catered to his interests. ’If it were me,’ Brian thought, ’I might have nodded in agreement when faced with such sincerity.’
"So it was him."
Colangelo frowned slightly. He’d had a good idea of who would be so generous.
That man truly loves basketball, and he isn’t just your average rich guy.
"Dad, did you see the news this afternoon? Stern personally admitted that Chen staying with the Suns has affected the league’s competitive balance," Brian said, his voice heavy with worry.
The news had reached his ears that afternoon.
He didn’t really care about Chen Yu being promoted to Vice President of the league.
Given Chen Yu’s contributions to the league, and the fact he was already a league employee, a promotion to VP could only be described as normal.
What Brian truly cared about was Stern’s personal admission that Chen had destroyed the league’s balance.
Since the balance was broken, it had to be restored. The simplest way was the current solution: make Chen Yu a league VP so he could no longer remain the Suns’ team doctor.
"No wonder they nominated Chen for the Hall of Fame. They’re doing this step-by-step. They just can’t stand to see us succeed. But we’ve only won two consecutive championships!" Brian drained his glass in anger.
Jerry’s brow was furrowed. He already knew all this, and in fact, knew more than Brian did.
For instance, Stern had already held several meetings with the Board of Governors to discuss how to solve this problem.
But those guys on the board just argued back and forth without ever reaching a consensus.
Jerry knew the reason perfectly well. Just like Paul Allen, they were all holding back, waiting for a chance to poach Chen Yu themselves.
They were jealous of the Suns, but what they really wanted was to *become* the Suns.
This was especially true for the small-market teams.
Compared to the cost of recruiting a top superstar, recruiting Chen Yu was clearly simpler and more cost-effective.
Once they recruited him, they could just copy the Suns’ model and immediately have the strength to contend for a championship. Their market value would soar, and the final return would far exceed the investment in recruiting Chen Yu.
Jerry had run the numbers himself.
Two years ago, according to evaluations from Forbes and other professional organizations, the Suns’ market value was $230 million, ranking 11th in the league.
But just after the Suns won the championship, in the NBA team market value rankings published by Forbes last year, the Suns’ valuation had already risen to $310 million, ranking 6th in the league.
Although you couldn’t evaluate it simply by market value, Jerry felt that investing up to thirty, or even fifty million to poach Chen Yu would ultimately be profitable for the team’s bottom line.
The All-Star veterans they would attract, the appeal of a championship... just think of how many more tickets they could sell.
"The most crucial thing right now is Chen’s attitude. You need to be clear on this. No matter how many schemes the league comes up with, it all comes down to what Chen Yu chooses to do," Jerry said, turning his head and getting straight to the point.
Stern was offering the Hall of Fame, the vice presidency, a whole pile of benefits. But he was afraid it would be a one-sided effort. If Chen Yu was determined to stay in Phoenix, nobody could do a thing about it.
Stern couldn’t just forbid Chen Yu from being a team doctor. If he actually did that, the owners of the other 29 teams in the league would never agree.
"I know that, too," Brian said helplessly. "I’ve talked with Chen a lot these past few days, trying to ask him what he’s thinking, but he refuses to say. I think he’s also waiting to see who makes the most sincere offer."
Friendship was friendship, but with such massive interests at stake, Brian wasn’t naive enough to think their personal relationship alone could keep Chen Yu in Phoenix.
Jerry said, "It’s normal for him to do that. So, we also need to show our sincerity."
Brian frowned. "Dad, are you talking about salary? Based on the media leaks about Real Madrid’s offer, we’d have to offer a contract of at least ten million US dollars a year."
That pot-stirrer Florentino has already set the standard for every team. We have no choice but to follow suit.
"No."
Jerry shook his head.
Gifting a villa, offering a high salary, even investing in a hospital for Chen Yu to open... in his eyes, these were just the basics. They weren’t sincere enough and couldn’t truly move Chen Yu.
"Brian, whether in business or friendship, the best outcome is always a win-win. You have to tie your interests together for the relationship to last." After imparting another piece of life wisdom, Jerry continued, "I’ve already discussed it with the other board members. We’ve decided to collectively give up a portion of our shares to bring Chen Yu in as a minority owner of the team."
Brian was stunned.
But along with the shock, he slapped his thigh, his eyes gleaming. "Of course! Why didn’t I think of that? If he becomes a minority owner of the Suns, he’ll have no reason to leave Phoenix!"
With his business interests tied to the team, how could Chen Yu possibly leave?
"Dad, that’s a brilliant idea," Brian said, overjoyed. He then asked his father how many shares they were planning to offer.
Jerry said, "Between five and ten percent."
He wasn’t some mega-billionaire. He was a rare case of an employee who worked his way up to become the boss. Back when the Suns were in financial trouble, he used his connections to bring together a group of investors to jointly purchase the team.
He currently owned twenty percent of the Suns, making him the largest shareholder.
So, you give up a little, I give up a little, and we can come up with ten percent at most. This will both guarantee Chen Yu’s interests and won’t significantly impact the team’s shareholding structure.
Most importantly, it would deeply bind Chen Yu to the Suns. In the future, no matter what measures Stern took, he wouldn’t be able to change this relationship.
"The team’s valuation should be over $300 million now. After some discussion, we can give him a discount, allowing him to acquire ten percent of the shares for up to thirty million US dollars. He should be able to afford that."
Even if he couldn’t, Chen Yu was so well-connected he could easily borrow it.
If that didn’t work, he could use his clinic’s revenue as collateral. A whole bunch of banks would be willing to lend him the money.
"Reasonable." Brian nodded and pulled out his phone. "I’ll call him right now."
Jerry quickly stopped him. "What’s the rush? It’s not too late to talk to him face-to-face when he gets back."
"Besides, the season isn’t over yet. We can’t be too hasty with this. We need to give him time to think and choose. Let him see the offers from other teams first. Once he has something to compare them to, we’ll make our move at the very end. And when we do, it’ll be the finishing blow!"
Shares in an NBA team aren’t something you can buy just because you want to.
Didn’t you see how Jordan had to swallow his pride and come out of retirement to play for two years just to become a team owner? And even then, he still got ruthlessly played by Abi Polin in the end.
So in Jerry’s view, this was the ultimate killer move.
Brian nodded in agreement. Only with a comparison could they truly show the Suns’ sincerity.
"Right, will the league even approve it?" Brian asked, a new worry creeping in.
Becoming the owner of an NBA team is no easy task. You have to be vetted by the league’s Board of Governors, and all the other owners have to agree to accept you.
"That’s not a problem." Jerry waved his hand dismissively. "Chen isn’t becoming the majority owner. It’s just an internal transfer of shares. They have no jurisdiction over that."
Becoming a team’s majority owner, with absolute control, requires a review by the league.
But an internal share transfer, just like when Magic Johnson bought shares, is an internal team matter. The league doesn’t get a say in it.
Brian realized he was right.
In that moment, all the frustration in his heart was swept away. He said excitedly, "As long as we can keep Chen, next year’s championship will still be ours."
Malone, Stockton, Payton, Miller, and Pippen.
Brian had already contacted Pippen’s agent to gauge his interest.
Pippen was planning to return to the Bulls, play one more year, and then retire, putting a perfect capstone on his career.
However, the prospect of playing for the Suns for a year and winning another championship was also extremely appealing to him.
"But Dad, we have to re-sign Sean this year, and I also plan to keep James Posey and Wash Leonard. On top of that, Shaq’s salary and others will continue to grow. The salary pressure this year is still pretty significant," Brian added.
Jerry waved his hand dismissively. "It doesn’t matter. No matter how much it costs, we’re willing to spend it."
If you don’t win a championship, spending wildly makes you a fool. But if you can win, and even contend for a three-peat and establish a Sun Dynasty, then Jerry was willing to spend any amount of money.
Originally, due to his advancing age and the financial pressures, Jerry had considered selling the Suns last year.
But now? He wouldn’t sell for any price!
And compared to the investments other teams made to chase a championship, the Suns, by signing veterans to minimum contracts, had already gotten an incredible bargain.
While the father and son were excitedly discussing their plans, Chen Yu had already landed in Phoenix aboard Paul Allen’s luxurious private jet.
On the way, Chen Yu had actually been quite tempted to ask Paul Allen how much the private jet cost.
’A man has to have goals and ambitions, right?’
Although Chen Yu felt it was a bit extravagant for a doctor like him to own a private jet that could fly all over the world—after all, his patients came to him.
’But it’s like a standard accessory for a successful person. Who wouldn’t dream of having one?’
But by the time they disembarked, Chen Yu still hadn’t asked.
’It’s probably not cheap,’ he thought.
The plane, the flight routes, the pilot, and those beautiful flight attendants... just thinking about it, he knew it must cost a fortune.
The GT40 had already been driven to the airport.
Just as he was about to get in the car, Paul Allen called out to Chen Yu again, his expression sincere. "Chen, I can feel that you, like me, are a pure, idealistic person."
Chen Yu frowned inwardly. ’Where on earth did you get that idea?’ he thought.
Paul Allen continued, "We’re both willing to make sacrifices for the things we love. I want to win a championship, and you want to combine sports and medicine. So come to the Pioneer. We can help each other achieve our goals."
He stared at Chen Yu without blinking, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Chen Yu sighed.
Throughout the trip, Chen Yu had genuinely been somewhat moved by his sincerity.
"Paul, I will seriously consider it." Chen Yu nodded to him, said his goodbyes, and got into the car to leave.

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