Chapter 2299: Buying a Team for Fun

Everyone has the right to choose their own life, and Tan Kaixuan is no exception.

Zhao Fusheng had no right to interfere, nor would he comment on Tan's life choices.

After all, before the end of life, no one is qualified to judge another's life.

Even at the moment when the coffin is sealed, it is the same.

You are not the fish; how do you know whether the fish is happy?

"Speaking of which, Miami is really comfortable."

Tan Kaixuan said to Zhao Fusheng.

"The climate is good."

Zhao Fusheng pointed to the beach in the distance: "Seattle has Boeing and Microsoft, suitable for starting a business. Los Angeles is a metropolis. As for Miami, I insist it's a place for vacation."

"Indeed."

Tan Kaixuan agreed: "What do you think, maybe I should buy a beach here and build a resort?"

"Whatever you like."

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "If you like, I can invest."

He did plan to make some investments in the United States.

Not for the sake of having multiple escape routes, but purely to enjoy life.

"Invest?"

Tan Kaixuan was startled and looked at Zhao Fusheng with some surprise.

After all, this guy never shot without a target. If he wanted to invest, it seemed he really intended to do something here.

"Yeah, you know, I once considered buying a team."

Zhao Fusheng said to Tan Kaixuan with a smile.

"A team? What kind of team?"

Tan Kaixuan looked at Zhao Fusheng curiously.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged: "American football or basketball."

He paused and laughed: "Actually, I just thought it would be fun."

He naturally wouldn't say that the four major American leagues all had room for appreciation in the future.

But honestly, the other three sports—ice hockey, American football, and baseball—were mostly just Americans entertaining themselves.

Only basketball, under the promotion of that old fox David Stern, had begun to gain popularity worldwide in recent years.

"Basketball, huh."

Tan Kaixuan mused: "How about we buy a basketball team for fun?"

Holy crap!

Zhao Fusheng looked at him in surprise, not expecting Tan Kaixuan to have such an idea.

But upon reflection, it was possible.

After all, they weren't short on money now; buying a basketball team for fun wasn't out of the question.

"Alright."

Zhao Fusheng thought it over, smiled, and said to Tan Kaixuan: "Then let's buy one."

And so, the two made up their minds to buy an NBA club for fun.

...

...

Of course, Zhao Fusheng wouldn't handle the operations. He was only interested in the spectacle.

Since college, he hadn't been very good at sports. The one who excelled was Tan Kaixuan; he loved playing basketball.

Because that way, more girls would pay attention.

Now, having the chance to buy a team was undoubtedly very appealing to Tan Kaixuan.

Soon, his people gathered the information.

Before Zhao Fusheng left, Tan Kaixuan sent the materials over.

"Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Hornets."

Looking at the documents, Zhao Fusheng was a bit surprised.

"Yes."

Tan Kaixuan nodded: "These are the only two teams currently for sale."

Golden State Warriors?

Charlotte Hornets?

Zhao Fusheng frowned, trying to recall the records of these two teams from his memory.

The latter seemed to have changed its name or moved; he couldn't remember clearly.

But the former, as far as he could recall, had won several championships and was chosen by the league as a target for support.

He didn't remember the details.

"What's the price range?"

Zhao Fusheng asked Tan Kaixuan.

"The Warriors are asking for $500 million, the Hornets are much cheaper, $300 million."

Tan Kaixuan said with a smile: "The Americans want to close the deal quickly."

"I see."

Zhao Fusheng then realized that the Warriors weren't as famous back then.

Simply put, they weren't strong, and the owner had some financial issues, hence the sale.

"I think the Hornets are good."

Tan Kaixuan said: "I heard Jordan is also interested in this team. His judgment can't be wrong, right?"

Jordan?

The basketball god?

Zhao Fusheng was stunned, then quickly shook his head: "Not necessarily. Being good at basketball doesn't mean having a good business sense."

What a joke!

He clearly remembered that Jordan had terrible draft picks and after buying the team, they never even made it to the conference finals.

If that was the case, the Hornets were definitely not worth buying.

With that in mind, Zhao Fusheng said seriously to Tan Kaixuan: "How about we buy the Warriors?"

"Why?"

Tan Kaixuan asked, puzzled.

"Because of the location."

Zhao Fusheng shrugged: "Think about it, the Golden State Warriors are in the Bay Area, near San Francisco. It's a big city with a large market. I think it'll be easier to make a profit."

"Makes sense."

Tan Kaixuan nodded, rubbing his chin.

He was also a layman in this, but what Zhao Fusheng said did make some sense.

Small cities have their limits. Even if every game is sold out and merchandise sells well, there's only so much profit to be made.

But big cities are different. For a metropolis, if a sports project is attractive enough, there are countless ways to make money.

At the very least, if the business opportunities around San Francisco were tapped, the Warriors might really turn a profit.

"Then let's go with them."

Tan Kaixuan nodded: "I'll have someone contact them."

He paused and looked at Zhao Fusheng: "But for the $500 million, how much are you planning to put in?"

"I'm flexible."

Zhao Fusheng said casually: "I think you'd be more suitable as the majority owner. You have a green card now. If I bought it, there might be a lot of resentment here."

Tan Kaixuan thought for a moment and nodded.

Some things are better left unsaid.

For two super-rich individuals, spending a few hundred million dollars on an NBA team was no big deal.

After all, one of Zhao Fusheng's estates was worth over $100 million.

That was the confidence of the wealthy.

Of course, it was rare for someone of his wealth to think about buying a basketball team for fun.

Everyone has different hobbies. Apparently, Zhao Fusheng's hobby was a bit unusual.

The media soon reported the news.

A super-rich man from China was interested in acquiring the Golden State Warriors.

The news sparked huge discussion in the United States.

Soon, the duo of Zhao Fusheng and Tan Kaixuan came to light.

For a moment, Americans were stunned.

"So, so rich?"

"A shareholder of Facebook?"

"A Wall Street tycoon?"

"A shareholder of Samsung Group?"

"Worth tens of billions of dollars?"

In a country where wealth measures success, Zhao Fusheng and Tan Kaixuan were the epitome of success.

There was no helping it; their achievements were too astonishing.

Especially Zhao Fusheng.

Outside estimates put his Facebook shares at between 10% and 15%.

What is Facebook?

It was a well-known social networking site across Europe and America, hailed as the best unicorn company. Outsiders speculated that once Facebook went public, a market cap of over $100 billion was only a matter of time.

Not long ago, the Hong Kong billionaire Li had spent $100 million to acquire just 0.2% of Facebook shares.

By that measure, even before going public, Facebook was valued at $50 billion.

What would happen once it went public?

And Zhao Fusheng, through his future investments, held shares in the investment company that had owned Facebook from the start. So far, he was the largest shareholder after Mark Zuckerberg.

This guy was a true super-rich!

And the kind who owned shares in many companies!

...

...

San Francisco.

Founded in 1946 in Philadelphia, the team was originally named the Philadelphia Warriors, in honor of the warriors who sacrificed in the American War of Independence. They moved to San Francisco in the 1960s and became the Golden State Warriors.

From 1999 to 2006, the Warriors underwent constant changes. It wasn't until the 2006-07 season that Don Nelson's Warriors, relying on a run-and-gun offense, exploded at the end of the regular season to clinch the last playoff spot.

In the first round of the playoffs against the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks, the Warriors used the offensive firepower of explosive players like Baron Davis, Al Harrington, and Jason Richardson to eliminate the Mavericks 4-2.

This made the Mavericks the team with the highest winning percentage to be eliminated in the first round, and the Warriors became the third eighth seed to advance to the second round, and the first to defeat a top seed since the NBA changed the first round to a best-of-seven format, creating the third 'Black Eight Miracle.'

Now, the team's owner was preparing to sell.

"What do we do? Should we sell to those two Chinese?"

"I oppose."

"Actually, it's not a big deal. They're very rich, which is good for us."

"That vampire Klab only offered $400 million."

"God, why won't he just add a few tens of millions?"

At the Warriors' board meeting, a group of white people debated. For them, this was a crucial issue.

Whether to sell to American businessman Joe Klab or to the two Chinese, Tan Kaixuan and Zhao Fusheng.

This question really mattered!

The current Golden State Warriors were a bottom-feeder in the league. Poor record, terrible ticket sales—only a few thousand season tickets sold—the home arena was dilapidated, the concourses narrow, the locker rooms shabby. More importantly, there was no sign of a turnaround.

The poor performance directly led to almost no audience willing to pay for the team, which was why current owner Cohan was selling.

"Mr. Cohan, you need to make a decision."

His assistant said seriously to Cohan, who sat in the middle.

Cohan was silent for a long time. He had run the team for over a decade.

If not for the team's terrible record and his own financial inability to continue investing, he would never have considered selling the Golden State Warriors.

With that in mind, he looked at his assistant: "Contact Mr. Tan from China. Tell him I hope to meet with him and his friend."

Clearly, Cohan wanted to see Zhao Fusheng.

Soon, Zhao Fusheng got the news.

"He wants to see me?"

He looked at Tan Kaixuan in surprise.

"Yes."

Tan Kaixuan nodded: "That Cohan insists on meeting you. I don't know why."

Though a bit puzzled, Zhao Fusheng nodded: "Alright, since he wants to meet, let's meet."

The other party was a billionaire; Zhao Fusheng didn't think he had any ill intentions.

He was just curious why the man suddenly wanted to see him.

Did he intend to say something to him and Tan Kaixuan?

Soon, they met in Los Angeles.

The meeting place was naturally Zhao Fusheng's estate.

"Mr. Cohan, hello."

Zhao Fusheng shook hands with Cohan, who was in his sixties, very politely.

He generally respected older people, as long as they didn't act condescending.

"Mr. Zhao, hello."

Cohan was very courteous. Looking at Zhao Fusheng and then at Tan Kaixuan, he smiled: "I didn't expect you both to be so young."

Everyone likes flattery, even Zhao Fusheng.

At least Cohan's attitude made him feel that the man hadn't come with ill intentions.

After some pleasantries, they took their seats.

"Mr. Cohan, I'm curious. Why did you want to see me?"

Zhao Fusheng asked directly.

There was no connection between them. To put it bluntly, although Cohan might be seen as a successful billionaire in American eyes, he was nothing compared to Zhao Fusheng.

Billionaires have their circles, and ten-billionaires have theirs.

Someone like Zhao Fusheng, with a net worth exceeding ten billion dollars, naturally had his own circle.

In short, Cohan wasn't qualified to have any intersection or conflict of interest with Zhao Fusheng.

Yet he insisted on meeting him.

That really piqued Zhao Fusheng's curiosity.

"Mr. Zhao, I'd like to know your views on the development of the Warriors."

Looking at Zhao Fusheng, Cohan suddenly asked a question that surprised him.