Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 707 - 512: The Owner of the Clippers

"Nice shot."

In the Staples Center stands, Link watched as the Clippers' Chris Paul and Griffin executed a play, with Griffin successfully slamming a tomahawk dunk into the opposing Nuggets' basket, scoring 2 points.

The main players for the Clippers currently include point guard Chris Paul, center Lamar Odom, small forward Matt Barnes, guard Chauncey Billups, and power forward Griffin.

Among them, Chris Paul has the highest salary at five years and $107 million, with Griffin second at five years and $95 million, followed by Jamal Crawford at four years and $27.5 million. These three are the core of the Clippers, while most of the others are second-tier role players.

Right now, the Clippers are third in the Western Conference, behind the Thunder and Spurs, with the Lakers at seventh.

"Link, do you have any favorite players?"

Frank Duval asked, clapping his hands.

"Kobe, James, and Yao Ming."

It was unfortunate that Yao Ming had retired last year; otherwise, bringing him to the Clippers as a center would have been great. Odom was getting too old and wasn't active enough on the court, and his scoring was low.

"How can you like Kobe and James at the same time?"

Frank looked at him oddly, as currently, the fans of Kobe and James were often embroiled in online flame wars over who was the greater player.

"I like impressive players, and both of them are good," Link shrugged and said with a smile.

"Alright then, do you see any rookies that look promising? I can suggest to management to trade them to the Clippers."

Frank asked.

"As for rookies? I haven't paid attention, but there are a few young players I have my eye on. That baby-faced Curry from the Warriors has an excellent three-pointer, and Durant and the bearded Harden from the Thunder aren't bad either," Link said, recalling three future NBA stars.

Curry, Durant, and Harden were all young players who had recently entered the NBA. They were skilled and had high potential for development. They weren't drawing high salaries either, so trading for them would be a good deal for the Clippers. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

However, Durant, Harden, and Griffin were all forwards, while Curry and Chris Paul were point guards. If all three were traded to the team, it could lead to some internal issues.

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind. If the opportunity arises, I'll suggest bringing them to the Clippers," said Frank.

"Hey, Frank, we're shareholders, so maybe it's better if we don't meddle too much in the team's affairs. Otherwise, if the team loses, the coaching staff might blame us," Link suggested.

"Haha, trading a couple of young players isn't a big issue. I'm just making a suggestion. Whether they accept it is up to them. For us, besides earning money, this team is also a form of entertainment. If we don't involve ourselves at all and let the management team do as they please, we might as well be non-existent. That's not good either," Frank replied.

Link thought about it and decided Frank had a point.

For billionaires like them, buying a team was not just about making money, but also about being involved.

Seeing the team as a toy and a pawn, meddling in its management and operations, and watching it gradually become stronger and a championship team could also bring a sense of accomplishment.

If they didn't get involved at all and left everything to the management team, they would feel less of a sense of participation and achievement.

Besides, NBA players and boxers shared some similarities in their earning potential: by competing, the players could become more famous. A bigger name meant higher ratings, ticket sales, and more money when trading the player.

If they signed promising players like Curry and Harden to the Clippers and let them grow into stars before trading them a few years later, that would be a solid investment.

Considering this, Link decided to wait for the right opportunity to buy more shares of sports teams, including football teams, soccer clubs, and baseball teams. While investing in these teams might not be as profitable as investing in internet technology companies, having direct control over these teams and influencing their development seemed more interesting.

"..."

Hearing the two men's conversation, the Clippers' new general manager Dave Wohl and head coach and president of basketball operations Doug Rivers exchanged looks, feeling the weight of significant pressure.

As insiders, they had their plans for managing the team. Their biggest worry was intervention from the board of directors, bringing in poor-quality players that could weaken the team's strength, cause them to fall behind in rankings, devalue the team, and decrease profits, and then having to take the blame for it.

However, thinking of the three players mentioned by Link, Curry, Harden, and Durant, who are all prominent young players currently in the league, trading for them doesn't seem like such a bad idea.

Beep beep!

The NBA 2012/2013 preseason first game of the Clippers ended, and although Chris Paul and Griffin both played well, combining for 38 points with four players scoring in double figures, the Warriors performed better. Iguodala and Kenneth Faried jointly scored 45 points, leading to the Clippers losing to the Nuggets with a final score of 92:97.

Neither Link nor Frank said much about the game, but head coach Doug Rivers and general manager Dave Wohl did not look happy.

The team had recently undergone a trade, and in order to make a good impression on the new owner, they had invited Link and Frank to watch the game. They had also motivated the players to perform well and bring out their best, but they ended up losing the game at home.

The new owner was already contemplating getting involved with the team, and now with Link and Frank really stepping in, they were in no position to refuse.

After the game, the news of the Clippers' loss at home to the Nuggets was reported by numerous media outlets, along with the story of the team's new owner Link being spotted in the audience.

The Los Angeles Times mentioned in a tongue-in-cheek tone that Link, undefeated in the boxing ring, had never faced defeat, but the team he had just bought lost in front of him, which couldn't help but be an interesting affair.

The paper also suggested that Link join the team himself. Being a superman who could do anything, leading the team would surely take the Clippers to the NBA Finals.

Of course, this was just the Los Angeles Times editor making a jest of him.

Link wouldn't take it seriously.

——

Back to the film industry, "The Vow" made $142 million in North American box office in its fourth week, with overseas earnings of $68.5 million, comfortably breaking the $200 million total box office mark.

"Good Deeds," in its second week, achieved a North American box office of $31.13 million and a moderate overseas earning of only $3.27 million, predicting a total box office of around $50 million. The film stood to make a profit of about three to four million dollars at the box office, with additional income of several million from subsequent online channels, cable television rights, and video sales.

All in all, this film fared quite well.

By late October, Lionsgate Films' main horror film of the year, "The Conjuring," was released. Directed by James Wan after the success of "Saw," the film was a collaboration with Lionsgate Films, based on the novel "House of Darkness, House of Light." It told the thrilling story of the Warren family's encounter with a series of chilling stories after moving into a new house.

The cast included Alexandra Daddario, Patrick Wilson, and Lili Taylor.

With a budget of just $20 million, the film grossed $41.85 million in its opening weekend, making it the year's best opening for a thriller. By the tenth day of its release, it had reached $82 million in North America.

On Halloween, it earned $23.39 million, pushing the North American box office past $100 million, making it Lionsgate's third film this year to reach the milestone.

"The Conjuring" performed even better overseas, breaking $100 million in 12 days, and by the second day after Halloween, the accumulated overseas box office reached $125 million, surpassing the North American figures.

The total box office was predicted to exceed $300 million.

Relative to the $20 million production budget, Lionsgate Films stood to make a profit exceeding $100 million with this film.

On Halloween, Lionsgate released another low-budget horror film, "Sinister," in North America. It told the story of a somewhat famous crime writer who, in search of inspiration for his work, often moved into houses where murders had occurred and came face-to-face with terrifying events.

With an opening box office of $20.57 million, although falling short of "The Conjuring," the film had a production budget of only $3 million, and its opening receipts were nearly seven times that cost. Without a doubt, it became another best-selling film, likely to be as profitable as "Buried."

Lionsgate released four films this fall, two of which broke $100 million in the North American box office, and three were best-selling films. With the box office from these four films, Lionsgate could make three to four hundred million dollars.

After this news was reported, there was a wave of envy within the film industry toward Lionsgate.

According to the "Complete Movie" magazine's annual box office data, Lionsgate's 14 releases this year earned a total of $920 million in North America, surpassing Universal's $850 million and trailing only behind Sony, Warner Bros. Pictures.

According to "Complete Movie," Lionsgate has three more films set for release within the year: "Argo," "Zero Dark Thirty," and "Beasts of the Southern Wild." Together with Summit Entertainment's "Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2," there are four releases remaining.

Considering that "Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2" is the series' finale, its North American market box office was expected to be around $300 million. Adding the other three films, "Complete Movie" magazine predicted that Lionsgate's total North American box office earnings for the year would be around $1.5 billion.

If the total box office is $10.4 billion like the previous year, Lionsgate's market share in North America could exceed 15%, giving it a good chance to enter the top three in the film industry, surpassing four of the major studios.

"Complete Movie" magazine declared it an exciting development for the film industry, observing that since the bankruptcy of United Artists, no independent film company had ever broken into the top six. The industry had been virtually monopolized by the major studios, leaving independent companies struggling for breath.

Now, Lionsgate breaking into the top five or even the top three, accomplishing a "loser to leader" storyline, was definitely good news for independents. It also demonstrated that film companies do not need to rely on large studios or massive investments to achieve great success in the movie market.

However, for the major studios, this was absolutely bad news. They invested billions of dollars in films annually, and yet, a smaller company like Lionsgate was outperforming them.

The executives at the major studios felt enormous pressure. If they couldn't suppress Lionsgate next year, they would inevitably face scrutiny and criticism from their boards.