175: 089: Secrets Beyond Basketball (Tickets for the Month, Please!)_2 175: 089: Secrets Beyond Basketball (Tickets for the Month, Please!)_2 No matter what their ranking is, they have to beat both the Bulls and the Magic to break out of the East, it’s inevitable.
Ranking only determines the order in which they meet the Bulls and Magic, that’s all.
Roger and Riley’s grudge was common knowledge, last season, the legendary coach was beaten so badly by Roger that his hair was a mess and he was going mad on the sideline, a sight that fans still talk about with relish.
People teased Riley, saying he had barely survived the nightmare that was Jordan, only to fall into Roger’s nightmare.
The Chicago Bulls would be the cloud hanging over his head that he could never dispel.
This year, things became even more brutal for Riley.
Because his other nightmare, Michael Jordan, had come back.
He had to face both Roger and Jordan in the playoffs.
But for Riley at the moment, those two bastards were not his only worries.
At this time, he was in the office of James Dolan, the new owner of the Knicks.
In 1994, Paramount Communications, which owned the Knicks, was acquired by Viacom.
Viacom then sold the Knicks’ businesses to Cablevision.
As the CEO of Cablevision, in charge of overseeing the company’s sports assets, James Dolan began his “glorious” career as an NBA team owner.
Pat Riley saw this as an opportunity.
This always impeccably dressed man’s ambition was never just about being a general on the battlefield of coaching.
He yearned for absolute control.
He wanted to be the one in control of everything, like Mike Corleone, not a reckless soldier like Sonny Corleone.
So he made a bold demand to the new, inexperienced owner, Riley opened his mouth wide.
“My conditions remain the same, I hope the Knicks can give me a five-year, fifty million US Dollar contract.
And also, I want them to offer me 25% of the shares for purchase.
Lastly, I hope to obtain the personnel control of the Knicks.
Dolan, all this is for making the Knicks great.”
Riley wanted to build the New York Knicks into his own basketball empire, where he would be the supreme leader.
This team is not Patrick Ewing’s Knicks, not James Dolan’s Knicks, but Pat Riley’s Knicks.
He always had such ambition.
When he was with the Lakers, the fact that the players united against him was only one of the triggers for his departure.
A more important reason was that Riley wanted to extend his reach to the Lakers’ shares.
For that, he was kicked out by Jerry Buss.
But last year, when Magic secured a 4.5% stake from the Lakers, Riley sensed an opportunity.
Before this, team shares were the bottom line guarded by every team owner and the core of rights.
But Magic’s successful acquisition of Lakers’ shares made Riley believe that as long as one contributes enough, shares are no longer exclusive to team owners.
More so, unlike the Bass Family, which relied entirely on the Lakers, the New York Knicks was just one of the many assets of the Dolan family.
So Riley thought they might let go in order to keep him.
James Dolan had only recently entered the professional sports industry.
In fact, two years ago, he was still suffering from the devastation of alcohol and drugs.
His life didn’t get back on track until he entered rehab in ’93.
Luckily, his brain wasn’t damaged by alcohol and drugs.
In the face of the ever-demanding Pat Riley, James Dolan’s smile carried a hint of disdain.
Although Riley was dressed in Armani suits and wearing expensive watches, in Dolan’s eyes, he had nothing to do with the upper crust.
No matter how well-dressed a chicken is, no one would take her for a real companion.
GQ, we all know how important you are to the New York Knicks, but I’m afraid we cannot meet your demands,” James Dolan replied amiably.
“So, you’ve gone back and deliberated for a whole week, and you called me here today just to tell me this?” Riley was somewhat angry.
“Look, I personally have great respect for you.
But the board thinks that your demands are too impertinent, and it’s hard for me to convince those old men.
The key to their refusal is, they think…never mind, you don’t need to know that.”
“What do they think?” Riley pressed.
Dolan’s mouth curled into a sly smile, “They think that a coach who has never won a championship for the New York Knicks simply doesn’t have the right to negotiate terms.
Those rings with the Lakers, they only represent the past, not the present.”
There were no old men on the board, that was the actual thoughts of James Dolan himself.
Negotiating terms with me, do you think you’re worthy?
But sometimes, when you insult someone in front of others, you have to be a bit more tactful.
Riley clenched his fists, the statement hit a sore spot.
In fact, in the three years since Riley came to New York, the Knicks had come very close to success.
He had led the team to beat almost all opponents, even reaching 60 wins in ’93.
But he just couldn’t win against those two men—Roger and Jordan.
Riley’s Knicks only lost to those two men in the playoffs.
The names of these two men drove Riley mad.
He looked James Dolan in the eye, “What if we win the championship?”
“Perhaps then, I’d be more confident when negotiating with the board.
You know, Pat, I have always been on your side.
But even Phil Jackson, who got three rings in Chicago, never asked the Bulls for so much.
You have to at least win a ring with the Knicks before I have the capital to speak up for you.”