Thus, He Xi Meng temporarily shelved the idea of early retirement.
As Kobe had said, he would use this time of injury to strategize and strive to finalize the team purchase.
As for the future, whether he would continue to play alongside Kobe or leave the court early to become a head coach, that could be decided later.
Kobe, who had arrived with sincere condolences, left feeling satisfied with his promises.
Before leaving, the last question Kobe asked was, "Which team are we targeting for acquisition?"
He Xi Meng replied, "The Bobcats, Pelicans, or SuperSonics! One of the three."
There weren't many team owners in the league currently looking to sell. These three were the ones He Xi Meng and John had previously identified as the most likely acquisition targets. The specific acquisition plan would require the establishment of a professional team for professional planning, and the final negotiation results would also need to be followed up on before they could be determined.
Therefore, what He Xi Meng could offer Kobe at this moment was only a range of choices. Where the final destination would be, and whether the acquisition would be successful, would depend on subsequent operations.
Buying a team wasn't like buying cabbage; there were many uncertain factors involved.
Fortunately, He Xi Meng had "rich" experience in this regard.
For a player who constantly competed on the sports field, the most difficult period of injury wasn't the pain itself, but the long recovery period after surgery.
Many people didn't recover well after injuries simply because they weren't disciplined enough during the recovery period and didn't strictly follow the doctor's recommendations for their recovery plan.
He Xi Meng had a distinct advantage in this regard.
He wasn't in a hurry to return to the court.
Some players couldn't endure the offseason because they didn't know what to do or what they could do when they weren't playing. During the days they weren't competing, their favorite pastime was attending parties. Consequently, as soon as their injury improved slightly, they couldn't resist going out to relax. The outcome of their "defense" was that the recovery plan, which should have been progressing steadily, was interrupted for "inexplicable" reasons.
For example, doing push-ups could tear a wound, or taking a bath could cause an old injury to flare up.
He Xi Meng wasn't interested in parties.
With Kayla taking time off work to care for him full-time, He Xi Meng didn't need to attend parties. Kayla could fulfill all his needs.
The foundation of cosplay was imitation, and the foundation of imitation was costume, makeup, and performance.
In these three areas, Kayla was currently world-class.
And after eliminating these distractions, He Xi Meng himself had plenty of important matters to attend to.
The first task was to advance the team subscription plan in cooperation with Kobe.
During the previous acquisition of the Celtics, He Xi Meng had collaborated with Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. By leveraging their fame and influence in the league, they had successfully completed the plan.
Michael Jordan and Larry Bird still didn't know that He Xi Meng was the major stakeholder behind Cui Pangzi, believing He Xi Meng to be merely a silent minority shareholder.
However, this was fine. Let Michael Jordan continue to misunderstand. Anyway, He Xi Meng wouldn't be involved in the Celtics' management anytime soon, so it could be considered a long-term investment. Compared to the annual profit, the appreciation of the team itself each year was the main benefit.
This time, working with Kobe, neither of them could be as public-facing as Michael Jordan.
Therefore, He Xi Meng needed to find a reliable agent to act as the nominal owner of the team on their behalf.
Choosing this person was not easy.
The primary requirement was that they must be approved by both Kobe and He Xi Meng.
He Xi Meng had initially wanted to recommend Fox. This was because Fox had been teammates with both of them and had a good relationship with them in private.
However, Fox's net worth wasn't high enough, making him easily suspected of being a front. This could lead to further investigation into the true stakeholder behind him, causing unnecessary trouble.
Furthermore, Fox himself wasn't particularly interested in managing a team. After finally escaping the world of basketball, he had pursued his dream of an acting career. Even if he were given a team to manage, Fox would show little interest.
After much deliberation, He Xi Meng finally settled on his good friend John.
Kobe was no stranger to John. Their acquaintance could be traced back to the Nike Basketball Summit in '96.
Although it was just a brief encounter, they had known each other since that era and were familiar with each other's backgrounds.
Later, when Kobe and He Xi Meng signed with Nike and became endorsers, John served as a temporary staff member in the brand operations department.
Kobe had heard about John's background to some extent, but due to their limited personal relationship, Kobe's impression of John remained at the level of "the exclusive agent for players from He Xi Meng's camp."
There was no need to mention the Chinese players in the league; most of them were signed under John's agency company.
In addition to them, several core players from the Spurs system: Duncan and Ginobili, and recent draft picks from the Celtics in recent seasons: Josh Howard, Kevin Martin, Ariza, Tony Allen, Monta Ellis, Gortat, David Lee, Ersan Ilyasova, and this year's rookies Rondo, Lowry, PJ Tucker, Milsap, and others, had all been brought under John's wing.
Although to the outside world, it might seem like He Xi Meng and John were involved in a conflict of interest, with John signing these promising rookies first, and then He Xi Meng recommending them to the Celtics to help them establish their value.
However, Michael Jordan understood clearly that He Xi Meng was not interested in such minor gains. Given John's laid-back work style, it was more likely that He Xi Meng had already identified these potential rookie players and would have chosen them whether John was involved or not. The only reason for having John sign them early was to let John earn some commission.
After He Xi Meng recommended John to Kobe, Kobe had people investigate John's background. Once they confirmed that John indeed had a strong background and considerable connections, Kobe developed another concern: "After all our efforts, aren't we just paving the way for this kid?"
He Xi Meng immediately patted his chest and assured Kobe that John was not that kind of person.
"If this kid wanted to own a team, he wouldn't need us. He just needs to apologize to his old man at home, and from the basketball league to the baseball league, the football league, whatever ball John wants to play, his father can buy a team in one of the three major leagues and hand it over to him to manage, as a basic management training before inheriting the family business."
Upon hearing He Xi Meng's explanation, Kobe immediately felt relieved.
Kobe had always thought of himself as a figure at the top of the pyramid in North America. However, compared to those reclusive families who controlled public opinion and media, keeping themselves out of the public spotlight, there was still a significant gap.
Compared to convincing Kobe to accept John, convincing John to act as their front was even more difficult.