“Agreed.”

“Agreed.”

“Agreed.”

…

The rain outside the window grew heavier, and the sky darkened further.

If it weren't for the lights in the meeting room, everyone inside might have felt like they were locked in a small, dark room.

Accompanying the weather were one "agreed" vote after another, with the occasional "disagreed" popping up.

As the vote count reached the halfway point, Tatum wore a helpless wry smile.

It was impossible to be so lucky that all the "disagreed" votes were saved for last.

Xiao Hua's return was almost a certainty.

Benson's expression was especially ugly at this moment.

Sure enough, focusing on immediate interests was a characteristic shared by Americans.

The future was not something they would consider.

“Disagreed.”

“Disagreed.”

“Disagreed.”

…

Just then, three consecutive "disagreed" votes pulled Tatum and Benson back to reality.

Could there really be metaphysics at play?

Were all the "agreed" votes brought out earlier, and all the "disagreed" votes left for last?

In fact, as long as there were seven "disagreed" votes, Xiao Hua could not return.

The probability of that was already high.

And now, about halfway through, there were already five "disagreed" votes.

“Agreed.”

“Agreed.”

…

But soon, that thought disappeared as the sound of "agreed" filled the meeting room once more.

“Er, Greg.”

With 29 votes counted, 24 agreed and 5 disagreed. The result was in.

“Disagreed.”

A staff member took out the last vote and announced it.

The final result: 24 votes in favor, 6 votes against.

Perhaps it was a joke by God; the number of votes was just right.

After a half-year break, Xiao Hua would return as commissioner of the league.

Although, as when he first took office, there would still be a one-year probationary period.

“Rumble~”

After a large flash of lightning outside the window, there was a huge rumble of thunder.

“Bang!”

Just after the vote count ended, Benson slammed her hand on the table in anger.

In essence, she wasn't the owner; her husband was.

So, she didn't have the same level of composure as other owners for the time being, and she really couldn't stand the scene before her.

Even after Tang Tian had said so much to her, these team owners were still only looking out for themselves.

"You'll regret this!"

After saying that, she turned and left the meeting room, leaving a group of owners looking at each other.

Jeanie Buss laughed at this moment.

New Orleans was a small city, and the Pelicans were a small team. They were just lucky to have caught Tang Tian in the past two years.

Especially last season, without Tatum's reforms, the Warriors might have won.

Now that Xiao Hua was back, the Lakers had a good chance in free agency, and it was time for the Lakers to return to their peak.

“Thank you.”

Xiao Hua stood up from his seat at this moment, his face full of smiles.

At the moment the vote count ended, he had become the league commissioner again.

After getting up, he glanced at the empty seat left by Benson, and the smile on his face grew even wider.

A half-year of feigned illness felt like being in solitary confinement; he was almost really depressed.

But fortunately, he had people create momentum on social media, and he even had Durant take the blame for him, so no one suspected him at all.

In addition, he gave some teams benefits in private, which finally allowed him to return.

This league still belonged to him.

The Pelicans?

Tang Tian?

They were just fleeting passersby.

Moreover, after the last time, he would be even more careful.

“I understand.”

Before the league meeting ended, Tang Tian had already learned the news from Benson.

Xiao Hua's return meant his Plan A had failed, and he could only go with Plan B now.

He called Demps and asked him to come to his manor immediately.

“Xiao Hua Returns to Lead the League.”

When this news was exposed by the media, it was like an earthquake in the league, and social media exploded.

"WTF is going on! Tatum made the league so good, and he's out just like that?!"

"It's over, the league, which has only been good for half a season, is going to be ruined again!"

"Hey, I've only been back to the NBA for half a year, and I was just getting into the games! Now they're doing this, are they trying to make me give up on the NBA again?!"

"I really want to curse someone; I remember a lot of people were complaining about Tatum before, it's all your fault!"

"The fault lies with the team owners, right? Could Xiao Hua have returned without their consent? These people just don't listen to Tang, and only care about money! Money! Money!"

"Money makes the world go round, it's normal, but it's tough on us fans, we won't have any games to watch again~"

…

Although many people on social media were just venting, one could clearly feel a sense of pessimism permeating the air.

If Xiao Hua hadn't stepped down, and Tatum hadn't taken office, and the league hadn't returned to the basketball of the early century, then the fans wouldn't know how great it could be.

But now that they've experienced the good times and are being forced to return to the past, it's really upsetting.

They couldn't change the league's decisions, nor could they not watch the NBA, but they couldn't help but vent.

While the fans were venting, Xiao Hua's return speech was also exposed by the media.

In addition to some routine words, Xiao Hua's statement regarding future planning drew strong attention from the outside world.

Xiao Hua said that he would no longer blindly tighten the scale of penalties. He had seen the changes in the league over the past half-year, and he also realized the importance of the game's entertainment value.

But he also saw that superstar injuries would appropriately tighten some things, both to ensure the entertainment of the game and to reduce player injuries.

He would also retain the team's number of challenges to referees, but change it from two to one, which could appropriately speed up the game.

These measures were also supported by fans.

In general, these were some improvements made to Tatum's measures.

Of course, these weren't the main focus; the important thing was the last two points.

Xiao Hua said that he would consider putting the legalization of gambling on the agenda, which could increase the attention and fan participation in each game.

At the same time, he also proposed a more long-term plan.

The league's current 82-game regular season was too much, which was a major cause of player injuries.

Moreover, the long season also caused fan fatigue, especially after the trade deadline, when game viewership would drop significantly.

So, he was considering reducing the season to 58 games, which would ensure that each team would play each other at least twice during the season, while perfectly solving the problem.

And because of the revenue problem caused by the reduction in games, he was also considering adding an in-season tournament.

This would not only guarantee revenue, but also, like a playoff-style tournament, would allow fans to pay even more attention to the games than before.

“This is a perfect plan.”

According to Xiao Hua's description at the meeting, he was very confident in this plan.

It was expected that the plan could be officially launched in as little as two years, once the details were finalized.

ps: I recommend a new book, "Basket Ball King", which has a cameo by Water Aubergine, and there are a lot of jokes, if you like it, you can take a look, it's a good new book.