The deal that sent Jeremy Lin from the Brooklyn Nets to the Atlanta Hawks this off-season apparently did not sit well with one of the team’s minority owners.
Joe Tsai, a high-ranking official with the Alibaba group, recently shared that this deal “hurt,” not only because Lin was a good friend, but it can also be inferred that he was planning to use the Taiwan-native as an ambassador to further the NBA’s reach in China.
As reported by Sohu.com, via Nets Daily, this is what the Chinese businessman had to say:
“You bought a set of LeBron James jerseys on Taobao (an online merchant owned by Alibaba). Tencent paid a lot of money to broadcast the game,” he told a reporter. “These revenues belong to the NBA and are divided equally among 30 teams.”
It’s no secret that the league has big plans of strengthening their position not only in the Eastern super-power but all over Asia as well. The growth of its popularity and talent pool has been exponential the past few years, and it could only be a short time before it reaches its full potential.
Tsai understands this perspective and despite the NBA being a close-knit family, it is still a brand that needs to be grown.
Still, Tsai and Lin appear to have a very close relationship that goes beyond the realm of basketball. The Nets owner has protected the Harvard graduate on more than one occasion and is admittedly his favorite player in the league.
Trading Lin may have initially stung, but Tsai understands the reasons behind it and has even praised general manager Sean Marks for all he has done.
Right now, despite being on opposite franchises in the Eastern Conference, don’t be surprised if a reunion – whether on the court or in the business world – happens for these two good pals.
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