♪ carol: welcome to "bloomberg businessweek." i'm carol massar. we're inside the magazine's headquarters here in new york, and this week, the biggest names of all, the nba all-stars. the sacramento team's owner and more all sat down with bloomberg businessweek to talk about trends. before we get to that, the focus on real estate.

we begin with one of what could have been one of the largest real estate stories of the year. amazon pulling out of its plans to build a second headquarters in new york city across from where we stand right now. it is pretty amazing. i feel like this played out like a reality show. caleb: it was incredible, it really was. you have local politicians, national politicians, the world's biggest company trying to move to new york and ultimately saying it is not worth the trouble. carol: it played out like so many other stories you have. cities and states courting big companies, giving tax breaks. we seen this story before. it often works out with the state settling with the best incentives. what happened? caleb: i think ultimately what happened was, amazon and the politicians mistimed their political moment in a big way.

in the district next door to this one is home to alexandria ocasio-cortez, and the local politicians in this district, be they in the city council or the state senate, opposed this vehemently. carol: jeff bezos never really showed up, did he? he sent other folks to negotiate with new york. why didn't he show up? caleb: after there was a political firestorm, there was a series of meetings with the new york city council and jeff bezos did not make an appearance at them. all told, those executives were on the defensive. they had to not just defend if the deal to move to the city, but a deal with ice for facial recognition technology, the company's position on unions and worker quality of life altogether. they found themselves having to justify amazon itself rather than just the real estate deal.

carol: we've had over a week to digest the story. what does it mean more broadly for commercial real estate for companies looking to come into a city and the idea of incentives? what happens now? caleb: bill de blasio's administration is frustrated because they said going in we will not do tailor-made subsidy packages for companies and they didn't. the majority of these companies -- subsidies came from the state, came from governor andrew cuomo so they felt they were doing their part to protect the city and they are getting a bad rap. specifically to the area, long island city is already booming. it has a huge residential boom. a lot of developers worry about a glut in housing there and amazon could have been a one-stop shop to solve that problem and now, that is reemerging again. carol: i wonder if they was a ripple effect in other states.

big tech right now is on everyone's radar whether it is regulatory oversight, and their growing influence, i wonder if there will be a backlash against other big tech around the country. caleb: sure, as this deal was coming together, we saw representatives from seattle coming to new york. they said, here is what happened to our city when we became in amazon town. san francisco has been seen for tech more broadly and the housing pressures and affordability pressures there. carol: which is exactly what amazon was trying to avoid, right? repeating those problems. caleb: people looked at new york as a city that was already quite expensive, maybe didn't need this added boost. i'm not sure this would have played out the same way if they went to a secondary city. you have to wonder if they are wondering if they should have played it differently. carol: an amazing story. it certainly shocked all of us in the newsroom when that crossed. caleb, thank you.

taylor riggs is here with another look at the amazon story. we just are from caleb and we know amazon is not expanding in new york. it must be developing its book there somewhere. taylor: we have a chart showing how the composition of their portfolio is made up. and why is the data center. you can see what a big portion data center has become for amazon, and this is their office space. the blue in office space has been a bigger portion of the real estate portfolio. we will have to see in 2019 how that changes after they pulled out of the second headquarters in new york, focusing on nashville and virginia and some of their physical stores in green, as well. they have been mostly online and are trying to bring in that footprint but a big blow to new york in some of that real estate portfolio. carol: great see that overall footprint growing. taylor riggs, thank you.

next, we asked the owner of the washington wizards and how northern virginia landed amazon's other hq2. plus, the nba's marketing team. amy brooks talks about the growing cloud of social media in the league. this is "bloomberg businessweek." ♪

carol: welcome back to "bloomberg businessweek." i'm carol massar. join jason kelly and me on bloomberg radio. check up on our daily show on our podcast at itunes, soundcloud, and bloomberg.com. you can find us online at businessweek.com and our mobile app. "bloomberg businessweek" was in charlotte north carolina for the nba all-stars technology summit and one of the most influential

names there sat with us to talk about the many hats he wears. the chairman and ceo of monumental sports and entertainment, owner of the washington wizards, and owner of the capital one arena in downtown washington, d.c. he started by talking to us about the explosion of e-sports. >> the nba is a platform that is no different than google or amazon. we have a corporate structure of the league, multiple apps, nba, wnba, nba 2k, summer league, and our data that we generate is deeper, more real-time than anything you cover at bloomberg in business and industry, some -- industry, so just as your company grew as a platform.

it started from a small group and is now a gigantic media company focused on financial services, i believe the nba will continue to grow on a global basis. jason: that didn't happen by accident, right? it feels like the nba is around the corner from other leagues. >> we did the deal with commissioner stern. we call him commissioner.com. he started the tech conference. it is one of the most important industry events. everyone in technology wants to come because our game, our sport, is the most valuable data in the whole media landscape. it is very relevant to older people. i call this modern nostalgia. i walked by and saw kareem abdul-jabbar. i grew up with him and it is relevant to millennials, it is very relevant to the next generation, the gen z who will

never get cable, who want to interact with entertainment and stars and we are leaders in e-sport. i've personally been making huge investments in the e-sports. carol: how big is that market going to be? we have seen numbers of a billion in 2020. >> it will superset all of the league. it started globally. it didn't start in north america or canada. it is something that started globally and it is free to get

started. i made an investment in epic and in fortnite and it is the perfect communal game. kids getting together and playing a game to survive on the island and talking with their friends. jason: did that become bigger than you thought? that has become a juggernaut. did you anticipate it would be this big, fortnight? >> yes. [laughter] carol: touche. jason: what is it about it? it caught a lot of people off guard. not you, apparently, but to a lot of people. >> the management and leadership team spent a long time in that industry and their founder ceo really has a good touch with the publishers and the studios and understanding what is going on, but what he was able to do was make an exchange. i will give you for free a real communal piece of software that

will activate friendships, activate feeling. -- activate viewing. i think it is the first burst multiuser game that was designed that would be easy to follow. carol: catch more of our conversation in our bloomberg businessweek extra podcast. you can find it wherever you download your podcasts and at bloomberg.com/podcast. amy brooks is the nba president of marketing and operations and is the chief innovation officer. she spoke with us about the leak embracing social media and the importance of technology in the game. >> only 1% of our fans globally will ever come to a game. carol: 1%? >> such a global sport. we have to bring technology. our players embrace social media

and they are great global brands among themselves. we do every thing we can to capture the emotion around the game and send it out globally. jason: and want to ask you about that because the nba has done a phenomenal job with developing those brands and kind of giving the players a little bit of space. how do you balance that because you've got big personalities with a massive social media footprint? >> we see our games on tv as meals and social media and the content as snacks. our players are out there developing content, our teams are developing content and our leagues are developing content. could have 105 million followers among players and teams in the league and our job is to engage fans globally. it is an different platforms, and testing and learning is a big part of that. carol: talk about the process because you traditionally go to a game, you've got women,

e-sports, streaming. where is the biggest growth potential? >> the in gauging -- and engaging site has a lot of potential and our other leagues, we have our nba 2k league on twitch, our g-league, we are allowing people to vote for the mvp and that mvp can take questions. questions from fans. carol: where is the most growth. >> we talk about e-sports a lot and they talk about it being a billion-dollar business like 2020. >> we see it as a potential to have teams internationally which is harder with the nba. jason: i think you were just in china. talk about that as an opportunity. what are the challenges? it is obviously a massive market. everybody has a china strategy. >> 300 million people play basketball there. we have 640 million people watch the nba there. we have these phenomenal partners. i was just amazed at the people loving basketball.

it is the number one team sports plus, nba players aren't too worried about being replaced by robots and maybe too many workers shouldn't be concerned, as well. we hear from a leading venture capitalist and how the smartest machines are actually the -- actually job creators. this is "bloomberg businessweek." ♪

carol: welcome back to "bloomberg businessweek." i'm carol massar. you can listen to us on radio on sirius xm channel 119, and on am 1130 in new york, 106.1 in boston, 99.1 fm in washington, d.c. and am 960 in the bay area. in london on dab mux 3 and in asia on the bloomberg radio plus app. bloomberg businessweek talked to the biggest names at the nba all-star technology summit held recently in charlotte, north carolina. one of them, sacramento kings owner and tech entrepreneur vivek ranadive. vivek: we are very blessed to have leaders who have always been on the cutting edge and we see our sports betting as opening a whole new avenue of entertainment, engagement, and opportunity for our fans. jason: let me ask about that because we hear constantly from owners, and it feels genuine, how much they like the

leadership of this league. what is it about the leadership of this particular sport? vivek: they've always been on the right side of history. if you look at all the issues we have faced, david stern and now adam silver, gave has not been -- sober, they have not been afraid to step out and be on the right side, even being -- we pulled the plug on that a few years ago when we felt the laws were vindictive toward certain segments of society, so our leaders have not been afraid to step out and do what is right. there has also been a recognition that it is all about the players. in our league, we are inclusive and we talk, and we welcome

ideas and we are open, and then we are also the most technology savvy league in sports. carol: you are not afraid to step out, either. a widely watched and circulated video, where there was unrest, protests in sacramento, you have been instrumental in providing -- in reviving that area. what is the role of owners in this environment? you have political issues, social issues with people on both sides. vivek: to be an owner of an nba team is a privilege. it is an honor, but it also comes with challenges politically. to me, using that as a platform to make a difference, have an impact is really an obligation and responsibility. when i bought the team, the first thing i did was lay out a mission statement for the team, which we do in silicon valley. the mission statement was to build a winning franchise. it starts with winning and it

enhances the lives of those it touches and makes the world a better place. i make everyone repeat this mission, whether you are a coach or player or in the business office. everyone has to embrace this mission that we want to win, but we also want to do good in the world. jason: when you think about players, this is a constant theme and you alluded to it. it is all about the players. they have amazing platforms on social media. they are emboldened by owners like you and the league. how do you strike out that balance between being a cohesive team and allowing these careers and these brands to blossom? carol: and be profitable? vivek: right. it is like conducting a jazz band. the old model was a sousa marching band where everybody marched to a single drummer in a

robotic fashion. what we have today in the mba is a jazz band. you are the conductor and you have different players and you have to make each of them feel like they can do their thing and at the end of the day, make sure it all comes together as music. think of nba as jazz. carol: what has changed in the ownership of a team over the years? you have been there for a while. i am just various, -- curious, owning a team, what is different? vivek: i think what has happened is -- the first and you do when you buy 18 -- 18 is that the team belongs to the fans, the community, and even the media. what we have seen is a new generation of owners who are very tech savvy, that are socially aware and able, and -- aware and responsible, and they share this desire to have a lot of fun with it and also do good. carol: technology was a big -- theme at the nba tech summit, a reminder that data and automation are making their way to all aspects of our world. that heightened trend led to a round of worries that robots will replace workers. in the economic section of the

magazine, we dig into why automation doesn't have to be such a scary concept and may create demand for more workers. jason and i caught up with insight venture partners managing director. >> in the general economy, we are used to something on the order of 2% inflation every year, give or take. that is prices increasing but in the technology industry, we are actually in most sectors, there is relentless extraordinary levels of deflation. in 1981, if you wanted a gigabyte of storage, it would cost $500,000. today, it is about three cents. when prices decline that much, sometimes new business models can be unlocked.

even new pools of labor. the internet allows technologies like of work or etsy to allow people in hard-to-reach places to participate in the system. that is one thing that can increase the amount of labor for capital. in software it self in general is becoming a much larger portion of the economy. in some of the other large industries like banking or telecommunications, there were a handful of large companies that emerged. in software, there is a large number of extremely big companies that are being produced and even in industries like entertainment and retail, you'll have companies like netflix or amazon, which are software company like, will take over more of the industry and software is very scalable. in the old days, you would have

technology, a machine and a handful of people could use it to be productive. with software, you can build something like gmail and put it on the internet and a billion people can use it to be more productive. the ratio of capital to labor can favor labor in those scenarios because a smaller amount of capital can make more people productive. carol: that helps explain this environment. we constantly have conversations about trying to understand why is it we continue to have this strong labor force, no signs of inflation, and this might help explain it. >> there certainly is a lot of software technology that is a substitute product for certain types of labor. in an economic context, people talk about substitute goods and complementary goods. the substitute good is where a new technology emerges, you might remove a paperwork role. carol: or getting a car. i don't have to call someone to get a cab. i can do it uber or lyft. >> cars are an example of a

complementary good. what you have is, if battery prices go down, cars that are electric can become more valuable. similarly, certain types of software and technology, as they go down in cost, the human labor that is the complementary task like judgment can actually become more valuable. there is a great book which talks about machine learning, which allows predictions to come down in cost, can cause human judgment to go up in value. carol: for more on our chat, check out our bloomberg businessweek extra podcast, also on bloomberg.com/podcast. coming up next, more from the nba all-star tech summit. also, how blackstone became the world's largest landlord and caught the attention of its peers. and a story you need to hear before deciding whether or not to buy a home with solar panels. this is "bloomberg

businessweek." ♪

carol: welcome back to "bloomberg businessweek." i'm carol massar. still ahead, the most influential voices from the nba all-star technology summit. lebron james' uber agent rich paul, and david blitzer. speaking of blackstone, in the magazine real estate issue, what's come to be known as blackstone's israelis model. the investment giant made a strategic turn to real estate

and others are following. jason kelly and i spoke to reporter steven gendel. >> you go back about 11 years. and they have had real estate investments for a while. but it was small, maybe a quarter of the assets of the firm. private equity was a 75 billion dollars and maybe $20 billion in real estate. and then they get a deal to buy sam zell's equity office properties, a $39 billion deal that more than doubles the size of their portfolio. they get it in 2007. almost immediately after they get it, the signs are flashing red, but they are still able to get themselves out of the, a number of properties at the top, make a lot of money and have a lot of cash on hand, and then a business there and then pick up a ton, right after the financial crisis, and that launched this juggernaut, launched this business. $136 billion slightly larger

than the private equity portfolio, and it has become a winner, so much that everybody else wants to do the blackstone model. jason: it's pretty amazing. and as you say, that was a pivotal year. there in 2007. and john gray, the primary architect of all this, sees everything happening and is literally selling while buying, sort of offloading that. it could have been the worst deal of all time. turns out to be one of the best. then he follows that up a few months later, by buying hilton at the peak, and for a couple years that looks like a disaster. they are able to navigate. >> and then single-family homes. jason: so let's talk about that. >> they made some money on the turnaround, but also it was a successful play on interest rates remaining low for a long time. they saw early on they could produce this portfolio, which they did not think they could because of the logistics, and they could get an 8% yield or something like that, i don't know exactly what they ended up

getting, but a yield that maybe if you thought interest rates were going quickly back up to 5% or something like that, wouldn't have been attractive. but they saw this low period, and they knew they had the opportunity in front of them, and others have not been as successful. the other firms, some have merged, others have moved on. they have made it work. and it is just their march through the real estate sector, now going after large properties in the far east. they have also been buying logistics type places, warehouses, to make a play on amazon. and using that to leverage the private equity business, the knowledge in real estate. the hilton deal is a perfect example, using that knowledge across teams. i think the problem they have is other people will follow. they've had 900 billion dollars total invested by private equity firms in real estate and about $300 billion in dry powder. so this is a nice, liquid market.

they've been able to grow it quicker than you would through buyouts. but a lot of people want in, interest rates look like they are not going further lower, probably higher, although not very fast, slowing down again. so the question is whether this gets too crowded, and if this makes them bigger juggernauts, they're the largest owner of companies now, blackstone is the world's largest landowner. it puts a bigger target on their back for people like elizabeth warren, and others. carol: steven gandel telling us about blackstone, the back page of the magazine. taylor riggs is back with a look at their real estate empire. taylor: and in that story, the seattle tower selling for $540 million, just a small piece of the puzzle for blackstone, and there are sort of two competing factors. one, do you have the nerve to get into the market in 2008 when the housing market was bottoming out? you had the federal reserve comes in to boost all these asset prices, and then on their part making a concerted effort to get into the real estate market.

we know they have traditionally been in the lbo, private equity side, so this has sort of worked out. interestingly enough, some of their real estate portfolios have a larger market cap band some of the largest funds in the s&p 500, so a huge portfolio. carol: and it shows how important that is to their investment strategy. taylor, thank you. we have more on blackstone when we talk to the company's head of tactical operations, but right now the real estate focus continues with a story on rooftop solar panels. how one of the magazine's reporters discovered that things can get a bit complicated when buying a home with pre-existing solar contracts. dan: she went to buy her first home and was very excited, very excited that it had solar panels on the garage, because like most of us, she was excited about an opportunity to have a green moment, join the solar

revolution take one more home off the grid or be a part of that. what she learned was that the solar system did not come with the house, but the obligation, the 20-year lease the previous owner had had just begun, because he had died recently, the 20-year obligation did come with the house. she would have to assume that obligation when she bought the house if she were to buy it. well, there were a lot of complications, including the fact that person she bought from had a very high electrical bill, so she had to assume that electrical bill, much in excess of what she was using currently and anticipated using. the whole thing seemed strange to her, so as a journalist she started looking into the nature of the program, the business model, which is called third-party owner solar. carol: i would want solar, because it would feel like the right thing for the environment.

but i don't want that contract, so just take the equipment? but it is not that easy. dan: right, the solar itself is tied to the title of the home, so if she bought the home, she would have to take on the responsibility. if she sold the home before the 20-year contract expired -- 18.5 years of the contract, the next seller would have to assume the contract, everyone down the line would have to. jason: there are a lot of peculiarities and particularities about this

particular story, one of which is california and some of the laws on the books and some of the requirements the state has made for homeowners going forward. dan: every new home in california after this year, with very limited exceptions, has to have solar on the roof. if you're in a position to buy a solar system outright, put it on your roof, that's unequivocally good for you economically in addition to the other goods we're talking about. if you don't have the money to put it on right now, you might engage with one of these third-party owner or tpo companies, the largest of which is called sunrun. jason: tell us about that company. one of the great bits of reporting here is, being the great journalist she is, she gets right to the ceo and hears it straight from her. this has been a very successful company and has really taken advantage of this -- i'm going to say it again -- this sort of zeitgeist toward wanting to do right about the world. dan: because of our tax structure in this country, solar is very complicated here. in other countries people overwhelmingly buy solar systems, and they are able to do that because the government supports it in a simple manner. you want to buy it, put it on your home, they will pay you in subsidies up front, give you rebates immediately. in our country, if you're in a position to do that and the system on the roof of esme's house was worth in the neighborhood of $14,000.

if the deceased homeowner had bought it outright, it would have been a really good deal. he would have then been able to claim a tax credit for 30% of the cost of the system the next april, whenever that was. claiming a tax credit is always less appealing than simply getting paid. so that is one reason in addition to the size of the credit, that third-party solar, solar owned by someone else, is so much more popular here. it is really not prominent in other countries. carol: next, one of the most prolific sports investors, blackstone's david blitzer, and atlanta hawks co-owner and nba great, grant hill. this is "bloomberg businessweek." ♪

carol: welcome back to "bloomberg businessweek." i'm carol massar. join jason kelly and me for "bloomberg businessweek" every day on the radio from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. wall street time, or catch up on our daily show by listening to our podcast at itunes, soundcloud and bloomberg.com. find us online at businessweek.com and on the mobile app. the biggest names from the 20th nba all-star technology summit sat down with "bloomberg businessweek" this month. topping that list is david blitzer, global head of tactical opportunities at blackstone and co-managing partner and co-chairman of harris blitzer sports entertainment and co-owner of the philadelphia 76ers. david: each year grows so dramatically, no doubt. we have some very colorful players that really, really seem to dominate social media, as well as on the court, so it is fun to watch that engagement. but it is going strength to

strength, and if you look at the global nature of the game, how that couples with the incredible performance and athleticism on the court, and frankly, it is giving folks at home and around the world what they want. jason: it does feel like the league and the owners for the most part have not just sort of allowed this to happen, but enabled it to happen. david: absolutely. jason: how and why? david: look, i think adam silver and the entire management team at the nba is incredible. and i think they saw this, and they saw it early, and they saw the connection that could be made between the league and the players with the fan base, given what was going on from a distribution standpoint in terms of how people were consuming

media, are consuming media, and more importantly, where the trend was going. i think they nailed it and they continue to. carol: it is fascinating. this summit has been going on for 20 years, the tech summit. who would have thought this is where we would be today? and adam was on it. david: i was talking to one of our partners, michael rubin, who was trying to remember. i think he has been on a panel at every summit, he was trying to figure out if it was 19 or 20 years. again, just ahead of the curve. carol: how does technology change the business opportunities of owning an nba team? david: changing in so many ways. we talked about the social media dynamics and the players' connection with the fan base if you think about some of the content. not long ago, joel embiid was literally walking down the street and somebody was talking trash to him on a playground court. so joel walks over and just dunks on the kid. [laughter] and it goes completely viral, literally globally. and that wasn't set up. a, that's joel, and b, that is the dynamic out there right now with the players and what they can do. so that's one area. obviously, from a new arena and what is going on inside is incredible from a technology

standpoint if you go see the new kings' arena. i cannot wait to see the golden state warriors' new arena. the technologies and systems going in, and the engagement that they will have with the fan base is incredible. so we are seeing technology change just about everything we do. i'm talking much more broadly. and then we bring it into the sports scene, and particularly here in the nba. it's great. carol: and it also opened up the rest of the world, right? david: i think the nba is the most global game and continues to go from strength to strength. and we have the opportunity and pleasure of playing two preseason games in china this year. i have to tell you, it is amazing. a, just the excitement that was driving in china, i mean, walking out of our hotel, the people around and in the arenas, just the sheer numbers are so massive.

but to think about the ability to connect with that fan in northern china, from the court in philadelphia or boston, pick your arena, you know, it's amazing. carol: from nba player to team owner and more, grant hill has done it all. nba hall of famer and all-star, vice chair and co-owner of the atlanta hawks, he talked to jason kelly and me about creating a better experience for nba fans. grant: when the game is not going on and there is a timeout or stoppage of play, there is music, there's skits on the court, so constantly keeping you engaged, which is important. but we also recognize that not just sharing with those that are there with you, you want to share with your entire network, on instagram, on snapchat, to all your friends, whether that is 20 or 20,000, and that is part of how we live. so we have to adapt and adjust and accommodate, and that is what we are trying to do. jason: another group that has certainly embraced

technology are nba players. you have these mega-brands, may be bigger than in any other sport. it seems like the nba and a lot of owners have enabled that, maybe with a little bit of a gimlet eye toward we don't know how this will go. how do you think about players, social media, and the brands they are building using tech? grant: i think, as a league, it starts with adam silver, the technology summit, this has been his baby for 20 years. and it's grown and evolved. but i think first of all just the league itself and how the league markets its players. you see our faces. it is more about the individual necessarily than the team, so lebron james or chris paul or james harden, as a fan, you feel like you know them.

you feel like, michael jordan, long before the technology boom, he was well-known and recognized all over the world, so this only magnifies that. the league has really embraced technology and used it to spread its message and grow its business. so to have players understand they can speak directly to an audience and to their fans, i also think it encourages them in speaking out on things, social injustices. we have seen that in our league. carol: what is the balance? we talk about that a lot, that you have an amazing platform through your players and owners and viewers, and i just wonder when you think about social activism and all the things going on politically or within our world at large, what is your responsibility as an owner? grant: you want to be informed. obviously, you want to be authentic and you want to, i work with tony ressler, our managing partner, and things have happened in society during the course of our ownership -- and one thing we discussed, it

is ok, speak from the heart. but obviously want to make sure you're informed and educated. that goes for the players, as well. the great thing about technology, unlike 25 to 30 years ago, now you have access to information. so when i played in detroit, if something happened in cleveland, i might not know about it or be aware. but now instantaneously, you can find out. now you have the ability to learn and form opinions and thoughts. so whether you are a player or owner, you just want to be responsible. and i have done that. i'm on social media, i've spoken out, you can go on my page and know how i feel about everything. but it is a balance, because we also understand we have customers who don't necessarily agree with that. so you want to be cognizant of that, be aware of that, but through it all i think sports is beautiful in that you can have

different sides of the aisle who may not agree on anything in life, but they will come to an atlanta hawks game to support and cheer and be totally vested in that team. and when you win, go through a championship experience, it is magical. it can bring people together. so i do think sports can play a role in healing. carol: i agree. jason: single biggest thing that changed for players today since you were a player? grant: wow, so one of the big things as it applies to me, there is such an emphasis now on rest, on recovery. that's not the biggest thing. but i had a lot of injuries throughout my career. carol: do you feel if you had more rest back then you would not have had so many injuries? grant: yeah -- there was a school of thought back in the day that you played through anything. you're hurt, you tape it up and go. now as an organization and as owners, as a basketball operations department, you think big picture and would rather

rest, you know, take a week off. i know a lot of the old heads like me resent that, but i think it's really a good thing. carol: up next, super-agent rich paul, whose clients include lebron james and anthony davis. this is "bloomberg businessweek." ♪

carol: welcome back to "bloomberg businessweek." i'm carol massar. you can also listen to us on the radio on sirius xm 119. a.m. 1130 in new york. a.m. 960 in the bay area. in london on d.a.b. digital and of course on the bloomberg business app. when this individual appears on screen, nba fans watch. we're talking about super agent rich paul. he represents lebron james, among others. we caught up with him to talk about developing nba players as brands.

rich: the game is everything for us, and that is, that's what we focus on. so we try to educate new players coming into the league and their families to have a very realistic evaluation of what's actually available to them. this whole notion of marketing, people sell that because in their mind this is what families want to hear, what kids want to the see. you dream of having your face on tv. i tell people all the time, there is no brand out there that will pay you $200 million, but your team will. what is it about, about notoriety? if it is about notoriety, just buy billboards around the city you are playing in, put your face there, and focus on the game, because the game is everything. that will bring everything. nine times out of 10 when you get drafted to a team, the "it" player is already there. he's the player.

coming in, you're not going to have the opportunities available to you that may think or your family may think. but if your game grows, take steph curry for instance. steph curry, his game evolved. m.v.p., champion, his business grew. that is how that works. everybody can't be lebron, coming in with a $100 million contract to start and deals to start, but that is timing. think of where the game of basketball was then. think about the guys the game of basketball lost. he was the new guy. social media hurts opportunities because everyone's a personality today. i just saw jalen rose, stephen a. smith in a mcdonald's commercial. 10 years ago, that is an athlete, but now the brands aren't necessarily spending money on athletes because they don't need to align with someone

who will be on tv, because everyone is on tv. the smartphone is the new tv, so the three-year partnership of yesterday has become six tweets, two stories on instagram today. that's a six-month deal. carol: for someone like lebron, who is so established, who's put his heart and soul and time into the game, right? what are the conversations you have with him about his brand and how do you play in this evolved environment? rich: with lebron, since we have been very young, very young age, we've always thought about doing partnerships that align with who he was. you never wanted to get out of that, and if you watch any commercial, most brands he had partnerships with was genuine to who he was as a person and what he believed in, and every commercial that we did, it

normally told some type of story, his story, or his message, always true to him. whether it was samsung, nike, whether it was sprite, you've never seen him do something, and even today i cannot get lebron off his couch for money. money doesn't move him today. when you say that, people are like, really? people say, you have lebron, how will you have time for a deal for me? i am like, wait a minute, lebron is not moving. today, time with his family is much more important than being -- because one thing you don't understand, when you have partnerships, they don't want days in your season. they can't get them. they want days in the summer. so the more partnerships you have, the less days in the summer you have, and people don't understand that. carol: "bloomberg businessweek" is available on newsstands now. also online at businessweek.com and the mobile app, and check out our daily businessweek podcast, and the weekend podcast

extra on itunes, soundcloud and on bloomberg.com/podcasts. more bloomberg television starts now. ♪

♪ emily: she is one of the most prominent ceos and women in tech history. meg whitman ran ebay for decades, then ran for governor of california. whitman lost that race but didn't stop there. she took over the struggling tech icon hewlett-packard with a massive turnaround effort that led to her splitting the company in two. she found her latest act outside of silicon valley. she teamed up with dreamworks which they believe will revolutionize entertainment. joining me today on "studio 1.0," meg whitman, former ceo of ebay. good to have you here. the last time you talk to to us,