Rebirth of the Industrial Tycoon

Li Weidong doesn't know whether a lifetime contract can lure Carter, but this is the biggest bargaining chip he can give. Whether it succeeds or not, he can only give it a try.

James Bond continued: "This year's draft is about to begin. Do you have any young people you are optimistic about? Are we going to draft another millionaire this year?"

Li Weidong pondered for a moment and then asked, "Who is more famous among the young people this year?"

"Of course it's Lamar Odom! If you have followed the drafts of the past two years, you must have heard of this name. There have been many predictions that he can get a good ranking. This year he is finally confirmed to participate in the draft." James Bond spoke.

Of course Li Weidong knows Lamar Odom. As early as when Kobe Bryant participated in the draft, the name Odom had already appeared in front of Li Weidong.

Odom became famous at a young age. He can play from position one to position five. He is a rare "all-round warrior". This type of player is very popular in high school basketball where the competition is not very fierce.

In high school, Odom had grown to 2.06 meters, but he had the skills of a defender. No one on the court could guard him.

In addition, Odom is a New Yorker. Playing in a metropolitan city like New York will naturally attract more attention, so Odom has also earned the title of the strongest high school student in the United States.

Odom's academic performance was relatively poor. Due to failing courses, he had no chance to play in his senior year of high school. He once wanted to participate in the draft as a high school student. But because many colleges still offered him an olive branch, Odom decided to go to college.

As a result, Odom himself was so capable that he went to Las Vegas and was arrested for soliciting prostitutes. As a result, he was unable to go to college.

However, Odom is well-known after all. Many lower league teams are still willing to recruit Odom. The Continental Basketball League in the United States offered the highest annual salary of 100,000 US dollars in history to invite Odom to join.

The overseas club's offer for Odom reached US$500,000, which is already more than the annual salary of an NBA second-round pick, which is enough to show how famous Odom is.

In the end, Odom deferred for a year and then entered the University of Rhode Island. After a year of college career, he finally decided to participate in the NBA draft. And he is also the most famous rookie in this class.

Odom is a guy who eats, drinks, whores, gambles and smokes. He borrows money from Kobe Bryant for gambling debts. He suffers strokes and heart attacks from time to time. Moreover, his wife shows affection to others in front of him and is cuckolded in front of him. Such a bad image, don’t Hoping to sell sneakers.

So no matter how famous Odom is, Li Weidong will not let Odom endorse sneakers.

Li Weidong thought for a while and then asked: "Who will the American media predict to be the No. 1 pick?"

"Let me see, in addition to Odom, Duke's Elton Brand, Baron Davis, and Maryland's Steve Francis are all likely to become the No. 1 pick." LeBron James answered.

"Boss Fu is here too!" Li Weidong thought to himself.

Francis was Chairman Yao's teammate back then, and Chinese fans are relatively familiar with him. Unfortunately, this three-time All-Star's peak was too short. Before he was thirty, his form declined severely, and by the time he was in his early thirties, he was no longer good. The ball is playable.

As for the bearded Baron Davis, the situation is similar to Francis. He was indeed a top scorer in his peak years, but once he turned 30, his condition declined rapidly and he soon had no ball to play.

This kind of player with a relatively short "flowering period" and has not reached the level of a superstar is definitely not suitable for sneaker endorsement.

Elton Brand is the No. 1 pick in this class.

"Captain" Brand comes from Duke University, a famous basketball school, and was personally trained by "Old Coach K" Krzyzewski.

Last season, Brand was the best inside player in the NCAA, and he also won a lot of awards, such as the NCAA Player of the Year, the All-American First Team, the John Wooden General, and the Naismith Award. Wait, he took it all in, almost replicating Duncan's success in college.

Brand's physical condition is very good. He is 2.06 meters tall but has a wingspan of over 2.20 meters. He is a typical long-armed player. On the technical level, he is also similar to Duncan, especially his one-handed back-up skills. , very similar to Duncan.

So Brand had the title of "Little Duncan" before he entered the NBA.

The 1998-1999 season happened to be the year when Duncan showed his power. This year, Duncan led the Spurs to the championship, which also made the entire NBA realize how terrifying this top power forward was.

Facing the Spurs' championship, "Little Duncan" Brand's draft momentum naturally increased with the tide. Every team wanted to copy the Spurs' success, hoping to get a second Duncan, and Brand was also pushed along the way. The position of No. 1 pick.

Of course, with Brand's strength, he deserves to be the top pick. Brand, who is not injured, can be regarded as second only to the four forwards of Duncan, Garnett, Nowitzki and Webber.

It's just that the sneakers of insider players have never been very easy to sell. Even if it is a genuine Duncan, he has not sold a few pairs of sneakers, so how can you expect a "little Duncan" Brand to sell sneakers.

In fact, the 1999 draft was full of talents. Although there were no superstars, there were several All-Stars and many successful role players who were considered the mainstay of the NBA in their prime.

Among the rookies in this class, the one with the most honors should be Argentine "Demon Sword" Ginobili. Although he was selected by the Spurs, he played in Europe for two more years and won the European Mr. Basketball before entering the league. to nba.

Ginobili was already a well-known international player before he came to Europe. After becoming famous in Europe, he had already received an endorsement contract from Nike.

During Ginobili's career, he mainly endorsed Nike's airmax series and zoomair series. These two shoes are Nike's core shoes and have very good sales.

Another relatively powerful star player in this class is "The Hacker" Shawn Marion.

When he was young, Marion had excellent physical fitness and could be considered a spring man. In his peak period, he was a player with both offense and defense.

Especially in terms of defense, Marion's ability is even more outstanding. He is one of the few players in the NBA who can defend from position one to position five. He is called a defensive master. He has not been selected for the best defensive team. One of the biggest regrets in my career.

Marion's contribution to the team is not only reflected in personal data, so he is very popular with the team, and the team is willing to pay him a high salary.

But when it comes to selling sneakers, this kind of player is definitely not popular. Fans still like the more distinctive stars.

Among this rookie class, the one who is better defensively than Marion is "ak47" Kirilenko.

Kirilenko has also been selected as an All-Star, won the block title, was awarded the All-Defensive Second Team twice, and was awarded the All-Defensive First Team once.

It's a pity that he was born at the wrong time. If Kirilenko had appeared in the small ball era, he might have become an enhanced version of Dream Chaser Green and might have averaged a triple-double per game for the season.

It has always been difficult to sell sneakers for this kind of defensive player, not to mention that Kirilenko is still a Russian, which is destined to not be very popular in the American market.

In addition to the above players, this year's All-Star players include Richard Hamilton, Szczerbiak and Metavoldpis.

In addition, there is Andre Miller, the assist leader, and Jason Terry, the best sixth man, who are also well-known players.

Metavoldpis is the literal translation of the English pronunciation. According to the meaning, the translation is Charity World Peace, which is the Ci Shiping familiar to Chinese fans.

Metta Shiping is probably the one who sells shoes best among these well-known players.

At this time, Ci Shiping was still called Ron Artest, but he was already a famous "dynamite bag" on the court.

He is also a New Yorker. He once teamed up with two other fellow New Yorkers, Brand and Odom, to play in an amateur league. As a result, before the game was over, he started fighting with Brand.

In the 1999 draft, Ci Shiping would be selected by the Bulls. At that time, the Bulls had just lost their two leaders, Jordan and Pippen. It could be said that the people were distracted, and this also gave Ci Shiping, a newcomer, room to play. .

As a rookie, Ci Shiping was relatively restrained in his "fighting talent", but once his two-year rookie period was over, his true colors were revealed.

In the 2001 summer training camp, Jordan laughed at Ci Shiping. As a result, Ci Shiping broke two of Jordan's ribs during the confrontation training.

Later Ci Shiping joined the Pacers and was involved in the infamous fight at Auburn Hills Palace. He also received the most severe punishment in the NBA at the time, being suspended for 73 games and fined $5 million.

This record for the most severe punishment was broken in 2009 by the incident in which "General" Arenas pulled out a gun in the locker room.

At that time, Arenas actually took out a real gun in the team locker room!

If it was a shotgun, there should be no penalty.

It is worth mentioning that Chinese players were generally rookies in 1999, but their NBA experience was not successful and they returned to China a few years later. His development focus is still domestic. If Li Weidong wants to sign him, he can just sign him from China for RMB instead of US dollars.

After thinking for a long time, Li Weidong still felt that he could consider signing Ci Shiping. There is no need to give him a signature sneaker, you just need him to be a sneaker endorser.

Letting Ci Shiping be the spokesperson is a double-edged sword. His violent temper and tendency to get into fights will indeed affect the image of the endorsed brand.

But I can’t bear the high profile of Ci Shiping!

Not to mention anything else, just changing the name from time to time can attract a lot of media reports. With a little hype, it will definitely be a top trending content.

This kind of player who is always doing tricks, making appearances in the media, and causing some controversy has always been very popular with sponsors.

To put it bluntly, Ci Shiping was equivalent to a traffic-based Internet celebrity of that era. He had some strength and various means to gain popularity, so he became popular easily.

Moreover, Ci Shiping is not a superstar player after all, and he is a time bomb, so the price for endorsement is not very high.

Another advantage of Ci Shiping is that it is more cooperative with sponsors' publicity.

In the future, Ci Shiping will sign a contract with Peak, and he will never refuse various promotional activities held by Peak. Not only will he come to China every year to promote, but he will also cooperate to hype up the news.

For example, when I came to China for promotional activities, I promoted a Chinese girlfriend. When she wanted to join the CBA, she clamored to change her name to "Friends of the Pandas." If it were other stars, they wouldn't have such good cooperation.

Thinking of this, Li Weidong said, "There is a young man named Ron Artest, do you know him?"

"Let me take a look." The sound of flipping through the information was heard on the phone, and then James Bond said, "I found it, Ron Artest, from St. John's University.

The information shows that he is of average height, overweight, and has mania. His offensive efficiency is average, and his defensive evaluation is very good. Boss, do you want to sign him as this year's million-dollar boy?"

"You can pay attention to it. It's not a million-dollar boy, just an ordinary endorsement." Li Weidong said.

"Excuse me, this is a very risky move. I know about mania. It's like an active volcano. I don't know when it will erupt." James Bond said.

"What you said makes sense. For the sake of safety, don't rush to contact him. Wait until the next season starts and see his performance before deciding whether to sign him." Li Weidong said.

The phone rang, Carter looked down and said to McGrady next to him, "It's my agent."

"I'll go get the glass of water." McGrady, the follower, walked aside tactfully.

Carter picked up the phone and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Vince, there is something I think I need to tell you. The president of Feiyue Sports contacted me again, hoping that you can become their spokesperson." The agent said.

"I have been wearing their shoes recently and feel very good." Carter then asked, "How much are they willing to pay?"

"Only half of Puma." The agent replied.

"Giving half the price is like poaching people? Do you think I am a fool!" Carter smiled disdainfully, and then said, "I am very grateful to Feiyue Sports for providing me with comfortable shoes, but gratitude is gratitude, and business is business."

"You are right, business is business, so they also put forward additional conditions." The agent said.

"You are talking about the signature shoes of Focus! Before participating in the draft last year, they put forward the same conditions." Carter's tone was very cold, and he was obviously unmoved.

The agent said, "Not only signature shoes, they are also willing to offer a lifetime contract."

"Lifetime contract?" Carter was shocked.

At that time, a lifetime contract was a treatment only available to the great Jordan. Apart from Jordan, there are so many superstars or legendary players in the NBA who have never received a lifetime contract.

So a lifetime contract is more like a recognition of the "number one player in the league".

Carter certainly knows that he is still far from being the number one player in the league, but which player doesn't want to be treated like Jordan?

What's more, Carter entered the NBA with the title of "Jordan's successor". If he can get a lifetime contract from a shoe sponsor, it means he is one step closer to Jordan.

This is a kind of style and a face. For young people like Carter, they still care about style and face.

From the perspective of economic benefits, Carter is not at a disadvantage.

Although the offer from Feiyue Sports is not as good as Puma, it is still easy to choose between eating a full meal and eating a full meal.

At this moment, Carter was moved.

Kobe also received a call from his agent.

"The president of Feiyue Sports told me that if you are willing, they can provide you with a lifetime contract!" the agent said.

Kobe was slightly surprised, then smiled and said: "Feiyue Sports always has such vision!"

Kobe has always been arrogant. In this season, the Lakers traded away guard Eddie Jones, and Kobe successfully became a player. Although the season was shortened, Kobe has played All-Star data and standards.

The Lakers even renewed their contract with Kobe in advance and signed a 6-year, $70 million maximum salary contract. Many sports reporters have begun to compare Kobe with Jordan and Lakers legend "Magic" Johnson.

If Kobe was only seen as Jordan's successor before, Kobe this season has been regarded as a challenge to Jordan.

The Lakers' contract renewal also means that Kobe has become the cornerstone of the Lakers' future.

So when Kobe learned that Feiyue Sports was willing to offer a lifetime contract, although he was surprised, he was not very moved by his arrogance.

Kobe is confident that he will definitely reach Jordan's height in the future, and it is only a matter of time before he gets a lifetime contract.

So Kobe said, "Thank Feiyue Sports for me. But I don't think there's any need to rush for a lifetime contract. I'll have plenty of opportunities in the future."

"I thought so too." The agent continued, "But I also got a piece of news. Feiyue Sports also offered Vince Carter a lifetime contract in order to poach him from Puma. It is said that Carter has agreed, and the two sides are now in further negotiations."

"Vince Carter? He's still a rookie! How can he get a lifetime contract!" Kobe's tone revealed a hint of anxiety.

Carter is one year older than Kobe, but Kobe participated in the draft after graduating from high school and joined the NBA two years earlier than Carter, so when Kobe talked about Carter at this time, he felt like a senior.

The agent continued, "Although Vince Carter is a freshman, his data is not much worse than yours now. He has shown the potential of a superstar."

Kobe pouted with an unhappy face. His statistics in his rookie season were far inferior to Carter's. In this regard, Kobe did lose a game.

Carter's statistics this season are only slightly lower than Kobe's.

Kobe and Carter have many similarities. Both are shooting guards, both are 1.98 meters tall. Both are hailed as Jordan's successors, and both are very powerful young people.

One of the two is in Los Angeles and the other is in Toronto. There are not many opportunities for direct contact. Even in games, they only meet a few times a season.

However, the similarities between the two people caused them to unconsciously develop a sense of competition and became competitors with each other.

And Kobe's character is extremely competitive. How could he tolerate Carter getting a lifetime contract before himself?

"If Carter has a lifelong client, but if he doesn't, wouldn't he lose to Carter! Doesn't it mean that I am inferior to Carter! But others ask me, Carter has a lifetime contract, why don't you? How shameless I am!" Kobe said in his heart Secret passage.

At this time, Kobe felt like he saw the toys that other children were buying. Although the toys they picked were not what he liked, he still wanted them!

Thinking of this, Kobe said: "I promise Feiyue Sports, I want this lifetime contract, and I have to negotiate with them as soon as possible. I want to sign before Vince Carter!"

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