Chapter 539 Poison

Boss, I'm afraid the signing of Vince Carter is not very optimistic. James Bond sighed helplessly, and then said: I have been in contact with Vince Carter's agent, and he has an offer for us. Not interested.

Why? Do you dislike our low price, or are there other competitors? Li Weidong asked.

Both. Carter's agent said our offer was too low, and he thought Carter could receive a better offer. James Bond continued:

The attitude of Carter's agent gave me some doubts, so I inquired about it through the relationship, and there are indeed other brands that have contacted Carter. Including Nike and Adidas, but currently the highest price is Puma!

Puma has always wanted to make a difference in the basketball shoe market, and they also want to replicate the success of Nike signing Jordan, so they have been paying attention to the star players of the NCAA.

It is said that Puma is very optimistic about Vince Carter and is willing to give Carter a big contract, and Carter's agent is also trying to help Carter win a top rookie endorsement.

A rookie's top endorsement? How big is the contract? Li Weidong asked.

It should be a contract like Iverson, $50 million over 10 years. James Bond replied.

After Iverson locked the top pick, Reebok offered him a 10-year, $50 million endorsement contract, which was also the ceiling for rookie players at the time.

It wasn't until LeBron James came along that the rookie ceiling was broken.

At that time, Nike offered James $90 million and Reebok $115 million. Although Reebok gave more money, James still chose Nike.

Hearing the price of 50 million US dollars, Li Weidong shook his head with a wry smile, and then said, We can't afford this price.

Boss, what should we do? Are we going to give up Carter? Bond asked.

Don't worry, let me think about it. Li Weidong lowered his head and began to think.

...

For sports brands in the 1990s, Nike and Adi were the top two players, and Converse, Reebok and Puma were almost in the top five.

Puma from Germany is actually the brother of Adidas.

After the end of the First World War, Germany had a pair of brothers, the elder brother named Rudolf Dassler and the younger brother Adolf Dassler, and the two founded a shoe factory called Dassler Brothers Company.

In 1948, the brothers separated, the older brother Rudolf Dassler named Puma after the English name of the cougar, and the younger brother Adolf Dassler combined Adi and das in his own name to create Puma. Adidas.

Puma and Adidas both started out as football shoes. Until 1969, Adidas successfully entered the field of basketball shoes with a pair of Superstars, and beat Converse to become the top sports brand.

And Puma also entered the basketball shoe market in 1972, but it ended in failure, and they did not sell well in basketball shoes.

After entering the 1980s, it was the rise of Nike, and the entire basketball shoe market was eaten up by Nike.

However, Puma has not been idle during this time. They have conquered the European market and become the top sports brand in Europe by sponsoring football, tennis and racing cars.

In particular, winning the sponsorship of Serie A has brought Puma to the top and overshadowed Adidas in the European market.

In the 1990s, when fans watched football, the first choice was definitely Serie A. At that time, Serie A was not only full of stars, but also played very well. The influence of Serie A was also much greater than that of the Premier League and La Liga.

After achieving great success in Europe, Puma decided to open up the basketball shoe market again. After all, the profit of basketball shoes is the biggest.

So Puma took a fancy to Vince Carter with unlimited potential.

In fact, a sports brand of the size of Puma can completely sign a few top stars, and there is no need to die for rookies.

But the case of Nike signing Jordan back then was really classic. Puma also wanted to replicate Nike’s success and let the brand open up the American market by signing the “next Jordan”. It can be said that Puma was brought crooked by Nike.

Carter is also called the Jordan heir by the media. He was born in North Carolina, is 6 feet 6 inches tall, has a shooting guard, has comprehensive skills, can shoot suddenly and other characteristics, which is simply a replica of Jordan's college days.

Puma believed that Carter was the next Jordan he needed, so he signed a 10-year, $50 million rookie ceiling endorsement contract and signed Carter.

...

Carter is not a high school player after all, but a basketball star in college.

The American high school basketball league is state-based, while the college NCAA is national.

In the United States, the attention of the college basketball league NCAA is not inferior to that of the NBA. Especially in March Madness, the popularity is more than that of the NBA. If the showdown between the giant teams, the excitement is comparable to the Super Bowl.

In the NCAA game, the ability and potential of players will be examined by the entire United States. Everyone can see which is good and which is bad. It is almost impossible to detect leaks in college.

And high school basketball leagues don't have national influence, so it's possible to pick up leaks.

When the Internet develops in the future, it will become more difficult to find leaks in high school basketball leagues.

The popularity of the Internet has allowed talented high school students such as LeBron James and Dwight Howard to show their talents to the United States and make teams willing to pay the No. 1 lottery for them.

North Carolina is a giant team in the NCAA. As one of the North Carolina Gemini, Carter also attracted the attention of the team and the media early.

Carter, a player with outstanding ability, was placed in the spotlight.

Li Weidong also realized this. With Carter's current reputation, it is impossible to sign with 10 million.

For a good rough stone, someone will definitely increase the price. Li Weidong sighed.

Choosing a spokesperson in the NBA is like choosing jadeite raw materials.

Those stars who have already played famous have already cut the rough stone, and you can see what it looks like inside; while the rookies who are about to enter the NBA are uncut wool. .

Compared with big brands such as Nike and Adidas, Feiyue Sports is definitely incomparable, not to mention there is a coveted Puma, they are willing to spend a lot of money in order to enter the basketball shoe market.

But let Li Weidong give up Carter, he is not reconciled. After all, Carter's sneakers have always been relatively easy to sell.

Li Weidong recalled carefully, he remembered that Puma's entry into the basketball shoe market was a failed attempt.

The design concept of Puma basketball shoes is still in the 1970s. The shoes are ugly and uncomfortable to wear.

Under the attack of Nike air cushion and Adidas, the design concept of the 1970s is difficult to be recognized by Americans.

So Carter gave up the Puma basketball shoes after only wearing them for dozens of games. The reason is that the Puma basketball shoes are not only bloated, but also uncomfortable to wear.

In 2000, when Carter participated in the slam dunk contest, the Puma contract was still in place, but he wore a pair of AND1 sneakers, which shows how much he disliked Puma sneakers.

Also in 2000, Carter simply terminated his contract with Puma, for which he had to pay $15 million in liquidated damages.

However, the 15 million was paid by Nike. After Carter terminated the contract with Puma, he also switched to Nike to endorse Nike's shox technology.

Thinking of this, Li Weidong suddenly had a plan in his heart.

Since I can't compare to those big brands in terms of capital, it's better to stir up the water first, maybe there will be opportunities in the future.

So Li Weidong said: Continue to quote Carter, and you can increase the price appropriately.

Boss, even if we increase the price, we can't add Puma. James Bond reminded.

So we need to add a special clause. If Carter terminates the contract during the contract period, there is no need to pay liquidated damages. Li Weidong replied.

Don't want liquidated damages? Then don't we suffer a big loss! When he wants to leave, we won't get anything, and we have to suffer losses. This can't be done! James Bond shook his head.

Li Weidong said with a smile: This special clause is a poison, but it is not for us, but for Puma. We can't sign Carter anyway, so it's better to open a poison contract and disgust us. competitors.

Poison contract? James Bond was slightly taken aback.

It is to add some unfavorable factors to the contract. No matter who swallows this contract, they must bear the unfavorable factors inside, just like eating poison. This is the poison contract. Li Weidong explained.

I understand that the contract conditions we offered to Carter, intentionally not to liquidate damages, then Carter's agent will also use this as a threat and ask other brands to add similar terms. The one who suffers at that time is the final Sign Carter's brand. Bond finally understood.

Li Weidong nodded: That's right, I always believe in the greed of human nature. This is like looking for a job. If a boss offers you an annual salary of 100,000 US dollars, then this 100,000 US dollars will become your psychological bottom line. , even if your value is only $50,000.

If Carter chooses us for this clause of no liquidated damages, we will not lose, anyway, our offer is low. But if Carter chooses another brand, such as Puma, Adidas or Nike, they will swallow the poison!

...

The situation is just as Li Weidong expected. When Feiyue Sports offered Carter a contract without liquidated damages, Carter's agent immediately asked Puma to give the same conditions.

Carter's manager is actually not a good bird. In the future, he will be arrested by the police for possession of drugs, which will hurt Carter's popularity.

Naturally, this kind of person does not have a high moral bottom line, and will put interests first, and the greed of human nature is vividly displayed in him.

Of course, the greed of the broker also helped Carter win the greatest rights and interests.

The 50 million endorsement fee for 10 years has exceeded the budget of other sports brands. After all, Carter is still a rookie. Except for Puma, no one is willing to spend so much money on a piece of wool that has not been cut.

In the end, Puma successfully signed Carter, but because of Li Weidong's spoiler, this endorsement contract became a version without liquidated damages.

After learning the news, Li Weidong did not feel sorry.

Because he knows that the NBA will soon fall into a shutdown, the next two years will be shortened seasons, coupled with Jordan's second retirement, this double blow has caused the NBA's attention to drop significantly, and the next two years will spend a lot of money to sign contracts Star, it's definitely not worth it.

...

In the blink of an eye, it was the 1998 draft.

The media's evaluation of this rookie is not very high, not even as good as in 1997.

After all, in 1997, there was a Duncan, who most of the league was smitten for, but in 1998, there was no player of Duncan's level.

But in fact, the rookie level in 1998 was still very good, with at least three Hall of Fame players and several All-Stars.

This year's champion Olowokandi is recognized as the champion of parallel imports. Fortunately, Bennett and Kwame Brown have the bottom line, otherwise Olowokandi will definitely be known as the most water champion.

The Clippers chose Olowokandi. Although there was a gambling element, the outside controversy at the time was not too big.

Olowokandi is Nigerian and his father is a diplomat. He didn't start playing basketball until he was 17 years old, and he didn't receive formal basketball training until he entered college.

However, by the time of his junior year, he averaged 22.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.88 blocks per game. Obviously, he was full of talent.

This kind of data is definitely the top center in the NCAA. In that era when the center was the core of the team's tactics, it was understandable to get a No. 1 pick with this kind of data.

Moreover, African centers also have successful experience in the NBA. For example, Olajuwon is a Nigerian. His height is the same as Olowokandi, and he is also seven feet. Successor title.

Betting on a successor to Olajuwon with the No. 1 lottery, winning the bet must be bloody. Even if he can't support Olajuwon and become the second Mutombo, he will not lose money.

Therefore, the choice of the Clippers was not criticized at the time. It wasn't until the following Hall of Fame players made their mark that the Clippers' operation was maddened by fans.

Carter ended up with the fifth overall pick, selected by the Golden State Warriors, and then traded to the Toronto Raptors for Antoine Jamison, another North Carolina duo.

In fact, what the Raptors really like is Carter, and what the Warriors like is Jamison. It is said that the two teams can directly select the players they like, that is, the Raptors select Carter in the fourth pick, and the Warriors are in the fifth. Pick Jamison. There is no need to select and then trade.

However, the general manager of the Raptors showed a wave of operations. They first selected Jamison, forced the Warriors to choose Carter, and then replaced Carter with Jamison. Since the fourth pick was replaced by the fifth pick, So the Warriors need to pay some extra money.

In addition, the salary of the fourth pick and the fifth pick is different. The salary of the fifth pick is less. The Raptors pay Carter's salary with the salary of the fifth pick, which can also save a fortune. .

In the end, this operation helped the Raptors save more than one million dollars, but Carter dropped from the fourth pick to the fifth pick.

Carter's strength needless to say, Jamison is also an All-Star player.

In addition to the two, this class of rookies also includes Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Rashard Lewis, Mike Babe, Brad Miller, Al Harrington, Larry Hew , White Chocolate Williams.

In addition, such as the thorn-headed Bunch-Wells, Ricky-Davis, Tyron-Lu, the Street King Alston, Old Cat Mobley are also from this session.

Just looking at the names of these players, although not as brilliant as the 1996 golden generation, it is definitely a big year for the draft.

After the draft, those players who were not selected began to find their own way, or participated in the team's trial training, or participated in the summer league, hoping to use their performance to impress a certain team and get a contract.

However, the rookie in 1998 did not have this treatment, because the NBA announced that starting from July 1, the league will enter a lockout.

The entire NBA has pressed the pause button!

Puma, who originally planned to re-enter the basketball shoe market with Carter, suddenly cried and fainted in the toilet.