Chapter 644: A Giant Pit

The latest website: Adidas now really needs a brand spokesperson who can carry the flag.

Adidas in history signed a lifetime contract with Tracy McGrady this year, and Tracy McGrady, who had just entered the peak, was the one who carried him.

Then Adidas formed the so-called Adidas Five Tigers, namely Tracy McGrady, Duncan, Garnett, Arenas and Billups. These five people were at their peak at the time, both in terms of strength and popularity. top.

Under the blessing of the five superstars, Adias at that time could be described as infinitely beautiful, and even vaguely overshadowed the limelight of Nike.

Now Tracy McGrady has long been signed by Feiyue Sports, and Arenas is also under the command of Feiyue Sports, making Adidas no banner bearer, and even more unable to make up the five tigers lineup.

Count on Garnett or Duncan? It’s still okay for inside players to be endorsements, but it’s impossible to rely on them to sell shoes.

Therefore, Adidas urgently needs a superstar to carry the banner of the entire brand.

Today, Jay Williams, who was hyped by the media as a new generation of Jordan's successor, naturally entered the field of vision of Adidas.

The head of Adidas in the United States is named Sony Vaccaro, who is known as the Godfather of sneakers, and what he is best at is to tap young talents. .

Vaccaro was Nike's marketing director. In 1984, it was he who persuaded Nike President Phil Knight to sign Jordan, who had just entered the NBA, thus making Nike the world's top brand.

Historically, adidas signed Kobe Bryant and McGrady, both of which were also written by Vaccaro.

But unfortunately, the top executives of Adidas in Germany did not agree with Vaccaro's marketing strategy.

For example, in 2003, Vaccaro planned to sign James. At that time, Vaccaro had already negotiated a contract of hundreds of millions with James. As long as the money was in place, James would be the spokesperson for Adidas.

However, the Adidas headquarters in Germany finally only gave Vaccaro a budget of 60 million US dollars, which made James invest in Nike.

This was what Vaccaro called the dumbest bargain ever. It was also because of this incident that Vaccaro resigned angrily and went to Reebok.

If it were someone else who encountered the same thing, it is estimated that they would resign.

The Adidas headquarters in Germany made it clear that they did not trust Vaccaro, and they even had to bargain for signing James.

What's the point of Vaccaro staying?

At this time, the conflict between Vaccaro and the German headquarters has not intensified, and since Adidas has never signed a superstar spokesperson, Vaccaro has a signing budget of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Facing the media's pursuit of Jay Williams, Vaccaro was already moved.

Vaccaro's most proud work was to persuade Nike to sign Jordan. This year's NBA draft is like a repeat of 1984, which also makes Vaccaro more confident in Jay Williams.

Vaccaro even had a feeling, could this be God's second chance for him?

People always have this kind of mentality. I have been successful here. If the same opportunity comes again, then I will definitely succeed again.

On the contrary, if I have failed here, if the same opportunity comes again, the psychological shadow may play a role, and I will worry about whether I will fail again.

This situation is most common in sports arenas.

For example, in basketball, some players are good at shooting lore shots, not just because they shoot well enough, not just because they have a big heart, but because they have made similar lore shots before.

So when the same situation occurs again, they will have a psychological hint that they can make a lore again, and naturally they will dare to shoot.

And if an athlete makes a mistake at a critical time, and then in a similar situation, the psychological shadow will make him make mistakes again, and he may never be able to overcome himself.

For example, the American shooting star Emmons has fallen in the last link of the three consecutive Olympic Games.

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Emmons missed the target in the last ring and lost the gold medal with a 3-ring lead, and this psychological shadow has been with him since then.

In the 2008 BJ Olympics, Emmons can win gold as long as he can hit an 8th ring in the last ring. This is not difficult for him who often has 9.8 rings or more. However, he only hit a 4.4 and lost the gold medal.

In the 2012 London Olympics, it was the last round. Emmons only needed to hit 8.4, but he only hit 7.6 and fell on the last shot for the third time.

When Nike signed Jordan, it can be said to be desperate. For Jordan, Nike blocked almost everything and threw all the funds on Jordan, and finally the gamble was successful.

Vaccaro, as the leader of the signing of Jordan, is all too familiar with the whole process of this matter.

At this time, Vaccaro seemed to return to the situation of the year. He closed his eyes and silently recalled the bits and pieces of that year.

After a long time, Vaccaro opened his eyes, and there was a firmness in his eyes.

Eighteen years ago, I succeeded, and today, I can also succeed!

Vaccaro picked up the phone, dialed a number, and then said, Promise Jay Williams' agent, we can offer him a ten-year, $100 million contract!

...

Meanwhile, at Nike headquarters, Dyson was considering an offer from Jay Williams' agent.

100 million dollars in ten years, if he can become the second Jordan, then the price is really not high, but will he become the second Jordan?

Dyson put down the newspaper in his hand and continued: The opinions of these sports commentators can only be used as a reference. I know them very well. When they want to tout an athlete, even if it is a waste, they will say it is Jordan's. !

But this Jay Williams is really good, he's the best player in college, that's indisputable. He's more dominant in college than Jordan was back then. Talking is another executive.

Just listening to the executive continued: And I have received news that Feiyue Sports is bound to win him. The vision of Feiyue in selecting rookie spokespersons is obvious to all. Kobe, McGrady, Carter, they are all superstars in the league now. Since Leap is all about Jay Williams, he's going to be a superstar for sure!

Dyson shook his head: Perhaps the success before Leaping Sports is all coincidence! They didn't like Kwame Brown last year, but Kwame Brown's performance was not satisfactory.

Just two hours ago, I was on the phone with Jordan and we discussed the future of Kwame Brown, and Jordan himself told me that he may have been wrong this time around.

Kwame Brown is not as good as previously said in the media. It has been a season, and he has not yet adapted to the rhythm of the NBA game. With the potential he has shown so far, it is almost impossible to become a star player.

Jordan's vision for picking rookies was terrible, but Jordan wasn't stupid.

Kwame Brown played by Jordan's side for a whole season. How could his potential be unclear based on Jordan's experience?

At this time, Jordan had already understood, and he hand-picked a parallel champion.

Therefore, only in the 2002 NBA draft, the Wizards selected Jared Jeffries, who is also a player who can play center and power forward, with the same positioning as Kwame Brown.

This probably gave a hunch that Kwame Brown's tuba was about to fail, so he'd be prepared for another trumpet.

Between Jordan and Nike, the ability to be both prosperous and detrimental, so last year, Jordan did not hide the fact that he chose the wrong profession for building a new number, but told Nike bluntly that he had misunderstood Kwame Brown. Parallel imports.

For Nike executives, Jordan's opinion is still very important.

Just listen to Dyson continued; Last summer, there were a lot of articles in the media bragging about Kwame Brown, and Feiyue Sports also showed that it was determined to win Kwame Brown.

As a result, after we spent a lot of money to sign Kwame Brown, Feiyue Sports didn't rush us, but secretly signed the Warriors' second-round pick Arenas.

At that time, we thought that if we were to fight for capital, Feiyue Sports would not be able to fight against us, so we did not sign Kwame Brown, but now it seems that they may have deliberately released news that they are determined to win for Kwame Brown, and the purpose is to deceive Other brands take the bait.

And the second-round rookie they signed, Arenas, performed very well last season. His performance was completely beyond the level of a second-round rookie, and now he has been firmly established as the Warriors' starter.

So I think that this year's Leap Sports is likely to be like last year, they are determined to win Jay Williams, it is just a pretense, they are doing this just to attract other sports brands to take the bait, and then drain the funds of competitors!

What's more, Yao, this year's champion, was originally the spokesperson of Feiyue Sports. There is no need for Feiyue Sports to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to sign Jay Williams. They can just work hard to market the new champion. Good publicity for that effect.

So you think Jay Williams is a bait? someone asked.

It's very likely! Dyson nodded.

Are we Nike going to give up Jay Williams? What if he really can become the second Jordan? Another asked.

We won't give up Jay Williams completely, let's just quote at the normal price. As for whether Jay Williams accepts it, it's up to fate!

Dyson continued; Compared with Jay Williams, I am more optimistic about Kobe Bryant, he has won three championships, and now in the NBA, the closest to Jordan is definitely Kobe!

Since they are all Jordan successors, instead of picking a rookie Jay Williams, why don't we choose a star closer to Jordan?

Even if Kobe can't become the second Jordan, he is a superstar now, and it's not a loss to sign him. So I think that our future focus should be on Kobe, and we must find a way to dig Kobe from Feiyue Sports!

In addition, there are excellent young people every year. Maybe next year, there will be better young people joining the NBA. We reserve some budget this year, and we can also prepare for next summer!

...

Boss, Jay Williams' agent told me that if we don't raise the price, he will accept the Adidas offer! James Bond said.

Okay, tell that agent, we quit! Li Weidong let out a sigh of relief.

Last year, he used Kwame Brown to get Nike, and this year he used Jay Williams to get Adidas. Li Weidong's mood instantly became happy.

Although Nike and Adidas are both top international sports brands, the budgets for signing brand ambassadors are also limited.

Last year's Nike spent a lot of money on Kwame Brown, so this year's signing of a spokesperson will be more conservative.

Now Adidas has wasted a budget of 100 million US dollars on Jay Williams. Li Weidong estimates that Adidas will not be able to come up with enough budget to poach Tracy McGrady in the short term. The spokesperson of Feiyue is temporarily stabilized.

In the 2002 draft, Jay Williams was indeed the superstar of that rookie class. After all, the honors he won in college were not fake. If there were no two brushes, how could he have won so many award!

The failure to win the number one pick is also something Jay Williams has been brooding about. He has always believed that he should be the number one pick in that session. That's why he couldn't wait to prove himself.

At the World Basketball Championship in the summer of 2002, the Dream 5 team had a confrontation with the Chinese men's basketball team. Jay Williams tried to dunk on Chairman Yao's head, but he was severely capped by Chairman Yao. This is a new science. The first confrontation between the champion and the second place.

After entering the NBA, Jay Williams did not fulfill his own talent, averaging 9.5 points and 4.7 assists per game, and only made him the rookie second team, completely inconsistent with the second place status.

However, Jay Williams occasionally has some wonderful performances. For example, he scored a large triple-double of 26 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists on Kidd's head, which is enough to prove that he has a high ceiling.

Sadly, in June 2003, Jay Williams hit a telephone pole on his motorcycle, destroying his career.

The left knee ligament ruptured, and three nerves in the left leg were injured. Jay Williams can stand up and walk, which is a perfect recovery. It is undoubtedly a dream to play in the fierce NBA!

As a result, the second place in the same year as Chairman Yao was quickly forgotten by people.

Obviously, for sports brands, Jay Williams is a huge pit, even bigger than Kwame Brown!

However, this giant pit, in the 2002 NBA draft, is indeed a good seed for a superstar.

So Li Weidong simply took advantage of this and made a big trap, waiting for other sports brands to jump.

Nike has already been pitted by Kwame Brown, so it is more cautious this year and not fooled.

Adidas obviously didn't know Li Weidong's insidiousness. They also dreamed of signing a second Jordan, so they stepped on the thunder.

I think by this time next year, Jay Williams, who is lying in the hospital, may thank me. That's $100 million. Even if you spend your whole life in a wheelchair, you can still live happily! Li Weidong secretly thought.

Then Li Weidong asked, James, did Stoudemire agree to our contract?

No, he's still thinking about it, James Bond said.

Let's urge him. When necessary, you can increase the price appropriately. Also, let's see what additional needs he has. If it can be satisfied, try to satisfy him as much as possible. Li Weidong said.

Among the rookies in 2002, aside from Chairman Yao, the most worthy of signing as a spokesperson is, of course, Little Overlord Stoudemire.

Stoudemire’s physical fitness is outstanding, his skills are comprehensive, and his style of play is gorgeous. The key is that he has Nash feeding the ball by his side, so Stoudemire often scores wonderful goals, so he will be highly praised by fans. It is very popular in the United States.

In the selection of the best rookie that year, Stoudemire was able to beat Chairman Yao because of his higher popularity.

At that time, the two averaged the same points per game, both averaging 13.5 points. In other statistics, Stoudemire had 0.6 rebounds and 0.4 steals more than Chairman Yao, but Chairman Yao had 0.7 assists and 0.7 blocks more than Stoudemire.

0.7 assists is definitely worth more than 0.6 rebounds, because every assist means a point, and every rebound means not dropping a point. To score and not to lose points, which is more important is naturally self-evident.

Comparing steals and blocks, in terms of revenue, steals are slightly better.

A steal means a change of the ball, but not necessarily a score. Blocking means that no points are lost, and it also has a probability of causing the ball to change.

But Chairman Yao's 0.7 blocks are definitely more valuable than Stoudemire's 0.4 steals.

Assuming that every block is two points, 0.7 blocks means at least 1.4 points less. That's not counting the situation where your own team regains the ball after a block is blocked.

And each steal caused by the conversion of the ball, is equivalent to a successful defense, plus an offensive opportunity.

A defense is equivalent to losing 2 points, but the next attack may not be able to score. Calculated according to the 50% offensive shooting rate, you can get one more point. If you add it up, a steal can have 3 points of benefit.

Then 0.4 steals, which is 1.2 points of income.

Therefore, from the data point of view, Chairman Yao is obviously better, and the best rookie of that year should be Chairman Yao.

But in the end, the best rookie fell on Stoudemire's head, because Stoudemire's popularity is higher.

It is no exaggeration to say that if it weren't for the help of Chinese fans, Chairman Yao would not necessarily be able to beat Stoudemire in the All-Star votes.

Stoudemire in history is also a very competent sneaker spokesperson. After this guy endorsed Nike, he even collected sneakers, and only collected Nike, and basically all the AIR series and ZOOM series he endorsed.

The popularity is high, the data is good, and it is hard-working to be an endorsement. Signing Xiaosi as an endorsement is very cost-effective for sports brands.

In the 2002 NBA draft, Stoudemire was reduced to the ninth pick, which is also related to advertising endorsements.

Stoudemire didn't go to college, and he was the only high school student among the 2002 rookies.

He didn't go to college not because no college wanted him, but because he violated the NCAA sponsor rules.

At that time, Xiao Si's mother committed a crime. Xiao Si needed money to hire a lawyer for his mother, so he communicated privately with a certain brand and asked the other party to pay.

However, at that time, the NCAA prohibited athletes from accepting sponsorships, so the universities that were originally interested in Stoudemire were discouraged. Stoudemire was also forced to give up college and go directly to the NBA draft.

But the year before, exactly three high school seniors entered the NBA draft. They are the No. 1 pick Kwame Brown, No. 2 Tyson Chandler and No. 4 Eddie Curry.

These three high school insiders performed very well in their rookie seasons. In particular, the champion Kwame Brown, who averaged 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, could not even be trained by Jordan, and has been regarded as a parallel import by many people.

Stoudemire's positioning is similar to that of Kwame Brown. Both of them can play both center and power forward. Therefore, Kwame Brown's performance stretched, which directly led to the decline of Stoudemire's draft market.

Therefore, in the 2002 draft, among the top eight teams, five teams selected inside players, but none of them selected Stoudemire. It wasn't until the ninth overall pick of the Suns that he was selected.

It is not difficult to sign Stoudemire in his rookie season.

At this time, Xiao Si was short of money, and his mother was still in prison!

As long as you have money, get a better lawyer, at least you can get people out on bail.

So Feiyue Sports spent some money, and then hired a lawyer for Xiaosi's mother, and successfully signed the little bully.