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 contacted Vince Carter's agent, and he is not interested in our offer. .”

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

There are two aspects. Carter's agent said that our asking price is too low, and he thinks that Carter can receive a better offer. James Bond continued:

The attitude of Carter's agent made me a little suspicious, so I inquired through the relationship, and there are indeed other brands that have contacted Carter. Including Nike and Adidas, but the current highest asking price is Puma!

Puma has always hoped to make a difference in the basketball shoe market, and they also want to replicate the success of Nike's signing of Jordan, so they have been paying attention to the star players of 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 rookie top endorsement.

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

It should be a contract like Iverson's, 10 years and 50 million dollars. James Bond replied.

After Iverson secured the No. 1 pick that year, Reebok offered him a 10-year, $50 million endorsement contract, which was also the ceiling for a rookie player at the time.

It wasn't until LeBron James appeared that this rookie ceiling was broken.

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

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

Boss, what should we do? Should we give up Carter? Bond asked.

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

Among the sports brands in the 1990s, Nike and Adidas were the top two, while 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, there was a pair of brothers in Germany, the elder brother was named Rudolf Dassler, and the younger brother was named Adolf Dassler. They founded a shoe factory called Dassler Brothers Company.

In 1948, the brothers separated. The elder brother Rudolf Dassler named Puma after the English name of the puma and created Puma; the younger brother Adolf Dassler combined adi and das in his name to create Adidas. .

Both Puma and Adidas started out as football shoes. Until 1969, Adidas successfully entered the field of basketball shoes with a pair of superstars, and defeated Converse, taking the top spot in sports brands.

Puma also entered the basketball shoe market in 1972, but ended in failure. They did not sell well until the basketball shoes.

After entering the 1980s, it was the rise of Nike, and the entire basketball shoe market was eaten 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, overshadowing Adidas in the European market.

In the 1990s, when fans watched football, the first choice must be Serie A. At that time, Serie A was not only star-studded, but also played very well. The influence of Serie A was 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, who has unlimited potential.

In fact, a sports brand of the size of Puma can sign several top stars,

There is no need to die for a rookie.

But the case of Nike signing Jordan back then is really classic, and Puma also wants to replicate Nike's success and let the brand open the US market by signing the next Jordan. It can be said that Puma was misled by Nike.

Carter is also called Jordan's heir by the media. Born in North Carolina, 6 feet 6 inches tall, shooting guard, comprehensive skills, ability to shoot suddenly and other characteristics, he is simply a replica of Jordan's college days.

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

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

The high school basketball league in the United States is based on the state, while the university's NCAA is for the whole country.

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 will surpass that of the NBA. If it is a matchup between wealthy teams, the excitement can be compared to the Super Bowl.

In NCAA games, the ability and potential of players will be inspected by the entire United States. Everyone can see clearly which is good and which is bad. It is almost impossible to check for leaks in college.

However, the high school basketball league does not have national influence, and it is possible to pick up mistakes.

When the Internet develops in the future, it will become more difficult to pick up mistakes in the high school basketball league.

The popularity of the Internet allows talented high school students such as LeBron James and Dwight Howard to show their talents to the United States, and the team is willing to pay for the No. 1 pick.

North Carolina is a wealthy team in the ncaa. As one of the twin stars of North Carolina, Carter also attracted the attention of the team and the media early.

A player with outstanding abilities like Carter was put 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, there will definitely be people rushing to increase the price. Li Weidong sighed.

Choosing a spokesperson in the nba is like choosing jade raw materials.

Those famous players 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 have uncut wool, and you have to cut it to know how good it is. .

Compared with big brands such as Nike and Adidas, Feiyue Sports is definitely not comparable, not to mention that there is Puma who is eyeing it. They are willing to spend a lot of money in order to enter the basketball shoe market.

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

Li Weidong recalled it carefully. He remembered that Puma's entry into the basketball shoe market this time 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 Tianzu, the design concept of the 1970s is difficult to be recognized by Americans.

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

In 2000, when Carter participated in the slam dunk contest, Puma's contract was still in his body, but he wore a pair of and1 sneakers on stage, which shows how much he doesn't like Puma's sneakers.

Also in 2000, Carter simply terminated the contract with Puma, for which he had to pay a liquidated damages of 15 million US dollars.

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

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

Since I can't compare to those big brands in terms of funds, it's better to disturb 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 increase the price of Puma. James Bond reminded.

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

No liquidated damages? Then we will suffer a lot! When he wants to leave, we will get nothing and have to suffer losses. This is impossible! 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. Anyway, we can't sign Carter, so it's better to open a poison contract and disgust ours. competitor.

Poison contract? James Bond was slightly taken aback.

It is to add some unfavorable factors to the contract. Whoever swallows this contract must bear the unfavorable factors in it, just like eating poison. This is a poison contract. Li Weidong explained.

I understand. The terms of the contract we offered to Carter deliberately do not require liquidated damages. Then Carter's agent will use this as a threat to demand that other brands also add similar terms. The one who will suffer at the time will be 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 U.S. dollars, then this 100,000 U.S. dollars will become your psychological bottom line. , even if your value is only $50,000.

If Carter chooses us against the clause of no liquidated damages, we will not lose money, anyway, our asking price is low. But if Carter chooses other brands, such as Puma, Adidas or Nike, they will swallow this poison!

The situation was 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 agent is actually not a good bird. In the future, he will be arrested by the police for hiding drugs, and Carter's popularity will also be severely damaged.

This kind of person naturally does not have a high moral bottom line, and will put interests at the top priority, and the greed of human nature is fully displayed in him.

Of course, the greed of the broker also helped Carter win the greatest benefits.

The endorsement fee of 50 million in 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 regretful.

Because he knows that the nba will soon fall into a lockout, and the next two years will be a shrinking season. Coupled with Jordan's second retirement, this double blow will cause the nba's attention to drop sharply, and the next two years will spend a lot of money to sign. Stars are definitely not worth it.

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

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

After all, in 1997, there was a Duncan who was bad for most of the league, but in 1998, there were no players of Duncan's level to participate in the election.

But in fact, the level of rookies in 1998 was still very good. At least three Hall of Fame players and several All-Stars were produced.

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 watery champion.

The Clippers chose Olowokandi. Although there was an element of gambling, the outside controversy at the time was not too great.

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

However, in his junior year, he averaged 22.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.88 blocks per game, which is obviously a burst of talent.

This kind of data is definitely the top center in the ncaa. In the era when the center was the core of the team's tactics, it is understandable to get a champion with this kind of data.

Moreover, African centers also have successful experience in the nba. For example, Olajuwon is a Nigerian. He is the same height as Olowokandi, also seven feet. successor title.

Bet on an Olajuwon successor with the No. 1 pick, and if you win the bet, it must be blood. Even if you can't support Olajuwon and become the second Mutombo, you won't lose money.

So the Clippers' choice was not criticized at the time. It wasn't until the next few Hall of Fame-level players showed their worth that the Clippers' operations were wildly sprayed by fans.

Carter ended up being the fifth overall pick, selected by the Golden State Warriors, and then traded to the Toronto Raptors for Antawn Jamison, another member of the North Carolina Double.

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

But the general manager of the Raptors showed a wave of manipulation. They first selected Jamison, forced the Warriors to select Carter, and then traded Jamison for Carter. Since the fourth pick was exchanged for the fifth pick, So the Warriors need to pay some extra money.

In addition, the rookie salaries of the fourth and fifth picks are different, and the salary of the fifth pick is less. The Raptors can also save a fortune by paying Carter the salary of the fifth pick. .

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

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

In addition to the two, this year's rookies include Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Rashard Lewis, Mike Babe, Brad Miller, Al Harrington, Larry Huss, White Chocolate williams.

In addition, thorn-headed Bunch Wells, Ricky Davis, Director Tyronn Lue, Streetball King Alston, and Old Cat Mobley are also from this class.

Just looking at the names of these players, although they are not as brilliant as the 96 golden generation, they are definitely considered a big year in 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 impress a certain team with their performance and get a contract.

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

The entire NBA pressed the pause button!

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

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