The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 330 - 186 The Turbulent Free Market

Chapter 330: Chapter 186 The Turbulent Free Market

Hearing Bill Duffy say this, Su Wan first was stunned, but then felt it made perfect sense.

Yao, or shall we say "Yao’s team," had originally aimed for that very position.

As the most successful NBA player from Huaxia, he had indeed smoothly secured that spot.

But now, Su Wan’s meteoric rise was simply too dazzling.

It wasn’t just Su Wan boasting—if he had been Yao Ming, he would have also felt the pressure from such a junior.

In fact, there was another reason Su Wan was unaware of; he hadn’t paid attention to domestic public opinion in recent days.

When the domestic fans learned that the NBA had asked Su Wan for a drug test after the finals, a good number of them were furious.

And when they found out that the League had quickly caved in and fired the executive general manager Tatum, and the Mavericks’ owner who had pressured the League to drug test Su Wan also appeared in the media to apologize, they felt a surge of satisfaction.

What’s called "upholding national pride"!

With these foreigners, you have to show a strong attitude!

Look, once you toughen up, they immediately bow down!

They had already seen Su Wan’s influence in the Zhu Fangyu incident, and now, seeing him defeat foreign capitalists once again, they had even greater admiration for him. Comparing Yao Ming’s response to Shaquille O’Neal’s racial discrimination back then with Su Wan’s stance on these two incidents...

The contrast was clear.

Before, they thought Yao Ming had a grand vision.

Now, they thought Su Wan did a splendid job!

Which one would most people prefer?

They would definitely choose Su Wan’s approach.

His reputation value was quickly catching up, and his achievements on the court still surpassed Su Wan’s—how could Yao Ming’s team not be anxious?

Many choices are actually forced.

If they kept kowtowing to the Rockets at this time, they would really be outdone by Su Wan.

"Anyway, thanks for looking after me during this time!"

At the end, Su Wan shook hands with Bill Duffy and then walked out of the restaurant. In the afternoon, Erin also immediately announced the news that Su Wan was looking for a new agent.

Soon, numerous agents began calling Su Wan.

Jeff Schwartz, Mark Bartel, Leon Rose, Pelinka, Dan Fegan...

Listening to these familiar names, Su Wan recalled his memories of these guys while mentally narrowing down his options.

Jeff Schwartz is the NBA’s biggest agent, known for the sheer number of player clients he represents, and even 20 years later, he remained the League’s top agent, surpassing Richie Paul, which attests to his influence in the circle.

But Su Wan parted ways with Bill Duffy because he wanted an agent who was more invested in him personally.

So, even though he knew Schwartz was the top NBA agent, Su Wan passed on him.

Mark Bartel...

Su Wan’s impression of him was that he secured Bill a 5-year, $251 million deal with the Wizards, complete with a no-trade clause—an incredibly tough accomplishment given Bill’s ability and standing in the League, highlighting Bartel’s capabilities.

Leon Rose later became the agent for Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul.

He managed to secure Chris Paul a 4-year, $160 million contract from the Rockets, showing significant prowess.

Dan Fegan was Yi Jianlian’s agent later on, a bit crafty, but unprincipled in his dealings.

"Drifter No.1 Pick" Joe Smith was seduced by him into signing a Yin Yang Contract with the Forest Wolf, which ruined his career prospects; to avoid Jianlian’s weaknesses being spotted by the team’s general manager, he arranged a chair workout for Jianlian, earning him the nickname "Chairman."

Su Wan obviously didn’t want such an agent.

Pass!

Then there was the future Lakers general manager Pelinka.

He was currently Kobe’s agent.

After the "Eagle County incident," it was he who created Kobe’s "love me or hate me" commercial image, which turned out to be quite successful in the end.

His actions after becoming the Lakers general manager were even more praiseworthy.

Patient, skilled at micromanagement, able to withstand pressure, and not one to mortgage the future for a single stroke.

Such an agent was definitely reliable.

The only problem was...

He liked to engage in palace intrigue.

"Magic" Johnson was ousted from the Lakers due to Pelinka’s court struggles.

That sort of person was not someone Su Wan was willing to work with, given his character.

At this time, another agent came forward of his own volition; his name was Arne Tyren.

Su Wan immediately became interested.

Before crossing over, he had read a basketball novel in which the protagonist’s agent was Arne Tyren.

This agent’s heyday was probably in the ’90s, and he seldom signed NBA players now.

Lately, his most famous clients included Tracy McGrady and Ben Wallace...

But that wasn’t unusual.

Which famous NBA agent didn’t have a couple of superstar clients in their hands?

His uniqueness lay in the fact that he often negotiated commercial deals for the United States’ four major sports leagues and pulled in sponsorships.

This was precisely what Su Wan needed now, as his main reason for amicably parting ways with Bill Duffy was to explore his commercial value more fully.

What?

You say Su Wan, a Huaxia player, shouldn’t worry about business contracts approaching him?

Sure, he had plenty of contracts from back home, but not as many in the United States. The main reason was due to his being with Bolis.