The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 630 - 246: The Decision Gate

Chapter 630: Chapter 246: The Decision Gate

June 26, 2010, the draft conference officially started, and along with it, the second edition of "Su Wan’s Predictions" began as well.

Since the start of this season, the predictions made by Su Wan had gradually begun to show signs of accuracy, making this episode even more popular with fans.

This time, ESPN became more professional by setting up subscription reminders in advance.

The number of subscription reminders reached ten million.

That number was quite exaggerated.

On the day of June 26, the number had risen to twelve million.

With a sponsorship of 30 million dollars this year, the episode included ten brands.

Three million dollars bought twelve million real views. The return on advertising investment was pretty good. ESPN had already decided to sell international broadcasting rights; this move would undoubtedly attract many international brands.

They were already discussing with Su Wan to see if they could create some spin-off episodes.

Su Wan wanted to start his own training camp, cooperating with ESPN to create a platform similar to the ABCD camp. However, ever since 2006, David Stern had raised the minimum age for the draft, requiring that candidates be at least 19 years old. Ultimately, the ABCD camp became a platform for the NCAA to scout "Super Rookies," which went against Vakalo’s original intentions for the camp, leading him to shut down the ABCD Training Camp in 2007. Now, the United States lacked a stage for high school players to become overnight sensations.

There were more high school training camps, like Nike’s, which often invited famous high school players.

Moreover, Su Wan wanted to create a "Basketball 101" program. He didn’t just envision it for NBA’s "Super Rookies" but also sought to uncover "Super Rookies" in street basketball since he understood that with the continuous development of the internet, and the rise of short video platforms in about six or seven years, grassroots street basketball players would have a platform to gain exposure—a very lucrative stage.

Su Wan felt he could be the pioneer of this project.

Especially in the basketball-rich soil of the United States.

Amateur experts were abundant.

Back then, AND1’s popularity nearly rivaled Nike and Adidas. If it hadn’t been for the sudden death of "Cloud Ladder," which led to the loss of AND1’s top star, the street basketball scene in the United States would have thrived much sooner.

It was all fertile soil.

It was just waiting for Su Wan to plant the "money tree."

Of course, Su Wan had one more thing to settle before this.

That was his new contract with Nike.

In the summer of 2005, he signed a seven-year, $110 million contract with Nike. Now, in 2010—the sixth year of his contract—the contract year was approaching.

With Su Wan having won two more championships in Indiana.

Some media had already placed him in the same league as Jordan.

In terms of his age, he was brimming with immense commercial value.

Representatives from Nike had approached him several times, hoping to reach an agreement for an early renewal.

Su Wan conveyed his thoughts to Nike through Tyrone; he planned to establish his own sneaker brand and then sell 49% of that brand’s shares. As for whom to sell them to, he hadn’t decided yet.

When the Nike representative heard this, he was stunned in place and did not respond immediately, but rushed back to the headquarters.

At this stage, it wasn’t something he could decide alone.

Nor could any single executive make that decision.

Su Wan was not in a hurry.

He knew it was a difficult decision.

But it was a step he had to take.

Moreover, his confidence in taking this step stemmed from his upcoming plans to sign with a major city team. Even if he parted ways with Nike, backed by the new momentum and the media resources of a big city, he could still ensure his influence continued unabated.

Of course, the best outcome would still be to stay tied with Nike.

After all, everyone was more familiar with it.

As for issues like "Xinjiang cotton."

If he reached a deeper collaboration with Nike, the likelihood of such issues arising would be greatly reduced.

Even if such issues occurred, by then, Su Wan would probably have already solidified his "Divine status." Taking proactive measures wouldn’t be a problem.

It was better to leverage Nike’s influence to mature his personal brand than to start from scratch later, which would be a real mess.

The 2010 Draft Conference was known as the "Big Draft Year."

But this was the opinion of the external media. They had dubbed the "09 class" the "Small Draft Year" last year, and their faces were swollen for three days from the backlash.

Having correctly predicted that the "09 class" was the "Big Draft Year" was the actual reason why "Su Wan’s Predictions" started receiving a lot of attention.

Su Wan’s assessment of the 2010 draft was, "Not as good as 09!"

Erin persistently asked, "Is there anyone who could be a regular season MVP?"

Su Wan pondered several names, eventually shaking his head slowly, "I don’t feel... there are players who could potentially do it, but sadly, no one who will actually win the regular season MVP!"

Erin named several, "Not even John Wall? He’s called the enhanced version of Derek Rose!"

Su Wan laughed, "Don’t joke, he can become an All-Star Point Guard, an underrated traditional organizer, maybe even a leading Point Guard in this era of decline, but he cannot become an enhanced Rose, nor can he be the regular season MVP!"

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