The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 96 - 91: And you still want to teach me how to do things?

Chapter 96: Chapter 91: And you still want to teach me how to do things?

McGrady...

Same as that.

Upon hearing Su Wan’s response, he simply smiled slightly.

In his heart, only Kobe could be considered his rival, everyone else... simply didn’t measure up.

After defeating the Rockets, the Pacers faced a back-to-back series, which were their last two games before the All-Star Weekend.

Including the game against the Cavaliers, the Pacers hadn’t lost in February, and with the second game of the back-to-back, Reggie Miller was also making his comeback, so Rick Carlisle didn’t push hard in the first game against the Phoenix Suns.

During the intense first half, the Suns grew fiercer and built a 12-point lead, then at 7 minutes and 45 seconds of the third quarter, Rick Carlisle decisively pulled all his starters, and the game entered "garbage time," leading to the Pacers’ first defeat of February.

With this game, the Suns reclaimed the top spot in the Western Conference.

Steve Nash scored 18 points with 16 assists, his hot performance had the home Suns fans chanting "MVP!"

Now, the "Son of the Wind" was leading the regular season MVP rankings.

Given the current trend, securing this season’s regular season MVP seemed a certainty for him.

Recently, the Phoenix media had also taunted Mark Cuban, "Do you regret trading away Steve Nash?"

In fact, Mark Cuban had no regrets.

Because in the Mavericks, Steve Nash could never perform the "Son of the Wind" role; it was Dirk Nowitzki’s team, and Steve Nash could only be a supporting player in Dallas.

Although Steve Nash had a beautiful shot, his playing style required a high usage rate; he needed the ball in his hands and to play at his own pace to perform at full capacity.

This season, Steve Nash was considered a "miracle," a miracle due to perfect timing and the right conditions.

Such a "miracle" occurred again in 2012.

James Harden arrived in Houston and instantly became one of the league’s top "playmakers."

What they had in common was employing "Little Mustache" D’Antoni.

His "Run and Bomb Concept" allowed point guards to maximize their personal strengths.

Under his guidance, Steve Nash reached his peak, and James Harden grew into a top-tier player; besides them, "Lin Madness" and "Fatdon" also had the highlights of their careers thanks to him.

One might be occasional, two could be coincidence, but with three or four players transforming under D’Antoni, you could only say, this "Little Mustache" really had something special.

Of course, he had something special, but not much.

Until 2024, D’Antoni still hadn’t proven that his "Run and Bomb Concept" could win championships.

After losing to the Suns, the Pacers rallied and comfortably won the second game of the back-to-back.

On February 13th, Su Wan and Little O’Neal set off for Denver to attend the 2005 All-Star Weekend.

Although Little O’Neal wasn’t selected as a starter, with his stats of 21.4 points and 10.3 rebounds, he successfully made it into the All-Star reserve lineup.

Having two players selected for the All-Star game for two consecutive years set a historical record for the Pacers.

Of course, the Indiana media felt it was a pity.

If it hadn’t been for the "Auburn Hills Incident", this year the Pacers might have had three players in the All-Star lineup.

That would have truly been a historic moment, making Indiana shine with starlight!

They also forgot, if it hadn’t been for the "Auburn Hills Incident", how could Larry Bird have boldly gambled, using two first-round picks and one second-round pick to trade for Su Wan to the Pacers?

But soon, the Indiana media realized and even let fans vote on whether the trade was profitable...

It’s notable that America’s media letting the public vote has always been a part of this "free culture."

The most famous of which, has to be the "Orlando Sentinel," which asked Orlando residents to vote on whether "Shaquille O’Neal was worth $20 million," and the ultimate discussion led Orlando to successfully lose a future "Three-time champion."

But the media in the United States never tired of it.

After arriving in Denver, Su Wan had planned to spend a couple of days hanging out with Lil’ O’Neal, but then he received a call from Bill Duffy. Hearing that Su Wan was about to take Lil’ O’Neal out for a spin, he regretfully said, "I’m sorry, Su, but as an Eastern Conference All-Star starter, the officials have already arranged a lot of activities for you. Also, I’ve secured two local endorsements for you, and...we need to talk about your sneaker endorsement deal, it’s been dragging on for too long."

"Nike, Adidas, Reebok, and a few other sneaker brands are all waiting to meet with you!"

"So I’m sorry, but you’ll have to sacrifice some relaxation time."

Su Wan sighed helplessly, but he didn’t want to give up the opportunity to make money.

His wallet was not yet bulging.

At least compared to his current fame, he wasn’t collecting US dollars very quickly.

"The leeks" are all anxious, it’s time to harvest.

He was well aware that the bulk of it was in the sneaker contracts.

However, Su Wan was a bit worried, as Bill Duffy’s negotiation skills were not very strong. Last year, LeBron James signed a seven-year, $93 million sneaker endorsement deal, while his peer, the "Unrivaled Duos," who had just dominated the "NCAA levels" this year, Carmelo Anthony, as Duffy’s client, ended up signing a four-year, $15.1 million deal with Adidas.

That’s an average of only $3.775 million US dollars per year.

Although this was partly because Michael Jordan declared, "Carmelo Anthony is mine, Nike better not compete with me."

But such a contract is still too small!

Least compared to LeBron James’s annual $13.2857 million contract, it really is like comparing an "ant to an elephant."

Could this be the reason why Bill Duffy went straight from meeting with various brand representatives to having Su Wan intervene directly?

There’s some pressure indeed.

Su Wan met with Bill Duffy, and then they met with the first sneaker brand representative.

It started with a bang:

The representative from Nike.

Their sincerity was notable, offering a straightforward seven-year, $100 million contract.

To be fair, Nike has always been cautious about poaching talent and keep their approach direct; this has been why they have been defeating Adidas in the "talent war" in recent years.

But Adidas isn’t weak either; although their ability to poach hasn’t been as strong in recent years, last summer they successfully launched the "Adidas Five Tigers": Billups, Arenas, McGrady, Kevin Garnett, and Tim Duncan, regaining a significant market share.

This might also be why Nike was so aggressive in pursuing Su Wan.

Su Wan didn’t rush to sign, carefully reviewing the contract.

The amount was indeed large, but the demands were significant too. For example, during his rookie season, he had to play all remaining games and win "Rookie of the Year" to receive the full endorsement fee. Failing to meet standards would result in a deduction of some of the endorsement money.

Of course, these clauses weren’t targeting Su Wan specifically; all player contracts have these terms.

This was to motivate players and prevent them from slacking off after getting a big contract.

History had seen too many such cases.

Su Wan felt these demands were not difficult for him, and thinking about securing this $100 million brought a broader smile to his face.

Perhaps sensing Su Wan’s good mood, the Nike representative suddenly spoke up, "By the way, Su, could you please stop targeting LeBron? After all, you both might be Nike spokespersons in the future."

Su Wan’s smile froze on his face, and he smacked the contract down, his gaze turning cold:

"Did I seem too friendly?"

"What?"

Seeing Su Wan’s sudden change of attitude, the representative seemed not to realize what he had done wrong. His colleague, however, was quite frightened but before he could say anything, Su Wan pushed the contract towards them irritably:

"It seems you don’t understand who is asking whom for a signature on this contract. You still want to teach me how to operate? Get lost and come back to talk when you’ve thought things through!"

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