Champion Rules

Chapter 218, Section 214: A Lesson for the Entire Alliance (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

With the New York Knicks reclaiming the championship, the King of New York can finally take a good rest.

Three days after winning the championship, Lynch and his new girlfriend, Dutch Victoria's Secret supermodel Doutzen Kroos, had just reached a private "verbal leak".

While tidying up the slightly messy battlefield, Douchen Klose was exceptionally meticulous. Because Lynch's mother, Wu Lan, was coming over later to have afternoon tea with her son, she wanted to leave a perfect first impression.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Wu Lan arrived on time, holding an exquisite jewelry box in her hands, smiling broadly: "Alexandra, come and see if you like this bracelet."

Before she could finish speaking, her gaze fell on the unfamiliar Duchen Klose, and she froze instantly.

Why is my son's girlfriend acting differently again?!
The King of New York, who had just been glared at by his mother, quickly tried to smooth things over, deliberately emphasizing his introduction of the girl beside him: "This is Douchen Klose, my girlfriend."

The Dutch supermodel flashed a sweet smile and waved gently, saying, "Hello, Wu."

Then, she quietly tugged at Lynch's arm and whispered, "Lynch, why didn't you tell me beforehand that there were guests coming besides your mother? I might not have enough snacks. By the way, who is this Alexandra?"

Of course, Lynch couldn't say that it was his ex-girlfriend Alessandra Ambrosio, much less that his mother had specially brought her a gift.

He could only shake his head: "It's irrelevant."

Wu Lan immediately realized what was happening, quickly switching her expression and enthusiastically handing the jewelry box to Du Chen: "Oh, darling, Lin Qi mentioned you to me a while ago. Do you like this bracelet? It's a gift I brought especially for you~"

"Oh my god, this is so beautiful! Thank you!"

The awkwardness was cleverly resolved by the gift that had been temporarily given to someone else, and Lin Qi was finally able to continue enjoying this relaxing summer.

Afternoon tea ended, Lin Qi escorted Wu Lan to the villa entrance alone. This mother, who always respected her son's choices, couldn't help but break her usual routine: "My notebook is almost full so you can remember the names of every single one of your girlfriends!"

"You've really gone through a lot, Mom."

"Stop arguing with me. It's time for you to settle down. What? You still want to establish a nomadic dynasty? That's outrageous!"

"puff."

"Still laughing!?"

"Alright, Mom, let me relax for a few days. I still have a lot to do. I need to discuss the draft with Sam and negotiate a contract extension with Reebok. I already have enough to do. Now I just want to rest for a few days."

Wu Lan didn't say anything more, leaving behind the words "Treat them well" before driving away.

Lynch definitely needs a few days off; for a superstar, a real vacation is always too short.

But there was nothing he could do; Reebok was eager to give Lin Qi money, and Lin Qi could only deal with it.

Lynch's third career championship gave him absolute dominance in shoe endorsement negotiations.

Reebok originally planned to sign him to a 10-year contract, but after Lynch won the championship, they realized that such a long-term contract could no longer reflect his value.

So they offered a very generous lifetime contract.

Although the signing fee for the contract was only $5000 million, its real value lies in the future: Lynch will thereafter permanently share in the profits from Reebok product sales.

The specific percentage of revenue that Lynch's team will receive is what they need to negotiate with Reebok next.

Lynch was very confident about the upcoming negotiations, believing that Reebok's offer would be very generous.

Because retaining Lynch means they have retained the key to conquering the sneaker market in this era.

In stark contrast to Reebok's high spirits, its two competitors, Nike and Adidas, had to spend the summer in endless frustration.

In this year's playoffs, Lynch defeated Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, and Kevin Garnett, nearly causing Adidas' core lineup of celebrity endorsers to collapse.

This severely damaged Adidas' already extremely weak influence in the basketball field.

Nike's situation is even more awkward, as they unfortunately missed out on potential rising star Stephen Curry last night.

If Curry rejected Nike because of Reebok's influence, Nike might have been more accepting.

But the reality is that Curry's refusal to cooperate stemmed entirely from the blunders made by the recruitment team led by Nick Harrison—blunders so egregious that even Nike headquarters found them unbelievable.

During last night's meeting to recruit Stephen Curry, the recruitment team misspelled Curry's name on their slides.

They wrote Curry's name as "Steph-on" instead of "Steph-en".

This has already greatly displeased the Curry father and son.

But that's not even the most outrageous part. The most outrageous thing is that Kevin Durant's name was still prominently displayed in the bottom right corner of a slide used to introduce marketing strategies. This was obviously an old document that Nike used when recruiting Durant in 2007, and they even used it directly in Curry's recruitment meeting without making any changes.

Dell Curry stormed out of the room and told the Nike team, "Our relationship is over."

Although Nick Harrison immediately chased after him out of the building to apologize, he was unable to salvage the situation.

It's certain that Stephen Curry would never choose Adidas, a brand with insufficient influence. Therefore, Nike's series of mistakes are tantamount to voluntarily handing over this promising young star, ultimately leading him to direct competitor Reebok.

In addition, several influential rookies, including James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, and Tyreke Evans, have also confirmed their joining Reebok.

It is clear that Nike has suffered a severe setback in this year's player recruitment battle.

For Lynch, this was good news.

In recent years, with the meteoric rise of Lynch and the continued setbacks of LeBron James, more and more young players are beginning to shed their psychological aura towards Nike. Under this trend, a large number of talented young stars are choosing to join Reebok.

This means that Reebok's share of the market will continue to expand.

As Reebok's influence continues to grow, Lynch's share of the profits will increase daily if the highly attractive lifetime revenue-sharing contract is successfully finalized.

Lynch helped Reebok enhance its brand influence, which led to more players signing on as Reebok brand ambassadors. Ultimately, a portion of these benefits would go back to Lynch.

His collaboration with Reebok has undoubtedly entered a virtuous cycle.

That's the privilege of being a champion.

Even if you're lying at home, large sums of money will come to you on their own.

Negotiations with Reebok were scheduled for July, after which Lynch only needed to focus on this year's NBA draft.

Sam Presti has been busy since the end of the season.

He recruited many rookies to try out for the Knicks, and the person who participated in the most tryouts in New York was neither James Harden nor Stephen Curry.

It was Johnny Flynn from Syracuse University.

The Knicks held three tryouts for Jonny Flynn, and Sam Presti was full of praise for his performance.

Head coach Flip Saunders also spoke highly of Jonny Flynn in front of the media.

"People always say he's too short, but I think what defines a player is his mentality, his big heart, and those are the qualities Johnny possesses. I believe he can prove himself with these intangible yet valuable qualities; he will be a formidable player."

The Knicks also released video footage of Jonny Flynn during his tryouts, and his performance was indeed commendable.

Given Chris Paul's tremendous success in recent years, Jonny Flynn, a point guard who is also not tall, is increasingly being regarded as a promising player.

Lynch certainly knew what was going on. With no upward trade possible, the Knicks could only hope that one of Harden, Curry, or DeRozan would fall out of the top five.

To achieve their goal, they must find a way to get another person into the top five.

Stephen Curry is the most likely to fall out.

He only worked out for the Knicks and rejected offers from all other teams, not even the opportunity to meet with other teams.

This stance could very well prompt teams holding a top-five draft pick to forgo selecting him.

The Curry family had even begun looking for a place to live in New York, and Lynch had sent people to help them a lot in the process.

The day before the draft, Curry, Harden, and DeRozan had dinner together. James Harden wasn't particularly concerned about where he would end up: "Wherever I am, my mom won't have to work so hard anymore. Of course, I'd prefer New York."

DeMar DeRozan, on the other hand, wants to be closer to home: "My parents' relatives and friends are all in Los Angeles, so they don't want to move. If possible, I'd like to be in a place closer to home, so it's easier for me to take care of them."

Stephen Curry joked self-deprecatingly, "Guys, New York is about to have a new dunk champion!"

Lynch did not attend the dinner because the Knicks did not want him to meet with any rookies before the draft.

Even if you have to meet someone, it would be best to meet Johnny Flynn.

But Lynch and Johnny Flynn weren't really close, so he ultimately decided to play a game of cop and thief at home with Doutzen Klos the day before the draft.

June 25, Madison Square Garden Theater, New York.

From the moment he stepped into the draft box, Sam Presti was on edge.

This time, the Knicks don't have control over the draft.

He could only hope that his previous little trick would successfully mislead the top five draft picks, especially the Timberwolves, who had just acquired the Wizards' fifth overall pick.

Previously, at the lottery draw ceremony, Sam Presti had a brief exchange with Timberwolves general manager David Kahn, and deliberately gave him the wrong information to distract him, making him mistakenly believe that he had the upper hand.

The Timberwolves are the team most likely to misjudge the situation and use their valuable top-five pick to select Jonny Flynn.

But this is by no means a done deal—Sam Presti knows all too well that you should never underestimate the intelligence of your competitors.

The Timberwolves have likely already seen through the Knicks' carefully laid smokescreen.

In short, this year's draft is full of uncertainty, and Sam Presti can only wait for his unknown fate.

Just before the draft was about to begin, Sam Presti received a phone call with some good news.

His source confirmed: "The Memphis Grizzlies are almost certain to select Hasheem Thabeet, which means Stephen Curry won't be picked in the top two! Meanwhile, the Thunder have always been more interested in James Harden, and they actively recruited him. Now, the only remaining questions are between the Sacramento Kings with the fourth pick and the Minnesota Timberwolves with the fifth!"

None of the top three picks would choose Stephen Curry, which greatly increases the Knicks' chances of acquiring him.

The draft began quickly, and the Los Angeles Clippers selected Blake Griffin, the star forward from the University of Oklahoma.

Many outsiders believe that Brock Griffin is just a beastly power forward with an explosive playing style, but that underestimates him.

His true value lies in his terrifying physical abilities combined with his exquisite facial expression skills.

His jump shot and dribbling are top-notch among players of his size. He is a forward who combines violent aesthetics with silky smooth skills. Even with a slightly shorter wingspan, he would be a draft pick in any era.

As predicted, the Memphis Grizzlies, with the second pick, selected Hasheem Thabeet, the center with the best physical talent in this draft.

It is common knowledge that Hasheem Thabeet's basketball fundamentals are extremely weak, with almost no technical skills to speak of, but his height of 219 cm and amazing wingspan of 229 cm are his own golden assets.

This is a classic gamble on potential; this big man's floor may be very low, and he might not even be able to make it in the NBA.

However, its upper limit is also immeasurably high.

With the third pick, the Oklahoma City Thunder, led by the "Logo Man" (a nickname for James Harden), unsurprisingly secured their desired player, James Harden.

Sam Presti's tense nerves finally relaxed a little; his intelligence had been accurate since the start of the draft.

Although James Harden has been drafted by the Thunder, at least Stephen Curry and DeMar DeRozan remain in the talent pool.

At that moment, the phone in the private room suddenly rang.

Sam Presti immediately grabbed the phone; the caller was none other than the biggest uncertainty: Timberwolves general manager David Kahn.

"Want to discuss a deal?" David Kahn asked bluntly.

"I'm all ears," Sam Presti said, regaining his composure.

“I want your sixth overall pick, next year’s first-round pick, and Goran Dragic.” David Kahn’s tone was filled with unquestionable confidence. “In exchange, I’ll give you the fifth overall pick.”

“Damn it, David! This price is so unfair!” Sam Presti tried to make his voice sound urgent and frustrated.

“Of course it’s unfair,” David Kahn said with a hint of sarcasm. “How many truly ‘fair’ trades are there in the league? I know who you really want, and my draft pick just happens to be above yours, so think about it carefully. I’ll give you a few minutes. After the Kings announce their selection, I’ll wait for your answer. Otherwise—”

He paused meaningfully, then said, "This deal will only be more unfair."

The phone was abruptly hung up, leaving only the busy tone echoing in the private room.

Sam Presti bit his lower lip, his heart churning with turmoil.

“I know who you really want,” David Kahn’s ambiguous words pierced Presti’s heart like a thorn.

Did he really think the Knicks wanted Jonny Flynn, or did he actually understand the Knicks' true intentions?

Another phone call rang urgently, giving Sam Presti no chance to catch his breath.

Thank goodness, this time it's good news: "Good news, Sam! We've confirmed that the Sacramento Kings aren't interested in Stephen Curry or DeMar DeRozan! They think Stephen is only interested in going to New York, and it would be too risky to draft him rashly; as for DeMar, they assess that his ceiling isn't at a superstar level."

Sam Presti's tense nerves relaxed a little more.

Just then, David Stern stepped onto the stage, holding the Kings' draft envelope in his hand.

The camera quickly captured Tyreke Evans – a top candidate predicted by many to be drafted fourth overall by the Kings.

Sam Presti's thoughts were still entangled in David Kahn's vague words, and he was eager to find out the other party's true intentions.

As for the fourth pick, he no longer cares, since it has nothing to do with the Knicks anyway.

David Stern approached the microphone, slowly unfolded the envelope, and clearly announced.

"The Sacramento Kings selected Stephen Curry with the fourth overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft—from Davidson College!"

"Wait!?" Sam Presti stared at David Stern through the floor-to-ceiling window of the private room in disbelief, almost wondering if he had misheard!

That phone call just now clearly confirmed to him that the King has no interest in Curry!

Why was Curry selected as the least likely pick?

The camera panned to Stephen Curry and his family, whose faces were also filled with astonishment and confusion.

Having explicitly rejected all teams except New York, they never expected the Kings, the seemingly least likely team, to choose to take the risk.

"What the hell is going on?!" Sam Presti roared, grabbing the phone in a fit of rage and confusion. "How could your information be so blatantly wrong?!"

The man on the other end of the phone looked innocent: "We're certain the Kings aren't interested in Stephen. We don't know what happened!?"

Smoke bomb?

Has the Kings been hiding their intentions all along?

Sam Presti's mind raced through all the possible conspiracy theories as he tried to piece together the truth.

However, before he could even sort out his thoughts, a trade was announced right after the draft.

"The Oklahoma City Thunder traded last season's fourth overall pick, Russell Westbrook, plus a second-round draft pick, to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for the newly drafted fourth overall pick, Stephen Curry!"

Sam Presti stared blankly at the big screen, frozen in place.

Everyone knew that Jerry West, the Logo Man, was after James Harden, so when he selected Harden, everyone lowered their guard.

But this general manager, one of the greatest in NBA history, taught the entire league a lesson with his masterful strategic planning.

He swiftly and decisively acquired the two most talented guards in this year's draft.

(Thank you so much to Lin Yu and other big shots for the generous donations! I'm extremely grateful!)
(End of this chapter)