The longest river

Chapter 76 The Merchant Player
“It’s unrealistic to expect them to agree to such terms,” Ferrescher said immediately.

Clearly, the two had already "exchanged" words on their way here.

Yang Shuai seemed to be deep in thought.

What both of them said was actually correct.

Getting a share or equity would be ideal, but given his current strength, neither Coca-Cola nor Ford would agree to that kind of offer.

"What if we switch to a different brand?"

Yang Shuai, a high school student, sometimes has such a simple and straightforward way of thinking.

Just like when he chose Reebok, he didn't actually have much emotional attachment to these brands, since, frankly speaking, it was just a business partnership.

“I think these brands are more reliable. We can wait until you perform better before renegotiating the contract.”

Here, Ferreira gave Yang Shuai a new piece of information: the biggest difference between commercial contracts and player contracts is that commercial contracts can be renegotiated depending on the circumstances.

After all, if it weren't possible, the player might feel the contract was too small and simply pay the penalty and run away.

Paul didn't say anything at this point. He had a sharp mind, but he was still learning about brokers.

So in the end, it depends on Yang Shuai's own decision.

At this moment, Yang Shuai remembered a Chinese car company. If he could acquire shares in it, he would definitely make a profit in the future. However, it was too early, and he was not sure if the company had entered the car market.

After thinking it over, Yang Shuai made his decision.

He told Ferreira to try his best to negotiate, and if they couldn't reach an agreement, it was okay; they could just sign the original contract and make adjustments later.

However, in addition to that, he also asked Paul to help him get to know a Chinese company and explore the possibility of current or future cooperation.

Once those issues were resolved, Yang Shuai continued to dedicate himself to the long NBA season.

January is a very special month for NBA rookies.

Since it has been two months since the start of the NBA season, the rookies' physical condition will inevitably suffer to some extent after two months of high-density games.

Then, at the beginning of the season, rookies can take advantage of opponents' lack of understanding of them and perform well, but after two months, most teams have already played against them, and they will gradually be targeted.

It is precisely because of these factors that January is often the month when the "rookie wall" frequently appears.

The so-called "rookie wall" refers to a significant drop in performance among rookies, as if they have hit an invisible wall.

Yang Shuai's performance in January was also somewhat inconsistent, and one of the reasons for this was quite unexpected.

McGee sprained his ankle in early January and needed to rest for a week.

In the long seasons and in those intensely competitive times, these minor injuries are commonplace.

As the team's first substitute on the wing, and given that Brown has recognized his defensive abilities, Yang Shuai naturally stepped up to the starting position.

However, after he stepped up, his performance was not as good as when he was a substitute.

This is mainly due to two factors. First, the Pacers' offensive core has always been Miller and Schmitz, and when they are on the court, Yang Shuai's role on offense is more about creating space and distraction.

At the beginning of the season, opponents would give him many scoring opportunities because they were unfamiliar with him, but once they found out, they would assign someone to keep an eye on him.

Therefore, his presence became a real constraint, allowing Miller and Schmitz to have better offensive opportunities.

On the other hand, after Yang Shuai started, he lost an opportunity to observe his counterpart as a substitute.

Even against teams you've played against before, injuries and rotations can lead to personnel changes, rendering previous match experience ineffective.

Without such an opportunity to observe, his targeting of his opponents was clearly delayed.

However, Yang Shuai responded quickly after hitting the wall.

Don't forget that he also has a fellow countryman who is the DPOY in the team.

Robertson gave Yang Shuai a suggestion: to study the opponent through pre-match video recordings.

Even though information wasn't readily available in this era, NBA teams still had video rooms.

However, due to the tight schedule, coaches do not arrange video analysis for every game, and even when they do analyze, they only focus on certain aspects.

But just like the extra training after the game, as long as the players have the time and the inclination, they can certainly go to the video room to watch the videos themselves.

In the beginning, Robertson would watch with Yang Shuai, teaching him how to use the equipment and showing him some techniques for watching videos and things to pay attention to.

It can be said that with his fellow countryman Robertson by his side, Yang Shuai has avoided many detours on his defensive path.

Of course, as a Chinese person, Yang Shuai is very adept at interpersonal relationships, and he directly gave the other party a large gold chain.

This isn't his taste, but few Black people don't like this.

By mid-January, Yang Shuai had already slowly passed the rookie wall.

It was around this time that Vaccaro returned to Indianapolis. This time, he wanted Yang Shuai to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest and Three-Point Contest at this year's All-Star Weekend.

Yang Shuai's strategy of participating in two individual events at the McDonald's All-Star Game was very successful.

Yang Shuai certainly has no objection to participating in the three-point contest; with his current three-point shooting ability, he has a chance to compete for the championship.

Although he has dunked quite a few times in actual games, it would still be very difficult for him to win the dunking competition, as he would be heavily reliant on his opponents.

"The dunk contest is key," Vaccaro said, referring to his shoes.

In a three-point contest, nobody cares what you're wearing on your feet, but in a dunk contest, the player is in mid-air, and the shoes are positioned perfectly within the line of sight and camera view, which is very helpful for promoting the shoes.

Although it wasn't the best time, Yang Shuai still agreed.

After Vaccaro left, Yang Shuai considered whether he should adjust his previous plans.

He originally planned to continue improving his one-on-one defense, but if he wanted to win the dunk contest, he would need to consider improving his jumping ability and flexibility.

After much deliberation, Yang Shuai decided to proceed according to the original plan.

Judging from Vaccaro's plan, just like the McDonald's All-Star Game, his biggest goal this time is not to win the championship, but to showcase his abilities.

The difference between the two is that the previous demonstration was about jumping ability, but this time the demonstration is about sneakers, or more accurately, about attracting the audience's attention.

So for Yang Shuai, a time traveler, achieving this wasn't just about pursuing the ultimate high-difficulty dunk.

Time flies, and it's already the end of January.

Yang Shuai has accumulated another 6 points this month, which is 1 more than last month.

He spent 5 of it to further improve his lateral movement speed, raising his single-target defense to 85 and his steals to 78.

As for the remaining 1 points, he redeemed them for a C-level flexibility enhancement pack.

Flexibility doesn't have a significant impact on his attributes; the biggest change is that it boosts his overall dunking rating to 80.

However, in addition to improving attributes, it can also help improve Yang Shuai's body flexibility when dunking, helping him to complete difficult dunking moves such as the windmill.

After all, there is a difference between the NBA Slam Dunk Contest and the McDonald's Slam Dunk Contest; the former has preliminary rounds and a final round.

Even if he wants to gain attention through other means, he has to get into the finals first.

It was at this time that the NBA announced the final results of the All-Star voting.

Surprisingly, Jordan, who led his team to the best record in the league before the All-Star Game, failed to be voted the All-Star MVP.

He received 134.1 million votes, narrowly losing to Grant Hill, who received 135.8 million votes to become the All-Star vote leader.

The remaining three starting spots in the Eastern Conference are held by O'Neal, Pippen, and "Penny" Hardaway.

Miller was eventually relegated to the substitute list, while Schmitz and Yang Shuai were not selected.

This result was entirely expected, but Yang Shuai was still receiving a lot of attention at the time.

In addition to being selected for the Rising Stars Challenge, he is also the only player this year to participate in both the Three-Point Contest and the Slam Dunk Contest.

This fully demonstrates Vaccaro's energy, but no one feels there's much of a problem with it.

In terms of three-pointers, Yang Shuai's three-point shooting percentage so far this season is 43.8%, which ranks fifth in the league.

As for dunking, he often makes spectacular dunks in games, especially his signature fast-break tomahawk dunk, which is very impressive.

With this list now out, fans are eagerly anticipating how Yang Shuai, a newcomer who has already garnered much attention, will perform.

In addition, Yang Shuai has also signed contracts with Coca-Cola and Ford, and the contracts are not much different from what Fisher had previously said.

Paul also went to China during this period. After conducting on-site inspections, he ultimately helped Yang Shuai reach a cooperation agreement with the company he requested.

This is a cooperation agreement that includes shares, and the company's name is BYD.

At that time, BYD was just a small company that had been established for less than a year, producing rechargeable batteries. Yang Shuai wanted to cooperate with them, and they did not hesitate much even if it meant taking shares.

Yang Shuai can hardly be considered a spokesperson; he's more like an investor.

In early February, Yang Shuai boarded a plane with the team to Sacramento.

While he was flying in the sky, a news story was also flying all over the newspapers.

That was something Mitch Richmond said during a reporter interview.

Ever since the "NBA Insider" program aired and was heavily promoted by Vaccaro, Richmond has frequently been asked questions related to Yang Shuai.

With the two teams about to face off, the reporter once again asked him about his opinion on Yang Shuai and how strong he thought Yang Shuai was.

Richmond finally lost his patience with the questions:
"Why do you think he participates in both the Slam Dunk Contest and the Three-Point Contest at the same time? He's focused entirely on showmanship and selling shoes. Look at how many contracts he's signed. A real basketball player should focus on the court, not off-court business. I bet he spends less time in the gym than shooting commercials. Don't compare this 'businessman player' to me."

(End of this chapter)