Basketball miracles

Chapter 215 [Publicity Stunt, Contract Signing]

A player's popularity and commercial value have always been equated; if a player wants to make money, he must first become famous.

Even players who are controversial are much better than players who are no one being discussed.

As soon as Xiao Tu appeared in the news, many businesses immediately came to him.

They wanted to buy at rock-bottom prices, signing Xiao Tu as their spokesperson at a low price before he became famous. Xiao Tu wasn't so easily fooled; he refused all endorsements and was simply using this opportunity to promote himself.

So, Xiao Tu's lack of an agent quickly made the news. Someone who performed so well in the Summer League didn't have an agent and was only selected in the second round—how underrated was he?

Many agents contacted Xiao Tu seeking cooperation, but he refused them all. They were all agents trying to make money off him; he didn't need any agents at the moment.

The businesses will proactively contact Xiao Tu, and his contract negotiations with the Heat will be straightforward. His agent is probably just there to chat with him; he might even try to sabotage him.

Xiao Tu likes to make empty promises to others, but he doesn't like others making promises to him, which is why he dislikes having an agent. He can build his own management team after he becomes famous; there's no need for it now.

Compared to other players, Xiao Tu's behavior is somewhat unconventional, which makes him more eye-catching. Netizens started discussing him, finding him very unique and wanting to know his story.

This was exactly the effect Xiao Tu wanted. One sentence triggered a series of chain reactions, making him famous in North America very quickly.

Despite being the fifth overall pick, Dwyane Wade remains relatively unknown, with few people recognizing him.

This also shows that agents are pretty useless. Wade's agent doesn't offer him advice or help him increase his exposure; he only helps him negotiate rookie contracts.

Many experts believe that Xiao Tu's physical attributes are average and his potential is limited. Quite a few people underestimate him, and they even praised LeBron James, implying that he's only suited for lower-level games with less physical contact and might not be able to utilize his skills in the NBA.

Xiao Tu doesn't care about being looked down upon; he's only afraid of being ignored. Even if many people are waiting to see him fail at the start of the season, the lack of fans still generates buzz.

As long as he identifies James as his rival, he can generate a constant stream of online buzz by making sarcastic remarks about him from time to time.

If he plays well, he'll naturally turn casual viewers into fans. Ultimately, a player's popularity depends on their ability.

Ironically, the "expert's" statement is a James paradox.

"In low-level games with poor physical contact," isn't Xiao Tu's opponent LeBron James? Then, in the higher-level NBA, the winners are no longer good, but the losers can play well?
Both of them play as playmakers, so they are directly matched up against each other.

There will be many more comparisons between the two in the future; this is just the beginning.

Xiao Tu's mindset is different from James's, so he will definitely receive higher praise.

LeBron James prefers to play alongside established stars, wanting only strong, immediate contributors to support him. He didn't even consider Boozer, because Boozer was just a second-round pick and seemed to have only made it big by chance.

Xiao Tu prefers to partner with young, unestablished players, as long as they have potential. He leads these players in the attack, helping his younger teammates play to their full potential, which makes him seem more impressive.

Xiao Tu doesn't like teammates who are too high-profile. He formed a Big Three with the Lakers in the 80s.

If Eddie Jones weren't a declining star, Xiao Tu wouldn't have any interest in playing alongside him. He also needed to trade Brian Grant, the power forward who put up 10+10 stats last season, as he knew the guy was nearing the end of his career.

Three days after the Summer League ended, Nike and Adidas both offered Xiao Tu contracts. Xiao Tu thought the prices were too low and hung up the phone after only a few words.

Reebok's offer was more attractive, and the contract they offered Xiao Tu was significantly worse than Iverson's. In 2001, Iverson had already signed a lifetime contract with Reebok and was their top endorser.

Xiao Tu wasn't in a hurry. He would only consider signing a contract when these businesses offered more than James.

If he's ranked lower than LeBron James, he'll dominate James and McGrady in the regular season. These two are currently Nike and Adidas's most expensive active brand ambassadors.

The Cavaliers and Magic both have terrible records this season; Xiao Tu remembers it clearly even without his subconscious blindfold. They're both in the Eastern Conference, and they have four games in the regular season.

Once Xiao Tu puts up impressive stats in the regular season and gets selected for the Eastern Conference All-Star team, all the major companies will be vying for his attention. At that point, he won't need to think; he can just wait for several companies to compare prices.

He doesn't mind waiting a year between sneaker endorsements, but he's unlikely to sign a contract with a brand at a low price.

His top choice for an endorsement is Nike, because the future NBA is Nike's league. If he signs with Nike, he can more easily crush LeBron James. Unless James teamed up with superstars during his first stint with the Cavaliers, he'll definitely be dominated by Xiao Tu until after 2010, and Nike won't give him a lifetime contract then.

Xiao Tu stayed in Cambridge for another week, packing out some personal belongings to take with him in his Harvard student accommodation.

The original owner of this body was too poor and had virtually no assets. Xiao Tu didn't need to bring much; he could buy everything new when he got to Miami.

Xiao Tu specially treated Harvard coach Tim to dinner alone to thank him for his care during this time. His college coach had indeed helped him a lot and given him encouragement during his period of confusion.

Xiao Tu's poor stats in the NCAA were not due to the coach's incompetence, but rather to his own lack of skill.

Tim had been following Xiao Tu's news closely, and after learning about his stats in the Summer League, he couldn't believe it was true.

Xiao Tu could only say that he had suddenly figured it out and brushed it off.

Because of Xiao Tu's outstanding performance, Tim also benefited. A strong university extended a coaching offer to him, which Tim readily accepted, giving him a bigger stage in the NCAA.

With Xiao Tu leaving the school, the Harvard team will definitely become a bottom-tier team next season, and if Tim doesn't leave, he will miss the opportunity to improve.

They wished each other a safe journey and all the best, and parted ways the next day.

Xiao Tu was able to go to Miami immediately because the team's management helped him by introducing him to neighborhoods and luxury apartments that were close to the arena and had good security.

If Haslem were to introduce Xiao Tu to a house, it certainly wouldn't be this nice; he wasn't exactly a wealthy man before.

Pat Riley has always found Xiao Tu agreeable, regardless of the era. He admires hard-working players, and Xiao Tu, with his lack of family and ability to remain focused on his own life, perfectly fits his criteria.

Riley believed that players should just practice hard, and even those with less natural talent could improve through training. However, most players were unwilling to practice and were lazy.

Xiao Tu and Riley also got along very well and hit it off.

In his previous life, Xiao Tu had read news reports and thought Riley was a bad, cold-blooded coach. After getting to know him, he realized that everything has two sides, and a team that wants to win a championship needs someone like Riley.

Because the NBA has a lot of brainless players, if they are not strictly managed, they will become stupid in a short time and they will not be able to play basketball.
In Riley's team locker room, there was never much chaos, and the players could focus on the basketball court.

Riley emphasizes team cohesion, cultivating a "Heat-like" fighting spirit through strict management and high-pressure training. This culture is reflected in the players' clear understanding of their roles and their execution.

Riley also allows players to release stress through parties, dancing, and other means, as long as they don't go too far.

The future of Jimmy Butler is not a reliable indicator. He's a troublemaker, always getting into conflicts wherever he goes, and every departure ends badly.

Xiao Tu moved into a luxury apartment with his bags, and the next day he went to the Heat team to meet with the manager and quickly finalized a rookie contract.

He doesn't really need an agent; under the new collective bargaining agreement, there are restrictions on contracts for second-round picks. The Heat offered him a 2+1 contract, which isn't much even at its highest level, with a team option for the third year.

The key to this contract is that Xiao Tu will receive Bird rights after the three-year contract, allowing for a maximum contract term and salary increase upon renewal. If he performs at a high level, his next contract will be a max deal, comparable to a lottery pick. Since first-round picks typically have four-year contracts, teams can benefit from an extra year of rookie potential.

His starting salary was 83, which increased to 90 in the second year and 97 in the third year, for a total of 270 million.

With that amount of money, Xiao Tu wouldn't be considered rich, but he certainly wouldn't have any financial worries. The Heat made a killing; they could sign a star player for three years for a bargain price.

Judging from Xiao Tu's performance in the Summer League, everyone in the management team firmly believes that he can make it big and will most likely be selected as an All-Star in his rookie season.

Everyone thinks Xiao Tu's goal of winning the championship is impossible, but making the playoffs shouldn't be too difficult. The current situation of the West being stronger than the East is very obvious. It's not that the East lacks star players, but rather that the overall strength is weaker, making it easier for strong Eastern teams to achieve good results than Western teams.

In the East, a 50% winning percentage and 41 wins are enough to secure a playoff spot. In the West, even 50 wins aren't enough to guarantee home-court advantage in the first round—that's the difference.

At that moment, apart from Xiao Tu, no one believed the Heat had a chance to win the championship. The Heat's management wouldn't set such high goals; reaching the second round of the playoffs would be a success, and making it to the Eastern Conference Finals would be a pleasant surprise…

(End of this chapter)