NBA: Starting with the undercut by Parker and Bowen

Yang Lin had certainly dreamed of becoming an All-Star starter.

He even drew parallels to Yao Ming's past and Yi Jianlian's voting results in the past two years, suggesting that he has a very high chance of becoming an All-Star starter.

I'm not 100% sure, but I'm at least 70-80% confident.

The only concern is that he didn't have experience in the mainland CBA league, and his rise to prominence was somewhat sudden.

For mainland fans, he's still a bit unfamiliar.

However, he also rose to fame and received numerous honors in last season's finals.

Given his current impressive stats, his vote ranking should be comparable to Yao Ming's rookie season.

Most importantly, he now has honors and data.

There won't be the same criticisms that followed Yao Ming's rookie season or Yi Jianlian's high votes and rankings.

But fantasy is just fantasy.

He was still a little surprised and delighted when his fantasy could come true.

After dinner, Yang Lin found a computer, opened the league's official website, and checked the official All-Star voting data for the first stage.

The current leading vote-getter in the Western Conference is Kobe Bryant, with 569302 votes.

Yang Lin ranked second in the Western Conference and was also the second-highest scorer among Western Conference guards, with 505306 votes.

Yao Ming ranked third in the Western Conference and first among Western Conference centers, with 439125 votes.

Carmelo Anthony and Tim Duncan are ranked fourth and fifth in the Western Conference, and also first and second among Western Conference forwards.

The two received roughly the same number of votes, both exceeding 400,000.

Based on the current voting, barring any unforeseen circumstances, these five players should be the starting five for this year's Western Conference All-Star Game.

The other Western Conference stars received significantly fewer votes compared to these five.

Amar'e Stoudemire, who came in second at center, received just 200,000 votes, less than half of Yao Ming's votes.

Forward Dirk Nowitzki came in third with less than 300,000 votes, while Carlos Boozer came in fourth with just 180,000 votes.

The third-ranked guard was Allen Iverson, who received just over 300,000 votes, while the fourth and fifth-ranked guards, McGrady and Nash, received less than 300,000 votes.

In the Eastern Conference, the top five vote-getters were: Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, and Jason Kidd.

Currently, it seems that only Kidd is likely to be affected, as he has just received over 300,000 votes.

Behind him, Ray Allen and Vince Carter both had 280,000 to 290,000, while Arenas and Billups had also surpassed 250,000.

It's worth mentioning that Yi Jianlian received 98507 votes in the first stage, making him the player with the most handwritten votes.

He ranked fifth among Eastern Conference forwards in terms of votes, behind only Garnett, James, Bosh, and Pierce.

Garnett's trip to the East has boosted his popularity, and he currently leads the league in votes, showing potential to become the top vote-getter.

On December 15, the Houston Rockets will host the Dallas Mavericks again, marking their third regular season meeting.

After more than two hours of intense competition, the Mavericks defeated the Dallas Mavericks 96-87, taking another victory from the Toyota Center.

The two teams have met three times this season, and the away team has won all three matches.

After the game, Yang Lin complained to Yao Ming, "Brother Yao, I feel like our home court is not our advantage."

Yao Ming, puzzled, asked, "What do you mean?"

Yang Lin explained, "So far this season, we have lost seven games, five at home and only two away."

Yao Ming tilted his head, smacked his lips, and also felt that it was somewhat unbelievable.

Yang Lin added, "I feel like the arena's name is our bad luck. Toyota is associated with 'small days,' and 'small days' is determined to ruin us!"

Upon hearing this, Yao Ming was startled, looked around, and reminded him, "Don't talk nonsense, it's not a good thing."

After a moment, he said in a serious tone, in a low voice:

"I think you're right, a comfortable life really isn't a good thing! Well...except for the world-famous DVD business."

The afternoon after losing to the Mavericks, Yang Lin had just entered the training facility when Adelman approached him and reported:

"This morning, we submitted a trade to the league: we sent Kirk Snyder and Steve Novak to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Matt Barnes."

Yang Lin was somewhat surprised.

It was initially thought that Adelman would approach the Trail Blazers or the Kings, but unexpectedly he made a trade with the Golden State Warriors first.

Adelman also served as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors.

However, his coaching record at the time was not good; he failed to lead the team to the playoffs in two seasons and subsequently terminated his contract and left the company.

Trading Schneider and Novak for Barnes seems like a good idea; at least we now have a reasonably reliable defensive substitute on the wing.

But what do the Warriors need Snyder and Novak for?

Hmm... it doesn't seem like they'd be of much use keeping Barnes, given they already have two similar players on the team: Stephen Jackson and Michael Pietrus.

It would be better to trade Barnes to the Rockets, as a favor.

As Yang Lin pondered, Adelman continued, "This is just our first deal; there will be others to come."

"At the same time, we are also keeping an eye on other teams and waiting to sign experienced veterans who have been cut."

After seeing two people off, they gained one more.

With only 13 players remaining and two roster spots available, the Rockets definitely need to keep an eye on the free agent market.

Later, agent Bill Duffy came to him.

With a broad smile, he cheerfully said to Yang Lin, "The All-Star first-stage voting results were announced the day before yesterday, and several brands have updated their quotes for you."

"Yang, I think it's time to talk to brands about endorsements. After all, your honors, statistics, and popularity in the first phase of the All-Star voting all demonstrate your value."

"We now have leverage in negotiations, and those brands will have to obediently hand over their money to us."

Yang Lin was not surprised that a spokesperson would come knocking on his door.

After the Jazz won the championship, many brands actually came knocking on their door.

However, Yang Lin played too few games at the time, and various brands wanted to take advantage of this to lower his price, so he asked his agent to stop negotiations on endorsements.

Now, more than a month into the new season, Yang Lin's performance has proven that his rise to fame in the finals was no coincidence.

The All-Star Phase 1 voting results released yesterday prove his immense popularity.

Considering all factors, it's no surprise that the brand approached them again.

After all, every brand has competitors. If you act too late, Yanglin's promotional opportunity may be snatched away by a competitor.

Yang Lin nodded in agreement, replying, "We can certainly begin negotiations now. Tell me, which brands have offered their quotes?"

Bill Duffy opened the folder in his hand and read aloud: "The companies your domestic team has been in contact with include: Mengniu Dairy, Uni-President Tea, Greentown and Country Garden Real Estate, China Life Insurance, Haier Appliances..."

"The brands I've dealt with include: Nike and Adidas sneakers; Clear and Head & Shoulders toiletries; Coca-Cola and Pepsi carbonated drinks; KFC, McDonald's, and Burger King fast food; and cars..."

Yang Lin frowned and asked, "What's the specific price?"

Bill Duffy replied with a smile, "Some brands haven't submitted offers yet; they're in the final evaluation stage. They're contacting us to avoid us signing contracts with their competitors."

"I've received quotes from six companies right now, in three categories: toiletries: Clear for 2 years at $700 million USD, Head & Shoulders for 2 years at $650 million USD."

「碳酸饮品：可口可乐2年500美刀或是3年850万美刀，百事2年600万美刀；球鞋：耐克6年7500万美刀，阿迪达斯5年6000万美刀。」