NBA: A collection of super busts

LeBron James signed a 7-year, $9000 million contract with Nike!

This is the highest-paid rookie shoe endorsement contract in sports history.

For a player who has never played a professional game to receive such a huge guaranteed contract is unprecedented in the entire history of world sports.

Nike quickly followed up by saying that they would create a custom signature shoe for LeBron James before the start of the new season!

If Nike keeps its word, then LeBron James will become the first player in history to have a signature shoe without ever playing a professional game, and also the youngest signature shoe owner in Nike history.

Even if we don't just look at the rookie contract, James' contract is still considered 'huge'!

For example, Kobe Bryant, one of the league's top stars and a superstar, only had a 5-year, $4500 million contract with Adidas.

For the first time, James's influence as America's son was transformed into greenbacks, shocking everyone.

"Doug." After seeing the news, Ye Feng immediately called Reid: "If you can't get a similar contract, I'm firing you right now!"

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm just kidding," Ye Feng said playfully, "but I think I deserve an equally lucrative sneaker sponsorship contract."

"I've already made contact," Reed said. "I plan to get everything sorted out before the draft. You'll see when you meet them."

"But Nike is probably finished, I have a rumor. They're even preparing to give up on Carmelo Anthony. It was told to me by a Nike employee I knew ten years ago, who is now the brand manager for Nike's basketball business."

Reed habitually boasted about his connections, then continued, "You know, he's had an ambiguous relationship with Nike since high school, always wearing Nike gear. But this time, Nike suddenly signed James with such a big investment, which must have been a huge blow to him. And my sources tell me that because signing James cost them too much, Nike is considering reducing or even canceling their offer to Anthony."

Ye Feng didn't care about Reid's boasting, but instead asked, "Is this good news for us?"

"I'll make it good news," Reed said. "I'll have everything arranged in a week at most."

After hanging up the phone with Reid, Ye Feng waited patiently, firmly believing in the saying: "Let professionals handle professional matters."

Reid is a professional, so I'll leave everything to him. Although I'm a time traveler, I know absolutely nothing about negotiation, signing contracts, bargaining during contracts, or various obligations and responsibilities.

He believed that Reed wouldn't dare to tank or sabotage himself. In fact, he was working incredibly hard, and Reed was definitely giving it his all to secure a phenomenal sneaker contract for Ye Feng.

This wasn't just about making money; it was also about building his reputation and establishing himself in the league.

An agent who can help their players make money is always the most sought-after and popular!

This time, Reed didn't keep Ye Feng waiting for long.

Three days later, Reed invited Ye Feng, Edwards, and Dina to board the plane.

Their destination was the lively and warm city of Los Angeles.

Upon arriving in Los Angeles, the group took their time and went to Staples Center to watch a Lakers playoff game. The Lakers vs. Timberwolves game was exciting and thrilling.

With 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the team down by 5 points, Kobe first scored an incredible 3+1, then stole the ball from Szczerbiak and drew a foul. Unfortunately, he only made 1 of 2 free throws, so even though he scored 5 points and made 1 steal in the last 17 seconds, he couldn't win the game directly.

This led to the Timberwolves finding their rhythm in the final overtime and ending the game.

The score of the series was now tied at 2-2.

Of course, Ye Feng didn't care about the outcome of the game at all. He came here to watch the game to create momentum, and Reid also showed off his connections.

Before the game started, Kobe indeed came over to chat with Reed and also interacted with Ye Feng for a few minutes. The photographers naturally captured this moment.

The power of the Los Angeles media is no joke. Before the game even started, this meeting was already seen as a harbinger of the Lakers' intention to trade O'Neal for a high draft pick to select Ye Feng.

This is exactly what Reed wanted.

He secretly asked several reporters he knew to embellish the story and write articles about it. Then, the matter inexplicably turned into "the Lakers were willing to trade O'Neal to get Ye Feng".

This immediately sparked a fierce outcry from the public!

The only pity was that Reid had originally arranged for Kobe and Ye Feng to have dinner and train together after the game, but Kobe was unhappy about the loss and stood them up, refusing all interaction and reporters.

He chose to go to the training facility alone after the game and practice 500 free throws as punishment for missing the game-winning free throw in regulation time.

Reed clearly understood Kobe's personality quite well, and as soon as he saw that the Lakers had lost the game, he took Ye Feng and retreated early.

So much so that when Kobe called Reed apologetically to say that they wouldn't be meeting that night, the rest of them were almost back at their hotels.

"It's not perfect, but it's not a big problem either," Reed said casually. "The heads of Adidas and Reebok will come here to meet with us first thing tomorrow morning."

"I don't have Jony Ickel because their relationship with Anthony seems to have warmed up again. It seems they've found another lure to entice Anthony to accept that offer that's far lower than James'."

"I really don't know what trump card Nike has up its sleeve to make a proud guy like Anthony willingly take a back seat."

"But for us, this is definitely good news."

"Nike isn't just Nike." Hearing this, Ye Feng had a sudden realization: "They also have Air Jordans."

"Yeah! You're a fucking genius!" Reed was indeed smart and immediately understood: "Besides Jordan, AJ doesn't have any other endorsers! If Nike can come up with a roundabout way to make Anthony the first and only AJ endorser besides Jordan, that would indeed be a considerable temptation."

Ye Feng continued, "What if we add the gimmicks and titles like Jordan's successor, Jordan's handpicked candidate, Jordan's most favored player, Jordan's chosen one, or the only super rookie Jordan approves of?"

"Anthony might be willing to lower his price to sign!" Reed laughed heartily. "Now it's clear!"

"If Anthony joins AJ, that would be fantastic news for us!"