The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 801 Calm and Calm
Eric Fleischer is the youngest son of Larry Fleischer. After Larry's death, he and his brother Mark Fleischer have been active in the basketball agent industry, carrying on their father's legacy.

Larry Fleischer's legacy was divided into two parts: the agent-related resources were given to his two sons, who both started their own agent agencies in the 90s.

Mark Fleischer was allocated resources for overseas players, including Sabonis, Divac, and Petrovic, who all hired him as their agent.

In addition, Mark Fleischer has helped American players and NBA veterans play and earn money in Europe. Currently, he is focusing his business efforts on the Chinese professional basketball market, becoming a bridge between CBA and American players.

Meanwhile, his younger son, Eric Fleischer, focuses on developing local players, especially young stars. The older players who were once his father have either retired or left, and it is no longer possible for them to be passed on to his son.

So, like many ordinary agents, Eric has worked hard over the years to connect with young, talented stars, build friendly relationships, manage their affairs, and secure large contracts for them.

Kevin Garnett is the most promising young star signed by Eric Fleischer in recent years, and Fleischer is eager to secure a large enough contract for Garnett before the new collective bargaining agreement takes effect.

Eric Fleischer was in attendance to watch the third game between the Timberwolves and the Trail Blazers.

On one hand, he is concerned about Kevin Garnett's performance in the series, as this will determine how big his future contract will be.

On the other hand, Gan Guoyang invited Eric to Minnesota to discuss business, and Fleischer put aside his work and made a special trip to Minnesota.

After becoming the union president, Gan Guoyang inherited Larry Fleischer's union resources and beliefs—he wanted to fight for the players' legitimate and reasonable interests.

However, when Eric Fleischer heard Gan Guoyang's suggestion, he immediately became agitated and shook his head repeatedly to express his opposition and incomprehension.

"Sonny, as the president of the players' union, you should put the players' interests first. How can you ask me not to ask the Timberwolves for a bigger contract? That's how business negotiations work—it's a two-way street, and the willing party makes the deal. As Kevin Garnett's agent, of course I should try to get the biggest contract possible. Sonny, I can't accept your idea, and if my father were here, he certainly wouldn't accept it either."

Eric Fleischer held Gan Guoyang in high regard. When Larry Fleischer passed away unexpectedly in 1989, Gan Guoyang was among the first to attend the funeral and maintained frequent contact with the Fleischer family for many years afterward.

Gan Guoyang introduces some player resources to the Fleischer brothers, and he also acts as a go-between for Chinese resources.

The two brothers also helped Gan Guoyang. In 1990, the Trail Blazers were able to acquire Reggie Lewis, thanks in no small part to Mark Fleischer's efforts, which left the Celtics in a mess and ultimately forced them to make a trade.

Eric Fleischer has been working with Gan Guohui, providing a lot of assistance in brokerage and auditing matters.

The two brothers contributed a lot to Gan Guoyang's rise to become the chairman of the trade union. They strongly supported Gan Guoyang and the two sides had a very close relationship.

Even so, Eric Fleischer became emotional and his face turned slightly red when he heard that Gan Guoyang did not want Kevin Garnett to take on a large contract.

For Fleischer, or rather for agents, securing big contracts for their players, especially the kind of super-sized contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, not only brings high brokerage revenue and a good reputation in the agent circle, but more importantly, it is the agent's belief and ideal, and an important criterion for selecting MVPs in the agent industry.

Old Gan, you've made a fortune. You signed an unprecedented three-year, 100 million yuan super contract. Your salary alone is equivalent to that of an entire team.

Moreover, they've practically secured the regular season MVP award this season, yet they're now suppressing young players and preventing them from getting big contracts?
It should be noted that during the labor negotiations in 1996, the provisional agreement already showed a clear double standard, with veterans able to ignore the rules and continue to sign super-large contracts, even those exceeding the salary cap.

Young players, however, are required to sign standard contracts after 1998, with their salaries subject to the salary cap, which has already sparked discontent among some agents and young stars.

However, Gan Guoyang's comeback in 1996 brought him immense popularity, coupled with his large number of supporters, his excellent work in protecting players' pensions, newcomer protections, and the interests of lower-level players, and the fact that no one was more suitable than him to deal with Stern, which suppressed the voices of the opponents.

"Sonny, I don't know if you have any agreement with the league, or if you have other considerations, but you need to know that in this country, it's never wrong to fight for your maximum economic interests, it's always a matter of course. The future belongs to young stars like Garnett and Iverson. They deserve big contracts, they deserve enough money. It's not just veterans who can get big contracts. You need to understand that."

When Eric Fleischer saw that Gan Guoyang did not respond, he continued, but his tone was a little gentler than before. He did not want to anger Gan, as there were only the two of them in the room.

Fleischer is already preparing to secure a blockbuster contract for Garnett to completely establish his reputation in the agent world and leave a significant mark on professional sports history.

He had to finalize everything before the major negotiations in 1998, so he began secret negotiations with the Timberwolves even before the regular season ended.

Now that the playoff series is over, the Timberwolves' 1996-1997 season has come to an end, and negotiations for an early contract extension will officially begin.

I never expected that Forrest Gump would be so well-informed, actually knowing about this matter. I just don't know how much he knows, or whether he knows the bottom line of both sides.

Gan Guoyang still didn't refute Eric Fleischer. He boiled a kettle of water and made a cup of coffee for each of them. The rich aroma of coffee instantly filled the room, easing the atmosphere somewhat.

Gan Guoyang has always been a skilled negotiator. He rarely argues with others, believing that arguing is a waste of time. Apart from being good at talking, it usually doesn't solve problems or persuade the other party.

The most important thing in negotiation is to understand the other party's needs, their bottom line, what you have that the other party needs, and what your own bottom line is.

Therefore, good negotiation is not about figuring out how to logically defeat the other party, or about imagining and constructing various arguments in your mind; these are secondary.

Good negotiation requires accurate intelligence gathering, collecting enough chips to increase your hand, so that you have cards to play when you get to the table, instead of just having words.

Gan Guoyang had made good preparations this time, while Eric Fleischer was completely unprepared. He did not expect that Gan Guoyang would come to discuss Garnett's contract with him.

So even though Eric was getting a little angry, Gan Guoyang wasn't flustered at all.

Just like when they faced the Timberwolves in the first round, they were confident and certain of victory.

He offered Eric a cup of coffee, but Eric declined, saying, "I have a heart condition, so it's best to drink less."

Gan Guoyang took a sip and said:

“Eric, I still remember the day Larry died, in the 89 playoff semifinals, not long after the first round. Ah Hui called me, and my mind went blank. I even thought about giving up the game and going straight to New York to see him. As you know, that was the worst series of my career. When I went to New York for the funeral, I vowed that I would do what Larry couldn’t do.”

"Larry has long distrusted Grantham, believing he is not a commissioner capable of maintaining a player-league balance. He is too biased towards the players and too close to them, which has led to a loss of respect. There is an old Chinese saying that being too close will offend people, while being too distant will breed resentment. Maintaining a balance and a suitable distance is appropriate, especially for those in power."

“However, Grantham was already firmly established at the time, and preventing him from taking the position would only create a series of problems. It was better to let him serve as president for a while, and everyone would naturally know whether he was suitable or not afterward. As it turned out, he was not suitable, and Jim Quinn and I had to learn from this lesson and stop blindly favoring the players. I think if Larry were still alive, he would definitely agree with Quinn and my philosophy.” Gan Guoyang first stated the correctness of his position, proving that his actions were in line with Fleischer's will, rather than contrary to it.

Then Gan Guoyang started playing his cards.

"Of course, I know that as an agent, there's no problem with getting big contracts for players, absolutely no problem. The bigger the contract, the better, as long as the team can afford it, that's fair. But... Eric, are you sure that your partnership with Kevin Garnett is honest and sincere? Can getting him a big enough contract bring you what you want?"

Gan Guoyang's question left Fleischer somewhat confused. What did he mean? Was Kevin Garnett not my player?
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about, Sonny. You can just say what you mean. Kevin and I have a normal agency contract, there’s nothing wrong with it.”

Gan Guoyang got up, took a document out of a briefcase, and handed it to Fleischer. Fleischer took it and flipped through it, page after page, his expression growing increasingly grim.

"This is a secret agreement signed between Kevin Garnett and your company's general manager, Andy Miller, exploiting a loophole in Garnett's contract with your company. Once Andy Miller leaves, he has the right to take Kevin Garnett out of your company without paying any penalty. Eric, it seems you've been played. Why didn't you realize that?"

After reading the document, Eric Fleischer slammed it to the ground, his face turning red with anger.

Andy Miller is the general manager of Fleischer Bros. He joined the company as an intern in 1992 and quickly gained the favor of Eric Fleischer, rising through the ranks to become general manager.

Andy Miller handled the signings and contracts of some of the young players under Fleischer's management.

He never expected that he would be betrayed by his most trusted subordinate. Miller had signed secret agreements with the players behind their backs, which was undoubtedly a preparation for poaching players from other teams in the future.

As the NBA's market value and commercial value continue to rise, competition among talent agencies is becoming increasingly fierce, naturally leading to various underhanded tactics and conflicts.

Eric asked, "Sonny, where did you get this document?"

Gan Guoyang said, "That's not important. What's important is its authenticity. You've gone to great lengths to get Kevin a big contract, but in the end, it'll benefit someone else. Furthermore, this big contract won't bring you prestige in the agent world; instead, it will leave you with a bad reputation. First, your player will be stolen away. Second, this contract is too big and disrupts market order. 3300 million is a lot for me, but I didn't disrupt the market. If another player achieves what I have, he can get that much or even more."

"Kevin is excellent and will be even better in the future, but that's a matter for the future. An excessively large contract can be a gain, but it can also be a burden, and one day he will regret it."

Eric Fleischer fell into deep thought, picking up the documents one by one from the floor and putting them away carefully. Suddenly, he asked, "Sonny, do you know how big a contract I'm trying to get for Kevin? What makes you think this contract is too big?"

Gan Guoyang paused for a moment, then said, "Uh... I just know. Don't ask how I know, I just know."

Eric Fleischer realized that Gan Guoyang had seen through his hand, though he didn't know how.

Since he was able to obtain Andy Miller and Kevin Garnett's secret agreement, it's only natural that he would know their cards.

Now, Fleischer has no time to focus on securing a huge contract for Garnett in the summer. He needs to go back and quell the hidden rebellion within the company, eliminate the mole, and stabilize the team.

As for the amount of his contract extension with the Timberwolves, Kevin Garnett himself doesn't care at all. This young man doesn't care how much money he makes in a season, and he never looks at how much balance he has in his bank account.

Fleischer was certain that whether he signed him to a 5-year, 1 million contract or a 5-year, 1.5 million contract, his expression wouldn't change much.

What truly matters is the honor of being a broker, the satisfaction of fighting for the client's interests, and the inner fulfillment gained after the negotiation.

Of course, higher agency fees are also very important.

Unfortunately, all of this crumbled under Forrest Gump's unexpected offensive; the fortress was always breached from within.

Andy Miller is still waiting downstairs, preparing to meet with Garnett and the Timberwolves management tomorrow for initial contact, before returning to New York the day after.

Eric Fleischer recalled that Andy Miller had been very enthusiastic and constantly offered advice in pushing for Garnett's supermax contract extension, and now it all seemed to make sense.

After sitting on the bed for a long time and figuring out what to do next, Fleischer stood up and hugged Gan Guoyang.

“I know what to do, Sonny. I will fight for a fair contract for Kevin that won’t leave him at a disadvantage or disrupt the market too much.”

Gan Guoyang nodded, took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Eric, saying, "This is the business card of a famous cardiologist in New York. My friend, if you need any check-ups or treatment, you can go to him. He's absolutely reliable."

Heart disease has a genetic component, and as Eric Fleischer gets older, he also faces the threat of heart disease.

He took the business card and glanced at the title to know that this was a top cardiologist in New York; it wasn't easy to find a doctor like that.

"Thank you, thank you Sonny."

"It's nothing, it's what I should do. My heart... needs to be well protected."

After saying goodbye, Gan Guoyang had completed a small task, which was both his duty and an agreement between him and David Stern.

In return for maintaining stability and prosperity and avoiding too many destabilizing factors, the Trail Blazers will receive some leniency in summer recruitment and signings.

A few months later, Kevin Garnett successfully signed a contract extension with the Timberwolves, signing a massive 6-year, $1.03 million deal that shook the league.

Overall, it was a reasonable price, the Timberwolves' first offer, which Garnett and his team readily accepted.

The Timberwolves retained their future stars while leaving some room for maneuver on their salary cap to maintain the competitiveness of a small-ball team.

This contract sparked some jealousy within the Timberwolves, but across the league, things remained calm and normal.

(End of this chapter)