NBA: A collection of super busts

Dina asked, puzzled, "Why would that be? Wouldn't that drain Nike's budget? They wouldn't have the money to sign Ye, which would mean one less competitor, and that's not good for us."

"Dina has made progress and started to think," Ye Feng said. "But he hasn't thought about it enough. At first glance, Nike's withdrawal is indeed not a good thing for us, but upon closer inspection, it is actually very beneficial to us."

"Even without Nike, there are still Reebok and Adidas, and the competition and price war between these two companies will not end with Nike's departure."

"Secondly, when Nike signed the two strongest, most popular, best-looking, and most promising superstars of this generation, what would you, as their competitor, think?"

After thinking for a moment, Dina said, "We're in a hurry. We need to find a big fish to sign quickly, so we don't look so useless."

"That's it!" Ye Feng clapped his hands. "They'll get anxious, especially when they find out we're flirting with one of their competitors and close to reaching a cooperation agreement. That anxiety will reach its peak!"

"That's right!" Reed added, "Although this year is touted as an epic draft year, only a handful of players are truly considered to have the potential to become superstars. Now that two have been taken by Nike, the most popular and trending player among the remaining ones is Ye."

Edwards continued, "So before it was three teams competing for Anthony, James, and Ye, but now it's two teams competing for Ye?"

"You two learn really fast," Reed said with satisfaction. "Now I finally understand why Ye wanted you two to stay by his side and insisted on giving you positions. You two aren't those damn vampires."

"It really can help him."

"And that's not all." Dina also realized something and added, "The fact that all the top rookies have gone to Nike means that Nike's market share will increase further, and their dominance in the sneaker market will become even more exaggerated."

Reed nodded in satisfaction: "Other sneaker manufacturers definitely don't want to see Nike dominate the market, because that would create a vicious cycle, making Nike's suppression of them more and more obvious, and making it increasingly difficult for them to turn the tide."

"So they will definitely compete like crazy, even if it means losing their minds and being more aggressive than ever before. They have to do it, they have to gamble, unless they are content to be dominated by Nike for the next 30 years."

"Furthermore, based on my estimates, since both Anthony and James will be joining Nike, the contracts they offer Ye will definitely be more lucrative than originally anticipated, at least a 20% increase!"

"In other words, James and Anthony joining Nike together caused inflation, which is beneficial to us."

.....

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, Ye Feng and his group got up early with great anticipation and waited in their hotel suite for the arrival of the Reebok and Adidas members. While they were waiting and chatting, Ye Feng suddenly thought of something.

"Doug, speaking of which, what happened to the suit you wore when we first met? Why haven't you worn it since?"

“That apartment was rented.” Now that they were all familiar with each other, Reed didn’t hide anything anymore: “I did a thorough background check back then and knew that you came from a slum in Chicago, so I figured you must have come from a modest background and grew up in gangs and on the streets.”

"So I think you have a bit of a soft spot for those who start from scratch, suffer all kinds of contempt, and have an incredibly difficult road to pursuing their dreams. That's why I rented that old suit."

"In the end, it was completely useless."

"You're shameless," Dina said. "Even though I didn't come from the slums, if it were me, I would definitely fall for it. I would definitely fall for this."

"If it were you," Reed shrugged, "you wouldn't need this trick. A much simpler method would have been enough to take you down."

"Fuck you," Dina cursed, and just as she was about to say something more, Reed's phone rang.

"They're here." Reed stood up. "Get ready, the battle is about to begin!"

He walked towards the door and went out. A few minutes later, he returned to the room with a team of more than ten people.

"This is Paul Fellman, Reebok's CEO and top executive, and also the most heartbroken person in the sports world recently." Reed introduced the people who came to negotiate on behalf of Reebok one by one: "This is Todd Klinsky, the head of Reebok's basketball division."

Although Fellman was not young, he was still full of energy, with a neat and tidy hairstyle and an impeccable suit, clearly a serious businessman: "I don't like this joke, Doug."

"But I have to admit, it's a fact, so this time, I'm determined to win, and I won't allow any more surprises."

"I like your aggressive nature, Mr. Reed." He bowed slightly as an apology, then said, "Sit down, let's have a good talk."

After sitting down, Fairman said, "Actually, I originally wanted Yao Ming to come this time too. I think the two big guys from China can definitely become good friends, but unfortunately, he has to go back to China to play games. After the season ended, he only rested for 3 days before returning to China to report for training."

"I heard that he has to train for a long time first, then play a few warm-up matches against Kazakhstan, the Philippines or somewhere else on behalf of the national team, and then there's your continental championship."

"I'm sorry, I don't know much about Asian basketball, but for an NBA number one draft pick to go back for training camps and play warm-up games non-stop, your opponents must be very strong! It is precisely because there are many strong opponents there that top talents like you and Yao Ming can emerge in Chinese basketball."

"I believe that the Chinese men's basketball team will definitely produce more talented players who will come to the NBA in the future!"

Fellman clearly wanted to flatter Ye Feng and Yao Ming, taking the opportunity to get closer to them.

Unfortunately, the cut he made to close the distance really made Ye Feng's lips twitch.

Why do Kazakhstan and the Philippines have to force centers of Yao Ming's caliber to only rest for three days after the season ends before rushing back to training?

Anyone who didn't know better would think it was going to be Yao Ming versus Pacquiao.

Luckily, I haven't been discovered by those people yet, otherwise I'm afraid I would have to risk my life fighting in the Maldives or Brunei.

Fellman didn't notice Ye Feng's twitching lips, but instead took out his phone and said, "Although he can't come, Yao Ming really wants to talk to you. He said he's always willing to help if needed. Let us give him a call so you can chat first and he can introduce us to you."

"Our cooperation has always been very pleasant."

"Beep beep... Beep beep..."

No one heard.

Fellman scratched his head somewhat awkwardly: "I spoke to him on the phone just before I came, and he said he would answer the phone."

As he spoke, he launched another attack.

"Beep beep..."

No one answered again.

"Something might have happened. But it's alright, we can move on to the next step." Fellman sighed, lamenting that today had truly been an inauspicious start.

He could only cough once and say, "How about letting Todd talk to you about our future plans, our business empire, and the dedicated team that will be creating sneakers for you?"

"Then I'll begin. May I close the curtains?" Klinsky was a capable middle-aged man. He and his assistant were both very efficient. Ye Feng had just nodded to indicate that they could do as they pleased when his assistant had already taken out the projector and computer, while the other person closed the curtains.

"Then, I'll begin."