NBA: Be the GOAT starting today!

The Sterling recording scandal quickly escalated and spread throughout the United States in the following days.

Although the notoriously stingy owner of the alliance repeatedly denied it, the exposure of a full 15-minute recording proved the allegations true.

Sterling instantly became the target of criticism in the league, with stars such as Kobe, James, and Paul condemning him online.

Even Obama, who had been in office for four months, mentioned this matter to reporters and the media.

"Ignorant people always flaunt their ignorance!"

The NBA, on the other hand, seemed to have been aware of the situation and made preparations accordingly.

Stern quickly convened a press conference and imposed the league's maximum fine of $250 million on Sterling in front of the media.

Sterling was also barred from participating in any Clippers decisions or affairs.

Meanwhile, at a league leadership meeting, a plan to force a trade of Sterling to the Clippers is being rapidly pushed forward.

On the 20th floor of the Olympic Tower, in the CEO's office, Stern had just hung up the phone with Ballmer.

This Microsoft billionaire is the "big player" that Stern and Silver were referring to.

Ballmer, a basketball enthusiast, began his attempts to acquire NBA teams several years ago, but he has repeatedly encountered setbacks.

Upon learning that the Clippers were facing a sale, Ballmer expressed great interest, stating that he would invest heavily in building the team if he could acquire it.

Stern was pleased with what Ballmer had said.

With the Clippers located in the metropolitan area of ​​Los Angeles, Stern envisions this creating a city derby against the Lakers.

However, the stingy Sterling was unwilling to invest in building the team, turning the league's big-city teams into minnows, which Stern could not tolerate.

Stern had already prepared evidence regarding Sterling's scandal.

Rather than waiting for things to fall apart later, it's better to take this opportunity to kick Sterling out of the game and bring in a more powerful player to grow the pie.

The Bird's Nest stadium in 08 showed Stern that there was even greater market potential across the ocean.

Zhou Yi's talent displayed in the NCAA and Yao Ming's recurring injuries made the veteran realize that the league needed a new face for the NBA in Asia.

"Wonder boy, the stage is set for you. I hope you won't let me down in the next four years."

......

At the end of May, Zhou Yi finished his training at Davidson.

Scott Bennett and DeShawn Reed left the arena with a hefty reward.

"Zhou, the last person who was this talented and hardworking was Jordan."

"Haha, Nick Wright, that guy who's been criticizing you every day, will be shocked this season. Your ball-handling skills are completely different from before."

These were their last words as they parted.

Zhou Yi also accompanied Austin to Los Angeles, where he met with representatives from Nike and Adidas.

Inside the Renaissance Hotel, Zhou Yi met Austin, who had just finished talking with Adi.

"They're more generous than Nike, Zhou. Their plans for the Asian market haven't been great, so they're willing to take a gamble on you—a seven-year, $6000 million signature shoe contract, on par with Durant."

After listening to Austin's words, Zhou Yi nodded and inquired about Nike's situation.

"Nike is willing to offer a five-year, $4000 million signature shoe contract and promises to ensure fairness when you compete for league honors."

The shrewd Nike executives certainly wouldn't say the rest directly, but it was Austin's translator.

Regarding the alleged manipulation of the NBA's selection of player honors, Nike and the NBA have consistently maintained that they have not done so.

Only naive children would believe what a businessman says.

As an outsider player, Zhou Yi wants to fight for fair treatment in terms of honors.

This is something that no brand other than Nike can do.

As for the domestic brands from across the ocean that had already been eliminated, they couldn't provide him with the contract amounts and implicit assistance he needed at this time in 09.

However, Zhou Yi still tries to choose short-term contracts, hoping that after the companies across the ocean develop, he can wear domestic brands on the NBA stage.

"Tell Nike executives about Adidas's offer: if they don't want me to help Adidas take over their Asian market, give me a price higher than Adidas's."

After a moment's thought, Zhou Yi and Austin said that the sneaker contract was a tug-of-war.

For Nike right now, increasing sales in Asia and continuing to seize market share from Adidas are of paramount importance, and Zhou Yi believes they will agree.

Xiao Shuai's face alone can fetch an average of $857 million a year, and Zhou Yi is confident that he can get an even higher price.

Negotiations for the sneaker contract took place amid a tug-of-war between Austin and Nike executives.

Zhou Yi then embarked on a short vacation, spending some wonderful evenings with Daddario in Los Angeles.

After several days of back-and-forth negotiations, Nike finally offered Zhou Yi a satisfactory price: a five-year, $4500 million signature shoe contract.

To prevent Adidas from snatching Zhou Yi away, Nike even paid a hefty signing fee.

At the Renaissance Hotel, Zhou Yi and Nike held a high-profile press conference.

The news quickly became a trending topic in the basketball world, even overshadowing the Sterling recording scandal for a time.

"With an average annual rookie signature shoe contract of $900 million, Zhou Yi surpasses Durant to rank second in history."

"Even before Zhou has landed in the NBA, he has already demonstrated historic business acumen."

When such news appeared in the media across the United States, Curry, who had just signed a four-year, ten million dollar team shoe contract, could only shed tears of envy in front of Zhou Yi.

Both are star players for the Davidson Wildcats, but the difference between them is enormous.

......

At the Oklahoma City Thunder arena, Durant finishes a day of practice.

Recently, Durant registered for Twitter, and his nightly pre-sleep activity consists of scrolling through Twitter and posting comments.

"The sale of the Clippers is in progress, and billionaire Steve Ballmer will become the next owner of the Clippers."

"With an average annual rookie signature shoe contract of $900 million, Zhou Yi surpasses Durant to rank second in history."

When Xiao Shuai saw the news about the I Ching, he immediately sat up in bed.

Below the news article, Xiao Shuai saw a large number of fans of the I Ching commenting.

"That's awesome, Zhou is way more handsome than Durant, and his shoes are definitely cooler than Durant's."

"Compared to Durant, Zhou Yi is the undisputed rising star of the league. That skinny tall guy just swings his arm around trying to foul."

Looking at the comments under the news article, Xiao Shuai was so angry that he wanted to smash his phone.

Long, slender fingers flew across the screen, and comments appeared one after another in the comment section below Zhou Yi's news.

The angry Xiao Shuai didn't notice that he hadn't switched to his alternate account.

"Zhou is just a clown; Durant will dominate him next season."

"Zhou's ball handling is simply appalling, it can't be compared to Durant at all, and Zhou isn't as handsome as Durant either."

......

Xiao Shuai's remarks quickly provoked a backlash from Zhou Yi's fans. After a heated exchange, Xiao Shuai finally turned off his phone, satisfied.

Meanwhile, on the internet late at night, Xiaoshuai's main account and posts had already been exposed.