Yao Ming released his intention and raised his third finger again: "Third, X-Sports is preparing to make a big fight in North America, do you know Kanye? ”

"Come on, I'm not a rapper, I'm not a trend artist, I'm just a basketball player, I only play basketball. ”

"I used to be a basketball player, but I'm worth over $100 million now. Stephen, at least half of that credit goes to X-Sports, and that's my personal experience, and my advice. Sign up with us, the Huaxia market is big and you can't imagine it, you will make a lot of money, you will become a superstar, X-Sports is the best choice. ”

"This ......"

Yao Ming is a seasoned negotiator, and as a player, he really understands Curry's thoughts and needs too well, and he hits the nail on the head.

Seeing that Curry seemed to be moved, Alex had to remind: "Yao, Stephen is still young, if you have anything to say, say it to me directly." ”

Yao Ming raised his glass and said calmly: "It's okay, the conditions are here, you can go back and discuss, or you can wait for Nike's matching contract to see if they agree to 4 million." Or rather, requotes?"

Yao Ming smiled slyly, he knew too well the routine here, didn't he just wait for the price and sell, but it didn't matter, it was Yang Lei and Nike who threw the money, he just watched the excitement.

Alex couldn't be more grateful: "Yao, thank you for your understanding. ”

Curry and his son smiled and clinked glasses with Yao Ming.

It's just that a few people are still eating, and the phone call, it's Nike's Nick.

"Alex, are you having dinner with Yao?"

Hearing this, the corners of Alex's mouth couldn't help but smile.

This Michelin-starred restaurant has a live band playing, melodious pianos, waiters smiling at everyone, and the atmosphere is not ordinary, and the melodious singing reaches the ears of Nick on the other end of the phone.

Obviously, someone recognized the four of them in the restaurant and hurriedly reported to Nike.

Alex made an apologetic gesture to Yao Ming, took his phone and left, and whispered, "Yao is an old friend we have known for many years, and we happened to meet and get together. ”

"Alex, please don't agree to any of his conditions lightly, we Nike can give what he can give, and we can give it better. ”

"Nick, why do you say that?"

"We at Nike have priority. ”

"I know, but the other side made a condition that we couldn't resist. ”

"Nike is willing to match!"

"Oh, really?"

The two of them just bargained over the phone.

Yao Ming gave a price of $4 million a year, which was raised again by Alex to 4.5 million.

In addition, the welfare treatment given by Yao Ming, because it is not easy to evaluate the specific commercial value, Alex of course has to refer to it and put forward more requirements.

Nike was a little depressed.

If it weren't for X-Sports stirring up the game in the middle, they would have felt that the $3.5 million price tag would have been too high, and they didn't think Curry was worth the high offer.

But Yang Lei's shot is different in nature.

Curry Nike can not be wanted, but it must not be **-Sports.

$4.5 million, Nick agreed over the phone.

But Alex said that he still had to think about it, and he hung up the phone with satisfaction, returned to the table, looked at the Curry father and son, who were very happy, and said with a smile: "Nike just called me and offered $4.5 million." ”

Yao Ming was not surprised at all, and said with a smile: "Isn't there still a week left? I thought, how about letting Stephen meet the owner of X-Sports tomorrow?"

"Aren't we seen?"

"No, just let Stephen and Ray meet alone, I'm sure they can be good friends. ”

Curry Sr. and Alex exchanged glances, thinking that it would be okay, anyway, Curry could not promise anything alone.

Curry was really happy: "I've wanted to meet the legend for a long time. ”

In the evening, Yao Ming returned to the hotel and fed back all the information he got to Yang Lei.

At the same time, the team brought by Zhang Mingji is actively contacting other players, digging Nike will never be less, although Yang Lei's main target is Curry, but in order to play cover, other players also have to dig and confuse Nike's sight.

"$4.5 million?"

Yang Lei smiled: "It's really good to sit on the ground and start the price, but it doesn't matter, if it's Nike's offer, I can add a little more." ”

Yao Ming cautiously suggested: "I have read Curry's doctor's diagnosis, the risk of injury is indeed very high, you think about it carefully, don't end up spending a high price to raise a sick number because of being angry with Nike, money is a small thing, bad heart is a big thing, others will laugh at you for not seeing people." ”

It doesn't matter, Curry will not only not become a sick number, but also become an MVP, even if it is $5 million a year, he will not lose, he will only make a lot of money, Yang Lei thought to himself.

Curry finally met with Yang Lei.

The two met at a San Francisco Warriors training facility, just 15 miles from Oakland's Warriors training camp, across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Now the training hall has become a public open activity area, Curry originally thought that the meeting would be very formal, who knew that he was wearing a formal suit, but he saw Yang Lei sweating like rain and running on the court.

Choosing this way to meet is really appetizing.

Curry's heart moved, and he really wanted to play a game with Yang Lei.

Several community teams are playing half a game, 3v3 is a classic game that is common all over the world, Yang Lei's team has two Asian faces, one white, and the other party is three blacks.

Although they are all amateur teams, magnesium people have loved sports since they were children, and people with good basketball skills are everywhere.

"Hey, Stephen. ”

Yang Lei saw Curry on the sidelines, although no one introduced him, he was familiar with it, beckoned to Curry, gasped and said, "Can you replace me? I need to rest." ”

Seeing Curry's arrival, the players on the court also stopped playing, and they all looked at Curry, the star, and made special gestures.

In a gracious situation, Curry took off his formal clothes and took a clothing bag handed to him by Yang Lei.

There's a clean jersey inside, and a new pair of sneakers with the X logo, which happens to be Curry's size, which is really sweet.

"Try it. ”

Yang Lei came over with a water bottle and smiled at him.

Curry was not polite, and after changing his clothes and shoes, he and Yang Lei fisted: "We'll talk when I come back from the warm-up." ”

NBA stars came on the court, and the effect was different, and many amateur guys next to him came over and watched Curry abuse these rookies.

After testing the shoe, Curry was a little surprised at its performance.

For a guard shoe, the most important thing is the stability of the emergency stop, as well as the response speed of the sharp acceleration, the force feedback must be fast when returning, and at the same time it can protect the ankle from injury, and the knee cushioning ability should be good.

Obviously, the shoes did.

It's a little better than the Nike that Curry used to wear, especially the cushioning, which seems to be stronger, softer, and rebounds faster than Nike's latest ZoomHyperfuse 2013 air cushion technology.

Curry, who was happy with his shoes, finally relaxed, and after making a couple of signature three-pointers, he began teaching.

He used slow motion to teach these young people how to play, and sometimes the feints he made were so fake that they made everyone laugh.

You don't play like Cai Xukun at all, Yang Lei, who was standing on the sidelines, thought to himself.

Today, his main purpose is not to assess Curry's skills, this is the least to worry about, he mainly looks at Curry's character, and sure enough, the cute god is the cute god, basketball makes him happy, and he likes to guide young people.

After playing for half an hour, Curry's teammates also changed twice, which was considered to be a very people-friendly interactive teaching, and the two said goodbye to enthusiastic fans.

The two changed clothes in the locker room of the arena, and Curry drove Yang Lei to a well-known burger restaurant in San Francisco, these high-calorie burgers are usually junk food that players rarely eat, but many people will eat with a vengeance during the players' vacation.

It's like people who are losing weight always say, if it weren't for the sake of drinking beer and eating barbecue as much as I want, what would I do with all my hard work to lose weight.

"Stephen, I hope this way of meeting doesn't surprise you. ”

"I was really surprised, I didn't expect you to look like a billionaire at all, but like an ordinary college student. ”

"Speaking of being like an ordinary college student, isn't that a description given to you by ESPN?"

"Aha, someone did say that maybe I look tender. ”

"Chinese says moe, Japanese says kawaii, haha, I know this word is indeed a bit weird to use on men, but Chinese fans like you the most. ”

The age difference between the two is only two years old, and there are actually a lot of similarities and resonances in cultural concepts and three views, so there is not much separation between them.

Curry ate a burger in both hands, took a big gulp, and said, "Your shoes are very comfortable, and I kind of trust you can protect me now." But the situation now is that Nike and you are both raising each other's prices, I'm not an insatiable person, as long as the offer I make is reasonable. If you can give me a reason why I have to join, I will agree. ”

Yang Lei drank a diet coke, shrugged his shoulders and said, "But your agent seems to pay more attention to the offer, and it shouldn't be easy for me to get you." ”

Curry was embarrassed.

Yang Lei continued: "In addition, Nike will never allow me to snatch you from them, and in this tug-of-war, your value will become higher." Of course, I may also give up the bid, you are positioned at the threshold of $4.5 million, and at the age of your prime career, signing a four-year, $18 million short-term contract with Nike will never reach the tens of millions of superstars like Griffin, Durant, and James. ”

Curry seems to have been poked in the sore spot, there is no first, there is no second, the competition on the NBA court is not only the scoring ability, but also the signing value, $10 million a year is indeed a hurdle, and there are few people who can cross it.

He lost to Durant and James, and he was convinced, but why did he lose to Griffin?

Yang Lei asked: "I heard that you came out of the Nike Academy?"

Curry nodded: "That's right, it was Chris Paul who guided me at the time, and he was my idol. ”

"Oh, Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers. Our North American company at X-Sports was founded in Los Angeles, and I've become very good friends with some of the Lakers, the Clippers, well, it's not far from your Golden State Warriors, and when you don't play any weekend, I can invite you to my home in Los Angeles. ”

"It's my pleasure. ”

"I heard you would love to go to the Nike Academy to coach young people, but they don't agree?"

This question directly made Curry stunned, with a confused expression on his face, thinking about this kind of private question, how could Yang Lei know?

Yang Lei smiled and didn't explain, as if everything was under his control, Xu Shiwei's intelligence department is not a vegetarian, there are spies in Nike and Adidas, and they can pass on some daily information every day, whether it is effective or not, all of them are recorded, so that you can know what Nike and Adidas are doing every day.

Every summer offseason, there will be a Nike Academy.

It's an open project within Nike, allowing established stars to mentor young players and deepen their relationships.

For Curry, drinking water does not forget to dig wells.

He has been blessed by Nike's academy, and now Chris Paul, the star of the Clippers, is his idol, and if he follows the path of his idol and helps younger players as a mentor, the meaning of this is not something that money can measure.

This is equivalent to Curry's own baptism, and he will be able to wash away the doubts and depression he has received in the past two years, and he will be sublimated in the training camp.

Unfortunately, Nike turned down Curry's request and gave the Academy mentor spot to Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis.

What the hell is Kyrie Irving?

Born in 1992, the champion in 2011, a sophomore in the NBA, just because he is the champion, so he can be a mentor?

What the hell is Anthony Davis?

Born in 1993, 2012, that is, last year's rookie champion, so he can be a mentor?

As the seventh in the 2009 draft, Curry is most annoyed by the champions, especially the two champions who are five or six years younger than him, but ride on his head.

Yang Lei looked at Curry's expression quietly, and roughly guessed what he was thinking.

To be honest, anyone with a little strength will not feel comfortable in their hearts when they encounter this kind of thing, and they will roar angrily in their hearts: "He's it, the champion is a Dior, the champion is amazing?"

That's right, the champion is great, the champion is the one who can do whatever he wants, at least in Nike, the champion is such Dior.

Yang Lei said: "Let's talk about Kyrie Irving again. ”

The cute Curry made a rare move and interrupted him rudely: "Can you not mention this person?"

Yang Lei asked rhetorically: "You don't even want to mention it, just because he robbed you of your position as a mentor in the Nike Academy and made you very angry?" Stephen, I want to help you analyze from the perspective of an entrepreneur, why Nike likes Kyrie Irving and doesn't like you, is it okay?"

Curry was silent for a moment, acquiescing, in fact, he really wanted to know the answer to the question.