in2ebook Chapter 215 An Interesting Sneaker Contract?
Chapter 215 An Interesting Sneaker Contract?
On November 6, the Nets team, fully assembled, flew to Charlotte, North Carolina.
The two places are about 1,000 kilometers apart, and it only takes two hours by plane to get there.
The Nets players had no intention of acclimatizing beforehand, and they hadn't even booked a hotel in Charlotte.
Upon arriving in Charlotte in the afternoon, the entire Nets team went straight to the arena.
The Hornets, playing at home, have suffered three consecutive losses, and their key player, LaMelo Ball, suffered an ankle injury last month and is still recovering.
The Nets also won a big victory over the Wizards, with new signing Wang Xiucheng scoring 53 points and 17 assists, breaking the record for the youngest player to score 50 points. They are in high spirits.
At the start of the game, the Nets took the lead, led by Wang Xiucheng and Durant, and the point difference widened to double digits in the first quarter.
It seems that the script for this game is the same as the script for the previous game against the Wizards.
In the second quarter, the Hornets did a better job of controlling turnovers and their shooting percentage also improved, but they were still evenly matched with the Nets.
At halftime, the Nets led 52-44 by 8 points.
After halftime, at the start of the third quarter, the Nets' offense inexplicably slumped, with both Wang Xiucheng and Durant experiencing a sudden drop in shooting percentage.
Throughout the third quarter, Wang Xiucheng only made one three-pointer, Durant scored 5 points, and the Nets as a whole only scored 17 points.
The Hornets scored 26 points in a single quarter, and surprisingly took the lead over the Nets by one point in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the physical contact between the two sides suddenly intensified, and the number of fouls also increased.
Wang Xiucheng stabilized the situation by drawing fouls through his breakthroughs.
In the final two minutes, Wang Xiucheng delivered two assists to Durant despite being double-teamed.
With a combination of field goals and free throws, Durant scored 7 points in the Nets' final 10 minutes.
Finally, with 3 seconds left in the game, Wang Xiucheng made a game-winning three-pointer.
The Nets finally managed to defeat the Hornets, who were playing at home, without much trouble.
This also marks the Hornets' fourth consecutive loss.
It seems that the wasps were already heading towards the top spot early on.
After winning the game, the entire Nets team flew directly to Texas.
The Nets' next game will be an away game against the Mavericks.
This is the second game between the two teams this season, and it could very well be the last game of the season, unless both teams make it to the finals.
Doncic stated on social media early on that they absolutely had to win this game.
What Wang Xiucheng found somewhat amusing was that Doncic deliberately parked his Hellfire, which was more expensive than his own, on the road the visiting team was bound to take, as if afraid that Wang Xiucheng wouldn't see it.
From the start of the game, Doncic's unstoppable one-on-one play caused the Nets a lot of trouble.
Fortunately, Wang Xiucheng's pass left the Mavericks with no answer.
Durant's consecutive mid-range shots, along with several points scored inside, kept the two teams evenly matched.
The Mavericks led by only 3 points at halftime, 53-50.
In the second half, the score and the game remained evenly matched.
Claxton, the Nets' center, scored frequently in the paint, but Doncic and Josh Green also hit consecutive three-pointers.
In the final minutes of the fourth quarter, Doncic led the Mavericks on a 20-6 run.
But Wang Xiucheng and Durant hit five consecutive three-pointers, and with Wang Xiucheng's free throws, the Nets quickly closed the gap to just three points.
With one minute remaining, Doncic drove to the basket, drew a foul, and completed a three-point play.
Wang Xiucheng hit a three-pointer from a great distance, bringing the score back to within three points.
The Mavericks missed the next possession, Durant grabbed the rebound, pushed the ball up the court himself, and drew a foul.
Durant made the first free throw, but deliberately missed the second one. Royce O'Neal grabbed the rebound, but the ball he passed to Wang Xiucheng was intercepted by Finney-Smith.
The match then came to an end.
Durant ended his streak of making all 62 free throws, but it didn't bring the team a victory.
The Mavericks defeated the visiting Nets 94-92.
After the game, Doncic yelled at the camera, and you could almost see his stomach.
He seemed to have finally vented his frustration.
The Nets' plan is to rest in Dallas for one night and then fly back to New York immediately tomorrow to prepare for the game against the Knicks.
For both Nets players and fans, the game against the Knicks is one of the most important games of the year.
But Wang Xiucheng still took leave and boarded the plane that was coming to pick him up in Dallas, flying directly to Houston.
Not only has Wang Xiucheng not been back to Houston to see Uncle Ma's family for a long time, but Ma Wei has also not been back with him for a long time.
Moreover, Ma Xiaoxuan had just returned from China and had many things to discuss with him.
Three hours later, Wang Xiucheng and the other three had returned to Wang Xiucheng's home in Sugar City in Ma Xiaoxuan's car.
The weather in Houston is much warmer than in New York.
Uncle Ma and Aunt Ma had already arrived in Sugar City ahead of time, and Wang Xiucheng was naturally very happy to see them.
Although it was late, Aunt Ma still prepared a sumptuous Chinese meal, and Wang Xiucheng ate several bowls of rice in one go.
While eating rice, Wang Xiucheng realized that he had been supposed to have dinner at Meng Chao's house and had actually stood her up.
There was nothing I could do; Jenna came that day, and I didn't have time to go to Mengchao's place.
midnight.
one room.
There were only Wang Xiucheng and Ma Xiaoxuan.
On the table in front of the two of them were dozens of bound documents.
On a stool next to Ma Xiaoxuan was the contract that Wang Xiucheng had already read and decided to sign with.
There are about a dozen of these contracts, all from domestic brands.
"Save the most important things for last."
Ma Xiaoxuan got up, tidied up all the contracts on the table, and placed them in a place where they wouldn't get in the way.
Then he pulled out several more contracts from his suitcase.
"These are sneaker contracts. Take a look at them first. I'll meet with Nike and other manufacturers in a few days, but I don't think they're likely to offer more than domestic manufacturers."
It's not easy to find a Chinese player who can establish himself in the NBA. Are these domestic manufacturers going to let this lucrative opportunity slip away to foreign countries?
Isn't it just money?
Ma Xiaoxuan took out the top contract and handed it to Wang Xiucheng.
"Let me make it clear in advance that these contracts are only the result of the first round of negotiations, and further discussions are possible."
"This is from Anta, take a look at this first."
For players, sneaker contracts are not only about financial gain, but also a symbol of status and prestige.
At the same time, finding a suitable spokesperson is also an extremely important matter for sneaker manufacturers.
NBA players are common, but Wang Xiucheng is not.
“Anta’s contract is for five years and worth 5500 million US dollars, which means 1100 million a year.” Ma Xiaoxuan didn’t look at the contract; these numbers were already in his head.
Wang Xiucheng nodded, saying the price was reasonable.
Last year, Anta's contract with himself was 350 million.
"Just so you know, $1100 million a year is a pretty high shoe contract in the league. Klay Thompson, another Anta endorser, earns $800 million a year."
Ma Xiaoxuan continued, "Aside from a few lifetime contracts, the current shoe contracts in the league are either very expensive, such as the 5-year, $1 million contract that Jordan signed with Doncic, which is worth $2000 million per year."
"Or they have very long contracts, like Lillard, Westbrook, and Rose, which are all over 10 years and worth more than $1 million."
Ma Xiaoxuan's tone became more relaxed: "The five-year contract that Anta offered you is quite good in terms of both duration and price."
"But?" Wang Xiucheng knew Ma Xiaoxuan well; she rarely used words like "not bad" to give him advice.
"Hehe." Ma Xiaoxuan chuckled and smoothed her hair. "But there's an even more interesting contract coming up."