Chapter 217 Trading Flounder

Latest website: Stern put down the phone, leaned back in his chair, thought for a moment, picked up the phone again, and made a call.

"Hello, I'm Philip Knight."

"Hello, Mr. Knight, I'm Stern."

At Nike headquarters, in the president's office, Knight's heart sank when he heard it was Stern calling.

To receive a call from the league so soon, and from Stern himself, was not the reaction he expected.

What he expected was that the league would pay no attention to the matter, and at most, ordinary staff would contact him.

But on the contrary, the reaction he was waiting for was the last thing he wanted to see.

It can be seen that their behavior has definitely touched Stern's bottom line.

"I understand, Mr. Stern."

Knight said with a wry smile without Stern across from him saying a word.

"Mr. Knight, you can use your influence appropriately, but do not touch the bottom line. This alliance belongs to us."

After saying this, Stern hung up the phone.

Sponsorships from Nike and Adidas are very important, but there are more than just Nike and Adidas in the world, there are many sports brands. Without the support of the league, companies like Nike and Adidas will also be unable to survive in the North American basketball market.

In fact, in his opinion, these sponsors are not even as important as those media.

The media is now the most important force in promoting the alliance, and it is also the force he is least willing to offend now.

Even when the media attacked Jordan a few years ago, he couldn't defend it, and it was also for this reason.

After putting down the phone, Philip Knight began to think about how to continue this matter.

The Knicks must not be moved, but they cannot weaken the Knicks, but they can continue to strengthen other teams. This is feasible.

In addition, in terms of the media, the United States can make small moves, but cannot make big moves, and cannot wantonly smear, suppress and attack Zhao Dong, otherwise Stern's call will definitely come again.

However, China's media can be used.

As time enters the end of January, All-Star voting has entered its hottest stage, and the deadline is approaching.

In the West, at the center position, O'Neal is in the lead, followed by David Robinson. Both of them have exceeded 500,000 votes, and the third-place Dream only has more than 300,000 votes.

For the forward position, Karl Malone and Kevin Garnett are the top two, both with close to 500,000 votes, followed by Barkley and Duncan, both with more than 400,000 votes. They are not far apart and have a good chance of surpassing the top two.

For the guard position, Gary Payton is first, with more than 500,000 votes, followed by Kobe Bryant, who is close to 400,000, which is a bit far behind, followed by Stockton and Marbury, both over 300,000.

In the East, at the center position, Otombo is first, followed by Mourning and super center Ewing third.

For the forward position, with the league's increased promotion of Zhao Dong, his vote count has surged to nearly one million, with Grant Hill in second place at over 800,000, followed by Rainman Kemp and Pippen. Not even close.

For the guard position, Jordan's votes reached one million, tens of thousands more than Zhao Dong, which shows that his influence is still extremely powerful.

The second is Anfernee Hardaway, who just broke 500,000, followed by Tim Hardaway and Iverson, both in their early 300,000.

"Damn it, the postman is actually number one."

That night, after checking the All-Star voting status again, Zhao Dong was a little unhappy to see that Karl Malone was still the number one forward in the Western Conference.

He was not surprised by Karl Malone's vote. In the United States, the most cruel and barbaric NFL is the most popular sport. From this point of view, we know that Americans do not reject the postman's way of playing, but think that it is It's a kind of toughness.

Plus, Grant Hill was really influential, getting 800,000 votes.

With a good background, talent and skills are not lacking. If injuries hadn't ruined him, Zhao Dong felt that as long as Hill was lucky, it was really possible to catch up with Jordan.

This year's All-Star event happens to be held in New York, and his wedding is also scheduled during that time, and it's almost ready now.

There are many things going on. In addition to getting married, the release of Silver Devil is also going on at the same time. He has shot a lot of commercials during this time.

In addition to his own advertisements, he has also filmed many advertisements for the league. These advertisements have been promoted to the world, and his influence is rapidly expanding.

But what makes him unhappy is that the domestic media has been going crazy to criticize him recently, and there is simply no bottom line.

In fact, there wasn't much black material about him after he entered the league, not about picking up girls, that was all in the past, but the media caught him fighting and described him as a violent person.

"Mr. Wang, Somelang, Somehu, and Penguin. These three Internet companies are the main venture capital targets this year. I am optimistic about their founders."

He contacted Wang Xin, general manager of Julong Venture Capital.

"Okay, boss, I will collect information on these three companies right away." Wang Xin said.

Now that he has nothing to do with the domestic media, he will start with the Internet. As long as China enters the era of online media, these media will have nothing to do with him.

At the end of the month, Zhao Dong and Lindsay's villa was also renovated and they just moved there.

On the evening of the 27th, the five members of Zhao Dong's family, plus Lindsay, invited Doris and his wife who were still in New York, and the eight of them had a New Year's dinner.

The only thing missing is Zhao Dong's father, Zhao Zhenguo, because Zhao Dong will get married in a few days and will not come over this New Year. He plans to come back in a few days.

That night, the Knicks challenged the Spurs on the road.

In this game, Tim Duncan's performance was qualitatively different from the performance of the two teams in the first regular season. He scored 31 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 blocks.

The Knicks without Zhao Dong were defeated, and the two teams tied in the regular season.

After defeating the Spurs, the Knicks, who were missing Zhao Dong, rushed to Los Angeles overnight to challenge the Lakers back-to-back, eventually losing their first two-game losing streak this season.

Back in the East, the Knicks challenged the Digital Team away from home. Zhao Dong rushed over and helped the team win a victory, ending their losing streak.

In these three games at the end of January, they lost two and won one.

The three teams all have future superstars, Duncan, Iverson, and Kobe. The performance of these three people in these three games surprised Zhao Dong a little.

"It seems that they are a little stronger than they should be?"

Zhao Dong returned to New York and asked Thibodeau at the headquarters to check the data of the three people this season, which proved his guess.

"Feilong, why are you checking the data of the three of them?" Thibodeau asked.

"They are very strong or have great potential. Iverson and Kobe have made great progress this season." Zhao Dongdao.

"Kobe?"

Thibodeau did not mention Duncan and Iverson, but said: "That kid from the Lakers is not very good, is he? His All-Star voting this year was entirely due to the Lakers' hard recommendation, and he was pushed to the second position. In fact, he is not even qualified to be an All-Star starter. standard."

"No, I'm talking about his potential." Zhao Dong said.

"Does it have great potential? Do you want to find a way to trade it?" Thibodeau joked.

Zhao Dong smiled and said: "We have no bargaining chips on the outside, but they have big sharks on the inside. They don't need our people. What do you want to trade for?"

Nodding, Thibodeau did not mention it again, but said: "I don't know about Duncan, but I know a little about Iverson and Kobe."

"Oh, tell me."

"There are reports in the media that these two have been training extra during the offseason."

"What?"

Zhao Dong was so surprised that his jaw almost dropped. He couldn't believe it was true.

Of course, what surprised him was not Kobe. It was normal for Kobe to practice extra. What surprised him was Iverson.

Maybe it’s fake news from the media? Iverson's avoidance training is still about the same, how can he train for a few more months?

"The same goes for Jordan. I heard that he only rested for half a month during the offseason and then continued training. I even think that during the regular season, he has been accumulating energy. In the playoffs, you must be careful." Du reminded.

"I know."

Zhao Dong nodded.

Jordan was very strict with his teammates, and often had disagreements with them.

But he is not strict with himself, but harsh.

A person who has the courage to be harsh on himself must be a very scary person, Zhao Dong knows this very well.

At the end of the month, Zhao Dong still ranked first in the league's official MVP rankings.

However, the league gave this month's Player of the Month to Jordan.

There is no way, Zhao Dong has won it twice in a row, and the alliance does not want to give it to him, even if his data is still invincible.

With 31 wins and 12 losses, for three consecutive months, the Knicks' record still ranks first in the league, which surprised the media.

However, compared with the Lakers, the Knicks only have half a game more wins, only one and a half more wins than the Jazz, and only two more wins than the Spurs. Therefore, the strength of the several teams is not very different.

Zhao Dong does not think that the Knicks will surely win against these teams. Ben has not grown up yet. Once they enter the fierce playoffs, his performance will be a time bomb for the Knicks.

At the same time, Danny Fortson is the same, he is also a time bomb. If he cannot control his fouls and emotions in the playoffs, the impact will be huge.

At the same time, John Starks' performance is also very unstable, and Nelson has been given the starting job during this period.

With Charlie Ward entering the starting lineup, the scoring ability of the starting lineup has also declined.

Oakley is getting older, his scoring ability has further declined, and his mobility has declined, resulting in a somewhat smaller defensive area. Fortunately, he can still average 8.5 rebounds per game.

In addition, Alan Houston also seems to be a smart knife. Sometimes he is very accurate, sometimes he shoots wildly, and his scoring lacks stability.

He's not praising himself. If it weren't for his near-triple-double performance this season and his versatility on offense and defense, the Knicks' record would have been difficult to enter the playoffs.

What's more, behind these teams, there is a Bulls team hidden.

The Bulls' unparalleled glory during the dynasty seems to have disappeared, but Zhao Dong will not ignore it. The strongest opponent this season is still Jordan's Bulls.

The time has entered February, and his wedding is only a few days away. The entire villa has been decorated by the wedding company, all arranged by Mrs. Dorisa.

This wedding will be held in the United States. If it is in China, it will be held again after the season ends.

On the morning of the 1st, Grant called him and asked him for his opinion on trading Camby.

"Feilong, I wanted to trade a star insider or point guard, but it failed. Even if the team agreed, some stars rejected us. I think this is Nike and Adidas who are doing something wrong." Grant said angrily.

"What are your plans now?" Zhao Dong asked.

"There are only two good pitchers who are expected to be traded..."

Grant mentioned two names, and Zhao Dong shook his head when he heard it and said: "Both of these two people's shooting is unstable. Instead of trading them, it would be better for us to accumulate one of this year's lottery picks."

This year is said to be a small year for the draft, but Zhao Dong knows that this is actually a big year.

White Chocolate Jason Williams, Larry Hughes, Al Harrington, Mike Bibby, Rashard Lewis, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, Nowitzki, that's all in the future A famous star.

In addition to these people, there are also some good stars, such as Bunchy Wells, Morris, and streetball king Alston.

In addition, there is another undrafted player in this class, Brad Miller, an All-Star center.

In particular, among these rookies, there are several guys who are expected to join the Hall of Fame in the future, such as Nowitzki, Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, etc.

If 1996 is the golden generation, then this year seems to be no worse than the 1996 generation.

In particular, some of these rookies who will be able to play in the future have been signed by Feilong Sports Goods Company and are considered his people.

For example, Vince Carter, the most popular player in the future, the demigod who supported the league's ratings after Jordan retired, has been taken under his wing.

The contracts signed by others were all second-rate, because after they were released, their attention was average. Including veteran players and Paul Pierce, their influence was actually limited and they could not sell many shoes.

Only Vince Carter and Zhao Dong directly asked the company to give them the first-class signature sneaker contract.

Not counting himself, this is also the first signature sneaker contract of the Silver Devils generation.

But precisely because of this, he was not very good at recommending it and could only speak vaguely.

"Lottery pick?"

Grant was startled.

This year's draft is not favored by anyone. It is a small year and there are not many people. However, there should be some potential in the Lexiu area, and it is not bad to get a pick.

"But Feilong, aren't we going to recruit someone? The trading window closes on the 16th, so we don't have time." He added.

"Otherwise, you trade Kobe Bryant from the Lakers or Tracy McGrady from the Heat. They are both substitutes now and should have a chance."

Zhao Dong joked with a smile.

He doesn't care much about the lineup. If he brings a bunch of future strong men over and waits for them to grow up, isn't this going to take away his ball rights and shots? Just get some good role players.

"Kobe shouldn't have a chance. He was traded by Jerry West for Divac. It's impossible to trade him. But McGrady doesn't have a chance in the Heat. Let me ask."

Grant laughed.

The reason why he asked Zhao Dong was because he had no choice. Now the Knicks are being targeted by Nike and Adidas. They can't trade stars and can only trade ordinary players. However, Hu Weidong brought in by Zhao Dong is okay, and Ben has entered the starting lineup. , so it is the same this time. I hope Zhao Dong can provide him with a good choice.

"Camby for Tracy McGrady?"

Pat Riley frowned when he received Grant's call.

He could see McGrady's potential, but now the team has no chance for McGrady. He caught McGrady in his hands and was selling it at a price.

But Camby, he doesn't like it, is too fragile and does not meet his requirements for an inside line.

His requirements for the inside line are the same as those of Oakley and Mourning: tough, iron-blooded, and durable.

And Canby, the glass man who could be hurt at the slightest touch, didn't even want to take a look.

After being rejected again, Grant had to reconsider his decision.

The trading window was about to close in just ten days, and he was a little anxious.

At this time, a team took the initiative to contact him, and it was the Raptors.

"You want Camby and Toni Kukoc to change alone, are you kidding me?" He almost cursed.

They traded Ewing and the Raptors for Camby, and now the Raptors want to trade Toni Kukoc for Camby. It's such a good plan that he's going to be pissed off.

"Exchange for Ron Harper + Toni Kukoc." He opened a chip.

"Let me think about it." The Raptors did not refuse directly.

Grant did not wait for the Raptors and immediately contacted the Celtics.

He took a fancy to the Celtics' main point guard, last year's No. 3 overall pick Chauncey Billups.

Billups' scoring ability is average, and his scoring efficiency is not high. His shooting is not accurate, and his three-pointers are average. However, what he needs is Billups' passing, and Billups' speed is not bad.

He also knows that the Celtics don't value Billups too much, because Billups has not shown the value and potential of the third pick. Now the Celtics have found a new point guard and have transferred the third pick to It's on the shelves and is being sold.

"Camby just changed Billups? Yes."

Upon hearing this, the Celtics general manager readily agreed, so fast that Grant felt that he had been fooled. Could Billups have been seriously injured?

The Celtics and Knicks are rivals in the same district. If they are cheated, it will be over.

In fact, he doesn't need to worry, the Celtics just lack a center.

The current center of the Celtics is McCarty, the first-round pick of 1996 whom the Knicks traded, which is a step down from Camby. The strength and potential of the role players can be replaced by Billups, who they don't want. Bi, you can't ask for it.

Soon, the deal was reached, with a No. 2 pick and a No. 3 pick with similar contracts. In exchange, the Celtics paid hundreds of thousands in cash.

On the night of the 1st, the Knicks lost to the Heat at home.

Ben failed to guard Mourning and was beaten.

Now when facing these top insiders, his strength still seems too immature.

Danny Fordson failed to control his foul well and sat on the bench early.

These are two important reasons for losing. The inside line collapsed.

"Feilong, do you think Fordson can practice it?" Nelson asked Zhao Dong on the way to the press conference hall after the game.

"I think it's ok, just one more season. He's got his technical fouls under control now, but he still can't control his habitual movements when grabbing rebounds."

Zhao Dong thought for a moment and then said.

"Then you need to play in the low post in the playoffs." Nelson said.

"Of course." Zhao Dong nodded.

You can hone in the regular season, but in the playoffs, you definitely can't hone the newcomers. Ben and Fordson's time in the playoffs will be reduced, or even return to the bench.