Chapter 1338 Knicks Collapse

"Who united them behind the scenes and promoted public opinion?" After careful consideration, Stern settled on Nike.

Only Nike has this power. With so many teams and players in the league, only Nike has the motivation.

This was naked sex, which made him very angry.

However, he also feels a lot of pressure, because if two-thirds of the league's teams really support Nike, then he can't stop it.

"Kobe, are you really not going to express your opinion?" Pelinka asked at Kobe's home.

He came here specifically, and Nike has urged him. Nike hopes that Kobe will stand up and force the league to surrender, but Kobe has been refusing, which puts him in a dilemma.

"I have already said that I am not a pawn of Nike. If they continue to do this, then I will consider ending the cooperation with them after the contract is completed."

Kobe said firmly.

Pelinka thought for a moment and asked, "Are the Hammers' interests huge?"

Kobe glanced at Pelinka and said, "That's just one aspect. I'm a friend of the Hammers. Now that Nike is clearly targeting him, there's no way I can stand up."

That being said, in fact, Kobe is also very clear that his interests in the Hammers are indeed very large, whether it is the senbei restaurant or the wine business, the total sum even exceeds the contract given to him by Nike.

In fact, the contract given to him by Nike is not big, far less than the Hammer's contract with Adidas, and even James' contract is much worse, so he values ​​the business with the Hammer more.

Especially in the wine business, Senbei Wine Company’s import customers in China now account for 80% of the U.S.’s exports of Chinese wine, and Senbei’s voice in the U.S. wine industry is getting more and more important.

And this is an area that Nike's influence cannot reach at all. In other words, no matter how Nike deals with the Hammer, it can't hurt the Hammer. What reason does he have to abandon the Hammer?

Likewise, James has spoken to his agent twice about the matter because Nike also wants him to come forward.

But like Kobe, James rejected Nike's request.

On May 3, the Knicks, who were in such chaos in the locker room that they had already collapsed, failed in the tiebreaker. The Celtics completed the Black Seven and shocked the league.

"This is such a shame and they are so disappointing!"

As soon as the game ended, the angry Knicks owner Dolan publicly announced in front of the media that the team would enter a rebuild and all players would be put on the shelf, including Anthony.

Li Ba was in front of the TV, quietly enjoying the Knicks' collapse. When he saw Da Zhi, who was a little confused in the crowd, he quickly picked up his cell phone and called Gao Yuanyuan.

"Is something wrong?"

It was noon in China, Gao Yuanyuan was eating lunch and asked briefly.

"Did you watch the Knicks game?"

"without."

"That's it. The Knicks have been hacked by the Celtics. If they need to rebuild, they will definitely have to be traded. It's up to you."

"Been hacked? Oops, the Knicks paid nearly 100 million in luxury tax per season. How pitiful!" Gao Yuanyuan said with a smile.

"I'm talking about something big."

"Okay, I got it. I'll ask someone to find a home for him. But he only has a one-year contract. I want to ask his opinion first if he still wants to stay in the NBA."

"Okay, you handle it."

"Tugao, public opinion is not good for you recently. I think there is someone behind the scenes. What do you think?"

"It's nothing, it's expected. A bunch of losers just want to use the rules to restrict me."

"What are you going to do?"

"It depends on the situation. If there are not many restrictions, just play with them. If the restrictions are severe, just let them play by themselves. I have no interest in staying here to boost ratings for them. A bunch of bastards, I Help them make money while they play tricks on me behind my back.”

"Don't you want to prove yourself in small ball?"

"Do I still need to prove myself?"

"Well, it seems that it's not necessary."

"Let me tell you, Yuanyuan, I really don't have the interest to prove anything. My original intention of coming to the United States to play is to make money. I'm not a paranoid like Kobe."

"Okay, I understand."

The two chatted for a few more words and then ended the call.

At this time, at the Nike headquarters in New York, President Philip Knight was seriously considering the problem.

His plan was successful. Through the voices of a large number of his players, he contacted two-thirds of the league's teams, and through the encouragement of countless media, he has put huge pressure on Stern.

He believed that Stern could not withstand this pressure. As long as Stern could not withstand it, it would be imperative for the league to modify the rules. Once the defense was restricted, it would tie Li Ba's hands and feet. At that time, the players supported by Nike And the team can take advantage of the momentum.

But now there is a problem, the ball market problem.

Li Ba retired twice, causing the ratings in these two seasons to drop by more than half. This kind of terrifying influence is something he needs to consider.

Once the rules are modified and Li Ba leaves the league, countless fans will definitely leave, which will inevitably affect the sales of Nike shoes and lead to a sharp drop in revenue. This is something he absolutely does not want to see.

Therefore, he wanted to suppress Li Ba, but he also did not want Li Ba to leave the league. He hoped that Li Ba would stay in the league and play, stabilize the ball market, and earn huge profits for Nike.

But how to let Li Ba stay is a difficult problem and one that is beyond his control.

He felt a headache and frowned when he saw things he couldn't control.

This time, in order to unite two-thirds of the teams to force the league, Nike paid a huge price and spent a large amount of sponsorship fees. If the problem cannot be completely solved, Nike will suffer a huge loss.

In the end, he decided to work together and bring up this difficult problem at the company's meeting.

"Mr. President, I have a way that may solve this problem." At this time, someone stood up and said.

Philip Knight looked and saw that it was Rocklin, the vice president of North American sales, a Chinese American.

"Lin, I hope to hear a good idea." He said indifferently.

Facing Philip Knight, Rocklin was a little nervous.

He graduated from Tsinghua University and got a master's degree from Stanford Business School. Then after ten years of hard work, he worked hard to his current position and successfully immigrated to the United States and became a real American. It is said that his life is very successful and he should be very confident. Why is he nervous in front of Philip Knight?

The reason is simple. Even though he has the current status, he still feels discrimination against him everywhere. As an elite, he is still at the bottom of the discrimination chain like ordinary Chinese. He needs to work harder and succeed to get some recognition.

Just like what Philip Knight said just now, if it was someone else, even a black person, Philip Knight's attitude would be much better, but what he felt from the president was a kind of disregard, without any recognition.