The best teammates in the NBA

Chapter 182 The Endorsement of Sports Drinks (8000 word chapter)
On the morning of October 10, Head Coach Brooks gave the Thunder a half-day off. The big victory at home made the whole team very satisfied. Although they will go to Detroit on the 28th, after a big victory, a simple rest is best rewards.

The surge in live broadcasts of the Thunder in the United States this season has also caused Durant and his agent Kleiman to fall into happiness troubles. During the offseason, they just signed a 10-year $3 million super contract with Nike. But there are also many additional clauses in this contract.

For example, the playing time in the new season, the scoring average in the new season, whether the All-Star can start in the new season, various honors in the new season, Nike activities in the offseason, and Nike training camp in the offseason.
After a series of terms were signed, Durant saw the thick requirements in the contract and felt that he had become a walking advertising machine.

"Can we ask Nike to change my 1st generation signature sneaker, I want to use a woven structure on the upper to make the sneaker more integrated, like Kayce's Flow sneaker, and some boring games, I don't want to be in the trash Time to play."

Ever since Durant saw Li Ze's signature sneakers, he began to think about lemons. After the opening game of the new season, he immediately called his agent home. Thinking of Nike's harsh contract, Durant felt a little bit depressed.

"Kevin, Nike needs to make money, and you also get 5% of the sales of each pair of shoes. You are now their biggest investment star. They have to get a return on you. Nike will control the cost of sneakers. They will use This is a market behavior with our own mature technology!"

"As for the playing time, you must fully abide by the requirements of the contract. I have already greeted the Thunder. Don't be willful. You want to have huge commercial value. Now you need the help of Nike."

Agent Kleiman can't hope that there will be any mistakes in this big contract. The highest commission standard for NBA agents is 4% of the player's contract value, but in terms of market sponsorship contracts, agent commissions are usually 10%~15%. Lehman took a 10% commission this time.

After hearing Kleiman's words, Durant sighed helplessly, and then asked:

"I remember an issue of "Sports Illustrated" that introduced LeBron James' investment and sponsorship portfolio. He has a sponsorship business close to 1.5 million US dollars. When will we reach this level?"

Kleiman, the agent, felt helpless when he heard Durant's inquiry, and then explained carefully:

"The Goodwin brothers do have energy. In the field of sports agents, this kind of sponsorship business is really amazing. Kevin, you should be patient and look at the brands James signed, Nike, Coca-Cola, Upper Deck, and recently Cadbury History Chewing gum from the Visa company."

"These brands will not consume his image excessively. We have to follow the same strategy. With the help of a large number of live broadcasts in the United States and Nike in the new season, your commercial value will also increase rapidly. You just need to maintain your own data. , try to increase the hit rate!"

Durant nodded in approval when he heard the previous words, but when he heard that the hit rate was maintained, he suddenly complained helplessly:
"Maintaining a shooting rate above 40% is already a very high level of competition. Not every player can easily approach the 180 club."

"You didn't come up with an idea after seeing Kayce's data, did you? Such a requirement is too high! The defensive pressure I face now is completely different."

"I just want you to make some mental preparations in advance. You know, the more live broadcasts in the United States, the more attention you receive. The media and football critics will amplify your behavior. It is also about 18 shots. Your hit rate Lower than Kayce, and I'm afraid you'll be criticized later."

"After all, you are the one who gets the most money in the Thunder team. Once your performance is not the best in the team, the media reporters will definitely not let it go. If you don't want to see these brainless accusations, Kevin, you You can only raise your demands on yourself!"

"."

Durant was speechless when he heard the words of his agent Kleiman. He was very concerned about what the outside world thought of him, but when he thought of the possibility of such a situation happening in the future, Durant wanted to directly pick up the keyboard and spray that person to death. Help the rubbish media who don't understand football at all.

At the same time, Li Ze also met Chapman, who was working crazily before. Big Machine Records released two albums on August 8 and October 10. Chapman has been busy since the beginning of the year, and now the album is on sale. Finally, you can rest for a while.

"Congratulations on another great success! This is much better than I expected, and it seems that independent record companies still have development!"

Li Ze poured a glass of juice for Chapman in front of him, and said with a smile.

"I don't know if this is a real success. Maybe it would be better for you and Taylor to sign with Sony Music or Universal Music, but from the perspective of making money, we did make a lot of money."

"Kayce, the company has received endorsement invitations from many beverage brands. Among them, PepsiCo is very sincere. They are the official sports drink sponsor of the NBA. Of course, Coca-Cola also has an endorsement contract. As you know, Sprite is the official soda drink of the NBA."

"Choose one of these two, and I can help you secure an endorsement contract worth at least 6 million yuan for at least six years. What do you think about this?"

Hearing Chapman's words, Li Ze pondered for a while, then shook his head with a smile, and said with a look like I saw through you:
"I know you are definitely not optimistic about these two endorsements. Tell me about your chicken soup story. What did you learn from the leader Steve Stott?"

"You can always guess my mind, you don't look like a 20-year-old at all!"

After Chapman took a sip of the juice, he continued to speak:
"In 2003, Cooles, headquartered in Queens, New York, produced a drink called Vitamin-Water. At that time, they had just been established for three years, and their development momentum was good. The annual sales should exceed 3 million US dollars."

"You might think it's a good score, but they're not as good as Pepsi, Coca-Cola's smallest beverage brand, but this company believes in influencer marketing, and they were working with the most popular young athlete in the New York area, the head of the New York Jets. David Wright made a deal."

"After Wright became the face of Vitamin-Water, they acquired a 0.5% stake in the brand of beverages, and then they signed a major sponsorship deal with 50 Cent."

"Speaking of this, I actually experienced it personally. I was responsible for the costumes and props of 50 Cent in the MV. Vitamin-Water was able to find 50 Cent because they saw that music MV."

"Three years later, Vitamin-Water launched 50 Cent's custom-flavored Formula, which also helped the company achieve huge sales growth. Finally, Coca-Cola acquired Vitamin-Water for more than $40 billion."

"And if 50 Cent sells his share agreement, his income is likely to be close to 1 million U.S. dollars. Kayce, if you are pursuing longer-term interests, I suggest you choose a start-up brand of sports drinks, not just simple Instead of acting as a spokesperson, get shares and participate in deeper cooperation."

After listening to Chapman's chicken soup story, Li Ze joked with a smile:
"You Amerika people like to tell stories about everything you do. Next time, just send me your alternative plan. I believe in your choice. You know, what I always pursue is long-term interests."

After teasing the other party, Li Ze took the document that Chapman handed him, and carefully browsed through various small brands of sports drinks. After seeing the brand BodyArmor, some future memories subconsciously appeared in Li Ze's mind. Then he opened his mouth and said:
"Just BodyArmor! Don't ask me why, sometimes my intuition is right, just like when we chose country music, I think this brand will grow in the future, invest in them, and strive to get 10% of the equity .”

Chapman didn't care either. He had learned about Li Ze's intuition for many years. The smooth development of Big Machine Records depended on Li Ze's intuition back then. When the contract was settled, Chapman also smiled. Gossip about Li Ze:
"How do you and Shakira get along? When you were at Sony Music, it was divided into several factions. In Spanish, Shakira has a great influence. If you also want to get the Spanish market, she can definitely A huge help, and I really don't have a better resource than her for that."

When Li Ze heard Chapman's gossip, he couldn't help curling his lips, and then said helplessly:
"Don't take me so utilitarianly? And we are just good friends, skateboarding, surfing, shopping, reading, studying, music, dancing, food, we just get along like this, it's not like what the media reported. Sun The newspapers are full of made-up news.”

"Continue to be your good friends! But don't think Shakira too naively, the other party is not that kind of ignorant third-rate singer, I will take care of the sports drink contract!"

"."

On October 10th, the Thunder team flew to Detroit. They will challenge the Pistons away. With the retirement of Ben Wallace, the former Pistons will soon become a thing of the past. The Pistons had a bad start this season. Lost to the Nets.

Li Ze naturally also paid attention to this game. After all, this is the first show of the new season of the UAE, and the result did not disappoint. 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 block, the performance was quite satisfactory. Interestingly, 13 points Six of those points came from three-pointers.

Fans of Tianchao are also very satisfied with the performance of the UAE. Although the style of play is not tough enough, most of them are iron-blooded jumpers, but the data is good. The fans are not too demanding. It's ok, as for the Nets winning or losing, the fans don't care at all.

Since getting on the plane, Durant has been staring at gossip magazines, which aroused everyone's curiosity. Jeff Green couldn't help asking:
"What's wrong Kevin? Why keep reading those boring gossip magazines, let's play Texas Hold'em!"

Durant responded casually without raising his head:
"Scarlett is about to become single again. Many reporters are reporting that she is currently separated, and she may be free before the end of the year!"

"Oh! God! You haven't forgotten that woman!"

Durant didn't care about everyone's exclamation, and then said;
"Maybe I should interact with her on Twitter first, get in touch with her in advance, and we'll date later!"

Li Ze suddenly thought that Durant, who signed two big contracts, should be regarded as a billionaire. After these two big contracts, he might be able to hook up with the other party. For Meidao's sake, Scarlett might really Maybe dating Durant.

Everyone in the Thunder team also thought of this, and looking at Durant again, they felt that the opponent exuded the color of a beautiful knife, and he was indeed a little handsome
Tonight's attendance at the Palace of Auburn Hills is mediocre, and the team's performance is poor. Many fans will not want to buy tickets to support them. After all, no one wants to see the home team lose. They are used to the frenzied home atmosphere in Oklahoma City. Slight discomfort.

Turtle was also a little bit uninterested. The Pistons fans should be lying flat. The audience didn't care about winning or losing the game. Everyone probably regarded tonight's game as a large-scale entertainment event.

After more than 1 minutes in the first quarter, the Pistons only scored 7 points. If you want to talk about the specific reason, it is definitely that Li Ze completely froze Richard Hamilton on the defensive end.

The opponent's running position without the ball can never get rid of Li Ze's pursuit. The bonus of [Off-the-Ball Running Killer] + [Marking Master] allows Li Ze to faintly predict the opponent's running position. Under such circumstances, Li Ze frantically defended against Hamilton after the opening.

Keen perception makes Li Ze feel like a fish in water on the court, and the addition of the [Defensive Core] badge also allows him to make full use of the team's defensive system.

Seeing that the team's big brother was dying, Ronnie Stuckey had no choice but to take up the banner of offense, but unfortunately, he didn't feel good after the start, which made the Pistons' offense even more constipated.

Austin Daye received a breakthrough from Ronid Stuckey at the basket. After a dribble, he held up and hit the inside line. Ye hook shot from the basket and knocked out of the basket.

After Kostic received the rebound and passed it to the Turtle, the Thunder launched a transition attack again. Everyone rushed across the half court in a rush. At this time, the Pistons' defense had not had time to match up, and they got an open opportunity outside the three-point line. Li Ze, after receiving the pass, directly shot a jumper.

"唰" converted a three-pointer and made a steady hit.

The Pistons fans at the scene didn't react too much. After the opening, everyone would exclaim a few times, but the Thunder's transition attack wave after wave, with a big point difference, no one cared about these issues.

In the first quarter, the Thunder team was defensive and switched offense. The Pistons stretched the outside line and was overwhelmed by the Thunder team's offense in less than half a quarter. Leading by 1 points.

During the break, everyone on the Thunder's bench looked relaxed. Daequan Cook looked at Coach Brooks eagerly. In the last game, he only got more than 8 minutes of game time. It was a downwind shot, and Cook also wanted to go up and perform.

It’s just that Sefolosha’s defense is crucial to the team. For the lineup in the second quarter, Coach Brooks still chooses to use Li Ze and Sefolosha to partner in the backcourt. Jeff Green, Ibaka, Collison Also rotated.

On the other side of the ocean, CCTV Sports also broadcast the match. Before the match, the host Yu Jia and the guest Zhang Weiping made various analysis. As a result, after the match started, their performances were completely different. At this time, the two were also a little embarrassed.

In the second quarter of the game, the Thunder took the lead in attacking. Just after halftime, Li Ze found that Jason Maxhill came directly to defend him. This is not a good defensive option.

Li Ze didn't need his teammates to pick and roll. Seeing the opponent coming over, outside the three-point line, the center of gravity of the body was lowered, the right hand quickly in and out, and then quickly changed direction with the left hand holding the ball to accelerate the breakthrough. Jason Maxhill Quickly slid backwards.

Just after dribbling past the three-point line, Li Ze suddenly dribbled the ball twice on the spot with his left hand very quickly, instantly changing the rhythm of the offense, then quickly dribbled behind his back, and stepped outside the three-point line to shoot a jumper.

"Shua" three-pointer hollow into the net.

"Hey! Got it! This is what we often call aggressive, which means playing aggressively!"

Li Ze only scored 1 points in the first quarter, and Director Zhang was not very active. When he saw a three-pointer, he immediately started blowing up again.

"Fuck you! Give it to Li Ze! If you want to throw it, throw it! It's really good, Sefoloza's performance is not bad."

"The Thunder are chasing after the ass, good shot! Li Ze is really good, Bangbang rushed in with two hits, easy layup!"

"Although the goal was missed, Li Ze had to play like this!"

"Haha, look at how powerful Li Ze is, no matter how he plays! The Pistons' defense is not good!"

The host Yu Jia is completely speechless at this time, good guy, Director Zhang has completely let go of himself, and he is blowing wildly at Li Ze, coupled with the Thunder's fast offensive rhythm, Yu Jia is completely unable to get in at this time talk.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Li Ze scored another 2 points in a personal wave, which established the victory for the Thunder. The coach of the Pistons, John Kuster, could only sigh helplessly in his heart. He had a hunch that at the end of this season, if his grades were not good, he would be dismissed from get out of class.

After the start of the second half, the Pistons failed to organize an effective counterattack, but the atmosphere in the arena was not bad. After all, the Thunder played really well. Coupled with various interactive activities, the audience enjoyed the game.
In the end, at 114:92, the Thunder team in the away game easily defeated their opponents and won two consecutive victories at the start of the game.

Li Ze played 40 minutes and scored 28 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, including 5 of 4 three-pointers, and generally did not sweat. Durant was forced to open during garbage time and scored 26 points. Guigui scored 22 points, and the trio contributed 70+ steadily.

"The Pistons are really failing. It feels like it will be difficult for them to make the playoffs this season. The Palace of Auburn Hills has lost the atmosphere of the past."

After the game, Guigui couldn't help but miss the former Pistons. The Bad Boys and the Pistons were gone.

When Li Ze heard Guigui's words, the future memory of the Thunder team suddenly appeared in his mind, and he sighed silently:

"The Pistons have been brilliant in the past and won a championship. As for the Thunder, they will not live as well as their opponents in the future."

On October 10, the Thunder will face the Utah Jazz at home. The Jazz lost to the Nuggets and the Suns at the beginning of the season.

The Jazz can be regarded as a big change this season. Two new aids Raja Bell and Al Jefferson have entered the starting list in this game, plus Deron Williams and Andre Kiev. Lilenko and Paul Millsap formed the starting lineup for this game.

The Thunder started with two consecutive victories, were in good shape, and had the blessing of the home court. After the opening, coach Sloan frowned on the sidelines.

Veteran Raja Bell can't limit Li Ze at all. The Raja Bell who used to follow the Suns to play a 7-second offense is no longer here, and the years have taken away the explosive power of this veteran
After more than three minutes in the first quarter, Li Ze began to signal his teammates to play more double-screen cross-cut tactics. Both Millsap and Jefferson are not very good at defending pick-and-rolls. After double-screening on both sides, once When they switched defenses in front of Li Ze, the two felt their scalps tingle.

Noticing that the Thunder were playing the same tactic again, Millsap bit the bullet and quickly switched to Li Ze in front of him. He noticed that the opponent was strictly guarding his left hand. breakthrough.

Millsap noticed that the center of gravity of Li Ze's body dropped rapidly, and he realized that something was wrong. Just as he was about to slide to defend, Li Ze stepped past him and directly killed the penalty area.

Al Jefferson, who ignored the help defense, just entered the paint area, took off with both feet, bent his body into a big bow, and made a powerful one-armed tomahawk dunk!

"哐" broke through and dunked successfully.

"what!!"

The audience at the Ford Center Arena began to cheer for Li Ze's dunk. The Oklahoma City fans found out that Li Ze would increase his own dunks as long as they played at home. This made the fans who paid for tickets very happy and made money !
The Jazz sent out the baseline ball quickly. After Deron Williams and Al Jefferson played a pick-and-roll, they immediately hit the ground and passed the ball to Jefferson who was running down. As soon as the latter received the ball, Li Ze's The help defense quickly rotated into place, and Jefferson hurriedly threw the ball to Raja Bell on the outside.

The latter catches the ball and makes a quick jump shot from beyond the three-point line.

"Shua" three-point hollow net.

The Thunder were not affected by the Jazz's offense at all, and continued the double-screen tactic. Durant failed to catch the ball on the right side of the three-point line, and the turtle immediately made a gesture, and then played a cross-cut tactic for Li Ze.

Through the double screen of the two elbows at the free throw line, Li Ze successfully caught the ball one step away from the left three-point line. Before Millsap could react when he switched defenses, Li Ze made a long-range three-point jumper.

"Shua" three-pointer hit steadily.

Millsap had only one thought in mind at this moment:
"Playing with you is really painful."

Gordon Hayward, who was on the Jazz's bench, watched Li Ze play at close range, and his scalp was a little numb. He was afraid that coach Sloan would suddenly let him play against Li Ze, but the good didn't work, the bad The spirit, the old coach Sloan suddenly greeted at this time:

"Gordon, get ready, replace Raja Bell. After entering the field, your task is to chase and defend Lee. When you encounter a screen, you have to squeeze through quickly and don't give the opponent an easy shot!"

".OK, Coach."

After the official timeout came back, Li Ze noticed that his opponent player had become a fair-skinned, blond-haired Hayward who looked weak. Feeling that the opponent was a little nervous, Li Ze joked with a smile:
"Relax, buddy, I'm also a rookie, we can simply compare our skills!"

"."

Hayward didn't speak, but still stared at Li Ze. Seeing that Li Ze used Kostic's cover to suddenly start and quickly ejected, Hayward quickly followed.

When Li Ze received the ball from outside the left three-point line, he noticed that Hayward's defense was very close. After shaking his body, he suddenly lowered his center of gravity, exerted force on his feet, and crossed the ball with his left hand to break through.

This kick was fast and fierce. When Hayward slid back to defend, Li Ze staggered directly with his shoulder. Before he could make a foul, Li Ze took off with both feet again after two strong dribbles. , a one-arm dunk with the left hand!

"哐" broke through and dunked successfully.

"Oww!!"

The fans in Oklahoma City screamed excitedly. They saw such a passionate dunk after the opening game. It was so cool to watch this game!
"Oh! Look at Hayward's helpless expression. He must have forgotten the coach's explanation before the game. Kayce successfully taught a lesson to rookies! Rookie! Welcome to the NBA!"

The sideline home commentator Twain didn't care about that, and directly mocked Hayward.

Fortunately, in the rest of the first quarter, Li Ze did not attack frequently, but actively ran to cover, opening up the offensive space for Turtle and Durant. At the same time, he also successfully fed Kostic and Jay Jeff Green eats pie.

Hayward also breathed a sigh of relief during the intermission. As a young player, what he fears most is being blown up by his opponent on the defensive end. Rookies must start with defense. If they perform well on the defensive end No, coach Sloan won't give him too much playing time.

It's just that after the start of the second quarter, Hayward felt like he had fallen into a nightmare. The Thunder attacked. After halftime, Li Ze quickly handed the ball to Sefoloza, and then directly started to back up at the waist. Ask for the ball.

Hayward put his forearm on Li Ze subconsciously. Before he could feel the attacking movement, Li Ze slammed his back twice, and before he could react, Li Ze quickly fused the ball and made a fallback jumper. .
"唰" made a steady hit in the middle distance.

The Oklahoma City fans in the front row saw Hayward standing there in a daze, and they all started laughing and mocking the rookie rookie.

"Get out of here kid! You're not ready! Kayce will literally destroy you!"

When the Jazz attacked, Hayward began to feel Li Ze's defensive aggression again. He didn't dare to change direction in front of Li Ze. He had a faint feeling that as long as he exposed the ball, he would lose it. possession of the ball.

The Jazz circled around on the perimeter, and finally CJ-Myers hit a jumper from outside the three-point line. Collison received the rebound and immediately passed the ball to Li Ze. The Thunder quickly launched a conversion attack. The audience at the Ford Center Also began to cheer for the home team loudly:

"OKC! OKC! OKC!"

Just after halftime, the Thunder passed the ball quickly on the outside. Jeff Green failed to get an open three-pointer, and the ball returned to Li Ze's hands again. Baka's movements subconsciously defend Li Ze.

But when Hayward moved under his feet, Li Ze quickly in and out with his right hand, pretending to break through on the right side, and then made a sharp change in front of his body, holding the ball in his left hand to accelerate the breakthrough, and Hayward's defense was instantly broken.

Seeing Andrei Kirilenko retreat to help defend, Li Ze flicked his left wrist while he was on the move, hit the ground and passed the ball to Ibaka who was running down, who caught the ball and dunked easily with both hands!

"Roar!!"

Ibaka yelled after the dunk, and the Oklahoma City fans also yelled happily. The point difference has reached 10 points, and the double-digit lead made the fans realize that victory is already waving to them.

In the next game, the Jazz's defense could not restrain the Thunder's offense at all. When the main players fought again in the third quarter, Durant scored two consecutive three-pointers and completely opened the score.

And Mengxin Hayward was sitting on the bench at this time, without saying a word, with a downcast expression. He was still thinking about luck. Everyone was a rookie player. .

Thinking that he was still a few months older than Li Ze, Hayward became autistic.
94:110, the Thunder easily defeated the Jazz at home.

After being defeated by the opponent's perimeter with a three-pointer for two consecutive games, Deron Williams looked very ugly. He thought there was a problem with the team's tactics.

Old coach Sloan naturally saw the dissatisfaction in Deron's heart, but the old man didn't particularly care about it. It's just a loss, it's no big deal.

Li Ze scored 24 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 turnover and 1 steal in this game. After the Jazz lost Boozer, their tactics are still being adjusted. It can be seen that the opponent played very awkwardly in this game. Andre Ki Lilenko is not suitable to play the 3rd position.

After the game, he noticed that the rookie Hayward was in a low mood, and Li Ze immediately stepped forward to comfort him:
"Man! Don't care about the outcome of the game. The most important thing for a rookie is to learn to grow in the game, and losing is the best nourishment!"

Hayward was even more depressed when he heard Li Ze's words. The Thunder won last season, but you told me that losing is nourishment?Squeezing out a smile abruptly, reluctantly said:
"I feel better. I'll keep trying!"

Li Ze patted the other party's shoulder, and said with a sigh:
"Actually, I also want to lose more games and find my own shortcomings, but... hey... let's work hard together!"

"."

Back in the locker room, everyone in the Thunder team was beaming with joy. The new season has won three consecutive victories. It’s a wonderful start. Coach Brooks is also in a good mood. However, thinking of the consecutive back-to-back away games the day after tomorrow, he still reminded:

"Go back tonight and have a good rest. The day after tomorrow we will fly to Los Angeles, and then we have to go to Portland. It is the first back-to-back away game this season. Everyone needs to adjust their physical condition."

Li Ze also realized at this time that the day after tomorrow is the game against the Clippers, and he didn't see his superficial brother Griffin during the offseason, and he doesn't know how this guy is recovering, feeling the future that suddenly appeared in his mind Memory, with a strange look on his face, silently complained in his heart:

"Isn't this guy already dating Jenna? Beast, he can handle A's underage."

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(End of this chapter)