Chapter 92: Agent Team

How fearful Popovich was, how panicked Boston was, and how angry Miami was, that was how excited the Los Angeles Lakers fans were.

Tonight, all Lakers fans in the world were happy, and they strongly realized: Los Angeles's successor had risen.

The fans confirmed this first.

Then it was the Lakers' executives.

When Jim Buss finished watching this game, he had a feeling of being proud and elated. All along, he had been the stupid younger brother of the Buss family. His sister Jeanie Buss, and his eldest brother... were all far more outstanding than him. He had never done anything that made the family feel invigorated.

But now, he could pat his chest and say very proudly: I brought Jack Fan to Los Angeles.

In any NBA team, players are the greatest wealth.

Jim Buss excitedly said to Kupchak: "With Jack Fan, we have an outside cornerstone for the next ten years. God is really too good to Los Angeles; he knew Kobe was gradually getting old and quickly arranged Jack for us."

Kupchak couldn't help but be excited.

He said to Jim Buss: "You are truly the wisest and most discerning boss I have ever seen. You have inherited the precise vision that Buss Sr. has always had, and you are generous to people, very much in the style of Buss Sr."

Kupchak flattered Jim Buss. Jim Buss was the youngest son of Buss Sr. As his eldest brother inherited other sports businesses of the Buss family, he and his sister Jeanie were competing for control of the Lakers club... Before, Jim had no advantage, but now with Fan Xi's rise, he had his own trump card.

Therefore, Kupchak's words were very useful to him.

Then, he hurriedly said: "I think you can discuss the next contract with Jack. We must keep him in Los Angeles forever."

Kupchak said: "It's still early. However, now if we renew his contract, we might have to adapt to the Rose Rule."

Rose Rule?

Fan Xi frowned at the post-game press conference.

The ESPN reporter below asked him if he intended to renew his contract with the Lakers in advance, and asked if he would use the Rose Rule as the standard for renewal.

The "Rose Rule" was the focus of media debate recently.

Because the new collective bargaining agreement was being fiercely discussed, and the NBA was very likely to stop playing after this season ended.

The important reason was that players felt they were being exploited. As the revenue of NBA teams became higher and higher, players hoped to further improve their treatment.

But at the same time, they expressed dissatisfaction with Fan Xi's contract of more than 20 million US dollars for two years, which jumped out of the scope of the rookie contract.

But on the other hand, the labor side also believed that the capital side exploited the superstars of the new generation.

Therefore, many people proposed to set up a Rose Rule.

The preliminary content refers to that if a rookie player is elected MVP during the rookie contract period, or has been selected for the All-Star Game as a starter twice in the All-Star voting, or has been selected for the All-NBA team twice, he is eligible to get a super max contract.

Calculated with the current salary cap of 58 million US dollars, before this, the highest max contract a rookie player could get was a 14.5 million dollar big contract; however, if the Rose Rule was met, he could get a big contract with a starting salary of 17.4 million dollars.

According to current regulations, to get a starting salary of 17.4 million dollars, it must be the second super max renewal.

It seems like Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, etc., all got such contracts when they renewed their second max contract. As for the Miami Big Three, their starting salary was only 16 million-plus, because they each gave up a part in order to play on the same team.

Fan Xi frowned and said: "I don't know much about these things, I just try hard to play. I hope to repay the Lakers' trust in me with outstanding results. I have already received an unprecedented rookie contract."

Fan Xi showed strong sincerity and gratitude.

This is what NBA bosses like the most.

Many players like to bargain in negotiations, and even say "insatiable" remarks in the media. For example, Sprewell, who once sneered at the 38 million contract handed over by the Timberwolves, claiming it wasn't enough to support his family, and Bonzi Wells also refused a 10 million annual salary... However, these players never got such a high contract again.

"Jack, before the All-Star Game started, we learned that you signed an unprecedented sponsorship contract with Nike, which makes you the only player among active players to have equity dividends. Are you worried that other players will be jealous of you because of this?" The reporter asked Fan Xi.

Fan Xi smiled and said: "I'm not worried. I think everyone should be happy that NBA players have more possibilities in commercial cooperation. I am just a pioneer, and there will definitely be more and more such contracts in the future."

Fan Xi didn't want to treat himself as a target of public criticism; instead, he said he was a pioneer, the first person to taste crabs for the players.

This is what Fan Xi's mother often taught him: You must be "altruistic" when you speak, but your inner thinking must be "self-interested."

Only in this way can you be like a fish in water in social interaction.

Sure enough, no reporter asked this question with ill intentions again.

The media asked some basketball-related questions again.

Fan Xi answered them one by one.

Just as it was about to end, a reporter from the *Los Angeles Times* asked a very special question: "Jack, you have now won the All-Star Game MVP and received unprecedented commercial sponsorship. Everything is proving that you are rapidly becoming a basketball superstar. Your status on the Lakers team is also rising step by step. However, have you ever thought... how to get along with Andrew Bynum next?"

"All along, Bynum has been cultivated as the team's future core. However, in the past two months, you have become the future core recognized by fans and the coaching staff. Will you have conflicts because of this? We are very worried that the OK combination thing will happen again."

This reporter expressed his worry.

Although it was a bit inappropriate.

Fan Xi smiled and resolved it invisibly with a gentle tone: "My tactical task is to pass the ball to the team's elite players. I think... Andrew will definitely be very happy to have a strong assistant at the number 1 position."

Fan Xi left the press conference scene.

All the way, people were loudly congratulating him on winning the MVP. Tonight, Fan Xi was the most shining person in Staples Center.

And in the more distant country, Fan Xi had become the greatest player in the history of Chinese basketball. Many people had a good mood for a day because of his performance, and were greatly inspired.

Fan Xi didn't know that his influence was so astonishing at this time.

He took a special car back to a nearby hotel.

On the way, the car radio broadcasted the miracle Fan Xi created in this All-Star Game with an excited voice.

Fan Xi closed his eyes, he recalled the experience of these three days, it was indeed very dreamlike.

Won honors, earned bonuses, and gained friendship. The Ferrari from Kobe and the watch from Durant were heavy gifts.

Most importantly, his strength was further enhanced. He successively obtained Isiah Thomas's breakthrough and low center of gravity, and Scottie Pippen's low-post layup.

But at this moment, calming down, he closed his eyes.

What he thought of was Scarlett's figure.

Scarlett was worthy of being Durant's goddess. Durant, as an NBA superstar, was even willing to drink Scarlett's bathwater, which showed how beautiful and sexy Scarlett was.

And this sexy and beautiful Hollywood A-list female star actually pulled him into that massage room during halftime, and then...

Fan Xi thought of that scene, and his heart would still beat fast now.

This was an experience he had never had in his life.

He even had an absurd feeling at the time: Was I... defiled by her?

But in the end, he didn't welcome that sentence from Scarlett: "I will be responsible for you."

Americans are not willing to say these things.

They seem to be more inclined to enjoy the moment.

Soon, Fan Xi arrived at the hotel where he was staying.

He entered the hotel, took a shower, and then fell into a deep sleep.

Before going to sleep, he checked his phone. Mom sent a text message saying she had found a professional agent team for him and would meet him tomorrow.

The Lakers' team leader also sent him the schedule for next week.

Looking at the familiar itinerary, Fan Xi realized that the All-Star Game had passed.

Fan Xi slept until 10 o'clock the next morning.

When he turned on the TV, every channel on the TV was reporting his All-Star legendary journey. After all, there had never been a star in NBA history who won awards for three consecutive days.

Every channel was praising Fan Xi's achievements.

When Fan Xi switched to ESPN, he saw Michael Jordan's figure.

Michael Jordan was also talking about himself.

Since Jordan retired, his life had become more and more comfortable, and he was more and more willing to discuss the young kids.

Usually, he would give praise.

He lacked the ferocity and vengefulness he displayed during games.

However, when he talked about Fan Xi's shoe contract, he said: "... This is very unfair. For LeBron, for Kobe, for Durant... for these superstars, they must convince themselves to accept a rookie getting better conditions than themselves. Nike didn't consider this matter carefully."

"I'm not targeting Jack. I know his parents were running a shoe foundry before. But so what? Nike broke the rules."

The God of Basketball said from a commercial perspective that Nike had set a bad precedent.

Then Reggie Miller, sitting in the commentary booth, smiled wickedly: "Michael just doesn't want others to get the same treatment as him. When he got 4.5% of Nike's shares back then, he didn't say it was unfair."

Reggie Miller was Michael Jordan's deadly rival, so he couldn't say anything that would make Jordan happy.

However, Jordan standing up to say these things would still have some impact on Fan Xi.

If Fan Xi couldn't go further next, couldn't become a superstar player, people would unscrupulously use this matter to belittle him, and his shoes would also become difficult to open the market in North America.

This is a double-edged sword.

Fan Xi was not worried at all; he was full of confidence in himself.

Because today was a rest day, Fan Xi changed TV channels aimlessly.

"... We are excited that Jack has achieved such achievements. We have long known that he is a superstar. When I saw him for the first time, I saw him shining. Speaking of which, that was more than a month ago."

Fan Xi saw the Kardashian family's interview on the entertainment channel. They always appeared in the hottest places. They also said they would invite Fan Xi to appear on their reality show *Keeping Up with the Kardashians* again.

Of course, it was also inevitable to talk about Fan Xi and Kendall Jenner's romance.

It was just saying: "Vaguely heard about it."

This family knew the essence of media dissemination very well. This ambiguous attitude could let the topic ferment and let those who pursued gossip go deep into it.

Fan Xi changed the channel.

He saw Taylor Swift and Selena again, these two were also Fan Xi's rumored girlfriends.

They all said some words of pride for Fan Xi.

Just as Fan Xi was about to turn off the TV, go to the bathroom to wash up, and then go find his parents.

Scarlett Johansson actually appeared on TV.

Scarlett Johansson was photographed appearing at Staples Center to watch the game last night, and then the reporter asked her what she thought of Fan Xi. The reporter also told her: This is the basketball player most loved by Hollywood female stars recently.

Then Fan Xi heard incredible words.

Scarlett actually said on TV: "Uh... he looks pretty good, tall and big, and looks quite handsome. But I don't like this type, this is the type that little girls would be crazy about."

This made Fan Xi almost unable to believe it. This was the woman who pounced on him like a tiger or wolf.

It's really boring.

Bang!

Fan Xi turned off the TV and walked to the bathroom to wash up.

Then, he went to the top floor of the hotel to eat, and by the way, waited for his parents to arrive.

Fan Xi's parents would return to the country soon. They would officially start the operation of the new brand and strive to launch Fan Xi's first signature shoe to the market before the end of May.

The so-called "everything is difficult at the beginning," now the brand has a thousand threads waiting for them to sort out.

Fan Xi came to the restaurant on the top floor. As the most shining superstar in the City of Angels last night, he received special treatment. The manager arranged him into the most luxurious private room... this private room used to require booking three days in advance.

Fan Xi waited for his parents to arrive.

Soon his parents brought five strange faces in.

All were dressed in elite style, in suits and leather shoes.

Three middle-aged Chinese men.

One middle-aged white man.

One young black man.

This was the agent team that Fan Xi's mother had quickly assembled for Fan Xi during this time.

They walked over and shook hands with Fan Xi one by one, and then expressed that they would definitely serve Fan Xi well. Fan Xi was a bit unfamiliar at the first meeting, but expressed that he would definitely believe they could do a good job.

Fan Xi didn't know the level of this team very well at this time.

But soon, Fan Xi would be startled by them.

Because these people were all carefully selected by Fan Xi's mother.

... ===== CHAPTER 93 =====