One Year Left to Play-Chapter 126 - 40: All Aboard the Pirate Ship
Currently, the NBA salary market is on the verge of exploding. Henry Thomas is extremely optimistic about Zhang Hao’s prospects, especially considering Zhang Hao’s potential in terms of commercial value... it’s worth a shot!
After listening to Henry Thomas’s self-promotion, Zhang Hao pondered for a moment, came up with an idea, and responded, "Mr. Thomas, you have a keen eye. I’d like to work with you.
But I’d like to do it differently. If you’re planning to start your own agency, why don’t we start an agency together..."
"?????"
Henry Thomas was very excited when he heard the first half of Zhang Hao’s sentence, but the second half totally caught him off guard.
This college freshman was preparing to collaborate with him, but not as one of his players; rather, he wanted to start an agency together!
"Mr. Thomas, how do you think the NBA will develop?
I believe the players’ influence will continue to grow. There’s still a significant difference between athletes and people in the entertainment industry. Don’t you think so too?
In the past, perhaps players relied on agents to recommend which team to play for, and agents would promote players to sponsors.
But now, you should have noticed too that sponsors are coming to players themselves with endorsement contracts. The era has changed.
I think the smartest move for agents is to collaborate with players. Before others do this, why don’t we give it a try? We could aim for greater influence in the future..."
Returning to his place, Henry Thomas thought about what Zhang Hao had said to him, feeling that this freshman with only a high school education was even more challenging to deal with than he imagined... Who exactly was doing the persuading? Originally, it was Henry Thomas who approached Zhang Hao to sell himself as an agent, but in the end, he found himself being persuaded instead.
"Is that how Starbucks got talked into it?"
Henry Thomas began to imagine the scenario of Starbucks being swayed until they were convinced...
He analyzed himself, seeing his image as sincere and perceptive; then Zhang Hao’s image should be calm, logically minded, eloquent, and confident!
The more he thought about it, the more Henry Thomas felt that Zhang Hao made a lot of sense. The idea that players would get involved in agency work hadn’t occurred to him as a possibility before.
But having such a thought, he reviewed the past decade or so of NBA’s development, and indeed it seemed to be heading in that direction. Although currently far from such a situation, analyzing from the rules of development, it indeed was the case.
He needed to calm down, otherwise, in a moment of impulse, he might call and agree to it right away. He needed to cool down and call his boss, David Falcao, for a good discussion...
On the other side, Zhang Hao and Pelinka went to a restaurant for lunch.
Watching Zhang Hao eat the bland soup, tasteless chicken, and duck, Pelinka was puzzled as to how Zhang Hao could stomach these things.
"Maybe I didn’t make it to the NBA because I wasn’t as disciplined as Aix..."
Pelinka recalled being a top 10 high school player in Illinois during his high school days, but he quickly fell behind in college. Two years after graduating, he successfully became a lawyer.
Besides Zhang Hao’s efforts as a player, Pelinka was even more surprised at Zhang Hao’s off-court abilities, which were unlike an 18-year-old teenager.
As Pelinka recalled the scene where Zhang Hao almost turned the tables on Henry Thomas, he heard the young man sitting across from him speak, "Robert, I heard that you were also a high school basketball star?"
Upon hearing this, Pelinka gave a wry smile, "I can’t compare with you. I was only in the top 10 in Illinois, whereas you’re a top AAA-level talented high school player, with dozens of Division I colleges lining up for you."
Lining up started after the Adidas Training Camp... Zhang Hao didn’t dwell on this. Memory is always strange; many people have entirely forgotten that he had trouble getting into college before... although back then not many people knew that no school was willing to offer him a basketball scholarship...
"I suppose you still love basketball, Robert? Since you can’t become a professional player, why not try another way?
I think you’re wasting your talent being a lawyer. You’re clearly so focused on and knowledgeable about the NBA. I think in terms of familiarity and understanding of NBA rules and clauses, those professional agents can’t compare to you. Why don’t we collaborate and start an agency together?
Let’s be crazy for a while; we’ll be old soon, and life is as fleeting as a summer flower..."
Damn! I’m getting persuaded now!
But I have to admit, Pelinka was tempted...
Young people are always easily reignited with dreams.
But now, Pelinka had something to say— "Bro, I still haven’t been paid for my legal fees!"
...
...
"September 2nd, 1995, I, Robert Pelinka, 24 years old, got talked onto a pirate ship by an 18-year-old NBA rookie..."
The next morning, Pelinka got up and wrote yesterday’s journal entry, just this one sentence.
He never used to keep a journal, and now, he’s not really a conventional person anymore.
Time to get to work! To register an agency!
But first, he needed to contact Henry Thomas. Pelinka acutely felt an unusual aspect to this not-so-famous agent. Since he wanted to start an agency, he needed to recruit this seasoned veteran.
A person known for being genuine—as long as he remains genuine during the collaboration, regardless of whether it’s real or an act, it’s genuine to his partners.
