The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 108 - 15 Skyscraper
The advantage of having a good agent is that you can present any demands to him, and after reaching an agreement, he will go all out to negotiate on your behalf and achieve your objectives.
As for the player themselves, they only need to await news and focus on playing well, without getting dragged into complicated, lengthy negotiations that could involve trickery or even succumb to public pressure.
At that time, there were no standardized contracts, and there was no fixed standard for contract amounts, so all contracts were negotiated between players and teams.
Therefore, teams often used various means to pressure players, forcing them to agree to terms that were unfavorable to the players but beneficial to the teams.
If the agent was inexperienced or incompetent, he would only glance at the contract, likely allowing the team to dominate the discussions and possibly even turn against the player, colluding with the team to take advantage of the player.
Fleisher was different; he had a wealth of experience, extensive resources and connections, and in the entire League, aside from David Stern, no one dared claim to understand the rules better than him.
Faced with some of Gan Guoyang’s "unreasonable" demands, Fleisher felt his blood pressure rise, but upon deeper thought, he found them all justified, which meant the two were on the same wavelength.
Fleisher had already figured out how to approach the Trail Blazers in negotiations and what tactics to use to force the Trail Blazers to comply.
Fleisher also discussed the sneaker endorsement with Gan Guoyang, recommending he sign with Converse, since Converse was the current dominator of the NBA, and signing with them was definitely a safe bet.
However, Gan Guoyang had his own ideas, pointing out that Converse shoes were too ugly and outdated, not suiting the tastes of young people. He preferred the Avia sneakers he was wearing.
The first pair of basketball shoes his father bought him were Avia, which he had carefully kept to this day, and he had been wearing Avia ever since, going through countless pairs during his college days.
Fleisher sighed and said, "If you wanted to sign with Avia, you should have told me earlier. The head of Avia has been practically blowing up my phone with calls every day, constantly inquiring."
Gan Guoyang replied, "How can I tell you if you don’t ask?"
"Sorry, my fault. I thought you wouldn’t be interested in a small brand like Avia."
"A small brand will soon become a big brand with me on board," Gan Guoyang declared.
Fleisher shook his head. This unfounded confidence of Gan Guoyang was both amusing and charismatic.
Signing with Avia was indeed not a bad choice, since it was an Oregon-based sporting brand.
They had been in contact with Gan Guoyang since his high school days, but back then, Gan Guoyang adhered to the principles and did not communicate privately with these brands.
Avia watched Gan Guoyang create miracles all along, and when he was selected by the Trail Blazers during the draft, the entire company was thrilled beyond measure.
Now, the company’s main focus was on signing Gan Guoyang, but not being able to get in touch with him had their sales director’s phone ringing off the hook and running his legs off, trying to find Gan Guoyang in San Francisco.
Yet Gan Guoyang was elusive, under closed management in Indiana and not attending the draft, which always resulted in a wasted trip.
"If you decide to sign with Avia, why not talk with their sports sales director? He’s in Providence today, specifically here for you," Fleisher suggested.
"Larry, the man came all the way here for me, and you still suggest I sign with Converse? Isn’t your heart a little too cold?" Gan Guoyang chided.
"I only put forth the most likely option first. If you agreed to sign with Converse, I wouldn’t have let Tim Hanni meet with you, saving us a lot of trouble," Larry explained.
Fleisher was indeed efficient at his job. Gan Guoyang agreed to have dinner with Avia’s sales director Tim Hanni and discuss the sneaker contract.
That evening, Fleisher hosted the dinner, which was his home court at a Chinese restaurant in Providence, and the three of them took a private room.
Hanni was a very upright white man with neat short hair, looking very energetic.
Upon first meeting Gan Guoyang, Hanni didn’t say any superfluous words; he simply took out a pair of sneakers and a checkbook from the bag he carried with him.
"These are shoes our company has newly designed for you, with red and black colors, a new concept, and the latest suspension and shock absorption support technology—we have the patent," Hanni presented.
Gan Guoyang picked up the pair of shoes that seemed familiar to him, the design... felt very advanced. Could it really have been designed by AVIA?
"Did you guys design this?"
"Of course! And it was specifically designed for you, a brand new, youthful style."
"What’s the name of this model?"
"Avia830, the Skyscraper series!"
Gan Guoyang looked at Hanni, sensing a glow in his eyes. He clearly had high hopes for this pair of sneakers.
The sneakers did appear very modern in design, not like Converse’s old-fashioned canvas shoes. They might actually set a trend.
Gan Guoyang put down the shoes and asked, "What about that checkbook, what does that mean?"
"It’s our gesture of good faith, willing to offer you a substantial signing amount."
Gan Guoyang glanced at the checkbook and said, "How much can I fill in?"
"As much as you like, as long as we can afford it."
Gan Guoyang thought for a moment and said, "Then I want your maximum payment, I’ll take it all."
Hanni was stunned and looked over to Fleisher as if to say, I was just being polite, but what’s with this guy...
Fleisher shrugged his shoulders and said, "Ah Gan is worth it. Did you know? Tomorrow, Ah Gan will be at the Providence Civic Center, teaming up with NBA All-Stars to go up against the American national team. The NBA All-Star Team includes John Bagley, Gus Williams, Orlando Woolridge, Darrell Walker, Darryl Dawkins, with coach John Havlicek. The American national team has Ewing, Jordan, Perkins, Dawkins, and if you agree, Gan, he can wear these shoes on the court tomorrow."
"After that, we’ll go to Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana, Milwaukee, and play with McHale, Bird, Mark Aguirre, Magic Johnson, Larry Nance, Isiah Thomas. Ah Gan will wear these sneakers and show up in front of audiences everywhere, and on live TV. Tim, do you still think the amount Ah Gan is asking for this contract is too expensive?"
Tim Hanni was overwhelmed by Fleisher’s rapid-fire list, and rightly so. The American Olympic national team intended to play against all of the NBA’s All-Stars.
The importance Americans placed on these Olympic Games was evident, as they had boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980 with the basketball team not participating and the gold medal going to Yugoslavia.
This year, at the Los Angeles Olympics, in their own backyard, the Americans were determined to win the gold medal in men’s basketball, and had put in a tremendous effort to prepare.
With two years of nationwide large-scale tryouts, and with the assistance of NBA stars for warm-ups, the gathering of legendary figures was nothing short of spectacular.
For a small brand like Avia, missing out on such a grand occasion for publicity would truly be a missed opportunity with no second chances.
Furthermore, Avia was aware of their strong competitor, Nike, also based in Portland, Oregon, that was eyeing Gan Guoyang fiercely.
Tim Hanni could no longer sit still. He immediately went to the hotel front desk to ask for a phone and called back to consult with the general manager and chairman.
After thoroughly explaining the situation, Tim Hanni returned to the private room with the checkbook and wrote a number: $1000000, one million US Dollars.
As a company founded in 1979, Avia had a limited marketing budget, and one million was already their limit.
Even Fleisher, who had seen a lot, was surprised because he knew no center had ever signed a sneaker contract for that amount—it was very difficult for centers to sell shoes.
But when Gan Guoyang saw the number, he remained calm. He took the check towards him and said, "I accept your sincerity, tomorrow I will wear your sneakers and give my all in the game."
Gan Guoyang always appreciated such genuine gestures. He believed that those who trusted him would not be disappointed.
