The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 1455 - 52: Smooth Sailing
Eric Fleisher is the younger son of Larry Flesher. After Larry’s passing, he and his brother Mark Fleisher have been active in the basketball agency industry, inheriting their father’s legacy.
The resources left by Larry Flesher were divided into two parts, with those related to agents given to his two sons. In the 1990s, both of them started their own agency companies.
Mark Fleisher was assigned the resources related to overseas players, such as Sabonis, Divac, and Petrović, all of whom seek Mark Fleisher as their agent.
Additionally, Mark Fleisher helped American domestic players and NBA veterans to play in Europe for opportunities. Currently, he is focusing his business efforts on the Chinese professional basketball market, becoming a bridge between the CBA and American players.
The younger son, Eric Fleisher, has concentrated on scouting local players, especially young stars. The old players that were in his father’s hands have either retired or left, making it impossible to pass the legacy onto his son.
Therefore, over the years, Eric, like many ordinary agents, has been actively connecting with young talented stars, building relationships, managing their agency affairs, and striving for substantially large contracts for them.
Kevin Garnett is the most promising star that Eric Fleisher has signed in recent years. Eric is very eager to secure a sufficiently large contract for Garnett before the new labor agreement goes into effect.
On the night of the third game between the Timberwolves and the Trail Blazers, Eric Fleisher came to the scene to watch the game.
On one hand, he was concerned about how Kevin Garnett performed in the series, as it would determine the size of his future contract.
On the other hand, Gan Guoyang had invited Eric to Minnesota for a discussion. Fleisher put aside his current affairs and specifically hurried to Minnesota.
After becoming the union president, Gan Guoyang inherited Larry Flesher’s union resources and ideological beliefs—he aimed to fight for the legal and reasonable benefits of the players.
However, when Eric Fleisher heard the opinions put forward by Gan Guoyang, he immediately became unsettled, shaking his head repeatedly to express opposition and confusion.
"Sonny, as the president of the Players Union, you should prioritize the players’ interests. How can you ask me not to demand a larger contract from the Timberwolves? That’s how commercial negotiations work, with mutual offers and the willing parties concluding deals. As Kevin Garnett’s agent, I must strive for the biggest contract. Sonny, your idea is unacceptable to me, and if my father were here, he wouldn’t accept it either."
Eric Fleisher still held great respect for Gan Guoyang. When Larry Flesher unexpectedly passed away in 1989, Gan Guoyang was one of the first to attend the funeral and maintained frequent contact with the Flesher family for many years thereafter.
Gan Guoyang would introduce some player resources to the Fleisher brothers, and even Chinese resources were linked by him.
The brothers also helped Gan Guoyang. In 1990, when the Trail Blazers acquired Reggie Lewis, it couldn’t have happened without Mark Fleisher’s involvement, which caused the Celtics to be in a difficult spot and eventually forced them to trade.
Eric Fleisher has always cooperated with Gan Guohui, providing substantial assistance in agency and auditing matters.
In Gan Guoyang’s journey to becoming the union president, the two brothers contributed significantly, strongly supporting Gan Guoyang. Their relationship is very close. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
Even so, upon hearing that Gan Guoyang did not want Kevin Garnett to receive too large a contract, Eric Fleisher still became emotionally agitated, his face slightly reddening.
Because for Fleisher, or for agents in general, securing large contracts for their players, especially those exceeding a hundred million US dollars in super contracts, not only promises high intermediary earnings and a good reputation in the agent circle, but more importantly, it is the belief and ideal of an agent—and an important standard in the agent industry for selecting MVPs.
Lao Gan, you’re making a fortune yourself with an unprecedented super contract of one billion over three years, with one person’s salary covering an entire team.
And after securing the regular season MVP this year without a doubt, you turn around and suppress young players, stopping them from getting large contracts?
It’s important to know that in the 1996 labor negotiations, the temporary agreement showed clear "double standards." Veteran players could ignore the rules and continue to sign super contracts, even those exceeding the salary cap.
Yet young players had to sign standardized contracts after 1998, with salary amounts restricted by the salary cap ratio. This already sparked dissatisfaction among some agents and young stars.
Only because Gan Guoyang made a spectacular comeback in 1996, with extensive support and excellent work in player pensions, rookie guarantees, and protecting the interests of low-tier players, no one was more suitable to deal with Stern, were the voices of opposition suppressed.
"Sonny, I don’t know if you have any agreements with the League or if there are other considerations, but you must understand, in this country, striving for one’s maximum economic benefit has never been wrong. It is always taken for granted. The future belongs to young stars like Garnett and Iverson. They deserve large contracts and sufficient money. It’s not only veterans who deserve big contracts. You must understand this."
Seeing that Gan Guoyang did not respond, Eric Fleisher continued, albeit in a slightly calmer tone than before. He also didn’t want to anger Ah Gan, as only the two of them were in the room.
Fleisher was already preparing to fight for an earth-shattering contract for Garnett, to completely make a name for himself in the agency world, and leave a significant mark in the history of professional sports.
