From today on is the king

Chapter 471 469. Atlanta's Carnival Begins
Finally, the journey before the All-Star Weekend is over, and the Eagles locker room is quite relaxed. After the All-Star Weekend, the Eagles only need to win three games to ensure that the winning percentage will still reach 2% before the end of February, so it is very relaxed. Kevin Wesley couldn't help singing North African folk songs in the locker room.

The seven-day All-Star Weekend holiday is just around the corner! February 2th and February 12th are two days off before the All-Star Weekend, and then there will be a three-day All-Star Weekend. The two days after the All-Star Weekend are the Eagles' training days. Except for Liu Mang, Raheem, and Ratliff who will participate in the All-Star Game, Liu Mang, Jason Terry, Prince, and Boozer will participate in the first two days of small games.

Except for Liu Mang, he was anxious about how to tell Jordan so that Jordan could accept the starting position he gave up.

Although this guy's personality has improved a lot since he got older, but in his bones, he is the same as the little blacksmith who is now staring at Liu Mang's video clips and research in the hotel room, like a stinky stone blocked in the middle of a ferocious river. It may be smoothed by the torrent of society, but the smelly and hard pride in his bones will not change.

However, Liu Mang thought too much.

Liu Mang found Jordan in the parking lot after the game, and when he told Jordan face-to-face that he would give him the starting position, Jordan agreed without hesitation.

"Uh...Michael, don't you have the idea of ​​refusing?" Liu Mang couldn't help asking.

"What? Ace, do you regret it? This is not okay. I have already notified my agent and asked him to announce that he will accept the starting position you gave up." Jordan said, don't try to cheat.

"No, I'm just curious. There are so many people who give you the starter." Liu Mang breathed a sigh of relief. This All-Star Weekend is not included in the regular season and playoffs. Playing the starter will inevitably reduce a little ability. Although among the 24 All-Stars, even if he triggers the bench bandits, he is also the weakest group, but it is good to be able to help Jordan.

"Haha, Ace, not everyone is as sincere as you. Some people just say something in front of the media, but you are the only one who told me about it face-to-face. Although no matter who I choose to start, they will not refuse out of face, but who knows what they will think in private? It is difficult to guess the human heart. You are in the best time now. Everything you see and everything is beautiful. Everyone will accommodate you, because you are the best now. They need you, but they can't underestimate anyone." Share a little life experience.

Liu Mang seemed to understand but half understood, when did he become the best?But still a little bit, suddenly, a question came to Liu Mang's mind: "By the way, Michael, when did you tell your agent that you accept my starting?"

"Ten seconds later."

"...Is it too late for me to regret it now? I think I can win another All-Star MVP."

"No, I've already dialed the phone."

"..."

……

……

The All-Star Weekend is on holiday!

However, the holidays are not so easy for Liu Mang and most of his teammates, and it is difficult to realize the agreed-upon stay in nightclubs for five consecutive days.

On February 2th, the first day of the All-Star holiday, the Hawks, except for the three All-Stars, received a notice from the team that they would attend a basketball training camp held by the Imperial Court with the Houston Rockets players except Francis and Yao Ming. In just one morning, some local wealthy children paid money to come to Atlanta to see the stars.

Of course, stars like Liu Mang, Yao Ming, Raheem, Francis, and Jason Terry, who have official big contract endorsements, cannot participate in commercial contracts other than the sneakers they endorse, so they did not participate.

This year's All-Star Weekend, Liu Mang is not as free as last year, and even the time is squeezed.

Due to the signing of too many endorsement contracts, there is no such concept anymore. From the sneaker promotion meeting, to the very cola American promotion, to the promotion meeting of a well-known thermal underwear brand in China... to the American promotion meeting of a domestic civilian aluminum and iron tool, Liu Mang started at 07:30 in the morning, and dismantled it into 7 parts. Almost all of them were spent in the car.

Until 11:[-] noon, Liu Mang held a domestically produced sledgehammer, the last publicity in the morning, and finally had an hour's rest at noon. Liu Mang also heaved a sigh of relief, and then began to think wildly again.

Domestic aluminum and iron tools are sold well in the United States due to their cheap prices. In order to expand the influence of No Customs, they spent 200 million dollars a year to sign Liu Mang as an image spokesperson.

Holding the sledgehammer in his hand, Liu Mang couldn't help lamenting that Chinese people are really ignorant. For this kind of endorsement, you should find the blacksmith who promoted Adi next door to Nike!

Chinese people just haven't seen the world, and they don't know that the best blacksmith is next door.

In the afternoon, it was the NBA's official publicity. As the popularity of the host team of this All-Star Weekend, Liu Mang undertook a lot of publicity tasks.

Interviews with Imperial TV, Xinhua News Agency, Time Magazine Asian Edition, NBA official press conferences, photo shoots...

Liu Mang would occasionally meet McGrady, the superstar of Adidas, and occasionally an old Jordan who was still promoting Air Jordan. He was a little envious of that little blacksmith. He was not the top brand in both the team and the sneakers. It seemed that he was only in the second grade.

At this time, Liu Mang couldn't wait to see James enter the NBA as soon as possible. He came in. The number 23, who is old but not old, is probably the number one.

Now Carter has begun to enter a period of decline in popularity, mainly because he was injured for half a season, and his influence has dropped a lot. In addition to aesthetic fatigue, everyone thinks that Carter is a dunker. The peak data of 06 points, 07 rebounds and 82 assists per game.

Carter is not a magician, Jordan, Kobe, or James, a superstar who has accumulated a lot of popularity. At a certain time, Carter may be the most popular in the league, but more people voted for him and made him the top voter. Most of them voted for him not because they liked his game, but simply because of his dunks.

Just like most superstars, their popularity has declined over time. Even O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, and Wade, who once exploded in popularity, missed the All-Star starters in the last few seasons.

This is why Carter is so determined to participate in the slam dunk contest. He discussed with his agent that he must participate in this slam dunk contest.

On the one hand, Carter really wanted to fight Liu Mang, but on the other hand, the most important thing was that his own endorsement began to lose a lot. The rise of McGrady and Liu Mang, the two rising stars in the Eastern Conference, caused Carter, who was originally on par with Iverson in terms of popularity, to lose a lot of popularity.

Therefore, even if there is a conflict with the management, Carter will also participate in this dunk contest.

Most people in the outside world seemed that Carter was making trouble out of no reason and affecting the team's plan for the "personal confrontation", but in fact Carter was very smart and wanted to take this opportunity and take advantage of Liu Mang's current overwhelming popularity to bring himself back to the peak of popularity again.

It even feels like a back-to-back fight. Carter's dunking title has been deeply ingrained in the fans' minds. It wasn't until he was in his 30s that people discovered that he was not just a dunking general.

If he wins this slam dunk duel, Carter will wipe away all the negative news and once again prove that he is the strongest slam dunker. If he loses, the title of the strongest slam dunk king will also be affected.

However, a slow death is not as good as a happy one, and there may be a chance to turn things around.

Moreover, Carter does have enough ability to complete a comeback, because his jumping has not been affected by injuries, and he is still the best dunk at the age of 26.

Now that Nike is not in demand, Liu Mang can only be used to death. The propaganda of China and the United States has fallen on Liu Mang.

Although in the signed contract, the number of promotions for one year is limited, and if there is more, you have to pay an additional notice fee, but Nike is also willing to give it. Reebok, relying on Yao Ming as the center, quickly made a name for itself in the Chinese market, which made Nike regret it. Although the center does not sell sneakers, the sportswear worn by Yao Ming sells quite well in the Chinese market.

……

"Jeff, I think our strategy is wrong, we can't sign so many endorsements, I can't take it anymore!"

"Ace, your career is only so long, don't take advantage of this time to make more money..." Schwartz persuaded Liu Mang to endure it, and it passed, a year is only a few days.

Schwartz is really not just for his own commission, his commission is only 5.00%, and Liu Mang is the one who takes the absolute bulk.

As an agent, I have seen too many examples of making a lot of money during the peak period, and no money after the peak period. Now that Liu Mang's popularity is rising, Schwartz wants to take advantage of this time to let Liu Mang make more money. Of course, he can also make more money.

"No, no, Jeff, I don't think the money is too much, but some endorsements cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and there is no need to sign them. Look at these endorsements, the sum is not as much as Nike's endorsement. You can increase the price, sign it or not!" Although Liu Mang loves money, he is not a luxury person. Enough money is enough. He has no idea of ​​leaving a pile of money in the coffin.

Moreover, the many endorsement fees are too low!Nike's endorsement fee is close to 1300 million, while other endorsements add up to more than 800 million.

During the two days of rest, Liu Mang didn't get a chance to rest at all. Instead, it became a two-day nightmare. Liu Mang felt that it was necessary to reduce some endorsements for the next season, which was far less important than quality!
After the last publicity event ended on the afternoon of February 2th, Liu Mang called Schwartz over just to talk about it.

Luckily, except for soda, fast food, and sneakers, which are the three major endorsement fees, Liu Mang’s authorization is to sign a short contract for only one year. After the one-year endorsement ends, he will re-sign, or he will not continue to endorse.

Seeing Liu Mang's firm request to reduce the number of endorsements, Schwartz can't help it. He is just a part-time agent, and he is not one of those golden agents who can influence the decision of a player or even affect the decision of a team or several teams.

But... Whether it is Liu Mang or Schwartz, they still underestimated Liu Mang's commercial value, next year Liu Mang will continue to cry...

……

……

Finally, the long-awaited All-Star Weekend is here!
On February 2th, this beautiful day, the 14 Atlanta All-Star Weekend officially kicked off.

This is the first large-scale event held in Atlanta since 1996. The Eagles’ home arena is so advanced because of the 96 Olympics. Of course, it is limited to this era. The Phillips Arena of the Eagles is one of the most complete arenas in the league.

Atlanta ushered in another wave of economic upsurge, just like the original 2006 All-Star Weekend in Houston doubled the market value of the Rockets.

Atlanta is the ninth largest city in the United States. It is world-renowned, but there are no superstars in history, and the market has not been fully developed. This All-Star Weekend, nearly [-] Chinese tourists and tens of thousands of tourists from other parts of Asia came to Atlanta to watch the All-Star Weekend.

It's a pity that even if Phillips Arena fills up the seats and adds as many seats as possible, there are only [-] seats. Many tourists come to Atlanta, and there is no way to watch the game.

However, this is enough. The airlines, travel companies, Atlanta’s tourism industry, and the hotel industry in China and the United States have all exploded. If it really exploded in situ, both hotels and homestays are collectively full. Even the surrounding cities of the Atlanta metropolitan area have ushered in a wave of tourist season.

The commercial value brought by Liu Mang is not only reflected in the live broadcast in China, but the whole city has benefited from it.

This is very similar to James. His decision one not only caused the Cavaliers to suffer losses. The whole city suffered from economic decline because of his departure, so so many people burned jerseys angrily, cursed and even acted aggressively.

The commercial benefits brought by Liu Wei during the All-Star Weekend in Atlanta made David Stern almost annoyed by the Rockets owner Alexander. Alexander wanted Houston to hold one instead of the original history. When the All-Star Weekend settled in Houston, Alexander refused to pay, and the Houston government had to pay.

David Stern also really wants to host the All-Star Weekend in Houston. The mayor of Houston visited him in New York at the beginning of the month. However, the All-Star Weekend next year has already been confirmed in Los Angeles in December 2001, and Denver in 12 was confirmed in December last year.

This kind of thing needs to be prepared in advance. Funding, transportation, security personnel, tourist reception plan, preparations for surrounding businesses, etc., etc., are not a separate matter for the host team and club. The team, league, city government, sponsors, hotel industry, commercial street, etc. This is something that everyone needs to prepare for. Generally speaking, it is announced two years in advance.

After all, an All-Star Weekend brings not only the income of several hundred million dollars in the three to five days, but may also bring a wave of tourism later.

……

Liu Mang arrived at the Phillips Arena at noon, and the entire arena changed drastically!People in all kinds of fancy clothes, some people from China, the United States, island countries, Europe and even Africa wear very distinctive clothes, and there are more shops selling clothes and various specialty products... The commercial area of ​​Phillips Arena has become a product fair.

Liu Mang’s arrival caused quite a commotion. He looked at the crowded crowd and fled quickly. He was just curious to see, but he didn’t expect it would cause a commotion and caused a lot of trouble for the security. The Eagles team press officer took Liu Mang to the interview hall with a black line on his face. , I know that I can't control it, so the boss is just looking for an outlet for cursing, and he can't scold Liu Mang.

Just like Jordan almost pissed the general manager to death during the Bulls period, and the general manager didn't dare to scold Jordan, making money is the last word.

Liu Mang was not as crazy as Jordan, he was still a good boy in private, and apologized to the press officer William Kyle with an apologetic face.

William Kyle can't help it, this guy almost scares him to death every time he is interviewed, and then apologizes, which makes people really angry.

At the entrance of the official channel of the interview hall, there are two entrances to the interview hall, one is for the media to enter and exit, and the other is for the interviewed players and staff to enter and exit.

William Kyle emphasized again: "Ace, this All-Star Weekend is a very important event for our team. If you are not interested in this rookie game, don't draw the attention of the media and fans to you. You know the purpose of the rookie game. It is to promote new players..."

"Yes, yes, William, I know, don't worry!" Liu Mang really has a headache, why does everyone think that his appearance is just to cause trouble?He has always considered himself a good baby.

Don't worry!How could William Kyle rest assured!

When Liu Mang entered the tunnel, he could already see the people being interviewed, but from this angle he could only see the interview booth, not the reporters. Of course, the reporters couldn't see the situation in the tunnel either.

The person who is being interviewed is the person Liu Mang is most interested in coming here today. Otherwise, he would go directly to the locker room to change, and then find a place to train. Today is not a day for him to be in the limelight. In order to avoid losing control of his mouth, he does not plan to come.

The one who is being interviewed is Gilbert Arenas, the second-round pick in the same class as Liu Mang, who started to counterattack this year.

It has been half a season since Arenas played this year, averaging 16 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists per game, and is still on the rise, showing the potential of a superstar. At the age of 21, he has become the most sought after young player in the West.

After reaching the second grade, almost all rookies in the same class can tell who will succeed and who will be eliminated.

Last year, some players in the rookie game reached their second grades and were no longer eligible to enter the rookie game. Chandler, Richard Jefferson, and Arenas, the rising stars, took their positions.

The current second-year lineup includes Liu Mang, Arenas, Parker, Gasol, Battier, Chandler, Richard Jefferson, Kirilenko, and Jason Richardson. These nine players can basically be regarded as the nine best players in the 2001 class and the nine most promising players in the future.

Only then did people realize that the 2001 rookies seemed to be pretty good. These nine players seemed to have All-Star potential.

What surprised people the most was that most of the nine players had low picks. Except for Kirilenko, who was a rookie in the past, and Gasol, Battier, and Chandler, the remaining half of the players had the highest draft pick. Richard Jefferson's No.13 pick in the first round.

Players who counterattack will always have a stomach full of dissatisfaction, especially when Arenas participated in the draft with a high heart, but was selected with the 2nd overall pick in the second round.

At this time, Liu Mang heard a reporter ask a question: "Arenas, Williams of the Bulls said that he will win the rookie game MVP. He is the best player in this game. Do you think Williams has a chance to win the rookie game MVP?"

Liu Mang never showed up, so the media had to pick someone else to pick things up. Fortunately, Arenas couldn't keep his mouth shut.

Hearing this question, Arenas, who is aiming to be the MVP of the rookie game this year, immediately fired: "The smuggled No. [-] pick? Has he accomplished what he said? The Bulls have their heads flooded again this year. Every year they will pick some smuggled..."

When Arenas said these words, the reporters were naturally very happy, there was another news to break out, and today's game was watched again.

It's just that Arenas didn't see an unhappy look from the side. This person is Tyson Chandler.

Chandler doesn't care what others think of Jay Williams, and even he himself is dissatisfied because Jay Williams received more training in his rookie year than his rookie season, but Arenas's words not only belittled Jay Williams, but also belittled Chandler, because last year, Chandler was also regarded as a parallel import.

In the All-Star Rookie Game, people’s expectations were lowered a lot because of rumors of Liu Mang’s retirement, because even if Liu Mang didn’t retire, he would definitely not play for too long. Seeing that the head coach of the second-year team was an assistant coach of the Eagles, he knew that Liu Mang had already won the MVP of the rookie game.

This is also the reason why Liu Mang has no motivation for this rookie competition.

But seeing Arenas' interview, Liu Mang knew that today's game was interesting, and the match between Jay Williams and Arenas was still very interesting!

It's normal for Jay Williams to play poorly against well-known veterans, but if it's a rookie game, it seems to be worth seeing against the young Arenas!
When Liu Reck saw Arenas himself, he was as arrogant and arrogant as the rumors said, so Liu Reck didn't go to the press conference anymore, he had already seen what he wanted to see.

As for the reporters waiting for him to show up?
Unfortunately, Liu Mang released pigeons again.

William Kyle was so sad, but fortunately, Liu Mang went to participate, he was worried, if he didn't participate, he would have to clean up the mess...

Liu Mang came to the locker room of the second grade. He was about to go in and change into the unified jersey and training clothes again this year, when he suddenly stopped at the door.

"It seems that agent No. 0 also uses this locker room..." Liu Mang felt a very special feeling, a sense of sight of Mission: Impossible, as if the door was opened, and No. 0 holding a pistol would appear inside.

Liu Mang was a little excited, sharing a dressing room with Mr. 0, so exciting!

(End of this chapter)