NBA's King of Talking

Art Mayork was selected by the Lakers in the second round of last year's draft, but he did not make the team's roster for the entire season and played in the NBDL.

“I received an invitation from the Lakers to participate in this year’s Summer League!” Art Mayork said.

"Jia, are you going?" Kemba Walker asked Jia Fei.

Jia Fei shook his head: "The team asked me about it, and I plan to train on my own." He intends to increase his physicality during this offseason and practice his shooting intensively. He didn't play many games last season, but he wasn't satisfied with his shooting performance. If he can't hit open three-pointers, even if his defense is good, the team might not let him play for long. These days, the focus is increasingly on offensive spacing. In the recently concluded Finals, the Heat even abandoned their center position to create offensive space.

"Okay, train with me. I'm planning to hold a small training camp in New York. You guys can come and participate!" Kemba Walker really enjoys training with these old teammates. He feels particularly relaxed with them.

On June 29, the 2012 NBA Draft was held at Madison Square Garden in New York. Jia Fei, Kemba Walker, and Art Mayok, former teammates of Lamb and Oriak, attended the draft with their families.

Last season's draft was held in New Jersey, while this time it's at Madison Square Garden in New York. This is Jia Fei's second time participating in the draft, but his mindset is completely different now.

Last time he came, he was a candidate; this time he's accompanying someone.

Lamb's predicted pick was near the Lotto, and he was fortunate enough to be invited to the green room. Auriak, on the other hand, was less lucky; his predicted pick was either late in the second round or not selected at all, with a significant chance of being left out.

Fortunately, Oriak has a good attitude. He said that even if he is not selected, he will not become a professional player and will change careers to do other jobs.

Jia Fei thinks this mindset is good; don't be too concerned about gains and losses, be more Zen-like, and don't make things difficult for yourself.

Jia Fei looked at the rookie data. From the perspective of his previous life, the success rate of this rookie class was not low. Not to mention the first round, Draymond Green and Khris Middleton in the second round were definitely All-Star players.

The draft has begun, and Lamb seems quite nervous. If watching adult films is relaxing, he's clearly extremely nervous now. He'll definitely be selected, that's for sure, but what if he's unlucky and falls to the second round? Anything can happen, and he doesn't want to become the next DeAndre Jordan or Rashard Lewis.

Fortunately, no surprises occurred, and Lamb was ultimately selected by the Rockets with the 12th overall pick in the first round, avoiding the lottery. Oriak, however, wasn't so lucky; he went undrafted by Sacre…

PS: Why is it "Screwley" instead of "Failed to Make the List"? Because the last person on the list is Lakers legend Sacre!

Jia Fei comforted Oriak, inwardly lamenting how fierce the competition in the NBA was. There were only 60 draft picks a year, but the number of players in the NCAA and overseas was immense; it was truly a difficult situation.

Lamb was overjoyed; he cried. He was finally going to become an NBA player. Last season, he averaged 17.7 points per game in the NCAA, making him the team's leading scorer.

After the draft, Jia Fei received a call from agent Jeff Schwartz on his way to the airport with Oriak.

"Hello, Mr. Jia!" Schwartz's voice was always so calm and composed.

"Hello, Mr. Schwarz!" Jia Fei thought that Schwarz must have something to say if he called him personally.

"Mr. Jia, your current team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, will exercise the team option on your contract for next season!" Schwartz never liked beating around the bush; as an agent, he had the good habit of "getting straight to the point."

"Okay, I understand!" Jia Fei wasn't surprised at all. His contract was very small, and part of it wasn't guaranteed for next season, but he had already proven last season that he had the ability to be a rotation player. Thunder general manager Presti wasn't an ordinary person; he wouldn't be foolish enough to not use up his rookie bonus this year. You have to understand that Thunder owner Bennett wasn't exactly a big owner either; his net worth was relatively low compared to other NBA teams. Oklahoma City is also a small market, so the team definitely had to be careful with its spending.

"There's one more thing. Nike has invited you to participate in an advertisement shoot in Miami. I've already sent you the detailed shoot plan to your email. You can choose not to participate, but I suggest you participate if you have the time, as it will be more beneficial for your development." Schwartz didn't mince words, clearly explaining the pros and cons to Jia Fei and letting him make his own decision.

This way of communicating made Jia Fei feel comfortable. After hanging up the phone, he opened his email on his phone and found an email from Schwartz.

When Jia Fei opened it, he was surprised because the person he was advertising with this time was actually Sharapova!

He could hardly believe it. He thought it couldn't be such a coincidence. He had watched her match at the US Open last year and even asked her for an autograph!

But emails can't be fake, and today isn't April Fool's Day. Agent Schwartz isn't the type to lie about something like this.

Jia Fei checked online and found it was true. In 2010, Sharapova signed an eight-year, $70 million sponsorship deal with Nike, instantly becoming the world's highest-paid female athlete. Furthermore, as one of their most popular athletes, Nike custom-designs a new outfit for her each year before the four Grand Slam tournaments, incorporating the latest design concepts and advanced technology. These outfits have consistently been the brand's best-selling women's sportswear line.

$7000 million over 8 years! Jia Fei thought to himself, his jaw dropping. Compared to his $100 million a year, the difference was enormous. Of course, he was just an ordinary NBA player, while Sharapova was a top tennis player.

This is what surprised him. Logically speaking, even if Nike were to shoot an advertisement, in terms of net worth or status, Zhan Buqun or Du Xiaoshuai would be more suitable to partner with Sharapova!

Kemba Walker, who was driving at the time, asked, "Jia, is this Mr. Schwartz?"

Jia Fei nodded: "It was him. He asked me to go to Miami on July 1st to shoot an advertisement for Nike."

"Great news! I didn't expect you to start shooting commercials. I haven't had any commercials to shoot lately, ahhh—" Kemba Walker started to go crazy.