NBA's King of Talking

"So it was him!" Jia Fei thought to himself. He was no stranger to Jeff Schwartz; the man was no small figure in American basketball. Even though he was quite low-key and didn't appear in the media very often, he had signed quite a few NBA players.

Back in 1992, Schwartz joined the renowned International Management Group (IMG) to begin his career as a sports agent. In 2002, he made another bold decision, founding his own agency, the now-famous ExcelSports Management. He then extended his business reach into the basketball world, experimenting with working with NBA players and becoming a well-known agent within the NBA community.

Jia Fei knew that for a young man who wanted to participate in the NBA draft, a good agent was very important. A good agent had more resources at their disposal, could help contact teams to arrange tryouts, and could increase the chances of being selected by a team.

"Jia, don't you have an agent yet?" Kemba Walker asked Jia Fei.

Jia Fei nodded.

“I can recommend you to Mr. Schwartz!” Kemba Walker said generously.

"Really? That's great!" Jia Fei beamed. And sure enough, Kemba Walker had unwittingly done him a huge favor.

Kemba Walker is truly a loyal friend. He not only recommended his agent to Jia Fei, but also to his two teammates, Art Mayok and Olyak, who are interested in participating in this year's draft.

Jia Fei and the other two naturally had no objections. Unlike Kemba Walker, who was a top prospect this year and had many agents to choose from, they couldn't easily find such high-profile agents. These agents already had plenty of top prospects on their hands and weren't particularly interested in ordinary rookies who were likely to go undrafted. Besides, investments are all about return on investment, and these guys clearly had a higher probability of going undrafted than being drafted!

Kemba Walker assured Jia Fei and the other two that they would sign contracts with Jeff Schwartz, while Jia Fei would continue working at the restaurant.

As Jia Fei washed the dishes, a thought suddenly popped into his head. The system had said the task list would be updated; could there be a task that required him to sign a talent agent?

This thought grew stronger, and Jia Fei focused his attention on checking the task list. Sure enough, the task content in the task list this time was significantly different from the last time. Those few abnormal tasks were still there, but several new tasks had also been added.

To his surprise, he actually found a job as an agent, and he excitedly accepted it immediately.

After accepting the task, Jia Fei happily continued washing the dishes...

Kemba Walker was very efficient. Early the next morning, he called Jia Fei to tell him that Jeff Schwartz had agreed to be the agent for Jia Fei and the other two. This big-name agent would come to Kangda to meet these clients in a few days and bring the agency contract.

Jia Fei was overjoyed; this was truly good news. He was happy not only because he would soon have an agent, but also because he would be completing the task related to the agent and earning points.

As for whether Jeff Schwartz came mainly to see the three of them or Kemba Walker, he no longer cared.

Three days later, agent Jeff Schwartz and his assistant arrived at Cornell University. This was Jia Fei's first time meeting this legendary agent. Schwartz didn't seem particularly special; outwardly, he was no different from any other blond, blue-eyed American middle-class man.

But Jia Fei knew that Schwarz must have had some extraordinary qualities to have achieved such a position.

Just as Jia Fei and the others had guessed, Schwartz had come specifically to see Kemba Walker. As for Jia Fei and his two companions, they were only brought along because of Walker's presence.

Jia Fei and his two companions didn't mind; it was the truth, and they were all aware of their own limitations. The three of them even pooled their money to treat Schwartz and his assistant to a meal, and then Schwartz acted as their guide, showing them around Cornell University.

After it was all over, Jia Fei and the other two signed their names on the agency contract.

From this point on, Jia Fei also had his own agent, the famous Jeff Schwartz!

That evening, Jia Fei excitedly checked the task list, and found that the task he had accepted had actually been completed. He happily received the task reward, which was 1000 points.

加上之前攒的3个积分，他现在手头的积分总数是1003个。他果断将这1003个积分兑换掉，这让他的艾弗森巅峰技术融合度从0%升到了1%！

Although the difference between 1% and 0% isn't huge, it was still a breakthrough for him because he saw hope. Humans are truly strange creatures; as long as they see hope, they generate extra motivation.

Jia Fei felt energized and, without hesitation, accepted the task of entering the NBA. Regardless of the outcome, he firmly believed he could make it to the NBA and become a true NBA player.

People always need to have dreams, otherwise what's the difference between them and salted fish?

PS: Salted Fish: "Stop using me as an analogy all the time. What did I do to deserve this? I'm dead and still being preserved, and you losers have to motivate me. Do you think it's easy for me? Please, have some decency and let me die in peace!"

May has arrived, and the spring semester for Cornell University students has come to an end. Whether they are freshmen, sophomores, or juniors, they will soon be enjoying their holidays.

For Jia Fei and his classmates, the end of the semester does not mean a holiday. They will face a major test: the upcoming joint training trial.

Having an agent has many advantages. For players like them who aren't even NBA rookies yet, there's naturally no such thing as endorsement contracts (except for top rookies). But whether it's registering for the draft, arranging tryouts, or contacting teams, having an agent makes things much, much easier.

今年的芝加哥联合试训将在5月19日开始。在5月10日，贾飞等康大4人就已经在杰夫·施瓦茨的安排下来到了芝加哥，在当地一个条件出色的训练馆里进行训练。施瓦茨还派了专门的教练指导他们。

From food and lodging to training, everything was arranged by their agent, Jeff Schwartz, without Jia Fei and his team spending a single penny. In Jia Fei's view, if none of them were selected, it would mean that all these investments would be wasted and they would not be able to recoup their costs.

But that's investment, and for a broker like Jeff Schwartz, this amount of money is really just a drop in the ocean.

In the past few days of training, Jia Fei once again demonstrated his extraordinary physical abilities. This time, Kemba Walker and others were finally convinced that the explosive jumping power and other physical qualities he displayed when playing 3v3 were not just a flash in the pan; he had truly transformed.