Legend of Tomorrow

The Lakers' fifteen-man lineup for the new season has been confirmed, and there is no need to find players for preseason inspections.

Center: O'Neal, Jelani McCoy.

Power forwards: Mark Madsen, Samaki Walker, Robert Horry, Medvedenko.

Small forwards: Rick Fox, Jim Jackson, Ryan Bowen, Devin George.

Shooting guards: Kobe Bryant, Mitch Richmond, Brian Shaw.

Point guard: Guo Xu, Fisher.

After looking at the lineup, Guo Xu felt that the suspense for the Lakers in the new season is not whether they can defend the championship, but whether they can set a new regular season record.

Veteran Horace Grant moves slowly and is more like a center than a power forward. The Lakers made a smart decision not to renew his contract. In the end, Grant returned to the Magic with an annual salary of 2 million.

The new Samaki is more suitable for the team system. He is a blue-collar man with strong athletic ability. He can defend the pick-and-roll and grab rebounds. On the offensive end, he can pick up misses at the basket. This is enough. The Lakers don't need him offensively at all. .

The swingman position has been strengthened even more. Jim Jackson can help the team whether he is a starter or a substitute. He catches and shoots very accurately.

O'Neal chatted with Guo Xu and felt that their biggest enemy next season will be garbage time. The statistics of the three of them may not be too good because it is too easy to win.

Even so, Guo Xu contacted Ganon Baker and practiced skills with him for two weeks to prepare for the new season.

In the time loop, Guo Xu owed Ganon a favor, but in reality he had to find a way to repay it.

Giving money directly was not an option. Ganon was a little embarrassed after hearing Guo Xu say that he wanted to learn techniques from him. He felt that his level was too far behind. Guo Xu was indeed much more powerful than him when he used the same trick.

Guo Xu's idea is that after practicing with Cannon for a period of time, he will mention him in interviews, praise him, and give him enough fame, so that more big-name players will come to him for training. Even without Guo Xu, Cannon will still be famous in the future, but he can advance this time much earlier.

In September, Guo Xu signed a five-year contract with Nike worth RMB 40 million, with an average endorsement fee of RMB 8 million per year.

During the finals, Guo Xu's worth increased to a terrifying level. Several major sports brands competed for him, and the endorsement fee of 5 million a year was the starting point.

The highest bidder at first was Reebok.

Before the finals ended, they offered him an annual salary of 8 million and a seven-year contract. This made Iverson feel uncomfortable. In 1996, Iverson and Reebok signed a 10-year contract with a total value of 50 million US dollars, which did not expire until 2006.

Guo Xu could have beaten Iverson by signing, but he refused without even frowning. The price was too low and the term was too long. He is a reborn person and knows how quickly sneaker endorsement contracts will rise in the future. As soon as James entered the league in 2003, he signed a seven-year, $93 million contract with Nike.

After Guo Xu refused, Reebok was under a lot of pressure. If they didn't get him, when Guo Xu signed with other companies, Reebok suspected that his sneakers would directly affect the sales of Iverson's sneakers. Both of them were short point guards, and Guo Xu After the finals, Xu's popularity vaguely surpassed that of Iverson.

After Guo Xu's trip to China, his popularity increased again, which made major brands aware of his status in China. After returning, several companies started to compete again and raised their quotations one after another.

Reebok mentioned a maximum of 10 million, and the contract was for 7 years, because they only had one star player who could do it in Iverson, and they were most affected. Adidas and Nike both quoted 8 million. Happy negotiated with the other party for more than half a year, and finally set the limit to 5 years, and decisively chose Nike.

In fact, Guo Xu identified with Nike from the beginning. When he played games, he wore sneakers from the three major brands in turn, in order to make them all feel that they had a chance to sign a contract, so that they could compete.

In 2001, Guo Xu's contract was already very large. When Kobe first entered the league, the endorsement contract he signed with Adidas was 10 million for five years. The contract did not expire until the summer of 2002.

Happy has always refused to let Guo Xu sign a sneaker endorsement, because it is difficult to sign a short-term contract, and once you sign it, it will be a long-term contract. When you first enter the league, you are not well-known, and your net worth cannot be high. If you become famous quickly, you will lose a lot.

Iverson, Kobe, and Carter all have higher commercial value, and they were cheated by big companies as soon as they debuted. Kobe was selected as an All-Star in his second year. How could he only have an endorsement fee of 2 million as long as he signed a year late?

Carter was even more stupid. In 1998, he signed a 10-year, $50 million endorsement contract with Puma, which was not professional in making basketball shoes. They only worked together for two seasons before they parted ways. Puma also withdrew from the basketball market in 2001.

Guo Xu's contract expires in 2006. He believes that he will be stronger than now and is not afraid that Nike will not provide a larger contract. Nike only signed a five-year contract because it was calculated that Guo Xu would not be able to renew his contract with the Lakers next year, fearing that he would decline after leaving the Lakers. Both parties made careful calculations and achieved a win-win situation.

As for Adidas, Guo Xu doesn't care how much money he pays because he is afraid of being cursed. Stars signed by Adidas in their previous lives have declined at a terrifying rate. Moreover, Adidas's decision-makers seem to be a bit mentally retarded. In fact, in Guo Xu's previous life, the three top and most popular people in NBA history all had a close relationship with Adidas, and they all missed it.

Adidas gave up on Jordan because of ridiculous reasons like his height; in 2003, they were robbed of James by Nike in order to save $3 million a year; after the Eagle County incident, Adidas and Kobe terminated their six-year, $48 million super contract. value contract.

After Guo Xu signed a contract with Nike, although the specific amount was not announced, everyone guessed that he made a fortune. However, he still did not buy a house in Los Angeles and rented an apartment. Therefore, there were more and more news analyzing that he would leave the Lakers in 2002.

At the end of September, the Lakers' new season training camp started.

During an interview on Media Day, Guo Xu was asked whether he would stay with the Lakers in the summer of 2002.

Guo Xu replied: Do you still need to ask? Of course I am willing to stay. I came for the Lakers during the draft. I hope to stay in Los Angeles for the rest of my life.

Guo Xu paused and then said: I have also read the news recently. I know it will be difficult for the Lakers to renew my contract. From the perspective of the management, they must consider issues such as salary space. I don't care, I think more. It’s useless, I’ll just finish the season with peace of mind and leave the rest to fate.”

He speaks from his heart. He likes Los Angeles and is lucky to play with the Lakers for a lifetime, but he doesn't believe that Buss will trade Kobe for him, even if his finals statistics are better than Kobe's.

The reason is very simple. Guo Xu's height is only 180cm. Even if he finds that he has grown 2cm after the summer and is now 182cm in shoes, his height is still at a disadvantage. He is fundamentally different from Kobe and cannot achieve a balance between offense and defense.

The reporter asked: Are you confident that you will play better in the new season?

Guo Xu smiled and said: Of course, I had special training in the summer. Ganon Baker is an excellent trainer. I learned some new techniques from him. I am completely ready.

Guo Xu proved this in the open training session on the second day. He played like Fisher, could hit three-pointers from the outside, and cooperated very well with his new teammates.

The new teammates don't have to take on too many tasks. They can just stand still and wait for the star to attract defensive points, catch the ball and shoot. Jim Jackson has become the biggest surprise for the Lakers. He is particularly accurate in catching and shooting from the outside, and his three-pointers are much better than Fox.

Zen Master tried several tactics. Regardless of triangle offense, pick-and-roll offense, or quick counterattack, the players were able to play smoothly. The fans present were so excited that they were waiting for the Lakers' regular season performance.