No matter how regretful Adrian is, life is life and must go on.
"Molly, congratulations. Well, although Broadway is not as good as Hollywood, it is still a road to fame. As long as you work hard and persevere, you will succeed one day. I think about it, maybe one day I can be at the Oscar ceremony.
I see you there. Well, I'm sorry Molly, I have a competition that day and I'm afraid I won't be able to go to New York, but I will watch it online. Nowadays, Broadway plays will be broadcast live online, right? Don't worry, I
I will cheer you up. When you go on stage, just think that I am watching you in front of the computer screen at the other end." Adrian kept talking into the phone with a smile.
Ever since they met little Molly by chance outside the back door of a Hollywood studio that day, the two have kept in touch. Molly has now become a fan of Adrian. According to her, she attends all of Adrian’s games.
I didn’t miss a single scene. Even if I couldn’t go there to watch it, I would still watch it live in front of the TV.
Adrian also continued to encourage this lovely girl on the phone. Whenever she was depressed due to fatigue from work and lack of opportunities, Adrian would always encourage her. Now Molly Quinn seems to like her
Talking to Adrian on the phone is normal. He will call every two or three days at most. The two of them have no fixed topics and always chat about all kinds of things. Through the phone, Adrian can obviously
I feel Molly's cheerfulness.
In addition, Adrian's new contract has also made new progress during this period of vacation.
Restricted by the Arenas Clause, it is stipulated that the first-year amount of the new contract signed by Adrian cannot exceed the mid-level for that year.
In any case, the Lakers management is a group of capitalists. Kupchak naturally hopes to sign a long-term contract with Adrian with a lower salary, which will undoubtedly be more beneficial to the Lakers. But Ryan is not a fuel-efficient lamp.
, having been trained by his agent’s predator uncle for so many years, he has long been familiar with how to deal with the general manager. More importantly, Adrian’s increasingly outstanding performance on the court has given Ryan the capital to threaten Kupchak.
The Lakers actually have their own difficulties. The Lakers' salary this season has reached more than 71 million U.S. dollars, and the league's luxury tax threshold this year is 70.3 million U.S. dollars, which is already 100 million dollars more than the luxury tax threshold.
Well, in this case, it means that for every dollar of additional salary expenditures, the Lakers will have to pay an extra dollar as a luxury tax penalty.
Except for teams like New York, which have deep pockets and almost never have to worry about the ball market, every other team in the league has heard of "luxury". Although the Lakers are also rich, the luxury tax issue is also
It will give the Lakers a headache.
However, regarding Kupchak's attempt to persuade Adrian to cut his salary due to the luxury tax, Ryan made a righteous rebuttal on behalf of Adrian: "It's ridiculous. The luxury tax is the team's problem, not the team's problem."
My employer’s problem. What kind of salary should I get based on the performance of my employer. To be honest, if it weren’t for NBA regulations, it would be natural for my employer to get the maximum salary. If the Lakers are like this
There is no sincerity. I think the best choice for my employer is to find teams that are more sincere. Mr. Kupchak, I don’t think I need to remind you that as long as my employer enters the zi you market, the zi you market will
What a scene it is!”
remind?
Of course no need to remind!
Even if you search all over the league, you can't find many tall point guards who can average 20 plus 10 points per game. What's more, this is the first season of his NBA career and he is only 19 years old.
, after his birthday, he was only twenty years old, and there was still a lot of room for growth. No one knew what Adrian's future would be like.
It is obviously impossible to persuade Adrian to reduce his salary requirements.
More importantly, the Lakers are absolutely unwilling to lose Adrian. Now that they are getting better and better, if they lose Adrian next season, Kupchak can imagine what Kobe's face will be like, and Kobe's transformation at that time.
Yes, but it’s not just about making fun!
This is the advantage of having an agent. If Adrian goes to negotiate in person, in order to avoid the collapse of the negotiation between the two parties and to leave room for both parties, some methods cannot be used even if they are clearly known to be effective.
But the agent is different. The agent can use all means at will without thinking too much about the consequences. Of course, if Kupchak is upset and the talks really fall apart, the worst is a transfer. As long as he signs it
If the players are strong enough, who in the market won't rob them? At that time, he can even select them one by one, and naturally he can select a team that satisfies both players and agents.
Even if Adrian is unwilling to transfer and leave, he can kick Ryan away and start negotiations again. This is the advantage of having an agent. Not only can he help the players with work, negotiate professional contracts, and pull all kinds of things.
Commercial endorsements can also serve as a shield at critical moments. They extract commissions from players' various contracts for this purpose.
Of course, Kupchak failed to calm down in the end. Kobe became restless some time ago and repeatedly forced the management to find good helpers for him to fight for the championship. Kupchak couldn't imagine what would happen if he was in such a situation.
In this case, if the contract extension negotiation between the Lakers and Adrian breaks down, or is delayed in reaching an extension, how will Kobe react at that time?
Kobe had a contract option in 2009. If Kobe gets angry and chooses to jump out of the contract after two seasons to chase the championship, then the Lakers will really lose his wife and lose his troops. Ryan keeps pushing forward.
But there was still room for Kupchak to compromise, and finally, under such circumstances, he reached a contract that was completely beneficial to Adrian.
After the new contract is signed, the one-year minimum salary contract Adrian previously signed with the Lakers will be invalidated. The new contract will be a four-year contract starting from 2006 to 2010, with a team option for the final year.
, the contract value is US$25.52 million and lasts for four years.
5.5 million in the first year, and then maintained an annual growth rate of 10%. In the second year, it was 6.05 million, in the third year, it was 6.65 million, and in the fourth year, it was 7.32 million.
.
This is almost the largest contract that Adrian can sign at this stage. Ryan is still a little dissatisfied with the team option in the last year. According to his idea, it is best to sign the player option in the last year, so as to provide himself with
His employer strived for the maximum benefits, but Kupchak obviously chose not to give in on this point. No matter what, he insisted on the team option for the last year and refused to let go. Ryan saw that it was really impossible to win.
I had no choice but to give up.
"You did a good job, Ryan." After reading the contract in detail, Adrian's eyes couldn't help but show a look of satisfaction. For Ryan to be able to win such a contract for him, Adrian
He still expressed his affirmation of his ability.
"Regarding the planning book we talked about last time, do you understand where your mistake was?"
"Of course, Ed." Ryan nodded lightly: "I did make a mistake in this matter. I failed to consider that you come from a completely different group from the average NBA players. Most of the NBA players
They all come from the lower class of the United States, such as O'Neal, O'Neal Jr., Kwame Brown, Turiaf, Iverson, Jordan and a series of other black stars are from the lower class. Among them, Iverson even came from the slums.
Only a handful of those who came out were from the middle class, such as Kobe Bryant, Grant Hill, Tim Hardaway, etc.
Adrian's background is completely different from theirs. Adrian's parents are both very successful businessmen. Although they finally revised their wills and donated most of their inheritance to charities, leaving it to Adrian.
He only has millions of dollars in funds and a few properties, but this cannot change the fact that Adrian comes from the upper class.
Unlike ordinary players, the inheritance Adrian received from his parents included a fairly extensive network of contacts. This constituted the fundamental difference between Adrian and other NBA players. In Ryan's previous plan, he
He didn't notice this at all, or in other words, he didn't take Adrian's personal image into consideration at all.
Third-rate agents deal with contracts, and what they try to consider is how to sign a bigger, fatter contract and various sponsorships for their players. Second-rate agents will consider the impact of the contract on the player's image while signing the contract.
, select suitable contracts to increase the commercial value of players.
What truly top-notch agents do is image. In their hands, a top player is no longer just a player, but a brand, an image, and a unique existence.
For example, the image of Jordan as the omnipotent god of basketball.
O'Neal's powerful yet funny image.
Iverson's rebellious and proud image.
Grant-Hill has the image of a humble gentleman.
Even more recently, Kobe Bryant’s ‘Black Mamba’ image.
These are all success stories.
The biggest characteristic of these league superstars is that when you mention them, you will never confuse their image with anyone else. Even after leaving the NBA, their images that have become imprints are still engraved in the hearts of a generation.
What Adrian wants is an agent who can shape his image, not an agent who will only sign commercial endorsements for him.
There is no doubt that Ryan has the potential to become a first-class agent. At least he can figure out where he went wrong. Although his uncle's advice is indispensable, having such an uncle is a talent in itself.
