radicalducati Chapter 347 Lin is injured! The injury is so serious it will affect the All-Star Game.
Chapter 347 Lin is injured! The injury is so serious it will affect the All-Star Game.
Chapter 347 Lin is injured! The injury is so serious that it will affect the All-Star Game and the playoffs!
The Pacers narrowly defeated the Warriors by 2 points; Lin Tian only scored 43 points!
Lin Tian's 50+ point streak ends after 8 games; let's review his performance in those eight matches!
Eight consecutive 50+ point games, nine consecutive 40+ point games – Lin's performance this season is simply terrifying!
"The Ultimate Mode! Lin's performance after his teammates fell was insanely strong!"
"Ranked only fourth in the MVP rankings? If he stays at this ranking, Lin might average 40 points per game this season!"
Never underestimate the mind of a madman! When Lin wants to score, no one can stop him!
"King of January! A look back at Lillard's performance 5 years ago when he first became Player of the Month in January!"
"The legend begins here! Five years ago in January, Jordan was sidelined with an injury, and Lin took his first step towards becoming a top point guard!"
"Still a mystery to this day: How exactly did Michael Jordan sprain his ankle 5 years ago?"
"Serious Inconsistencies Abound! Proctologists Gather Outside Michael Jordan's Hospital Room, Yet the Publicly Reported Injury is a Sprained Ankle?"
"F*** it! What the hell is this?! What does it have to do with me?! Lin gets 50 points, what does it have to do with me?! Are these reporters all made of shit? Is there nothing in their brains but shit?" In the Washington Wizards' president's office, Jordan angrily slammed the newspaper in his hand on the table again and again!
He was absolutely furious.
Lin Tian scored 50+ points eight times in a row, awesome!
Lin Tian hit 13 three-pointers in a single game, awesome!
But what does that have to do with me!
If you're going to report it, fine, but why drag me into it? And if you're going to drag me into it, fine, but why the hell are you bringing up the most painful and desperate thing in my career? Did I sprain my ankle and eat your rice?
When Jordan was incredibly angry, that was when the Wizards players were in trouble.
After all, he's not the type to sulk and get angry at himself; he's the type to vent his frustrations immediately!
"Boss, you're here." At the Wizards' training facility, their interim head coach Leonard couldn't help but shudder when he saw Jordan enter.
After all, the Wizards have only won 9 games so far. With this record, the most vulnerable person on this team is the head coach! If the owner is in a bad mood, he can be fired at any time.
Every time he saw Jordan, he was terrified.
"Here they are. Where are the players?" Jordan chewed his gum, but he didn't want a reply from the head coach. He went straight to the training field.
"Richard? Come here, play a couple of one-on-one games with me!" Jordan glanced at the players on the court, casually pointed to the team's second-year guard, Hamilton, who wasn't wearing a mask yet, and said, "Let's play a couple of games."
This is how Jordan vented his anger: he beat up his teammate, Karami!
Hamilton's face immediately turned as bitter as a bitter gourd.
What decent person would want to play one-on-one with Jordan?
Don't let his age fool you; this old guy is almost 40, but he's got that same energy, in fact, he's even more fierce!
In particular, this old guy not only hasn't lost his energy, but his skills, abilities, shooting accuracy, and other things haven't declined at all!
Not only is it almost impossible to win a one-on-one fight with him, but you also have to endure his endless stream of trash talk!
It's absolutely a double torment, both physically and mentally!
"Making 13 three-pointers in a single game is impressive, huh?" Jordan had just stood next to Hamilton when he raised his elbow and slammed it into Hamilton's chest, muttering, "You little bean sprout, I'll beat you until you're crying for your parents, then you won't know why flowers are so red!"
Lin Tian, of course, had no idea about Hamilton's screams. What he did know was that the team's schedule had finally become a little easier.
He no longer needs to score 50 points to guarantee the team's victory.
In the last four games of January, Lin Tian scored less than 40 points in three of them, and in the remaining game, he only scored 41 points.
Compared to Lin Tian's crazy scoring spree in the first half of the month, with eight consecutive games scoring 50 points, his performance in the last few games was really 'mediocre'!
After the Pacers' last game on January 31, Lin Tian's trial period finally ended, and his crazy month-long journey finally came to a close.
This month, the Pacers played a total of 13 games and achieved a perfect record of 13 wins. Lin Tian himself scored 50 points in 8 games! And it was consecutive. There were only 3 games in which he did not score more than 40 points. In the remaining 10 games, he scored more than 40 points in all of them!
Lin Tian's average stats this month have also reached an astonishing level.
场均47.7分8.1篮板6.9助攻3.5抢断和1.2盖帽！
His shooting percentages were 59.4%, 49.8%, and 94.1% respectively!
It's worth mentioning that his monthly average of 47.7 points ranks fifth in NBA history!
As for the top four...
It's the same person again! The inescapable monster, Wilt Chamberlain!
But Lin Tian's performance this month can definitely be described as a "new era monster"!
Terrifyingly powerful!
Extremely powerful!
Besides these words, there really isn't any suitable word to describe Lin Tian.
He really did everything!
With the team short-handed, he single-handedly carried the team, leading them on a winning streak, regaining the top spot in the Eastern Conference, and also thrashing several of the league's top teams!
Kings, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, Magic...
The Pacers had a tough schedule this month, but Lin Tian held his nerve and led the team to a perfect record with Carter and Webber out!
Of course, he also casually won three Player of the Week awards and the Player of the Month award! His MVP ranking unsurprisingly reached number one; he dominated the entire league!
The Pacers' record has improved from 21 wins and 9 losses at the end of December to 34 wins and 9 losses now! They have once again firmly occupied the top spot in the Eastern Conference and have returned to the top of the power rankings. Their record is now only slightly worse than the Lakers' 36 wins and 9 losses!
The Pacers have climbed from fourth in the league to second this month!
而林天自己的赛季场均数据，在1月份开始之前，是26.3分11.1助攻6.2篮板3.1抢断。
By the end of January, Lin Tian's stats had reached a terrifying 32.9 points, 9.8 assists, 6.7 rebounds, 3.2 steals, and 1.2 blocks!
A crazy month!
Although Lin Tian's average assists dropped by about 1.5 per game this month, his scoring has seen a crazy surge, jumping from 26 points to nearly 33 points!
This huge improvement of 7 points directly propelled Lin Tian from fifth place on the scoring list to second place, surpassing Kobe, Shaq, and Stackhouse!
He's only 0.1 points behind Allen Iverson, who's number one!
If it weren't for Iverson's equally hot form this month, averaging nearly 35 points per game, he would have been overtaken by Lin Tian long ago!
But if everything goes according to the pace of January, Lin Tian could overtake Iverson in a week at most and win his second scoring title!
After all, his recent condition is truly terrifying!
For fans, the most painful yet happiest thing at this moment must be that the Pacers' roster is finally complete again!
After missing nearly two months, Carter and Webber have finally fully recovered and, with the team doctor's approval, both chose to return to the court on the same day!
On February 1st, these two guys successfully returned to play in the Pacers' home game against the Pistons!
The reason for choosing this time is quite simple.
For his first game back, he should find an easy opponent to bully!
Even before the match began, fans had a very bad feeling!
Lin Tian is probably going to slack off!
Sure enough, Lin Tian went into passing mode as soon as the game started!
In the very first possession, he delivered an alley-oop pass to Carter, assisting Carter in completing a powerful two-handed windmill dunk!
Then, Lin Tian and Webber's pick-and-roll play was repeated on the court. Lin Tian tapped the ball on the floor with one hand, and Webber dribbled down the court and completed a powerful one-handed dunk!
Providing two assists in the first two rounds is enough to demonstrate Lin Tian's attitude in tonight's game!
You two just got back, play more games to get a feel for it, I'll leave the court to you!
That night, Lin Tian only took 15 shots and scored 24 points, but at the same time he delivered 17 assists!
Clearly, Lin Tian is more interested in continuing to dominate the assist leaderboard than competing with Allen Iverson for the scoring title!
After all, after a spree throughout January, Lin Tian's average assist ranking has dropped from first to second!
No one in the entire league averages more than 10 assists per game this year. Only Kidd's 9.9 assists are currently slightly ahead of Lin Tianyi.
But judging from Lin Tian's efficiency in providing assists tonight...
Okay, if Kidd falters even once, Lin Tian will overtake him again!
On the night Lin Tian only scored 24 points, Iverson, in Philadelphia, was on fire, scoring 53 points and slightly widening the gap between himself and Lin Tian. He was striving for his first scoring title in his career!
In previous years, Iverson had been the runner-up in the scoring list several times. If second place is the number one loser, then Iverson has really lost it all!
This year, Iverson finally got a new coach, the kind of open coach who lets him play to his full potential without any interference or restrictions. This style of play has led to a significant improvement in Iverson's performance and statistics.
So Iverson certainly wouldn't miss this year's opportunity!
He's going to win his first scoring title!
As February arrives, the All-Star voting for this season has officially ended!
After a frenzy of voting by fans around the world, the ten starting players for the East and West have been selected!
In the Western Conference, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles duo, both received over 200 million votes and were once again selected as All-Star starters. The other guard selected was Jason Williams, who received 140 million votes!
This marks the second time in his career that "White Chocolate" has been selected as an All-Star starter, a selection that has sparked considerable controversy.
If we were to say that in Lin Tian's previous life, Williams was the biggest omission outside of the All-Star game and the player who most deserved to be selected among all those who had never made it to the All-Star Game.
So this time, Williams has transformed into the weakest player among all the players who have been selected as All-Star starters twice in a row!
Countless people began to question the voting mechanism and methods, and what kind of league the NBA really is—is it a circus or a competitive sport?
If it were a circus, then Williams winning 10 MVPs wouldn't be an exaggeration, but in competitive sports, Williams' level is still quite a distance from being an All-Star starter.
It can only be said that with every gain comes a loss!
But no matter what kind of public opinion crisis Williams encountered, he didn't care at all, and AND1 not only didn't care, but even added fuel to the fire!
They directly produced several brand-new signature "trash talk T-shirts" as Williams merchandise.
Slogans like "You know nothing," "I'm an All-Star starter, who the hell are you?" "Fearless of rumors," and "Growing wildly"—whether arrogant or inspirational—have become a new sight on the streets.
While the Western Conference guards are somewhat controversial, the forward position is a complete disaster! With Duncan and Malone moving to the Eastern Conference, apart from Garnett being a top player, the Western Conference forwards are either too old or too young to be worth mentioning.
Garnett was selected as the starting forward without any doubt, receiving 278 million votes, second only to O'Neal, making him the second-most voted player in the West. However, the other starting forward in the West received a much less impressive number of votes.
Scottie Pippen, who has aged further this season and is only averaging 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game, became another starting forward in the West with 78 votes, thanks to the lack of top talent in the Western Conference!
Fans were clearly unhappy with Pippen becoming an All-Star starter, but the thing is, after looking at the Western Conference frontcourt, they finally realized: Pippen is the one, you deserve it!
This shows that the large number of Western forwards moving east has led to a serious talent gap!
Compared to the west, the voting results in the east are equally interesting.
The center position received the most votes, which went to Alonzo Mourning. However, he is still fighting a tough battle with kidney disease. Although he has not been officially ruled out for the season, everyone knows that he may not only miss this season, but his professional career may also be over!
Meanwhile, in the rankings of Eastern Conference forwards, Vince Carter, who had just recovered from injury, was ranked first without any suspense. However, in second place was Grant Hill, another poor guy who, although not yet announced to be out for the season, had no idea when he would be able to play again.
The backcourt rankings are much simpler: Lin Tian and Iverson are far ahead of everyone else and easily made the cut.
Or rather, Lin Tian is far ahead of everyone else, while Iverson is far ahead of everyone else!
Lin Tian raised the All-Star voting record again this year, reaching 570 million votes! That's 10 more than last year. Iverson got 290 million votes, ranking second in the entire league. As for McGrady, who ranked third, he only had a pitiful 130 million votes, not even half of Iverson's.
In short, in the final roster for the East, two positions are dominated, and two and a half positions are filled by players with health issues.
This also means that two replacement spots will be created in the East, and Stern will hand over two lucky guys to replace Mourning and Hill as the new All-Star starters!
In addition, Stern wanted to bring back Lin Tian and Carter, the two mischievous duo, to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest for another showdown.
But Lin Tian refused without even thinking!
I'm not interested. I've already won the title of the greatest dunker of all time. You can't eat a lot of these things. I might as well leave some room for others to live.
Yes, I'm talking about Carter!
Theoretically speaking, given Carter's dunking ability, apart from Lin Tian, only Jason Richardson, who will enter the league next year, could barely compete with him in recent years. No one else could be Carter's opponent. This dunking title should be a piece of cake for Carter.
Unexpectedly, Carter refused outright, saying that if Lin Tian wasn't going, neither would he!
And then? Then AND1 quickly called Lin Tian, asking him to persuade Carter.
They've even come up with some ridiculous phrases like "two dunk kings take off side by side." If you, Carter, don't participate, wouldn't that be making things difficult for me, Zion Williamson?
Of course, AND1 wouldn't call Lin Tian just for such a small matter. They had another purpose in calling Lin Tian: the sneaker contract!
Previously, Lin Tian signed a 5-year contract with AND1, which included a base salary, bonuses, and various commissions. When that contract was released, it sparked a lot of discussion. Countless people thought AND1 was crazy! In fact, even the three founders of AND1 thought they were crazy.
They actually offered Lin Tian, a guard who had only played for a year at the time, such a huge contract that was called the "second largest shoe contract in history".
Fortunately, the final result was perfect! Both Lin Tian and AND1 got what they wanted, and both sides made a fortune. This collaboration is also known as the most successful win-win collaboration since Jordan and Nike!
After acquiring Lin Tian, AND1's reputation, influence, sales, and global presence have grown steadily, and they are gradually showing signs of competing with top brands such as Adidas and Nike.
Meanwhile, their roster of signed players is second only to Nike in the league! Besides Lin Tian, they also have two All-Star starter-caliber players, Carter and Williams! In terms of top-tier players alone, AND 1 is in no way inferior to Nike!
AND1 has successfully globalized and scaled up its brand, becoming a world-class sports brand and a favorite among street kids worldwide.
Lin Tian, on the other hand, has also made a fortune through the AND1 brand. In recent years, the shoe dividends and profit sharing that AND1 has given him have amounted to millions of US dollars every year! The share alone is higher than the shoe contracts of more than 95% of the players in the league!
It can be said that Lin Tian and AND1 have achieved mutual success and a win-win cooperation!
But no matter how good the cooperation is, the contract will eventually expire, and when the contract expires, it must be renewed!
The five-year contract will expire in July this year. AND1's idea is that there is no need to wait until July to listen to other brands' offers. Let's renew the contract in advance and let other brands like Adidas and Nike go to hell!
Lin Tian didn't say much about AND1's suggestion. If it's an early renewal, then let's renew it!
After all, for an athlete of Lin Tian's caliber, after cultivating this brand for so many years, suddenly switching brands would definitely do more harm than good. His brand image needs to be rebuilt, his products need to be redesigned, and he also needs to take the risk of whether the fans can accept it.
Unless AND1 goes completely mad and offers Lin Tian some insulting price to enslave him, Lin Tian has almost no need or intention to switch brands!
Then Lin Tian thought of the three AND1 founders with dreadlocks and dreadlocks, who looked more street-smart, more rock-and-roll, and more like hooligans than big business owners, and he realized that he was overthinking things.
Those three guys were quite to Lin Tian's liking, and Lin Tian could even foresee the scene of those three coming to negotiate with him.
"Lin Na, we're old friends, so let's be frank and I'll give you a price you absolutely can't refuse. Then you can sign it, and we'll go somewhere fun and have some fun!"
Yes, that's most likely the case.
After making the appointment with AND1, Lin Tian hung up the phone.
As for their request for Lin Tian to persuade Carter to participate in the dunk contest, Lin Tian didn't take it to heart, and he felt that they didn't either.
The most important thing is to negotiate a brand new sneaker contract!
Next up is the 3-point tournament, and Stern invited Lin Tian, meaning he wanted Lin Tian to go up and continue to create some excitement.
But Lin Tian once again expressed his lack of interest and said he wouldn't go!
"Your projects are all the same old stuff, so boring. Here's the deal: call me again when you've developed something new, and I'll definitely come!"
"You said it!" Stern perked up immediately upon hearing this. "See you next year!"
Stern hung up the phone without giving Lin Tian a chance to react!
It's a deal, no take-backs! See you next year!
After hanging up, Stern immediately called the technical department: "You guys, design me a brand new, fun All-Star individual competition, the kind guards can participate in. Design it now, I want it in use next year, and make it a brand new individual challenge!"
Well, Stern actually has absolutely no clue and hasn't thought about this at all, but since Lin Tian agreed, he absolutely has to let Lin Tian come! Otherwise, what if this thing is delayed for another two years and that bastard Lin Tian goes back on his word and acts like a rogue?
That would be a huge loss!
After hanging up the phone, Stern fell into deep thought.
In fact, he was very dissatisfied with the voting results of this year's All-Star game!
It's not that he's dissatisfied with the selected players; he doesn't care who makes the starting lineup or not. In fact, Stern thinks it would be best if all 10 players were controversial, and ideally, all 10 players could spark the same kind of discussion and controversy as Williams!
All he wants is attention and traffic!
Stern was unhappy with Lin Tian's vote count!
Only 570 million!
That's too few! Logically speaking, given Lin Tian's performance in January of this year, Stern originally thought that Lin Tian could make a breakthrough and directly push the voting record to 6 million!
But who knew that this was only an increase of 10 compared to last season!
It's so slow!
Even though this number is 5-6 times higher than the 100 million or 90 without Lin Tianshi, what does it mean to be insatiable? What does it mean to go from frugality to extravagance, but to go back to frugality?
If there were no significant changes each year, Stern wouldn't be dissatisfied. However, after two consecutive years of explosive growth in votes, this year's vote count has stagnated, which greatly displeases Stern.
Like rowing against the current, if you don't move forward, you'll drift backward!
After much deliberation, Stern drew a conclusion regarding this year's virtually unchanged vote count.
Indiana is not good enough for Lin Tian!
Their market is still too small, and they simply cannot fully develop Lin Tian's business potential!
This is a huge waste of time! We have to find a way to give Lin Tian a change of scenery; it's all for the sake of the alliance!
You Indians, it's not a big deal if you suffer a little loss, right?
How many years are left on Lin Tian's contract? Three years?
We need to think of a solution in advance.
Think of a way that satisfies everyone and makes everyone comfortable.
At the same time, in the Pacers' president's office, Carlisle sat down in front of Bird and said, "Larry, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
"What? Seriously, Rick, you've done a really good season! Even better than I expected! You have to keep up the good work!"
Bird smiled easily. He was naturally happy that the team was able to maintain its top spot in the East despite missing three key players!
"I think Lin is injured!"
But his smile froze on his face the next second. What the hell?
Injured? Or do you think he's injured? Bird's good mood vanished instantly, and he stared wide-eyed at Carlisle, asking, "What happened? When did this happen? Where is the injury? How did you find out? You mean he played for a long time with an injury?"
"Then why the hell did you let him increase the pressure down there? Are you crazy or have you lost your mind? Make him come back here for an examination! Come back here for an examination right now!"
"No, no, that's not what I meant."
Carlisle realized he'd misspoke, scratched his head, and said, "I mean, I think he can get hurt."
"He played an incredibly long time last month! He barely rested for a whole month, he was battling against the league's top opponents all month long, he was double-teamed and isolated all month long."
"We've already achieved a 14-game winning streak, but I think now that everyone's back, it's time to let Lin rest a bit. Otherwise, if he gets too tired and develops an illness, he might suffer an injury closer to or during the playoffs."
"You're right." Bird nodded in deep agreement with Carlisle's words, agreeing with him.
Lin Tian really needs to rest.
"Especially since Lin joined the league in '95, he only fell in the Eastern Conference semifinals once, and every other season he made it to the Finals and won the championship! And in the only series he lost, Lin played almost every game, putting on the highest load of his career."
"This summer, Lin also played in the Olympics and more than ten warm-up games! He didn't rest all summer! And throughout Lin's career, he has almost never missed a game due to injury! The reason he missed games was always because he was suspended by the league for fighting."
"So honestly, he really needs to rest and relax. Maybe it doesn't need to be for long, but I think 1-2 weeks is enough."
"I agree." Bird, a former player, didn't say much, simply nodding and saying, "You handle it! It's all up to you!"
In the following days, the league games continued, and after winning another game, the Pacers finally lost again, ending their 15-game winning streak.
Meanwhile, the league also announced the reserve roster for this year's All-Star Game, the rosters for each individual competition, and the roster for the Rising Stars Challenge.
Everyone started to relax at this point, after all, the All-Star Game was coming soon!
Everyone can enjoy a rare All-Star Weekend, recover from their exhaustion, and enjoy a fantastic show.
This time of year is considered by many to be the most boring phase of the long regular season. Players tend to relax during this period, resulting in lower quality games. The league also tries to schedule some less high-profile games during this time.
The league generally avoids scheduling high-profile and crucial games during this time slot to prevent the games from being poorly played and damaging the league's reputation.
In short, during this phase, especially after the All-Star rosters have been announced, it's inevitable that many stars will take it easy and relax a bit beforehand.
This year's king of paddling is undoubtedly Lin Tian!
On February 6th, the Pacers did not have a game today, and the whole team practiced as usual.
After Lin Tian changed his clothes, on his way to the training hall as usual, he accidentally kicked the water cup that Da Ben had just finished drinking from. The water cup fell over and hot water spilled all over the ground.
"Ben, can't you put your water cup away properly after you finish drinking? Hurry up and get the mop and clean the floor!" Lin Tian looked at the water stains all over the floor and felt that Ben's manners were very poor.
Who would just put a water cup in the middle of the road like that?
"Did you kick the water glass?" Carlisle stretched and walked up behind Lin Tian, asking, "Are you alright, Lin?"
"It's just kicking a water glass, it's not like I swallowed it." Lin Tian found Carlisle's question very strange.
Something's wrong? What could possibly be wrong with him?
Did he break his toe after kicking a water glass, thus missing two months? He thinks Carlisle is just being paranoid because the team has had too many injuries lately.
Indeed, a toe fracture like that is quite exaggerated, so exaggerated that it doesn't make sense.
To make sense, we can only slightly embellish the whole process.
"Yes, that's it. Lin accidentally stepped on a water glass while walking, which caused her to sprain her ankle. But it's nothing serious. There's no structural damage or swelling, just some pain."
"It's just a stage one sprain. If it were the playoffs, Lin might be able to play if he gritted his teeth. But at this stage of the season, we don't think it's necessary to risk Lin. So, as a precaution, he will probably rest for 1-2 weeks to check if there are any other complications in his ankle."
Just as Lin Tian stepped on the water cup, ptooey!
On the night he kicked the water cup, Lin Tian was playing video games at home when he inexplicably received a call from Pelinka. Pelinka asked Lin Tian to check the team's daily injury report, and Lin Tian discovered that he was on the injury list.
Lin Tian even saw Carlisle's words at the press conference later through a replay.
What's going on?
I'm injured, but I don't even know it?
Lin Tian, who was deeply puzzled, originally wanted to call Carlisle to ask him properly, but before he could make the call, Carlisle called him.
"Lin, take a good rest. If you want to play in the All-Star Game, take a week off and come back for the All-Star Game. If you don't want to play in the All-Star Game, take two weeks off and come back after the All-Star Weekend. That way you can get an extra three days of rest."
"No, that's not what I meant," Lin Tian said. "I just wanted to say, I'm injured, why didn't I know?"
"The organization thinks you've been working too hard lately and playing too many games, so they've decided that you should take a break. That's the decision. But don't wander around. If reporters find out you've disappeared or gone to another city to do something, they'll inevitably report things in a bad way, which won't be good for you."
Carlisle thoughtfully added, "But in nightclubs within Indiana, feel free to be as unrestrained as you like! It's our own place; you know best which ones are safe!"
"Get some rest and enjoy your vacation. Leave the team matters to us."
Lin Tian watched Carlisle hang up the phone so quickly, as if Carlisle was afraid that he would argue with him on the phone that he didn't need to rest and that he could keep calling.
Lin Tian said: Dude, you're completely overthinking it! I'm not that dedicated!
Paid leave was granted under duress from the organization.
Why would Lin Tian refuse such a good thing!
Work your butt off when you need to, and rest when you need to – there's no conflict!
Did Carlisle not communicate with Bird, so he didn't know how low his morals were?
Bird: We talked, but I also think you love basketball, and I'm afraid you'll refuse this kind of thing!
In short, Lin Tian and the team quickly reached an agreement. Lin Tian will be out for two weeks due to injury and will return to the court after two weeks.
Then, Lin Tian called Pelinka again: "I'm not going to Washington for the All-Star game; I'll stay in Indiana. Can you arrange for all the AND1 players to come to Indiana? We can use this time to discuss the new shoe contracts!"
"Should I call someone from Nike or Adidas? They're willing to sign you too. We can put some pressure on AND1 and get them to raise their price." Pelinka's voice came through the phone, full of cunning.
"No need. Austin and the others are on our side. There's no need to resort to such low-level business tactics. Besides, if they really don't know what's good for them and make some ridiculous offer, we can just kick them out!"
"Understood." Pelinka's style was always simple and direct. After resolving this matter, he quickly continued, "Then there's another group of people I think you could meet. They also want to talk to you about cooperation, and I think we'll have a very good discussion!"
"Fine, let's have them all come during next week's All-Star Weekend. Let's sit down and have a good chat!" Lin Tian didn't ask Pelinka who else he had found to discuss cooperation, nor did he care.
After so many years of cooperation, he still has absolute trust in Pelinka. Although this guy is a shameless scoundrel and a very cunning businessman who likes to take advantage of loopholes and make money, there is absolutely no need to worry about his business acumen!
Very reliable!
This guy wouldn't hire himself to endorse any kind of throat lozenges or miracle pills.
Even now, Lin Tian doesn't have many endorsements. Pelinka cherishes Lin Tian's reputation and doesn't want him to have endorsements that bring in money but affect his image and status. He is very selective about the endorsements he gets.
Unbeknownst to Lin Tian, at that very moment in Boston, in the nightclub office where Pierce had once treated Lin Tian to a meal, two white men were huddled together watching a video.
It was the surveillance footage of Lin Tian and Miller facing off against 15 people that night!
"That's awesome! Hey, look at this guy's coordination of his front and back punches! Absolutely brilliant! I've watched this video 20 times already, and it's still so exciting!" A bald white man excitedly waved his fist, analyzing the video as if it were a movie.
"His initial forward kick was truly precise and powerful, knocking the dagger from the black man's hand! Had the kick been slightly off-target, the man could have reacted and countered with his own knife, or even landed directly on the blade!"
"Judging from this kid's appearance, he's obviously very confident and has everything under control! A natural fighting prodigy! It's a real waste that he's playing in the NBA." Another white man also commented on Lin Tian's live fight.
"But White, no matter how good or exciting this is, it's just a video less than two minutes long. Do you really need to come here to watch it all the time? Why don't you just copy it?"
"This is the crime scene! Seeing this thing here at the crime scene is especially exciting!" The bald man called White laughed. "Hehe, I've recently contacted some people in Shanglin. I hope I can collaborate with him and come up with some interesting new gadgets!"
"You want to fight him in the ring? Then I'll mortgage this whole place and bet you'll die in the ring! Then I can own 10 stores right away!" The guy who seemed to be the owner of the nightclub immediately mocked his old friend.
"You won't be laughing for long, Lorenzo."
"So you're going to ask me for money again, huh?" Lorenzo rolled his eyes and said, "I'm not lending you any money."
"It's not a loan, it's an investment! If everything goes smoothly, we can invest in a project together. It's guaranteed to be extremely profitable, and it's a long-term investment that will definitely make you a fortune!"
"Come on, the only really profitable businesses I know are selling drugs or weapons, but I'm not interested in either of those." Lorenzo shrugged, still uninterested. "Or, at the very least, you'd have to give me a very detailed and meticulous plan before I'll even consider it."
When White heard that his old friend had finally relented, his eyes lit up. He knew that his old friend's words meant that he had a great intention to invest!
It seems that my strategy of pestering him every day for the past few months was absolutely right! Things are finally making progress!
They say a man who wants to succeed has to be thick-skinned!
(End of this chapter)