NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 196: 10 years of rule? (daily chapter)
At 2000 a.m. on August 8, 2, Hook once again held a grand new product launch conference for Li You at Hammerstein Hall in Manhattan.

Hammerstein Hall usually hosts large-scale events, including new album launches, boxing matches, celebrations of well-known companies, etc.

There are more than 1000 people present tonight, and most of them are invited media and advertisers. If you have money, you are the boss. If you want to accept advertisements, you have to follow the orders.
When Nike founders Phil Knight and Li You took the stage in black casual suits, the media and advertisers in the audience began to cheer.

The lights began to focus towards the center of the stage, and the big screen at the back began to play Li You's highlights and advertisements:
"This is an exciting time, and we will grow together with Li in the new century!"

"In the big Hook family, we have witnessed two legends. We all trust each other and it is our greatest honor to serve thousands of sports fans!"

"."

Although the two sides repeatedly argued over each other during the negotiation, after signing the contract, everyone in Hook returned to smiling.

The curly-haired Phil Knight talked a lot about chicken soup on the stage, and Li You responded with a smile throughout. With 1500 million U.S. dollars a year, he naturally has to use money to do things.

When Phil Knight was done bragging, Li You smiled and waved to the completely bald sneaker designer Eric Ewa:

"I love Eric's designs. He designed the best basketball shoes in the world for me!"

"I hope everyone will like it. This is definitely our sincere work!"

Eric Eva, who was wearing a hooked white T-shirt, hugged the two of them after taking the stage. When he was the only one left on the stage, he immediately said excitedly:
"Thank you Mr. Knight, thank you Lee, I am very happy to introduce this new signature sneaker to everyone!"

"We have completely improved the adaptability problems of the previous generation. After continuing the Foam material, we further reduced the weight of the upper and increased the breathability of the shoe."

"Practicality is one of the characteristics of this pair of shoes. The excellent torque resistance and support will make you become the next Li on the court!"

"."

The new sneakers have indeed solved the flashy problem that many fans have complained about. Last year, the leeks were cut too hard, and the Hook marketing department felt that they needed to be raised, so they immediately changed their route and began to advocate actual combat.

However, in Li You's opinion, the new sneakers can be more practical. The addition of Foam material not only makes the shoes shiny and adds some support, but also increases the price.

The overall design is very similar to the future Nike Zoom Huarache, except that most of the leather strap woven materials are replaced by Foam materials.

On the stage, Eric Ewa was enthusiastically introducing the various colors of sneakers:

The Knicks' black, blue, orange and white, blue, orange colors are the main ones, as well as the pure colors of purple, blue, white, black and red.

The flashy colors really attracted more attention, and the sports media in the audience were attracted.

Phil Knight, who returned to the front row, was in a good mood when he heard the cheers from the scene. He looked at Li You beside him and chatted in a low voice:

"I like what the Knicks did in the offseason. Grant is a good guy and all the fans like him!"

"Li, can we still see you in the finals in the new season?"

"I don't care about the size of the bonus terms, but what I'm saying is that we all need the biggest stage to showcase ourselves."

"Hooks will communicate with the league, the referees will protect your body, and if Tim Grover's trainer is short-staffed, we can also help."

"We also have experts for body polishing and recovery, so you don't have to worry about any problems!"

Li You sat back in his chair, noticed Phil Knight's serious expression, and just responded confidently:
"The Knicks are in the Eastern Conference, and no one here is our opponent. Maybe in the next few years, we won't have to worry about the finals."

Phil Knight was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded in agreement, feeling very satisfied:
"The west is strong and the east is weak, the situation is great!"

Since mid-July, many fans have been passively bombarded by Li You's advertisements. The ESPY Awards ceremony was held in Las Vegas. At that time, Li You attended and won the Male Athlete of the Year award.

Team of the Year, Game of the Year, and Sports Moment of the Year were awarded to the Knicks.

However, due to the transaction, only Li You received the award at that time.
Li You withdrew after winning the award, leaving the media in vain. But in August, Li You's sponsors all stepped up!

After the Hook new product launch conference, Depper Deck also began to preview Li You’s star cards.

Two special series, "Breaking Through" and "The Show," will feature diamond and precious metal cards as well as wooden cards made from basketball flooring.

Rookie cards, three consecutive championship series cards, animation cards, puzzle cards, signature cards, and jersey cards will also be on sale.

In order to promote the product, the first batch of print magazines began to publish exclusive interviews with Li You, and "SLAM" and "ESPN The Magazine" published them directly at the beginning of the month.

"Sports Illustrated" will cover the Knicks in the next two weeks except Li You.

Talk shows soon began to follow suit, with sponsors cutting their teeth and the "Today Show", which had a strong political nature, still compromised.

We are even familiar with NBC's "Tonight Show". Jay Leno used different tricks to interview Li You while selling goods.

McDonald's and PepsiCo took advantage of the popularity to launch advertisements, and Spalding Basketball, which has a weak presence, also began to spend money.

Time magazine gave Li You a cover in its first weekly double issue. After Li You was interviewed by Robert Frank of the Wall Street Journal, he also took advantage of the popularity and published a wave of Chicken Soup for the Soul in the Fortune column.
In August, various advertisements began to sweep the United States.

On the morning of the 8th, the Knicks announced that they would send Larry Johnson and Chris Childs to the Pistons in exchange for Grant Hill;

At the same time, the Knicks once again announced the signing of free agent Chauncey Billups.They sent away the core defender in the substitute lineup and chose parallel imports.
This deal did not attract much attention. Billups has already started wandering mode, and his current advantage is only a low salary.

"Jordan's successor" has officially arrived in New York, and the happiest people are of course the fans.

On the morning of the 9th, General Manager Glenn Field and Jeff Van Gundy both attended Grant Hill's press conference at the Tarrytown Training Center.

Although he was eliminated in the first round last season, this record did not affect Grant Hill's popularity!
The New York media looked at the graceful Grant Hill and immediately forgot about "Auntie".

General manager Glenfield also smiled brightly on the side. He has tried his best to meet the boss's requirements, while also upgrading the lineup and signing the big fish of the offseason!
Grunfield is very satisfied with these two transactions. From a talent perspective, they are definitely an upgrade.

As for Billups not adapting to the team's tactical system, the worst he can do is to lay him off later. Just the title of No. 97 overall pick in 3 is enough:
"The Knicks just need real talent!"

Grant Hill, who was wearing a gray formal suit at the on-site press conference, also smiled very happily. He still left some assets to his old club as a token of his gratitude.

As soon as Grant Hill took his seat, a reporter from the New York Times in the audience was the first to ask:

"Grant, I'm very happy to see you choose the Knicks. Can you talk about your goals for the new season?"

It was a very common question. The New York Times obviously did not embarrass Grant Hill. The latter immediately answered after hearing the question:

"Of course it's the championship! From the moment I join the team, the only thing I have to do is help the team win the championship."

After hearing such an answer, most of the New York media started to flatter him, making Grant Hill stunned.
Jeff Van Gundy is also very satisfied with these two transactions. Billups is his favorite. He is strong and can play positional offense, so he is very suitable to serve as a substitute.

"Jeff, can you talk about why the team chose Billups? We all know that he has been turning around for many teams in the past few seasons."

The reporter from the New York Post was not polite. No one had much impression of Billups at all. They only remembered that the rookie who was selected with the third overall pick in the first round was already wet.

Jeff Van Gundy had also anticipated such a problem, and then retorted with a smile:
"What I like is Billups' organizational ability and defensive ability. I believe he will find his form again with the Knicks."

Many media reporters in the audience began to discuss it in low voices. Many people still shook their heads secretly and were not optimistic about this deal. Chris Childs has performed very well in recent years.

The arrival of Grant Hill has changed Glenfield's reputation. If sending away the veteran can be exchanged for a star player in his prime, then the deal will definitely be worthwhile!

Larry Johnson, who was traded, was naturally very dissatisfied. When interviewed by a Yahoo Sports reporter on the afternoon of the 9th, "Auntie" began to bombard the team selection again:

"Ignoring the suitability of the lineup at all, what I want to say is that I am the player who is more suitable for the team."

"Grunfield destroyed the locker room culture that the Knicks had worked so hard to establish, and he will regret it."

Chris Childs also didn’t expect that he would be traded to Detroit. He was still a little dazed during the interview, and in the end he could only complain in a low voice:
"I'm not sure why the team chose to trade me. I have been working hard since joining the Knicks. This is not the return I expected!"

"."

On the morning of the 10th, after the news about the interview between the two came out, most Knicks fans fell silent:

"It's not that you are not good enough, it's that the new players are more talented!"

TNT media reporters have been trying to interview Ewing, but Gorilla Man has disappeared.

It just so happened that this day was Thursday, and the TNT program immediately began to evaluate the transaction again.

After the freeze period ended, apart from the Hornets and Heat exchanging players with each other, only the Knicks moved fast and fiercely.

The transaction cannot be changed after it happens, so Kenny Smith can only discuss the matter as it is on the show:

"I would give this deal an A, Larry has definitely declined and Hill is stronger."

"Even if Billups can't adapt to the Knicks, they can still look for a backup guard before the All-Star break."

Mike Fratello also didn’t shy away from his praise:
"I think this is an A+ deal. Grant Hill can hold the ball and Lee can also attack without the ball. The two have complementary attributes."

"Once you enter the playoffs, you will pay the price for double-teaming Lee unscrupulously. Hill can easily help the team play more and less!"

"Hill's impact on both ends is huge, which is a huge improvement for the Knicks. Now they just need to add some big men."

Ernie Johnson heard that the two had the same point of view, and immediately added with a smile:

"The freeze period has just ended, and I believe the Knicks have more moves!"

"In Ewing's last season, maybe we can still look forward to the veteran's status."

When Kenny Smith heard this, he secretly complained about Li You's "ruthlessness". The big brother of the Knicks was cleared.
It's just that after the program was recharged, the football commentators would not speak ill of Li You. Mike Fratai saw his partner's thoughts, and at this time he could only laugh and joke:
"Considering the current age structure of the Knicks and the strength of the teams in the Eastern Conference, perhaps they will maintain their dominance in the Eastern Conference for the next 10 years!"

"."

　QAQ hopes that everything will go well for Mr. July in another world!
　　Thank you for your subscription support~
　　If you are interested in the protagonist’s personality and some of the characters’ relationships, you can watch American TV series~
　　I will not popularize any characters or events in the article, because that would be too superficial~
　　For example, you only need to know Nacho Better Call Saul about the protagonist’s character and origin;

　　For example, his partner, Bobby in Billions, also has a distinctive personality~
　　And these characters are more impressive after watching American TV series than when I write them. The most important thing is that American TV series are free. Ahem, you can watch them if you have the resources~
　　The same goes for commercial things. I also don’t know how to popularize science, because search engines are also free. I really feel sorry for the book friends who subscribe to QAQ for spending money to read popular science.
　　Many book friends don’t like to read basketball novels and only watch basketball. But I feel uncomfortable if I don’t write about them, so I can only reduce the number of words.
　　Otherwise, I could write tens of thousands of words just about how Bobby helped the protagonist get more money. I could still write tens of thousands of words about the two people's distrust and trust. I could still write tens of thousands of words about the election and the New York network. Ten thousand.
　　I really don’t want to write about the drama of sponsors having great backgrounds and high status, and then signing an endorsement or appearing on a show to pretend to be X. It’s too watery, and I’m sorry for the money spent.
　　Just like I rarely write black jokes and player introductions, there are a lot of them after searching. If you spend money, you should read the story. Even if the story is a bit bland, this is my sincerity, right QAQ
　　There are too many things to write about besides basketball, but most book friends don’t like it, so they can only simplify it and make money without trembling~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)