Chapter 139 So Many

Before the basketball battle began, the Cleveland Cavaliers never expected their brand to benefit so immensely from it. If Su Feng already had his own signature shoe, goodness knows how exaggerated the sales figures would have been.

This year marked the final year of the contract signed between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Su Feng. Although the Cavaliers' contract stipulated that Edward William should not contact other sports brands before the agreement expired, the Cavaliers were well aware that Nike, Anta, and Jordan Brand were currently preparing to make their moves for Su Feng. After all, this guy's commercial value had proven to be a prime target.

The Cleveland Cavaliers decided to take the initiative rather than wait passively for the inevitable. Therefore, when Robert Henry King submitted the contract proposal to Deputy General Manager Lynn Armstrong, Armstrong looked surprised, as if he had just discovered the New World.

"I must remind you, Robert Henry, we only just signed that high-priced contract with Derrick Rose last year. If you want to buy in at this price again, it might impact our company's financials!" Armstrong was a conservative. He only liked to deal in certainties. However, Armstrong was far from certain about Su Feng's future.

"Financial impact? Good God, have you seen the benefits the past three years have brought to the company? Compared to the endorsement fees, it has brought us much greater and better returns! If we don't do this now, Nike and Jordan will definitely snatch him away. I assume you don't want us to fall into a passive position again. Last year we successfully won Derrick. This year, we must capitalize on the bidding war. This way, our team will be able to partner with Nike for the next ten years." Robert Henry King's expression was full of passion; he seemed to foresee a bright future for both the Cleveland Cavaliers and Su Feng.

The two general managers held completely different attitudes toward Su Feng's contract renewal, but Armstrong could not deny one thing. If Su Feng fell into the hands of a competitor, the Cavaliers' profitability would undoubtedly take a hit, and perhaps a severe one. Even just to prevent a competitor from acquiring a money-making machine like Su Feng, they had to lock him down.

"But this contract... isn't it too massive?" Armstrong looked over the draft contract once more. There were no issues with the clauses, but the sheer financial scale of the contract was what worried him. Even Rose's contract paled in comparison to that figure!

"It's not just a number, man. But trust me, if you want him back, you have to pay a price. What you should be considering right now is how to deal with Bill Edward William and his camp. Perhaps they won't be satisfied with this initial offer." Robert Henry King smiled at Armstrong. The general manager seemed completely determined to renew Su Feng's contract.

"When are you going to talk to Edward William about this? After the basketball series?"

"Our contract with Yi expires in June, and it will be far too late to finish the basketball series then. Therefore, I want to discuss the contract with Edward William right now, and give my competitors zero opportunity to approach him."

"As you wish, Robert Henry. I will set off for Dallas right now and call you as soon as possible." With that, Armstrong picked up the draft contract and prepared to leave.

"Wait!" Robert Henry King suddenly stopped his deputy general manager.

"Why, have you changed your mind? I just said the contract amount was a bit too large." Armstrong laughed triumphantly; although Robert Henry was passionate about his work, he was sometimes overly ambitious.

"No, I haven't changed my mind. I just want to go with you in person!" As Robert Henry King stood up, Armstrong realized that Robert Henry King had changed into an expensive Armani suit. The guy had a plan all along. Besides, as the general manager for North America, how could he possibly be absent from contract negotiations that had the potential to alter the Cavaliers' market standing?

***

Su Feng was the only one still shooting quietly in the big courtyard of the training facility. Pushing open the door, Nowitzki looked outside and waved at Su Feng.

"Get some sleep early. There's a basketball match tomorrow night."

"Yeah, I got it, Edward William." Su Feng nodded slightly and continued his practice.

After Dirk closed the door, Su Feng was left alone again. Su Feng took a deep breath. His training uniform was completely soaked through, but the guy had no intention of stopping just yet. After all, this guy's success was not built on luck.

After launching a few more balls at the basket, Su Feng's phone suddenly rang. The Chinese guard didn't think much of it. Usually at this hour, Vagnari would call to wish him good night. Of course, back in Spain it was only afternoon.

The person who had earned all the adulation stood in front of the Cleveland Cavaliers team logo and shouted loudly.

"The banner, a little more to the left!"

"Do you want it to the left? Are you sure you're right?"

"I trust you, banner. Damn it, unless you want to go home and sleep."

At four in the morning, at the entrance of the American Airlines Center arena in Dallas, several workers were pasting new posters on the exterior walls of the stadium. This was usually done in the quiet of early dawn so that when fans returned the following day, the posters would be updated.

"Technology has really evolved nowadays; it takes just a few hours to produce a poster." The worker known as the banner-hanger moved the poster and chatted with his partner.

"This was produced by the Cavaliers working overtime; there might even be more complex versions in the future. Hey, did you watch the basketball game tonight?"

"Did I watch the basketball game tonight? What a foolish question, man. I was there! Mike Conley had zero resistance against the counter-attacks. I watched a top star put on a show alongside thousands of others." The banner-hanger stood up straight as he spoke. When he mentioned tonight's game, this Cleveland Cavaliers fan was extremely excited; he had been a fan of the team for ten years.

"Alright, stop hanging banners. I think you could talk like this all night. The poster's position is good. Come down and enjoy the fruits of your labor!"

The two workers turned on the night lights on the wall. On the largest billboard on the right side of the American Airlines Center, the Cavaliers had put up a brand new poster for Su Feng.

"This guy is amazing, isn't he?" The worker bent down and stared up at Su Feng's poster.

"His career has only just begun, man."

On the poster, Su Feng was roaring and pointing directly at the floor. At the bottom of the picture, a few simple words were written in stark white font:

"This is my house!"

The Cavaliers' "This is My House" themed advertising campaign had already become a global hit during the basketball battles, and television networks were even broadcasting rush-edited TV commercials during prime time slots. On the internet, countless people imitated Su Feng's celebration of pointing his thumb at the floor, which undoubtedly became a viral cultural element.

Su Feng's classic post-game celebration during the basketball battles was packaged and utilized infinitely by the Cavaliers, immensely stimulating the sales of his merchandise. Although the "This is My House" celebration was not originally initiated by Su Feng—long before Su Feng, Matt, and Wade celebrated basketball victories in similar fashion—under the fierce promotion of the Cavaliers, Su Feng had undoubtedly become the "spokesperson" for this movement.

However, when he picked up his phone, the caller ID left Su Feng surprised. Bill Edward William, the manager who never easily disturbed him unless something extraordinary happened, would never reach out without a specific reason.

Su Feng hesitated before answering the call, thinking to himself that no matter how busy his business schedule was, he would push all of it aside. During the basketball playoffs, nothing else could take precedence.

"Where are you right now, kid!" As soon as the call connected, Bill Edward William's anxious voice came through the receiver.

"I'm at the training facility. What's wrong?" Su Feng's face was a mask of confusion. Surely this guy wasn't flying over again.

"I just landed at Dallas International Airport. I'll be at your doorstep in forty minutes!"

"Why didn't you notify me before coming?" Su Feng shook his head; Bill Edward William always seemed to launch surprise attacks.

"It's too late to tell you now. Are you still practicing? Put down the basketball and hurry home right now. Today, we have a very important contract to sign."

"An important contract?" Su Feng scratched his head. His contract with the Cavaliers didn't expire until next year. Even if he were to renew early, he would have to wait until the next basketball season. Under these circumstances, what contract could possibly be important?

"Goodness me, do you ever care about what brands you are signed with?"

"I don't need to care, because you manage all of that for me." Su Feng's reply was completely candid. Whenever there were business activities on weekdays, Edward William always helped Su Feng manage everything smoothly.

Z

"Fine... Robert Henry King is going to visit your house in person today, and we might just sign a partnership contract worth hundreds of millions of pounds right there on your mahogany dining table."

"Are you kidding?"

"Brilliant, I should have expected that..." Edward William shook his head; Su Feng cared about nothing except basketball. "Robert Henry King, the general manager of the Cavaliers' North American division. Your contract with the Cavaliers expires in June, so they want to talk to you in person about an early renewal."

After Edward William's explanation, Su Feng suddenly realized. How time flies.

On the home team's side, the head coach had substituted all the key players, which meant the Cavaliers had effectively lit the victory cigars! William Adams Miller opened his hands, looking in disbelief at the score displayed on the big screen.

This basketball series had been billed as the most suspenseful, intense, and unpredictable playoff matchup, but today's score gap was the most severe. It was Su Feng who made all those suspenseful elements vanish into thin air.

Before the match officially ended, the broadcasting networks couldn't wait to shift the focus to Su Feng. They practically ignored the closing moments of the game and began broadcasting highlight reels of Su Feng's stellar plays.

Scoring, passing, dribbling past defenders, driving to the basket... all the heart-pounding moments of the basketball match could be seen courtesy of Su Feng today.

Surprisingly, although the game was effectively over, inside the American Airlines Center, not a single fan left the stadium early. They cheered in joyous disbelief, celebrating the first victory of the basketball battle.

Before the basketball battle began, the Memphis Grizzlies had won thirty-seven basketball matches in the West and were mocked as a "regular season team." Memphis media even claimed that the Cavaliers would find it difficult to crack eighty-five points under the Grizzlies' defensive pressure. But what about now? They scored well over a hundred, while the Grizzlies were held below eighty-five points.

This victory, this pride, the fans wanted to show the world!

When Robert Henry sat on the bench and heard the final buzzer of the basketball match, it felt like hearing a death knell. The most grueling basketball battle of the series had finally ended in defeat.

As reporters prepared to rush onto the court to interview the players, what happened next left everyone dumbfounded.

The Cavaliers fans all stood up, some waving Su Feng's jerseys, others holding up banners praising Su Feng. Then, without any prompt or coordination, they chanted in unison: "MVP! MVP! MVP!"

Without a doubt, this thunderous acclaim belonged to Su Feng. Being called MVP by the home fans is the ultimate honor for a professional athlete. It means you have not only defeated the opponent, but completely won the hearts of the fans.

"I don't remember how many times I've heard the chants of MVP ring through this American Airlines Center basketball match. If Su Feng doesn't win MVP every day, these fans won't stop!"

"After all, Dallas truly needs a new hero to lead the team back to the pinnacle." Dirk Nowitzki and the fans stood together. He had witnessed the birth of a legend with his own eyes.

The Grizzlies players walked down the tunnel in disgrace, but nobody paid them any attention, and hardly any reporters bothered to interview the visitors.

Su Feng became the absolute focus of the entire stadium. Facing such overwhelming chants, the young star still did not engage in any overly dramatic celebrations.

He simply pointed firmly at the floor and shouted something.

Amidst the noisy scene, no one could clearly hear what Su Feng said. But reading his lips, one could easily decipher the words.

"This is my house!"

The contract signed in the past was about to expire in a single stroke. Su Feng looked at the basketball in his hand and smiled. He had been a professional in this game for a long time.

"You can talk to them about renewing the contract."

"Are you joking with me, kid? Do you think this is still some minor three-year, multi-million pound deal? Without you making the final call, I wouldn't dare decide anything."

"Can they offer me hundreds of millions of pounds this time?" Su Feng joked with Edward William, intentionally throwing out an exaggerated figure.

"You're actually right this time, kid. Ten years, half a billion pounds—you decide whether you want to take it."

Edward William's serious tone caused Su Feng's basketball to drop vertically onto the floor.

***

The beautiful evening glow cast an orange hue across the surface of White Rock Lake. The sky and water blended seamlessly, seemingly forming a pathway leading straight into the heavens. Countless tourists along the lake lifted their cameras to capture this breathtaking scenery.

"What a stunning view." Through the window, Robert Henry King admired the unique scenery of White Rock Lake. Buying a villa in such a place was truly a pleasure.

"The view of White Rock Lake is indeed wonderful. If you have time, you can take a walk by the lake." Opposite Robert Henry King, Bill Edward William smiled as he took over the conversation, while Su Feng sat quietly on a nearby bench with a blank expression, taking a sip of coffee.

"By the way, how much did it cost you to buy this villa?" Robert Henry King's gaze pulled back from the window and landed on Su Feng's cold face.

After the third basketball match, Su Feng had expanded the point differential between the two teams to seventeen points. For a team like the Grizzlies, whose offensive firepower wasn't overwhelming, a deficit that large was nearly insurmountable.

"The basketball battle isn't over yet. No one is allowed to give up until the very last second!" During the halftime break, Robert Henry waved his fist and roared in front of his players. But in truth, even Robert Henry himself had lost faith in turning the tide.

On the Cavaliers' side, the atmosphere was comparatively relaxed. Su Feng sat on the bench with an expressionless face, a towel draped over his shoulders. Everyone marveled at Su Feng's absolute control over the basketball game. But Su Feng himself didn't seem to care about the accolades at all.

"The Cavaliers have fallen behind by seventeen points with three quarters gone, but they rarely get eliminated ahead of time by opponents. They are the strongest defensive team in the league, but in front of this deficit, they remain helpless. I don't know how long the Grizzlies can hold on in this fourth quarter. I only know this quarter might mark the first true garbage time of this basketball series."

William Adams Miller didn't look down on the Grizzlies' tenacity, but they simply weren't built for chasing large deficits. They could maintain the intensity of a basketball battle with a slow tempo and an iron-clad defense, but once a scoring gap opened up, Robert Henry lacked the tactical versatility to close it.

Let the Black and White Bears attack? After all, they weren't primary perimeter shooters. Mike Conley was a guard whose organizational skills far outweighed his scoring prowess. The veteran small forwards were no better than Marion. As for the rest of the bench, relying on them to spark an offensive explosion was a pipe dream.

The Cavaliers lacked offensive depth, making it exceedingly difficult for them to pull off a dramatic comeback victory in a high-stakes basketball match. The situation was crystal clear. If the game played out normally, the Cavaliers were destined to win.

However, many Grizzlies fans and anti-fans of the home team didn't see it that way. Since Pau Gasol had managed a miraculous comeback in a previous playoff series, why couldn't they do it again?

Many people felt the Grizzlies lacked the pedigree to win a championship. Even though they had hoisted the championship trophy in the past, in the eyes of many, the Grizzlies remained a "regular season team."

In the regular season, they could block gods and Buddhas alike, but when the postseason arrived, the Grizzlies would inevitably "reveal their true colors." Yet ever since Su Feng joined the team, for three consecutive years, they had refused to "reveal their true colors," a qualitative shift that quite a few fans were still unaccustomed to.

"Coach, do you think the Grizzlies have any chance?" Kobe Bryant stretched lazily. The basketball game had lost its initial suspense. If not for the roaring crowd, Kobe Bryant might have fallen asleep in his chair.

"In a standard series, the Grizzlies still have an outside chance. But in a game like this..." Steven paused and shook his head. Garbage time had effectively begun, and Su Feng completely controlled the rhythm and flow of the basketball match. The Grizzlies simply couldn't break his rules within the span of a single game.

As the fourth quarter began, the Grizzlies still deployed their starting lineup. They fought valiantly on the defensive end. But as the old saying goes, when you focus on defense, offense suffers. On the offensive end, the Grizzlies still showed no signs of a breakthrough.

Conley was heavily guarded by Su Feng and had almost no shooting opportunities. Gasol and Randolph battered the paint, but scoring two points at a time could never close the massive gap. What the Grizzlies needed was an offensive wave. More importantly, the Black and White Bears couldn't score on every single possession.

The difference between ten points and thirteen points, between thirteen points and seventeen points—no matter how hard the Grizzlies tried, they couldn't narrow the deficit to single digits.

"The Grizzlies' offense is simply too weak. If this team had a dynamic perimeter scorer, the situation wouldn't look like this right now."

"A weak offense is one aspect, but their defensive strengths haven't been fully utilized either. Robert Henry's double-team strategy today was undoubtedly a failed decision; not only did the double-teams yield zero results, but they completely unleashed Su Feng's playmaking ability."

Afterward, William Adams Miller checked Su Feng's stats on his tablet. What was the concept of Su Feng's current stat line? Today, he had played brilliantly in the basketball battle, scoring seventeen points and dishing out several assists. And the opponent's defense was undeniably elite.

As people cheered for Su Feng's latest victory in the basketball battle, the Western All-Star guard's stats had already surpassed historical benchmarks!

Moreover, with the basketball match still not officially over, Su Feng's stats still had room to climb. William Adams Miller shook his head. Who on earth could possibly defeat an opponent like this?