Chen Yu sat up straight and made a sarcastic remark.
According to Ernest, they could completely bypass him and go straight to filming the second season.
Just as he said, all they needed to do was copy the experience and procedures from the first season.
Even though the show’s concept and copyright belonged to Chen Yu, if ABC really wanted to make it, they had plenty of ways to do so.
’Getting to do nothing and just lie at home collecting checks? There’s no such thing as a free lunch.’
Ernest cut to the chase, pulling a document from his briefcase and handing it over.
"Look at the end."
The beginning was obviously all fluff.
Chen Yu flipped directly to the end.
When he saw the string of numbers, Chen Yu’s heart couldn’t help but skip a few beats.
ABC was willing to pay Chen Yu an advance of thirty million US dollars.
If the final profits exceeded their expectations, they would continue to share the revenue with Chen Yu.
Chen Yu was truly a little tempted.
Ernest continued, "Chen, you should think about those kids. They’re hoping to change their lives through this show, and you’re the one who gives them that chance!"
"Hold on!"
Chen Yu once again interrupted Ernest.
He put the document down.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Chen Yu asked, "You’ve run into a problem, haven’t you?"
’Otherwise, why would they be so quick to offer an advance?’
Seeing Ernest’s evasive gaze, Chen Yu knew he had guessed right. He gave him a look that said, ’You might as well be honest.’
Ernest finally stammered, "It’s... just a small problem, really."
With the success of the first season as a blueprint, replicating it should have been easy.
But they hadn’t expected to get stuck on the very first step: hiring the mentors.
Legendary stars like Jordan, Jabbar, and Owen wouldn’t give them the time of day. Once they heard Chen Yu wasn’t involved with the show, they flat-out said they wouldn’t participate either.
And that wasn’t all.
They also couldn’t get the players who tested the contestants during the tryouts, like Milicic and James.
It didn’t stop there. For the team-building stage, they couldn’t get any of the top-tier Trainers or the scouts from the various teams to come on board either.
On top of that, many people stated outright that it had nothing to do with the appearance fees or the money. The issue was Chen Yu.
If Chen Yu was still running the show, they’d be there.
So ABC’s plan to bypass Chen Yu and replicate the show on their own was completely dead in the water.
Without this roster of professionals, the show would just be a pale imitation of the original.
"So that’s what this is about."
After listening, Chen Yu thought for a moment and understood why Ernest couldn’t get these people—or rather, why they refused to participate.
It was simple: they all had to survive in the world of the NBA.
For guys like Jordan, it was purely a matter of showing respect to Chen Yu.
They were A-listers in their own right. If they kicked Chen Yu to the curb for a paltry appearance fee, it would be incredibly awkward the next time they met.
Especially Jordan, a man who cared deeply about his reputation.
Then there were players like James.
As for players like James, they didn’t know the inside story of a show Chen Yu wasn’t involved in. They didn’t know if he’d had a falling out with ABC. If they rashly accepted the offer, they’d have to consider the risk of offending Chen Yu.
In the NBA, not a single player wanted to offend Chen Yu.
The same went for the scouts and other team personnel.
Shows come and go, but their careers were in the basketball world for the long haul.
Just like the players, if you wanted to make a living in the basketball world, there was no way to avoid Chen Yu.
So if Chen Yu wasn’t participating, how could they justify showing up?
So this kind of lineup wasn’t something just anyone could assemble.
It was just like Ernest’s earlier idea of creating a soccer show.
Without Chen Yu’s connections in FIFA and his relationships with so many clubs and coaches in the Five Major Leagues, he’d have a snowball’s chance in hell of succeeding.
If you’re not part of the circle, who’s going to listen to you?
Having figured this out, Chen Yu found it inexplicably amusing.
’These guys...’
’They really know how to show respect!’
But then again, wasn’t this how you established your standing in the industry?
"I’ll consider it,"
Chen Yu said after a moment’s thought.
He had a lot on his plate, and being busy was one aspect. But ABC had also said he only needed to show up at critical moments to get the right people together. It wouldn’t actually require that much of his energy.
Besides, Chen Yu thought, ’Don’t these guys want the screen time? Don’t they want to earn the appearance fees?’
NBA scouts had it rough, especially the international ones who were constantly flying all over the world for low pay.
The appearance fee from the show could easily top several years of their salary. Did they really not want that money?
So, in essence, Chen Yu had put this whole thing together, bringing a group of people along to make money with him.
They were showing him respect, so in return, Chen Yu had to consider whether he should return the favor and bring them along to make some money.
Ernest was overjoyed. He grabbed onto Chen Yu again, insisting on discussing the feasibility of a soccer show.
Chen Yu turned him down once again.
He could reconsider the basketball show, but soccer was a definite no.
If he actually did it, he’d be destroying the livelihoods of a whole bunch of soccer agents.
"Alright, I have a patient to see in a little while. You should head back and wait for my decision."
Chen Yu sent Ernest away.
It wasn’t an excuse.
A patient was really arriving soon.
Lucho Figueroa from Argentina.
He was probably the first poor soul confirmed to be missing the upcoming World Cup.
After an outstanding season with the La Liga team Yellow Submarine, and thanks to his stellar performance at last year’s Confederations Cup, he had an excellent chance of making the Argentina National Team for this year’s World Cup.
But just last week, during a match back at Riverbed, he twisted his left knee while landing to avoid a sliding tackle.
Unfortunately, he had torn his cruciate ligament.
He wanted to fight for a chance, so he contacted Chen Yu to ask if there was any way he could make it back for the World Cup.
An injury in March, the World Cup in June... with a torn cruciate ligament, even if he managed a miraculous recovery, there was no way he could get back into game shape in time.
It wasn’t as if he was an indispensable star for the National Team; he was just a hopeful candidate.
So Chen Yu told him straight up that there was absolutely no hope.
Forced to accept reality, he had initially decided against coming to the United States for treatment, since the fees were steep. But after thinking it over for a few days, he chose to come to the United States after all.
Chen Yu’s treatments might have been expensive, but they were the best in the world.
「Time quietly slipped into April.」
The ’05-’06 season was about to end.
The standings in the East and West were gradually becoming clear.
This year in the West, the most dazzling team was once again the Lakers.
Just as Chen Yu had predicted, Artest’s arrival gave the Lakers wings, allowing them to truly take flight.
Their 64-18 record, the best in the entire league, was the ultimate proof.
As soon as April began, the talk of the Lakers winning the championship intensified.
It wasn’t just the local Los Angeles media hyping them up, either. Many sports media outlets across the United States were saying the same thing.
It wasn’t just because the addition of Artest filled the final gap for the Lakers; it was also due to the incredible performances of Kobe and Yao Ming.
Yao Ming was averaging 24.8 points and 11.2 rebounds, and he could even dish out 3.6 assists. Based on stats alone, he was the most elite center in the entire league.
As for Kobe, he was averaging over 35 points per game and was on the verge of being crowned the scoring champion!
With such a fierce inside-outside duo, plus a stacked starting lineup with Odom, Artest, Fisher, and Raja Bell, and an excellent bench featuring players like Mim, it seemed almost unthinkable for the Lakers not to win the championship.

Comments

Loading...