Chapter 1 Tang Tian's Recent Happiness

Tang Tian was feeling pretty good lately.

He had just signed an endorsement contract worth a total of 55 million, and in the last game of October, against the Raptors, he had a triple-double in just three quarters.

The Pelicans also continued to crush their opponents, ending all of their October games with a seven-game winning streak after the start of the season.

Of course, that wasn't the best thing.

The best thing was that with his Coca-Cola endorsement contract about to expire, they were interested in releasing a collaborative sneaker with Nike.

As Fegan had previously explained to Tang Tian, there were several types of sneaker endorsements: commercial endorsements, cash endorsements, and signature sneaker endorsements.

But in addition to these common sneaker endorsements, there was also a very special type of endorsement contract: a collaborative sneaker endorsement.

As the name suggests, "collaborative" meant that two brands would appear together on a single shoe.

Some well-known examples from the past included the Chanel x Adidas Pharrell Williams Hu NMD, the Skepta x Air Max 97, and the KAWS x Air Jordan 4.

Because many of these endorsements were one-offs, they weren't included in the regular endorsement category.

But it was precisely because they were one-offs that their collector's value was much higher than that of ordinary sneakers.

So they were usually produced in limited quantities and sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

Tang Tian's first Godfather collaborative sneaker.

That alone was enough to drive fans crazy.

And it would also be Coca-Cola's first collaboration with a sports shoe brand.

They had only collaborated with other brands on canvas shoes before.

First times were always exciting and something to look forward to.

Of course, for Tang Tian, such a collaborative sneaker meant that he would earn a lot more Krypton Gold value in the February sneaker revenue split.

With the Pelicans becoming a powerhouse team, his Krypton Gold value would also rise accordingly.

With the initial intent set, there would be more details related to the sneaker to discuss.

Nike also attached great importance to the first collaborative sneaker in the Godfather series, and they had their design team create several distinct styles.

They would have the team conduct an online public vote, and then officially produce the style with the highest support rate.

And before the final sale, they would have Tang Tian sign ten pairs of sneakers.

These ten pairs of signed collaborative sneakers would be record-breaking, absolutely global collector's editions.

Without waiting many years, one pair would likely fetch tens of thousands of dollars, or even more, at auction.

These ten pairs of shoes would be sold randomly along with other shoes, and buying them would be entirely based on luck.

This sales method would further stimulate fan purchases.

It was foreseeable that as soon as this collaborative sneaker was produced, it would definitely become a hit and wouldn't be difficult to sell at all.

Of course, besides the collaborative sneaker, Fegan was also in talks with Coca-Cola about a new contract.

The previous endorsement contract was 3.6 million a year, and if both sides wanted to continue working together, it definitely wouldn't be that price anymore.

Tang Tian didn't participate in the negotiations; he only gave Fegan a bottom-line price of 5 million, which was the amount he still needed for his Krypton Gold value.

Of course, if they couldn't reach an agreement, Pepsi was also watching eagerly.

In short, Tang Tian was now a treasure trove, and everyone was trying to squeeze in, hoping to get a share.

However, Tang Tian himself didn't participate too much; his energy was still focused on the games.

The Pelicans' next game was against the Spurs.

Kawhi Leonard's injury was more serious than expected, and he hadn't played since the season opener, which had caused the Spurs to fall out of the top tier.

With a record of 4 wins and 3 losses, they were only ranked eighth in the competitive Western Conference.

However, the Spurs were not an opponent to be underestimated. Stevens was very focused during training, and Nash also did extra shooting practice after training.

When all the training was over, the players went back to the locker room to rest one after another.

Tang Tian came out after showering and saw that Butler hadn't gone in to shower yet, and was watching game footage on a tablet.

He walked over with some doubts.

Although the Spurs were not to be underestimated, Butler's serious attitude was a bit too unusual.

But when he walked over, he realized that Butler wasn't watching footage of the Spurs, but of the Mavericks.

In their recently concluded game, the Mavericks defeated the Four Star Warriors 103-101, and also welcomed their seventh consecutive win after the start of the season.

"Dallas will be our biggest opponent."

Walker also came out after showering at this time. Seeing the two of them watching, he leaned over to take a look and said.

Tang Tian nodded.

Looking back at the Butler trade now, it was actually a win-win situation for both the Pelicans and the Mavericks.

Beating the Warriors showed that the Mavericks' strength was now second only to the Pelicans and the Cavaliers.

"But Jimmy, you don't have to watch every Mavericks game, do you? Our game against them is still early, more than half a month away."

Walker continued.

Tang Tian paused.

Walker's words meant that Butler had watched every Mavericks game?

But he quickly realized that this didn't seem like such an unexpected thing.

Butler was unhappy with Carlisle and the Mavericks; he had even made the All-Defensive First Team, and the Mavericks still wanted to trade him.

No matter from what perspective, this was unreasonable.

So he would definitely want to beat the Mavericks, or even crush the Mavericks, to prove his worth.

"What day is the game against Dallas?"

Tang Tian asked Walker.

"November 23rd, coincidentally, that's Thanksgiving."

Tang Tian nodded after hearing this.

Thanksgiving, playing against his old team, this game was very interesting.

He suddenly understood Butler a little.

This kind of game was one that absolutely could not be lost.

He suddenly laughed again, and reached out to pat Butler on the shoulder.

"We're going to win, and we're going to win by a lot."

At that time, his Krypton Gold value would be enough for 50 million, after all, and after he exchanged for the ball-handling skill he wanted, probably no one could stop him.

And in such a game, sticking up for his brother would definitely be super satisfying, like doubling down in a game of Chinese poker.

Butler looked up at Tang Tian, then nodded.

His brother understood him.

The next night, the Pelicans were at home for their game against the Spurs, which was also their first game of November.

Leonard did not travel with the team to New Orleans, and the process and outcome of the game didn't have many surprises.

In the face of absolute strength disparity, even Popovich was powerless to stop it.

When the Spurs and Pelicans were in a stalemate for a quarter and a half, the game turned into a one-sided performance by the Pelicans.

Popovich sat silently on the bench for the entire second half; this was probably the most helpless game of his coaching career of more than twenty years.

Without Leonard, the Spurs were like a scorpion with its stinger cut off, a venomous snake with its fangs pulled, and could only be slaughtered.

After the game, Popovich found Tang Tian to have coffee together and talked about Leonard.