Lin Qi closed the clipping and pulled out the bottom image, a map of advertising locations in downtown Los Angeles.
The drawing had three circles drawn in red, directly opposite Figueroa Street at the main entrance of Staples Center.
This year's Kobe was the most complicated figure at the entire Los Angeles All-Star Weekend. Although he received 1.85 million votes in the fan poll, ranking high among guards, the lawsuit in Eagle County, Colorado, remains a ticking time bomb in the off-court business world. While the case has been suspended in the judicial process, the prosecution's felony charges have not been dropped.
The boards of directors and executives of those large publicly traded companies across the United States have absolutely no idea what's going on here.
In the eyes of Wall Street fund managers and legal departments of major brands, a serious criminal case that has not been dropped or settled financially could be reopened at any time next month or this spring. The boards of directors of listed companies are most afraid of such unpredictable variables. If the court suddenly restarts the summons one day and a few unpleasant testimonies come out from the witness stand, parent associations and women's organizations across the United States will immediately flood the phone with protest calls, followed by a stock price plunge and shareholder accountability.
McDonald's's, unable to gauge market sentiment and succumbing to pressure from institutional shareholders, officially ended contract renewal negotiations with Kobe at the end of last month. Ferrero Italy, fearing to offend North America housewives, directly pulled all of Kobe's television commercials. Even the telephone companies and car giants that had previously lined up to offer bribes are now avoiding Kobe's agent, Rob Pelinka, in Los Angeles.
Only Lin Qi knew that this bombshell that had terrified major brands was unlikely to explode in the next seven or eight years.
The person who helped put this case on hold was none other than Lin Qi himself.
Last fall, at the villa in Cherry Creek, Denver, Lin Qi personally finalized the terms of the freeze with the girl's father, Congressman Evans. The Evans family was wealthy and powerful, and didn't care about the millions of dollars in settlement checks. The father's only demand was to prevent the constant presence of satellite broadcasting vans and fanatical fans from ruining his daughter's studies and normal life. Only after seven, eight, or even ten years, when the girl had graduated from college and started a family, and Kobe had fallen from his peak, losing his star status and financial backing, would the Evans family reapply to court to settle the score with Kobe.
Meanwhile, Kobe, under Lin Qi's arrangement, obediently signed to waive his right to a expedited trial.
This firewall, known only to a select few, created a huge information gap. While multinational giants outside were still anxiously guarding against a potential public relations disaster, Lin Qi Qi's Converse and Monster energy drinks had already secured Kobe was desperate, thus comfortably reaping all the commercial benefits of this superstar's next golden decade.
Moreover, neither of Lin Qi's companies were publicly listed, so there were no boards of directors to interfere, and he didn't have to worry about Wall Street. He could approve all budgets with his own signature. While those established big companies were busy distancing themselves from the company, Lin Qi simply had the marketing budget increased several times over.
The logic of United States street culture is that the harsher the mainstream newspapers criticize, and the further away the big brands controlled by those white old men stay, the stronger the rebellious spirit becomes in black neighborhoods, underground basketball courts, and among young fans everywhere. In the eyes of teenage fans, no one cares about the courtroom records; they just feel that their idol is fighting against the encirclement of the entire mainstream world single-handedly.
Before setting off, Lin Qi gave orders to the marketing departments of Converse and Monster. In the past few days, the three giant billboards directly opposite the Staples Center have been replaced with new canvases: Kobe standing alone with the ball, and the slogan below is simple and blunt: The court is the judge, the court is mine.
In just one week, long lines formed outside Converse stores for Converse 'Kobe All-Star signature shoes, Monster's shipments in Southern California tripled, and Kobe's autographed black and gold cans sold out in major supermarkets.
As for Wade, although he didn't make it to Sunday's NBA All-Star Game, he will be the absolute core of the second-year team in tomorrow night's Rookie Challenge.
This year's Los Angeles All-Star Game was also a fierce battleground for major sneaker manufacturers. The 2003 draft class made a huge splash. Nike, in order to promote LeBron James, who had just signed a record-breaking $90 million contract, rented the exterior walls of three buildings in downtown Los Angeles and spent millions of dollars to hang huge black posters. Sports media across the United States joined in the hype, saying that this year's rookies would beat the sophomores to a pulp in the Rookie Game.
Everyone was praising LeBron James and Anthony, while Wade was selected 13th overall in the first round of the 2002 NBA draft by Boston, was relegated to the sidelines.
Not being selected as a reserve for the main game, coupled with Nike's massive promotional campaign at the Staples Center, ignited Wade's anger.
Before boarding the plane today, Gary Payton deliberately pulled Wade aside and whispered for half an hour in front of the clipboard. Chewing gum, Gary Payton pulled out all his secrets from the 90s Seattle season against Jordan and Stockton. The referees in the Rising Stars Challenge never liked to blow the whistle, so if Wade gave LeBron James plenty of physical contact from the very first minute of the jump ball tomorrow night, and defended that prodigy so badly on national television, it would not only be a solid slap in the face to those Eastern Conference coaches who didn't vote for him, but Converse's newly launched guard shoes could also boost sales by stepping on Nike's shoulders.
Lin Qi picked up the warm water on the table, took a sip, and then put the three documents together into his briefcase.
The captain announced the descent over the intercom. The plane passed through a thin layer of clouds along the Southern California coastline, and the fuselage swayed slightly.
Looking down through the porthole, the bright blue waters of the Pacific Ocean and the grid-like streets of Los Angeles were clearly visible. On the distant hillside, the large white lettering of Hollywood gleamed in the afternoon Suns.
Things are going according to plan in North Carolina as well. CJ Chris Paul of the Hamptons University accepted Converse's $200,000 consulting contract letter of intent, and the sponsorship contract for Old Charles Gas Station will be officially signed tomorrow. Meanwhile, a PR firm in Atlanta has approached the college columnist for the Charlotte Observer, and the news of Wake Forest head coach Prosser's secret meeting with the Oak Hill Academy guard Rajon Rondo in the middle of the night will be published as scheduled after the NBA All-Star Game starts the day after tomorrow.
Lin Qi fastened his seatbelt and reached out to pull open the soundproof curtain of the business class cabin.
In the back cabin, Artest was wearing those large monitoring headphones, leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed, his thick fingers tapping the bass drum beat of "Champions" on his knees.
At the other end of the aisle, Wade held his silver and black Converse sneakers on his lap, bending down to carefully wipe the five-pointed stars on the uppers with a soft cloth.
The landing gear of Boeing 757 slammed onto the concrete runway at Los Angeles International Airport, the tires screeching as they rubbed against the ground.