He must seize the opportunity to finalize everything before the big negotiations in 1998. Early on, even before the regular season ended, he started secret talks with the Timberwolves.
Now that the playoff series is over and the Timberwolves’ 1996-1997 season has come to a close, the negotiations for an early renewal will officially begin.
To his utter surprise, Ah Gan, this guy with connections everywhere, has discovered the matter. Yet, it’s unclear just how much he knows or if he knows both parties’ bottom lines.
Gan Guoyang still did not argue with Eric Fleisher. He boiled a pot of water and made a cup of coffee for each of them. The rich aroma of coffee instantly filled the room, easing the atmosphere slightly.
Gan Guoyang has always been a master negotiator. He seldom argues with others, believing that arguments are a waste of time. Most of the time, they don’t solve problems or convince the other party, just offering a momentary verbal victory.
The most important thing in negotiation is understanding what the other party needs, what their bottom line is, what you have that they need, and knowing your own bottom line.
Therefore, good negotiation isn’t about thinking of ways to beat the other party logically or imagining various arguments in your mind. Those are secondary.
Good negotiation requires precise intelligence work, gathering enough chips, and increasing your bottom line so that you have playable cards at the table rather than just talk.
This time Gan Guoyang did relatively good preparation, whereas Eric Fleisher was totally unprepared; he didn’t expect Gan Guoyang was there to talk about Garnett’s contract issue.
So, looking at Eric getting a bit exasperated, Gan Guoyang remained unflustered.
Just like facing the Timberwolves in the first round, he was full of confidence, sure of victory.
He handed a cup of coffee to Eric, to which Eric declined, "My heart’s not in great shape, I’d better drink less."
Gan Guoyang took a sip himself and said:
"Eric, I still remember the day Larry passed away, it was in the 1989 playoff semi-finals, not long after the first round. Ah Hui called me, and at that moment my mind was a blank. I considered giving up the game to go to New York to see him. Later, you know, it was the worst series of my career. When I went to New York for the funeral, I vowed that what Larry couldn’t achieve, I would finish."
"Larry never trusted Grantham, thinking he was not a president who could balance between players and the league. He was too inclined towards players and too close with them, which instead lost him respect. There’s an old Chinese saying: being too close might lead to overfamiliarity, while being too distant might breed resentment. Keeping the balance and maintaining an appropriate distance is proper, especially for people in power."
"However, at that time Grantham was already in a very strong position. Not allowing him to ascend would have caused a series of troubles, so simply let him be president for a while and then everyone would naturally see if he was suitable. Facts proved he wasn’t suitable. Jim Quinn and I must learn from this and cannot continue to lean solely towards players. I think if Larry were still here, he would agree with the ideas Quinn and I share."
Gan Guoyang first clarified the correctness of his stance, proving that his actions complied with the legacy of Fleisher rather than defying it.
Then Gan Guoyang began to lay his cards on the table.
"Of course, I understand that as an agent, there is nothing wrong with fighting for big contracts for players, absolutely no problem, the bigger the better, as long as the player can afford it, that’s fair. But... Eric, are you certain that the partnership between Kevin Garnett and you is honest and sincere? Does securing such a big contract for him bring you what you want?"
Gan Guoyang’s question left Fleisher a bit confused. What did he mean? Isn’t Kevin Garnett my player?
"I don’t understand what you’re saying, Sonny. Can you be straightforward? What do you mean exactly? Kevin signed a normal agency contract with me, there aren’t any issues."
Gan Guoyang stood up and took a document from his briefcase, handing it over to Fleisher. Fleisher took it and flipped through, his expression turning grimmer with each page.
"This is the secret agreement signed between Kevin Garnett and your company’s general manager, Andy Miller. It exploits a loophole in the contract between Garnett and your company. Once Andy Miller leaves, he has the right to take Kevin Garnett away from your company without paying any breach of contract fee. Eric, it seems you’ve been played. Why didn’t you realize this sooner?"
Eric Fleisher, after reading the document, threw it harshly on the ground, his face flushed and neck thick with anger.
Andy Miller is the general manager of Fleisher’s agency. He joined the company as an intern in 1992 and quickly earned Eric Fleisher’s favor, rising through the ranks to become the general manager.
Some of the young players under Fleisher’s wing had their contract signing and agreements handled by Andy Miller.
He absolutely did not expect that he would be backstabbed by his most trusted subordinate, Miller, who signed secret agreements behind his back with players, undoubtedly preparing for future poaching endeavors to set up his own operation independently.
As the value of the NBA continues to rise, and its commercial value grows, the competition among agencies becomes increasingly intense, naturally accompanied by various unspeakable tactics and disputes.
Eric said, "Sonny, where did you get this document from?"
Gan Guoyang said, "That’s not important, what’s important is its authenticity. You painstakingly fought for a substantial contract for Kevin, but in the end, you’re doing it for someone else. Meanwhile, this big contract will not bring you agency reputation; on the contrary, it will leave you with infamy. Because, firstly, your men were taken. Secondly, this contract is so big that it disrupts the market order. I got $33 million, which is a lot, but I didn’t disrupt the order. If another player achieves what I have, they can also get as much or even more."