Y13 [EN]: Chapter 26

Y13-26 Each to Their Own

Youngjae put on a casual suit for the first time in a while and swallowed hard. He knew that an agent would contact him first. However, he never expected that the agent would be a big shot like Bill Duffy.

(Bill Duffy is a prominent agent who consistently ranks in the top 10 in NBA agent revenue.)

‘Really?! That’s great!’

Melly insisted that he should look neat for such a meeting and meticulously took care of his clothes as if she were an older sister preparing her younger brother for an interview. The Aztecs members hadn’t been told anything because his contract wasn’t confirmed yet, but the members who had some idea cheered Youngjae on with calls and messages, wishing him well.

“Hoo.”

Youngjae had dealt with agents in his previous life as well. However, it was naturally nerve-wracking for him to meet a big-shot agent for the first time.

Knock, knock.

“Ah, come in.”

When he heard Coach Fisher’s voice, Youngjae straightened his shirt collar one last time and entered Coach Fisher’s office.

“Oh! Y13. Nice to meet you. I’m Bill Duffy.”

Bill Duffy. A well-built Black man (with light skin) who was about the same height as Youngjae, who was 6-5 (196cm). Piercing eyes and a strong presence. But despite that, he was a man who wore a smile easily, shaking hands in a suit.

In one of Bill Duffy’s interviews, he said this:

‘It’s important to make money both on and off the court. But the most important thing is human relationships based on honesty.’

Perhaps that’s why Bill Duffy is often compared to Jerry Maguire, the sports agent in the movie ‘Jerry Maguire’ (starring Tom Cruise), and is even called ‘the Jerry Maguire of the NBA’.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Youngjae Yoon.”

“Okay, let’s sit down first.”

At Bill Duffy’s suggestion, Youngjae nodded and sat on the sofa after briefly looking at Coach Fisher.

“First of all, congratulations on being selected for the NCAA All-America 2nd Team. You’re in the top 11 players in the country.”

“Ah, thank you. I thought I did my best, but I never expected to be selected. I was a bit stunned.”

Duffy watched Youngjae manage his expression as calmly as possible while saying he was stunned, paused for a moment, and then smiled.

“This may be rude to say at our first meeting, but Yoon is a very interesting person.”

“Yes?”

Bill Duffy shook his head as if it were nothing and continued, taking a handful of documents from his bag.

“Being an agent is nothing special, really. It’s about meeting people. As I meet various people, I develop a ‘sense,’ and although I don’t blindly believe it, it’s somewhat accurate. The ‘sense’ I felt from Yoon is that he is interesting.”

Duffy took a sip of the water in front of him, as if he was thirsty, and nodded.

“I looked at Yoon’s data more diligently and with more interest than any other player. Even if I judge the player ‘Youngjae Yoon’ with these countless data points, it is possible to make a sufficient judgment. But I was curious.”

“What about…”

“What will the first impression be like? What kind of expression will he have when I shake his hand? What thoughts will he share when we talk about the future?… That’s it. First of all, almost no clients come in a suit, but Yoon came in a suit. I don’t usually dress formally, but especially in Korea, it’s somewhat customary to wear a suit when attending important events… As expected, he came in a suit. But uniquely, it’s a casual suit, and only the shoes are basketball shoes. And the brand is not a famous brand, and it looks like he wore it a lot. At least he’s not the type to splurge. In that respect, I felt that Yoon was interesting for the first time.”

Youngjae couldn’t help but be surprised. *Do* all the big-shot agents other than Bill Duffy do this? Or do they judge players based on their own standards? With this thought, Youngjae tried to suppress his surprise and nodded calmly.

“And it’s still interesting now. Both before and now, you seem to be controlling your emotions and managing your expression. It’s usually difficult for sports stars of that age to do that. I think those minor details are the foundation for consistent performance.”

“Certainly, Yoon has shown consistent play without ups and downs, unlike a freshman at Aztecs. There were few emotional ups and downs both outside and inside the court.”

Bill Duffy nodded, not denying Coach Fisher’s apt observation.

“I don’t doubt Yoon’s skills. But as in life, there are so many things that can’t be done with just athletic ability, and I don’t like people who only care about skills. I still think I’m a long way from being a good agent. So I wondered what I could do for the players. That’s why I don’t want to be tied to players just as a business relationship. I’m a former player myself, so I can give players not only public help but also private help.”

Youngjae really liked Duffy’s mindset. The previous agents had just made verbal contracts with a single phone call and gave routine congratulations even after he became an NBA leaguer. The amount of attention they gave him varied depending on the amount of money he brought to the agent. He knew it was business in his head, but he couldn’t feel good.

But Youngjae was also a player who had grown from the bottom up in the NBA for several years. This is something that even Bill Duffy could not have predicted. Youngjae had a favorable impression of Bill Duffy, but that was that, and the contract was the contract.

“I think it’s a good mindset.”

Youngjae, who was thinking about his past agents, relaxed to some extent and interrupted Bill Duffy’s story. Of course, he didn’t know what Bill Duffy’s intentions were in saying his thoughts, but he thought that if he kept listening, he would follow his flow. Youngjae was almost thirty years old. It’s difficult to be seen at the same level as fledgling college students.

“I really appreciate the compliment that you don’t doubt my skills after looking at my data. But, to put it coldly, I’m a player from a mid-major conference, and I’m not sure if NBA teams will find me an attractive card. However, I just thought I could do it while playing against Maryland.”

Duffy was secretly surprised. He thought that Yoon, unlike other players, was just good at controlling his mentality and hiding his emotional ups and downs. No matter how much Bill Duffy values human relationships with players, his true nature is an agent. It was natural for him to recruit promising players and make better deals for himself and the company. However, he would not take advantage of the players by making unfavorable contracts or advertisements to benefit himself.

He was trying to establish his good image and move on to the contract discussion right away, but unexpectedly, Youngjae seemed to have read his flow, cut off the story, and immediately moved on to the main point. Moreover, he was accurately aware of his situation. Usually, when people gain popularity at a young age and are praised like him, they become arrogant, but Youngjae was not like that.

‘He’s cold, and his public and private life are clear. And business is business?’

Duffy couldn’t help but let out a light laugh as he looked at Youngjae, who didn’t seem like a 19-year-old.

“Haha! I’m sorry about this. You *can* doubt it. That’s right. Yoon is just one of the players in the mid-major conference. But, do you know what? Just a mid-major conference player is not expected to be in the upper round of the 2nd round of various media and professional Mock Drafts. And just a mid-major conference player cannot lead the team to victory by playing as an ace against the prestigious Maryland.”

Duffy seemed to have gained momentum and continued his story a little more.

“And just such mid-major conference players are mostly either unsure of their ability to pioneer their future or are too overconfident. Yoon, didn’t Yoon say it himself? That it would be worth challenging. I highly value Yoon for that. A figure who is not overconfident but full of challenge. Should I say he is realistic yet full of spirit? That’s exactly the kind of rookie I want. I think it’s the ideal rookie mentality. I hope my eyes are not wrong.”

After that, based on his scouting report, Bill Duffy talked about Youngjae’s future with Coach Fisher and Youngjae in one fell swoop. Youngjae’s playing style, injury history, strengths, weaknesses… The two couldn’t help but be surprised several times by Duffy’s thoroughness in analyzing even his mental aspects.

“I know you’ve already expressed your intention to participate in the draft. If Yoon is consistently expected to be around the 30-40 pick range, teams with picks near that range and teams that need shooting guard prospects will invite Yoon to a workout. If necessary, there may be clubs that try to nominate Yoon by picking up (exchanging several picks or bundling them with players for a higher pick) or buying picks. Since we haven’t signed a contract yet, I can’t tell Yoon what to do, but the more you participate in workouts, the more you can prove and increase your value. It is not uncommon to increase your value in workouts. On the contrary, there are many cases where it falls.”

Youngjae knew it too. It was a workout that could prove his worth, but on the other hand, there was a risk of getting injured in places like workouts or summer leagues (a kind of spring camp. Games are held in late summer between teams composed of invited players and rookies). Also, there were cases where he received low evaluations in workouts. In fact, many players who are expected to be lottery picks (top picks within 1-14 picks. Called lottery picks because of the probability draw through a rotating machine) choose the team they want to participate in.

To be honest, Youngjae’s desperation was at its peak. Youngjae had desperately climbed up to this point to the point where he couldn’t afford to be picky. However, a single worry continued to plague Youngjae.

‘If it goes the same as the future I know, I’ll have to choose.’

This was it. Because Youngjae accurately remembered how the future team would flow, he wanted to avoid going to a team aiming for tanking [deliberately losing games to secure a higher draft pick] or an NBA team with poor club management and medical staff, even if it meant being a little greedy.

In the end, Youngjae couldn’t make a decision on the spot. Duffy also said that he liked Youngjae’s cautious attitude and handed him his business card.

“I would be satisfied if today’s conversation gave Yoon and I a chance to get to know each other even a little bit. If you like me and are seriously thinking about signing a contract, please contact this number.”

Bill Duffy finished his words, greeted Coach Fisher and Youngjae, and left the office.

As Bill Duffy’s footsteps faded away, Coach Fisher asked Youngjae.

“Yoon, why didn’t you give a definite answer? Isn’t that agent the best you can connect with among the agents you can connect with?”

“That’s definitely true, but I still want to decide carefully. I don’t want to be swayed by an agent.”

“I don’t think you’ll make a bad conclusion. Then I hope you make a careful decision. In my personal opinion, if it’s Bill Duffy, I think it will be a great help to you if you accept him.”

“Thank you for your advice. I’ll make a decision after thinking about it for a few days.”

Youngjae also greeted Coach Fisher and left the office, lost in thought.

============================ Author’s Note ============================

★Thank you to those who gave me advance reservations, recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

Bill Duffy is also in charge of agents such as Danny Green and Klay Thompson, in addition to Carmelo Anthony, Steve Nash, and Yao Ming. About Duffy

“You can just believe whatever Duffy says.” – Steve Nash (MVP for 2 consecutive years in 04-05)

“A lifelong friend who made my dream come true.” – Yao Ming (the best Asian NBA leaguer of all time)

The two stars left these words. He even spent his own money for Yao Ming.

I had a hard time choosing an agent. I searched all the top 10 agents and chose Duffy as the person I thought was the best fit for the main character.

Baekye-nim, Half-nim/// Thank you!!

Let’s Eat Meat-nim/// Is it going to WWW (Wild Wild West) haha. The Western Conference Finals are harder than the Finals. Of course, Miami, Chicago, and Orlando were also in the East at this time. If you go to the West, you’ll be rolling around like crazy.

Milk Boy-nim/// The physique is a bit too big to be a full-time point guard. Besides, the distinction between point guard/shooting guard is becoming increasingly blurred these days. So it seems that the main position will be shooting guard.