Rick Brunson .com - Ain't no thang!

Reebok Signs Brunson to Create Signature Shoe; Nike Stock Crashes
September 9th, 2003

Rick Brunson has reportedly abandoned a "lucrative" deal to sport the Nike logo in favour of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create his own signature brand of basketball kicks.
Dubbed the "Rbk-RB", the new sneaker takes its inspiration from the wildly successful S. Carter line that was released to great fanfare last April. Style-crazed shoppers literally broke down the doors of several Philadelphia Foot Locker stores to be the first to get their feet into them, but Reebok believes we ain't seen nothing yet.

"Reebok is extremely excited with the buzz our newest shoe will create,” said Todd Krinsky, Reebok’s vice president, Rbk. "We thought we had perfected the art of creating product / endorser synergy with Jay-Z's line, but scoring Rick Brunson takes us to yet another level!"

Krinsky went on to say: "It's just incredible how it all fell into place. First we find out that Rick is crazy about Jay-Z! Then we find out that the feeling is sort of mutual! A few weeks of collaboration, we make a few minor cosmetic changes, and BAM! A license to print money again!"

Jeffrey Edelman, a footwear market analyst at UBS Warburg added: "When you think about it, who better to promote a line of shoes described by Reebok as 'a tight, clean look for your offcourt play', than Rick Brunson? I mean, you can't get more offcourt than him! He's representing!"
Rick Brunson .com's crack team of investigative reporters were able to obtain a pre-release version of the shoe, and can confirm that the new shoe will indeed sport RB's unmistakeable signature on the tongue. In fact, long baggy pants may now be a thing of the past with urban youth looking to flash the infamous "RB tag".

It was also noted that the new kicks were much heavier than the original Jay-Z version. We can only assume this is an intentional design feature, allowing buyers to experience first-hand the sensation of being a slow-footed, towel-waving career bench warmer.

Street date: Wednesday, October 8th.