Dude, you have no clue about sneakers or the culture.
No I consider Nike to do what's best for the company. In an era when they're not just competing with Adidas or Under Armour, but also multiple Chinese companies. Signing a top three player to say you have that player is an investment. That's why they sign college players without playing an NBA player. It's why they furnish college teams with product. Watching an NBA game is one big commercial.
Kobe is a winner, but the rape also hurt him with Nike, because he could never become the face of the franchise. His sneakers have been as polarizing as his career. Nobody is sure how valuable he will be, because of lot of his early kicks were ugly.
Lebron's kicks just became hot since he became a winner. Which is why they haven't retroed any of his kicks. They were already retroing Jordan's before year ten.
KD hasn't won shit. No one has an attachment to KD. His kicks being "popular" has to do with their appearance and their cost compared to the others. Not coincidentally the price of KD's have risen steadily. The time they make an ugly KD, people won't fuck with it.
I'm done... you're talking sports and culture, I'm talking business and economics. If you can't see why Nike would easily make their money back off KD if he is on the same type of career path as Jordan/KD/Lebron...then you're just a fucking lost cause.







