The Godfather of Basketball

This Rockets team, under his transformation last season, has become a championship team and has a strong team.

Not only physically, but also spiritually.

The image of the lazy McGrady, the unaffordable dual-core, and the poor role player in the impression of the previous life no longer exists.

A champion is enough to explain everything.

But Tang Tian knew that the new season was the bigger test.

The Big Three of the Celtics have reinforced Gasol's Lakers. The strength of these teams is far stronger than last year's Spurs.

If the Rockets want to defend their title, reinforcement is the only way out.

As a traveler, the draft is undoubtedly the biggest benefit, with low risk and high reward.

The Rockets now have two draft picks, one is their own first-round pick, No. 26, and the other is the Bucks pick that Spanoulis got in the deal, which is the 56th pick in the second round.

The Rockets were traded in the second round of this season as early as two years ago, so that's all.

However, according to the memory of the previous life, the Rockets will also trade the 31st pick from the Sonics, and then they will trade the pick from the Spurs to Scola.

Tang Tian flipped through the Rockets' rookie report.

The report inside is very detailed, but only partial. After all, the time between seasons is very short. Even if the investigation starts in the middle of the season, it is impossible to have everyone's information.

Tang Tian looked at it for a while, and the most detailed ones were those of Brooks and Landry. It seemed that these were Morey's favorite players.

The most interesting thing is Landry. According to the report, he was only 2.01 meters tall during the joint trial training, but when the Rockets tried out alone, he became 2.06 meters tall. I don’t know if it was Landry. On the day of the joint trial training, I had a stomachache and bent over to do the side of the body, and I took a rapid heightening agent within a few days.

But a power forward of 2.06 meters and a power forward of 2.01 meters are obviously two concepts.

Tang Tian was very impressed with the "Divine Bird". He was quite tough when he hit the front teeth when he rebounded.

In fact, Shenniao is much stronger than most people expected. He averaged 16+5 per game in the last season of the Rockets. After leaving the Rockets, he has scored in double figures for 6 consecutive seasons. He is a very efficient player.

Last season, the Rockets had two power forwards, Uncle Huo and Novak, one old and one soft, and it was very good to reinforce Landry.

But for Brooks, Barea is enough. He obviously has a better choice for this position.

"Hey~"

As he watched, there was another knock on the office door.

"Come in."

Tang Tian raised his head as he spoke, and found that it was Mo Lei who came in.

Talking about it so soon?

"By the way, I forgot to tell you. During the few days when you were away, Michael Pietrus approached me more than once, saying that he wanted to play for you."

Pietrus?

Tang Tian was taken aback, isn't this from the Warriors?

At this moment, he remembered the look Pietrus gave him when the Warriors were eliminated.

"He said, playing for you, not for the Rockets, so I think as long as you agree, I will arrange someone to contact him immediately." Morey said.

Pietrus, nicknamed "French Jordan", is of course just a nickname. This is a rare top 3D player in the current league. He has a stable outside shooting ability and is tough against the basket. Of course, the most important thing is that he has excellent defensive ability. It's totally worth it to play against superstars.

Last season, the Rockets only had Shane Battier as a leading defensive player, but due to speed, the defensive backs were more difficult. Now that Pietrus, who is swinging forward, has been added, the team's defensive strength has definitely risen to a higher level.

This is simply a pie from the sky.

"I have no reason to refuse." Tang Tian said with a smile.

Morey nodded, then turned to leave.

But before leaving, he suddenly turned back and said, "This is your personal charm."

Tang Tian froze for a moment, then laughed.

Charisma, that seems to be the case.

One week before the draft, the Rockets officially announced that they had reached a contract extension agreement with Tang Tian.

2 years, with an annual salary of 4 million.

In the end, both parties took a step back, but the contract amount did not decrease.

Of course, this is just the basic salary, and it includes incentive clauses like the previous contract. If Tang Tian can finally lead the team to defend the title, then the amount of this contract can reach 6 million in the first year alone.

Tang Tian's signing also caused quite a stir and discussions in the league.

FOX continued its skeptical attitude towards Tang Tian last season, thinking that the annual salary of the Rockets was too high. Although the Rockets won the championship last season, it must be known that Tang Tian had only coached for less than a season as the head coach.

The same example is Lawrence Frank of the Nets, who led the team to the second place in the Eastern Conference in the first year, and finally reached the Eastern Conference semifinals, but the record after that was not as good as the previous year.

After all, it is the team lineup that determines the final performance of a team, and the coach is only an assistant. It is too risky to give a contract like this.

TNT, on the other hand, supported the Rockets exceptionally this time. They believed that the only flaw in this contract was the short term. It was impossible for the Rockets to win the championship with a different lineup last season. Tang Tian had already shown the qualities of a first-class coach potential.

ESPN also holds the same view as TNT. They believe that the Rockets have made the most correct and luckiest decision. The Rockets will be the favorites to win the championship in the next two years.

From unanimous pessimism a year ago to now more support than doubt, Tang Tian has actually changed many people's views with practical actions.

A week passed in a blink of an eye, and after finishing all the work before the draft, the management of each team boarded the plane to New York together.

As in previous years, this year's NBA draft will still be held in a theater at Madison Square Garden.

ESPN will also simultaneously broadcast live to more than 200 countries and regions around the world.

The draft is of great significance to every team in the NBA. For the teams with a bad record last year, this is the moment for them to change their destiny.

But the draft is also a gamble. Whether to choose the core of the team or the historical parallel imports all depends on the management's whim.

On June 28, US time, Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Al Horford, Jeff Green and many other popular rookies gathered in the Square Garden, waiting for the moment when their names were called.

Fans from all over the world also poured into this theater, looking forward to the moment when the home team selects their favorite rookie.

The annual talent show is about to kick off.