This news came as a surprise.

Tang Tian even had a hard time believing it at first.

After all, Kobe had invited him to join the Lakers before.

But after Fagen explained the situation, he understood immediately.

It turned out that Howard was acting up.

He felt that the Lakers weren't focusing on him enough, and he was also worried about his next contract after the team signed Tang Tian.

So he used his agent to put pressure on the Lakers, saying that if they gave Tang Tian a big contract, he would sign with another team.

In this situation, even Kobe's wishes didn't matter.

Compared to Tang Tian, Howard was clearly more important to them.

This was a real teammate from hell.

But after understanding, Tang Tian actually felt it was pretty good.

The Lakers were the last team he wanted to go to anyway, and now that this had happened, it saved him the trouble of having to refuse Kobe.

On the afternoon of the 30th, Tang Tian met with the Mavericks management.

The Mavericks' team this time was very special. Mark Cuban led the way, along with team general manager Donnie Nelson and their assistant.

Cuban had been the team's number one die-hard fan since buying the team in 2000, so he naturally wouldn't miss this occasion.

Donnie Nelson was known to many Chinese fans as Little Nelson. He was Old Nelson's son, and had also served as the chief consultant for the Chinese men's basketball team.

Cuban had a boisterous personality and gave Tang Tian a big hug right away.

"Dallas welcomes you, buddy!"

This was a true cowboy-like personality.

Little Nelson was even more polite to Tang Tian, and could even say a few words in Chinese.

It had to be said that the Mavericks' lineup was really full of warmth.

"Dirk couldn't make it because he's on vacation, but he told me he's very welcome to you, oh, and your Chinese teammate Yi, he kept praising you."

Cuban spoke for his players, showing how good his relationship with the team was usually.

"We're most short on people at the forward and guard positions. OJ (Mayo) didn't perform as expected last season, and Vince (Carter) and Shawn (Marion) are getting old. You really have a chance on our team.

And you also know that Dirk is getting old, and the team needs a new core now. What you want and what we can give are exactly the same."

Little Nelson also made the team's situation very clear to Tang Tian.

After hearing the two men's words, Tang Tian was a little tempted.

Such a good boss, and such a cooperative general manager, plus a team atmosphere that wasn't inferior to the Spurs.

Really, if it wasn't for the market issues there, Tang Tian might have made a decision right away.

The meeting was very pleasant. When they parted, Cuban grabbed Tang Tian's arm and whispered.

"Our locker room is the most luxurious in the league, I'm talking about the home team locker room, you'll definitely want to experience it, and of course if you want to go to a nightclub, I can go with you too."

"Uh... hahaha."

Tang Tian smiled politely. This Cuban really had some things up his sleeve.

After the first day's meeting ended, Tang Tian placed the Mavericks in the first position in his heart.

Although racial discrimination was a bit uncomfortable, it was impossible for everything to go smoothly, and if he really became the core player, the fans wouldn't show it in front of him.

The first day's meeting went very smoothly.

The next day, which was the last day of June, Tang Tian met with the Rockets in the morning.

In addition to General Manager Morey, the Rockets also brought someone Tang Tian didn't expect, Harden.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm very welcome to you joining the Rockets, and I really need your help, I want to help this team return to its peak."

Harden's personality was still very good. After seeing Tang Tian's surprised expression, he immediately said with a smile.

The big beard trembled when he spoke, which was quite cute.

"Yes, Tang, we once had Yao, you will get a respect in Houston that other cities can't offer, we have the largest Chinatown in the United States, you will feel very comfortable living here."

Morey also continued to lobby.

"And you can create an era with James, our lineup is very good, and our salary cap space is very good, we can even try to pursue Dwight (Howard) and other big-name players, we can play small ball, Chandler (Parsons) will play the four, we will play modern basketball."

It had to be said that Morey's words were really good.

The Rockets were originally a team that Tang Tian was interested in going to, and Morey listed all these benefits, which was really good.

"Come here, you already have a championship, you need some challenges now."

When they parted, Harden used another way to persuade Tang Tian.

Tang Tian smiled and nodded.

After the meeting with the Rockets ended, Tang Tian really had something to struggle with.

The Mavericks had a good management and team atmosphere, while the Rockets had a good market and team potential.

They really each had their own advantages, and each had their own reasons to go.

On the afternoon of the 31st, which was the last day before the free market officially opened, Tang Tian met with the Pelicans' team at a coffee shop.

He and Fagen were a little late because of traffic, but before they could say sorry, he was shocked by the lineup inside when he went in.

Pelicans head coach Monty Williams, general manager Dell Demps, player Davis, and an old man in his 80s, who should be Pelicans' current owner Tom Benson if he wasn't mistaken.

This was really the whole family coming out.

This scene was really unprecedented.

Fagen was also very surprised. The only signal conveyed by this kind of lineup was: they attached great importance to Tang Tian, ​​very importance, extremely importance.

Davis had met Tang Tian before, and he introduced everyone to Tang Tian one by one at this time.

Tang Tian shook hands with them one by one.

"Tang, we need you."

The first to speak was head coach Williams.

"Perhaps other teams have already told you the benefits of going to their side, but our attitude is completely different from theirs. We have been observing you for more than a year, and we know that you have the potential to become the core of the team."

And Williams's opening remarks surprised Tang Tian, ​​which was something that the previous teams had not said.

"When you first entered the league, you could only shoot spot-up three-pointers, and your defense could only be considered excellent, but you have been improving almost every year and every day. We can see the sweat you have put in behind you, and the possibility that exists."

When Williams spoke, Demps nodded constantly, and Benson also looked at Tang Tian with a smile.

Obviously, these were not empty words, they had really been watching him for some time.

"You have developed the ability to catch and shoot, you have developed the ability to pass, and your blocking ability has been greatly improved. We can all see it, so we can tell you very clearly that we also believe that you can develop the ability to hold the ball and attack, and become the Pelicans' outside core."

ps: Special thanks to Menglong Shen 1 for the ten thousand reward!