"Can you solve it in a year, manage it in three?" Holt asked directly.

With that single sentence, Buford swallowed all the words he had planned to say.

A poison pill contract wasn't just the three-year contract the Rockets offered Jeremy Lin or Omer Asik.

It could be four years, five at most.

If a team offered a five-year contract, it meant the Spurs would have to accept a contract structure of 500 + 500 + 1400 + 1400 + 1400.

In reality, that meant the Spurs would have to give Tang Tian a max contract in the last three years.

That question could even be reframed as whether they were willing to build Tang Tian as the team's next core player.

Tang Tian might be a top-tier 3-and-D player with good performance, but he was still far from being a core player.

Especially in terms of independent offensive ability, Tang Tian still had a long way to go.

And like his passing before, it wasn't that he didn't show it, but that when he did, he fell far short.

In this era, a 3-and-D player without independent offensive ability was, at best, what Tang Tian had shown this season.

But even then, it wasn't worth a max contract.

"He might bring the team significant off-court revenue like Yao did in the future."

Holt continued.

Holt smiled at this point.

"Our revenue last year was 10% higher than the year before, and that was after winning a championship. Do you think the Chinese market will be as effective here as it was in Houston?"

Holt retorted.

Buford was left speechless this time.

Yao Ming's success couldn't be replicated, and San Antonio, as a military hub, was very different from Houston.

"Gregg, as I said before, reduce his playing time, reduce his shot attempts, you only have half a season left."

Holt said coldly, looking at Popovich, this time not giving Popovich as much leeway as before.

"That will affect the team's record."

Popovich said.

"Gregg, you've coached this team for 22 years. Are you telling me that a second-year rookie will affect the team's record?"

"Or are you saying that the team can't win without him?"

Holt threw out two questions in a row, and Popovich didn't speak again.

He could throw a tantrum and walk away, but the implication of Holt's second question, if elaborated on further, would touch on the issue of his coaching ability.

He had been a coach with the Spurs for 22 years and didn't want to end up being swept out the door.

"I'll try."

Popovich finally agreed.

The Spurs were currently first in the league, so they had the capital to make such an attempt.

Just treat it as leveling up for Green and Leonard.

That's all he could think in his heart.

The All-Star Game was a dividing line, because there would be no more trades after that, and the season was basically set for each team.

The Thunder and Heat were going all out to challenge the Spurs for the top spot in the league.

The Nuggets, Clippers, Grizzlies, and Knicks, teams in the second tier, were also striving to win to consolidate their position in the upper half of the playoffs.

Teams like the Jazz, Mavericks, Rockets, 76ers, Raptors, and Bobcats were fighting desperately for a playoff spot.

Of course, the Magic, Cavaliers, Wizards, Suns, Pelicans, and Kings had already started considering how to lose beautifully and secure a good draft pick in this year's draft.

The Spurs, on the other hand, were the simplest of these teams; they just needed to maintain their position as the best team in the league.

The day after the trade deadline, the Spurs hosted the Grizzlies at home.

This game was a strong matchup, with the Grizzlies' style somewhat countering the Spurs, and the game was destined not to be easy.

After four quarters, the two sides were tied at 90, going into overtime.

In overtime, Conley scored 5 consecutive points against Green's defense, helping the Grizzlies ultimately win the game 97-92.

Losing narrowly to the Grizzlies wasn't too surprising for the Spurs.

But sharp-eyed fans noticed that Tang Tian only played about 25 minutes in this game and didn't appear in the crucial overtime period.

Was Tang Tian injured?

That was the first reaction of many Spurs fans, after all, Tang Tian's shooting percentage in this game was not bad, 4 of 8, and he also contributed 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.

But the Spurs official team had no news related to the injury.

After a day of rest, the Spurs began their Eastern Conference road trip.

They first played a game with the 76ers.

As a result, Jrue Holiday exploded with 30 points and 10 assists, helping the 76ers win 101-96.

Tang Tian still only played 25 minutes, getting 12 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.

Although he came on in the critical moments at the end, the team was already behind by 10 points at that time.

Spurs fans were quite vocal at this time, losing to the Grizzlies was acceptable, but losing to the 76ers...

Although the 76ers were working hard for the playoffs, the Thunder were chasing closely behind, and this kind of game should definitely not be lost.

Popovich locked himself in his office after the game.

Tang Tian's style of play was very 3-and-D, but after these two games, he realized that Tang Tian's importance to the team was greater than he had imagined.

Or he overestimated the overall strength of this team, this Spurs team hadn't reached the level he had imagined.

Thinking about it carefully, many of the Spurs' games this season, when they fell into passivity or couldn't open up the situation, were started by Tang Tian's defense.

Green and Leonard weren't bad, but they still had a way to go to reach Tang Tian's level of dominant defense, not to mention the offensive end.

And players were also human, Tang Tian suddenly playing less, his teammates also couldn't adapt to it all at once.

But there was no way, if he didn't reduce Tang Tian's playing time at this time, according to Holt's meaning, the Spurs were likely to lose Tang Tian for nothing this summer.

Putting down the tactical manual, Popovich took out red wine and wanted to drink two sips.

But as soon as he poured it, he found that drinking alone was very boring.

He glanced at the empty chair across the table.

He didn't know when it started, but he had gotten used to drinking face-to-face with Tang Tian.

"This is really making things difficult for an old man!"

He put down his glass and shook his head helplessly.

After playing the 76ers, the Spurs then played a game with the Pistons. Facing a weak team, the team won 97-71.

The team seemed to have recovered from the post-All-Star Game slump.

But the back-to-back games against the Heat and Knicks that followed, they lost both by more than 10 points.

On this Eastern Conference road trip, they ultimately achieved a record of 1 win and 3 losses.

During this time, the Thunder's record was exactly the opposite of the Spurs, 4 wins and 1 loss, directly tying the Spurs' record.

The Pistons basically gave up on this season, so that game didn't have much reference value.

That is to say, after compressing Tang Tian's playing time, the Spurs' record was 0 wins and 4 losses.

Popovich already knew it in his heart at this time.

Perhaps Green and Leonard would both grow up in the future, but at this stage.

Holt asked that question, can't we win without him?

After practice, the answer seemed to be yes.

ps: Fourth update is here. Just looked at the monthly ticket list and was pulled apart a lot. Brothers with monthly tickets, throw 2 to Shui Qie. These days are double