Chapter 1 Congratulations and Gratitude

"Tang Tian, can you accept our interview?" Tang Tian had just finished hugging Walker when he heard a familiar voice.

Turning his head, he realized it was Zhang Weiping.

Zhang Weiping is a pioneer in Chinese basketball. Because he likes to say "reasonable" during broadcasts, he is nicknamed "Zhang Heli" (Zhang Reasonable) by fans.

He basically attends the draft every year, for more than twenty years. Putting aside his commentary ability, this persistence is already respectable.

"Sure." Tang Tian wasn't resistant to Zhang Weiping. Moreover, although he had transmigrated, he was still Chinese, and the country behind him, as well as the fans of that country, were his family.

"Alright!" Zhang Weiping's commentary style had influenced his daily speech.

After saying hello to Walker, Tang Tian went with Zhang Weiping to the side to accept an interview with CCTV.

Lottery picks would have a special press conference where the media would wait to interview them in turn, but non-lottery picks didn't have that treatment.

"First of all, congratulations. You are the first Chinese player to be selected after Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue. How do you feel right now?" Zhang Weiping asked directly, holding the microphone.

"Very excited and thrilled. Becoming an NBA player is every basketball player's dream." Tang Tian was experienced in dealing with such occasions.

"Yes, that's normal. In fact, before you participated in the draft, many fans in China were already paying attention to the NCAA. Your buzzer-beater against Duke was on the front page of the Pioneer Report in the largest format. Millions of fans were watching the draft on TV this time." Zhang Weiping continued.

"Thank you very much. I want to say that you are my greatest motivation and my strongest backing." Tang Tian said to the camera. He said this from the bottom of his heart. Whether in his previous life or this life, he knew that most domestic fans were very supportive of Chinese players playing in the NBA.

"We know that you were selected by the Spurs. They are a very reasonable team, inside-out, and they have a good sense of spacing on the court. Did you ever think you would be selected by the Spurs? Or what was your feeling about going to the Spurs?" Zhang Weiping continued to ask.

Zhang Weiping's question stumped Tang Tian a bit, not because it was difficult to answer, but because of whether to tell the truth or not.

"Um... to be honest, I didn't think I would be selected by the Spurs before, because I had only worked out for the Heat before..."

"When you were drafting, did you think you would go to the Heat?" Zhang Weiping was experienced and caught Tang Tian's implication.

"Well, sort of." Tang Tian didn't confirm, but he didn't deny it either.

Zhang Weiping smiled at this moment. He had already guessed what had happened inside. Tang Tian refused workouts with other teams after working out with the Heat, which meant the Heat had probably given him a draft promise! Now that the Heat didn't choose him, and the Spurs did, there would be no shortage of news material for the next year!

"Because I didn't work out for the Spurs before, I was quite surprised that they selected me, but I think it's a very good choice. Like I said just now, they pay attention to spacing and are a team-oriented team. I think it suits me very well, and I believe I will integrate into it quickly." Tang Tian finally chose to tell the truth.

"I believe that will happen too. Good luck."

Zhang Weiping shook hands with Tang Tian at the end, and the brief interview ended.

Tang Tian had only walked two steps when Thompson came over.

He congratulated him a few times, and of course, he couldn't help but "show off" that his draft pick was higher than his.

It could be seen that Thompson had a deep resentment after being abused by Tang Tian for two months in a row!

"Klay, draft position doesn't determine performance," Tang Tian reminded with a smile.

"No, I just talked to the Warriors' management, and I'm going to beat you," Thompson said confidently.

"Then we'll see," Tang Tian replied with a smile.

The two looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

A summer of training had built a good friendship between them, but because they were both three-point shooters, that kind of competition always existed.

As they were chatting, Fagan came over with a cell phone in his hand. It was Popovich calling Tang Tian.

It was well known that Popovich liked to call rookies, so it wasn't surprising to receive his call at this time.

"Tang, to get you, I squeezed a million dollars out of that guy Pete." Popovich was old-fashioned as soon as he opened his mouth, just like Calhoun.

But from his words, it could be heard that the Spurs spent $1 million to buy the Timberwolves' 31st overall pick, which did show that the Spurs valued him quite a bit.

(Note: The owner of the Spurs is Pete Holt.)

"I'm not worth a million even if you sell me, old man," Tang Tian said with a smile.

Popovich was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.

The scouting report said that Tang Tian's basketball IQ was very high. He had just turned 19, but he was exceptionally mature. It seemed that the team's scouting work this year was quite good.

The two chatted for a few more words, but not like a coach and a rookie, but more like two old friends.

"Come to the team early to report. I have a few bottles of red wine in my basement waiting for you to drink," Popovich said at the end, feeling that Tang Tian was very much to his liking, and invited him to drink together.

"I will," Tang Tian replied with a smile.

The two hung up the phone in laughter.

Tang Tian returned the phone to Fagan, and his mood relaxed a lot.

"I basically understand the situation on the Heat's side," Fagan said after taking the phone.

The draft on the stage was still going on. When Tang Tian heard what Fagan said, he pulled him to a corner before signaling him to continue.

"The decision was changed in the draft room. The decision was made by Pat Riley. Before making the final decision, he consulted LeBron."

Fagan was a well-known agent after all, and his network was very wide, so he already understood it thoroughly.

The draft room was an independent office that each team had at the draft. According to Fagan, the decision was made temporarily during the draft.

The draft was ever-changing, and it seemed that Riley finally felt that the Heat needed to add a ball-handling point.

But how could James get involved?

"They connected with Shane Battier, so they ultimately gave up on choosing you. Before making the final decision, they asked LeBron for his opinion. LeBron approved Riley's decision, believing that the team needed a more experienced forward to compete for the championship." Fagan knew that Tang Tian would be confused, so he explained in more detail.

Before the free agency market opened on July 1, teams were theoretically not allowed to contact free agents, but the rules were dead, and people were alive. It was still very easy to connect.

From Fagan's description, the Heat should have chosen Battier. With Battier, plus the original Mike Miller and James Jones, they naturally didn't need to choose Tang Tian in the end.