After exchanging for Divine Turtle Bombardment, Tang Tian went to the training hall to experience it himself.
The biggest changes came from the added bonuses to his change of direction and sprinting speed. His body, approaching 100 kilograms, was noticeably more agile than before.
This was the change brought about by the increase in agility attribute.
It was foreseeable that his success rate in shaking off defenders would increase significantly in the new season.
As for the bonuses to aerial confrontation and dunking, he could only explore those in the games themselves.
Time flew by, and it was soon the end of September. The new season's preseason was set to begin in early October.
At this time, training camps for various teams were starting one after another.
As in previous years, ESPN's Charlie Ford made a preseason prediction for the new season.
Because the strength of many teams had changed during the offseason, this preview received a lot of attention.
In this list, the Cavaliers topped the list, ahead of the Spurs.
ESPN has always been optimistic about James' teams every year. With the Heat winning the championship last year, this tendency was evident.
"They may experience some growing pains, but the Big Three lineup is competitive. LeBron just led the Heat to the championship, and his personal state is at its peak. Moreover, it cannot be ignored that in addition to the Big Three, they also have excellent young players such as Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson. They will be another Heat team in the East, and a younger one."
The Spurs were ranked second.
"The failure of the dynasty last season caused this team to fall from the altar. They may be a little confused at the end of the season, and they miss Tang Tian, but Gasol's signing makes it all seem less important. They are still the most popular team to win the championship in the new season. The reason for putting them behind the Cavaliers is that the GDP is another year older, especially Duncan. Last season was his worst season, and his performance at the age of 38 in the new season is worrying."
The Clippers ranked third.
The Rockets ranked fourth, closely following.
"They got Bosh, which is very important. Now they have a core lineup of Harden, Parsons, and Bosh, plus Asik and Beverley. They will be one of the most improved teams in the West this season. They will become the biggest disruptors in the Western Conference playoffs. The only concern is whether Harden can continue to get past Khloe Kardashian's defense."
The Grizzlies, Trail Blazers, and Bulls were ranked 6th to 7th respectively.
The Thunder were ranked eighth.
"They have maintained the lineup from last season, but the biggest bad news is that Kevin Durant underwent surgery in the offseason, and according to previous reports, he will miss the first two months of the regular season due to a right foot injury. We can't know what the Thunder without Durant will be like, but it can be foreseen that the performance will be much worse than last season."
The Pelicans were ranked ninth.
"They signed Ariza in the free market, and the core lineup has basically been retained, but they sent away Anderson from the bench. This is regarded as a move to reduce salaries and prepare for Tang Tian's big contract next year, but this will reduce their competitiveness. Overall, their performance will be similar to last season."
The Raptors were ranked tenth.
The Warriors were ranked eleventh.
"Their lineup has not changed compared to last season. The biggest change comes from the coaching staff. They fired Mark Jackson and his entire coaching staff and hired Kerr, who is still a rookie. It is worth noting that Curry expressed dissatisfaction after Jackson's departure. The Warriors will experience turmoil, and their performance may be worse than last season."
The Knicks were ranked twelfth.
…
The Pacers were ranked twentieth.
"They lost Paul George in the summer, who suffered a horrific ninety-degree leg fracture. We don't know when he will return, or what kind of performance he will be able to play after his return, but the Pacers have basically dropped out of the playoff team."
…
This preseason preview sparked a lot of heated discussions among fans.
Even League President Adam Silver was asked about his views on the list.
"Their predictions have been very accurate in the past two years, and they have always maintained professionalism in this regard, but I think the Pelicans should be ranked higher. Their performance in the playoffs last season was surprising, and they also got reinforcements during the offseason."
Silver's comment stunned the fans who were already hotly discussing it.
Silver is... suddenly changing his face?
You should know that the whistle in the playoffs last season was very targeted at the Pelicans!
After this offseason, he turned around and supported the Pelicans?
Many fans had question marks on their faces, and they obviously didn't know what caused this change.
Stern was full of relief after seeing this news. Silver had finally come around.
Look at Nike, look at BMW, if he still couldn't come around, he would really be a stubborn bull.
Tang Tian was also a little surprised when he saw the news, but it was obviously good news.
The Pelicans' strength has increased a lot this season. If the referees can call the game fairly, they will definitely go further in the playoffs.
ESPN's list prediction has fully warmed up the new season, and the new season's preseason is about to begin.
At this moment, good news came from the league again. They reached a 9-year, $24 billion TV broadcast agreement with ESPN and TNT!
The new contract will take effect in the 2016-2017 season, and the average broadcast price per season is almost three times that of the current contract!
This is a very exaggerated number.
For example, James, who has played in the league for more than 10 years, his current maximum salary starting salary is $20 million, but if the new broadcast contract takes effect, this starting salary will skyrocket to $33 million!
This is a very terrifying increase, and James and Chris Paul, as the chairman of the union, are still trying to increase this limit.
After this news broke, it can be foreseen that the free agent market in 2016 will usher in an explosive wave of signings, and the salary that players can get from the league will also have a blowout increase compared to the past.
Silver finalized such a big contract in the second year of his term, which greatly stabilized his position as president.
The players' union strongly supported him because of the expected salary increase;
And the signing of this broadcast contract has greatly increased the income of many teams, and he has also received strong support from the team owners;
In addition, he changed his tone towards the Pelicans before, which also made the media and fans change their views on him a lot.
For the first time in the Silver era, the league seems to be thriving.