Chapter 150 Old Acquaintance

The first round of the draft was coming to an end. As Tang Tian went downstairs to find Siakam and Brogdon, he ran into an old acquaintance.

League Vice President Tatum.

Ever since Tang Tian entered the league, the two had a very good relationship.

After Xiao Hua took office, Tatum also became the league's chief vice president.

The two greeted each other and chatted for a few words.

"Your performance in the Finals was great, to be able to win the championship in that situation."

Tatum congratulated Tang Tian, his words seemingly hinting at dissatisfaction with the officiating standards.

"I don't want to experience those officiating standards again."

Tang Tian said with a smile.

"It will be."

Tatum nodded, then leaned in close to Tang Tian and said softly.

"I also miss the basketball of the David Stern era, and I will work hard to change things in the league's board of directors."

After he said that, a staff member reminded him that he could go backstage.

With the first round of the draft over, it would be his turn to announce the second round.

Tang Tian looked thoughtfully at Tatum's back.

His current status in the league was at a different level than it was during his time with the Spurs.

He had even surpassed James, and with one or two more championships, he could directly approach Michael Jordan's level.

He couldn't stop Xiao Hua's appointment before, but now he could gradually speak out and make changes.

Tatum was a good alternative.

He saw Siakam not far away, put the thought aside for now, and then walked over.

Siakam looked very young, but he was very talkative.

For players who could walk out of Africa, like Aminu before, this seemed to be their unique label.

"I can't wait to play with you, it would be my honor, and I will work hard to train for this goal until it is achieved."

Moreover, what was different about Siakam from Aminu was that he spoke with a lot of energy, making it easy to trust him.

"You will."

Tang Tian smiled and hugged him, giving him the greatest encouragement.

After chatting with Siakam, Tang Tian met Brogdon.

In contrast to Siakam, Brogdon looked very mature and steady, and he didn't say much.

But this was also the characteristic of a senior, who would be relatively more mature in mind.

Both had their own characteristics, and would be a very good addition to the Pelicans' strength.

After saying hello, Tang Tian sat aside and listened to Tatum's full broadcast.

In terms of temperament, Tatum was still relatively lacking, but judging from the conversation between the two earlier, his ambition was no lower than Xiao Hua's.

This year was a weak draft year, and besides Brogdon who was picked up by Tang Tian in the second round, only Zubac had some strength.

But for Chinese fans, this year's draft had a lot of gains.

Zhou Qi was selected by the Rockets in the 31st pick (the draft pick was traded from the Celtics).

Also a Chinese player, also the 31st pick, it was inevitable that people would have expectations.

But they also had to thank Tang Tian for giving the league renewed confidence in Chinese players.

After Zhou Qi, Wang Zhelin was also selected by the Nets with the 51st pick.

This pick was also higher than in history.

Two Chinese players were successively selected. Although neither of them was at the draft site, it was enough to excite Chinese fans again.

"With the 60th overall pick in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft, the Phoenix Suns select Josh Ferrell, a 1.83-meter point guard from Indiana University."

As Tatum announced the last pick, the 2016 NBA Draft also came to an end.

Dempsey also came down from upstairs early. He didn't receive any suitable trade proposals, and Siakam and Brogdon were their last gains.

After the draft, the two returned to New Orleans together.

For them, the free agency market that was about to open would become very important.

Not only what kind of reinforcements they could get from it, but also the reinforcements of other teams were very important.

To successfully defend the title, you must know yourself and your enemy to win every battle.

There was still about a week before the free agency market started.

It was also at this time that two major events happened in the league.

One was related to Duncan.

After nearly two months after the end of the season, Duncan finally announced his official retirement on his personal social media.

Just like Tang Tian knew, there was no retirement tour, no press conference, just a simple message.

I'm going to retire.

Caught everyone off guard.

This was very Duncan, but what was somewhat un-Duncan was that Duncan also tagged the only person in this tweet.

Not Ginobili, not Popovich, but Tang Tian.

"I said it, Tang, the future is yours."

This sentence sparked a lot of heated discussion among fans.

"The league will never have a Stone Buddha again. Thank you Tim Duncan for accompanying us for twenty years!"

"He is the greatest power forward in history, but also the most low-key superstar. I hope that in the future when people discuss him, they won't say that he is just an ordinary player averaging 19 points and 11 rebounds. We have witnessed his greatness."

"If Tang hadn't left the Spurs, he would have been the face of the Spurs for the next twenty years, but even leaving didn't change Duncan's attitude towards Tang. This is the most valuable friendship in the league."

"This past season, we said goodbye to too many youths, Kobe, Duncan, the same is that they all passed the torch to Tang. I hope Tang can give us a better present, and youth will never end!"

……

Tang Tian was also filled with emotion when he saw this.

Duncan had already said this to him when they exchanged jerseys in the last regular season game last season.

Now saying it again was like making it public to the world, it was a kind of hope and expectation.

For Duncan, who loved cars, perhaps only Tang Tian was worthy of him saying such a thing.

James was in the gym for extra training when he saw this tweet.

He was stunned for a long time.

Duncan first said this to him, although he was ridiculed by fans afterwards for deceiving him.

But this was originally a matter between him and Duncan, but after Tang Tian appeared, even this was taken away by Tang Tian.

Now Duncan even publicly said that the future belonged to Tang Tian, which made him feel indescribable.

After he came back to his senses, he called team owner Gilbert.

Everyone treats losses differently. For example, Kobe would throw himself into the gym, while James, while throwing himself into the gym, would ask the team to reinforce.

He couldn't wait for his teammates to become stronger, he preferred stronger teammates.

The Cavaliers' current configuration was very good, but it could be even stronger, such as the shooting guard, such as the center.

After Gilbert finished the call with James, he passed the information to David Griffin.

Continue to reinforce, regardless of the cost, they needed to have a stronger team in the new season.