Tatum has some minor issues, but he's clearly a president whose merits outweigh his demerits.
This is evident from the prosperity the NBA has enjoyed since he took over.
Just because of temporary losses, these team owners want to replace him?
Are they all as short-sighted as Adam Silver? Is this a common American ailment?
And aside from Tatum, these people actually want Silver back?!
Silver should have been given the death penalty for what he did back then.
Like a heinous criminal, he should have been executed long ago.
Now, more than half a year later, they're telling him the death penalty won't be carried out, that he'll have a probationary period, which is basically a life sentence?
Will it be that after a while, if he behaves well, life imprisonment turns into twenty years, and twenty years turns into early release?
This is something Tang Tian absolutely can't accept.
The day after the league's regular meeting, Dell Demps and Gayle Benson arrived at Tang Tian's estate together.
The feud between Silver and Tang Tian, and the Pelicans, is well-known. Now that Silver wants to return to power, they definitely need to find a way to stop it.
"You have your ways, I have mine. I'll have TNT do an exclusive interview with me, and I'll use them to voice my attitude."
Tang Tian knew why they were there, so he didn't mince words.
He's now the league's number one player, his influence is greater than ever, and if he makes his attitude clear, many fans will take it into consideration when making their choices.
The news of Tatum stepping down and Silver's desire to return was causing a stir in the league, and the media was paying close attention.
Especially major media outlets like ESPN and TNT, they were trying every means possible to get some significant news.
Now that Tang Tian had come to them, they were naturally extremely welcoming.
For the latest episode of TNT, the lineup of the Big Three plus Tang Tian, coupled with the topic of the league president.
Even before the show aired, this episode was already a hit.
Fans were eagerly anticipating Tang Tian's attitude on the show. No one was a fool; they all knew about Tang Tian's relationship with Tatum.
On the night before the free agency freeze ended, TNT's show went on as scheduled.
The show was broadcast live, and as soon as it started, the ratings soared to the top.
"Tang, we all know what's happening in the league right now. Matt Tatum lost the opportunity to become the official president. What do you think about this?"
Barkley didn't waste any time and went straight to the point at the beginning of the show.
"I don't know what happened behind the scenes, but I think you guys have the most to say about this. The changes in the league after Tatum took over as interim president, including the participation of fans and the media, and the attention the league has received."
Tang Tian said.
"Yes, the off-court buzz and ratings during last year's playoffs reached a new historical high."
Kenny Smith presented a statistical report.
"Facts have proven that it's not the small-ball era that brought in the ratings. The NBA's ratings in the United States had already reached a bottleneck. On the contrary, ratings are more affected by information development, especially in some overseas countries. Not all countries are as developed as the United States. Many countries have only developed information communication methods and tools in recent years."
Tang Tian's words drew nods from Barkley and O'Neal.
Tang Tian is Chinese, so some of the countries he mentioned definitely included China, which made sense.
China is the country with the most basketball fans, and it's also the NBA's largest overseas market.
"So you think Tatum's changes to the officiating standards, returning to the basketball of the early 2000s, is progress for the league, not a step backwards?"
Barkley then asked.
"Without a doubt."
Tang Tian nodded in agreement.
"Like I said before, you guys know this better than I do."
The TNT Big Three nodded one after another.
"But a lot of superstars were injured during last year's playoffs, and players have a lot of complaints about the overly lenient officiating standards. Including the decline in revenue in some major cities, these are also real problems."
Smith continued.
TNT is one of the league's largest media outlets, so they naturally have ways to learn about the content of the league's regular meetings.
What Smith said was also raised by the team representatives at the meeting.
"Yes, these are problems. Tatum isn't perfect, but no one is perfect. I remember Adam Silver had a one-year probationary period when he took over as president. Did you not make any mistakes during that year? Were all of the reforms he made later all positive?"
Tang Tian retorted.
Barkley and Smith both shook their heads with a smile.
Many of Silver's reforms were superficial, and only a small part of them worked.
Although reform itself is risky, the results of Silver's reforms were more harmful than beneficial.
"No one is perfect. What I can't accept is that they're so tolerant of Silver, but so harsh on Tatum."
The TNT Big Three smiled with complicated expressions after hearing this sentence. They knew very well that it was a matter of利益 (lìyì) [interests/benefits].
"We have a saying in China, people's vision should not only be focused on the present, but also on the long term. I admire Mr. Stern's vision because he had a long-term vision. He made the NBA's pie bigger and bigger, and it is thanks to his efforts that the NBA is what it is today."
Tang Tian certainly knew the reason, he didn't directly confront the team owners, but said something very meaningful.
The TNT Big Three also nodded seriously.
Most people only saw that Silver negotiated a new TV broadcasting contract, but they forgot that Stern laid the foundation.
To put it bluntly, if Silver were the president of the American CBA league, could he have negotiated even a small tenth of that contract?
The answer is obvious.
Silver has the ability, but the deciding factor is the NBA league, not him. What's really valuable is the NBA league, not him.
The new broadcasting contract was negotiated in 2014, when the small-ball era hadn't yet arrived, and Silver's series of reforms hadn't yet begun.
"According to the information we know, after Tatum leaves office, Silver is likely to reassume the position of league president. What do you think about this?"
Barkley then asked.
"That's bullshit!"
Tang Tian's attitude was relatively amicable when discussing Tatum earlier, but when Barkley asked this, he immediately changed his expression. He was clearly angry.
"It's only been half a year since that incident happened, and everyone has forgotten so quickly? How is someone like that qualified to be the league president again?"
Tang Tian's words startled both Barkley and Smith.
Although they already knew Tang Tian's position to some extent from the previous questions about Tatum, these direct words still caught them off guard.
But O'Neal was laughing loudly there.
As a Tang-supporter, he naturally knew the most about Tang Tian.
Saying that Tang Tian is humble and approachable is only for the fans. In essence, Tang Tian is still a man of great passion.