The Godfather of Basketball

In a coffee shop in Houston, Tang Tian met Kwame Brown.

He is 2.11 meters tall, has solid muscles, and a broad body. He looks like a body that hides infinite explosive power.

If you do not know him, it is difficult for you to associate him with the word "parallel imports".

His eyes looked a little haggard, and it could be seen that his recent condition was not very good.

"Coach!" But when he saw Tang Tian approaching, Brown, who had been waiting there for a long time, burst out with excitement and longing in his eyes.

Tang Tian greeted and sat down.

After ordering coffee, Tang Tian didn't waste any time, watching Brown get straight to the point.

"Tell me, what do you want from me?"

"Coach, I want to play with the Cavaliers." Tang Tian asked directly, and Brown answered directly enough.

Tang Tian wasn't too surprised, the two hadn't met before, and the only thing he could think of was this kind of thing when the player went to the coach of another team in private.

Oh, and he's also the general manager of the team.

Because he guessed, in fact, before coming here, he had already thought about this question.

In Brown's words, although he is known as the number one player in parallel imports, his physical fitness is no problem. He is above the league average. Although he is a bit weak in assist defense, his single defense ability is good, and he is more than enough to play as a substitute.

The biggest problem with this guy is the psychological problem. From Jordan to Kobe, the last thing he was trained was the famous "Kobe, don't give me the ball".

Of course, Tang Tian, ​​who holds 4 honor points, is not a problem at all, as long as he thinks it is worth investing in.

"If I remember correctly, you still have a contract with the Pistons, and it's 4.1 million a year?" Tang Tian asked.

Brown nodded.

"Then this will be difficult. The Cavaliers are now only 3 million away from the luxury tax. Do you know what I mean?"

Brown can play as a substitute now, but if he has to pay the luxury tax for this, it is not worthwhile at all.

"I can seek a buyout with the Pistons, as long as the coach wants me." Brown continued.

"The Cavaliers' mid-level exceptions have been fully used, and the biennial exception was also used last year. If you join the Cavaliers, you can only sign a basic salary."

"The basic salary is fine." Before Tang Tian could finish speaking, Brown replied immediately.

Tang Tian glanced at the big man in front of him, it seemed that he really wanted to join the Cavaliers.

"Well, I can consider it, but I have to go back and discuss it, and I will reply to you when there is a result." Tang Tian took out his mobile phone while talking.

Brown nodded again and again.

After leaving their phone numbers, the two left the coffee shop separately.

In the game that night, the Cavaliers beat the Pistons 106 to 78. The latter suffered a 6-game losing streak this season and drifted away from the playoffs.

Brown only got 5 minutes of playing time in garbage time, scoring 4 points and 3 rebounds.

Tang Tian was also observing. Brown seemed to be in good condition, but he didn't know why Pistons head coach John Kuster was unwilling to use him.

At the end of the second day's training, Tang Tian proposed to supplement the team's insiders and Brown's matters at the regular meeting of the coaching staff.

"Brown's condition is not bad, his size and bottom plate are very solid, if the head is hard, both Yao and Dwight will be difficult to move, he just needs to work on his confidence in playing." Casey gave him suggestion.

"Casey is right, and if Donaghy is here, I think I can try it." Cassell also gave him advice.

Before the NBA coaching staff, only the Mavericks had a psychological coach. After Tang Tian took over, the Cavaliers also added this position. Donaghy is a well-known local psychologist in Cleveland, and he officially joined the job only last month.

"I can try," Donaghy continued.

Tang Tian listened to the advice of the coaching staff, but he didn't rush to draw conclusions.

He called Jones into his office, and he also listened to his advice.

"Without using the right to pick the ball, we have very limited bargaining chips in the trading market. If Brown is willing to come, he is the most suitable choice. His immediate combat power and potential are higher than most veterans."

After listening to the suggestions from the coaching staff and Jones, Tang Tian has basically made a final decision.

"You can contact Kwame. If you have a contract, you can sign a two-year minimum salary and a team option for the second year. We will have more initiative next summer."

Jones nodded after listening.

If you sign for 2 years and have a team option, you can operate according to the situation at that time. If Brown is not playing well, he will just give up. If he is playing well, he can re-sign a suitable contract to keep him. There is really no salary space. It is no problem to directly execute the contract for another year.

Tang Tian looks young, but he thinks no less than he, a person who has worked in the management for more than ten years.

When Jones' phone rang, Brown worked through his economics team to negotiate a buyout with the Pistons the next day.

With a salary of 4 million, he only needs 1.5 million.

After the buyout was completed, he immediately turned around and signed a two-year basic salary contract with the Cavaliers with a team option.

Direct, decisive, without hesitation at all.

But this is not surprising.

When he was in the Lakers before, although he was booed by the Los Angeles fans and couldn't hold the ball steadily, he still played close to 30 minutes. After staying in the Pistons for two years, his situation was worse than a year. 17.2 minutes, 4 points and 5 rebounds. This season dropped to 13 minutes, 3 points and 3 rebounds. Recently, he has been sitting on the bench from time to time. If this continues, he will lose his job.

This is also the reason why he and his economic team did not hesitate to buy out and change teams.

And choosing the Cavaliers, on the one hand, is because the Cavaliers are lacking insiders. On the other hand, Tang Tian coaches top-notch players and can turn decay into magic. If he can't play under him, he can really consider changing positions professional.

In other words, Brown was treating Tang Tian as his last straw.

Brown has a strong physique. On the first day of the team's report, Tang Tian asked Old O'Neal to try to hit a few shots, but he didn't get in.

It seems that what Casey said is right. Apart from other things, Brown is also the top tank in the league.

He wasn't in a hurry to use the system's honor points either.

The system is playing dead again recently, and he won't move unless it is absolutely necessary.

He asked Mutombo to take Brown to practice defense and basket offense first, and then asked Donaghy to give him psychological counseling after training every day.

What made Tang Tian feel gratified was that even though he had a big "parallel import champion" hat on his head and his mental quality was not very good, Brown was a diligent player who trained on time. If the training effect was not satisfactory, he would I will also go to the training hall to practice more.

Coupled with Tang Tian's intention to ask Mutombo, who is in charge of training, to give him some positive and positive encouragement, it can be felt that Brown's overall spirit and state are getting better little by little.

Half a month after Brown came to the team, on the first day of February, the Cavaliers flew to Los Angeles, where the team will face the Lakers for the first time of the season.