The Godfather of Basketball

"It looks like you will be able to participate in the draft next year." Tang Tian reached out and patted Zhou Qi's strong arm, and said with a smile.

This is not a joke.

The current Zhou Qi is much better than the same period in his previous life. In the past season, he even helped the Liao basketball team win the championship ahead of schedule.

He averaged 22.3 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game in the regular season and 20.9 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game in the playoffs. He has proven himself in the CBA.

For rookies, age is the potential. When the strength reaches a certain stage, the sooner you participate in the draft, the better.

"I'll think about it, coach." Zhou Qi nodded seriously and didn't take Tang Tian's words as a joke.

He really needs a bigger stage to show himself, and he is ready.

After finishing his trip to China, Tang Tian returned to the United States in mid-September.

At this time, it was less than a month before the opening of the new season, and the team members had come back one after another (Yi Jianlian and Jokic postponed the report because they needed to play the Intercontinental Championship), and Frank also entered the training camp ahead of schedule to start preparing for the new season. Prepare for battle.

On paper, the Nets are much stronger than last season, but with 6 newcomers coming in at once, not only the rotation needs to be changed, but it also takes time to get used to it. This is not something that can be resolved in a day or two.

After Tang Tian returned to China, he rested for two days and joined the team's training camp.

At the regular meeting of the coaching staff, they also discussed the team rotation.

The depth of the Nets' lineup is very good now, but if the best players do not have playing time, it will be difficult to perform in the playoffs. Therefore, in the regular season, we must try our best to achieve a rotation of 9 to 10 players.

Deron, Jimmy Butler, Yi Jianlian, and Jokic will definitely be the team's starters, and Eric Gordon, Livingston, David West, and Devin Booker will definitely be in the rotation .

The question to be discussed at the regular meeting is who is more suitable to be the team's starting shooting guard, and who should also enter the team's rotation for the next McGrady, Pralim, Bojan and Oden.

"I think Devin Booker's style is more suitable for starting. He is a very good off-ball shooter. In fact, his draft template is Klay Thompson, so it will not compete with Nicola or even Deron's organization. Conflict." Rogers gave his opinion.

"I think Eric Gordon would be a better choice, Devin is still too young, and after Eric has suffered so many injuries, his playing style is also changing, and now it is more in the field. Be an off-ball shooter." Frank offered a different proposition.

Others also gave their opinions one after another. Basically, there are two factions, Rogers' faction and Frank's faction, and the basis is similar.

It was Tang Tian who made the final decision.

But just before he made a decision, the team's psychological assistant John Bojo gave a very convincing reason: "Nicola's success last year proved one thing. From a player's psychological point of view, rookies are valued even if they play time. Not a lot to start with, and he will improve faster than expected."

This is a psychological point of view, but noncommittal.

"Devin Booker will be the team's starter. This is an opportunity, but it will not remain the same." Tang Tian also made the final decision.

"On the front line, I think with Jimmy and Eric, there won't be too much playing time, so it doesn't matter if there is one less rotation." Rogers' opinion was adopted, and he continued to propose.

Tang Tian nodded and agreed with his proposal.

In this way, the team's rotation at the beginning of the season has basically been set.

Starting lineup: Deron, Booker, Jimmy Butler, Yi Jianlian, Jokic.

Rotation: Gordon, West, Livingston, McGrady, (Plarim).

9~10 players, playing time is also better allocated.

After the meeting, Tang Tian chatted with Booker alone.

As Bojohn expected, Booker couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes when he heard that he would be the starter.

It's not uncommon for a rookie to be a starter on a strong team, and he's only a marginal lottery pick, so it's not an exaggeration to say that it's an exceptional promotion.

"This is an opportunity, but it's also a challenge. I look forward to your performance." Tang Tian said with a smile. Just like Rogers said, Booker's style is very similar to Thompson's. If he can really play like Thompson at the same time , then this first start is not a loss.

"I will, coach, I will not disappoint you and the coaching staff's expectations." Booker was full of confidence.

After chatting with Booker, Tang Tian called Gordon in again.

"You becoming a substitute is not a matter of strength, but we need enough firepower on the bench. The coaching staff hopes that you can become the sixth man who leads the bench. I also hope that you can become a player similar to Vince Carter and James Harden. type of role.”

What Tang Tian said to Gordon was also true. Last year, the Nets' bench firepower in the playoffs was very weak. If McGrady hadn't stepped forward, they might have fallen in the first round.

Gordon played the Super Sixth Man in the Rockets in his previous life, and now he is in the Nets, and he should be able to adapt.

"I know, coach, I will take this responsibility." Gordon is a typical good player who works hard on the court and has no scandals off the court, and he does not object to Tang Tian's arrangement.

This was also one of the reasons why Tang Tian chose him among the players.

Time flies, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye, and the footsteps of the new season are approaching.

During this period, Tang Tian took the time to watch the performance of the men's basketball team in the Changsha Asian Championships.

Because of his intervention, the men's basketball team did not lose to Manila in the previous life, but Yao Ming's retirement still caused the team's strength to decline significantly. Whether it can continue to maintain its dominance in Asia must be a question. After all, the Asian Championship is directly related to The race for Olympic places.

The men's basketball team in the previous life was in a bad situation before, but at the Changsha Asian Championships, it reversed South Korea, took revenge on Iran, and bloodbathed the Philippines.

As a result, the men's basketball team did not disappoint the Chinese fans. They won the championship all the way and finally won the championship, and got the tickets for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Among them, Yi Jianlian was the most outstanding. He had no power to defend against the South Korean insiders. Iran's Haddadi became a stake in front of him. Even Brac couldn't take advantage of it.

And Zhou Qi's performance also made everyone's eyes shine. His help defense block inside and outside three-point shooting made people see a weakened version of Anthony Davis. After the entire championship, he averaged 17.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. The performance of blocking shots at 3.1 has also attracted the attention of many NBA scouts.

His future, because of Tang Tian's intervention, is destined to be better than his previous life.

At this time, the time came to the beginning of October. After a month of preparations, the Nets also ushered in the preseason of the new season.