The meaning of the top-three pick protection is that if the Kings end up with the top-three picks in next year's draft, the pick will still belong to the Kings.

The Cavaliers have a certain risk, but judging from the trend of bad teams often winning more than a dozen in recent years, the probability of the Kings getting the top three picks is not great if they still hit the playoffs at the beginning of the season.

Hickson basically didn't have many opportunities to play in the Cavaliers, and Thorton performed well, which was also because Tang Tian deliberately gave him a lot of playing opportunities.

So the departure of these two people did not have much loss in strength for the Cavaliers.

Just after the deal was concluded, Tang Tian called James to the office.

"The plan for next year is the same, but this season, we need to play our value and continue to make the playoffs."

In the previous life, the Kings and the Clippers were both lottery picks, although the people who sent them out would help them improve some strength, but the Kings' problems are not solved by a few role players, and the Clippers' Griffin has to be reimbursed for the season, and it is difficult to make the playoffs in the highly competitive West.

With two lottery picks, he can really get a high pick while rushing for the championship.

The Cavaliers changed their thinking, and Tang Tian began to play the game seriously.

With playing time in check, O'Neill and Rasheed Wallace both played well.

With the assistance of Casey and Kassel, two powerful assistant coaches, Tang Tian designed the Heat team's tactics for the Cavaliers, and the players adapted very quickly.

In fact, the team has several interior lines, Rasheed Wallace, Ryan Anderson and Frye are all masters who can shoot three-pointers, and when paired with James, the sense of space is obvious, and the team's three-point shooting is becoming more and more stable.

Playing the Bucks on November 9, James hit a triple-double of 22 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists, and the Cavaliers made 21 three-pointers, setting a new three-point record in team history, and the team also defeated the opponent 121-96.

During the game, the Bucks' Millsap and teammate Bogut clashed, and the Bucks' prospects for the new season are worrying.

On Nov. 12, against the Nuggets, Matthews exploded and scored 28 points, and the Cavaliers won 104-93 to extend their winning streak to eight games.

In back-to-back games against the Jazz on November 13, James scored 35 points, but the bench was dumb, the fans lost, and the 8-game winning streak ended.

Playing the Pistons on Nov. 15, the Cavaliers made 16 more three-pointers as a team, and the team also won 114-86.

……

At the end of October and throughout November, the Cavaliers had a 13-4 record.

Being in the Great East, Tang Tian really wants to play, and it is difficult to have a bad record.

But after more than a month of regular season, the team has also exposed a lot of problems.

The team's interior rebounding control is not good, and there is no suitable backup point guard.

In fact, this is normal, when the team was formed in the offseason, it was completely different from the previous three seasons when I was with the Rockets, it was just a mess, and if the roster was okay, it would have been a failure.

At this time, if you want to adjust the plan, you can only tinker with it later.

On December 1, the first day of Christmas month, the Cavaliers went to the road to challenge the 76ers.

After arriving in Philadelphia, Tang Tian handed over the training to Casey and Cassel, and then went directly to visit Eddie Stefansky, the general manager of the 76ers.

The 76ers re-signed Iverson this season, hoping that he could lead the team to the next level, but after a month of playing, the team played extremely poorly, and the 8-9 record so far is not even as good as the same period last season.

Moreover, the overlapping positions between Louis Williams and Iverson are full of contradictions, and the prospects for the new season are very unoptimistic.

In Stefansky's office, Tang Tian met the general manager.

"Don, do you have anything to do with me?" Stefansky's attitude is not bad, and the 76ers also chased Tang Tian in the summer, but Tang Tian refused the invitation, and he also proudly kept his position as general manager.

"I've got a gift for you." Tang Tian sat down with a smile.

"Gifts?" Stefansky was curious.

"yes, I know the 76ers aren't in a good place right now, and I know why."

Stefansky smiled when he heard this, he knew that Tang Tian was looking for a deal.

"Tell me." He was not in a hurry, he got up and poured Tang Tian a cup of coffee.

The negotiation between the two general managers will always last some time.

After Tang Tian thanked him, he continued: "The 76ers have hoarded too many point guards, AI, Louis Williams, Willie Green, Jordi Meeks, if you hoard too many players in one position, it is easy to cause conflicts. ”

Stavansky nodded, the alliance should know about this situation.

"Tell me about your trading plan." He continued.

Stavasky is refreshing, and Tang Tian also likes this kind of refreshing person.

"The 2010 first-round pick for Louis Williams."

"No protection?" Stavansky asked.

Tang Tian nodded.

If the Cavaliers don't mess up, it's basically an out-of-lottery lottery, and there's little need for protection.

Of course, this cannot be said.

"I need Badinger." Stefansky continued.

"Eddie, you're robbing."

Although Badinger didn't get a lot of playing time because of the presence of James and Artest, in his limited playing time, Badinger proved that he was a very athletic white player, just like the Barry brothers once were.

"I can give you a future second wheel."

"Deal."

Tang Tian stretched out his hand directly.

As a time-traveler, the value of draft picks, even in the second round, is infinite.

After the two reached an agreement, Stavansky went directly to the president of the team.

The 76ers are not up to one of his general managers.

That night, the Cavaliers and 76ers game kicked off on the Wajovia Center.

The stadium was full, and Iverson's return made the city's ball market explode, as long as you can see the AI game, the winner or loser is not the main thing.

The Cavaliers kept their opponents at bay from the start.

Iverson's condition is not good, and he has hit iron on several shots from the outside, and his competitive state has declined significantly.

Tang Tian was not surprised.

Iverson in his previous life has reached this age, and after getting older, he is already reluctant to play as a starter, not to mention that he fought so fiercely in the Nuggets last season.

At halftime, the Cavaliers led the 76ers 57-43.

At half-time, Louis Williams seemed unhappy with Iverson's form, and the two broke out into a heated argument.

Although not many people noticed it because it was a midfielder, this scene still left a very bad feeling for Stavasky, who was watching the game from the sidelines.

It seems that the time has come to get management to agree to the deal.