Brad Stevens should be the closest to Tang Tian among all coaches.

He understands tactics, has absolute coaching authority in the team, and gets along well with all the players, maximizing their abilities and having excellent on-the-spot command skills.

Of course, there is another point, like Tang Tian, his appearance is excellent.

It's just that now he is still the head coach of Butler University.

He has been a teaching assistant at Butler University for 11 years since joining Butler University in 2001 and has reached his peak in the last two years with the team reaching the NCAA Finals.

"You want me to go to the NBA?" When Stevens saw Tang Tian, he should have basically guessed it.

"Yes, to be my assistant coach, the first assistant coach." Tang Tian continued.

Stevens didn't speak.

The first assistant coach, a college exchange who has never had an NBA resume, Tang Tian's chips are not low.

"No, I'm not going." But after a while, he gave Tang Tian an affirmative answer.

"Why?" Tang Tian was a little surprised.

"I don't know about the NBA, I don't want to leave college for a while, and I haven't led this team to a championship yet." Stevens didn't hide it, or he could sense that Tang Tian was the kind of person with a straightforward personality.

"Did you know anything about college basketball before you got to Butler?" Tang Tian tried to persuade Stevens.

"Yes, I understand."

“……”

He realized that Stevens in front of him was really a bit of a trick.

"You've proven yourself in college basketball, two years ago there was a Gordon Hayward, last year you led a team that didn't end up in the NBA, you were able to lead that kind of mediocre team to the finals, really, college basketball doesn't challenge you anymore, don't you want to go to a higher stage?" Tang Tian reorganized the language.

"No, Shervin Mark was the No. 34 pick last year, and he was a little bit better there than I expected."

“……”

Tang Tian glanced back at Anna.

Anna nodded, signaling for the player.

Tang Tian wanted to slap the table, could he still talk well!

"Give me some time to think about it, I can feel your sincerity, and if I think about it, I will give you an answer as soon as possible." Stevens continued.

"Well, if you're willing to come, I'll offer you a bigger contract than all the other teaching assistants."

"Hmm." Stevens nodded.

After he got up, he sent Tang Tian and Anna to the school gate, and watched them leave in the car before going back.

"This coach is very personable." Anna spoke for the first time.

"Why don't I come all the way to this little place?" Tang Tian said with a smile.

Although he was choked by Stevens several times, he could feel that Stevens was a rigorous, principled, and certainly smart enough coach.

Of course, only such a person is worthy of his Tang Tian's class.

Stevens didn't give him a clear answer, so Tang Tian naturally wouldn't sit stupidly and wait.

He also started interviewing with teaching assistants.

NBA coaches are highly competitive, and there are many coaches who have been fired before, such as Scott Skels, "Little General" Johnson, etc., as well as the first and second assistant coaches of each team, and even many retired coaches who want to work as coaches.

Tang Tian has worked in two teams for 6 years, and the first assistant coach finally became the head coach, this comment is absolutely not to say, in other words, the first assistant coach of the Thunder team will also be the head coach in the future.

Just rush this, there will definitely be no fewer people coming to the interview.

However, after the interview, Tang Tian didn't feel very good.

Those head coaches have their own abilities, but knowing that Stevens is here is like chicken ribs, and the key is that he has been a head coach for a long time, and he feels more like talking than him, as for those first and second assistant coaches, they are not too good at interviewing.

However, among the players who came to apply, Tang Tian found a familiar figure.

Luke Wharton.

In his previous life, Wharton did not retire until 2013, when he was cut by the Cavaliers, but because of his intervention, the future coach of the Lakers had no ball to play last year, and this year was just announced his retirement two days ago, a little later than expected.

In Wharton's words, there is still some ability, but he has just finished his playing days and does not have much experience.

After an interview, Tang Tian determined several candidates for the first assistant coach, but did not finally confirm the candidates, and the second assistant coach directly decided on Wharton.

Interestingly, Wharton was so confident in his abilities that he ended up signing a two-year contract with the Thunder.

Time flies, in the blink of an eye, to the middle of July, by the player market has come to an end.

However, the league team has not been less active, because the biggest name James has not yet announced his final decision.

While the free agent market doesn't officially close until the playoffs begin, the usual signings are finalized by mid-July.

"That's it."

On the day of July 15, Jones came to Tang Tian with great interest.

"Jason Kidd, just agreed to join us for 3 million a year!" Jones was excited.

Kidd is coming?

Tang Tian was also a little pleased.

The Thunder have been chasing Kidd since the free agent market began, but Kidd has never given a clear answer.

In his previous life, Kidd was a Knicks who signed for 3 years and 9 million, although he retired after 1 year of contract.

The only possibility for the Thunder now is to fight for a championship before retiring.

Considering Tang Tian's performance of 6 championships in the past 6 years, Kidd's choice is not so surprising.

Kidd can bring a lot of playoff experience to the Thunder's guard line and, crucially, he can coach Westbrook.

If Tang Tian himself wasn't enough, plus Kidd, he would basically be able to pull Westbrook back from the road of paranoia.

Kidd signed and filled the last spot on the team, and the core lineup of the Thunder team has been basically determined, as long as a few more non-guaranteed contracts are signed, the team's preseason roster is basically completed.

"Ding!"

While chatting about this, Tang Tian's mobile phone rang.

When I picked it up, it was sent by OJ.

I just picked it up, and the phone shook a few times in a row, and it was three messages in a row.

Tang Tian glanced at it, his expression was a little complicated, and then handed the phone to Jones.

Jones was a little suspicious when he saw Tang Tian's expression, took a look at his phone, and then understood.

"Steve Kerr announced his resignation as general manager of the Suns, and there is a high probability that he may return to his role as a commentator for TNT."

"LeBron James has announced that he will bring his talent to the West Coast to Miami with his friends Wade and Bosh, and he will sign a four-year max contract with the Heat, which comes with player options for the third and fourth years, as well as trade veto power."

"Steve Nash was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers."

……

[The old irons have to vote for the monthly ticket when they see the secretary~~]

Minced meat big eggplant said

On Valentine's Day, I bought a bouquet of flowers after work to meet my girlfriend. I asked my girlfriend what she wanted to eat. "Let's eat Sichuan food!" I smiled evilly and said, "It's a good day, let's eat something light." The girlfriend nodded shyly.