"Looks like you're going to be able to go to the draft next year." Tang Tian stretched out his hand and patted Zhou Qi's strong arm, and said with a smile.

This is no joke.

The current Zhou Qi is much stronger than the same period in his previous life, and in the past season, he helped Liao Basket win the championship in advance.

Averaging 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.

As I always say to rookies, age is potential, and when strength reaches a certain stage, the sooner you participate in the draft, the more advantageous.

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

He really needs a bigger stage to show himself, and he's ready to do that.

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

At this time, the start of the new season is less than a month, and the team's players have returned one after another (Yi Jianlian and Jokic have postponed reports due to the need to play in the continental championship), and Frank has also entered the training camp early to start preparing for the new season.

On paper, the Nets are much stronger than last season, but with six newcomers coming in at once, not only does the rotation change, but it also takes time to run in, which is not something that can be solved in a day or two.

Tang Tian rested for two days after returning to China and also joined the team's training camp.

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

Now the Nets have a good lineup depth, but no matter how good the player is, if he doesn't play time, it will be difficult to play in the playoffs, so in the regular season, it is necessary to rotate 9~10 people as much as possible.

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

The question to be discussed at the regular meeting is who is better suited to be the team's starting point guard, and who should be in the team's rotation next with Maddy, Platim, Bojan and Oden.

"I think Devin Booker's style is more suitable for starters, he's a great off-ball pitcher, and in fact his draft template is Klay Thompson, so it doesn't conflict with Nikola or even Delon's organization." Rogers gave his opinion.

"I think Eric Gordon would be a better choice, Devin is still too young, and after Eric has had so many injuries, his style of play has changed and now he's more of an off-ball pitcher." Frank gave a different proposal.

Others also gave opinions one after another, basically two factions, Rogers' faction and Frank's faction, and the basis was similar.

In the end, it was Tang Tian who made the decision.

But just before he made his decision, the team's psychological assistant coach John Burjen gave a convincing reason: "Nikolai's success last year proved one thing, from a player psychological point of view, rookies are valued, even if they don't play a lot at the beginning, he will improve faster than expected. ”

This is a psychological point of view, but noncommittal.

'Devin Booker will be the starting point for the team, it's an opportunity, but it's not going to be set in stone. Tang Tian also made the final decision.

"Up front, I think with Jimmy and Eric there's not going to be a lot of playing time, so it's okay to have one less rotation." Rogers' opinion was taken on board and he continued to propose.

Tang Tian nodded, and also agreed with his proposal.

As a result, the team's rotation at the beginning of the season is basically decided.

Starters: DeLong, Booker, Jimmy Butler, Yi Jianlian, Jokic.

Rotation: Gordon, West, Livingston, Maddy, (Pralim).

9~10 people, the playing time is also relatively easy to distribute.

After the meeting, Tang Tian talked to Booker alone.

As Burjohn 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 start on a strong team, and he's just a rookie on the edge of the lotto, so it's not an exaggeration to say that this is an exceptional promotion.

"It's an opportunity, but it's also a challenge, and I'm looking forward to your performance." Tang Tian said with a smile, just like Rodgers said, Booker's style is very similar to Thompson, if he can really play the same performance as Thompson at the same time, then this starter will not be a loss.

"I will, coach, and I won't disappoint you and the coaching staff." Booker was confident.

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

"It's not about your quality on the bench, it's about the amount of firepower we need on the bench, and the coaching staff wants you to be the sixth man to lead the bench, and I want you to be like Vince Carter and James Harden."

Tang Tian also told Gordon the truth, the Nets' playoff bench firepower was very weak last year, and if Maddy hadn't stepped up, they would probably have fallen in the first round.

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

"I know, coach, I'm going to take on that responsibility." Gordon is a typical good player who is conscientious on the court and has no scandals off the court, and he is not resistant to Tang Tian's arrangement.

This is also one of the reasons why Tang Tian would choose him among the players in the first place.

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

During this period, Tang Tian also 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 Manila in the previous life, but Yao Ming's retirement still made the team's strength decline significantly, and whether it can continue to maintain its Asian hegemony must say hello, after all, the Asian Championships is a game directly related to the Olympic quota.

The men's basketball team in the previous life was not in a good situation before, but when it came to the Changsha Asian Championships, it reversed South Korea, took revenge on Iran, and bloodied the Philippines.

As a result, the men's basketball team did not disappoint the Chinese fans, and they won all the way to the end and successfully won the championship and got the ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Among them, the most outstanding is naturally Yi Jianlian, who played the South Korean inner line without the power to parry, and Iran's Haddadi turned into a stake in front of him, even Brach, who failed to take advantage.

And Zhou Qi's performance also made everyone's eyes shine, his help defensive blocking on the inside and three-point shooting on the outside made people see a weakened version of Anthony Davis, who averaged 17.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game throughout the tournament, which 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.

It was at this time that the time came to the beginning of October, and the Nets also ushered in the preseason of the new season after a month of preparation.