The Spurs retained their championship roster, but their opponents were getting stronger, making it not so easy for the Spurs to defend their title in the new season.

Without reinforcements, they could only develop internally.

Tang Tian understood this principle very well.

In fact, even if his opponents didn't reinforce, Tang Tian himself needed to improve.

In the NBA, standing still is regressing, not to mention that this was his contract year.

Spending money makes people stronger.

This offseason, it was time to sign another wave of endorsement deals and then exchange them for a skill that could bring about qualitative change.

Everyone's thoughts are different at different times.

During last season's regular season, Tang Tian's idea was to exchange for a breakthrough skill, combining breakthroughs and shots to make his offense more comprehensive.

But after experiencing the playoffs, he realized the importance of passing.

Especially against the Heat, the Heat's unlimited switching put a lot of pressure on him.

His passing stability was poor, and even if he knew where to pass, he didn't dare to pass the ball casually, which easily led to dead ball situations.

This also limited him to being only a tactical finisher, unable to transition.

In addition, with the Spurs' team-oriented play style, with Parker and Ginobili as ball-handlers, he wouldn't have many opportunities to break through.

So compared to breaking through, he needed to pass more now.

There was still no news about Howard, and the free market was almost over, so Tang Tian contacted Fagan and asked him to look for new endorsement companies.

He performed well in the playoffs last season, and he hadn't signed many endorsement contracts before.

Nike, Coca-Cola, Burt's Bees shampoo, Dior sunglasses.

That was all, not even enough to count on one hand.

So there were still many brands looking to sign him this summer.

Especially in the domestic market.

As he became famous, the door to the domestic market was easily opened for him.

Chewing gum, milk, beer, mineral water, snacks, and even communications, companies from all aspects emerged one after another.

After filtering some, Fagan summarized them and sent them to Tang Tian.

Although there were many, the endorsement prices in China were indeed much lower in comparison.

Orion chewing gum, $300,000 a year.

Tsingtao beer, $250,000 a year.

Bright Dairy, $400,000 a year.

Nongfu Spring, $300,000 a year.

This was also reasonable, because these endorsement contracts were only for the Chinese region.

Moreover, these brands didn't have as concentrated consumer groups as basketball shoes.

Tang Tian's choice was to sign them all!

These brands all had good reputations in the future, and aside from whether they could have more lucrative contracts in the future, there was no harm in signing them.

Of course, the most important thing was that he desperately needed krypton gold value now.

Just as these contracts were finalized, Fagan brought him another big contract.

This time it was an automobile brand.

And it was BMW!

That is, the well-known BMW in China.

BMW was a German luxury car, and this time finding Tang Tian was a pleasant surprise.

The price of automobile endorsements couldn't be compared with beer and milk. Although it was also a Chinese regional endorsement, BMW offered a price of $2 million for 2 years.

This one alone was worth three of the others combined.

After signing 5 endorsement contracts in a row, Tang Tian told Fagan to stop for now.

Although short-term contracts wouldn't have a big impact on him, signing too many of them in such a concentrated burst would have side effects.

Of course, more importantly, his krypton gold value was almost enough after this wave of signings.

These 5 signings brought in about 1.1 million krypton gold value. Adding the previous 400,000, it added up to 1.5 million.

And the second year of the Nike contract also started, and he also received more than 600,000 krypton gold value.

This added up to 2.1 million.

After all the money was in his account, Tang Tian pulled up the system interface.

After scanning through the blue skills, he finally locked his eyes on Finger Roll (Divac).

Finger Roll (Divac): Increases passing stability by 15% and passing vision by 10%.

This was a blue skill, requiring 2 million krypton gold value.

Divac was the most outstanding interior passer in the last century, averaging nearly 5 assists per game during his peak season as a center.

The Kings team that swept the league back then was built around him.

Of course, Divac was also known for another very important thing.

He was the man who traded for Kobe.

This skill, which increased both passing stability and passing vision, was perfect for Tang Tian.

He directly chose to exchange it.

After exchanging it, Tang Tian added passing to his training the next day.

Unlike last summer, because everyone had contracts and money in hand, the training hall they rented this time was larger and more comprehensive.

Inside, there were specialized passing training frames, the same as those in the skills challenge.

Walker usually used this thing, and Tang Tian's arrival attracted a strange look from that guy, Walker.

At first, Tang Tian wasn't very used to the sudden change.

But as the training increased, his passing became more and more accurate, leaving Walker on the side stunned.

"Tang, do you know how to crossover?"

Walker couldn't help but ask.

"What? Crossover? I don't know that stuff."

Tang Tian shook his head. He didn't know why Walker would suddenly ask this.

"When did you become so stable at passing? I thought you knew everything!"

Walker couldn't help but complain.

"I didn't waste my time with the Spurs this year."

Tang Tian said with a smile.

Walker was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

That was true, the Spurs were the best passing team in the league, and Tang Tian would probably become good at it even if he wasn't.

"I have to work harder."

Walker said.

He thought his progress was big enough, but compared to Tang Tian, he was really far behind.

And with Butler, that training freak, next to him, he would be inadvertently driven.

Although Tang Tian could feel his own change, this ability, like the open three-pointer before, required constant training to fully realize its strength.

So he also increased his training intensity.

Looking at his three crazy partners, Thompson didn't feel comfortable slacking off.

As a result, the four brothers in the training hall were working harder than the other.

This was true hard work.

Sweat dripped into every corner of the training hall.

Lamb and Drummond started playing in the Summer League, and the four of them also trained together for half a month.

In half a month, they had all improved a lot.

Tang Tian also understood why the Banana Boat brothers had such good relationships when they were young.

When a group of people come together with a common goal, that's when efficiency is highest.

With some small achievements in training, Tang Tian prepared to find some games to use it in practice.

But before he could find one, a call from Fagan interrupted his plan.

Tang Tian's continuous signing of domestic brands had sparked a new wave of heated discussions among domestic fans, and his popularity in China suddenly soared.

Nike seized the opportunity and prepared to have him do a China tour.