When Xiao Hua handed the trophy to Tang Tian, he didn't even offer congratulations.

Although he had a smile on his face, he was probably cursing inwardly.

It's actually a very simple bit of psychology.

When you don't like someone, their increasing success only makes you dislike them more.

Xiao Hua disliked Tatum, and even more so someone like Tang Tian, a yellow-skinned man, and his subsequent actions further demonstrated this.

If it weren't for the committee overseeing him, who knows what he would have done.

But he could only swallow his displeasure for now.

Tang Tian took the trophy and raised it high above his head.

The cheers from the fans in the arena were deafening.

When the team's record was poor, this MVP trophy was a huge encouragement and motivation for the team, the players, and the fans here.

"This trophy doesn't belong to me alone. It belongs to the Pelicans, to the city of New Orleans, to everyone here."

Tang Tian's opening words ignited the emotions of the fans once again.

Old guys were always very worldly wise.

"Thank you to all the fans who support this team, thank you to Mr. Benson and the management. It was you who brought the All-Star Game here. I also want to thank my teammates, well, my teammates in this game."

Tang Tian's American humor immediately made the fans laugh.

"Thank you, Kobe, I know this is the game with the most assists in your career; thank you, Stephen, don't worry, I will never tell anyone about you getting blocked by the floor; thank you, Russell, your passes are just as good as your dunks..."

Tang Tian's next remarks brought constant whistles from the audience and made the stars he mentioned laugh heartily.

When a young player has this kind of humor, it's hard not to like him.

Durant: ...I'm going to kill you in the next game!

With the MVP award ceremony over, this year's All-Star Weekend officially came to an end.

The Pelicans were undoubtedly the biggest winners of the weekend.

They won the Three-Point Contest, the Slam Dunk Contest, and the All-Star Game MVP.

Now, the Pelicans fans had every reason to believe that the team would fight back in the second half of the season and make it back into the playoffs.

There were three days of rest after the All-Star Weekend.

It was also at this time that the Pelicans were preparing to work out several interior players, including Hassan Whiteside.

With no good reinforcements on the trade market, they could only look to free agency.

Dempsey and Williams also attached great importance to this workout, and they arranged for Jason Smith to match up against these players.

Everyone was in place, and the workout was about to begin.

But just then, something unexpected happened.

Whiteside hadn't arrived yet!

Williams looked at the time and frowned slightly.

Being late for something as important as a workout, Whiteside's problems were indeed more than just ordinary.

Tang Tian also felt a bit of a headache.

This Whiteside was really a troublemaker.

Williams didn't wait for him and started the workout directly.

Some basic drills, and finally a confrontation with Jason Smith.

The players the Pelicans worked out this time were basically from the Development League, and some unemployed veterans.

All of them were dominated by Jason Smith.

This was also expected. The NBA season had started so long ago. Any player who could still play in the NBA had already been signed by various teams.

What remained were just odds and ends.

Or troublemakers like Whiteside, who hadn't arrived yet.

Yes, Whiteside hadn't arrived yet.

He hadn't arrived by the time the workout ended.

He had perfectly missed this opportunity.

Williams walked up to Tang Tian at this time and told him that the workout was over.

Tang Tian gave a wry smile at this time.

It seemed he had to think of someone new again.

But just as he got up, there was a burst of hurried footsteps at the door.

A sweaty, tall guy ran in.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I got the alarm time wrong."

Whiteside had finally arrived, a young man of 2.13 meters with short hair, looking even a bit green.

Just looking at his face, it was really hard to associate him with a troublemaker.

"The workout is over."

Williams said unhappily.

His temper was considered one of the best among coaches, but Whiteside was even late for the workout, which really touched his bottom line.

"Can you give me a chance?"

Whiteside held up one finger, his eyes full of desire.

Williams shook his head.

"We've already given you a chance by inviting you to work out. You didn't grasp it yourself." Dempsey spoke at this time.

After he finished speaking, he was ready to leave.

Obviously, Whiteside had disappointed the Pelicans' coaching staff and management.

"Wait a minute."

Tang Tian spoke at this time.

Dempsey and Williams both looked at Tang Tian.

Although Tang Tian was now New Orleans' darling, he was still just a player after all, and this "wait a minute" was very inappropriate.

Tang Tian gave them an apologetic look, then turned his gaze to Whiteside.

"Can you tell me the reason why you were late?"

Tang Tian had never interacted with Whiteside before, but he really found it difficult to associate such a green youth with a troublemaker. He was very curious.

So he risked annoying others and asked one more question.

If there was a valid reason, he felt it was worth giving another chance. After all, the Pelicans really needed a strong inside player right now.

Dempsey and Williams gave Tang Tian face, signaling Whiteside to speak.

"I just got back from Lebanon yesterday, and I slept in because of the jet lag. When I woke up, it was already too late. I'm sorry, I messed up again."

Whiteside even reached out and tapped his head hard as he spoke.

Tang Tian had seen a lot of people, and he mostly had a good idea of things after seeing this.

This guy probably wasn't a troublemaker. Those actions that made him seem like a troublemaker seemed to be simply because he wasn't very bright.

But being not very bright was better than being a real troublemaker, and being not very bright was also a matter of degree. As long as it wasn't the same level as Cousins, it would be fine.

Dempsey turned his head and glanced at Tang Tian after hearing this. Tang Tian nodded.

"This is your last chance."

Dempsey gave Tang Tian face.

The other people who had come for the workout had already left. Only a few of them remained at the workout site.

Whiteside first demonstrated his basic abilities in front of them.

Bench press, weightlifting, sprint, dunk, shooting...

After a series of basic drills, a look of surprise appeared in Williams' eyes.

Except for his terrible shooting, Whiteside's performance in other aspects was excellent, even better than the current starting center, Ajinça.

"Jason, you go up and face him."

After the basic drills were over, Williams hurriedly called Smith to his feet.

If, he thought, if Whiteside could hold his own against Smith, then this originally meaningless workout for the Pelicans would turn into a real pleasant surprise.

ps: Special thanks to Silly Sea Dog for the ten thousand reward! Happy Little New Year, everyone!