A short while after finishing the phone call, he said he would come again in a few days.

Things like video, even with remote transmission, couldn’t be done instantly.

And it was best to bring the videotape; it was more convenient to watch that way.

Tang Tian wasn’t in a hurry.

Watching the video was only one aspect. After settling the free agent matters here, he would return to China to participate in warm-up matches with the team.

As Olympic champions, the Chinese team's opponents in the final warm-up matches before the World Cup were all formidable.

Especially the final matches against France and Canada, which were potential competitors.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was June 30th, with the opening of the free agent market just around the corner.

Tang Tian's informal contacts with several free agents also became more frequent.

NBA rules stipulated that the two sides could not formally communicate before the opening, but everyone was playing around the edges.

Moreover, Tang Tian's connections were there, including reporters like Woj and general managers from other teams.

From some of the information he had gathered, Tang Tian also learned about the free market.

Porzingis really wanted to leave the Suns. After four consecutive years of tanking, especially the failure to reach the playoffs last year, he was already weary.

However, the Suns would definitely not let him go.

Towns would basically sign a max contract with the Timberwolves.

Everyone had a different personality. Although the Timberwolves, like the Suns, had been bad for a long time, he and Wiggins preferred stability.

Booker would also basically re-sign with the Bulls. His combination with LaVine had played well last season, especially last year when the two of them led the team into the playoffs.

So, the real big fish in the free market were actually just three: Durant, Irving, and Thompson.

As well as second-tier players like Middleton and Harris.

If the Pelicans wanted to maintain their competitiveness, their target could only be those three big fish.

At midnight, the free agent market opened.

Tang Tian and Demps were already at a coffee shop on the outskirts of Oakland.

"Do you think Klay will agree to you?"

Thompson hadn't arrived yet, and Demps couldn't help but ask Tang Tian.

Tang Tian shook his head.

Thompson and Curry were known as the Splash Brothers, and they had great chemistry on and off the court.

And more importantly, the Warriors had Thompson's Bird rights.

Because Thompson was selected to the All-NBA Third Team this year, he could get a 5-year, $220 million contract from the Warriors, which was much more than the 4-year, $160 million he could sign with the Pelicans.

Demps looked at Tang Tian in surprise.

"But I have to come."

Tang Tian continued.

Demps was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

After waiting for more than half an hour, Thompson arrived, looking travel-worn.

"Tang, traffic jam."

Thompson said to Tang Tian as soon as he came in.

"It's okay, sit down. I've already ordered coffee for you."

Tang Tian motioned for Thompson to sit down.

After sitting down, the two chatted about various things.

For them, it was still more comfortable to have their old brotherly relationship, rather than the current management-player dynamic.

"How about you come to the Pelicans and compete for a five-peat?"

Tang Tian finally said what he wanted to say.

Thompson was silent for a while after hearing this.

"If you were still playing, I would definitely be willing to go."

Thompson finally said.

Half of what he said was from the heart. Just like Walker and Butler last year, if he had been a free agent at the time, he would have gone to the Pelicans.

The other half was actually a statement and a way out. The Bird rights and his relationship with Curry, they both knew without saying.

"If I come back, I will definitely pull you over."

Tang Tian said jokingly.

The two didn't talk too much about recruiting, they were just chatting more.

After chatting, Tang Tian put Thompson in the car back.

"Do we check in first, or go straight to Milwaukee?"

Demps watched Thompson's car drive away and asked.

They had a bad start.

"I'll make a call first."

Tang Tian picked up his phone and walked aside.

Compared with China, the United States had very low information security on the Internet.

Many of the contents of phone calls were monitored in real time.

If there was any phone communication before the free market opened, it would easily be discovered by the league.

So some calls could only be made after the free market opened.

Demps didn't know what Tang Tian was going to do. After waiting for about ten minutes, Tang Tian came back with his phone.

"Go to Los Angeles. Contact Durant and arrange a meeting for tomorrow."

What Tang Tian said when he came back surprised Demps.

However, he could guess that Tang Tian had probably called Irving just now.

Needless to say, Irving's situation should be similar to Thompson's.

It seemed that brotherly feelings weren't that reliable in the face of huge sums of money!

But Durant was Tang Tian's nemesis, which sounded even more unreliable!

Tang Tian had a private jet, and they got on the plane and went straight to Los Angeles.

On the plane, Tang Tian looked out the window, thinking about what he had talked about with Irving on the phone just now.

Unlike Thompson, Irving hadn't been selected for the All-NBA team, so there wasn't much difference in the money he could get by coming to the Pelicans and staying with the Bucks.

He was also inclined to come.

But Irving's worry was that Tang Tian was now in management and not a player.

In other words, the relationship between him and Tang Tian was more about money in this matter.

Just like how friends might not be able to stay friends once they borrowed money.

If Irving wasn't happy in New Orleans, or if he was traded because he didn't play well.

Then even if Irving and Tang Tian could continue to be brothers, there would probably be a gap.

This was completely different from Tang Tian recruiting them to play ball as brothers through hard work when he was a player.

It seemed that there was only Durant left.

Or perhaps, Durant was the most suitable choice.

Before last season, Tang Tian definitely wouldn't have wanted to recruit Durant, because in his opinion, Durant was too soft and too sensitive.

Not to mention whether such a person was suitable to be a leader, it would be easy to have problems getting along with teammates.

But after last season, Tang Tian's view of him had greatly changed.

Durant had become tougher, especially when he stood with James, it also highlighted that he was a more real person.

So his attitude had also changed. If there was a chance, he still hoped to cooperate with Durant.

And from his conversation with Irving, he also knew that unlike Irving and Thompson, even if they didn't cooperate well in the future, the trade wouldn't have such a big negative impact.

It was just that he was willing to recruit Durant, but it was hard to say whether Durant would be willing to come.

After all, the feud between the two of them had started from when he entered the league, and it had intensified.

From a normal person's point of view, there was no way he would come to the Pelicans.

But the reason why Tang Tian chose to go to Los Angeles was because Durant wasn't a normal person in the strict sense.