But Tang Tian disliked Big Threes not simply because he personally disliked star players teaming up. He was even more worried about the team's future.
A Big Three needed time to mesh. Whether it was the Heat's Big Three, Cavaliers' Big Three, Rockets' Big Three, or Lakers' Big Three, problems would arise during that process, and the result was always 1+1+1<3.
Since they were all superstars, someone had to sacrifice touches and status. What they lost after making that sacrifice was not just personal stats, but money as well.
The NBA was a Commercial League. For players, money definitely came first. They could lose anything but money.
So no matter how sensational such a team-up was, it would inevitably fall apart in the end.
To put it bluntly, it was drinking poison to quench thirst—shortsighted and desperate for quick success.
Of course, Tang Tian had his reasons for not objecting. He had only been giving the front office advice before; he was not actually the Pelicans' general manager.
If the team had a chance to improve, he would not stand in its way.
More importantly, he had absolute confidence in his own strength. After all, Jordan was still Jordan even with Pippen beside him.
By the fourth day of the Free Market, even most rotation and role players had already found their destinations.
It was then that Shams, Woj's protégé, revealed that Hayward and the Pelicans had grown very close. The Pelicans and Jazz had a strong chance of completing a sign-and-trade deal, with Pelicans Head Coach Stevens being the main reason behind it. The two sides were likely to work together again for the first time since the NCAA.
In February of that year, Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA's most famous sports reporter—better known to fans as Woj—had joined ESPN.