Pelicans fans' excitement was not without reason.
If Rondo was the active player in the league best suited to coaching, then among retired legends, Nash was undoubtedly the most suitable.
Compared with Cole, both of them possessed far superior tactical acumen.
The news thrilled Pelicans fans and boosted the Pelicans' morale. They could hardly wait for the new season.
However, with nearly a month still remaining before the season began, the Pelicans' management first had to finalize their roster.
At the very least, they had to fill the roster to fifteen to seventeen players before the Pre-season began.
After Xiao Hua returned to power, he spoke again of Legalize Betting and shortening the season, but those were matters that would be gradually implemented in the future.
Naturally, some changes lay in the future, while others would take effect immediately. One new measure to be implemented in the new season was the two-way contract.
This measure appeared at the same point in time as it had historically, and it was also one of Xiao Hua's many reforms that won recognition from fans and the public.
A two-way contract was a new type of contract introduced by the league to address teams' personnel shortages.
Competition in the NBA was fierce. With fifteen-man rosters across thirty teams, even allowing for players coming and going, the total number of players was capped at 450.
For players around the world, that number was brutally restrictive.
The same was true for NBA teams. At times, fifteen players simply were not enough.
There were two main reasons for this: injuries and players failing to meet expectations.
Injuries needed no explanation. Some particularly unlucky teams could be reduced to only seven players available at their worst, with no bench left at all.
The other was even more widespread