Some fans were worried about Holiday.
After all, Holiday had been traded from the Pelicans to the Mavericks.
Anyone would have some thoughts about that.
The trade was officially announced a day later, and Holiday arrived in New Orleans the following day.
More than two years had passed since he had last played for the Pelicans, and the team had changed greatly over those two years.
Jokic, who had been traded to the Mavericks alongside him, had gone to the Nuggets. Ariza had joined the Kings on a one-year deal last summer, and Tang Tian had retired.
Of the people who had played with him on the Pelicans back then, only Davis and Head Coach Stevens remained.
When Stevens took him into the locker room, Davis was the first to rise and greet him.
Holiday had played three years for the Pelicans and had been Davis's teammate for all three. The two had always had a very good relationship.
He greeted everyone else one by one. Returning to this familiar place after two years left him feeling deeply moved.
"Ju."
As he stood before his locker and organized his things, a familiar voice came from behind him.
He turned around and saw Tang Tian's familiar face.
Since he was no longer playing, his face looked slightly fuller.
"Tang."
Holiday smiled, reached out, and embraced Tang Tian.
Then he received his first head pat of his Pelicans career.
He had escaped the first day but not the fifteenth.
Still, Holiday was very happy at that moment.
Back on that Pelicans team, Tang Tian had been the person closest to him.
They had worked out extra together, improved together, and had even gotten massages together.
But most importantly, Tang Tian's reminder back then had helped cure his wife's cancer. That went far