Y13 [EN]: Chapter 187

Y13-187 2011 Off-Season

December 12, 2011.

As soon as Youngjae arrived, he headed straight into the gym. He always arrived earliest, figuring no one would be there yet.

*Thwack!!!*

“Whoa!!”

But Youngjae was mistaken. A player, already drenched in sweat as if he’d been there for hours, powerfully slammed down a two-handed dunk. The force of the dunk and landing caused Youngjae to involuntarily exclaim in admiration.

Tyson Chandler, the team’s starting center from last season and Youngjae’s best friend, grabbed the rim before dropping to the court and waving to Youngjae with a smile.

“Yo~ long time no see?”

“Chandler! What happened while I haven’t seen you?! You’ve bulked up so much!”

Youngjae had only talked to Chandler on the phone or through social media since the ESPY Awards in LA. Seeing Chandler in person after so long felt both welcoming and refreshing.

Youngjae could accept Chandler going to New York, even though he’d be sad. He knew that Chandler would win the Defensive Player of the Year award after transferring to the New York Knicks, but also that he would suffer from injuries. Nevertheless, Youngjae respected Chandler’s decision. He wished he would stay, but he wouldn’t try to guilt him into it.

“Well, I heard some Y-something guy living somewhere was getting ripped, so I couldn’t lose and had to work out!”

Even while Dallas was having difficulty with contract negotiations during the offseason, Chandler consistently completed his training with a personal trainer. He knew his body had been prone to minor injuries, and he intended to further refine the upgrades and physical conditioning he had achieved last season. He had been working hard to keep his body in peak condition and avoid injuries. Chandler was so dedicated to his physique that an A-pack [referring to well-defined abdominal muscles, beyond just a six-pack] was visible through his wet, white T-shirt. Youngjae grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

“You averaged a double-double last season, so you should aim for around 15-15 this season, right?”

“15-15? Man, you make it sound so easy!”

Typically, 20 points and 10 rebounds are considered top-tier stats for a big man. But in Chandler’s case, he was primarily a defensive center, so achieving 20-10 without exceptional offensive skills would be a huge challenge. That’s why Youngjae jokingly suggested 15 points and 15 rebounds to Chandler, who responded with a dumbfounded voice.

“You’re getting paid 14M a year, you should at least do that much.”

“It’s not impossible, but think about it. Among centers who get paid as much as I do, even 10-10 isn’t common, right? I’m doing my job if I get 10-10. Besides, am I the only rebounder on our team? Kidd and Nowitzki are good at defensive rebounds too.”

“…Isn’t it too much when some guard living somewhere gets paid 1/10 of Chandler’s salary and averages 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists?”

Chandler made an ‘eek!’ sound and lightly tapped the back of Youngjae’s head.

“Ouch!”

“Are you subtly rounding up?! Alright, alright. I didn’t stay in Dallas just to do my bare minimum, so don’t worry.”

At Chandler’s words, Youngjae wanted to grab a ball and practice together rather than talk more, so he picked up a ball lying on the court. Chandler grinned and blocked Youngjae’s path. Youngjae dribbled the ball and started rushing toward Chandler.

“Nice to see you. It’s the annual training camp, and it’s been three days, but it feels especially welcoming today, as if someone new has arrived.”

The players laughed at Coach Carlisle’s playful remark, expressing their welcome. Even though the season was starting in a few weeks, Nowitzki and Marion didn’t seem fully prepared. It was a big problem for Dallas that the two key veterans who held the team together weren’t ready, but fortunately, Kidd, Terry, Beaubois, Mahinmi, and Youngjae, who had been training together, were in very good condition.

They were ready to be put into a game at any time. Chandler, Barea, Brian Cardinal, and Corey Brewer were also reasonably prepared. Brandon Wright and Chandler Parsons, who had just joined, looked a bit awkward, but it was clear they had been working hard with the determination to prove themselves on a new team.

However, setting aside those players, the most disappointing was Brandon Haywood. He had given a sincere interview during the offseason, saying he hoped the team members would gather and train together. He had also joined the training sessions hosted by Kidd and Terry and participated diligently, but he still joined the training camp without any noticeable improvement.

“It wasn’t even certain if the league would start, but it’s clear how hard you guys worked during the offseason, seeing how good your condition is. Even if you’re not ready right now, the coaches and trainers have prepared training to quickly boost your condition in a short period, so don’t worry too much. The first two days were for recovery and adapting to the training, but we’ll start proper training from today.”

However, Coach Carlisle didn’t scold the players who hadn’t gotten in shape. He himself had been secretly thinking that it was uncertain whether this season would even happen due to the lockout [a work stoppage in professional sports], so he figured the players must have felt the same way. Rather than scolding them, he thought it would be better to quickly improve the players’ condition through training.

“From today, Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea are newly joining the Dallas Mavericks. You’re all meeting for the first time, right?”

The players pretended to be awkward at Coach Carlisle’s joke, giving a poor performance as they greeted Chandler and Barea. The two players also awkwardly pretended to receive the greetings, causing laughter.

“And Brandon Wright and Chandler Parsons. Parsons will mainly play small forward, and Wright will play power forward. Both players are young and full of passion. I hope the existing players work hard so they don’t get pushed back and teach them well.”

Coach Carlisle decided to give the new and existing players some time to get to know each other.

“Welcome. I’m the captain, Dirk Nowitzki.”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Chandler Parsons, drafted by the Dallas Mavericks!”

Parsons, still a little overwhelmed, gave a short introduction with enthusiasm. Shawn Marion chuckled and patted the tense Chandler Parsons on the shoulder to ease his tension.

“Aren’t you a little too skinny? You’re so handsome that you could put celebrities to shame, but your body looks like it’ll fall over if someone pokes you.”

“Haha, he’s just debuting, so of course his frame is thin. That’s normal. But he’s done his best to get in shape so he can play. Let’s work hard together!”

Chandler gave him a hearty pat on the back, causing Parsons to make a noise, but he soon felt that the team atmosphere was pleasant and good, and a smile crept onto his face. Youngjae, who watched the scene from a step behind, smiled contentedly, hoping that Parsons would grow enough to make a significant contribution. Soon, Youngjae also greeted Wright and Parsons warmly, saying he looked forward to working with them.

“Nice to meet you! I’ll also try to become a rookie who contributes to the team like you.”

“Nice to meet you. Let’s work well together in the future.”

Even with the new and drafted players, Youngjae was the youngest in terms of age. Chandler Parsons graduated from college after completing all four years and participated in the draft in ’88, while Brandon Wright was born in ’87 and was the 8th pick in the ’07 draft.

However, in American sports, age didn’t determine hierarchy. Only seniority and skill were the criteria that separated them. Even though Youngjae was younger than Parsons, he was in his second year, and even compared to Wright, who was in his fifth year, his skill and position within the team were incomparable. Of course, Youngjae also had to endure rookie hazing [lighthearted pranks and tasks assigned to rookies by veterans] and take care of his seniors. This was no different in America.

As the existing and new players seemed to have become somewhat acquainted, Coach Carlisle announced the start of training. Since three players had re-signed and there were only two new faces, getting to know each other was quick.

Traditional training camps could have up to 20 players, so there were many non-guaranteed contract players, and the team would typically choose the players to spend the season with from among them. However, this season, Dallas already had 14 players confirmed on the roster, and the training camp itself was short, so they didn’t invite any separate non-guaranteed contract players.

“Alright, let’s start training again. The first preseason game is only 7 days away, and the regular season is less than 2 weeks away. Rather than pushing yourselves too hard, let’s take it step by step. The game schedule is tight, so it’s more important to avoid injuries, even if the early pace isn’t good.”

After finishing morning training, Kidd jokingly threw a light jab at Nowitzki with a smiling face. Nowitzki’s shooting in the morning practice had been terrible, so he was teasing him.

“Nowitzki, what’s wrong? Your condition is completely messed up?”

Nowitzki, not expecting it to be this bad, could only scratch his head with an embarrassed smile.

“Your condition isn’t good at all. It’s because you haven’t been here long, but you should try to get back in shape quickly.”

Seeing Nowitzki’s serious response, Kidd poked Nowitzki’s side and gave him a sly smile to lighten the mood.

“Are you going to get cut by the amnesty clause [a one-time option for teams to waive a player and remove his salary from the salary cap]? We haven’t used our amnesty clause yet, have we?”

Nowitzki couldn’t help but laugh, dumbfounded, not expecting Kidd to joke about the amnesty clause. Kidd chuckled, saying, “Why? Who knows?”

“Hey, Kidd. I’ve just been away from basketball for a long time. Amnesty? I’ll find my shooting touch soon.”

Youngjae, who had been watching their banter from Nowitzki’s side, chimed in. He had spent a season together and had become even closer to Kidd while training together during the offseason, so he didn’t feel uncomfortable joking around.

“I want to agree with Kidd today. Nowitzki, you’ve been playing too much. Are you being too relaxed because you trust your trade veto [a clause in a player’s contract that allows him to reject any trade]? You have to aim for the MVP you missed last year again this year.”

As Youngjae also chuckled and teased him along with Kidd, Nowitzki made a dumbfounded expression and sighed. However, Nowitzki wasn’t so clueless as to take the joke seriously, so he just went along with it without any hard feelings.

“Just wait and see. I’ll show you my real skills soon. Just you wait.”

While they were continuing to joke around, Chandler, as expected of Dallas’s best vocal leader, joined the conversation with a smile.

“Isn’t that a villain’s famous line? Just you wait… Ouch!!”

*Thwack!*

Nowitzki, knowing it was a joke but annoyed that Chandler had butted in, slapped the back of his head and cleared his throat as if nothing had happened.

“Ouch! Don’t do this in front of the rookies! I’m a veteran now too!”

“Hmm… I see. But sorry. I’m older than you, right? And that was just an accident. My hand slipped without me knowing.”

Kidd and Youngjae had skillfully dodged the situation and avoided anger, but Chandler, who had unnecessarily added a word, had no choice but to provide laughter to his teammates while getting hit on the back of the head.

============================ Author’s Notes ============================

★Thank you to those who gave early access, recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

★Thank you to sunmoon99, Theshadow, SunsetBreeze, Murai, and auh123 for the sponsorship coupons!! Have a great week, and I will continue to update diligently and sincerely.

@Kidd’s amnesty clause joke to Nowitzki is a true story. Kidd made the joke after watching Nowitzki train for three days. It seems his condition was really bad. Nowitzki’s shooting percentage was terrible during the preseason and early season.

@With this, the Dallas 2011-2012 roster is complete.

SilverSnow/// Congratulations on being first~~ Always appreciate your comments^^

DisappearingSoul/// There’s also a substitute holiday, so it’s a 4-day holiday hehe

Yabes/// He’s not an squid. Youngjae is also handsome. Parsons is one of the top in the entire NBA lol. In terms of celebrities, it would be like Suzy or Yoona standing next to Kim Taehee lol.

Ultra10/// Nowitzki and Marion struggle a bit in the beginning. Youngjae struggles a bit in the beginning.

LeeDongSeokDong, Omarion, Financia, -DarkANGEL-/// Thank you for the comments^^ Have a good day tomorrow!!

H0H, GrandLine/// The older players are mostly like that, and star players like LeBron, Wade, Paul, and Durant have been consistently maintaining their condition through charity games and street games. Dozens of players have gone overseas and returned to coincide with the NBA opening. Dallas has too many old players who have rested too much, so they struggle more than other teams in the beginning.

goimosp/// It seems like it will be somewhat similar to that situation.

Yabes/// I’ll give a separate reply to the separate comment hehe. First of all, if Howard is in Lakers late-season mode, he is definitely a good player. But Chandler was as good as Howard in defense that season. That’s why he won the Defensive Player of the Year award. If Howard carried the Lakers’ defense, Chandler carried the Knicks’ defense. With Amare’s long-term injury and Melo also dazed, he caused Jeremy Lin and Linsanity and raised the Knicks to the top of the defense alone. Even the coach was D’Antoni, who didn’t care about defense. Lin and other role players were also terrible at defense.

If it’s Orlando-era Howard, then unconditionally Howard>>>>>>Chandler, but if you only consider after the 11-12 season, it’s hard to say that Howard is a better player than Chandler, but it’s hard to see that he has an overwhelming advantage. I would side with Howard as the team’s one-two punch, but I think Chandler is better as the third option.

In particular, Howard’s free throws and mentality are the worst for Dallas. Chandler was stable during the closing lineup because his free throws were high, and he regained Dallas’s momentum with passion and toughness when they were pushed back, and he killed the opponent’s momentum. He was a defensive leader and a locker room leader. There are many rumors that Dallas would have definitely won if it had been Chandler during the 05-06 Finals upset against Miami. On the other hand, there were many games where Howard self-destructed when the opponent came out dirty. Howard’s weak mentality has been famous for the past few years. On the other hand, Chandler has a Gasol-level mentality.

And Paul has already gone to the Clippers, and bringing Deron would be a disaster. Knowing the future, Dallas’s 2012FA plan was at a level that was better off not doing… Deron failed. Howard’s decline. Paul is a Clipper.

Um, I won’t be jealous hahaha. I’ll joke around, though

LafirandJint/// It was a season of all-time overpay. It seems that the FA market was too short.

Nube/// Thank you for binge-reading^^

GoddessYuriPraise/// The preseason will start from the next episode or the one after that.