Y13 [EN]: Chapter 29

Dallas Mavericks training facility.

“Yoon?”

Following the guide, Youngjae was surprised to see Coach Rick Carlisle, who had come out to greet him. He grabbed Carlisle’s right hand with both of his and bowed slightly.

“Relax. Today, I want to see Yoon’s play, so if you’re nervous, I won’t be able to see it properly. I hope you don’t miss this opportunity.”

Rick Carlisle. In a few years, he would be praised as one of the league’s top coaches, but at this time, Carlisle had not yet reached that level of fame. Starting as a coach, he served as the head coach for the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers, and since 2008, he had been the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. He is skilled in defensive tactics and knows how to utilize a player’s strengths, consistently leading teams to the playoffs even with lacking squads in Indiana and Detroit.

Although his playing career was short, as a Bachelor of Psychology from the University of Virginia, he understood players’ intentions well and consistently achieved stable results with teams that had many veterans and frequent roster changes. Youngjae was well aware that his tendency to exclude rookies and favor veterans was an unavoidable choice as the coach of a playoff contender team with many All-Star players.

“Yoon’s NCAA performance is beyond doubt, but I wonder if Yoon meets the standards of our Mavs (a nickname for Dallas Mavericks), and whether Yoon can show enough potential in the Mavs. I hope you can dispel our doubts in one shot.”

Carlisle proceeded with the workout without explicitly introducing owner Mark Cuban and President/General Manager Donnie Nelson, who were seated in temporary seats behind the court. Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson had asked Coach Carlisle to do so, concerned that the player might not perform to his full potential if he was conscious of their presence. However, Youngjae, participating in a workout for the second time including his past life, could immediately sense their presence.

‘Of course, in my past life, they all came in droves and tested me like a bustling marketplace.’

A mediocre player expected to be picked in the late second round or not drafted at all. Late second-round picks are usually gambles. Moreover, there are bound to be many players with mediocre potential.

They call in as few as 5 players or as many as 10 or more, extract only the necessary data, and then tell them to leave. However, if you are expected to be a first-round pick, the treatment is definitely different, and you are given a one-on-one workout like now. That’s because the players in that range have high potential, and the team wants to make a careful selection due to high expectations.

Also, in cases where the coach and coaching staff, like Rick Carlisle now, are focusing all their attention on a single player and are seriously considering one out of two or, at most, three players, the owner and team president would directly observe the workout. Most of the time, it is handled at the general manager level.

However, such cases are rare – virtually non-existent unless it’s a lottery pick or higher – and in all the workouts Youngjae had participated in so far, no team had shown him this level of interest. It was indeed the eccentric Mark Cuban. His passion for the Mavs was truly remarkable.

Not only Youngjae but also Coach Carlisle wanted to start in earnest right away, so the test proceeded smoothly. In the basic physical ability measurements conducted at the draft combine (a kind of testing ground for physical condition and abilities), Youngjae was recognized for his quick agility, great flexibility, and, although somewhat weak compared to the others, enough strength to withstand to a certain extent. He gained momentum and began to show his abilities one by one, starting with the most basic dribbling.

“To the basket!”

“Hot!”

Bang!

A cool one-handed dunk. And the ball flying to the mid-range without a break.

“Spot up!”

Swish-

A spot-up jumper that goes in without dropping the ball and without an inch of error. Before he could even be happy about it, the ball flew to the high post this time.

“Pull up!”

A pass that flies quickly and sharply, making it impossible to run as a spot-up. Nevertheless, Youngjae skillfully received the pass and, instead of stopping abruptly in that spot, took a few more steps in the direction he had been running and then shot the ball.

Swish-

“3 points!”

Finally, a 3-pointer. Youngjae, holding the ball at the top, scratched the ball forcefully and beautifully with his right hand, making a “whoosh!” sound.

Continuously and tirelessly performing these four types of shots was the purpose of this test.

Dallas had been a strong team consistently aiming for the championship since the 2000s. Currently, they had weaknesses in defense, and the veteran guards, Jason Kidd (age 37) and Jason Terry (age 33), who were the mainstays of the starting lineup, were gradually approaching an age where their decline was a concern.

This meant that it was necessary to reduce the playing time of the two players, and they wanted a rookie with the talent to succeed them. Rodrigo Beaubois (age 20), who had been in charge of that role, showed remarkable performance last year. They needed a rookie who could form a backcourt partnership with him and succeed Kidd and Terry. Therefore, they needed a rookie who could adapt to the NBA and play at a certain level right away from this season. Dallas wanted to know if a rookie could play in actual games right away, and because of that, Dominic Jones, who had the workout the day before, showed lower-than-expected records, perhaps because he didn’t expect this.

Donnie Nelson, the president and general manager, who had been watching the test without taking his eyes off, opened his mouth.

“Cuban. What do you think?”

“……. Has it already been 20 minutes?”

“Yes. It’s been well over 20 minutes. Nevertheless, there is no shaking in the shooting release at all. Stable shooting is possible in various situations and positions. It seems that Yoon is definitely the best among the three in terms of the ‘shooting ability’ of the guard we want.”

Cuban seemed to be changing his mind at Donnie Nelson’s words, but he still couldn’t let go of his attachment to Dominic Jones, shaking his head and muttering quietly.

“But Dominic Jones had better results in physical ability. What we need is breakthrough ability and defensive ability. I don’t think it’s bad to watch a little more.”

Even after that, Youngjae impressed Coach Carlisle and Donnie Nelson, and even Mark Cuban, who valued Dominic Jones more, with his solid basic skills and brilliant wit in terms of skills. The coach seemed excited and occasionally threw passes that would normally slip out of his hands, but Youngjae was not at all flustered and flexibly moved his body to receive the ball.

The dribbling was also stable. He never raised the low center of gravity high, and he seemed to be pulling the ball towards his body in a very orthodox way, but he satisfied the coaches by utilizing various techniques such as crossover, V dribble, between-the-legs, and hesitate step in the right places.

“…… Let’s call the Texas Legends members.”

Texas Legends. The Texas Legends, a D-League team under the Dallas Mavericks (now known as the NBA G League, a developmental league for the NBA, similar to baseball’s minor leagues). Cuban was already saying to call in the Texas Legends members with a slightly expectant look in his eyes.

The D-League also designates and conducts a draft day like the NBA. The draft is held between October and November, with a period of time between the NBA Draft, for so-called ‘undrafted’ players who were not selected in the NBA Draft. However, unlike the NBA, the D-League has a total of 18 affiliated teams, so only 18 players are selected in one round.

However, unlike the NBA, the draft does not end in the 2nd round, but proceeds to the 7th and 8th rounds, so the draft that undrafted players apply for as an alternative is the D-League Draft, NBDL (NBA D-League Draft).

(Of course, depending on the person, undrafted players often prefer overseas leagues that can guarantee money and the future a little more stably than the D-League Draft, NBDL.)

Currently, it is a rest period, but in the case of D-Leaguers, the desperation is much greater than that of the players participating in the NBA Draft, and because their future is not guaranteed, most players focus on training even during the rest period or do other work to prevent financial problems from occurring next season. Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson decided to test Dominic Jones, James Anderson, and Youngjae by calling in some of the Texas Legends players, the Mavs’ affiliated D-League team, and candidates to be selected as D-Leaguers in preparation for the NBDL, and having them play a 5:5 game during that period.

James Anderson and Dominic Jones did not show very good performances in this training. That’s because they overlooked that it was a workout for the NBA Draft, but also a testing ground for D-Leaguers. They try to make their skills known for sure, but that’s the same for undrafted players. If they can’t narrow the ‘gap’, not only teamwork but even 1:1 ability will sink.

‘Texas Legends.’

But Youngjae was different. Rather, Youngjae knew their psychology better than anyone else. A stage where they endure with evil and guts just to set foot in the NBA even once, even if they live a wretched life. If he were to mix with them and play a 5:5 game, whether they were on the same team or a different team, he would not be able to play a proper game due to the envious and jealous eyes coming to him, and the desperation and pressure to show his new self. Youngjae knew that better than anyone else.

“Yoon. As a final test, we have prepared a 5:5 game. It may be embarrassing because you may not have experienced it in previous workouts, but please understand that it is a part that the Mavs must check.”

Youngjae nodded and greeted his teammates calmly and politely.

“I’m Youngjae Yoon. Please take care of me.”

The players seemed slightly embarrassed by Youngjae’s polite greeting, but anyway, the thought that Youngjae was a person who played in a different league from them came first, so the unpleasant gaze did not easily disappear. Still, they couldn’t spit on a polite greeting, so the teammates who played with Youngjae briefly introduced themselves one by one.

No. 1. Rashad McCants

Until last year, he occasionally came out on the court as a backup player for the Sacramento Kings and was recognized for his scoring explosiveness, but he showed limitations such as having to play the 2 position [shooting guard] with a small size of 6-4, and 0 bench presses of 185 lb (meaning very insufficient strength), as well as a short wingspan. So he ended up going down to the D-League.

From what I heard, his play at the 1 position [point guard] seemed immature, so Youngjae was somewhat prepared.

No. 2. Antonio Daniels.

A veteran guard born in ’75, he is a 6-4 combo guard who played 61 games for the New Orleans Pelicans (renamed Pelicans from 2007; before that, it was the New Orleans Hornets), averaging 12 minutes, 3.8 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. Thinking about this team composition, Youngjae was able to sense to some extent the intentions of Coach Rick Carlisle, Mark Cuban, and Donnie Nelson.

The 3 position [small forward] was as good as vacant. Steve Novak, who can play the small forward role, is available, but Steve Novak had to play the 4 position [power forward] due to the team’s composition.

No. 4, Steve Novak, who started his career with the Houston Rockets in 2006 and has survived with only one 3-point shot, switching between the D-League and the NBA. Last year, he played 54 games off the bench for the LA Clippers, but his record was not very good and he was injured, so he currently has no team. In the case of Steve Novak, it was expected that he would be a pretty good bench member for the Mavs, who aim for offensive basketball, so he is currently paying attention to him.