One Guard

Although the data had been obtained from other teams, the Mavericks' trainers were still shocked when they personally measured Gobert's height and wingspan.

Gobert is 2.14 meters tall with bare feet and 2.18 meters with shoes. This figure is the tallest among the players who signed up for the draft this year. And his terrifying wingspan of 2.35 meters is unmatched.

When Gobert opened his arms to be measured by the trainer, Cuban felt that what was standing in front of him was not a player, but a high wall!

"He's a monster, Mark! I think we should really go after him with all our strength!" Just looking at Gobert's physical data, Carlisle seemed to be drooling. Last season, Murphy, who was 2.11 meters tall, was already an important height for the Mavericks' interior defense. If they had an interior line that was 2.18 meters tall and with a wingspan of more than 2.3 meters last season, whether the Spurs could win is another matter. Never mind.

"Don't worry Rick, the trial training has just begun!" Cuban also had a strong interest in this little-known French center. Antetokounmpo from Greece? He might not be as useful as Gobert!

After that, the trial training came to the stage of various dynamic tests. Since the Mavericks are trying out players who are projected to be drafted in the middle or late first round, most of their numbers aren't that impressive.

Before Gobert, only white insider Steven Adams' statistics left a slight impression on Cuban.

The last person to be tested was Gobert. As a white insider, his vertical jump height can reach 63.5 centimeters, and his approach jump height can reach 73.7 centimeters. These two statistics prove that he is indeed a white insider who can run and jump.

The last test is to reach height while standing. Everyone knows that Gobert is tall and has long arms, but his standing height data still shocked the scene.

"Standing... standing reach, 297 centimeters!" When the Dallas Mavericks trainer saw Gobert's data, he thought he was dazzled. Because he has worked for the Mavericks for nearly ten years and has dealt with countless professional players, he has never seen anyone with a standing reach of 297 centimeters!

"How much!?" Carlisle was so dumbfounded that he asked again loudly.

"297 centimeters! 9 feet 7!" This time, the trainer used two different units to express the accuracy of the data.

"297 centimeters...is this data scary?" Although Yiyang is a professional player, he is not sensitive to data. Yiyang has no idea what 297 centimeters means.

"I came into contact with professional basketball in 1984 and started my coaching career in 2001! Over the years, I have never heard of anyone with a standing reach data of 297 centimeters! In other words, this is most likely from the training camp. The highest record! To put it more bluntly, even if Gobert didn’t jump and just straightened his arms, he was only 12 centimeters away from the basket!”

With Carlisle's explanation, Yiyang also had an intuitive understanding of the number 297 centimeters. He originally just thought that Gobert played well, but he didn't expect that this guy's physical condition was so good!

After a series of physical tests, Gobert has conquered everyone. But this tall man is not complacent, because all the teams he has tried before have this look of surprise after seeing his physical test data.

At the end of the trial, Carlisle naturally arranged confrontation training for the players. Only on the field that simulates actual combat can the true value of a player be reflected.

Although it is just a trial training, the intensity of this confrontational training is not low, because now every rookie has to rely on his performance in trial training to fight for the opportunity to enter the league. This is a war about survival, so everyone is risking their lives with real swords and guns.

The two people facing Gobert are Steven Adams, who looks elegant but is actually wild. The other person was selected to this year's All-American First Team. He averaged 17.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in the NCAA last season. Canadian center Kelly Olynyk comes from a basketball family. Both guys are projected to be drafted in the lottery to mid-first round, and in terms of name recognition, they are more familiar than Gobert. The two powerful opponents that the Mavericks arranged for Gobert are quite valuable.

After the game started, Gobert's weight of only 107 kilograms immediately put him in trouble.

On the offensive end, Gobert was pushed to the San area by Adams and Olynyk, and he couldn't even perform the most basic positions.

Moreover, Serbian rookie Nemanja Nedovic, who is on Gobert's side, is an offensive point guard and is not good at feeding big men.

The game went on for several minutes, but Gobert still did nothing. Apart from being overturned again and again by Adams and Olynyk, there is nothing that can attract attention.

Cuban had begun to shake his head silently, but Carlisle still clenched his fists. He knows that Gobert is capable of more than that. This guy just hasn't adapted to the rhythm of the game yet.

After struggling for a few minutes on offense, Cuban seemed to be running out of patience.

"Although his physical data is very good, I think he is not ready for the NBA yet." Cuban whispered to Gobert in a low voice, but Yiyang and Carlisle did not seem to agree.

Seeing Cuban shaking his head repeatedly, Gobert also knew that he had to perform better.

"No, what he is good at is not offense!" Yiyang's eyes were still fixed on the court. He had not forgotten that when playing in France, Gobert tried hard to defend his energy.

"Look again Mark, the game has just begun, hasn't it?"

Seeing Carlisle say the same, Cuban looked attentively again. What kind of charm does this Frenchman have that can make both Yiyang and Carlisle speak for him?

Nedovic's three-pointer hit the mark again. It seems that this guy has not yet adapted to the length of the NBA's three-point line. Adams grabbed the rebound and handed it to his own defender to advance the offense.

This time, he also wanted to score on the seemingly green Frenchman. So, Adams played a pick-and-roll with his defender. After the pick-and-roll, he cut in and prepared to catch the ball and dunk!

Adams' plan was successful. He cut inside at a very good time and also received the pass from the defender. Now, all Adams has to do is to wreak havoc on the basket in front of Cuban and Yiyang!

Just when Adams jumped up and was about to exert his strength, Gobert, who was originally guarding Olynyk, jumped out! The speed of his lateral movement made Cuban's eyes light up!

The two tall men dueled in the air. Gobert relied on his absolute height advantage to slap the basketball out of Adams' hand and hit a blocking dunk!

"Wow, did you see that? No one can fly over that height!" This time, Cuban finally showed an approving look.

Afterwards, Gobert's efforts on the defensive end made Cuban feel the charm of the Frenchman. His desire to get strong and win is as unique as his wingspan and standing reach.

No matter who the opponent is, whether he is tall, short, fat or thin, strong or not, Gobert will bravely face him and try to change the situation of the game through defense. He never seems to be slow on defense, which is very rare among young players.

"Do you know what the real value of this guy is?" Seeing Gobert's performance getting better, Carlisle also came to Cuban and chatted with him.

"That is, as a role player, he can also dominate the game! Just like...just like Tyson Chandler! Maybe he is not good at offense and his skills are rough. He can't give you every game You can't become an MVP even if you put in 20+10 data. But some players are born to love defense! And defense can help us win the game!"

"I have already felt the power of that kid, Rick. Don't worry, I accept your suggestion. In the draft, I will focus on this guy. But I still have to say, if Antetokounmpo loses Come down, I will choose the Greeks first without hesitation!”

"As you wish, boss!" Carlisle spread his hands. It would be great if the Mavericks could have an inside defender...

In the blink of an eye, the 24-minute confrontation training came to an end. Gobert only hit 1 goal in 3 shots, made 1 of 2 free throws, and only scored a pitiful 3 points. But his data of 8 rebounds and 4 blocks, as well as the scenes of blocking the opponent's offense time and time again, still allowed Carlisle, Yiyang and Cuban to give him an "A+" grade.

After the trial, all the other players followed their managers down to ask about Cuban's situation. And what about Gobert? Perhaps this guy was dissatisfied with his free throw performance, so he actually picked up a basketball and started practicing free throws!

Although it was just a small detail, Gobert's actions had a huge impact on Yiyang. Being in a team with a guy like this who wants to rush forward at any time will definitely not be any worse!

"Are you so eager to practice more?"

Gobert was startled when he heard someone suddenly talking to him. He turned around and saw that it was Yiyang.

"If you don't perform well in the game, just vent your excess energy into training." Gobert answered, and then continued to shoot free throws. But in Yiyang's opinion, there is really a big problem with this guy's shooting action.

"What are your thoughts if you join the Mavericks?"

"Experts predict that I will be drafted between 17th and 22nd overall, and I don't think I will fall out of that range."

Yiyang smiled, this guy is really confident!

"I didn't ask you about the draft. What I meant was, if you join the Mavericks, what are your thoughts?"

Yiyang asked again, and Gobert also stopped what he was doing and thought seriously.

"No matter where I am, I will do my best. I just like to win and I like to shut people up. As long as I can do these two things, it doesn't matter where I play. After all, so far, I have no affection for American cities. Word."

The simple and fanatical pursuit of victory and respect, isn’t this who I am?

Yiyang nodded. He didn't talk much and did not continue chatting with Gobert. He just hopes the Mavericks don't go home empty-handed four days later at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.