Minutes after Chen returned to training from head coach Rick Carlisle's office, a tall Hummer appeared in the team-only parking lot outside the American Airlines Center.

The door opened, and out of the car was a tall, short-haired black man who, as a basketball player, was undoubtedly very tall and in shape, and looked very athletic.

However, his appearance looks ordinary, if there is anything special about it, it is that the neck is really long. Birds such as the black hawk and the black usually have long and flexible necks, and probably his nickname is related to his slightly longer neck.

Harrison Barnes casually locked the door of his beloved Humvee, for a tall NBA player like him, the Hummer SUV itself is not very comfortable, and the vast free space inside the hull is the best enjoyment.

To Barnes' surprise, he noticed several other cars already in the parking lot.

I took my phone out of my gym shorts pocket, looked at the time, and arrived at seven o'clock two minutes later.

Who would show up at the arena early at this time? Even though it was the first training day after the media day, it was still a bit early for the players.

Unfortunately, he still doesn't know who the owners of these cars are, probably Novitzki, Barnes guessed.

As the most questioned top-paid player this summer, Barnes had to come to the stadium early to train, and although he looked relatively low-key and even dull, he was a win-losing and competitive player at heart.

He used to be a hero with the Warriors, and after his dysfunctional performance in the Finals, he seemed to become a sinner and an undercover agent overnight, and probably no player would be very unhappy about this.

However, he has no chance to prove himself with the Warriors, and Dallas has become his new team.

Although he knows that he is not the first choice for the Dallas Mavericks to bring in a summer signing, Barnes is still very grateful to Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks for giving him a salary cap.

Of course, even if Dallas does not offer a contract with a maximum salary, he will still get a big contract, but the maximum salary is more of an honor and recognition for a player!

Barnes' talent and potential are undeniable, after all, he was once the No. 1 high school student in the whole meter, and he was the favorite to be the top pick at the time. When choosing a university, Mr. Joe, as a representative of NBA players produced by North Carolina, personally came forward to interview Barnes.

Of course, there was a mother who had to watch Old Man Joe's game before entering the delivery room, and added the name Jordan to the name of her son, and Barnes naturally entered the University of North Carolina.

It's just that in college, Barnes seemed to lose the dominance he had in high school, and eventually the draft market fell all the way until he was drafted by the Warriors with the seventh pick.

Before entering the American Airlines Center arena, Barnes looked up to the east and glanced at the red sun that had just appeared in the sky, no matter what, after leaving the Warriors, he will have a broader room to grow, no longer have to be the team's fourth and fifth choices, he wants to be like this round of rising suns, to a new peak.

And it all starts with training harder, because he's always been a very hard worker.

"Hey, Barnes, you're late!"

As soon as I was about to enter the door, I heard the fat security guard at the door who didn't know his name say this.

Barnes laughed, "Yes! Maybe I'll be there a little earlier tomorrow. ”

Knowlton looked at the golden watch on his wrist that gave him a bit of a tycoon look, "It's probably not enough to be early, you'll have to be two hours early to be the first to get to the arena." ”

Barnes couldn't help but be stunned: "Two hours? Who came so early? Dirk? ”

Knowlton shook his head, "Dirk doesn't come so early, he likes to stay in the arena after practice, and at five o'clock in the morning is another of the team's highest-paid players. ”

"Chen?" Barnes couldn't help but be surprised, he never thought it was this guy.

Interesting, it seems that I won't be lonely when I practice in the future! Barnes thought with a smile.

After getting to the locker room to change clothes, Barnes quickly got into training and in Dallas, like the premium cap players who trained on another field, to prove that he really deserved a top salary.

Nowitzki arrived at the stadium not long after, and as the absolute leader of the team, he felt that he had to set an example for the rookies, and he came very early today.

Looking at the two players training on the field, Nowitzki walked up to Carlisle, who was standing on the side, "Rick, these two new players are good, they came so early!" It's much better than those who call themselves 'Arena Rats' but barely see a human figure! ”

Carlisle smiled and said, "Maybe these two are real stadium rats!" ”

He naturally knew who Dirk was referring to, and the reason why Dallas was reluctant to give a contract with a maximum salary was not just because he had only played one playoff game due to successive injuries.

What's more important is the problem of attitude, especially the Mavericks, who are seriously lacking in talent, need to make up for it with attitude and discipline, but unfortunately he is more interested in the ball on the chest of the young models than in basketball, so the dashing and handsome Internet celebrity does not match the team culture of the Dallas Mavericks.

Wesley Matthews arrived shortly after, and when he walked to the side of the pitch, he couldn't help but stop to see Carlisle and Nowitzki watching the team's two highest-paid players in practice.

Chen was working with Sam Gold on the ball at this point, and Barnes was doing the ball control around the obstacle on his own.

He looked at Barnes with the legs of the opponent's arrowhead and the most difficult player to defend on the team, and said with a smile: "Coach, can I finally stop staging the opponent's small forward frequently!" Barnes is clearly better than I am for the job. ”

Carlisle raised an eyebrow and joked, "I'm thinking about that too!" But I do have a lot of trust in your defensive ability, and with Barnes marking the small forward position, I can finally switch you to defend the opposing center! ”

"Maybe once in a while I can try it, you know I've always been very good at defending power players, and being tough is synonymous with me!" Matthews also joked, "After all, there are not many points worth keeping an eye on in the division now." ”

After training until eight o'clock, Chen stopped training and wanted to take a break to prepare for the team's official training soon after.

Once the 20 camp players on the roster arrive, the Dallas Mavericks' preseason training camp will officially begin.

In a narrow sense, this pre-season camp is an official one-week pre-season camp, but in a broader sense, even pre-season games are part of a pre-season training camp.

Pre-season matches have historically been frowned upon by fans, as teams usually don't care about pre-season results, and the main players of both sides are often absent.

However, preseason is actually a very important part of the team, honing tactics, grinding players, adjusting player condition, finalizing the team's 15-man squad, and finally preparing for the regular season.

For Chen Zhi, this pre-season training camp is particularly important, and he will need time to gradually become familiar with the team's tactics and player characteristics.