Hayes looked at Durant and suddenly felt a little strange. He quickly found the strange reason and asked, "Kevin, how tall are you?" ”

Hayes feels that Durant is taller than "Warcraft" Howard. Durant is 206cm tall and Howard is 210cm.

Durant smiled: "208cm or 209cm." My physique was too weak to play inside, but I grew the height of an interior player, and I didn't want the coach to arrange for me to play power forward, so I underreported my height when I signed up. ”

Hayes understood immediately. In order to inflate their value, many NBA stars will falsely report their height.

For example, Barkley, who is registered as 198cm tall, is said to be short when he plays power forward, but he is actually shorter than Hayes, only 193cm to 195cm tall.

The funniest of all is Jason Collins, the center who claims to be 213cm, but when defending Duncan, he is half a head shorter and looks only 203cm. According to his own confession: "When I put on my shoes, pads, wrist guards, and two pairs of socks, I was about 6 feet 11 and a half inches (212 cm). ”

There are also people who deliberately hold their height short. Garnett is the representative, his height in shoes reached 216cm, because he was unwilling to fight hand-to-hand with the muscles on the inside, he deliberately reported 211cm, played power forward, and the result was as he wished.

Durant's approach is the same as Garnett's, and his shoes are nearly 210cm tall. It's a standard power forward height. However, his technique and power forward are not compatible, the speed of 100 meters is 12 seconds, his height and arms are long, and he is extremely flexible, but his body is thin and the confrontation is very poor, which is a typical quality of an outside player.

The Bobcats had never considered letting Durant play inside, and if there was a team that did arrange that, it would be crazy.

Hayes patted Durant on the shoulder and smiled, "Kevin, what position do you want to play in the Bobcats?" Do you have any personal goals for the upcoming season? Tell me how you feel you should fight. ”

Durant was clearly prepared, and without thinking about it, he said, "I want to play small forward or shooting guard." If the Bobcats play fast attack, I can rush to the front. If I fall into a positional battle, I'll run on the outside and focus on catch-and-shoot jumpers. With you, I think I should be able to get a lot of open seats, and even if they aren't, my height and reach have an advantage on the outside, and it's hard for opponents to block me. If I'm coming off the bench, I want to be the main attacker, and as long as the post player pulls up to the high post to cover me, I can jump shot, or drive to the basket for a layup. In one-on-one situations, I have a high success rate. Offensive firepower can be guaranteed for the Bobcats bench. Even though I had a low shooting percentage last season, I've been practicing and my shooting has improved a lot. I won't let you down. If there's a goal for the season, I want to be the Bobcats' best sixth man! ”

Durant is very good. He didn't want to steal the ball with Hayes, and he knew that the Bobcats had Gerald Wallace at the small forward position. Compared with the first mover, the surname of the first substitute is greater.

"Well said! You're the big guy last year, and if you think you're a character and you want to focus on attacking with the ball, I'm going to have to do the ideological work for you. But don't worry about the Bobcats turning you into a fixed-point pitcher. Coaches arrange lineups according to the opponent's style of play. As long as you can eat the players in the right position, you will definitely be the main attacker. Practicing shooting well is indeed the key, with your talent, as long as you shoot accurately, the opponent can't defend at all. For example, even though I've been named to the All-Defensive Team for two years in a row, I definitely can't beat you. If you practice shooting, it's not hard to beat me up on the offensive end one-on-one. ”

Hayes's few compliments, Durant felt very useful.

There was still time before the start of training, and the two sat on the sidelines and chatted. Hayes asked Durant again what he thought of Roy.

"Kevin, I've watched a few Trail Blazers games, what do you think of Roy?"

"Roy is very good, he has a sharp break, he shoots well, he can make great passes, he is a very well-rounded player......" Durant swallowed back in the middle of his words.

"Don't be inhibited, I can see that you don't obey him. Surely you think what he can do, you can do too, right? It's just that the Trail Blazers didn't give you a chance to perform. Hayes looked at Durant and smiled.

Durant kept blinking, a little nervous. He was afraid that he would say the wrong thing and cause the new boss to be displeased, and he would appear in the situation of the Trailblazers again. He didn't know what Hayes meant by that.

"How do you feel like you're with Roybi? Be confident and just talk straight. You're the Bobcat who got Mayo back, and you're sure to get it reused. Hayes added.

Durant said seriously: "I feel that I am more talented than Roy, if Aldridge covers me, I will definitely be able to average 20 points per game, and my rebounding ability is not bad, but unfortunately the coach let me move more on the outside." If you want to talk about the difference, I think it's experience and passing awareness. Roy's passing is much better than mine, and he's playing solidly. ”

"So let me tell you what I think. The difference between you and Roy is precisely your shortcomings, you are not stable enough, and you often don't look at your teammates after receiving the ball, and you think about how to shoot the ball into the basket. You do have an advantage in your physicality, but sometimes your teammates have better chances than you. At Bobcats, you have a great group of teammates around you, so you want to step up your passing. Pass the ball to the weakest point of the opponent's defense. For example, Bagnani pulls out the outside line, and the person who defends him is Rondo, and you pass it to him, and the success rate of the ball is very high. You must know these things in your heart, but you don't do well enough on the field. Hayes laughed.

Durant nodded, listening attentively.

"If you're going to defend an opposing shooting guard or a small forward, it's not very strong, you have to keep up. I feel like you're still relying mainly on talent to defend, and you're not very skillful, and the Bobcats have a lot of good defenders, so you're going to improve in that area. As for your offense, it's still that requirement, you have to practice shooting. As long as your shooting is accurate, I am optimistic that you will win the scoring title! Hayes said solemnly.

"Really?" Durant averaged only 10 points per game last season, and it was surprising that Hayes would be so optimistic about him.

"Really, I didn't compliment you. Your talent is so good, I look at it with jealousy. I practice inside footwork, not to score like that for the sake of playing beautifully, but because I'm too easy to be blocked on the outside jumper, and it's much easier for you to score than I do. When it comes to offense, I think you're stronger than Roy. He dribbles the ball better than you, but you are tall and have long arms, and it is easy to foul if you can't score by rushing inside with speed, and it is difficult to block outside shots. I don't dare say anything about the rest of the Bobcats, but if you're willing to work hard, you're going to be an All-Star caliber player with an offense that can be Binowitzki. ”

Hayes really isn't complimenting Durant. Roy's strength lies in his skillful and clever play. But he has to play with the ball and sometimes for a long time, which is not a good thing for a young team. Durant's offense is more terrifying, when he feels good, he is bug-level, and his ability to break through the interior to make fouls is also first-class. Durant's best characteristic is that he doesn't need to hold the ball for long periods of time on offense, which is the main reason why the Bobcats traded him.

And Durant is very low-key and does not compete for the boss.

In Hayes's previous life with the Thunder, Westbrook held the ball longer than the team's core Durant, shot a lot, and did not have a high shooting percentage, doing the work of a point guard at the point guard position. If Hayes had run into a second-in-command like Westbrook, he would have found a way to get rid of him a long time ago. But Durant has never expressed his displeasure, which makes Hayes feel that Durant is a good teammate.

People who are too low-key tend to have a harder time getting ahead.

Durant looked at Hayes excitedly, he was like a maxima, and Hayes was his Bole. After last season, experts rated him much lower, and many even said that he was a "parallel import". Durant didn't expect that in this situation, Hayes would still be so optimistic about him.

Durant looked at Hayes and opened his mouth several times without speaking.

"Kevin, have you thought about building a dynasty?" Hayes asked with a smile.

"Thought. Last season, the Bobcats traded the Trail Blazers for Rondo for the first time, and I thought it would be great if I could trade me in. The Trailblazers certainly can't, but the Bobcats are likely to build a dynasty. Because you're the boss of the bobcats. Durant's eyes sparkled and he said with a little reverence.

"Haha, you think more highly of me. What do you think of me and Roybi? Hayes asked with a smile.

"There's no comparison, you two aren't on the same level at all. Roy's ability is very strong, but when he encounters the Trailblazers' blocking, the opponent will at most change the defense, and generally will not take the package Roy. But you're in the playoffs, you can score calmly even against a three-man bag, I watched the game and felt the blood boiling, and if I'm in the Bobcats, you attract the defense to pass it to me. I'm not going to miss as many open shots like Barnes and Azubuuk, and the Bobcats aren't going to be eliminated by the Magic. I've often fantasized about playing with you, and after the draft, my agent informed me of the transfer to Bobcats, and I was dying of joy. ”

"The Bobcats have a roster that can win the championship this year." When it comes to the lineup, Hayes is full of confidence. "You can see that we've picked a lot of good rookies, as well as veterans Camby and Mike Miller. With me and Camby, the inside is not afraid of any team. There's Wallace, you, and Bagnani on the outside, and the score must be open. It's a pity that Calderon is gone, and if we can trade a good point guard, we have a perfect lineup. ”

"I don't think a point guard needs to be very strong, as long as you can defend, the offense brings the ball to the front court, and you can organize the offense, and the Bobcats are already very good. If there is a downside, it is that the Bobcats' guards don't seem to be good at outside shooting. The drawback of the playoffs is already obvious. ”

It's easy for Durant to see the Bobcats' weaknesses. Calderon has the most accurate three-point shooting, but he rarely shoots, and almost always shoots unguarded, or plays a time difference to grab shots, and his offensive ability is average. When defending, Calderón was a Bobcat's hole most of the time. That's why the Bobcats are reluctant to renew Calderón's contract with a high salary. Rondo came on, the defense was a little stronger, and the offense was much worse. Next season, the Bobcats' starting point guard should be Felton. He is also not good at outside shooting.

Hayes knows this too. But it's not easy to build a perfect lineup. There aren't many good point guards in the league, and they're all treated like babes. It is not easy for a bobcat to poach. If no trade can be made, except for Felton, one can only hope for George Hill, whose shooting seems to be good.

"Kevin, we're going to win the championship this season! My goal is to build a dynasty that is longer than the Bulls' six crowns! Hayes said and stood up. Let's go, practice and let me see your shots! ”

(To be continued)