The hotel room was too quiet.
Even with the A/C humming and the city murmuring just outside the window, Zoran could feel the silence pressing against his thoughts. He sat cross-legged on the floor again, laptop open, notepad beside him, a protein bar untouched on the nightstand.
He was reviewing defensive rotations from the Mavericks' preseason losses. Not because anyone had asked him to, but because every slip, every mistimed help-side rotation, was a riddle he wanted solved.
There was a rhythm to mistakes. He'd learned that early. Patterns formed in chaos—if you were quiet enough to notice them.
Practice had ended two hours ago.
Jason Kidd had pulled him aside for a short chat.
"We like your poise. Keep playing your game. You're not here to impress with flash. Just impact."
Zoran had nodded slowly, replying in full sentences now that trust had grown. "That's what I've always tried to do, Coach. Win possessions. Small things that don't show up on the scoreboard."
Kidd gave a short nod. "Keep stacking those. It adds up. Especially when guys start coming back. We'll need consistency."
Zoran had caught the subtext.
When guys start coming back.
Anthony Davis. Daniel Gafford. P.J. Washington. Kyrie Irving. The locker room was already shifting. The whispers weren't malicious, just matter-of-fact: Would Zoran still be around when the team was healthy?
Later that evening, he went for a walk around the hotel grounds. Phone in his pocket. Hoodie up. Just enough breeze to keep his thoughts moving.
He paused near the streetlamp by the sidewalk, looking up at the Dallas skyline. The city still felt temporary. Like a place you passed through, not one you belonged to.
Still, he liked the way it moved—fast, sharp, restless.
It reminded him of himself.
At dinner, he met up with a former college teammate, Marcus Reyes, who'd flown in from San Diego. They hadn't talked much since Zoran went undrafted.
"Bro, I thought you were gonna lose it after the draft," Marcus said, sipping from a glass of Sprite. "You just vanished."
Zoran shrugged. "Nothing to say. If I talked, it would've just been noise. I needed to work."
"And now you're on a 10-day with the Mavs. You gettin' minutes too. That's insane."
Zoran looked down at his plate. "It's not insane. It's overdue."
Marcus whistled. "Still cold as ever, huh?"
"I just know what I'm worth. Took me too long to stop waiting for someone else to say it."
They sat in silence for a while. The TV behind them played ESPN highlights. Zoran watched the ticker scroll.
BREAKING: Kyrie Irving begins light workouts post-ACL surgery.
Marcus glanced at it too. "That gonna change things for you?"
Zoran finished chewing before answering.
"No. I'm not just filling in for someone. I'm playing to make decisions harder."
That night, he returned to the hotel and opened the system again.
[SYSTEM UPDATE: Training Boost Applied | Reaction Time + Dribble Read | 12 Hours Remaining]
He selected the manual drill mode. The screen filled with moving silhouettes and passing simulations. He adjusted the sensitivity. The pace ramped up.
His eyes locked in.
The system was useful. But it wasn't a crutch. It worked best when he did.
And Zoran Vranes wasn't just working to stay sharp.
He was sharpening the blade.