This is a critical time in
the last couple weeks as well,
building chemistry,
getting familiar with the guys.
Obviously anytime you're traded mid season,
sometimes you just hoping to fit in,
you know I mean and not rock the boat
now it's kind of about establishing.
Building the Ark I guess
in in a biblical sense.
Way about. Yeah. How do
you feel about yourself?
I I don't really see myself feeling
jalen's role per se, right.
I think if you look at the team holistically,
Jenna's a great playmaker,
scored about 1617 points a game.
I think Tim historically is around
that 15 per game or so mark.
So in theory, right you're you're
replacing office production there you're
trying to we got a little bit bigger
we and more talented with Christian
wood and develop McGee obviously in
terms of rent protection Christian
woods versatility to be able to
play the four to five step out shoot
threes as well as play above the room.
And then for me, I mean it's gonna
be go out there and make plays.
Remember Jay kid last year said,
you know, get about a look at JB and
then Spencer and and let them make
plays and everybody do their job.
I think now obviously volume goes up,
but mentality doesn't necessarily change.
There are a lot of games I finished
games there,
games I played without Luke or
without JB where I started as well.
So in terms of mentality, you know,
green means go, go make plays,
try to win the game.
You were coming back from an injury.
This year we've seen social media.
You've been working out real hard,
working out with Katie.
You talk about your offseason this year
going into The Mavericks as opposed
to last year going into Washington.
I mean, it's night and day.
It's not remotely close.
Obviously, last year was a rehab year.
You know, I got cleared the place
here from the ACL in five months.
I think first game was eight
or so months away from surgery.
Now we're whatever, another year,
20 months out outside from that.
So you know, if you ask anybody's
been through any major injury to even
be able to come back that quickly is
definitely a testament to the work,
but it's just completely different
being almost two years removed.
It's it's night and day and you know,
all of you guys I'm sure had some
type of experience and in that room.
So it's a normal.
Offseason full training load.
Not worried about swelling or taking a
break or two days on and one day off.
It's just, you know,
let's get to it.
Casey Smith talked about,
you know, back to backs or load
management and if you feel like.
What would you think? I I know The
Mavericks in general consistently
watched minutes for all all players.
I haven't had any specific conversations.
I think historically if you look at my
career in the NBA people talk about injuries,
but it's actually kind of a misnomer.
My first two seems I didn't play that
was DMP coaches decisions wasn't hurt.
I just yeah they just they just
thought it wasn't good enough.
So you know it is what it is and then you
know from from years 3 through 8, right.
I only missed one season and I was
obviously the very apparent ACL season.
But other than that I mean when
I got to the Nets.
I think first year I played
51 out of like 54 games.
You know, next season I played like 70.
Some one game, one season I played like 81.
You know, the next year,
the COVID year, I think it was,
I played all 65 pre bubble
games in our COVID.
So, you know, that was kind of,
that was everybody thought you were
going to die with COVID, you know, now.
No, no, no,
no jokes like it was when I caught it,
everybody was like, Oh no,
like you know what's gonna happen
to his heart and this other stuff.
So it was like a serious thing now.
I mean,
obviously it's more so like
you'll be in a week.
But yeah,
so I think in terms of worrying
about injuries or anything of that
nature is not has not really ever
been my focus in NBA and and given
a good offseason with the guys
that I've been able to train with.
I mean she feel for hundreds of healthy,
so I'm,
I'm happy and if they choose
to send me back-to-back,
that's on them and I'm sure
we'll have a plan,
but we haven't talked about.
Yeah, no, I mean I think it's been
nice to see Tim get back out there
obviously from his foot injury.
I think it's been nice to
see Jay and Hardy play.
I think he's got a lot of wiggle to his game.
If you got something Instagram,
he had a couple days where he was,
you know, getting some buckets.
Overall I think having everybody be
in the gym, locked in, bought in,
in shape, all that and the only person.
Saying being obviously Luca,
but seeing him lead his team
in in euro basketball,
it just it I think it bodes well
for the start of the season.
I think nobody wants to have a slow
start like last year, you know?
I mean, I wasn't here for that,
but it's definitely something
I was talked about.
What land are you looking
at this time of the map?
Play ohh. Ohh man, revival, I mean.
No, no. Look, I I I completely understand.
I know narratives are part
of how how this thing works.
They sometimes conflict with how
you view yourself internally.
I. Yeah, I don't know.
I I would never have considered
my career dad like to to me,
I think that over overall has
been a resounding success, right.
Like, you know, it's probably
100 like 140th high school class.
Wasn't McDonald's anything like that?
To Colorado over Harvard,
so not recruited by many
blue bloods outside of UCLA.
So by the end of my freshman
year I was with runner up.
Freshman of the year Tony Rhoden,
who had a phenomenal rookie year
at Washington was on draft boards.
By then had you know,
another side of season still on
draft was sophomore year went back.
You know, tomaccio, it is what it is,
which I guess started the injury narrative.
I was relatively healthy.
Most of my career had a seasonal average,
20 points. Shouldn't make All Star team,
you know, but name names and things,
whatever. But you know,
overall, I mean, I I don't.
I don't look at it that way.
I'm happy to be here.
I'm happy to try to copilot with a.
Top five probably player in the NBA.
And try to improve upon last year
and I think we have the time to do
that and I'm just looking forward to
it. You got it for a final four
team last year, Umm like you guys
were regarded that way nationally.
You know, or do you feel like
maybe there's still something
to prove you guys collectively?
Of course, right. We fell short,
we didn't win a championship, right.
So there there's always gonna be
another step to take and more to prove.
I think that just kind of comes
with the fact that, like I said,
we have a top five player and no
other players, man, All Star team.
So, you know, if you look at it like that,
even though that's probably familiar
to the mass fan base and you know,
the NFL's believe in us,
it's it's not something that's probably
going to get as much recognition nationwide.
But just from the standpoint of view,
you're used to seeing 2-3 Max guys on a
roster and then kind of leading that team.
So I think that's probably why there's a
disconnect between maybe local and national.
But overall I think if we can have
another season like last year and
obviously not lose the Golden State,
then you know,
we we continue to build upon what we did.
Dallas like, this is the best
you've shot behind the arm?
Yeah, queries. How much of that
is just personal improvement?
How much is the shots you're taking?
Is there another factor that
that would have amplified
it over the past few months?
Yeah. I mean, I think obviously everybody
continues to improve as they get older
in their game grows, but a lot of it
probably has to do with the team.
This is probably the best spacing
that I played with in my career.
I'm just looking at all the different
guys on the roster, you know?
Nobody really wants to leave playing with,
obviously, was going to keep his man.
Bullock, they don't want to leave
him when he's in, you know,
shooting position though the
same way obviously you know DP.
I know he gets a lot of Flack sometimes,
but he was one of the best live
catchers in the league, right.
And then you bring Maxi and
he's a great floor space.
I mean he's one of the main
reasons we were able to beat Utah.
You know,
he may go bear think twice about you know,
coming into to block shots.
And so that really puts you on a
like clear and present island,
like sometimes,
you know,
on other teams and spacing is not the
same and that's throughout my career just.
Personnel based, right.
It's no shot at them or anything like that.
It's just you know sometimes teams come
together and they're conducive to talent.
And I think in terms of like my specialty
is being able to play one-on-one.
I think like that's what I've done
throughout my career in terms of
advanced statistics and stuff like that.
Like typically in the,
you know top five or so in that
in the in the league.
So that makes my job a lot easier
when there's far less help defense.
I think most people make it do that.
Uh, no. So basically it just
came down to basketball.
I I wanted to go to pack
so I wanted to go to NBA.
I know that going to Harvard probably
meant it was going to be if I did go
to NBA four year journey versus uh,
you know possibly leaving in two which
had the opportunity to do a Colorado.
So that's really it came
down to the end of the day,
but those are the two like
very clear choices for me.
Does your mindset have to be
different when you go from a
bench role to say a starter role
and what aspects to your game,
specifically skill set wise?
Did you work on this office?
Maybe more smoothies going from
a bench roll to a starting role
being that I am a Smoothie King.
It's probably the the main difference
and then what I work on this offseason.
I I take a lot of time on my body to
to begin with just because obviously
you're gonna continue to work and
and having been off a long season
eight said all the stuff being very
diligent about those pieces and then
you know just the just the typical
spider shooting being able to play
with Luca and then of course one-on-one
for when he's not in there and you
know reads and making plays happen in
the five on five and you know just
not turn the ball or stuff like that.
I think it comes down to chemistry.
I think we made last year's team so
special was the chemistry they had and
how like the sum of its parts became
better than any individual talent.
And and you know, I kind of listed
out our our roster already in terms
of swapping out production possibly.
And you know where we can be more talented
and and what we lost if you look at
it holistically we should be better.
On paper, but it comes down to how
we kind of mesh as a group and that's
that's down to people in the locker
room. Going into your first
full year with this team,
how much more of a voice and
presence do you wanna have
when it comes to assisting with
the leadership of this group?
I mean, I I think that's a very big part,
right, stepping into a starting role,
you you understand where we went having
that experience playing W Carlos Finals.
And so, yeah, it's definitely a piece
of the equation in terms of stepping
that leadership role and helping
guide some of your guys for sure.