Q: How frustrating was it to undergo another surgery this offseason?
A: It was very minor, so recovery wasn’t an issue. Not being able to play in the U.S. tournament with Steph and Klay was a frustrating thing, but you have to roll with the punches. That was a negative, but the positive is I was able to put the time in on my jump shot and figuring out how I want the season to go.
Q: Have you made mechanical changes to your jumpshot?
A: Yeah, I’ve done some different things mechanically. I’m not going to sit here and brag that I’m Chris Mullin now, but I’ve worked on it and made some improvements. I’m excited to get back to taking and making that shot this year and it’s something that’s going to be important.
Q: Coach Kerr talked a lot about building relationships with the players, did you get a chance to talk to him and interact with him much this summer?
A: I did, I spoke with him several times over the phone, met up with him twice for lunch. And then I got a chance to hang with him here this summer with the whole staff. I know Luke and Jarron from playing against them and Gentry from when they recruited me in Phoenix in my contract year. So I know the majority of the staff and I’m excited about seeing what their ideas are and what changes they want to make and what things they want to keep the same. It’s always an adjustment, but we have a team that’s at least used to playing with one another, so I think that’s just going to be putting us in some new situations that we can be more successful in.
Q: Kerr talked about getting you and Andrew involved more in the offense and having more motion and stuff. When you hear things like that, about big guys getting more involved, how intriguing is that?
A: I think one of the advantages of our team is that we have, assuming it’s the same starting lineup from last year, five guys that have great ball skills and can think the game. When you have player movement, ball movement, and everybody involved, it’s going to make it easier for everyone on the floor.
Q: When you get to the stage in your career when you’re a veteran and you get that three in front of your age instead of a two, what kind of changes or adjustments do you consciously think about?
A: That’s a good question. When I first got in the league I was all about trying to time up a good tip-dunk when I got on the court, now it’s really thinking the game more, being as efficient as possible. I’m making a much bigger conscious effort on staying healthy, doing the right things, eating right, getting the work in in the weight room, stretching, things like that are things when you’re a younger guy you can just roll out on the court. Even a guy like Steph who’s in his fifth or sixth year now, looks at me and is like “man, we never used to stretch like this a couple years ago, we got to get this stretch in.” It’s something that as you go on in your career you make little changes and little adjustments and that’s part of the fun of being in the league and figuring out what your strengths and weaknesses are and trying to be as efficient as possible.
Q: You had a very low profile, quiet summer. How much of that was to get your body right, or to get your mind right? Or was it both?
A: It was both. I made it very clear, I wanted to play better last year at times and all of the stuff that happened this summer with trade rumors and things like that, which you’re not looking at every day because you’re not in the gym every day, but it’s something you’re aware of. And really, after all of that kind of blew over, I was just really excited about getting back here, being excited for the season and to have the best year of my career. I think that’s very possible with what we have coming back and with the position I’ll be put in, and I just prepared myself for that and just tried to look to the positive things and what we have coming up, and I was able to do that so I’m really excited.
Q: Klay is going to have higher expectations this year and a little more pressure, but he never feels those things, does he?
A: Don’t tell him that because I don’t even think he knows that. He just goes out – he does an unbelievable job of going out and doing what he does best, that’s when he catches the ball and puts it up. He does an unbelievable job of that. He made a great adjustment I thought, something nobody has talked about, of coming off the bench for Team USA. The couple games that I watched, he came in like “Okay you want me to come off the bench? Perfect” and he came in firing like he was coming out of the starting line-up. So he’s a great player and has gotten better each season, and I think he’s going to be a huge part of what we do this season and we need him at his best along with everybody else, and I think he will be.
Q: Really besides a couple pieces, (Livingston, Rush) the team is pretty much the same. Do you think the continuity part of it is kind of underrated in terms of next season?
A: I think it’s huge, yeah. I think first of all it’s a sign of things getting better. If you’re winning 25-30 games there’s going to be constant change. We’ve finally been very consistent these last couple years in winning games and I think that’s how players stick around and how teams stick around. I think using San Antonio as a model, when you have those core guys together year in and year out, I think the familiarity can really help, especially in pressure situations and close games. We’re going to have a lot of those pieces back this year and I think we made great additions in the pieces spoken about, and I think that’s going to be a really helpful thing. Although we have new coaching staff and some new system stuff to learn, with the basketball IQ of this team that won’t be difficult.