Kenrich Williams | Exit Interview
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00:00It's good man, I feel great physically, I just appreciate the training staff for
00:07allowing me to get to 100%, so I feel great.
00:11Mark Dagnall called like you and Lou Dort like 1A and 1B in the defense.
00:18So clearly, kind of how you can sense those players and everything.
00:23Gary Spacely was someone this whole season that was definitely making it known that
00:27he wanted to have the tougher covers.
00:29What did you see from his defensive progression this season?
00:32Man, it was huge.
00:34I think that what he's able to do on the court defensively,
00:38he has a chance to be one of the best in the league.
00:41I feel like just because he's, he has the right mindset.
00:45Like you said, he wants to guard the best guys every night.
00:49And his tools, he's long, he's 6'9", he can move his feet.
00:56He can guard basically every position.
00:59And when you can do that in this league, you have a bright future, man.
01:02So Baze's defensively, he took a lot of strides this year.
01:07Speaking of defense, that was an area where you guys are really strong this year.
01:09And you guys are full tilt, you were a top ten defense in the league.
01:12Just what did you think kind of led to that?
01:15And what did it take kind of within the group to accomplish something like that?
01:19Just pretty much competing together, kind of trusting what the coaches have for us.
01:25Trusting the game plan that they set up for us.
01:30Just taking it serious.
01:31I mean, studying your scout report.
01:36Just a lot of little things that go into the game that you have to
01:41be good defensively that you have to do.
01:43We did those things this year.
01:45And I'm looking forward to kind of progression that we can make next year.
01:50You establish yourself as a wing that can shoot threes and
01:53play defense and distribute a little bit.
01:55And around the trade deadline, you were a name that was being floated a lot.
02:00Whether or not there were real talks or not, other teams could use you.
02:04But what does it mean to still be a part of this Thunder group?
02:07It means a lot, man.
02:10Like I said earlier in the season, I love being here.
02:13I would like to retire here.
02:16So it means a lot to me just to be able to kind of be appreciated from what I do
02:20on the court, and it means a lot.
02:24What is it about Oklahoma City or
02:27the organization that makes you want to retire here?
02:29You still have a long-
02:30Yeah, I know, right?
02:31Yeah, I know.
02:32Just being here, being just from top to bottom, everybody in the organization,
02:37even you guys, coaches, teammates, everything.
02:44Just the culture, kind of the identity, the city, it's a lot.
02:51You got my interest up.
02:52What is it about us that you want?
02:54You guys ask great questions.
02:58You guys ask great questions.
03:00We came here.
03:00That's a first right there.
03:01Yeah, pretty good, pretty good.
03:04You've clearly made a niche here, or created a presence for yourself, value.
03:11But as this development goes, when are you gonna be ready to win?
03:16How do you fight that frustration?
03:17Hey, I'm ready to do some winning.
03:20Well, I feel like we're, as a whole, we're a competitive group.
03:27So anytime we step on the court, we wanna win.
03:33And things will be different next year.
03:35I'm sure they'll be different.
03:39But as a whole competitive, we wanna compete from the start.
03:45We wanna win games, and I'm not just speaking for myself.
03:50I'm speaking for the whole team.
03:51We wanna win, just because we got a competitive group, so.
03:54Okay, Rich, because you guys, as a team,
04:00we're below the salary cap minimum, the Players Association is gonna decide.
04:05But you guys, in some way, will get some sort of bonus.
04:08Is that something you guys have talked about at all?
04:11Cuz it's sort of a cool reward, I assume, for you guys.
04:15Yeah, it's something we spoke about together as a team.
04:20Definitely just gonna say that we're definitely excited and grateful for that.
04:24We're thankful for that.
04:28That's pretty much all I can say about that.
04:30Was it something that Sam came to you guys and
04:34gave you a heads up that this might happen?
04:36Because knowing that you still could have brought in more players that would
04:40have cut into that, were you aware of the plan?
04:43I wasn't aware cuz I wasn't on a trip.
04:45But the guys did a good job of kind of reiterating that to me.
04:51And letting me know that we're probably gonna get a bonus this year.
04:56And I was all smiles.
04:58Anybody else in the room?
05:02Here, we've got one on the Zoom.
05:05Christos Altas, go ahead, Christos.
05:07Hey, Ken Rich, for you, what is the biggest excitement about next season?
05:14And how do you see the future of this score ahead of the next season and
05:17the next season as well?
05:22For me, just kind of being able to be with the guys again.
05:26I know we're gonna go away for a few months and
05:30I'll kind of do things to improve our game and improve our team as a whole.
05:37So I'm just looking forward to getting back, being with the guys,
05:42building that chemistry on the court and off the court.
05:45And that's pretty much it, man.
05:49Thanks, Garret.
05:52Thank you.
05:53Thank y'all.