Derrick Favors | Exit Interview
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00:00There are a lot of young guys on this team, and this is a long season, just with those
00:10ups and downs.
00:11But throughout it all, it seemed like this was a pretty close group, pretty tight-knit
00:15group.
00:16You could see guys encouraging guys on the sidelines.
00:17What did you think of how this group was able to come together over the course of the season?
00:22I think it was a good season for us, as far as just improving every game, guys coming
00:29out ready to play.
00:30Like you said, we're a young team, a lot of young players on this team.
00:32I think they were just out there having fun, just enjoying the moment, enjoying the experience.
00:38Even with losses, you know, we came out and won some big games.
00:42Even during the losses, no, it wasn't blowouts, it was close games, close losses, and we just
00:47lost like at the end of the game.
00:49So it was a great experience.
00:51Go ahead.
00:52You mentioned the resilience that we saw throughout the season, all the comebacks, all the fights
00:57to the finish.
00:59What did you make of just the environment that was created within these walls to allow
01:03those sort of outcomes?
01:05Just being positive, you know, after every loss, after every game, coming in the next
01:10day in practice, it was just positivity all around, from the coaching staff to the players
01:13to the trainers, everybody.
01:15And we watched film, went over what we did wrong, what we need to improve on, and just
01:21kept getting better.
01:22And it was just a fun, positive environment.
01:26I know as a veteran, you have a lot to tell these young players and kind of speak wisdom
01:31to them and just your experience in the league, but is there anything that being around these
01:35young players have taught you?
01:37It just brought back the joy, the fun, you know, you can get caught up in the business
01:43side of things, you can get caught up in your own personal stuff, but when you're around
01:47these young guys who just now entering the league and, you know, they're just young,
01:51having fun and don't really know what's going on, it kind of brings back that fun for you.
01:55So for me, personally, it brought back that fun, that enjoyment of just playing basketball
02:00and not worrying about the business part, not worrying about, you know, personal life
02:03stuff, just having fun and enjoying just being around these guys and feeling that, that energy,
02:10you know, being around 19, 20, 21 year olds, you know, it was just a fun experience.
02:15Derek, what was it like for you sitting out these last couple of months?
02:19I know you were dealing with some back injury, but is that something, you know, you could
02:25have played through or did you and the team sort of come to a mutual decision to just
02:29sit out?
02:30I think it was something where I talked to the training staff and coach and, you know,
02:37they thought it was a good idea to kind of just work on my body, you know, just make
02:42sure my back is 100%, especially going into the summer and just making sure my back was
02:48good.
02:49You know, it wasn't anything serious.
02:50It was just a little soreness here and there and just wanted to make sure we took care
02:56of it.
02:57I know these aren't hard questions to answer now, but do you plan to pick up your player
03:01option and do you expect to be back here next year?
03:04Yeah, I expect to be back here next year and yeah, I'll probably pick it up.
03:07Gotcha.
03:08Thank you.
03:09Hey Derek, what'd you learn about Shea being a team manager this year?
03:13Oh, just how smooth his game is, how good he is.
03:17I knew coming in, he was a good player, but once I got around him and just watching how
03:21he played and watching how he conducts himself and, you know, just watching him every day,
03:26you know, I gained a lot of respect for him.
03:28I mean, he's a good player, the way he can come out there and just control the game offensively.
03:35He's not looking to score the ball every single time, he's looking to get his guys, his teammates
03:39involved.
03:40He's looking to go out there and just have fun.
03:41I mean, even when he's on the bench or he's having a bad game, you know, he's cheering
03:45on Trey, he's cheering on Bayes, he's cheering on Josh, you know, and he just plays the game
03:51with the fun, you know, that I can't really explain, but it's just, he has fun out there
03:57and I think that kind of rubs off on everybody.
04:00I asked Mark a little bit about him earlier and he talked a lot about just how he's able
04:05to do a lot of different things, almost like a maturity, you know, to have fun, but also
04:10to be a leader.
04:11Did you sort of sense a, I don't know, maybe it does just come down to a maturity of self
04:17and that sort of thing?
04:18Yeah, I did.
04:19He plays, I mean, just the way he plays, he got such a smooth game.
04:22I mean, he doesn't play like a, how old is he, 22, 23, somewhere around there?
04:26No, he plays like he's been in the league for a long time, you know, just the way he
04:30plays and I think that rubs off on a lot of guys.
04:34What was your overall experience of playing for Mark?
04:40It was a great experience.
04:41I mean, he's one of those coaches where you can talk to him, you know, he allows you to,
04:48you know, voice your opinion.
04:50He'll work with you.
04:51I mean, he's a smart coach, smart guy, a player's coach.
04:56It was a great experience playing for him.
04:59Derrick, there's a lot of high hopes for Josh getting to work with you this year for the
05:02Thunder.
05:03What are your thoughts on him moving forward, how he can help out this franchise?
05:09Josh is good.
05:10He's good, man.
05:11He's better than I thought he was when I first got here, and he surprised me a lot.
05:14I mean, just a guy, you know, with the balls in his hands, he can just do a lot with it.
05:19Obviously, he's a great passer, but, you know, he can score, he can shoot, he can actually
05:25defend, rebound, he can do a lot of stuff out there on the court, and I think he has
05:31a very bright future.
05:33How tough is this for you, a veteran like you that's played on a lot of big-time teams,
05:39all that success, and then come to a rebuilding situation?
05:42How do you sort of reacclimate to getting your arms around that kind of situation?
05:48Just adapting to it.
05:49You know, it was tough at first, coming from a playoff team, then, you know, coming to
05:54a team that's, you know, trying to rebuild, but I came in with an open mind.
06:01I accepted the challenge, and I'm glad I'm here.
06:04You know, it opened my eyes to a lot of things.
06:07Like I said before, it brought back that enjoyment, that fun, playing basketball, and I just enjoy
06:12watching these young guys.
06:14You know, I enjoy watching them come out and improve every game.
06:17I enjoy talking to Mark, and I enjoy being in his atmosphere.
06:20We saw a lot of guys take a lot of developmental strides this season from an individual standpoint.
06:27From your perspective, seeing the growth from young guys where they started this season
06:31to where they are now, how much optimism does that give you kind of heading into the summer
06:34and into next season?
06:36I'm excited about next season, because I want to see, you know, how these guys come back
06:40from this year and into summer, and how much they can improve going into next year.
06:44So I'm excited about it, and like I said, I was seeing it throughout the year.
06:48These guys just kept getting better, kept getting better every game, and I'm excited
06:52about the future of this team.
06:54What about Jeremiah in particular, and just what you saw from him in terms of growth and
06:58improvement over the course of the season?
07:00I think he's a real mature player.
07:03I know at the beginning of the year, he was struggling a little bit.
07:06I can remember a game when I don't think he made a shot the whole game, and I don't think
07:13it really got to him mentally.
07:15You know, he just kept shooting, kept working through it, and I think the next game he had
07:19a really good game.
07:20And I told him, and I was like, that happens in the NBA.
07:24You know, you have a game where you miss every shot, you look like you just trash, and then
07:27the next game, you go out there, you look like you're all-star, you know, that's just
07:30how this NBA stuff works.
07:33He's a good player.
07:34He can do a lot of things on the court, can shoot, dribble, can play the small ball five,
07:38can come in and play the four, can play the three a little bit.
07:41You know, he's a talented player.
07:43Just to pull up on the rebuild, is that something that, Mark talked about being transparent
07:49with players, staff, everyone.
07:51Is that something that, you know, you're aware of the plan, you know what's going on,
07:55and like you, you know, being a vet, like the front office gives you transparency on
08:00what the plan is?
08:01Yeah, I mean, I think everybody knew what the plan was.
08:03Like I said, I just came in with an open mind, and we talked a lot, me, Mark, Sam, we talked
08:12a lot, especially before the season started, and I wanted to be a part of it, you know,
08:17in a way that I can help.
08:18I told him I would, whether that's, you know, being a leader on the team, or helping guys
08:23out, whatever y'all need from me, I would do it, I would accept that challenge, and
08:28I think it worked out for me, it worked out for the team, and, you know, everybody had.
08:33Chris Paulman, our whole career, they said that playing with all the young guys gave
08:37them a lot more energy.
08:39Is that something that-
08:40Definitely did, yeah.
08:41Definitely did.
08:42The way these guys play, man, you gotta be able to get up and down the court, gotta be
08:45able to have that energy all game.
08:48You know, it's not like I'm playing with a bunch of old guys out here, you know, these
08:51young guys, they just full of energy, you know, and I think that's what helped me out,
08:57because like I said before, it brought back that fun, that enjoyment, and just a lot of
09:01energy, a lot of fun.
09:02Eric, the way things went there at the end of the year, there were a lot of you guys
09:06on the bench in street clothes at the end, I'm sure that some of those moments were more
09:11lighthearted and, you know, kind of fun, but what were those conversations like, is you're
09:15over there, Lou, Shea, Josh, I mean, what were you guys sort of, can you kind of take
09:22us inside what those moments were?
09:24I think, well, for the most part, we were supporting the guys that was out there, because
09:30those guys, they play really good, the guys that was out there, and they just sitting
09:35over there on the bench, well, for me personally, I can't speak for them, I don't know what
09:39they was doing, but for me personally, I was just enjoying the moment, you know, cheering
09:44on the teammates, had a couple of guys sit next to me, we were just talking, talking
09:48about the game, and I was really just enjoying the moment, just living in the moment, I mean,
09:55I don't know what they was doing on the bench, that was sitting like further down from me,
09:58so I don't know what they was doing.
10:00Do you guys, do you try to share with maybe some of those guys, because I assume most
10:04of them would have been younger guys, unless it was Mike sitting by you, but more younger
10:07guys, did you find yourself talking about situations or things that happened from a
10:12veteran perspective with some of those guys?
10:14Yeah, I was, I mean, we were talking about a lot of things, you know, when you sit on
10:18the bench, I mean, conversations can go from basketball, to personal life, to clothes,
10:23to jewelry, to all kinds of stuff, so it depends on, you know, what we're talking about at
10:27the moment, but I try to share some basketball knowledge whenever I can, whenever I see something
10:32on the court, or if they ask me a question, or if I have something to say to them, you
10:36know, whoever's sitting next to me, I'm just going to say it to them, you know, and like
10:41I said, when you sit on that bench, it could be any conversation going on.
10:45Typically, young teams aren't that good on defense, but when you guys were at full strength,
10:52you guys were really good, what do you think was the reason for that?
10:55Being good on defense?
10:58Talking, communication, just getting better throughout the year, playing hard, playing
11:03together, and also it helps when you have players like Lou, we got players like Baze,
11:09who can guard multiple positions, guys who are willing to play defense, guys like Wiggs
11:15come out there and really play hard defensively, and can guard multiple positions, so it kind
11:21of helps when you have players like that, and just really just playing together.
11:25Anybody else in the room?
11:28All right, we got one on the Zoom feed from Christos Saltas.
11:32Go ahead, Christos, what's your question?
11:37As one of the veterans of this group, what makes you confident about the future and the
11:41growth that this team can show next season?
11:45What makes me comfortable?
11:49Because I've been in this situation before, a couple years ago I was in the rebuild situation
11:55with Utah, and we kind of went through the same process, and obviously we got better
12:01every year until we became a playoff team, and now I can see the same thing happening
12:06here, a lot of young guys that's eager to get better, that want to get better, and very
12:11talented, and they're just hard working, hard playing type players, and I can just see the
12:16improvement, like I said, after every game, and I'm pretty sure coming into next year
12:21and the years after that, it's going to be a real special team, because it's a real special
12:24group here, and I'm pretty sure that in the next however many years, it's going to be
12:28a really good team.
12:31Thanks, Coach.
12:32That's it, all right, appreciate it.