Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Exit Interview
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00:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:10 >> You got a good 50 minutes.
00:13 [LAUGH] >> This is a young team this year,
00:17 had some new faces.
00:19 But overall, just what did you think of the way that this group was able to come
00:21 together?
00:22 Saw a lot of energy and
00:23 just kind of encouraged from the sidelines throughout the season as well.
00:26 >> Yeah, I think we had fun this year.
00:29 That's the most important thing.
00:31 It's not worth it if you don't have fun whether you're winning or losing.
00:35 I think we did so.
00:36 We got closer on and off the court.
00:39 And I'm excited for the future of this team for sure.
00:41 >> I know sitting out is never easy for you, but
00:45 what ways were you trying to continue to support your teammates even though you
00:49 weren't on the court?
00:50 >> Yeah, just be there for them on and off the court, whatever they need.
00:56 Like you said, obviously a lot of young guys, guys that haven't been through a full
00:59 NBA season, and myself having done so, just to help them and help guide them.
01:04 >> And what did you learn about yourself this year?
01:07 [BLANK_AUDIO]
01:12 >> Nothing new, I would say.
01:13 Ups and downs of the NBA season, typical.
01:18 You learn new things, offensively and defensively, every season.
01:26 So I'd say like basketball tactics, but myself personally, nothing new.
01:28 >> Shane is the best player and leader on this team.
01:32 Like how transparent is the front office, Sam,
01:38 Mark, with you about the plan and the rebuild in general?
01:42 >> Yeah, very.
01:43 We talk all the time.
01:44 And every time we talk, I get a little bit more excited.
01:49 Yeah, like I said before, I'm excited for the future of this team for sure.
01:53 >> What gets you excited about it?
01:55 What are you excited about?
01:58 >> It says a lot about having trust and being able to trust in this business.
02:06 And I think, Sam, myself, and Coach Mark, we had that trust in each other.
02:13 And I can't go into details, but we're excited for the future.
02:19 >> Is it easier for you to stay patient that you know the plan and
02:23 know sort of what to expect in the next few years?
02:25 >> Absolutely.
02:26 >> You scored 30 a game after the All-Star break.
02:30 And you scored pretty consistently all season, but
02:32 then you made a jump after the All-Star break.
02:35 Did something quit for you?
02:37 Did something change or just the flow?
02:38 What happened?
02:39 >> Yeah, so I was out a little bit from my ankle.
02:44 Really got to peel back the layers of the season, how I was having it so far.
02:51 Like I said, ups and downs of the season.
02:54 I had good spurts, bad spurts.
02:55 There was a few things I noticed I was doing well when I had good spurts, and
03:00 I tried to make them emphasis.
03:02 Just this last little stretch of the season.
03:03 And I'm for sure gonna try to continue it going forward for next season.
03:08 >> Looking forward to improving on next season.
03:12 You guys have a free throw line more this year.
03:13 You're still leading the league in drives per game.
03:17 What's next?
03:19 >> Continue to work on shooting.
03:25 Always be a better shooter.
03:27 You can always get stronger.
03:29 But I'd say for me, it's just working on leadership.
03:35 Including the guys in my summer a little bit.
03:40 Making sure that we're still a close knit group throughout the summer.
03:44 We have a lot of guys that go their separate ways and are from out the country.
03:47 But just trying to keep it as close as we can.
03:50 >> What is your plan for this summer?
03:52 Mark said that you as an older player, you have more autonomy over like how you,
03:56 your training plan and everything.
03:57 >> So I'm gonna go home pretty soon here.
04:05 Do my typical workouts five times a week.
04:09 And then we have a few things scheduled team wise.
04:16 Individual wise just to reconnect.
04:20 And I'll be doing those throughout this summer as well.
04:21 >> You were here for you and you guys won big.
04:26 Now two straight years when you had one match.
04:28 How do you deal with frustration?
04:30 Because everybody wants to win.
04:31 How do you personally deal with frustration not winning?
04:34 >> Yeah, it's tough every night losing.
04:38 Well, not every night losing, but every night you lose.
04:40 It's tough.
04:41 You want to win the game.
04:42 We're all competitors.
04:44 I can say that for the guys in this group, we all want to win badly.
04:47 But when you know it's headed in the right direction, and
04:51 it goes back to my trust in Sam and Coach Mark.
04:53 You know guys are doing the right things behind the scenes.
04:56 You know it eventually turn around.
04:58 And when you feel like going in the right direction,
04:59 it makes it a little bit easier.
05:01 >> Having a full off season for the first time in basically two years,
05:05 how much do you think that's gonna help?
05:06 Not only you, but the rookies coming in, players like Maladon and
05:10 Poku that haven't gotten the full off season yet.
05:12 And then also just like what you're talking about making sure the team still
05:15 kind of is cohesive this summer.
05:17 >> Right, it'll be huge.
05:19 We got a chance to step away.
05:22 We group look in the mirror and really get better,
05:27 which ultimately make us a better team come next season.
05:30 But then like you said, also find the balance and reconnecting with the group,
05:34 making sure that we're still a tight unit.
05:37 So that we go into next season with a little bit of a head start.
05:40 >> Your assisted two percentage was 16.8% of shots you were assisted on.
05:50 Do you, which was third lowest in the league.
05:52 Is that a number that you wanna see go up, especially with Josh coming in?
05:57 >> What stat was that?
05:58 >> Assisted two percentage, the amount of times you were assisted two.
06:02 >> The amount of times?
06:03 >> Yeah, honestly, okay.
06:06 >> Sorry.
06:06 >> Yeah.
06:09 >> That's a lot of stats today.
06:10 >> Wow.
06:11 >> [LAUGH] >> Yeah,
06:14 that's something that I didn't know existed.
06:19 But yeah, I think, sure, why not try to improve that number?
06:26 >> [LAUGH] >> Yeah, we have a lot of guys that can
06:29 make plays on this team, like Josh, you said.
06:32 And I think ultimately it'll make the game easier for
06:35 myself, getting more baskets assisted and easier.
06:39 >> The last two years you haven't really played as much as I assumed that you
06:44 wanna play.
06:45 What's been the main thing to keep yourself positive?
06:47 Cuz it seems like you haven't gotten down.
06:49 >> You're talking about like games play?
06:53 >> Yeah, no, I mean like how do you keep yourself positive?
06:54 What's the main?
06:57 >> Unfortunately, both times it's been injuries.
06:59 So it's not something like I'm sitting out for fun or for no reason.
07:04 It's something I understand.
07:07 Something that I just I gotta take care of, try to avoid those things.
07:12 But it's easy when you have a group of guys around you like I do,
07:15 and make it easy every day.
07:17 And like I said in the beginning of the interview,
07:19 you have fun, it makes everything easier.
07:21 >> You and Josh, didn't get a ton of time on the court together,
07:24 just very sense being out.
07:26 But what about that pairing between you guys, or you look forward to building on,
07:30 or what are some things you think you guys can improve when you're on the floor
07:33 together?
07:34 >> Yeah, playing off of one another.
07:38 I think you see guys in NBA,
07:44 Steph and Draymond,
07:48 Damian Lillard, CJ at one point, Nirk a little bit.
07:56 I think like tandems are really hard to guard in this NBA, obviously.
08:02 And both of those examples I gave you have been together for a very long time.
08:05 And it takes time to be that good.
08:09 I think the earlier me and Josh attack it, the better we'll be and
08:13 the better this team will be.
08:15 >> Shane, the optimism you expressed about the future,
08:18 how much of that is tied into you knowing how good you can be?
08:22 >> Yeah, I'm very confident in myself, and confident in how good I can make my
08:28 teammates, and I think that's the front end of it.
08:32 >> Shane, the tandems you mentioned are obviously elite level combos.
08:38 So if you're including you and Josh in that,
08:40 you obviously have a pretty high opinion of Josh.
08:42 What did you see in him this season that gives you that confidence,
08:46 believe you guys can be that kind of guy?
08:48 >> First is his confidence level in himself.
08:51 I think that's the first thing you need.
08:53 And he's not the most skilled, most athletic player in NBA.
08:58 He might be the most smart, but he's not the other two.
09:01 And he gets it done every night.
09:03 And he's super confident in himself.
09:05 And that's first and foremost.
09:08 >> Shane, what do you think of- >> Just a second,
09:10 she tried to go like five times.
09:11 [LAUGH] >> So you were talking earlier about
09:15 knowing the plan and how that sort of gives you a sense of positive thought.
09:20 But it seems like you just might be a positive guy overall.
09:24 But is that true?
09:25 Do you think you sort of have an inner working that sort of maybe makes you
09:29 just positive in general?
09:31 If so, does that help you as you navigate through all this?
09:35 >> Yeah, I'm a pretty easy going guy.
09:37 But I'm human.
09:40 And if I don't like something, you guys will see it.
09:43 That's not the case in this situation.
09:46 I'm positive for a reason and I have good reasons to be so every day.
09:50 Yeah.
09:51 >> What did you see from Trey Mann this year?
09:53 >> Yeah, kick and play for sure.
09:56 It's fun to watch, obviously.
09:59 And we kind of saw him get better every chance he got throughout the season.
10:06 By the end of the season, he's a pretty good player,
10:08 no matter what defense he saw.
10:10 I think that says a lot about him.
10:12 Getting better through time, through experiences.
10:17 And I'm excited for his future as well.
10:19 >> Just wrapped up year two with Mark.
10:21 He's kind of being known as a player's coach.
10:24 What's your comfort level with him moving forward in this rebuild?
10:27 >> Yeah, I'm super comfortable with him.
10:29 Me and him communicate all the time.
10:32 On the same page pretty much all the time.
10:37 And like you said, he's a player's coach, wants the best for us.
10:41 He's open to suggestions, always has open ear.
10:45 It's not an ego thing with him.
10:46 He always says he's the head coach, but the players win games.
10:52 Yeah, he's a good guy and I'm glad he's leading this team.
10:56 >> Shay, one area where you guys were really strong this year was on
10:59 the defensive end, and you guys were at full tilt.
11:01 You were top ten defense in the league.
11:03 What do you think of the identity that you guys were able to build and
11:07 kind of establish this year on that?
11:09 >> Yeah, I just think we knew as a group, we were aware of the situation.
11:14 We weren't the biggest guys out there.
11:16 Most nights, but we knew we had to scrap and claw defensively,
11:23 help each other out, they play a five man all defense.
11:28 And I think we kind of got the hang of that early, and
11:32 that helped us stay in games and win a lot of games this year.
11:35 And ultimately, everybody knows if a basketball defense wins championships,
11:40 wins games, you gotta stop your opponents.
11:44 And I think that's something that we try to hang our hat on this season.
11:47 We did so.
11:48 >> Defensively, how much evolution did you see out of Lou?
11:52 I know again, he was hampered by injury as well, but
11:55 when you talk about defense, he's on the line for me.
11:57 But what did you see out of him?
11:58 >> Yeah, Lou's gonna be Lou.
12:00 He can guard everybody, can't guard me, but he's gonna be Lou.
12:06 >> [LAUGH] >> But Lou gets smarter every year
12:09 defensively.
12:11 His first year, he'd reach for no reason sometimes.
12:15 I'm players that look for that and get a foul for no reason.
12:18 But like I said, Lou gets smarter every year,
12:21 which ultimately makes him a better defender every year.
12:23 And that's something that as a team, it's pretty easy for
12:29 us to follow defensively when we have a guy like that who plays it at such a high level.
12:34 >> When I ask him about guarding you, what's he gonna say?
12:36 >> [LAUGH] >> Shea's a tough cover.
12:40 >> [LAUGH] >> You better say that.
12:43 >> Shea.
12:43 >> Yeah, one more in the room, then we'll go out and zoom in and wrap.
12:46 >> I know you don't know where you're picking or
12:49 where the team's gonna be picking until the lottery.
12:51 But are you someone who gets curious around draft time as far as who might be your new
12:56 teammate or looking up highlights or
12:59 getting to trying to know anything about those guys?
13:01 >> Yeah, a little bit.
13:02 I think I know what range we're in.
13:08 So I'll look at prospects of that range.
13:10 I don't consume my time in it for real.
13:15 Just when I'm bored, I'll look at stuff like that.
13:16 But I think as you can see, our guys do a great job of that.
13:21 All of our rookies were amazing this year, gave great minutes.
13:27 I'm excited about them.
13:27 >> We got one on the Zoom.
13:29 Christos, go ahead, your question.
13:32 >> Hey, Shea, hope you're doing well.
13:34 As a leader of this group and a huge member of the teams you built from day one,
13:39 how important, what does it mean for you to win with this team to the future?
13:43 >> Yeah, it's super important.
13:48 I think that's why we all play the game.
13:50 We play the game to win.
13:52 And I think the more we bond, the more we spend time together,
13:57 the more the reward will be when we do so, just because we're all so close.
14:03 And it's like a brotherhood.
14:05 And I'm excited for when that happens.
14:07 >> Thanks, Shea.
14:09 >> All right.
14:10 >> Thank you, guys.
14:11 [BLANK_AUDIO]