From an interview on The Ringer’s NBA show with host Chris Vernon:
You want to go be competitive. You want to go out every night and just compete. I think that’s the biggest thing when we talked about what can we do to change the culture? That is what it is. Whatever it is about picks going forward, and development and all that, if you go 'gosh darn it, we’re playing those Kings, they just play their tails off, man.' And if you’re a free agent, and you're like 'hey, you know what? I don’t know a lot about Sacramento, but I know that team plays really hard. I’d be willing to be part of that going forward.'
...You hear that all the time that the worst place to be is the middle. Either go all the way and get the highest pick that you can, or get in the playoffs. But don’t be the 9th best. Nothing has been said to me about the direction (of the Kings) other than 'go out and win as many games as you can.' If that changes, or injuries change where you try and develop more of your younger guys, but like I said, I think that is the way to go...
...The culture of hard work, and team work, and going out and competing every night is really, really important.
I really dislike the talk of tanking. I like Joerger's take on it and how it relates to culture. Playing and developing the young guys but remaining competitive with the help of some good vets is where we should be going. Whether that gets us a lottery pick or a 1st round playoff experience, so be it.
You want to go be competitive. You want to go out every night and just compete. I think that’s the biggest thing when we talked about what can we do to change the culture? That is what it is. Whatever it is about picks going forward, and development and all that, if you go 'gosh darn it, we’re playing those Kings, they just play their tails off, man.' And if you’re a free agent, and you're like 'hey, you know what? I don’t know a lot about Sacramento, but I know that team plays really hard. I’d be willing to be part of that going forward.'
...You hear that all the time that the worst place to be is the middle. Either go all the way and get the highest pick that you can, or get in the playoffs. But don’t be the 9th best. Nothing has been said to me about the direction (of the Kings) other than 'go out and win as many games as you can.' If that changes, or injuries change where you try and develop more of your younger guys, but like I said, I think that is the way to go...
...The culture of hard work, and team work, and going out and competing every night is really, really important.
I really dislike the talk of tanking. I like Joerger's take on it and how it relates to culture. Playing and developing the young guys but remaining competitive with the help of some good vets is where we should be going. Whether that gets us a lottery pick or a 1st round playoff experience, so be it.