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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER MEDIA CONFERENCE

June 1, 2016

Josh Huestis

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Q. What was watching the Playoffs from your perspective like?
JOSH HUESTIS: I mean, it was an amazing experience. I think the biggest thing that I've noticed, like there's a certain intensity to regular season games, but when you get to the Playoffs, it's just like a different beast. The crowd is on their feet the whole game. It's louder. Just the tension between the two teams is higher just because they know what's at stake. It was an amazing experience to see up close and personal, like these great players, great teams go at each other, and I'm really looking forward to many, many more trips.

Q. Where do you feel like your game is compared to where it was at this time last year?
JOSH HUESTIS: I mean, I think it's progressed a lot, just having the opportunity to go against some of the best players in the world every single day. I look at it as if you want to be the best, you've got to train against the best, and every day I had a chance to go in and play against guys like Kevin and Russ and guard them and guard against them, and that has made me a better player, and then working with the amazing staff we have here has definitely progressed my game, too.

Q. How did the end of the season -- you actually got some solid playing time. How did that maybe help you going into the summer knowing where you are?
JOSH HUESTIS: I mean, it was a nice little test for me, a nice chance to get out there and kind of sharpen my teeth against guys that I'm going to be going against in the future, and it helped give me the confidence to know that I can have an impact when I do go out there. I was able to go out and contribute and play well, so just the fact that I had that experience has given me a lot of confidence going into the summer.

Q. Do you feel like you'll enter training camp next season with a real chance to try to carve out some minutes?
JOSH HUESTIS: I do. I mean, obviously this is a big summer for me, and I'm going to use it as a chance to continue to improve and get to the point where I can be a real help to the team and help take us to the next level.

Q. You're going to compete in Summer League?
JOSH HUESTIS: Yes, I'll be there.

Q. Have you been given any instructions from the team or anything from Billy in terms of what you need to work on in Summer League this year?
JOSH HUESTIS: So the biggest thing for me is to be somebody that can contribute in every area, to be as versatile as I can, to be able to shoot, to be able to drive and defend, but most of all, to be an energy guy that can help change the game in ways like that, things like defense and rebounding, getting deflections. Those are the biggest things for me, just having energy and effort, and that's something that's just completely in my control, going into every single game and having that mindset.

Q. Is that something you learned from the Playoffs, too, like these are the types of guys that -- the energy guys that can impact the game on both ends of the floor is kind of what you have to have to be able to compete in the Playoffs?
JOSH HUESTIS: Absolutely. I mean, you know, every team has got their stars, but not every team can win a championship, and the teams that do are the ones that have guys that can step in and bring that little extra to the table, the energy and effort guys.

Q. You came in with Mitch, but he was kind of what we expected more to have a role with this team. How frustrating do you think it's been for him behind the scenes, to see him have to accept not really playing?
JOSH HUESTIS: You know, obviously all of us are competitors and we all want to play, but one thing I can say about Mitch is that every day he comes in, Mitch is Mitch. He's got a smile on his face. He jokes, and he goes to work. I think the competitive nature that he's got will motivate him to keep working and use this as motivation and inspiration to try to work even harder and to get more time.

Q. The way that Billy was able to use Andre in the Playoffs and particularly in the Western Conference Finals, was that encouraging to you seeing the way he was able to use Andre's skill set?
JOSH HUESTIS: Absolutely. That just goes to show how great of a coach Billy is, just that he was able to use something that other teams may have looked at in a certain way, that they were trying to exploit with their defense, trying to exploit it. But the way Billy was able to use Andre and his skill set to take our team to the next level goes to show, like I was talking about earlier, those energy guys like Andre was a huge factor this year in the Playoffs for us. He was able to not only knock down shots but he was a great defender, rebounder, everything along those lines. So it was really encouraging to me to see that.

Q. Do you see yourself having a primary position? Do you see yourself as a 2, a 3, a stretch 4 possibly?
JOSH HUESTIS: Man, with the way that the NBA is kind of trending right now, it's hard for me to say. You know what I mean? I see myself as somebody who will fit into whatever position they want me to. I think that I have the skill set and the size to be able to play the 2, the 3 or the 4, but like I said, with the way the NBA is trending, you've got like Golden State is playing Iguodala and Green at the 5, so whatever trend or whatever style we want to play I feel like I can play whatever position the team wants me to.

Q. You're kind of a novelty with the way that you went to the D-League your first year, and now you have the full year here and the full year there. How has that affected your development?
JOSH HUESTIS: I think it's given me a different perspective in terms of like what it takes. I think having an opportunity to spend a year in the D-League showed me you've got these guys who are late 20s, still trying to make it, working away, plugging away, trying to make it to that next level, and seeing that, it was really interesting to me just because it showed how badly some people really want it. You get these really talented guys down there that just haven't made it yet, and that just showed to me how much work it really does take, how much effort and how much I need to work to make sure that I can contribute at this level, because there's always a lot of people that are trying to be here, man, and you can't take it for granted. I think it was really influential in my work ethic.

Q. I'm sure you have 25 things you want to work on here and there, but how crucial do you think the three-point shot is?
JOSH HUESTIS: I mean, I think it's crucial. I think it's big to be able to knock down, at the very least, a consistent corner three with the way -- especially with my position, the way it's trending, that corner three is becoming basically the most important shot in the game right now. So I think that's crucial being able to hit those open threes not only because it spreads out the defense because it's a very important shot, so that's something I'm going to continue to work on and become as consistent as I can.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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