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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 23, 2016

Ronnie Price

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

RONNIE PRICE: Fan base here and support of the city is great, and it was pretty much a no-brainer having the opportunity.

Q. Have you gotten to know the guys yet?
RONNIE PRICE: I've been here for right around two weeks, maybe three weeks. We've been training, working out every day. A lot of guys have been there, so I've got a chance to meet guys. We met in LA, worked out there. It was great. Great team.

Q. What have you learned from your experience?
RONNIE PRICE: It's a great group of guys who do a good job of getting good care for guys, and that's the first thing I noticed is that everyone here has a pretty good head on their shoulders and is willing to work, ready to work. Young guys are enthusiastic in their approach every day. My job is just to help them throughout the season stay level-headed and just to help them move through those ups and downs.

Q. You played with Victor Oladipo. How do you see him fitting in here?
RONNIE PRICE: Yeah, Victor was my rookie, so that was a tough season in Orlando, tough year for him. But he's definitely matured for sure. I think he can bring a lot of things to this team. He's a guy with a lot of capabilities, and he still has a lot of room to grow as a player, which is definitely (indiscernible) so that will be interesting to see some of the lineups that they can make for us.

Q. What's been your reaction to Russ?
RONNIE PRICE: Oh, man. Russ is definitely the most athletic player I've ever played against, and that's saying a lot. I've played against a lot of guys. But being around him day-to-day, I've grown to respect him and love him even more. He works. A lot of guys are gifted and they just go with their gifts, but Russ is gifted and he works. He really, really works. He puts in the time in the gym, and that's something I didn't know before I came here. I'm just excited to be on this side of the fence and not have to guard him at practice and help him get better. But as far as competing against him, between the lines in a real game situation, I'm happy I'm on his side now.

Q. (Indiscernible) do you think that's something he's really known for, too?
RONNIE PRICE: Absolutely, absolutely. He's proven that already. Plenty of times where guys have been in and Russ has had to change his game and approach games a little bit differently. But I know Russ and the spirited nature that he has naturally, he's ready to tackle any task ahead of him. I'm just here to try to help him put that burden and take of take a little bit of that pressure off him.

Q. (Indiscernible).
RONNIE PRICE: Just be themselves, work hard, be themselves. No one is going to be perfect. I don't think Russ expects anybody to be perfect. He just wants guys to play D. As far as the verbal leadership, stuff like that, those are things that Nick Collison is a quiet leader. He's already established that. I'll be able to step in and help out with that, as well.

Q. Is one of your roles on the team just to -- you're a defensive-minded guy, so is one of your roles on the team just to pass to Russ as much as possible in practice?
RONNIE PRICE: That's been my role with guys like Damian Lillard, Victor Oladipo when those guys were rookies, Eric Bledsoe last year, Devin Booker. I've played with a lot of young guys to where that was pretty much my role is to introduce them to the game and help them along the way in practice. I don't have to do that with Russ. Russ is a mature player, older. He's not a rookie, not a young guy. He's a seasoned vet in my opinion. So I won't be messing with him too much. Maybe Cameron, maybe messing with Cameron a little bit and their minds a little bit, and those guys, can sure help them, because my job is to make them handle defensive pressure every day in practice, and that will make the games a lot easier for them.

Q. (Indiscernible) able to come in here, what do you think of their potential?
RONNIE PRICE: I mean, everyone has a huge upside here. That's a credit to the organization and the way they recruit. Guys stay (indiscernible), guys stay signed. Got to give a lot of credit to those guys. They've done a great job with the talent they've brought to this organization for sure. I'm excited. I'm excited about this team. This is the most excited I've been about a season in a long time. You know, I'm just looking forward to winning.

Q. You've been on a number of different teams of varying qualities, different competitive situations. How has that framed the way that you look at the game and the things you can contribute to the team?
RONNIE PRICE: A lot. I've been in a lot of great situations, a lot of winning teams, but I've also been on the opposite side of the spectrum, as well. You know, I've seen winning attitudes. I've seen losing attitudes. I've seen -- and everything in between. Coming here is definitely a winning-natured year, which excites me a lot. But yeah, it does help. It does help having that experience of going from team to team throughout my career.

Q. With the type of players that Russ and Victor are, what do you think of those two paired together in the backcourt, what that's going to be like?
RONNIE PRICE: I think it's going to be exciting. You have two explosive, dynamic guards on the floor at the same time that can change the game defensively and offensively, which normally you just have one guy that can maybe do one or the other. You have two guys that can change the game on both sides of the floor, that's special. They're both selfless guys.

Like I said, I'm more excited than you guys are to see that work and be able to chill guys that aren't able to get on the floor, as well.

Q. Russell is know for being very competitive. A couple of years ago you were teammates with Kobe Bryant. Kind of compare those two.
RONNIE PRICE: Very, very, similar. Very methodical about their approach. Their approach is very -- it's kind of special to see Russ, like I said. I didn't know that about Russ until I got here. He's very special in that aspect for sure, and I didn't know that. So to see him and his approach, his mindset day-to-day with the way he works, it's a lot like Kobe, a lot like Kobe, so hats off to those two guys because you need guys like that.

Q. (Indiscernible) is that something that you really want to focus on is just taking that responsibility?
RONNIE PRICE: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I'm just going to be myself, man. I'm not going to force any of my personality on anyone. I'm just going to be myself and be a player up there, in locker rooms and on the floor, and thankfully it's worked out. I just want to help the team win. That's really my main -- I know that's clichÃ©, but it's really my main goal. It's not to come to an organization of this stature to -- I don't want to bring them down, know what I'm saying? I just want to keep them up, and hopefully something I can bring day-to-day will help bring success.

Q. (Indiscernible).
RONNIE PRICE: Absolutely. Earl Watson was a brother of mine. Just so happened he wound up being my head coach last year. We were teammates in Utah, and he's a guy I go to for advice every once in a while, and when he found out I was coming here, he said of course he would like me to have probably stayed in Phoenix, but he understands the choice I made, and he would love it here for sure.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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