|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCESeptember 26, 2016Jamal CrawfordBrandon BassLos Angeles, California Q. Brandon, you were part of the Lakers last year in Kobe's final season. What was that like? And also, moving forward with this team, what do you think you can provide for this team? BRANDON BASS: Well, I'm grateful to say I was a part of Kobe's last year. The last game was -- I'm pretty sure everybody saw that, was amazing. I'm just grateful to be a part of that. But I'm looking forward to a great year here. Q. You were both free agents this summer. Why did you choose to be a Clipper? What was it about this situation that you found appealing? JAMAL CRAWFORD: For me it has become a second home. Obviously I'm not a person that really likes change much. I feel like with this group, to be able to break through with this group instead of taking the easy route or going somewhere else for me would mean more to me. I think for us, we've been going through the same process together, the same heartaches I've experienced Chris has experienced, J.J. has experienced, Blake obviously, D.J., all those guys. We've been through those same wars together. I think coming back here just made perfect sense for me. BRANDON BASS: Well, for me, kind of the same as Jamal. You know your place -- familiar places, familiar faces. I've been coached by Doc. I've played with Chris. For me it's all about kind of those type things. I was more comfortable here. Q. You guys are loaded this season. I was asking about this on Friday. How does everyone stay happy knowing you're not going to get 30 minutes a game, 35, when you're one of the key reservists on this team? JAMAL CRAWFORD: I think he's put together a team where everybody kind of understands that. The strength really is in numbers. I think you have to be at a certain place in your career. You have to be at a certain mind state as far as what's important. I think for us it's all about just winning. It's not about anything individual, it's not about contracts, it's not about anything. That's like the final step for us as an organization is obviously as teammates. So I think everybody kind of understands that, the biggest picture. If you look at our roster we have all veteran guys besides basically two rookies, and I think Austin is the next youngest with four, five years experience. I think we all understand what we're playing for, and that's what's more important than anything else. Q. Jamal, switching reels a little bit, being a Seattle native you did something really special yesterday for the Seahawks. What was that like for you, and how long have you been waiting to do something like that with the Seahawks and doing that on the field? JAMAL CRAWFORD: Yeah, that was unbelievable, raising the 12th man flag. I watched it so many times. I watched Ken Griffey Jr. do it, I watched Shawn Kemp do it. You have to be like really important in Seattle to do certain things, and that was one of them. To see 70,000 people, I almost had an out of body experience. I was like looking at everybody. I had a KG moment if you've ever seen the tape where I was screaming like going crazy, and you know me, I've always got my cool jacket on, so that was not like me. But the emotions were overwhelming, and going to a football game like that of that magnitude, our fans are unbelievable, so it was really something I'll always remember. Q. With this being a new season, you guys are the Clippers, where do you see yourself? What goals have you placed for yourself this year, something special? JAMAL CRAWFORD: I think just winning. That's the only thing. We were all put together to win. I think we're built for that. Other teams in the past have been probably just as deep, but I'm not sure it was the right guys at the right time. This just feels like the perfect storm as far as guys who want to win, are competitive enough at the right time frame in their lives about what's important. And for us I think we're already kind of ahead of the curve with the guys we've brought in. They really are true veterans. We've spent some time together this summer, throughout this summer and the last couple weeks where guys really got a chance to know each other. Q. Who would Paul Pierce be in the final season if you had to relate him to a rapper? JAMAL CRAWFORD: Snoop Dogg. He's Snoop Dogg. He's the OG. He's seen it all, done it all, has all the experience, has all the knowledge. He's here to help lead us. Obviously he's a champion. He's one of the best players to ever play basketball. So we try to learn as much from him as possible, either on the court, off the court, whatever it might be. He's the O-O-G-G, Snoop Dogg. Q. As somebody who scored the most points as a non-starter, compare that to how now last season the revenues and so many guys made so much money, guys who made $50,000 the season before were making millions. As a player that's playing above his, let's say -- JAMAL CRAWFORD: Pay scale. Q. Pay scale, how do you juxtapose the two? How do you compare what you did in your career with basically playing above what you were paid and seeing now these players who made so much money, do you think guys like you helped make that possible? JAMAL CRAWFORD: Well, yeah, but even before me there were guys before me who helped make it possible, who weren't necessarily being paid that much. You really just play for the love of the game. I think that's why all of us play in the summer. We've played ever since we were in our childhood. I think if you look, before we loved anything, it was just us and our basketball, no matter if it was B-bass in Louisiana or me in Seattle or somebody in China or whatever. It was just you and your basketball, so I think the love of the game was always there, and then the business part of it, the economic part of it is a big part of basketball now, and guys are really being taken care of, and you want to see that. You want to see the game grow. You want to see things continue to evolve, and I think the people who laid the foundation for us are pretty happy, as well, because they know they played a part in this. Q. Jamal, this is your fifth season with the Clippers now, so I imagine the goals are pretty similar, pretty similar group. Given the way things ended last season and the way things could change next summer as far as the roster is concerned, does it feel any different coming into the season? Is there any different sense of urgency or anything like that coming into this season? JAMAL CRAWFORD: Well, for us it's a sense of urgency all the time if you look at it. We lost our two best players within a five-minute span, and I'm not sure any team could have been able to with stand that to be honest with you. But everybody is healthy. It was good seeing everybody, seeing pieces like B bass, seeing pieces like ray Felton, Austin re-signing, Wesley re-signing, Luke re-signing, seeing the band back together again so to speak, we always had that sense of urgency, but now especially because like you said, even more so in the free agency, time flies. I'm going into my fifth year here. It goes so fast, so you just have to cherish every moment and just stay in the moment. Q. Brandon and Jamal, you're one of two new big men, veteran additions, you and Marreese. How do you see you two complementing each other on the court and Jamal being the veteran coming back to the bench, how do you see yourself just fostering that same production that you had to foster last year when the bench went like non-new players? BRANDON BASS: Well, since we're veteran guys, I think that we can work well together. We can do multiple things on the basketball court. But my plan is just to adjust to my teammates, to adjust to guys like Jamal, Austin and the guys who I'll be coming off the bench playing with. JAMAL CRAWFORD: And for me, I think it's always been an adjustment. Last year Doc was like, we have a lot of new guys, we kind of want you to step back a little bit, let the group grow together, and I was like, cool, and then there came a moment in the season where he was like, I need you to be more aggressive. So I'm just going to play it by ear. Obviously I think I am who I am as far as that goes. I'm a scorer; I understand that. But the better Austin is, the better B bass is, the better Raymond is, the better everybody else is, I can do a little bit less, which is cool. I have no problem with it because it's a team game. I feel better than ever. Like I've been working out like crazy and stuff. But it's a team game. It's better if everybody else is around me and I can take a step back or just read the situation. Q. Jamal, you've obviously seen both -- you've seen the Clippers-Warriors rivalry for the last five years. Now they're at a different level with Kevin Durant. How do you think this rivalry plays out this year? JAMAL CRAWFORD: Well, I think it'll still be there, but it's just a different feel. With him going there, it's a totally different feel because the other four years we've seen him he wasn't there, he was on his own team doing his own thing. We'll see how it plays out. Obviously I think that's one of our first games in the preseason, and even though it's preseason, it may be a little chippiness there just because, like you said, it's been there in the past. So that'll be fun. But more so than them, I'm more focused on us because I really feel like, like I said, the right guys at the right time. It just seems perfect, it really does. There will be bumps in the road. There will be a lot of things that come our way that we have to respond to. Leaning on each other I think will really help us with that. Q. This question is for both of you guys. Jamal, you recently said you wanted to play another five seasons, and you guys are both veteran guys, but you guys play like you guys are still 25, very high energy off the bench. But looking for the 82-game grind over the season, how do you preserve your bodies during the season and off the season? JAMAL CRAWFORD: Well, for me I just never get out of shape. I think that's where injuries happen and things start to happen. It's almost like if you accept a job in New York and you left here for nine months. When you came back here you try to turn on the lights or start your car, it wouldn't start. It's not used to being fired. So always staying in shape. I think there's not really an age for shape, so that's why you can stay ahead of the curve. I think eating right, I think stretching. I think more prevention stuff more than anything, taking care of your body, not putting bad things in your body, and then you need to be blessed, as well, because you can do all those things and still something happens. You just have to leave it in God's hands, prepare yourself as best as possible, don't ever cheat yourself, don't ever cheat the game, and I think good things happen. BRANDON BASS: I totally agree with him. Seriously, I try to -- I never really take breaks off. I kind of try to stay working on my game, stay in good shape, try to eat the right things. Definitely got to stretch, get massages and all. Definitely respect the game. JAMAL CRAWFORD: Yeah, and I think to add to it, loving the game. Always staying in love with the game. I think at times as athletes we have a tendency to get sidetracked with other things, and I'm not saying don't do other things, but don't forget why you're in this position in the first place. I think that's why God's blessed both of us with longevity. DraftScripts by ASAP Sports FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|