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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER MEDIA CONFERENCEApril 26, 2017Nick CollisonOklahoma City, Oklahoma Q. Nick, what has the season been like for you? Obviously as a longtime veteran watching everything, all the young kids, Westbrook's season, what's it been like? NICK COLLISON: Well, I think coming into the season, we knew it was going to be a different thing. We had a lot of new players, a lot of new faces, and it was fun. It was fun to try to figure out a way to play and be successful with our group and with the changes in personnel, losing so much, Kevin and Serge were great for us for a long time here, to be able to still be competitive was a challenge, and it's not easy to win in the league. It's a tough league. I think for us to come in and have a good year and feel like we were competitive every night, it was a fun challenge. It was different, but it ended up being a real satisfying year. Q. What did you think the team could do this season, and did they meet your expectations or exceed them? NICK COLLISON: It was really an unknown. You know, in the summer, it was just -- we had had so much continuity here. It's rare in the NBA, but we had had that for such a long time that I really didn't know what to expect. I think Russell was great in giving us direction the way he -- from the first days, just his attitude and the way he led the team, it was -- I've said this before, but it was like he was like, all right, here we go, let's get this thing rolling, and we didn't look back. We had a good camp, and we just got back to work. I think that was the best thing for us. Q. Some people have deemed this the season of Westbrook and said this was the most amazing thing they've ever seen. You saw it behind the scenes. What will you remember about what Russ did this year? NICK COLLISON: I think just the way he competes and his leadership. Statistically all those things he was able to accomplish are incredible, but as a player, I think you just remember the way he is and the way he competes and just what he's like around the guy. That's what -- for me, as long as I've been here, all the games and battles, he's always been right there, and he's always been -- he's always had the same spirit and the same heart, and I just remember that, the way he just came to compete every night, tried to lead the group. Q. Do you plan to be back next year? NICK COLLISON: I plan to play for sure. I wasn't sure going into the season how I would feel at the end of the year, but I still enjoy playing, and I enjoy being around the group. I enjoy being on the team, and I still think I have something to offer. Team has got a lot on their plate, and we'll see what happens. I've been treated great here, and I've had great experiences here, and it's been the best basketball years of my life for sure playing here. Hopefully it'll work out, but that's the way it goes. There's no answers today. Everyone has been focusing on this season, these Playoffs, and today is the first day we start thinking about what comes next. Q. The contract is up now; you've just been here for so long. Is that a weird experience for you? Is it awkward to have to negotiate with something that's been so familiar to you? NICK COLLISON: Well, it is a little strange. I was telling Matt since I started YMCA basketball in 1988, this will be the second season I'm not 100 percent sure what's going to happen next. I was going to play for the Iowa Falls Cadets and then play for the Jayhawks and then the one year I didn't know was the draft, and then I've had all extensions. It's a little different. I think about it, but I've got really good relationships with all the people here, so I think it'll be honest and fair, and we'll just -- I think both sides just have to find the best thing, and we'll figure it out. It's more just been me thinking about it at this point. There hasn't been a lot of dialogue, which should be the case because we are focused on this year. That stuff will be coming up, I guess. Q. With the way the league is continuing to move forward in terms of high number of pick-and-rolls, big men being able to transfer the ball, that type of thing, what are some of the biggest areas that you can still impact the game on an Xs and Os standpoint? NICK COLLISON: I think I've always had a positive effect on my team when I've been in the game. Communication, figuring out what we're trying to do, what we need, what the other team is trying to do, I've always had a good feel for that stuff. I realize that there's certain match-ups in the league that are really hard for me, to chase around guys, perimeter type players playing, but I still think there's a place for what I do, and I think I just understand the game. Over the years consistently when I've been in the game for the most part, the team has done well. It's a little bit more of an art than a science, I think, but I still feel like I'm capable of having a positive effect at times and helping the team. Q. You've worked a lot with those big guys, which obviously are mostly young big guys. How have you seen them evolve individually, and where do you think guys like especially Steven, where can he get to maybe in the next year or two? NICK COLLISON: We've got a lot of talented young guys, and they have the right mindset. They work hard at it, and they want to get better, and they listen to -- they're coachable, and they compete, so that's a great start. I think Steven in particular has a ton of talent. He's going to play hard. He's going to try to do the right things. I think with him the big thing is confidence. That's always been the case, and a comfort level, and I think the further he gets along in his career, the more that he'll just feel more at peace and comfortable on the court, and he'll just continue to improve, but he's capable of doing a lot of things, and he's going to do the work and he's going to compete. Domantas is a guy that's really impressive how professional he is at a young age. He does his work. I think he's very skilled. He understands the game, has a really good feel. He's a really young guy. Steven is also a young guy, so I think those guys got a great future. Enes is still a young guy. I think people forget how young he is, and very talented, and he's adding things to his game. He's been coachable. He's made big improvements at a lot of things that he didn't do well when he first got here. It's a great group of guys, and you know, that was one of the best things about this year was it was just fun to come to work every day and do the work and enjoy being around each other. Q. I know you say you want to keep going, but is there -- is this a point where you do start to think about at least like what you want to do once you're done playing, whenever that may be? NICK COLLISON: I think about it a lot. I think it's first things first, one step at a time. I decide I want to play, so I'll focus on that. I think I said it last year, things change a lot in a short amount of time, and people's mindset, my mindset changes over time, so I think it's best to just look at it as what's the next thing, and I think that's always helped me as a player, to just say what's the next thing, and I'm going to keep doing that. Q. Are you excited about a shorter preseason next year? NICK COLLISON: Yeah, I think that's smart by the league. I don't think anybody needs to see eight preseason games. I think it's a good move by the league. They're getting smarter. Q. Where do you see the future of players with your skill set being that the game seems to be going outside more and more every year? NICK COLLISON: Well, I think the game moves in trends. I think that it's really incredible how much has changed even in just my career. The game is a lot different. But we'll see. It seems that some teams are still having success doing it the old way. It really is about your personnel, I think, and your players and coaches and how they like to play. But like I said, there's always shifts. There's always changes, so we'll see. I think people take their evidence of what the best way to play is, they look at it, and then they make decisions. Things will change, but I don't really know. I don't know, but it is interesting how much has changed in the last 10, 15 years. Q. In a way is it harder to play two four-minute stretches in a game versus two 10-minute stretches? I guess maybe what's the trick to being a guy that can come in in a spot situation and actually make an impact in those moments? NICK COLLISON: Well, I think we all have our ideal playing conditions, but reality is we don't always get those. So I think the best players or the players that adjust to smaller minutes, smaller roles, the ones that are the best at it are the ones that are able to play the play in front of them and learn to do that, learn to do just the next thing even within a play, within a possession. You see a picture on the floor, you have a job to do, you have whatever it is you're supposed to do, and just do that, and then continue to do that over and over again. I think you'll play the best that way, as opposed to having so many big picture thoughts about how am I doing, I'm not shooting it well, or I haven't played in two games. If you start getting distracted with that stuff, you're not going to play as well. So I've gotten better at that over the years, and it's a good way to -- it's a good approach because I think in the Playoffs that's the best way to play because every possession is so important, and the teams that can just continue to play the next play and the next play are the ones that do the best. Q. Is that possible for a guy who's 20, 22 years old to see and to understand, or does it take a while to actually be able to figure that out and grasp it? NICK COLLISON: It's hard. Everybody is different. But my mindset is much better now than it was when I was a young guy. We all learn more as we go along. It's just too bad that we can't jump as high when we learn the most and know the most, but that's the way life is. I think the best thing you can try to do is try to preach that to guys and try to get guys to just avoid those distractions that you create for yourself with all the things that you think. The mental part of the game is so important, but it's hard to master, and nobody masters it, but it's hard to know as a young age. That's why experience is still valuable, I think. Q. Steven is 23; compared to when you were 23, where is he from a mental standpoint? NICK COLLISON: He's in a great spot. I mean, he's already had so much more experience than I had when I was 23. I think I played my first NBA game at 24. I was 22 when I graduated college, I was injured for a whole year, and I always think about that with these guys. When I was Domantas's age I was still in college. Playing at this level against all these different guys every single night and with such a high level of competition, Steven has already got a lot of playoff games under his belt, he's far ahead of wherever I was at that age because I wasn't even in it yet. That's why I think we always have to remind ourselves our young a lot of these guys are. They're getting valuable experience, and they're going to continue to learn and pick up a lot of that stuff that only experience can bring. Q. As you saw the season play out, what pieces did you feel best fit Russell Westbrook now that he's sort of the guy? NICK COLLISON: Well, I think he's going to be great. He's going to be great every night he goes out there. I think guys that compete with him, guys that figure out that -- that can figure out how to play and just figure out how to do things on the court, I think it's easy to play with Russell. I think he's got such a command of where everybody is at and where the defense is at, and he puts so much stress on the defense that he creates a lot of opportunities for other guys, and I think he's always going to compete every night. So it's easy to play with a guy that you know he's going to compete every night and he lifts everybody else's level. I think a lot of guys can play with him, it's just you've got to be ready to go and you've got to be ready to compete. Q. Is there one game or a moment this season that stands out watching Russ that you were just kind of wowed? NICK COLLISON: A lot -- I mean, I always have to remind myself not to get used to a lot of the things -- I've seen a lot of crazy things over the years with the guys we've had, just the ability of a lot of the guys that we've had here. But those stretches late in the year where he would take over at the end of games, you know, the statistics, again, are crazy and the way he's able to score late in games, but it's more his mindset and how he just was going to make sure we won those games. He has no fear at all, and just his confidence is just -- like some of the things he'll do, that's what's amazing to me is just knowing what this game is like and how hard it is to play this game, just the way that he just has total confidence and belief in himself and the group, and that's what's most impressive to me. Q. If you could describe the Thunder organization in a one word or a few words, which one would it be and why? NICK COLLISON: I think it's just first class. I think the organization will always try to figure out the best way to do something, and they'll put in the work, the effort to try to do it the best way. That's all you can ask for, I think, as a player. The people that work here enjoy it and they're treated well, so I'd say first class. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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