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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER MEDIA CONFERENCE

April 25, 2019

Dennis Schroder

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Q. You came here obviously being a starter in Atlanta, come here and take a bench role with the Thunder. Whatever your personal goals were, do you feel like you've achieved them, and how do you feel it was done overall?
DENNIS SCHRODER: I think first off, I want to thank the organization for giving me this opportunity. I think in Atlanta, I had been there five years, had a good five years. I think four years we'd been in the Playoffs. Fifth year was not that great.

But I think coming here, I think that helped me. You know, how people think about me, being a good teammate, doing everything I can to help my team win, I think I achieved that individually. Even what I did on the court for my team, I think it helped the team and the organization to win games, so I'm really satisfied with what happened this year. But I think it's way too early for this organization to be out.

Q. How would you assess your first year under Billy Donovan?
DENNIS SCHRODER: Playing with him or under him?

Q. Yeah.
DENNIS SCHRODER: I mean, he's a good coach. You know, he likes to -- or he listens to his players. Great guy. I've been with him one year; I can't really say a lot more. But I mean, I like what he did this year. Yeah.

Q. What are you going to try to improve on this off-season?
DENNIS SCHRODER: I'll try to get stronger, stronger and my shot for sure, three-point shooting. I want to get off the dribble, try to be better in that. That's the main focus.

Q. As we see that just as a trend in the league, being able to shoot off the dribble, particularly at your position, do you feel like if you are able to add that this summer, I guess what dynamic do you think that could provide next year?
DENNIS SCHRODER: I think that's the main key for my game. I'm so fast getting to the basket, but I think when I use the screen and they've got to go over the screen, got to be aggressive and got to be up, I think it's going to take my game to the next level. I'm going to work on it and going to be strong and better next season.

Q. You said after the game the other night that you guys didn't approach the series right, you thought. Can you expound on that or what you thought was missing?
DENNIS SCHRODER: I think just like we did from October to February, I think they was 33-20 or whatever in that stretch, and we played great basketball. We did everything together on the defensive end and offensive end. I think we slipped a little bit off after All-Star, didn't do it together I felt like. And then in the Playoffs, it was like -- I don't know, it was -- we was competing. We played hard. But we didn't do the right things I felt like. They out-competed us and won the series, so that's the reason why I said that.

Q. You guys had that slippage after the All-Star break to the playoff. Did you feel like what you guys weren't doing right was more on the offensive end or the defensive end?
DENNIS SCHRODER: Both. Like I said, we did everything as a unit before. We did -- when somebody got beat, your brother was there to help you. But we didn't do that. I watched film a lot and tried to see what went wrong. But I think we just got a little bit away from that.

Q. How do you guys develop -- the inconsistency, the up and down of the season that you're sort of talking about there, how do you guys change that next year? The teams that are on a consistent trajectory tend to do better in the postseason. How do you do that throughout 82 games?
DENNIS SCHRODER: Just try to keep everyone accountable on whatever he did wrong. I think everyone has just got to be on the same page. We can't get bored to do that for 82 games. I think we've just got to be consistent and keep doing it on a regular basis, you know, every night. I think then it's going to be -- or create good habits, and we're going to do it in the postseason, as well.

Q. What's your off-season process like? Are you the kind of guys that needs to be away from the game a week or so or are you going to watch the Playoffs, watch film, get in the gym?
DENNIS SCHRODER: No, I love basketball, so I'm watching every game. But I'm going to take a break for like three, four weeks, just for my family. I mean, my baby born in a critical time, so I didn't spend that much time with my baby. But now in the off-season I'm going to be with my family, my family in Germany a lot, and after three or four weeks I'm going to get back to work.

Q. Obviously becoming a dad is a great thing, but it did come at a difficult time. What was that balance like?
DENNIS SCHRODER: I mean, it was all right. I mean, it was the best thing that happened to me in life. It was a change for sure. I mean, to have a baby now, waking up -- at first when you don't have a baby you just think about your girlfriend, but then you wake up and a baby is crying right there. I've got to help them. I mean, it was different, but I think I got used to it, and it's great.

Q. Did you like how you were used this year? Or are there any ways you weren't used that you'd like to be used? Billy used you in a lot of ways, running the second unit, playing with Russ, off the ball, all kinds of different things. Are there any ways you weren't used you'd like to add to your game?
DENNIS SCHRODER: Not really. I mean, I knew from the start when they called me, Sam and Billy called me, and I liked the situation I'm in. They told me you're going to come off the bench, seven, six minutes in the first quarter, and then you're going to play with them, and you're going to finish the game with them. I mean, in that organization, that's all I can ask for, to be honest. I mean, they've got two superstars with Russ and P. I think I was satisfied with that situation.

Q. After Victor Oladipo's first year, he talked about how Russell really changed his outset, his outlook on training and his body. Has Russell done that to you in any way?
DENNIS SCHRODER: Same thing. You know, on some of them, Russ leads by example, like it's all positive what he's doing, how he takes care of his body, how he approaches the game. I tried to take all positives and do it this summer and over my career. I'm talking to Victor Oladipo on a daily basis, as well. He's telling me every time what helped him. He's a superstar now, too, in this league, and I tried to get to the same point.

Q. What, if anything, did you not know about Russell as a competitor that you know about him now as a teammate?
DENNIS SCHRODER: I mean, it's the same thing. Like he -- I thought at first when I seen him, I thought he was insane. He's still doing the same thing, still think the same thing.

How he goes out to play every game, I think it's God's gift. Not everybody has that like that, to play like that 82 games. Whether he misses or makes, misses shots, he's still competitive and tries to help his teammates go out there and compete and win games. I think that's really special about him. I mean, he's a great teammate off the court, too, tries to keep everyone together, talks to everyone.

I think -- I didn't know that about him at first. Yeah, that's about it.

Q. Dennis, the second time Denver was in town, Mike Malone talked about how those guys bought in last year after that disappointment and they didn't make the Playoffs. They bought in defensively, they bought in offensively. You now know this group of guys you play with. The disappointment of the way the season ended, how do you think that's going to impact how this group of guys moving forward?
DENNIS SCHRODER: I think it's been three years now that we lost in the first round, and I remember before training camp, Russell was saying, it can't happen no more. That was my first year, obviously, but I think now what we talked about as a team, I think everybody got to get better individually and then come back here and then get to work, you know. I think just getting on the same page, like I said before, that's a big key of everything.

Q. You mentioned that Billy listens to his players, and that's something we've heard from several of your teammates. How rare is that, and what does that do? How does that change things for a team?
DENNIS SCHRODER: I mean, it can go either way to be honest. I've never had that before. I've been with Coach Budenholzer in Atlanta, and he's got a strong opinion about what he wants to do, and I got used to it because I wasn't in the NBA before, so my first year started with him, and he got a strong belief, the San Antonio kind of system. He's a good coach, you know, and I like that he keeps everyone accountable and like he's got his own way.

Billy is a kind of way I never had it before, and it can go either way, I think. If it goes too much and he listens too much to the players, then it can go bad, as well. But like I said, me and him had good conversations, and I mean, I never tried to change anything. We never had no issues. I mean, he's been great with me, and that's all I can say.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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