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GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 30, 2019

D'Angelo Russell

Oakland, California

Q. There's been a lot of talk about how much you have played in the pick-and-roll and how the Warriors haven't done a ton of that and thinking how you'll integrate with the team. Do you think that if it came to it, at least for certain stretches, can you thrive in a more open offense, and do you think people perhaps are not giving you enough credit for versatility outside the pick-and-roll system?
D'ANGELO RUSSELL: Yeah, I mean, I consider myself a basketball player, so whatever position coaches put me in or whatever position that I have to be in to help the team thrive or whatever it may be, I'm more than eligible to do it.

Q. Draymond was talking about how you're going to also have to take on a leadership role on this team, and I was just wondering how you're going to balance that with being a new guy to this organization but also being one of its most important players and potentially one of its biggest leaders?
D'ANGELO RUSSELL: When you come into a new situation, I think you've got to lead by example before anything. You kind of gain guys' respect and try to gain that credibility. I know that's something I can control. I can go out and be me as much as I can and try to give that guidance whenever it needs be, and just going on year five, I feel like the experience has been there, as well, so I can come in with a voice, as well.

Q. Given the experience and talent that Steph and Draymond have as a duo, what do you think they can do on the court and behind the scenes to help your transition and everyone else given all the moving parts on the team?
D'ANGELO RUSSELL: Say that again?

Q. Yeah, I was wondering, what do you think Steph and Draymond can do to you personally and for the team with just the transition process, with all the moving parts?
D'ANGELO RUSSELL: For any young player coming into the league, I think it's a luxury to have guys of that caliber to just learn from, kind of just to watch and just pick their brains any time. It's a luxury to have because you can easily come into the league and not have that. So I think that's an advantage.

Q. Klay was in here and he said that -- basically said he thinks your passing ability is underrated, and my question to you is what do you think of that part of your game, and how have you worked on it over the years to make it better?
D'ANGELO RUSSELL: It's funny you say that, I think with this style of play that we play with here, the pass is valued. The pass is what gets a guy the shot. The pass is what keeps the offense flowing. A lot of guys are forced to double-team, so you have to get off of it, and that creates an advantage downhill. I think just adding another passer on to the team, myself, it just can help the team. Guys are going to be in the right play to make that happen. So for me, it's just getting them the ball in time and whenever I need to make that play.

Q. This is now your third team you're going to be on in your career, so why do you think that things didn't work out with the first two teams, and now with the Warriors, they gave you a nice contract, too, so they obviously see something in you that the first two teams didn't.
D'ANGELO RUSSELL: I think it's -- I think you kind of get an advantage from playing from team to team, if I do say so myself. I think you're around a different group of guys, you're around a different coaching staff, you're around just a whole different aura that you can just learn from. When you're bouncing around the league, I think it forces you to be a sponge almost. I've got a great group of guys that I've met from my little time that I've been around, and I think it's molded me into who I am today. I get to learn the business side, I get to learn the media side. I get to learn being around Kobe Bryant, being around Steph Curry, being around anybody, I think you get to just pick their brains and just learn from them. So I think it's a luxury to be able to bounce around and be able to control your destiny at the end of the day, as well.

Q. Earlier this morning Bob Myers said how quick this all transpired from him finding out that Kevin Durant was going to Brooklyn to having to scramble and then seeing if he could execute a sign and trade in acquiring you. When he found out that was possible he acted on it real quick. From your perspective how fast did this all take place, and did you ever see yourself being a member of the Golden State Warriors maybe earlier in that week?
D'ANGELO RUSSELL: Maybe, it happened fast. My first time going through this process, any time your name pops up, you would assume you have a say-so, like yeah, I'm not going there, or they're not interested in me, they've never talked to me. Like you kind of have that say-so. Just sitting back and kind of letting everything just play, you hear all these teams you could possibly go to and whatnot, and then when the Warriors came about, it just happened. I was like, yeah, let's do it. I'm two feet in wherever I go, and then to have an opportunity to sign a max deal, what are we talking about, let's do it.

Q. How excited are you to play with Steph, and just how dynamic do you think you guys can be as a backcourt?
D'ANGELO RUSSELL: Man, I'm so excited. I'm trying to act like I've been here before, like I'm -- like this cool, 10-year vet. But no, this is so cool to me to play with Steph, Klay, Draymond, all those guys, to be able to be around Steve Kerr and his coaching staff, as well. I think it's just a luxury. You can easily come into the league and be around something completely different or be around a completely different group of guys that don't have the credibility like this group does. It's cool, man. I played with them the first time last week, and I literally called my dad, my brother, and I was just like, yo, this is about to be so fun. So just being able to do that throughout the year and just being able to be a sponge to everything these guys are teaching and bouncing off me, I'm more than excited to do it.

Q. You worked out with Steph a few times this summer. How did that get set up? What was that like? What did you learn?
D'ANGELO RUSSELL: Does it matter how it was set up?

Q. For us.
D'ANGELO RUSSELL: I'm going to come up with something very interesting. No, honestly, we just kind of reached out to each other on some -- I knew I wanted to get in the gym, I want to pick your brain, I want to get on this as soon as possible. We're teammates now, so let's collab as soon as we can. He opened doors with open arms and invited me to where he was training, and it was very beneficial.

Q. There's been a lot of talk about your fit offensively with this team moving up to the 2 guard, but what about defensively guarding bigger players? How do you plan on adjusting to that side of the ball?
D'ANGELO RUSSELL: I'm just trying to learn from Draymond as much as I can. There's a reason he is who he is. There's a reason that players know him for what they know him for. So anyway I can just kind of stay in his bubble and then learn as much as I can from that aspect, I think the sky's the limit.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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