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NBA DRAFT 2019June 20, 2019Luka SamanicBrooklyn, New York Q. Just describe your style of play, what you'll bring to your new team. LUKA SAMANIC: I think I'm a big guy. I can run the floor, play defense, switch from 1 to 5, shoot the ball. I think that's really important. And spread the floor for the guards. Q. What's going through your head when you're walking to the podium? LUKA SAMANIC: I was speechless, nervous, excited, everything in one. I'm just blessed to be part of San Antonio. I'm happy and ready to go. Q. Can you tell us what you know about the San Antonio Spurs? Have you watched them play much? LUKA SAMANIC: Yeah, I think they have a really similar basketball style to Europe and they have a long history with European players. That's one more motive for me to just go there and try to be ready as much as possible and just to play. Q. If I can build off of that last question, specifically Coach Gregg Popovich, one of the most well-known and accomplished coaches in the NBA, also famously one of the most demanding. I'm wondering what thoughts you have about going to work with him and his team of player development coaches. LUKA SAMANIC: I think working with Coach Pop, it's different. I'm just really excited to start and just to learn from him and from other players older than me. I'm ready. Q. How was your workout with San Antonio ahead of the draft? What stood out for you? What stood out in your eyes about the organization as well? LUKA SAMANIC: It was my first workout with an NBA team. It was difficult. We played a lot of one-on-one and three-on-three, and a lot of shooting, too. And interviews. They care about how you are off court, too, so you have to be the whole package. I'm just blessed. Q. For those who are trying to learn a little bit more about your game, who would you compare yourself to in terms of another player? LUKA SAMANIC: Right now I think KD. A big guy who can shoot, who can play facing the basket, low post. But all the time, maybe [Andrei] Kirilenko. He played in Utah. I can run and jump and play defense. Just whatever it takes. Q. Who are some of the guys, basketball players, some of the role models you had? And what did you know about the Spurs before meeting up with them, interviewing, working out with them? LUKA SAMANIC: Yeah, my idols -- Toni Kukoc. He's Croatian. Drazen Petrovic, too. Then right now, KD. Just all the big guys. Dragan Bender. With the Spurs, I knew they had a winning mentality. They want to win. They want to compete. They're a great organization. And like I said, they're connected with Europeans. Q. I was interested when you mentioned that the interview process in San Antonio included questions about off-court matters. Could you tell us or share with us one of the questions they asked about you that went outside of the actual basketball court? LUKA SAMANIC: Yeah, it's how I am with my family, how I am with my friends, teammates. That's on court but also off court. What I like to do in my free time. How I am in school. Q. What do you like to do in your free time? LUKA SAMANIC: Hanging out with my friends. Spend time with my family. Music, movies. Simple. Q. Your dad, Marko, was probably your first coach. When did it dawn in his mind, in your mind, that being in the NBA could be a possibility? LUKA SAMANIC: First of all, my father was always not just a basketball coach. I think more [I learned] of how to be a good person. He never really pushed me; [it wasn't] you have to play basketball because he played. I think it was just my choice. He was more [stressing to] be a good teammate, be a good person, be good in school. I think the idea of the NBA started when I moved to Barcelona from Croatia for the first time. I was 16. It was just an idea. I had this dream since I started. Q. San Antonio is known big for Mexican food, known big for the heat and humidity. Do you like either of those two? LUKA SAMANIC: Yeah, I like Mexican food. And humidity is okay. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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