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NBA DRAFTJune 27, 2013Shabazz MuhammadBROOKLYN, NEW YORK SHABAZZ MUHAMMAD THE MODERATOR: Shabazz, if you would please start opening comments about ending up with Minnesota. SHABAZZ MUHAMMAD: Yeah, I mean, I was drafted by Utah, but I got traded to Minnesota, and I think it's a really good place for me. I mean, you look at the bits and pieces they have with Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love. I think it's a really good team and we can be really good. Q. Shabazz, congratulations to you. There was some scrutiny with you at UCLA and everything, but your skill set speaks for itself. Talk about how you were willing and ready to prove your skill set, especially you have an open shot to be the starting two guard as well. Talk about how you're looking forward to prove everyone wrong. SHABAZZ MUHAMMAD: It's a big opportunity. I have to prove everybody wrong. Coming out there and it starts when I get there to just play hard and learn from a lot of guys, Kevin Love and guys like Ruby Rubio, just learn from those guys, and I think I'll be fine. Q. What's your take on Coach Howland and what happened, how he was let go? SHABAZZ MUHAMMAD: Yeah, I thought we had a really great season. We won the Pac 12 Conference. Had really good wins, key wins against Arizona and teams like that. I thought he should have stayed, but you know how business works. And I still talk to him. We have a really good relationship. And he's a great guy. Q. Shabazz, did you feel like it was unfair maybe the way you've been picked apart the last couple of months? And all the talk about you sliding in the draft, did it irritate you? SHABAZZ MUHAMMAD: I mean, of course it irritates you when you say you going to slide in the draft. I think it's a very good situation for me in Minnesota. The pieces that they have. Like you said, life is not fair. I mean, I think it's a good situation. I think I did ‑‑ for the good of me and like I said, I'm going to go to Minnesota and just play well. Q. You also said at the time you felt like you were the best player in this draft. Do you feel like you've been undervalued by a lot of teams? SHABAZZ MUHAMMAD: I mean, yeah. Some teams passed on me. That's why you have a chip on your shoulder. I'm a guy who has a chip on his shoulder who wants to work. At the end of the day you have the attitude, you're going to bring your full potential out. Q. What was your reaction when you found out you weren't invited to the Green Room? And why did you decide ultimately to come to New York anyway? SHABAZZ MUHAMMAD: I didn't come to the Green Room, my reaction waslike everybody's reaction, wondering why I didn't get invited.  Still got invited to the VIP. It wasn't a really big deal to me. As long as I was talking to my agent, knowing where I was going to go. At the end of the day I look at it, it's what you do in the league. You get drafted, it's your first step. It's what you do in the league. This team I'm getting drafted by it's a great opportunity for me to show my skills from day one. Q. Did you give any thought to staying home or being closer or did you know you would want to come here? SHABAZZ MUHAMMAD: No, I knew I was going to come here. I figured I was going to be a lottery pick. Just to stay here and end up shaking‑‑ especially it was a big‑time thing with Mr. Stern and Commissioner Stern his last time here, that's really special. I really wanted to make my way down here to shake his hand and stuff like that. Q. You're going to be playing under Coach Rick Adelman, who pretty much was doing great things before you were born as a coach. Talk about how you're looking forward to really soak in and get advice and tutelage from him. SHABAZZ MUHAMMAD: It's going to be great. I'm really going to be soaking in that advice. He's such a great coach. I remember when he was coaching with Sacramento back in the day when they used to run against the Lakers. Q. And Portland. SHABAZZ MUHAMMAD: And Portland. You can go on and on. He has so much wisdom. I'm just going to learn from him and the whole coaching staff. It's going to be a really good thing for me. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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