Q. Tre, you've got a full year under your belt. How do you feel now with a full season?
TRE MANN: I feel good. My body is feeling good. I feel like I finished the season strong, so that's given me a lot of confidence heading into the summer. But I feel like I made a lot of improvements and I got better throughout the year, so that was kind of the goal, just to get better this year, and I feel like I did that.
Q. What was it like being a part of just this group in particular? Seems like you guys were able to have a lot of fun, had a lot of chemistry, connectedness. Talk to me about being a part of this group.
TRE MANN: That's exactly what it was, a lot of fun. We have a lot of great relationships, like everybody on the team, so that was cool. You hear stories like growing up how the NBA can be tough, like you don't really have teammates, people only their own stuff, but it wasn't that for sure. I had a lot of fun with those guys and built some great relationships.
Q. How did those kind of help you in your personal development this season, the sort of relationships you were able to build with guys?
TRE MANN: Just trust, me being able to talk to them about anything, especially the basketball part because I trust them, because we've built that relationship, that chemistry, so just being able to talk to them and know that they have my best interest, so that really helped me a lot with that.
Q. How does Shai sort of help set that tone that you're talking about as far as all of you guys being pretty close knit?
TRE MANN: Just with him being one of the best players, he always had a positive attitude, he always brought energy, so when you see your best players doing that, like everybody else wants to follow along and kind of be the same way. Him just being like the person he is, outgoing, friendly, wanting to help, that helps everybody else.
Q. For you specifically, you worked a lot on different types of step-back threes, shooting from the perimeter, and that increased your comfortability a lot this season. From looking back at your first game to now and seeing the progression that you've made, what's the biggest thing that you've learned from this season?
TRE MANN: I have to say, like just continuing to battle and fight through stuff like that. Like you said, I started off kind of slow, but I got better. Just being able to battle through that stuff and get better, that was huge for me. It was a rough start for me at first not playing some games, going back and forth from G-League to here, but just being able to fight through it and get better. That was pretty big for me.
Q. You finally got verified on Twitter; how does that feel?
TRE MANN: It felt good. I mean, I really didn't care, I was kind of trolling. I thought it was funny like I was the only NBA player who didn't have a verification check, so I thought I'd have some fun with it. It helped me get the verification check, so it was cool.
Q. The consensus for Mark has been that he's a player's coach. What do you think it is specifically about him that makes him a player's coach? And can you talk about your experience playing for him.
TRE MANN: Yeah, I agree with that. He is a player's coach. I feel like he cares about the well-being of us, like more important than the basketball. We have meetings all the time where it's not really talking about basketball, just talking about how I am, how I'm doing, what I could be doing to get better, what I could be doing better and stuff like that.
It's been pretty good. He helped me out a lot, especially at the beginning of the season. He told me what he wanted to see from me, and I feel like that helped me get in my head what I needed to do to have more opportunity.
Q. On this rookie class you guys have, it's rare for a team to get contributions from four straight draft picks and you guys did this year. What do you think it was about the Thunder organization as a whole that allowed you guys to contribute?
TRE MANN: I felt like we were a young team, and so we had a lot of chances to get opportunity, and I feel like we just took advantage of those chances we got. We went out there and just tried to play our game as much as we knew how to, and I just feel like we were unselfish in a way that we didn't try to take advantage of it. Like we went out there and kept an edge about it the whole season.
Q. You shot the lights out in New York City. What were some of your favorite memories this year as a rookie?
TRE MANN: New York City for sure and then the interview afterward where the lights went out. I have to say the Lakers game, the dunk against the Lakers, Boston and Miami, and also Orlando, just for being able to go home for the first time.
Q. I think you said you never dunked before, but I can think of several dunks here. Did the confidence come from having success here or the work to get here?
TRE MANN: Hmm. I'd have to say the work to get here. I had the confidence at Florida, it's just I really didn't feel like I had a lot of opportunities. The defense was different in college. It was a lot more like help in college. Plus my mindset wasn't to dunk. I was just trying to get finishes, having my tough finishes around the rim, show off my floater a little bit. I was having more opportunity. I had a fast break my first game in the NBA and I dunked it. Just felt like it was the work to get here for sure.
Q. Your overall game, not just dunking?
TRE MANN: Yes, sir.
Q. What are you looking forward to this off-season?
TRE MANN: I want to be a better decision maker, playing out of the pick-and-roll. I want to be a more efficient player, just knowing like what shots are best for the team, what shots I have a high percentage of making. I just want to get stronger. That's the biggest thing for me really, to get stronger.
Q. What are your plans this summer as far as where you'll be working out and stuff like that?
TRE MANN: I'm going to go to Miami to work out with my agent and my trainer in Miami. That's kind of where they're based out of, so I'll be there for a little bit of the summer and then I'll be here.
Q. How is the hamstring and how are you feeling physically after your first NBA season?
TRE MANN: It's feeling pretty good. I think I should be able to start working out like soon. Just happy it wasn't like a real serious injury, so I'll be back to working out as soon as I can. Overall my body feels good. I took advantage of the ice tub, treatment, stuff like that, so I think I did a good job where my body is feeling good.
Q. When the team is full strength there are a lot of guards that are going to soak up a lot of minutes. How do you envision your role next year with this group?
TRE MANN: Just come in day one and just do the stuff that I was doing this year but try to do it a little bit better. I know defensively I've got to be a lot better.
But I'm going to just come in like real confident and then whatever Coach wants me to do, whatever the team needs from me, that's what I'm going to try to do.
Q. Is there anybody in the league that you watch today that you try to emulate at all or maybe parts of people's games? Anything specific?
TRE MANN: I have to say Shai. I watch him every game, play with him. Just the way he gets to the rim and finishes around the rim, I like that about his game, like his pace, like he's real poised, especially in the paint. He makes great decisions in the paint. Probably him the most because I play with him and I watch him every day.
Q. What are your favorite Whitney Houston songs?
TRE MANN: "I Will Always Love You" and the National Anthem was pretty cool. I know it's not a song but it was cool.
Q. Are you planning on paying attention to the draft at all this year?
TRE MANN: Yeah, I'm going to watch it for sure.
Q. Have you looked at anything yet or are you just kind of letting that happen when it happens and just worrying about your own game until you see them at training camp?
TRE MANN: Yeah, I haven't really been paying attention to it a lot. I see posts on Instagram and stuff or like mock draft and stuff, but really I'm just worried about me getting better this summer, and then when the draft happens I'll be watching it hopefully.
Q. Talk about your season as a rookie on the team, and how comfortable will you be stepping into a bigger role this season?
TRE MANN: I feel very confident. I feel like I finished strong. It's going to give me a lot of confidence going into the summer, and then when we get back for training camp, just come in with that same confidence, and like I said, whatever Coach or the team asks from me, that's what I'm going to do.
Q. Do you anticipate playing in Summer League?
TRE MANN: Mm-hmm.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports