Q. This summer your role was described as unorthodox, and you'll be asked a lot of different things. How comfortable are you playing off the ball?
DILLON JONES: Very comfortable. I think more comfortable than people probably give me credit for, but my job is to just show that when I play and just do -- if you focus on trying to win, whether you are on the ball or off the ball, you'll be a good player. I really believe that.
Yeah, I mean, early on in my Weber State career, obviously as a senior and things like that, I had the ball a lot, but if you watched me freshman to sophomore year when I wasn't an NBA player, I was the best cutter on my team. I was the best player off the ball, even when I didn't even know how to shoot as well as I do now.
I have a lot of confidence in that, and I can't wait to show everyone.
Q. Have you had any talks with the organization specifically about if you are going to spend any time with the --
DILLON JONES: No. Training camp is tomorrow, so obviously a lot of things haven't even been done yet, so I just have to kind of wait the process out.
Q. There was a story about how Sam Presti targeted you the last draft. What does it mean to have someone like that is so in your and really wanted you to be here?
DILLON JONES: It's a blessing. I view Sam as one of the best guys that have done what he has done obviously in this business. From me a guy that obviously everyone knows how hands-on he is with scouting. It's not like -- he is the evaluator, and for him to do what he did to get me, it's a blessing, and I'm thankful for it.
Q. Watching you predraft, one of the things that came up again and again is that you're a dog. I just wanted to ask you, having that dog in you, is that something that you think has developed, or is that something that you are sort of born with or not?
DILLON JONES: It can be both. More often than not you're born with it. It's the experiences you've been in through life. It has nothing to do with the basketball court. It's your upbringing, how were your situations growing up, how was it? Did you see your mom struggle a couple of times or did you go through things? In my opinion that's what builds it.
As you become a player and you learn what's needed of you on the court, that can also create it as well. Obviously being on a team and you might not play. That's going to create a different urgency in you and a different level of dog in you, as they may say.
A lot of different experiences can craft you into it, but more often than not it's probably from your upbringing in my opinion.
Q. I'm wondering how much on court time you've had a chance with these guys so far?
DILLON JONES: I would say a lot. Obviously this month of September playing with the guys a lot, playing pick-up and things like that. It's been fun. Especially me being a young player, at the end of the day when you're on the court, it's still the game that you've grew up playing no matter if you're in the NBA or not. That's what's been the fun part.
Q. Obviously Sam wanted to get you here, so there's got to be some confidence in that, but then you spend time on the court with a guy who finishes runner-up in the MVP and on and on with the talent that this roster has. How do you have that confidence and then sort of in your head figure out, okay, how do I make a play? How does that all work internally for you?
DILLON JONES: Yeah, I would say the confidence from that continues to be a big thing, but it's also about the process of it. Sam could have pursued me like he did in the draft, but then, like, I might not play this year. That doesn't mean he doesn't have confidence in me. It might not be my time yet. You have to be mature enough to understand that.
The biggest part that I get from that and the confidence I get from that is that somebody in the NBA in the front office role has belief in me as a player whether that's this year, next year, three years from now. We might not know. It may never come, but it's the fact that he has that type of belief in me, and that's where you take from it.
How it translates on the court is you don't kind of try to mesh the two in my opinion. You kind of just bond with your teammates, do what's asked of you. As a rookie, just try to be there where you can, just fill in the gaps where you need to be, and obviously being on a good team, my teammates are going to make my job completely way easier. I'm excited for it.
Q. What you have seen so far? I know training camp starts tomorrow, so this question will be a whole lot easier in a few days, but from what you have seen, what do you feel like you have in your game right now that can get you on the court potentially this year?
DILLON JONES: I would say my passing ability. I think I have the ability to make plays and not only just running plays, but the singles and doubles and just move the ball. I think that's a real strength of mine.
I will say definitely my rebounding. I will say from playing with everyone and being here in September, I think that's something that I have seen translate so far and I'll just continue to do that. I will say those two things specifically. Everything else will just come.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports