Q. Last year was crazy and you had a summer to take it all in. How has life changed I know it's been a lot over the last year?
JUAN TOSCANO-ANDERSON: AS much as I would like to say I'm still the same guy, I'm not. Obviously you have to change and you have to grow and you have to adjust to what life throws at you.
Obviously as all of you guys can imagine, it was just a lot more that comes with being in the NBA but also being from my hometown it was a lot but it is what it is and I'm appreciative of it and I'm appreciative of the opportunity that I have.
As far as my approach to my craft and my job, I have not changed. I still want more. I want to win a championship. I want to try to be on the all defensive team. I'm still going as hard as I can, not comfortable at all. Still feel like my back is against the wall. Stuff still happy to be here but it's a different property now. Last years it was like wow and now it's like I deserve to be here you earned this but I still am happy nonetheless.
Q. The way they rebuilt the roster this summer they sound pretty committed to playing smaller more often and kind of the style that works so well to end last season. What is it about that style that did work so well in the last 20 games?
JUAN TOSCANO-ANDERSON: It's more dynamic. People look at it on paper and say, they are small, and yeah, we are smaller than teams with traditional centers and such but when you have a guy like Draymond being the anchor for your defense, I don't really think it matters to be honest.
And I will consider myself a decent defensive player. So I'm confident in us being on the floor together and now you throw Dray, you throw Andre in there and you throw Wiggs in there, like come on, man, that's a hell of a defensive team right there.
I just think it's all about your approach and your effort, your attitude. You're not going to get rebounds because you are taller than somebody and they land in your hands. You go get them. That's the mentality we have. I don't think any of us are too worried about the height differential. I think it's approach to the game, everybody being on a string and everybody being on the same page.
And like I said it's more dynamic. Dray trust me to switch in a pick-and-roll; we played the Memphis Grizzlies and I'm guarding Ja Morant, but I'm switching on Vucevic, and Dray is guarding Ja Morant. And so when you have that type of versatility, man, like I said, you throw Andre in there, Wiggs in there, some of these guys; Jonathan is a hell of a defensive player; Moses, I think we've got some pieces to do some damage defensively.
Q. You mention Andre a couple times. What has it been like the first several weeks? I know he's been around just learning from him.
JUAN TOSCANO-ANDERSON: I'm a sponge, man. I'm always listening to my OGs anybody that can lace with me with some game. He is a very successful man on and off the court, so he's done everything that I want to do from, everything. He's got championships, he's got All-Stars and all that stuff, Finals, MVP, very successful off the court as a black man and so I admire all of that about him and I'm always listening to him. I'm super excited to be able to spend more time with him.
Q. You have two kids now with Jonathan and Moses. What ways do you want to set an example for those guys?
JUAN TOSCANO-ANDERSON: Yeah, one thing I always tell them is to enjoy it, enjoy the moment. I couldn't imagine being 18 or 19 and coming into this league. That is impressive, man. These are kids still, right. But we don't look at them as such because they are playing amongst grown men and they look like grown men.
But mentally they are still growing up. So I just try to give them life lessons as opposed to like basketball lessons. I'm understanding of the dynamics. Like I'm a guy who came in here at the age of 27 or minimum.
I'm not saying that they look at it this way, but I'm at the bottom of the totem pole from a basketball standpoint in my locker room, right, when you are looking at it on paper. They don't look at me as such. But I'm also aware and understanding of the dynamic, so I stay away from the basketball stuff when I talk to them. I want to be a friend and I want to be somebody that if you got an issue, if ever, and you need to call me and need some nice, you can call me, my phone line is always open, whatever the case may be. Just stuff like that. Enjoy the moment. Don't ever let up. Keep approaching your craft.
Like I had a conversations with Moody. I told him, I said, you're my teammate but I got to compete with you every day. There's going to be a 27- or 26-year-old coming from wherever he played at trying to get into the league and he's going to look at you like, man, this is the 14th pick, I need to take his spot. I'm going at him every day.
So I just told him, don't forget stuff like that because if you was on this team last year, I would have came in here every day trying to take your head off and I would have attacked you every day and tried to eat you alive. That's just me being honest with you because I'm your teammate.
But just approach it like it's your last day, because you never know when your last day is, and appreciate it. It's fun. It's supposed to be fun. You work so hard to get to this point and you sacrifice, so much you have to enjoy this stuff.
Q. (Difference from playing college to NBA.)
JUAN TOSCANO-ANDERSON: I think it's perspective. I think it's easy, it's human nature to get comfortable. If you have a bunch of guys in the locker room who, lottery picks, first rounder, blue chips at Kentucky, Duke, whatever, it's a different approach.
You don't have guys like Draymond who got drafted in the second round and felt like he needed to prove himself every night, night-in and night-out and that brings that intensity. Have guys like myself who just play so hard because I'm so appreciative for this opportunity that I don't ever want to let this opportunity go. So I just think it's a different -- it's a different spice to the mix. It brings a different perspective and it brings a different dynamic to the team, and I think -- I think some mix is good, you know. I think that's what it is.
Q. The play-in games last year, how much did that help you as far as seeing what that next level of competition looked like and what was that difference like from the regular season, and how long was that summer? You guys came so close to getting into the postseason?
JUAN TOSCANO-ANDERSON: The play-in game was really fun. Obviously it was my first year in the league. It was a playoff game pretty much, really exciting and I live for stuff like that. That's what I play this game for is to lace them up against the best and to play for all the marbles and to compete. Sucks that we didn't get past that little hump but whatever, it is what it is.
In regards to summer, it was a great summer for me. This was my first summer since a long time that I didn't have to think about what I was doing next or where I was going to be, and that's stressful, man, when you're waiting on a call from your agent to pack your bag, pack two suitcases to go somewhere for eight to ten months, and you don't know where you're going to be, you really don't know what you're getting yourself into, a city you've never been to probably. That's really stressful. Leaving your family behind, going to a whole different time zone. But it's fun, though. It's stressful, but it's fun.
So this is my first summer where I can focus on myself and getting better and focusing on my body. Did some things to change my body. I added ten pounds. Really focused on my craft. Really got to spend time with my family and just really relaxed every day and it was just like a different approach when I woke up every day because I wasn't worried from a phone call from my agent, thinking about, damn, I got to go across the world to play basketball, and we didn't have no injuries to end the season last year.
I think it was a good summer for us.
Q. You mentioned the weight gain. Tell us how you were able to put on that weight ask what you saw last year that maybe made you say, hey, this will help my game.
JUAN TOSCANO-ANDERSON: I was in the weight room every single day. Been here for pretty much the whole summer. Took a few windows where I went to go visit México. Eating right. All those things. The nutrition. Shoutout to our whole team. I mean, we have a hell of a staff here.
I've been trying my whole life to put on weight and I never could. I mean, I have such a fast metabolism and I'm lucky to have this type of body but it was hard, but they helped me and they were on me every day. We did it together.
It's a long season. You've got to be durable. Obviously like I'm a rugged player and I don't run from contact. I like to guard. I like to bang. So I want to be able to guard bigger guys without question. Big thing for me last year was to gain Steve's trust and now I want to gain everybody's trust in this organization to know that Juan can guard anybody one through five, doesn't matter if it's Vucevic or Ja Morant or Kawhi Leonard, we can put him there to match up.
I want to continue to add value to myself for this team; where can my coach put me in the game; where is he comfortable allowing me to play some certain situations and so forth. That was a big part of it.
Q. You guys knew all last year, like Klay wasn't going to come back. What is the difference now knowing he's coming in at some point and the ability to potentially compete for a title is coming at some point?
JUAN TOSCANO-ANDERSON: For myself, I look at it like, yeah, he's coming back but he's not back yet, so we can't necessarily from a mental standpoint depend on that. We still have to start Game 1 and win Game 1. Every game matters to set yourself up to get into the playoffs.
From that standpoint we have to lace them up with play without Klay for some time but when he does get back, that's a scary site for a lot of people. Playing with Steph was hella fun. I got so many looks -- I can only imagine having two of those guys, Klay on the other side. But I think it's going to make the game so much easier not only for myself but for everybody. I mean, you've got to be ready to make reads.
So I'm excited. Klay is a hell of a player on both sides of the ball. I love to play defense, so talk about myself, Draymond, Andre, Wiggs, throw Klay in that mix, and he's a hell of a defender and I don't think he gets the credit that he deserves for defending the other team's best players when he was healthy and playing. I think he was a lot -- I think he was a large part of the Warriors success in those Finals runs, because you've got to get stops to win games.
I look at it from those different perspectives. You look at different lineups we can use when he's out there and all that stuff. I'm excited. Klay is a good dude, man. I'm very happy that he's progressing well and I always think like having those type of injuries ain't easy, first of all from a physical standpoint but from a mental standpoint. That's crazy, right. So I have a lot of respect for him for just being mentally sound every day, like being mentally stable every day because that's hard, I always put myself in someone else's shoes, if I have a knee issue and then Achilles issue, like that's heavy on somebody. So shoutout to Klay, man. Klay is that dude.
Q. You mentioned it and we've talked about being able to play with Steph and some guys can do it and some guys maybe struggle. You've always been able to play with Steph. What is the secret or the way that you have to think when you're playing on the same floor as Steph Curry?
JUAN TOSCANO-ANDERSON: For me, there is no secret. I just look at every situation or everything that I'm in from a logical standpoint and what is the logic in that, our first -- well, what do we want to do? Our priority is to get Steph a shot, that's the best shot on the floor. I don't care who is on the floor. Steph is the best shooter in the NBA, to me he's the best player in the NBA. So getting a shot from Steph Curry is the best shot from a logical standpoint. Now what is the second best shot? What is the third best shot?
So I'm always looking for that guy to make plays and don't turn the ball over. Make reads. Be ready to make reads. Can you pass the ball. I think I'm a pretty good passer. Do I know how to read the defense, how they are playing me, where they are playing me, are they a step behind, and that comes with experience, also.
Yeah I haven't been in the NBA very long but I've played a lot of basketball, year round, for five years, all over the world, Spanish coaches, Venezuelan coaches, American coaches, a lot of different styles of basketball and I think that I've really benefitted from that being able to make reads and understand the game.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports