Q. What was your reaction to the trade?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: I was excited. I was excited, man. Being able to come somewhere where they want you, and when people trade for you, it's a blessing to be able to have the opportunity to put on another uniform for whoever it is. I was excited.
It was a bittersweet feeling. I was excited about the trade, but seeing my teammates afterwards and having to tell them and say goodbye to them, that was a little tough, because we've built kind of a tight bond there off the court. We were young over there. We had great guys in that locker room, and that part of it was a little hard.
But as far as basketball, I'm excited to be here. I'm excited to get things going and get this journey started.
Q. What does this opportunity do for you in your career and where you can grow?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: I mean, I'm just going to make the most of it. It's hard for me to sit here and say what's going to happen. Nobody knows, but all I can do is control what I can control, and that's making sure I'm in here every day, getting better, learning the system, learning the plays, and just working every day to kind of reach the goals that I want to reach for not only myself but for the team.
I'm happy to be here. I'm excited to get this journey going. It's day one of practice today. Got that out of my system, so it feels good. So I'm excited to get Game 1 going.
Q. When you got here, did you just kind of stay?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: Once the trade happened, I stayed in Detroit -- I don't remember what day it is.
Q. It was Sunday night.
MARVIN BAGLEY III: I stayed that day. I flew out the day of the game, early morning, and I was here yesterday and on Monday. I've been here ever since, since I got traded.
Like I said, it's been a transition, meeting new people, new faces. It's going to take a while for me to remember a lot of names, but that'll come, but like I said, I'm excited about this team and this city and the community and just kind of seeing where that takes us.
Q. How do you think you can help this team?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: I think I can help be another presence on the inside. I rebound the ball, I score the ball very well. Defensively, being another big body out there to kind of disrupt things, charges, being there at the rim. Just energy. I think I can bring a presence to the team that's energetic, something that we can build off of, and I'm just trying to get to know the guys, and I just want to win. I just want to -- that's the biggest thing for me is to win and continue to build when it happens to get to doing it at a high level. I'm excited to be a part of the process.
Q. Tyus said he has a little bit of a connection to you. He said he's looking forward to throwing you lobs, working together on the pick-and-roll. What are you looking forward to working with Tyus?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: Oh, man, same thing. Playing with another Duke guy is always good. It's a brotherhood, it's real. Everybody is already giving me crap today on day one about it. I'm excited. He's a great point guard, smart, knows the game. Just kind of being able to play off him and get to the spots where it makes it easy for him, catching lobs from him and just learning on the fly, I'm excited. I'm excited to play alongside Tyus and the rest of the guys. But Tyus, for your question.
Q. Monty was saying you're a guy who's looking for a consistent role to match your talent. Here they're very much in need of someone with your talents. How excited are you to get those minutes, and also, they're a team that's got a lot of young guys who are doing good things. How exciting is that clear development aspect and being able to get more court time?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: Man, that's really exciting. All you ever want as a player is an opportunity to just go play. My whole life I've worked hard. So being able to be in a position to where whatever happens -- like I said, I can control what I can control, but if the opportunity is there, to just go out there and make the most of it.
That's my mindset. Do the best that I can do, play as hard as I can possibly play, and I can live with the result. I can sleep at night with that.
I'm excited. It's another new start for me. Guys are all cool. I met them already before practice. I'm ready to get Game 1 going, get that out of my system, and just continuing to build.
Q. Since you haven't been through this process before, what do you think you learned from the first time around? Does it feel easier now?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: Yeah, way easier. It's completely different. It's completely different from being -- my first time being traded, when I got traded to Detroit. That was my first time and I didn't know what to expect. I was the only one going to a new team, so I had to learn everything by myself.
This time I've got Liv with me. We were already close in Detroit, so that transition made it easier. Like I said, the only hard part about it was leaving my teammates. When you bond with those guys like we have, having to just up and leave, it's part of the business, but it's still a tough thing to deal with.
I'm excited to build that same thing here with these guys. Everybody seems cool. Everybody seems like great guys and wants to do the right things to win, so I'm excited to start a new page, a new chapter, and keep writing the story.
Q. Who else do you have a prior relationship with?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: On this team? I know a couple guys, Eugene, Hami, they were all in Detroit last year. Obviously I've seen a lot of guys, played against them. I knew of them. Never had a real relationship with them. So I'm familiar with everybody, I feel like, to be able to kind of build that relationship with them and get to know more about them. It's going to be exciting.
Q. Has Isaiah told you stories about Jordan?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: He told me stories about when they were in college, how they were roommates, college stories, so I knew that they knew each other already, so it's cool for him to be here with him again, so I'm excited for him and that aspect of it.
But yeah, I think this team is going to get along well, and I'm excited to see what comes of it.
Q. You mentioned being a presence on the inside and that being your biggest contribution. Is there anything specifically Xs and Os wise to maximize your minutes on the floor and maximize the contributions you can give to the Wizards?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: Just compete. I think that's the biggest thing is go out there and compete at the highest level. My mindset every game is -- I pray every game that God give me the strength to go out there and play my hardest, do my best, and whatever that result -- whatever the result is from that, then I can live with.
I don't really try to focus on points, this, that, whatever it is, because that's going to come from playing hard. I just focus on giving my best effort, and whatever comes from that, I'm cool with it.
Q. For people in Washington who aren't very familiar with your game, how do you describe what you bring to the table?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: Energy, I compete every time I step on the floor. Like I say, I can score the ball really well, rebounding. Being a presence on the inside and just having that positive spirit, that energy to go out there and compete and also just build my teammates up and be a great teammate all around.
That's the thing that I pride myself on every night I go out there, and now I get a chance to do it here in Washington.
Q. Saturday is basketball in the DMV day. Are you aware with what basketball means to this region, or is that something that you're going to learn as time goes on?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: I'm learning a lot. I don't know everything yet, but I'm excited to dive into the city and figure out things about the city, learn new things. Like I said, just adapt it, adapt the culture, adapt to the community, welcome in. I'm excited to just embrace everything that comes with being here.
I can't wait to get on that road and get this journey going.
Q. You and Daniel Gafford are going to be the two centers for the team. How has your relationship been with him in the last 48 hours, and how was your experience playing against him?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: Well, I haven't really talked to him much since I've been here. It's been crazy the last couple days. I've been doing a lot of meetings and physicals and all that. Ran into him, said what's up. Obviously I played against him. He's a great player. He plays hard. He's athletic. He gets on the glass. He's a great player to play against, so kind of be on this team now and kind of build a relationship with him and just play off of each other is going to be exciting. I can't wait to get that going.
Q. You guys were in the same high school class, right? Do you remember playing against him in AAU and in tournaments?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: I don't remember a lot. I don't remember a lot of games from AAU now. I'm at that point. Played so many games coming up, I don't even remember.
But I wouldn't be surprised if we did because everybody you come into the NBA with, especially in your class, you at one point have played against them. But yeah, for sure, if we did, then I wouldn't be surprised.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports