THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the official press conference naming Brian Keefe the 26th head coach in franchise history. We appreciate all of you being here and all of you that are watching us today on Monumental Sports Network. Joining us today at the table is Wizards general manager Will Dawkins and the man of the hour, Brian Keefe. Without any further ado, the floor is yours.
WILL DAWKINS: Thanks, Chris. Thank you, everyone, for joining us and those who are watching, as well. Excited to formally announce Brian and welcome him to the organization as our next head coach. I also want to make sure I welcome his wife Cindy and their two daughters.
Many of you guys know Brian and are familiar with Brian from his year here with us this season. When I think of Brian at his core, he's someone who connects with people. He's someone who is a teacher. He's someone who is a developer, and he's someone who is proven in motivating people. Those are things that he's always been about. Those are things that he did when he was our interim coach, and those are things that he's going to continue to do when he's pushing us forward.
We're excited. We're happy. Going through this process with Mike and all of our staff, we wanted to make sure that we got to know everybody but really get to know everything we could about Brian.
My first time that I met him in 2008, what really I remember is how much time he took to get to know me as a person, and I think if you look around this room and you see the players and the staff that are here to support, I think he got to know a lot of people because he's genuine. He invests in people. He puts himself last. He puts the players and the team first.
We're really, really excited about that. We're happy for the person but also happy for the coach that we're getting.
He's someone who has a diverse skill set, has a growth mindset. He's always looking for ways to get better. I'm excited to see what he can come up with with a full summer and training camp and everything to get ready to get going, but 19 years in the NBA now --
BRIAN KEEFE: Close.
WILL DAWKINS: In that 19 years, he's had an array of opportunities at different organizations at different timelines, some through the rebuild, some through competitive play. He's touched a lot of different players and top-end talent and had them in different parts of their career, from rookies raising them up to All-Stars to Hall-of-Fame guys, and when he was involved with them, he poured into them, they learned, they grew no matter where they were, and I think even in the phase he was here as an assistant but also as the lead man last year, he definitely poured into the guys, and they felt that.
We're excited for that. The 30 games that we saw as an interim coach, we've talked about this, is just the beginning. It's the foundational building blocks that he put together that is going to help us continue to have the sustained success that we're looking for. He understands that and is ready for the challenge and will be a great partner with everybody in the building.
With that, I just want to officially welcome you to the Washington Wizards.
(Applause.)
BRIAN KEEFE: First of all, I want to thank Ted, Michael and Will for your belief in me to help lead this organization. I'm truly grateful and humbled by this.
This is a great responsibility, and the one thing I think about is how excited I am about it because I get to partner with Will, with Michael to build something, and someone who I share the same core values with.
The thing that's really exciting about this is that this is a very rare opportunity in sports when you get to work with people who are aligned, aligned from ownership, down to front office, to coaching, that we're invested in finding the right way to do things, to look at every corner, to look at the best practice so we can streamline our process to be the best versions of ourselves.
I think that's a rarity in today's sport, to get the opportunity with this group specifically with Michael and Will, who I've known for a long time and I care tremendously about them as people first but also the way they can do their job, it's a huge honor.
I also realize that when you get to this position, you don't do this stuff alone. There's a lot of people who have an integral part of my life to help me get to where I am today. I'm not going to say a lot of those people by name because there's too many people to mention, but the coaches I had when I played for growing up, the teammates that I had, the coaches who I got to work with and learn from. There's a long list of people that I owe a lot of gratitude to. And then finally to the players and some of our -- great that a lot of our players are here today. You guys let me in your lives. I've coached for a long time, almost 25 years now, that you got to be part of their journey and help them realize their dreams, that's all I've ever asked in life, and I'm thrilled to continue to do that here with the Wizards.
Lastly, and most importantly to me, my family. For the guidance, support and the values they instilled in me. This I will be specific about. My uncles, Will and George, who instilled the love of the game in me; my grandparents, Ruth and William O'Brien; my sister Stephanie, who's always been an inspiration to me for how she lives her life and how she cares about people and her generosity and her spirit; my mom and dad, their unwavering support, their belief in me and belief in the dreams that I pursued, and the example they set for living a life of purpose, about care and taking care of people and helping people; my two daughters over here, Brooke and Noelle, their unconditional love and support and watching them as they're going to attack their dreams, and that inspires me daily.
Lastly, to my wife Cindy, the best partner anybody could ever have in their life. Your support, your unconditional love and the way you lift everybody with your brightness and your spirit, I'm eternally grateful to be married to you.
Today is a celebration for my family, and we're just thrilled to be part of the Wizards' family.
Q. Will, I want to ask you how the organization landed on the process of retaining Brian as head coach.
WILL DAWKINS: Yeah, very fair. There was a lot of people that were involved. I won't dive a little too deep into the process just out of respect for everybody involved, but I will say that we were really intentional. We were deliberate and thorough in kind of going through the process. We wanted to make sure that we found the right person for the job moving forward.
We went into it open-minded knowing that our organization is a place where we're trying to be inquisitive and trying to make the best decision for everybody, and at the end of the day, we felt very comfortable that that was Brian.
Just a note on Brian: Through those 19 years he's been in the league, his hard work, I'd put it up there with anybody. Not just that, but the diligence that he goes about it with, the care, the sweat equity that he's put in with all the players on the floor, you can see it, you can feel it, but he's also a student of the game, and he's spent a lot of time behind the monitors figuring it out.
He talked about the coaches that he was with, some really bright basketball minds that he's in coaches' meetings with, and at the beginning whether you should have or should not, you were always speaking up and trying to contribute, and I think that kind of shaped you.
He's ready. All those experiences have him ready to lead this team.
Through this process you learn a little bit more. I wouldn't say it's new, but something that I probably confirmed for me is Brian has a unique ability to see people and things for what they can be, not for where they are or who they are right now currently.
When you think of our team and the phase that we're in, that's vital. That's really, really important. You've got to have that belief to put into people and see where it can go.
We're in the bottom phase of building that foundation, and I think put some of those blocks together this year. The bottom takes some time and he knows that, so we'll continue to build that out, but it has to be sturdy and build it up from there. He's all about habits, he's all about people, and he confirmed that. He can see big picture things and the belief in people.
There's a lot of things that led us to Brian, but at the end of the day, the things that we knew about him, he confirmed and gave us some new stuff, as well.
Q. Since January you really spoke about pouring into the players. You never, ever, no matter how many times reporters tried to ask you something about you, you would deflect and talk about the team. But today is about you. It's about you and your family and your journey. Have you given yourself time to reflect on what this day means to you?
BRIAN KEEFE: Yes. You become grateful. A tremendous amount of gratitude. I think I mentioned that in my opening remarks, that there's a lot of people who have contributed to this, and that's the great part about the game, the people you meet, the people who shape you. I've thought about a lot of them, I've talked to a lot of them over the last week or so.
I think that to me is the part that really stands out to me is like this game has brought me to places that I never thought I would have been. I'm from a small town, Winchester, Massachusetts. To be able to travel and live the people and meet all these unique people and help shape who I am, tremendously grateful. I think that's the thing that stands out for me personally.
WILL DAWKINS: He won't talk about myself, but when we had that initial phone call, he was emotional, and we could tell how much it meant to him. When Michael and I were on that other end of the phone, it made us feel really good about it, too.
Q. Brian, I think we kind of asked you this on exit interviews and you deflected as usual because it was a question about you, but I wonder what you feel like is the first step with this group when you get with them in Summer League or summer workouts or whenever you see them next as a bunch. What do you want to get to first or what do you want to pick up from where you guys were at the end of last season on the court?
BRIAN KEEFE: I think the biggest thing, I think Will said this, this is the stuff that I believe in, is pouring into the relationship part. I've already talked to all of our guys. They reached out to me as soon as they found the news. We want to pour into them as people, to invest into them as people first and then into their games. That's how we're going to operate as an organization. That's what Michael and Will believe in, and Ted.
This is a relationship business. When you develop these relationships, then you can really dig into the stuff that we need to improve on. We're already into that. That's what I've been focusing on. That was what I focused on from day one.
The basketball stuff, we're going to go tackle that, and we're not going to run from where we are, but the relationship stuff is always going to be No. 1 for us because that's how you're going to make the most movement to reach these guys to help them realize where we can go as a team and how we can grow.
Q. Brian spoke about alignment and alignment with you and Michael. How additive is it in a front office that does like to work collaboratively that you guys have a lot of core philosophies that you share, that you come from a lot of the same basketball background in Oklahoma City? How much of an attitude is that for how you guys like to run your organization?
WILL DAWKINS: Yeah, I think different experiences from different people when you put it together in a group, in a room of people that are making decisions, it's great. When you have previous relationships, that also helps, but there's a lot of people that we have previous relationships with and spent time with that aren't necessarily as aligned.
When you can put everybody in a room and kind of come up with fresh ideas and see things where they are, I think it allows for you to have honest conversation. I think while we're going through it, we know you'll be supported, and at the end of the day, we speak the same language.
There's a benefit in terms of the pace and getting off the ground, but long-term we still have a lot of work to do in figuring out where we go from there, but it definitely gives us a head start.
Q. Brian, you talked about allowing players into their lives. Can you talk a little bit more, maybe touch on it somewhat, how important that nuance is to being successful because everybody knows everybody's plays and basketball is basketball, but that seems like it's the difference maker.
BRIAN KEEFE: Yeah, I think personally for me, each of us is a unique person, and I have a great respect for our players and all players, but this is a really hard job. Playing is one of the hardest things you have to do. You're performing in a front of a lot of people, so I've always had great empathy for out guys with that. But I want to find out who they are and what makes them tick, to help them be the best version of themselves.
I think pouring into that, being curious about who they are, I think that's something I've always wanted to be, and that's something I want to continue to grow in this role to help our guys be the best version of themselves and as a team.
Q. When people ask about part of your journey last season when you were in charge of the team, I always reference that Lakers game at home where all of a sudden everybody is scrambling, the starters for the Lakers are trying to get back in the game. Am I making too much of that, or is that kind of a blueprint of how you need to go going forward where a game is never really over?
BRIAN KEEFE: Yeah, I do think that was a good example of something that we wanted to build on. We've had a lot of examples this year where maybe it wasn't going our direction but then our guys continued to fight and continued to play. We think those are the stuff that helps build something that's going to be sustainable.
Those are the small building blocks that we're going to look to build every day, and those are some of the examples you see live, but we see that stuff in the gym, we see that stuff in the work that these guys are already doing right now. That stuff really matters to us because -- I wanted to say this earlier, but the opportunity to build something and building it with Michael and Will and laying a foundation for something, this is why this job to me is so exciting, because it's a chance to align and build it the right way.
I couldn't be more enthused by that.
Q. Coach, you said that relationships, that will be square one. In 30 games, that was just a small sample size of schematically speaking what you want this team to look like. Step two will be tactical. What are the first steps for you on the court with the team, and what do you want your footprint to be for this team?
BRIAN KEEFE: I think you saw a little bit of it during that last part of the season. We want to be a team that plays on offense, that plays fast, who shares the ball. I thought we saw some of that.
Defense is obviously going to be a focus because I think that wins. But we also want to be very strategic how we build this. We're going to be adding new players. We're with going to look for the best solutions. I think for us as a staff and as an organization, we're always going to be looking for what's best for our group now but also what's best for our group going forward.
There's always going to be part of it where we're going to be, hey, as Will said, one of the things I think is how can we best use our players. And that might not be right now. That might pay off in two years from now. So we're always going to be pushing the envelope in terms of what's going to make us a sustainable winner because at the end of the day that's the most important thing for us.
Q. I believe after either your first or second win when you took over, one of the players said something to the extent of one of the new things you were bringing was mindfulness training, and you maybe even had a meditation session that was sort of geared towards trying to sort of harp on attention to detail. In your philosophy basketball-wise, attention to detail, how coachable is it, and where were maybe some of the strides you saw over that second half of the season?
BRIAN KEEFE: Yeah, one of the things that we talked about when I took over was the mindset. It wasn't exactly a player meditation session, but it was more on how we're going to approach every day, how we're going to tackle practices and shootarounds and our individual development work, our recovery, our strength and conditioning. We believe that all those things matter, and when you do those things and prepare those ways, those are going to lead to success, sustainable success.
We didn't see that right away, but I think we did see that our guys started improving. They started becoming more consistent. That's the stuff specifically we're going to continue to work on in the off-season to push ourselves to the maximum amount of our ability.
We're constantly trying to evolve in those areas, but those are things we think about on a day-to-day basis.
WILL DAWKINS: I'll just add that Brian was intentional when he first got there to make sure he addressed those things. It's more of a mindset shift and making it a focus. He has such a strong player development background that he really poured into everything that we were doing with the players as the lead assistant, and now to have that background as the head coach is something I think you'll see more just in terms of collaboration and pushing those things with the staff together but also with the players.
Q. We've talked a lot over the years about getting comfortable being uncomfortable, and I wonder how that evolution has occurred in you over the years, to be able to speak as a young assistant coach to Kevin Durant in Oklahoma City and tell him his body language was terrible and to get straight, and now to have to do it as the head coach where your words are taken differently than they are when you're an assistant coach. How has that evolved for you over the years?
BRIAN KEEFE: Yeah, I think Will made a reference to this, but I was very lucky as a young coach to be put in situations that I probably wasn't quite ready for yet and had great mentors and coaches who allowed me to grow. One of the things that I had some of the mentors is to be honest and to be able to -- I think this is why the relationship part is such a big deal to me, so I can have honest conversations with our guys to get better.
I've definitely learned and grown from each of these examples in different places I've worked with, but yes, this is a different place now, and the role I'm in now, I think it's still about the honesty and being truthful because I think that's what our players want. They want to get better. They want to improve. I think the only way for our organization to move forward is to have those things. I'm going to continue to lean into that.
Q. Brian, you've been with teams at so many different stages, obviously made the Playoffs with a bunch of different teams. What either appeals to you or what might you relish about coaching the Wizards where they are now, where it is such a young team on a rebuilding track? What does that demand from a head coach, and does that excite you at all?
BRIAN KEEFE: I'm beyond excited. First of all, I should have referenced this earlier. This is a great community. We want to make this what the style of play and how we are going to operate something that our community will be proud of. This is a basketball community. This is a great city to live in. We felt the support, and we weren't doing as great as we all would have liked. I felt the support during the games. I felt the support out in the community.
But like I said, getting the opportunity to work and collaborate not just with Michael and Will and ownership but also with our support staff, our Go-Go staff. We're all in this together. I believe in collaboration, and we have a group that believes in that, also. To get to do those things, like I'm ready to go. Like I am excited.
That gets me up in the morning and gets my juices flowing. That's what we're about.
We're building it step by step, brick by brick, and that's a very rare opportunity in sports to get to do that, and to get to do that with the people I get to work with, I couldn't be more than thrilled.
THE MODERATOR: Brian, on behalf of all of us, congratulations. Congratulations to your family.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports