KYLE KUZMA: This is the best team I've been around from the standpoint of, like, chemistry, camaraderie, character, since I've been in Washington.
I think everybody here is very similar because we all love basketball. I think the young guys that the front office drafted are phenomenal in that aspect. They fit right in along with everybody from the standpoint of getting along and being a part of something.
The vets that they've brought in, as well, Malcolm, Jonas, to name a couple, are on that same type of time, too. I expect some good vibes this year.
Q. What was your reaction when you heard that the team had signed Jonas Valanciunas?
KYLE KUZMA: That we probably weren't going to be the worst defensive rebounding team in the league, so I think that's a positive. I think that's something he's going to help out a lot. He's a proven rebounder, probably averaging a double-double maybe his whole career. I think that bodes well for us on that end.
Q. To double back on the personnel and the pace of play was top tier last season, but Coach Keefe was talking about how there will be so many more initiators on the floor to kind of accommodate the kind of pace you want to play. What does that look like for you stylistically?
KYLE KUZMA: Yeah, I think we're playing much faster this year. Most likely just being in the gym with the team since September, a lot of these guys -- I've told BK, we're really running right now, really, really fast, and I think that is going to help us a lot. We may not be the most talented half-court team in the NBA, but that's where our advantage is right now.
Then from an initiating standpoint, I really like what BK and the rest of the staff have done from an offensive perspective, putting in a very nonconventional style of play. It's a little bit different, but it should be good.
Q. Branching off what you said on BK, now that he's going into his first full year as head coach, what are your expectations for how he's going to make the team more consistently competitive this year?
KYLE KUZMA: Well, you look at last year, and I think in general BK has the attention of the team. When he talks, everybody is all eyes, and I think that's very important for a head coach and somebody to command the group.
But at the same time, it's a player-led team, and BK will tell you that, as well. A team is nothing with the players and being behind each other. BK is incredibly emotionally intelligent. I think that really helps the group. Making sense of everybody, understanding each other.
Q. Going back to the draft, the three guys who the Wizards drafted, were you invested at all in the draft process and who the team was going to get, and what do you expect from those three in general this season?
KYLE KUZMA: Well, I expected a lot, and I expect a lot because they all love basketball. I think anybody that cares about basketball, I kind of gravitate to naturally.
I expect a lot. I expect a lot of Bub, Al and Ky, as well. Those guys are very, very talented players. Al has a chance to be some type of unicorn if he gets to his potential. Kyshawn is going to be a longtime NBA player because he's very smart and he can pass the ball, has just an overall feel for the game.
Bub has a factor about him and a certain charismatic characteristics about him, and I'm excited for them all.
Q. As this team continues to get younger, what are the challenges for you in terms of teaching points, being a leader, trying to explain to them what this league is about, and following up on them what they do what young players are, which is kind of one step forward, two steps back?
KYLE KUZMA: I don't think it's no challenge for me. I think that's just our duty as NBA players as you get older is to do, and that's to pay it forward and help one another. I think that's something that I really care about, and I'm here to help. I'm all ears, all eyes, all questions.
First and foremost, it's about leading by example and doing what I need to do every single day, and hopefully that rubs off.
Q. What are your expectations for yourself in terms of what you'll bring to the court this year?
KYLE KUZMA: You know, I think I've had back-to-back career years. I don't think I -- I don't see that not happening again this year. I think last year I had a career year passing the ball, and I think that it's my biggest emphasis because I can affect the game in multiple ways, and I want to make people better.
Q. Kyle, super early to say this is the best group that you've been around, at least in Washington in terms of chemistry and camaraderie because it's only September, but at which part of the off-season did that become clear to you, whether it was in Miami or in California? Which part of the off-season were you like, this is going to be good?
KYLE KUZMA: Just a feeling. I think I've been gifted by God, just I can read vibes, I can read a room, I can feel out people just from a vibration standpoint, and I think that, one, we've been together since June because we had Miami, we had Vegas, we had a longer stint in August in Southern California, and I just like the vibe that we have. I think everybody gets along. Partly also because everybody is like the same age. I'm 29, but I'm a little bit younger than an average 29 year old. It's pretty cool.
Q. What did you think changed with Jordan after the All-Star break in terms of him unlocking more of himself?
KYLE KUZMA: Truly, no clue, honestly. I think he just figured out on his own, but I can't say from last year to over the summer and to now, I think Jordan is a much different person. I think he's more relaxed. I think he's more at home. I think for him coming to a new situation off the first time of his career was probably really, really hard and a little bit different, and everybody moves and develops at a different pace.
You've got to give people grace in this world. I love where he's at from a mentality standpoint. I think that he's Jordan Poole; I don't think last year he necessarily was. He was a little bit quiet, a little bit standoffish a little bit, and we have the same agency, and I know for a fact from conversations, that was not him. I think that I see more of what Jordan Poole is now.
Q. I know you mentioned being 29 years old. What are some keys that you can share with some young people to get to where you are right now?
KYLE KUZMA: Yeah, be yourself. Be unapologetic. I think I'm at a place in my life right now where I'm really at peace because I try to live my life on my own accord, and I'm not really trying to do things for the attention of others and the opinions of others.
I think that if you do things wholeheartedly and you do things with passion, love, things will bode out for you.
Q. You talked about your career year last year, but how do you square having a career year individually and then the team not having the success, and when you have moments where you can think about reflection of that, where can you improve upon still having a career year but helping this team take that next step?
KYLE KUZMA: Things you can't control. You can't control everything. You can have a great game and still lose, right. You can play a great team game and still lose by one at the buzzer. Can't control it.
At the end of the day, I feel like it's like one coming in every single day, doing what you need to do, being an example for everybody, setting that tone, and letting the chips fall where they may because it's unpredictable.
Q. From a leadership standpoint because you're a team leader, what do you want to carry over into this new season and what improvements do you personally want to see with this team?
KYLE KUZMA: I think last year if you look at the team, even having Deni here, everybody pretty much on the team got better as the year got on individually, but the next step for everybody is how do we get better collectively.
I think that's the message that everybody around the organization is preaching. If you look at Jordan, he got better throughout the year. Corey had a hell of a year, Deni got better, I got better, yada-yada.
I think the biggest thing is how can we do it together, how can we play as a team, how can we play on a string defensively, and how can we learn from our mistakes quickly.
Q. First and foremost, you're looking at how can a team get better. Individually are we looking at maybe an All-Star berth this year?
KYLE KUZMA: I mean, I don't know. Truly, I don't know. That's another thing that's out of your control. If you look at my numbers the past two years you'd probably say that looks like an All-Star, right. But you've got to win games. Two, you've got to have the media vote for you. So many different things.
I think that I'm at a place where I'm going out and I'm doing what I need to do every night, let the chips fall. I'm at peace with whatever happens.
Q. As you mentioned, you're younger than most 29 year olds. What have you continued to learn about yourself as a person as you go through this challenge with the Wizards, and why do you like this challenge?
KYLE KUZMA: Because I'm a builder. I'm not the type of person just to, like, go somewhere just to go somewhere. I love being here in D.C. because I feel a part of something. I feel a part of building something, building a culture. I'm here to set this franchise up for success. I truly believe that.
I think that getting better as an individual has happened this year, but it's a lot bigger than me. Nobody is going to remember me when I'm gone, long gone, retired, but if I can be here and help set up a culture and help these young players get better, that's what I want to be remembered for, and I think I have an opportunity to do that.
Q. At what point do you get to a place where you say you are a builder, but at the end of the day you're also a competitor, so you seem very, like you said, at peace with being a part of something that's building, but then if the losses pile up, where did you get that inner strength to be this kind of person and this kind of teammate?
KYLE KUZMA: Well, yeah, I'm a competitor, and yeah, losses can happen. I've lost a lot of years here, being here. I've lost a lot of years in LA, as well.
It's not about looking at the tree in front of you, it's more about looking at the forest, and that's the mindset I really adopted in life. Storms really come and go, and shit happens. But you've just got to keep your eyes on the prize. You've got to stay with it. I think that's the really only thing that really matters at the end of the day because, like I said, you can play an amazing game and you can still lose. What does that mean?
Q. As you get older, do you lean on to some of the vets you've been with in the past and think about lessons that you may have just thought about slightly in previous years but maybe those lessons resonate more as you get older and lean into this role more?
KYLE KUZMA: Yeah, I've been blessed and I've been extremely grateful to have unbelievable vets in my life, figures that have played this game at a higher level than me that I can learn from and I can look at as a north star.
I don't want to copy them at the same time, either. I want to do it my way. I think doing it the right way and not skipping steps and being that type of person is who I am.
Q. It's always interesting to talk to you, always interesting to go on your Twitter because you're a very interesting cat. It was interesting this summer as you were processing the changes in both political parties. I'm wondering going into this election cycle, what is your mindset?
KYLE KUZMA: You know, to be somebody that is -- I'm very observant as a person, and I think I don't really follow social norms and I don't really believe in watching the news and just like believing the news like my great-grandmother did and my grandmother did. I like to look at things for what they are and then make my own opinions, and I think that that's what we all should do as American citizens because it's very important.
This is an important election, and every election is important, and not just the grand scheme of things because that's not even just the biggest thing. It's about the local things. It's the regional things. It's the state Senates, the Houses, the governors. I think it's extremely important to make your own opinions in this world because a lot of people try to cloud that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports