JORDAN POOLE: This is his approach. Coach's approach was put players in position to succeed. Obviously it's tough taking over I think it was like 50 games, maybe 60 games into the season, so being able to rally a group of guys how he did, get us to play extremely hard, play together, had us buying in, it was good to see that. It was refreshing, and I'm excited to see what it'll be like with five months of preparation in the off-season, implement his defensive schemes, his offensive schemes, the way he wants us to play.
I think he did a tremendous job to end the season, had us playing some good basketball, and it'll be good to carry that over to this year.
Q. Kyle talked about how he didn't feel like you were the Jordan Poole he knew you were last year. What does that mean to you, and what does it look like for you to get back to the Jordan Poole you are?
JORDAN POOLE: I mean, he never left. He's still here. But I think just the setup that we have going into this year, having a year under my belt. I feel like we added some pretty good pieces, some pieces that will help us on the court, make us more competitive, and then ultimately just playing my position, being able to start the season playing the 1, getting my teammates involved, getting out in transition. Kind of back to playing my game which I was able to kind of build my game in the NBA off of.
But everything else comes with that. Just being competitive, trying to be in the games at the end of the game, learn on the fly because we're a younger team. But the coaches, the organization are kind of allowing me to be myself, lead these guys how I was taught to lead, and just positive energy. Have fun out there on the court, but a lot of that comes from things that were implemented over the course of the summer, new coaching staff, new staff just kind of throughout the entire organization. It's just a step in the right direction.
Q. You brought the guys out to a workout in California this past off-season. What was the impetus for that, the reason you did that? Was that X's and O's trying to get them on the same page, or was that you trying to say, hey, I'm approachable, you can come to me whenever you need?
JORDAN POOLE: A little bit of both. Longer off-season than I think we all would like to have, but through that, just trying to get guys to get together throughout the course of the summer. There was a couple other times we got together, but have the young guys come out, chemistry, get up-and-down a little bit, just meet people, get to know the players you'll be with throughout the course of the season because this is who we'll be battling with, play on the court a little bit, get to learn each other' tendencies before we go to training camp, before we come in as a team. Just those small things give us things we can talk about, think about over the course of the summer, the next couple months. Those small incremental things will help us become a better team over the course of the season, and it's just good to get the guys together, work out a little bit, enjoy the West Coast weather while it's nice.
But it's just a part of just a leadership thing, just naturally. Come to me with whatever questions you have. I have questions all the time. I think that played such a pivotal role into the player that I am now is just being open enough to ask the things that I'm not sure about, and just wanting to reiterate that to the new guys, guys who got drafted, guys who are new to the team. Just kind of open up a little bit.
Q. Brian Keefe said he absolutely wants you to be the team's primary ball handler this year, continue to be aggressive. First half of last year you weren't able to play that role, so having 82 games now where you can play that role consistently, how do you think that's going to help your development and your consistency?
JORDAN POOLE: Tremendously. Tremendously. I think we'll be back to seeing just how I'm used to playing, how I'm able to impact the game, how I can influence the game with my offensive ability but also just be able to get in transition. Building confidence in my teammates is something I've always been able to do, especially with the ball. Guys are open, you just give them the ball, try to put them in situations to be successful, and just giving them the confidence to play, be you, because everybody is unique, and we all need everybody to step up throughout the course of the year, and it's something that I really flourished in the first four years, five years of my career. It'll be good to see if we can get back to normal with the season starting like that.
Q. I want to go back to your comment about leadership. This is a young team, and you're used to having more veteran presence around you. What's been the process for you just growing into being more of a leader on this team, that leadership role, and just being a key guy that the young players come to?
JORDAN POOLE: Yeah, I've always observed since I was just a young kid, I've always played up, played with older players, and now over the course of my career, I'm able to kind of have the things that I've learned, that I've picked up, that I've been taught, and then kind of just pour into a new and a young unit.
But all of that just comes from being authentic, being genuine, just being open, being yourself. That's just kind of carried me, honestly, throughout my career.
Just have fun. Obviously there are going to be times where games get tough, losing streaks, all of that, but the joy of us playing basketball is the thing that we've been having as kids, and I kind of want to reiterate that and just be yourself, feel open to feel frustrated if you're not making shots or if you can't get something, but it's really more about us being a unit and growing together, and I think everybody in the locker room knows that, as well. It's a really good group we've got.
Q. What was your reaction to the signing of Jonas Valanciunas?
JORDAN POOLE: I was praying. I was praying for some size. Played against Jonas since I got into the league, and if there's anything that I do remember, it was that it was extremely tough fighting, trying to get over our under those screens. He's always been on the other team, so now bringing him and having him on our side will be really pivotal for us, I think, giving us some size.
I think last year we did a solid job of contesting and creating first misses, but our second-chance opportunities on the defensive end would hurt us a little bit, so having somebody who can clean up the guys, bring a physical presence with a really fast up-and-down team and then just getting some screen setting out there -- I think Richaun is a really good screen setter. Me and Bag been working all summer to work on that, me and Alex been working on that, but just to have somebody who has been an elite screen setter, some of the best in the league in Jonas, I think it'll be pivotal for our guys to learn and give us another layer that we can play out of.
Q. I wanted to ask about how you see yourself being able to utilize the way JVC's angles and how he sets his ball handler up for screens and how you can thrive off of that because it was an area that towards the end of last season you utilized a lot and got downhill a lot. How do you see yourself utilizing him now?
JORDAN POOLE: Yeah, I feel like it's a really special part of my game that I'm able to use to unlock multiple things, whether that's creating for my teammates, creating an advantage, creating some space to get an open look. But he's a vet. He's been around. So he knows how to play. He also plays European basketball, which is a lot more passing, a lot more hand backs, a lot more moving, a lot more rescreening, a lot more flow. I've been taught that kind of in college and then earlier on in my career, so it's pretty natural to play that way. But I don't know if Jonas has played with someone who can create with the ball as well as be a shooter coming off those screens. He's played with a lot of guys who can get downhill, who use their speed or create switches, but being able to create so much pressure with the ball screen being a jump shot shooter, defenders are going to chase, and while I pray that they're in a drop, but if they're not in a drop, Jonas knows how to get out. He knows how to hit the pocket. If you watch a lot of his games, he plays really well in the middle pocket, short row, big enough to get to the basket, but he makes the right reads and passes.
Other than just playing against him, I've been watching a lot of his film over the course of the summer, and I'm extremely excited to get on the court with him.
Q. Going back to what your team said, Kyle, saying he didn't get to see the full authentic Jordan, were there times during the season where maybe that joy, maybe that Jordan was not able to come out because of the losing or you just figuring out your role on the team?
JORDAN POOLE: Yeah, I'm just a competitive person, and I really -- it was new for me to go just through the losing process, honestly. Obviously we're in a rebuilding phase, but it was a transition year. It was a lot of movement, a lot of new things, a lot of new pieces on both sides, but now coming into year two we have a little bit more clarity in what we want to do, a little bit more direction in what we want to do. So that not only helps me but it helps other guys know what they can come in, what they can focus on, what they can put their energy to. That's all you really need, just a little bit of direction, and now we can all kind of have one common goal that we can fight for and we can continue to put our energy into.
As for me, not worry about me, I'm good. I'm fine. I think you guys will see that this year. But it was a cool learning experience because this is stuff that you dream about as a kid, and now being able to influence the team and being able to kind of lead the way that they're allowing me to lead and being myself, everything is really already written, but everything will fall into place how it should be.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports