MALCOLM BROGDON: I was super excited. I feel like I'm coming back home. I've always had extended family in D.C. that I've visited growing up. Ended up coming to school here an hour and a half down the road, and my wife is from northern Virginia, so man, this is like a full-circle moment for me to be able to play for the Wizards, a team I've always wanted to put the jersey on for. I've always wanted to be here.
Q. How excited are you to reunite with Anthony Gill?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Very excited, man. He's a close friend for the past 10, 15 years. Definitely another full-circle moment for me.
Q. With regards to the pace of play, and I know we've been discussing it today, but I'd just like to get your take on what that has felt like so far with the team, and stylistically what it looked like last year and how that will maybe look a little different this season with you guys?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Yeah, I came from Portland where we had a very young team like this one, a lot of young really good athletes similar to this, and we were playing really fast. That was really my first taste of that really sort of new age fast-paced basketball. It was an adjustment for me, but I adjusted and got the hang of it. Coming here, it won't be fresh for me. I'll have had a little bit of experience, having a year of it. I'm excited to play that way. It's the way the game is going. At this point you've got so many young guys in the league, they're young, they're talented, they're big, they're athletic. For me I think as the vet it's going to be about being able to close games, us being able to play like that for three, four quarters, then when it becomes a possession-by-possession game, guys like me, JV, we're going to be able to slow down and make plays, be methodical and be able to finish games.
Until then I've got to pick up the pace and run with these young guys.
Q. Speaking of young guys, you were Rookie of the Year your first year in the NBA, so what kind of advice have you been -- first of all, have you had a chance to talk to any of the rookies on the Wizards yet?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Yeah, I've been here since the beginning of September, so I've been with them for the past month, and I've built a good relationship with all of them. Different types of relationships, but they're all great guys. They work. I'm excited to play with them.
We've had a lot of conversations. The one thing I've told them all is this is a process, be patient with yourself. You're not going to get it all in one day. You're not going to prove everybody wrong in one day. Enjoy it because this is going to go by so fast.
I remember coming into the league with Milwaukee and trying to prove myself, my eyes were wide and trying to take everything in, but now I'm in year nine, my fifth team, and it's still an adventure, but I've learned in my mind to allow the game to slow down, allow this time to slow down, and just enjoy every organization, every person I meet, enjoy every experience.
Q. You mentioned you've only been here for about a month and already you've tried to ingratiate yourself into the community. It's something that you have done along with your wife in every city and every stop. Why is that important to you not only as a basketball player but as a human to make sure whatever city you're playing in, whatever name is on the front of the jersey, you're making sure you're having that touchpoint with the community?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Yeah, for sure. I think it's a privilege to be able to play at this level, play in the NBA, in this league. There are millions and millions of people that want to do what I'm doing and sit in this seat. So to not give back, to not influence the next generation, to use my platform to shed light on people that are struggling with certain things, I think it would be a missed opportunity.
As much as I can in every city, I try to find those groups of people that could use any type of my -- whatever I'm willing to help with. I try to go to those communities and help.
Q. I want to follow up on reuniting with Anthony Gill. It looked like you guys redshirted the same year at UVA. How well did you get to know him during that experience, and what was it like when you guys did reunite and were reconnecting?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Yeah, I played my first year at UVA, had a foot injury at the end of my freshman year, he ended up transferring in from South Carolina, so we did redshirt together, and we really -- honestly, that year we grinded together. We were on the scout team for the team. We were destroying them on the scout team. We really got to bond and work together.
AG is a worker. He has that reputation here, but he's been like that forever. He works his butt off, and I'm similar. We've always pushed each other on the court.
But then off the court, me and AG, we have a lot of similarities, and I think how we raise our kids, the men we strive to be every day. I think it's been a blessing to be reunited with him, and being able to share this now NBA experience with him.
Q. When you were a rookie and a second-year player, who were some of the veterans who made an impact on you and kind of helped show you some of the way?
MALCOLM BROGDON: The first one that comes to mind is Steve Novak. He was a shooter, had had a really, really good career. You guys know the name. But was just a great person. Had no ego. Had no edge. Trying to get the rookies told, hazing. He was such a good guy, so ingratiating. Now when I see him, I have so much love for him. So much love for him. But guys like that always stick out in your mind. There are guys like Greg Monroe who was another great vet for me, big man, just -- his moral was tough love. It was a different type of love, but it was tough love, and I look back and I appreciate it so much. John Hinson. They're guys that really took me under their wing and tried to show me the ropes, and I'm very appreciative.
Q. With one of your nicknames on basketball reference literally being "The President," how does it feel to be playing in D.C. during a presidential election, and as somebody who's been very much outspoken with things in politics over the years, do you consider yourself to be a leader in the locker room when it comes to discussing political nature things?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Man, it's a blessing to be back in D.C. That's my nickname for sure. But I'm no expert on politics or social justice. I'm just someone that's passionate about it all.
As far as the locker room, no, I think everybody -- I think politics can be such a sticky thing in locker rooms. I'm not someone that forces my opinion on anybody.
I have an opinion, but it's not something you're going to hear often, especially politics, unless someone really wants to talk about it. I just think it can be such a divisive thing in the locker room. Everybody is entitled to their opinion at the end of the day, so I try to let people rock.
Q. From the standpoint of a mentor, how excited are you with the opportunity to work with young guards like Jordan Poole and Bub Carrington?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Super excited. Jordan is one of the best young talents we've got in the league. He gets a lot of criticism, but you only get a lot of criticism when you're really, really good and when you set a benchmark for yourself of excellence, and he's done that. I'm excited to see him thrive this year in D.C. Jordan works his butt off. He's excellent. His preparation is excellent. I've been really, really impressed with him. He's also just a great dude. I'm super excited to play with him.
Bub, super competitive. Wants to come in here, wants to eat, wants to grind. Those guys are going to be great. I'm super excited to work with them.
Q. I asked Corey Kispert about your ability to drive and kick and find shooters, and he said that you told him that you want to unlock his game this year. Not necessarily specific to him, but what do you hope to bring to the team in that regard with that skill of yours?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Yeah, when I got here, Coach Keefe told me just straight up, we need your ability to touch the paint, and I think over the years I've been one of the best players in the league at touching the paint, just over and over, game in, game out, so I plan -- I intend to continue to do that, and for guys like Corey especially, he shoots the ball, but Corey is way more of just a shooter.
So being able to get him open easy shots and being able to kick the ball out to him so he can attack close-outs and get downhill and keep finishing the way he was finishing last season will really help his game.
For me, it's all about being a catalyst, being the catalyst that sparks the movement, that sparks the advantage on the offensive end.
Q. I hate to bring up a sad point today, but there was news that Dikembe Mutombo has passed away. I know that you, I believe, have done work with the Basketball Without Borders and Africa. Can you share some of your personal experience and what he meant to you and the league, the world as a whole?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Yeah, I was on a trip with him a few summers ago in Africa, and I remember me and him just sat on the back of the bus, we were on the back of the bus, all the players, a lot of the guys were scattered throughout the bus, but we were in the very back, and he was so full of life and so many experiences. Just like a gentle giant. Such a good person. He would just speak life into you, and he would be so honest and so real.
I'll never forget our conversation on the bus. He was just a very -- he struck me as someone of his stature, someone that does so much in the community, someone that gets so much attention and had such an amazing career, to be just so personable, so humble and such a good dude, he'll definitely be missed. It's a very, very sad day, but he's going to be missed. His impact is going to be missed all over the world.
But he left his impact. He left his legacy for his kids and his wife. He was a beautiful person.
Q. I wanted to ask, how do you maintain team morale and a high energy level as you get into the middle and the later parts of the season, especially if you're in the middle of a tough season, losing streak, that kind of thing?
MALCOLM BROGDON: I think a lot of that is on us, is on the vets, to maintain that energy, maintain that focus, maintain that camaraderie. I think a lot of this has to do with what you're doing off the floor. When adversity hits and you're having lulls during the season or you're in a valley, what type of relationships do you really have? Are you guys going to split apart or are you guys going to stay together?
I think someone like AG is excellent at that. Having team events, having the guys together off the floor -- we had a game night the other night, just doing little things that build those relationships, that trust, so when you guys are struggling, you guys don't split apart, I think it's huge. I put a lot of it on the vets to keep us together, keep us positive. It's going to be a long season. We're not the most talented team in the league. We have talent and we're going to win some games, but we're also going to develop these young guys and make sure that we're building the right habits for the future for the next five years.
That's the goal, but we're definitely going to stick together this year.
Q. Do you have an example from earlier in your career of a vet that kind of helped keep the team together during one of those tough stretches?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Matthew Dellavedova was one of those guys. He was a guy that was just fearless on the court, but also in the locker room, fearless in his willingness to communicate. He wasn't a guy that was rah-rah and talking a lot and doing too much, but he was a guy that when he spoke up, guys respected it, and he wasn't scared to hold guys accountable or to hold himself accountable. He was always one of those guys that I thought has a really good balance for how he talks to his teammates, when he talks to them and what he says.
Q. What were the games at game night?
MALCOLM BROGDON: We played a game -- I can't remember what it was called, but everybody is marking down -- you basically have a list, you go through different lists, and then you roll the dice for a letter, and the name that you say basically has to start with that letter. It's a popular game. It was my first time, though. I did pretty well.
Q. We've been talking a little bit about culture. You were just talking about game night. You've been around the guys for a little bit. What have you picked up on as far as the Wizards' culture and what they're trying to build in that respect?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Yeah, I think Will and Michael Winger, they're really rebooting this thing, and I think in my opinion they're doing it the right way. They're making sure the players have everything they need in the weight room, every machine, everything, and if they don't have it -- they've asked me and I've given input from what I feel like I need, and they're already ordering the machine. That's one of the best signs you can have as a player.
Then you go to the kitchen, and the food is arguably, if not the best food I've had, as far as team to team in the NBA in my nine years. Just the little things, especially as a vet. As a young guy, you don't really know. This is your first team. You don't know. You don't have anything to compare it to.
But as a vet, I've had nine years of it, and the little things matter, the way they take care of your family. We had an event yesterday or Saturday at the Pendry, and it was just for the whole organization, and it was just a bring your families and everybody, mix and mingle, and the way that was constructed -- they had a kids' room on the second floor with everything you could imagine for the kids, food, games, all types of stuff, and then they had the adults at the top of the hotel.
Everything right now is being put together thoughtfully and intentionally, and for a vet it's very refreshing to come to an organization like that that clearly is putting an emphasis on taking care of the players and the families.
Q. What (indiscernible) do you see in an organization that maybe is not winning on the court but doing things intentionally off the court to do things better?
MALCOLM BROGDON: I think the carryover is the attitude of the players. I've been on teams where you're losing on the court and then -- but the organization is also not spending money or taking shortcuts in certain areas, and it's felt in the locker room because the players feel like they're not really that invested in us, and it's showing on the court. Then you come, you're in D.C., then I think -- I see them spending money. I see it as a vet. You can tell right away the signs, good signs or bad signs, and it's been good signs here of them trying to build the culture the right way. That's the first thing they said to me. We want to build this culture the right way; you're a culture guy. We brought you in here to help us do that. In my mind I'm thinking, all right, I want to see you guys do your part, and they are. They're doing their part. That might not be a 50-win, 60-win season right now. That's something that they're trying to get to pay off. This is a long-term process. That's three, four, five years down the road, we want the habits we're building today and the money we're spending today to pay off at that point.
I might not even be here to see it, but my job is to make sure we take the steps this year to plant those seeds.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports