MALCOLM BROGDON: I'm feeling good. I'm in a great head space. Physically I feel really good. We're taking this thing step by step. Yeah, I'm on target.
Q. Was it just a freak thing that caused the injury?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Yeah, yeah, just running into somebody in practice, a teammate in practice. Stuff happens. Usually how you tear this ligament that I tore, you get your thumb caught in the jersey or something like that. So it was a little bit of a freak accident for me. But stuff happens.
Q. This was just like forced contact rather than getting it caught on something?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Yeah.
Q. Was it the UCL of the thumb?
MALCOLM BROGDON: It was, yeah.
Q. Do you have any update on returning or anything like that?
MALCOLM BROGDON: I don't have a timeline. We're just managing the process and going about it day by day.
Q. BK talked about what you and Saddiq both with your rehab have meant to the guys, what you're seeing on the floor. Have you taken a guy like JK or Bub under your wing -- I saw in the Atlanta game Bub came off and you had that one conversation with him. Are you telling them things you're seeing on the floor and how you can give them an advantage, whether it's offensively or defensively?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Yeah, I think, one, sitting out, not being able to play, being able to watch the totality of the game and everything that's going on on top of being a vet and having the experience allows me to give them an edge or a perspective that they're not getting from someone else. But in a lot of those moments, sometimes it's details of a read or something that I see coming in the game, or it's sort of the bigger picture and being poised and sort of managing the game at a lead guard position. That's really what I talk to Jordan about a lot and Bub, too, but Jordan specifically. It's being a lead guard, it's managing the game, it's managing who's gotten the ball when, who needs a touch, little things like that, shot and scoring.
Q. I know it's three games, but how have you seen Bub adapt early on to life in the NBA, especially whether he is getting a start in a preseason game or playing alongside JP in how he navigates and controls the offense?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Yeah, you know, he's tenacious. That's one thing about Bub. He's a dog for sure on both ends of the floor. I think he has a lot to learn, but I think he's been terrific in the preseason. I think he's been terrific, especially for a rookie, I think he's ahead of the game on both ends of the floor.
He has a presence and a leadership about him that I think is going to keep him in this league for years to come and allow him to have a great career. I think everybody is extremely excited about what he's going to become and already what he's done here.
Q. You talked about those leadership moments, helping out Jordan, helping out Bub. Can you point us to something that's happened in practice, in shootaround or in a game that's emblematic of the impact you're trying to have?
MALCOLM BROGDON: I think in times of chaos -- my sort of style as a vet, as a leader on this team, I don't want to over-talk. I've had that type vet that over-talked that you sort to drown them out a little bit when they're talking, then I've had vets that are very specific about when they want to comment, when they make comments. So I try to be on that side of it more often.
With those guys, I try not to over-talk to them. JP is a guy who's won a championship. He knows a lot. He's very experienced. He's a very good player, high-level player in this league. But me and him are totally two different players. I try to offer my perspective and my expertise, and he's very open.
There hasn't been one specific moment that I think has changed the game for them or anything like that. JP is playing at an extremely high level. When guys in the NBA are playing at a high level and they're really in a good space, you don't want to talk to them actually too much.
It's just pointers. It's pointers, and a lot of times it's not about his game, it's about playing point guard and understanding what's going on around him.
Q. I noticed you had something on your left hand too a couple weeks ago. What was that, and how much have you been able to do and what have you been able to do while this is on your right hand?
MALCOLM BROGDON: That was just a jammed finger. I jammed that finger a few times in training camp. But everybody is dealing with little nagging pains now. It's a time for this to recover. But I've been working out every day. I've been lifting every day. I've been conditioning, running. I've been on the court doing all left-hand workouts, so I'm staying in really good shape. That's the goal for me; when I come back, I want to be a guy that hasn't skipped a beat and come back in great shape. Being in great shape is the first thing about playing in the NBA, about getting injured. You actually have to pick up your conditioning. You actually have to work harder. That's what people don't realize. I'm actually working harder than I did as far as staying on the court and playing games.
It's a grind, no matter how you look at this thing. Injured or not, it's a grind, and you've just got to attack the opportunity in front of you.
Q. Has it been frustrating obviously getting so close to playing the first game?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Yeah, of course, of course, there's always frustration in injury, but I've been injured before. This is year nine for me in the NBA, so injuries happen. I'm looking across the league, there are a lot of guys injured right now. On our side of the court tonight, there are guys on our team, guys that have gone down. But injuries happen, man.
It's about how you deal with them. BK was saying today in film, how do you deal with failure and how do you deal with success. For me, injury is failure. It's not in your control, but it's something that I look at as failure and how am I going to deal with that, how am I going to embrace the challenge. That's what it is for me. It's all about embracing the challenge and bouncing back.
Q. You and Saddiq Bey are going through things at the same time. Have you been able to do things with him in your recovery and/or track each other's progress towards getting healthy?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Yeah, we've actually really been grinding together, man, encouraging each other. We've actually developed a really good relationship, a close relationship. A lot of shared laughs. But also just bonding over -- you don't want to bond over injury, but bonding over injury, bonding over the progress that we're making and encouraging each other. We do a lot of conditioning together, a lot of lifts together. We haven't been on the court together, but we do a lot of talking about what's going on on the court, what we see, and just bouncing ideas off of each other.
Q. If I'm not mistaken, the UCL in the thumb is also what Anthony Simons tore last year. Is there anything about his process that you're trying to take here?
MALCOLM BROGDON: No, when I did this, me and Ant were actually texting as soon as I did this. We were in a text conversation and I was asking him a few questions about it. I remember it being minor. It wasn't a big deal. There are a lot of guys -- I was talking to Caris LeVert. Caris did this in Brooklyn. There are a lot of guys in the NBA that do this. It's a hiccup and you come right back. I think the biggest thing I've taken away from it from talking to a few guys that have done it is don't let it get in your hand, don't get too down because you're going to be right back. This will be a quick turnaround.
Q. Did you know that day at McGill the severity of it?
MALCOLM BROGDON: I did. I knew. When you play basketball all your life and you have injuries, you have jammed things -- every year I'll have a few jammed things. That's just how it is playing basketball. I knew it wasn't a jam as soon as I got it. Jammed thumb feels a certain way. It's something that you can sort of shake off. You can honestly tape up and just keep playing. That's what happens with jams. With this one, I sat out, I was like, no, I did something to this, I need to get it X-rayed, MRI'd, and it came out to be a tear.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports