Exit Interviews: What's gonna happen?

So here are the big things to know from today’s exit interviews:

Kevin Durant is going to be a free agent in a month. I know. I couldn’t believe it either. So there were quite a few questions about that.

Billy Donovan on what his pitch would be to Kevin Durant: “I have nothing to do with this. This is Kevin’s decision.”

KD on what’s important to him: “Just being around great people, being in a great basketball environment, that’s the two most important things for me. That’s all I really care about. Who I’m going to be doing life with every single day, who I’m going to be playing basketball with every day.”

KD asked about a championship requirement: “Like I said, the most important thing for me is the type of people I’m going to be around every single day,” he said. “If I’m enjoying playing basketball, that’s what I’m really — that’s the thing I really want to center everything around. I love my teammates here. I love playing basketball here. So that’s what’s important to me. Obviously, winning a championship is what we all want to do, but at the same time, you want to be around good people. You want to be in a good environment with a good culture. That’s what’s most important to me.”

Those two quotes are very telling to me. Because those things describe the Thunder to a T.

Randy Foye: “You can look Kevin in his eyes. You can hear Kevin talk about OKC. You know where his heart is at.”

Serge Ibaka: “I have confidence. Where he going to go? Tell me. After what we did in the playoffs this year, where? If he gonna go somewhere, where?”

Nick Collison: “Well, Kevin is so important to this place, obviously, and to our team, and a close friend of mine. I really enjoy my time with him. So for sure it’s a big deal. For us we need him back. We’ll try to communicate how important he is to us and how much he means to us. You know, we understand what this is and how it works, and it’ll be to him at the end of the day. But he means everything to us in terms of a friend, a teammate, and what he’s done for the organization and for the future what we’re trying to do, obviously we need him, so it’s a big deal for us.”

I was reminded by someone about Ibaka’s passionate response about Scott Brooks last season. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Westbrook on if he’ll talk to KD: “No, not now. I mean, I plan to just enjoy our break, plan to just enjoy this time to decompress and just have some time to chill.”n

On if he’s nervous about KD: “If he has nerves about it: “Nerves from — no, not nerves. I mean, Kevin is a guy that obviously myself and another guy we want back here at the Oklahoma City Thunder, but at the same time he has to make a decision that’s best for him and what best fits him, but Kevin, like I said, has always been like a brother to me, so regardless of what happens, we’re always going to be friends, and everything is going to work out.”

So Nazr Mohammed was asked a question about Russ and it turned out like this: “I left almost four years ago now. I mean, he’s a man. I mean, he’s First-Team All-NBA. I mean, he’s as good of an athlete now as he was then. His decision making is better. I mean, he’s still developing as a leader. He’s still developing, just controlling himself emotionally, but at the same time how much of this emotion do you really want him to control. Some of the things are your gift and your curse. If you can tone it down once or twice a game, that would be cool, but at the same time, I like Russell going out there, being pumped, I mean, what’s the game when we were playing against — I hate to mention his name, when we were playing against Detroit. It was nice to see a game where sometimes they expect you to sit out, but I love to see Russ like, sit out against Reggie? I want to play. I love seeing stuff like that, and then go out there — I love how Russ looks at the opposing point guard and he wants to kill everybody. I love it. That’s the type of guys you like to go to war with. He wants to kill everybody, so you have to deal with whatever lows to get those amazing highs. That’s my thoughts.”

Naturally, someone followed up: “I can’t tell you what they asked Russell. I don’t know. From the outside — I’m sitting over there like you, and you had Kevin sit out and you had Serge sit out, I assumed Russell was going to sit out, and then I looked over and he’s putting on his uniform. This is just my assumption. I’m looking over and thinking to myself, this is nothing he said, but I’m thinking to myself, this is all my thought, I’m thinking like, oh, that’s Russ right there. Russ like sit out? He wants to play against the best players. We’re playing against Reggie. I mean, they’ve had their words, it’s not like I’m bringing up something. He’s playing against Reggie. Russ wants to go out there, like okay, he was here, you’re gone, you said some things, I want to play. This is just my assumption. Russ didn’t tell me this, but this is just me looking over at him putting on a jersey when I thought he was going to sit out, and he was like, no, I’m ready to go. I love it, though. That’s what it’s all about.”

Monty Williams won’t be back next season. As far as a replacement, Donovan said he’s looking for someone that fits their “coaching chemistry.”

Donovan on coaching the postseason: “The thing that I think was fascinating for me as a coach was I think there’s — you get into a series, and how can I find ways — so like, for example, this last series, it was hard for Enes matchup-wise in certain situations, but like instead of just shelving him and saying, okay, dude, you just can’t play in this series. That’s like easy. How do I find out and figure out ways to get him in there where he can make a little bit of an impact? Now, the last two games, games 6 and 7, it wasn’t like he played big minutes, but we put him in position where, you know what, his 8 or 10 points, that helps. I think the same thing could be said of Andre early in the series against Golden State. It was like, well, they’re not playing him. You’ve got to take him out and play somebody else. How can I generate and put Andre in position where he can be effective? I enjoyed that, that to me, because I feel like as a coach you try to put your personnel in the best position to take advantage of how teams are guarding him and what may be available. From game to game, that’s going to change, but I think that’s the part of you get an opportunity to grow and you get a chance to think about the game on a different level.”

I thought this was a John Wooden level quote from Donovan: “In order to evolve into the best you can be, you have to endure.”

Westbrook on how high his assists could go: “I don’t know, man. I don’t know. It’s funny, though. The question is how high can it go. Before it was our passing, now it’s how high can it go. That’s funny, man. I don’t know, I just play to win. That’s it.”

Ibaka was candid about his role this season and how he struggled with it: “It was the most challenging season for me, this season. And you know, like specifically mentally, too, not just like playing but mentally, preparing myself. Like you said, you fill roles, and it was really the most challenging season since I’ve been here in the NBA in my seven years. But you know, I’m grateful for that because it helped me to see the big picture, and I’m sure it’s going to help me in the next couple years. I’m sure next year it’s going to help me because, like I say, it helped me to see the big picture in the game because it was not easy. Yeah, it was not easy, like playing different roles and both ends of the floor. It was something new to me. But it was good for us, good for the team. It was helpful, and that’s why we got this far, because everybody did their job, like mine, so yes.”

More Ibaka: “After this season, I feel like I have to be like a stretch 4, no more fake 4. You know, like no more — because that’s the way the team wants me to be. That’s the way of the team, specifically when you’ve got one of the true great offensive players like Russell and Kevin that can put the ball so easy inside the basket, and you’ve got bigs like Steven and Enes who can really do many things, so I had to be a stretch 4 for them. I have to. There’s really some changes I didn’t really — at some point I was thinking with more years I’m going to be a stretch 4, but it’s something I didn’t really expect to be that soon, and it happened so quick. When things happen quick, you never know when it comes, and it’s the moment right now, so it’s something I’m going to be focused on. Of course not losing my side to play defense, try to keep getting better, and it’s different now, I’m playing — switching on 1, 2, 3, 4, so I have to be focused on — yeah, and one day I’m going to play 5. I’m going to try to go block shots like I used to run the floor, so yeah.”

The Thunder started calling Dion Waiters, “Downhill Dion” to remind him to attack the basket.

Waiters on his future: “I would like to stay. Of course. Like I said before, I’ve never been connected to a group of guys like this in my four years in the NBA. I didn’t have this much fun. Just being around them guys, it don’t even have nothing to do with basketball, just the brotherhood we have in the locker room, on the road, just that connectedness that we have within each other. It was really like something special to me. You know, why not?”

Also this was telling from Waiters, noting he’s really only OK with coming off the bench if it’s with the Thunder: “Honestly, man, like I just said, on this team I’m willing to do whatever. As long as we’re winning, I couldn’t care less. I couldn’t care about starting or coming off the bench on this team. If it’s somewhere else, I don’t know. But here, we’re so good, we’re so deep, and it makes everything easier for us, especially when you’ve got a guy like Kev and Russ who’s going to get all the attention.”

Andre Roberson talked about progressing as a roll man, and I asked him about if there was any player he might watch to get ideas from. I had a player in mind when I asked, and that’s the player Roberson named. “I would say a great person just I learned from playing against was Draymond. He kind of does that in similar ways, just taking advantage of the shooters he has. Everybody focuses on Klay and Curry, just like in my situation everybody focuses on Russell and Kevin. Taking advantage of finding that wide open guy or pushing it in transition kind of takes the pressure off of them and helping out with their game. I definitely watched a lot more tape on him and a lot of guys who kind of play that position.”

Lot of Steven Adams questions. Nazr Mohammed called him the “prototypical center” in today’s NBA. Ibaka said he could be a monster. And on and on. Adams himself was expectedly modest.

Adams on what he’s going to look like next season: “Like Chewbacca, mate. Just hair everywhere.”

Adams came in wearing a Stache Brothers shirt. Then Kanter came in after him, also wearing one. Asked if they called each other about it, Kanter admitted his shirt was actually the one Adams’ was just wearing. He hoped that Adams had taken a shower today.

Mitch McGary on his season: “Unfortunately, didn’t get the shot I wanted this year. That’s mainly on me. Just didn’t get things going. So next year — this summer is very big for me to possibly get things going next year.” McGary also said he wasn’t in the best shape.

Randy Foye wants to be back.

Before Mohammed got up to leave, he pulled out his phone and recorded a snapchat to prove that he does get interviewed. And his interview was probably the best of the day.