Training Camp Media Availability: LaMelo Ball, Coach Charles Lee, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel

Training Camp Media Availability: LaMelo Ball, Coach Charles Lee, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel

today like kind of getting back in the gym and kind of getting things going for the first time officially. Uh just a great day, high intensity, everybody here, everybody showing up. Actually, now we missing Big Mac, but overall great day. You guys have a lot of new faces on this team. I know you’ve been together in the summer, but rookies, guys coming in. I mean, uh as one of the guys that’s been here for the longest, you know, how much of a responsibility do you take to kind of be somebody who helps sort of bridge the gap? Definitely. I mean, I think that’s already we already good with that. I feel like we already mesh well. Like I said, the rookies is great. Everybody just around here great. Everybody helping each other. So, it’s great. You got a couple guys, including yourself, kind of coming back for some late season injuries. I mean, how good in particular it to feel to have Brandon back on the floor playing together with him? Yeah. No, I like 69 610 guards. So, whenever you got that out there, it’s it’s amazing for real. I mean, you can do it all. So, it’s it’s amazing to have that out there. So, it’s good to all of a sudden just see that competitive juices start flowing. And I think that the group really rallied around one another. um the the communication level um the wanting to like earn uh a win, earn the trust of their teammates and and they did it with their play and then also with some of their communication in between drills and sets. Guys that you’ve brought in the last year and a half, two years, you talked a lot about the intangibles they bring and and how they fit the Hornets identity. How do you go about taking those characteristics and putting them into an onc court identity? I know last year was obviously challenging. You had so many different guys and it’s it’s hard to establish an identity, but is that the next step? And what do you want that onc court identity to be? Yeah, I want these guys to be themselves um ultimately and how can you find like being yourself and also how does that work for the group and and where do you need to just kind of alter some things and so we all impact one another. I think that those guys could see that in full effect last year like if I score a bucket it’s usually because somebody either passed me the ball or they set a good screen for me they did something to um help that situation. And so I think all the guys are aware of we need everything that they bring to the table from a skill set and an intangible standpoint to be as successful as we can be. And so I think that these guys have have implemented that really really early. And I try to encourage them to be themselves uh while also establishing um this is who we want to be defensively. Um defensively we want to be great in transition. We want to protect the paint. We want to um be a great job of just uh do a great job of finishing possessions uh with our closeouts and our contest and also our defensive rebounding. and offensively, how can we play with pace? How can we trust the pass? And how can we be uh relentless offensive rebounders? Um, and you spoke a lot about the role that Brandon took last year when he was out with the doing film stuff and projects and things like that. I know it’s only day one, but have you seen some of the uh maybe things that he could have learned throughout that process start to translate a little bit here in day one in terms of being leadership, communicating, seeing things a little bit differently than maybe he had in the past? Yeah, I I saw just like a little bit more alpha come out of him. Uh there was moments today where his group is either up or down and it’s a pivotal moment and instead of kind of just taking a back seat, I thought he rallied the troops, told them what he needed. Um he took the ball in his hands, he wanted to guard the best players. And so there’s a lot of situations in a game where you just need your best players to step up and want to take on the best matchup or they want the ball in their hands to make the the the right decision. And he did that multiple times today on top of also being a vocal leader, too. So, I think that the time away from basketball, um, he was able to learn a ton. Um, he was able to find his voice a little bit more, too, by building those really strong relationships and, uh, he showed it in a in a major way today here in practice. Just the decision to come. I’m sorry. I was ask just were you consulted with the decision to come to Charleston or was it told to you and what was your reaction when you were told if that was the case, you know, 5 days in Charleston? No doubt. I was uh part of that process. I was ecstatic when I heard that we were going to Charleston. Um, you know, obviously we’re based in Charlotte, but it’s important that we kind of reach all of our fan base throughout the Carolinas. And so, um, the food scene’s also amazing here, and I knew we were going to get some great meals, but the Citadels done a great job of kind of, um, opening their doors to us, allowing us to use this beautiful facility, and, uh, it it helped us set a tone for our first day of training camp. How do those five or six days together away from Charlotte kind of help you build team chemistry? It’s really important. I think that, you know, when you’re home, a lot of times you leave the gym and you’re back to your own families, your own house. And now I think we got to go back to the hotel and um you’re going to bunker down with each other a little bit more. So I think that it really helps from a camaraderie standpoint. It also just kind of gets you in that in that habit or that routine early on of being on the road and what are your routines and how are you taking naps and how are you recovering. Um so I think that it’s just great for for a young team like this to start to build those relationships and and professional habits. The fact that the Knicks came here, the 76ers have come here, Orlando’s come here. Did that kind of influence what you guys like, hey, they had a good time or they, you know, they were able to do things yet or what? No, I think that it’s it does give you comfort knowing that other NBA teams have used the facilities. So, you’re like, oh, we should feel comfortable. They have everything that we need. The space is going to be good. The weight room’s going to be great. Um, but we try to, you know, beat to our own drum. And so love that those teams had successful training camps here, but I think that there was a little bit more of a fan um outreach uh possibility for us as well as um getting our our players to a really great city that’s really nearby. I know for you personally, this was obviously something you’ve been looking forward to. Just what did it feel like to get started? And uh how much fun did it was today? I think this the most fun I’ve ever had all summer uh just back with my guys um out here working hard of course. um you know while we’re working just always you know having fun while we’re working hard and getting better um and just keeping the mindset of just you know that competitive spirit and just making each other better. Uh you’ve spoken a lot uh throughout the year. Charles Lee’s talked about it too about the role you took on last year when you were hurt kind of doing film stuff with the guys projects again. I know it’s only day one, but did you feel like some of the stuff that you learned during that process is starting to kind of translate to what you’re doing back on the court now? Definitely. I think everything that you know that I took time off this offseason. Um I think it’s kind of you know translating for me um and just working on putting into the game today and just adding it with my teammates. Um, and just building back that trust with them. Um, and of course just coming here and making everybody better, getting getting away from Charlotte, getting to, you know, where you can kind of create bonds and chemistry. Good thing, bad thing. We’re just talking about that. It’s a great thing. Uh, know we’re never going to be, you know, in Charlotte every day. Um, so just having this this atmosphere here in another city, another state, um, I feel like it’s, you know, better for us just to see, you know, new things. So, I think just like I said, just going into every arena with that competitive spirit. Uh, whether it’s here, uh, whether it’s LA, Detroit, wherever. Um, just always going in with the mindset of just competing at the highest level. You expect to come in day one with a 2 and 1/2 hour practice or definitely. Uh, I knew it was going to be, you know, some kind some type hard, but um, you know, not too crazy. I can handle it a little bit. Never been to Charleston before? No, never been. Never been to Charlotte. I hear it’s a I hear it’s a lot of good food places out here. having haven’t, you know, tried anything. First time away from everything. Yeah, it was awesome. Uh see Lee, uh to have me and some of the rookies up and like first one, you always remember the first practice. Um so yeah, it was it was great to get out there and you know, really get after it today. Um obviously there’s a transition going from college to pro, but do you feel any sort of I guess what is the thing that has kind of been the most seamless in terms of what you guys did at Duke versus what you’re doing here maybe in terms of an onc court playing style and identity? Yeah, I think we we did we ran a little more tunnel offense at Duke, so it was it was pro style. We’re not running tunnel this year. They did last year. Um where the big comes up on the wing. Um we’re really trying to get the big out ahead on on offense. Um but just like playing playing fast, getting the ball out some we we did last year and that’s been kind of a seamless transition. I know you’ve been you guys have all been working out for the last month in Charlotte. It’s, you know, a little bit different, but when you get to camp, do you feel like there’s just a little bit of an extra intensity competitiveness when you guys get going, especially with, you know, how uh long this first practice was? Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, it’s it’s the first one where where you’re really really getting after it, you know, um they’re they’re not holding us back and and how much how much stuff we can we can actually do on the court. So, um yeah, I thought it was really really productive day. I know you you weren’t here obviously last year with with Brandon, but had the wrist injury and is kind of working his way back. Is he somebody that you can kind of have you noticed has been a little bit of a guy that’s communicating a little bit more, taking on a little bit more of a leadership role and kind of helping more of the young guys out? I know again it’s only the first day. Yeah, I thought he was awesome today. Um he had a really really good stretch there in the second part of the game where he was just defending uh rebounding just the will willingness to win. Um I thought he he had a really really good day and he’s he’s really helping us along. What will the feelings be like on Sunday when you play OKC? you’re playing a real NBA team and a real stadium that is going to be sold out. What are the feelings for Sunday? It’s crazy. It comes up so fast. Like you got you got one week here where we’re really getting after and then all of a sudden we’re playing at the end of the week here in Charleston. Um I’m really looking forward to it. You ever been here before? Never city. Never. First time. Talk about the bonding that you guys can get here, you know, being being away from Charlotte, kind of being all together here. I think it’s I think it’s really good. Um we we went out to meet and some of the rookies, Drew Peterson, Grant Williams went out to dinner last night. Um, where’d you go? We went to Heyman’s seafood spot. It was It was good. Um, a little shout out there.

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