Media Availability: Head Coach Brian Keefe, CJ McCollum, and Alex Sarr | 11.25.25

Media Availability: Head Coach Brian Keefe, CJ McCollum, and Alex Sarr | 11.25.25

just that we’re getting better. Um I thought we were trending up on our trip, the way we were passing, moving, sharing the ball. I think that was an example of stuff that we stuck with and have gotten better at. Obviously, we made shots tonight, but the ball was flying around and we were pushing the pace, playing the style that we want to play, the identity we want to play to, which is start with defense, get out in transition, and then really share it. And I thought we did that tonight. Terrific. How important is it to have nights like tonight where everything clicks together to kind of have everyone see like this can work. This is this is how this can work. You know, you always want to win your competitors. That’s the biggest thing. Like people, we act like that’s not something that’s a big deal. We want to win. Our guys are disappointed when they don’t. But it just shows you what we’re capable of. Now, we got to continue to stack it. Uh you know, as coaches, we’re always kind of moving on to the next thing. But I’m really pleased for the guys in the locker room because they put in a tremendous amount of time. Um, but that’s how we want to play. We want to play with defense first, rebound, and then you saw the transition, and then obviously we made shots tonight, but the process was right, the shots were right. Um, really good stuff. Uh, CJ obviously had an insane game. He hit a lot of shots, but what did you see from him in total as like if you’re looking at it holistically offensively from CJ that put him in the position to hit those shots? Look how efficient he was and wasn’t, you know, he ended up taking 25 shots, but he made 17, but it was 10 for 13 from three. Um, I think it was one away from the record. Um, one two away from his careerh high, which he had in this building last year versus us. Um, he’s been doing this for a very long time. Um, not surprising with who he is. And if you guys ever get to spend time with him, this is a guy who is totally dedicated to his craft. He’s been doing this for a very long time. We’re obviously lucky to have him here, part of our organization, but he got it within the flow of how we played and that’s the most important thing. It wasn’t like forced shots. He took a couple heat check ones, which he should have, but it was within how we played with in our movement, within our system, and guys were finding him, and that shows where the team is growing most importantly. What did you see from Alex? Because he went up against a guy bigger than him in Porzingis and put up a very good stat line and he was really showing his two-way versatility. Alex is growing. We’ve seen it all year. Um, obviously he’s made a big jump this at this early start of the season, but he makes such a big imprint on us on both ends. Obviously, I always start with his rim protection and what he does for us on the defensive end. Um, and then the offensive skill set is growing. The ability to roll, the ability to shoot threes, the ability to make tough shots, little turnarounds in the post. These are all things he’s getting better and better at. But it’s always to me the most important part you start with Alex is his impact on us defensively. Brian, you talk about a lot of the little things that you guys want to do. You turned them over 19 times. You guys also had the fast break advantage. Nearly 30 points for you all in transition. How much did your activity on the defensive end fuel not just the transition offense, but your offense in totality? Yeah, I think you one guy probably doesn’t, you know, the stat sheet doesn’t maybe jump out is Bal really had a huge imprint on this game tonight. uh picking up their best player, pressuring him, trying to make things difficult for him um in passing lanes, getting disruptions. I thought he set the tone for our defense to start the game and his ability to push in transition. Those things were huge for us and that’s what he’s capable of doing when he’s on like that and he was on tonight defensively. Terrific effort by him. I know wins and losses mean one thing, but this is the first win this season at home as well to the first cup win in franchise history. Yeah. What what led to everything kind of culminating tonight, especially against a very good offensive team in Atlanta? I always go back to, you know, as a coach, you go back to the things that we’re doing to stack the habits. Um, not everybody might see it, but I see us growing in the last three games. I think we talked about that at the the pregame. Our passing numbers were up, our assist numbers up. Uh, we had a good defensive game in Chicago. We had a really great defensive second half in Minnesota. We’re starting to see the pictures both offensively, defensively more. Um, I think that resulted in us being who we were tonight. You got to give Chris a lot of credit, too. Um, what do you have 12 assists? He he was controlling the game and, you know, we obviously very lucky to have two guys like that on our team. CJ had a big night, but the way Chris controlled the game with his passing, playing through him on the offense a little bit, he’s so unselfish. always makes the right read. I thought he was terrific tonight. Talked about wanting to force more more turnovers. The Hawks are actually pretty decent at protecting the ball. So, what allowed you guys to break through? I think it’s like I think was Bal setting the tone. I think it was everybody being engaged. Um, I thought our physicality was good, our communication was high, and I think that’s what we’re capable of. We’re not there yet. This is something we got to keep working and growing on and make it consistent, but that was an example of how we want to play for sure. And how’s Corey doing? Uh, don’t know much yet. Um, thumb, we’ll know more here. Uh, just finding out about it myself after the game. He was pulled during the middle of the third quarter. Don’t have anything more than that right now. Uh, coach, uh, you talked about uh, Middleton’s, uh, 12 assists. But in terms of the two main action with him and Star um, the high screener roll, can you just talk about how effective that was throughout the whole game? Yeah, I think he that’s one of the things that’s been from the day that he got in our gym and with us. He is him and Alex have a great connection. You could see that instantaneously when he got here. That’s the thing I learned about Chris. Chris has been doing this a long time. I probably didn’t realize how good a passer he was. Um the way he sees the game. Obviously, he’s been doing this at a high level for many, many years, but he sees the game in an easy way. And he’s really him and Alex have a great twoman combination on that pick and roll. Coach, um it seems like Koulie Bali has a nice dunk almost every game. Can you talk about his growth on the offensive end? Obviously, he’s a big- time defender, but also balancing that with his growth on offense. Yeah, obviously you see some of the explosiveness. I thought early in the game he was the one who got downhill and got into the paint that led to some of the spray outs. You know, he’s still getting used to playing with that starting lineup. Like he’s only four or five games with that group, but we’re starting to see him be able to initiate play with pace because he can cause havoc with his speed. And I thought we saw that really early in the game. And that’s how we got a lot of our threes early was that penetration. Brian, I know at different times you’ve said, “Let’s try to make them call the first timeout, especially if a run happens.” You guys force them into calling, I think it was the first three timeouts of the ball game. What type of if you do take any pride in forcing the hand of the opposing coach the way you did tonight, especially with the fact you guys have been dealing with a losing streak as long as you have. The most important thing to me is that are we growing and playing the right way. Um because we want to make this something sustainable. You know, that’s what I was most proud of that that maybe led to the timeouts, but we were playing the way we want to play, which is I’m about to say defense first for us. That led to us, you know, I think we had I don’t transition baskets, but I think we had it was a pretty high number. We were getting down in transition early in the game, pushing that pace. That started with our defense and then our passing. We played the right way tonight and then that led to the win. That’s what we continue to focus on. We want to get better. It’s not just about tonight. tonight. We’re happy for the guys because as the guys deserve, we got high character guys in the locker room and I’m pleased for them, but we got to keep improving, keep getting better, and that was an example of us how we can play. Hey coach, you talked about wanting this for the guys. Um, and being with them after the game, did you detect any relief among them, or is this business as usual for them? No, the guys were happy they win for sure. You should be happy when you win a game. Um, it’s hard to win a game in this league. I don’t think people realize how hard this league is. It’s unforgiving. So, I was pleased from they were pleased. But the one thing I know about them, win or lose, they come back and they’re always ready in the gym the next morning ready to work. That’s the thing I’m most proud of this with this group that I get to coach. You talk about Alex’s impact on both ends. What’s something that doesn’t show up in the box court that really stood out to you tonight? Um, he deters people from some coming into there. You know, he’s a big presence out there. So obviously you see the shot blocks, but it’s the little fakes that he might make or him just coming over early like, uh, I’m going to have to kick this ball out. I thought our scramble was really good tonight. Like multiple efforts, guys flying around. I thought that was really impressive then. And that’s part of defense. Like Alex’s going to come over, but who’s going to have his back? Who’s going to scramble and rotate? I thought we were pretty high level to start the game with that. What was the message to the team after tonight’s win? Let’s get back to work tomorrow. Happy for you guys. We did the things the right way. Um, have a nice Thanksgiving. Have some gratitude. Cam played just under 10 minutes, none in the fourth quarter. Was there a reason for his dropping minutes? Uh, no reason. No, just going to with different guys tonight, seeing different looks, flow of the game. Obviously, Cory got out, so that kind of changed our substitution patterns a little bit. So, we were Malachi came in, helped us out. That was great. He was ready to go. He’s been great this year. He’s always ready to go. Um, so it’s just one of those nights. Next question. threes flow from in transition, threes flow from push, but they also flow from guys running and guys really getting the spots. How much did you see them really running intentionally tonight to to create opportunities? Yeah, I think that started the Chicago game. Um, a little bit of the second half in Minnesota. We’re getting out early. Cory gives us a great energy with that. That’s, you know, having him in the lineup, he really runs. And then our guys are unselfish. We do do a good job of kicking the ball ahead and looking for guys early in transition. As we all know, when that ball is thrown, that’s going to make you run faster. Um, but I think our guys were intentional about that and that’s how we want to play. I think we’re showing glimpses of how we can go and that was really impressive tonight with that. CJ was awesome tonight obviously. Um, but when you see Alex do what he did, you see Bub come in and play well. Yeah. You see, uh, Bal defensively Yeah. Is that what these young guys are capable of when everything is there’s a ceiling there? Yeah, they’re they’re establishing themselves in the NBA. Um, it’s a hard thing to do and they’re growing before our eyes and they got good guys to follow with some good veteran leadership with Corey and CJ and Chris and Anthony Gil and those type of guys. But they’re learning how to do things the right way. And all their baskets and how they play tonight were all part of winning. And I think that’s what the most important thing is that they’re they’re learning to play within a system structurally, both offensively, defensively that’s going to be something that’s going to help them long term. But they produced in a game that was really important for us to win. So really happy for them. Yeah, most definitely. You know, it’s the whole point. That’s why you try to have good games to win. Uh, and you know, this one feels very good and uh, we got to learn from today and keep you going. Your touch around the rim looks much improved than it did your first year. What does the work look like over the offseason that helped you get to this point? Uh, just putting in reps, um, you know, like working out, um, little stuff, uh, finishing around the rim, playing against coaches, playing against my teammates, just getting better at it. Alex, in a season where you know the wins have not been as plentiful as you would like, how do you weigh the joy of getting a win in a game like tonight with all right, we got to lock in and focus on Indiana for Friday. I think you got to be do a little bit of both. Uh, you know, got to be happy with the win, but at the same time, we got another game coming up in two, three days. Uh, so, you know, like I said, we just got to learn from today and u, you know, take the good and and the bad and, uh, try to see what we could do better. When you go up against a big like Porzingis who is taller than you, does that adjust your approach at all as opposed to someone who may you maybe have an inch or two on? Uh not really now, just maybe on high guard him because you know he shoots a lot of threes and stuff, but uh that’s that’s pretty much it. Was another game where you were really aggressive going at the rim and I mean even when Porzingis was standing in your way. Um how would you describe your approach and your mindset in that regard this season? Yeah, just taking what the defense gives me. uh you know just trying to be aggressive when I see that you know I got space or I got an open lane to drive and uh yeah just try to make the right play. But how about when you don’t have an open lane and you sort of force the issue against someone? How have you learned to kind of use your physicality? Yeah, just you know trying to get a couple bumps uh and trying to elevate near the rim uh for like a little floater layup type of uh type of shot. Yeah. Um, Alex, um, it seems like, uh, you guys, you you had an amazing offensive game without Keshan and Trey. How do you feel you guys are able to compensate for that and have your best night of the season? Uh, yeah. I mean, you know, we definitely miss those guys out there. Um, you know, like there’s some big time shot makers and and playmakers for us. Uh, so it was just next men up. Uh, you know, just guys trying to make the right plays. Uh, and uh, you know, just we were sharing the ball a lot. I feel like first half, second half too and you know that that worked for us. for [Music] defy. [Music] Alex, MVP chance for you tonight. What is that like hearing that for the first time in your career? Yeah, I mean it was just funny at first. Uh, you know, like you was a small group that started and then got a little bigger. Um, but yeah, you know, it was just great vibes. Uh, you know, we was winning and stuff. So, uh, you know, just great great vibes. Go ahead, Alex. With the game that CJ had, did how does that unlock what everybody else can do when somebody is forcing defenses with their gravity and their shot making to kind of lean towards them or get to them early in early in sets? Yeah, it definitely helps. But I mean, I feel like even when TJ doesn’t score 46, like he still has gravity and uh teams will, you know, guard him some type of way in pick and rolls, which will give us some type of um you know, like advantage um after the pick and roll. Uh so, you know, today was just a night where, you know, he he did what what he’s known to do. Uh and, you know, he really helped us. Uh, Alex here. Here, Alex. Um, tonight you play against with Chris Dubs and he can shoot, he can protect the rim and he is so athletic. He’s so talented just like you did and he is a former a former allstar player and he’s a former championships. So, is he the ideally model for you to build yourself games for? Um, I mean, he’s definitely a great player. uh you know like I remember watching him when I was younger uh tall guy who can put the ball on the floor uh you know he’s been aggressive and has been great in the league for a long time so you know whenever there’s tall guys that can do a lot of things uh it’s always interesting playing against them uh so yeah you know just great player okay thank you hey Alex um when you guys first got that 30-point lead in the first quarter or so um it got down to 13 after a few minutes and there was a timeout what did coach say to during that time. Um just t like to tighten up on couple like mistakes we was doing like defensive coverage. Uh the ball was getting kind of stagnant. Weren’t sharing it as much and uh yeah, you know, just play free and you know, keep keep attacking because that’s what got us the lead. BK talked about how one of the most impressive things from you tonight and throughout the entire season has been your rim deterrence. What are the little things you try and do during a play to try and spook the ball handler from trying to attempt a shot at the rim? And then what’s it like when you notice like, oh, I kind of scared him away from the rim there? Yeah, just trying to be like early in the spots and uh like you say, like sometimes they’ll just not go up if I’m like right behind them or something. So, uh yeah, just trying to be early and um time it. I’ll say that’s that’s pretty much it. Is there a satisfaction of like, oh, they don’t want to test me? Yeah, most definitely. Most definitely. I wish it happened more, but yeah. Final question back there. Thank you, Z Alex. Quick question. I mean, so far you have been quite consistent since the very beginning of the season. The main exception might have been a game against the Nets where you went out of the game quite frustrated. How do you how this was a lesson for you for the since then? And how do you see the season going forward for you? Yeah, I mean uh you know like every game not going to go how I want it to go. Um, but just think about like having a next play mentality. As soon as the game is over, thinking about the next game. Um, and yeah, I just got to keep doing that, focusing on one game at a time. Uh, and yeah, just keep doing what’s working right now and, you know, being aggressive and playing off my teammates. I mean, shots like I hit a bunch of threes. Um, missed two free throws, but I think overall I think we played with good pace. I think we came out um with the right mindset. Um defensively we were great in the first quarter. We got stops. We ran space the floor well. Passed the ball pretty well. Kept our turnovers low until the end of the game. But I think we gave ourselves a chance to win tonight. And um I mean I worked really hard on my on my craft every day. So I’m not surprised. I’m surprised I missed two free throws. Um and three of the threes I missed were wide open. So I gotta tighten up a little bit. But I think overall we’re just, you know, always say just keep swimming. We’re working on our craft every day. We’re doing things the right way and we don’t always get the results that we want. Um but the intention is there, the preparation is there and eventually it translates and I think tonight was a day where it translated long enough for us to win. And um I mean we should probably have seven or eight wins right now, but we’ll continue to learn and grow and try to stack days like this. You’re now a part of a very elite group of players who have dropped 45 plus for three different franchises. Is that a point of pride for you to be able to go to a different place and still supply that same level of offense? Yeah. I mean, I should have had 50 tonight, but I think um that’s what I’ve done my whole life, man. I I prepare um I maximize my talent. I take advantage of each day. Um these types of nights, you know, they happen, but um for me it starts with how I start my days, how I finish my days. We had a back toback. I spent the day with my family and then once once we put our kids down, I went to the gym, got work in with my guy Digs. Um next night, same thing, you know, go through the day and get my work in with DV. Come back at night, get my work in with Digs, get my work in with my PT. We do some movement stuff, we do core stability, we lift, we we take advantage of each day and we stack them. And you know, sometimes you have great nights, sometimes you don’t. But the work is the work. And I consistently have done it, you know, since I was 5 years old. You know, I had this vision and this dream of what I was going to live my life like. And um maximizing my talents and doesn’t matter where I go. Um my game translates everywhere the way I play. Catch and shoot off the bounce. I can chill in the corner. I can run the offense. Um I can do a lot of different things. And I think you guys will see, you know, throughout the season that um it’s what I do. Uh CJ, uh Atlanta cuts the lead to 59 to 46. You guys called a timeout. You come back and hit a three. Um you you’ve been this way since Lehi. Like do you just embrace those moments? Yeah. Um coach drew up at Got a great screen, you know, caught it, got closed out, but um I hit a few already, so um shot ready. We worked on shot prep, just being ready, you know, loading up and just being deliberate with the release. And Divi talks about like machines, right? Machines just grab the pop and drop the pop, right? You just keep doing it over and over again. You put the money in the machine and it does it over and over again. It doesn’t think um you don’t change anything until there’s a malfunction in the machine. And you know, historically, I haven’t had many malfunctions, you know, in my game. So, it’s just, you know, continuing to swim every day. Get in the water and swim. Yeah. Were you you tied the franchise record for threes in a game. Were you aware of that during the game? Oh, no. I would have shot a couple more um just to, you know, I don’t like tying records. It’s either you break it or you don’t, you know what I mean? So, um we’ll revisit this and I’ll hit 11 again before the year’s over. Yeah. Um we uh watched Alex last year. I I can’t remember him uh being as physical around the basket as he was or he has been this year, but you know, going up against a guy like Porzingis, just going right at him. What have you made of the way that he’s learned how to use his physicality? I mean, he’s been great. you know, all year he prepares and like the results are going to come when you prepare the way that this team has historically done. The player development, you know, they’ve done a great job of getting with their coaches, watching the film, um, getting their work in in the morning, getting the work in, you know, later at night. You know, when I went to the gym last night and Bla was in there two nights ago, Bubb was in there. Um, guys are getting their work in consistently and that’s why you get results. Um, they’re hungry. um they understand um this is a special opportunity to take advantage of your talents in a city you know like this which is a great city a great organization and they’re giving you freedom to explore your game so it’s a disservice to not take advantage CJ with the ability that you all have been able to kind of stack these stretches together to start the season and now you’ve had a couple of games where you’ve been able to do it for nearly a full 48 before tonight. Is this something that as vets you, Corey, AG, Chris can go to the young guys and say, “This is kind of what we’ve been we’ve been talking about since since training camp of when you stack the right habits and you learn to fight through runs and and be resilient. This is how we can put things together to continue to play the right way.” Yeah, absolutely. I think we we’ve made strides in the right direction. and the results just haven’t been there consistently for us. But I think we’ve played better basketball throughout the season, you know, from the beginning to now, even some of the losses. Minnesota obviously we got down 26 and came back and got it down to six against a really good team. So like the strides that we’re taking and making are showing, but now it’s about sustainability. And I think we’re we’re translating, you know, our work in private to, you know, 7 p.m. and and 8:00 p.m. And I think that’s what it’s about. you know, learning how to play through mistakes, learning how to, you know, execute out of timeouts, learning how to go on a run, learning how to respond to a run. I think you have to go through it. And I think now we’re starting to understand like it’s a long game. There’s going to be loss, there’s going to be times where they go on runs, but if we do it, we’re supposed to do possession after possession, we’ll have more nights like tonight. As much as people may watch the game and understand the physical work that goes into it, what is also the mental aspect and that type of work that takes to be able to withstand a team going up 27 in Minnesota, Atlanta cutting it to 13 here tonight and just being able to take those punches, but having the mental power to punch back. Yeah, I mean, I think this league is full of talented players. Everybody’s talented, but the players that have that mental fortitude to push forward are the ones that last long and the ones that are able to make a difference consistently throughout a season. We’re all good at basketball. We all have great staff. We all have great resources, you know, chefs, everything. The separate The separator is mentally, you know, can you push through? Can you lock in? Can you focus? Can you not waver under pressure? Can you be consistent when things are going well? Can you be consistent when things aren’t going well? I think, you know, for me, I could I could have been two for seven tonight. The mentality is the same. The approach is the same. How I carry myself is the same in the locker room, at home with my family. I’m just consistent in terms of how I approach the game. And when I go home, my kids don’t care if I had 45 or or two. But I think the the difference is throughout a season, you like if you turn on the game, you shouldn’t be able to tell if somebody’s shooting well or not. You should just see them playing hard and executing. I think we’re getting to that level and to that point. CJ, it seems like um Bub had a one of his best games of the season tonight. What do you think helped him perform that way and how can he build on that moving forward? I think he wasn’t hesitant tonight. Uh besides the three he turned down when he traveled and I told him you just got to shoot the ball. I think he’s you know continuing to figure out his balance between making plays, getting in the paint and taking his own shots. But I mean he’s been in the gym at night. He’s he’s really paying attention. He’s watching film and he’s learning his own game and learning the NBA game all at the same time in year two. So I think he’s going to continue to make strides. We’re not even a quarter through the season. You know what I mean? What is this game 16? So, there’s a lot of growth that’s going to take place and, you know, by the time we get to Christmas, I think he’ll be, you know, much more comfortable. CJ, as as a vet, do you believe in the notion of the hot hand? Yeah, absolutely. I think there’s a such thing as a flow state and I think, you know, the best players find it more often than not. Like Steph obviously, he’s figured out ways to continue to kind of live in the flow state, but then the the veteran presence of their team, they get them the ball, right? Draymond, there’s movement, there’s sets, there’s plays, but it’s also offensive rebounds. Um, I think when you do things the right way, the ball finds you, you know, the ball finds energy. But, um, yeah, I do believe in the hot end. So, when you’re on a heater like tonight, I mean, is there is there any sense of where you’re getting your shots from or it just feels right when it leaves your hand? Uh, I mean, I knew I was going to have a good game today just because I had two days off. So, we had a backto-back and just slowly like my margins of error have been like close. Like, I’ve been missing wide open threes. I’ve been missing layups. So, I’m like, I’m right there. And we talked about we watched the film and me and D were laughing like I was like, “Yo, I’m right there.” I was like, “Yo, I’ll be over 40 from three in three games.” I was like, “Because the margins are like this. I’m missing like slightly left in and out.” I was like, “It’s right there.” here and I was like once you know once I get this extra work in kind of tighten things up you know you know tighten the screws a little bit I was like we’re like we’re on the cusp of like an explosion and you know I felt good I had back to back I got a workout in after back to back I got another one in and then I got a great you know movement you know stability left in where like my body feels good I got to play with Play-Doh with my son today I got to watch Cars with my daughter um so like it was just like like I feel good you know euphorically like my body feels good I’ve allowed my work to kind of dictate, you know, how I approach these games. Like, I’ve been prepared, but I was like, it’s only a matter of time. And I told him to shoot around today. I was like I was like, it’s going to be a nice night for everybody tonight, especially me. Sorry. Uh, hey CJ over here. Um, so Chase mentioned that you uh tied the three-point record. You tied Trevor Reza. That’s my guy. I was gonna ask what’s that mean to you tying him from your Portland days. No, I love Trev. That’s my guy, man. Uh, and you know, I’m going to break it now that I know it’s his. But, um, no, he’s a really good dude. Good soul. His son is nice, too. You know, his son is really good at basketball and he just had a good spirit really good spirit. I enjoyed my time with him for sure. Sure. And if I could ask about uh that crazy run in the first quarter. Um, you had the big night, but you weren’t alone out there. Uh, Cory Kispert was also, you know, on it. So, can you describe uh watching the baton get passed in real time like that and watching someone else be just as hot as you are? I mean, this is a guy who just does his job consistently. You know, some nights he plays a lot, some nights he doesn’t. Um, doesn’t complain. He works every day, shows up. Quarter zip crew, you know, he’s in his quarter zip getting his jumpers in in the weight room consistently. Um, so you like to see guys, you know, have success that take the game seriously, that do things the right way and are, you know, you know, well-intentioned individuals. CJ, with Alex and his defense, what have you noticed about him as a rim protector, but also his ability to kind of deter teams from going inside? I think his motor is continuing to get better defensively in terms of understanding that he can block shots. Um, he’s going after him more and I think coaches continue to challenge him like you got to contest everything. So, I think he’s doing a better job of that and utilizing that that athleticism and that timing. What can that do for a defense downstream having someone like that at the back line? we know we can funnel, you know, players towards him and that he’s going to protect us. Obviously, we got a crack back and and block out his men when he jumps and goes for the ball, but I think he’s continuing to take real strides and he had a great defensive possession on the switch. He sat out, got the steal and and went down and, you know, got fouled on the layup. So, he’s continuing to do better job of of of taking the challenges. Okay. Yeah. Uh CJ, hi CJ. As a former trail blazer, you playing out there over a decade. A Chinese player named Hansen Yang was drafted by Portland this year. Could you please give him some advice on how to quickly adjust to the trailblazers and to life in the city of Portland? Yeah, I mean, I think he’s got a great group of leaders around him. Obviously, stay close to Dame. I think that’ll be helpful. Um, teaching them the ins and outs of the league, preparation, um, how to take care of your body, what restaurants to eat at. Um, Dame loves sushi, so I’m sure he’s probably told him about bamboo sushi and all the spots that he likes out there. But I think all in all, I think he’s in a great spot. I think they’re going to do a great job of nurturing him to help him develop.

Head Coach Brian Keefe, CJ McCollum, and Alex Sarr spoke to the media following the win against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.

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