2024 Hornets Draft Pick Introductory Press Conference | 6/28/2024

2024 Hornets Draft Pick Introductory Press Conference | 6/28/2024

hello everyone welcome to the introductory press conference for the Charlotte Hornets 2024 draft class we’re excited to welcome tjn salon and KJ Simpson here home to the Queen City my name is Sam Farber I’m the radio play byplay broadcaster for the Charlotte Hornets and I’ll be the MC for today we want to thank everyone in attendance here for coming as well as everyone tuned in on B Sports Southeast 92.7 sports radio WFNZ as well as hornets.com special thanks to our friends here at Lowe’s Home Improvement for hosting us once again at the Lowe’s Tech Hub Auditorium while our home Spectrum Center continues its reimagining in preparation for the upcoming 2425 season on stage today we have Hornet’s first round pick tjan salon sixth overall pick in the NBA draft he’s a 6 foot n forward who at 18 is the youngest member of his draft class has already been celebrated as one of the top young players in both his professional league in France as well as in international competition we also have KJ Simpson 42nd overall pick in the draft KJ LED Colorado on a thrilling NCAA tournament run last season and he was a first team all Pack 12 selection third time in as many seasons he was honored as an allconference pick welcome to both of you joining them on stage we’ve got Hornet said coach Charles Lee who will be coaching these guys at Summer League which tips off inless less than two weeks and we of course have Hornet’s Executive Vice President of basketball operations Jeff Peterson fresh off his first draft Leading The Hornet’s front office and he’ll tip things off with an opening statement thanks Sam ah this is a special day uh just being able to add tjn and KJ to our organization of course their families here in Charlotte with us uh it doesn’t get better than this you know tjn and KJ were two players that we targeted uh towards the you know prior to the draft even starting and anytime that you can add two players of that caliber of course on on the floor uh and two guys of the character that they have uh is it’s extremely uh extremely exciting um so yeah just want to to welcome them to Charlotte welcome their families to Charlotte within the organization uh cannot wait for the fans to to be able to watch them and see what we saw in them uh during the draft uh process thank you Jeff for the media members in attendance if you raise your hand we’ll have one of our PR St members get a microphone to you uh please let us know your name who you’re representing and who you’re directing your question towards so we have clear communication up here we’ll tip things off with Sam perley um good question for tjan and KJ um Sam perly with hornets.com congratulations to you both uh you both had a little bit of time to kind of process being drafted now that you’re here in Charlotte I mean what does this this moment feel like for you and then um as a followup to Charles just your impressions of of your two newest players that are entering the organization uh also at the same time as you so uh I’m grateful thank you uh for everybody um thank you the coach thank you for the general manager vice president everybody um I just I’m happy to be here and I’m just ready to to work and start my first game in the summer Le I mean yeah obviously you know now that time has gone by I still feel the same way um you know right when I got drafted it’s like a dream come true you know you think about this you know as a kid and now that it finally happened I then everybody saw my raw emotions you know right when it happened and I mean that’s just who I am and so um honestly I still feel the same way I still feel on top of the world but I also can’t wait to get ready to work and uh get ready to go after it with this with this team and this un unbelievable opportunity uh I would just add to the excitement as you saw I was ready to clap for these guys and didn’t realize that that’s not what we do um but as we went through the draft process and talking to Jeff and he threw some names out to me as I was on my playoff Journey uh I got even more excited about this job seeing the type of caliber player and people that Jeff and his uh front office team had kind of identified as potential hornets and so watching film of both of these two players you got to be excited with their competitive nature um you know as we start to bring a new brand of basketball to Charlotte um these guys embody what Hornet’s DNA is going to look like when you talk about the type of people they are and also the way they play the game uh both are very unselfish um KJ just talked about his raw emotion when I watched him play on film like that’s how he plays with like passion and joy and we need that and I can already feel from tjon the same type of energy he’s got a infectious Spirit to them and uh after spending time with both of them and their families I can see why they’re such great young men and talented basketball players thank you Rod boom Char Observer for the players what do you guys feel that you can bring to this team like what is your strengths and your skill set that you want to show fans and people that you can actually bring to this organization on the court and off the court as well uh my smile uh um I will bring like I always did all of my energy in the court like of court and um for sure my strength so play hard uh I my teammates the crowd um in transition I run the floor a lot uh after in Def same energy uh still Communication in offense same play my game tree Alo D and for sure I improve a lot on my on my play to to be dangerous everywhere and help my teammate on all the situation uh as far as for me I definitely you know my dad taught me to play you know basketball being an allaround player and so as far as going out there on the court helping this team there’s something there’s a lot of things I feel as if I can do and whatever it is the team that’s that needs me to do I’m going to go out there and do it and um as and one of my strengths I think obviously is my speed and so I expect you know to have a high Tempo you know fastpac you know kind of team uh with me being added to it along with the pieces that already on there and then uh I have a high high motor that I just you know have had since I was young I love playing basketball and that motor just has carried me all the way to this point and it’s going to continue to help me be out there on the floor and make great things happen and then as far as you know you know outside the court you know I’m big on a being a people person you know that’s just who I am that’s um why I went to Colorado you know that’s why I chose all the decisions that I’ve made in my life I’m big on the communities I understand you know the fan base you know supporting here and I can’t wait you know play in front of them and you know I understand that it’s bigger than just this organization their support and what it means to us and I’m just excited to kind of get that rolling and show people you know I’m a people person as well but when I get on the court you know there’s a different side of me different emotion that people will kind of draw to and appreciate and then Jeff just culture-wise how do these two players fit what you’re trying to do here in Charlotte yeah uh excuse me again they they just embody everything that we want to be about um they are again extremely unselfish uh they work right they understand that the the importance of putting the time in that’s the only way you’re going to get to the results that you want uh they compete and they just they have a an amazing um Outlook and approach in terms of how to get better in on a daily basis so uh these two guys here like I said just embody exactly what we want to be about going forward uh Hunter Bailey with the highway 49 podcast this is for KJ you talked about your Tempo your speed on the court watching your film through the years it looks like you’ve kind of developed working plan off a two what has changed in your game from that are there any players that you watched to develop in that aspect um most definitely uh you know as I went through college you know it was a learning curve obviously and um you know with time and with experience and as my role changed throughout the years I definitely got better in that aspect you know watched a lot of film with the coaches there my dad recorded games so when I got back home in the summer I watched every single game that was recorded and I think the biggest thing was just understanding you know my change of pace obviously I’m I’m so used to going 100 miles an hour but um it’s actually more effective when you’re able to kind of do it in spurts and be able to change pace and be more patient you know and so I had to learn that that was definitely a learning curve and now that’s why I kind of showed it this past year and where I’m trying to get better at you know as this years come and um but as far as you know watching people definitely like watching Chris Paul a bunch watching Steve Nash a bunch um even faster guards like especially Tyrese Maxi someone who’s extremely fast but knows how to do it in spurts and do it at the right moments um so there’s definitely a plethora of guys I’ve seen and watched film on grabbed a little bit of everything and uh kind of used it for myself to John will pic from WFNZ radio here in Charlotte in terms of you being from France you mentioned WBY the other night in your opening press conference how much pride do you have in not only seeing the many players from France in this draft but having the trail that has been uh very much blazed by guys like wmi and others who have kind of come before you to have this kind of French invasion into the NBA I think it’s just because the the the French basketball improve uh and it’s everywhere in the world I would say U we just improve we we l we watch a lot of game like uh like the NBA game not in life but uh the next day we can we can watch and uh that make the difference Charles as well uh and KJ you can feel free to respond as well when we talked on Tuesday you mentioned that in your own career you kind of had a little bit of a chip on your shoulder how much of that maybe do you see do you see a little bit of yourself and KJ from what your career was like and what KJ’s kind of had to overcome and KJ as well yeah I I would say he’s definitely got the right approach the D the the the right mindset for how to come into every day knowing that like nothing’s going to be given to you uh you have to earn everything uh just a moment ago he and I talked about why he chose to go to Colorado and that it was about fit for him and so I think that he knows what it’s going to take on a day-to-day basis for himself to improve but also how he can have an impact on everybody else on his team in Colorado on his team here in Charlotte and help us build something um that’s going to be really special I think that between KJ and tjon uh both of these guys they just love the game and that’s really important and I think it’s something that’s kind of been lacking um as Generations have come into this nowadays and these two guys have that and then there’s also a sense of like resilience theyve both gone through some things they’ve been young I think that their rookie year they’re going to find out that it’s a little bit of a different game um but but they’re they’re prepared for that because they have the right mindset the right approach they have a chip on their shoulder they’re competitive and they just love the opportunity every day to get better that was beautiful um but no yeah just to follow that I mean he kind of spoke on it we talked about it a little bit but one of my non-negotiables is loyalty that’s something I live by that’s something I I follow and make decisions as and you know me being loyal to certain people and certain programs you know it might have not always been the the favorite for the public eye and so everyone’s GNA have their opinions everyone’s gonna you know say things about me or always have a negative thing to say honestly so my path has definitely not been the easiest um it’s definitely been you know unique you know me and my family went through a lot and um so just the the fact that I’m at this level and at this stage like it makes me more appreciative of these opportunities because they don’t get handed to everybody so when I play out there on the floor like I don’t care about looking the fanciest or looking the coolest like I play because I love basketball and I play with a chip on my shoulder because of everything I’ve been through so yep Jeremy Granderson ESPN Charlotte question for tajon and KJ Charles mentioned culture enhancers as a key trait you were trying to add to the team how rewarding is it to know that they didn’t draft you only for your skill set but also your character and work ethic can you say again how rewarding is it to see that uh they drafted you not only for your skill set but also who you are as a person and your character start first yeah uh basically you know understanding that they just drafted me outside of not just being a basketball player but because of the person I am you know that’s everything that kind of we talked about it that’s the that’s kind of who I am in general I don’t just make decisions just off you know basketball it’s all about the culture behind it it’s all about you know for me loyalty it’s all about you know all these things that come together and and um I have to trust you and you know I want someone that’s going to trust in me as well and you know just give me an opportunity is definitely definitely here this this organization and so uh it means everything honestly makes like I told them on the phone call I’m going to run through a brick wall for this organization cuz I just needed an opportunity and um the fact that I got it you know I’m going give them my all this is excuse me is that right oh a question for both Charles and Jeff um to follow up on the the tone of what you saw in both tjon and KJ as people in addition to their basketball ability if you could both share an example of why they were the right people fit for what you’re building me spark it go ahead uh well for one I I had the opportunity can’t remember exactly when I got to go to lunch with you but we went to I went to lunch with tjan after one of his pre-draft workouts and at the workout we were just having some casual conversation and he just mentioned how hungry he was and like kind of his journey and the path to where he is now and part of that hunger he’s like I don’t ever want to get back to the bottom again like I’m just always focused on now progressing and moving up and he had to change his mindset during that season because things didn’t go his way and so he thought uh I could play more I could do more for the team but after I think some some uh meditation some reflection some personal reflection he said I changed my mindset That season and then I was able to be the best player and the best teammate I could possibly be for that team and so to me that just really stuck out when you have a guy that’s self-aware um focused on the team’s success a little bit more than his own individual success and then also the hunger uh because that’s what we got to be every day and for KJ um watching his post-draft uh interview it just confirmed for me that like that was the right choice that was the kid that um Rick and Jeff and the rest of the front office got to meet with in Chicago and he blew them away with his comments of um everyday work uh how he approaches the game how he wanted to get better how having the game taken away from him actually created a little bit bit more of a sense of joy and love and appreciation and gratitude uh for the game yeah I I’ll start with uh with tjan so um our assistant general manager dotun ainw and I we were fortunate to be able to go over to uh to Venice to to interview tjn as part of the Euro camp and uh you know simply just ask what he enjoys the most about the game of basketball and his response is something that that really stuck with us and tipped it over the edge and he just said I just simply love the process of getting better so again I I I’ll be able to sleep at night knowing someone who who always wants to get better he’s going to find a way he has that internal drive um It’s never enough right uh and then with KJ you know we met with KJ in Chicago and uh the story that he gave us he uh he had a trainer and um you know things uh things weren’t working out from a a monetary standpoint in terms of what the the the trainer was trying to charge and uh he used that as motivation so he got in the gym with his dad his mom and his his girlfriend they rebounded for him and that’s how you go from you know being an average shooter to was one of the best Shooters in college basketball this year so again I always go back to they put the time in um and it’s it’s it’s never going to be enough they want to be the the greatest players that they can be welcome to Charlotte first of all Steve Reed from the Associated Press um Charles first for you um I know it’s a age of position this basketball but what kind of where do you kind of see these guys fitting in in terms of what what positions you want them and then for the for the for the players I just wonder you know who is it you’ve modeled your game after who was it you looked up to uh growing up who did you watch and who’ you really like uh um as as you’re watching guys on TV I’ll just start I guess defensively uh because that’s going to be the most important thing it’s going to be the first thing we talk about at summer leue training camp at regular training camp is defense so let let that sink in fellas um defensively I just think that both of these guys have so much grit to them toughness um I think that they both have a really good basketball IQ that they’re going to have great versatility uh they’re going to allow us to do a lot of different things uh tactically um but there there’s going to be an effort there um as you can tell they both like to speak so there’s going to be a communication factor which we’re always going to lean on and then an open-mindedness to just doing a lot of different things um so I’m really looking forward to that uh them them them helping us just apply pressure to people on a day night in Night Out basis and then I think on the offensive end we want to play with some pace and both of these guys are great athletes well conditioned they’re going to get even more conditioned uh they’re unselfish and they’re going to help us play with the pass and again their versatility to be able to play with the ball in their hands and then also be able to play off the ball I think KJ’s got a great feel for the game he talked about the pace and being able to change speeds uh when I think about how we’re going to emphasize kick ahads and our five out spacing uh I think he could be really dangerous in those situations um and then tjan I think with his with his size with his athleticism to be able to Sprint the floor create some cross matches early in the possession um and then his versatility to be a screener um I think that he’s going to be able to be a a lob threat uh a rolling threat to maybe catch lobs to play in that half rle and and playmake uh but also I think he can pop a little bit um I actually was very impressed with his pre-draft workout watching his shot um even it was even sharper I think in person than it was on film and then him also being able to play to some second side dhos so both of these guys on both ends of the Court just bring a great deal of Versatility darl Horowitz with the Queen City nerve um this is for both Charles and Jeff uh tjan like really flying up the draft charts uh looking at this draft which was considered like not one of the best ones in recent times and the Milwaukee Bucks gotot Giannis in 2013 were you looking for maybe getting that special player that wasn’t going to maybe be the first pick and how do you feel that he’s gonna I think you already kind of mentioned a little bit Charles about maybe fitting in maybe I’m thinking with Lela Bal and Brandon Miller and does the timeline change a little bit with on being a younger player like how does that affect the timeline of where you see the team going forward thank you yeah I wouldn’t say the timeline changes uh again we’re going to be incredibly um just thorough and and patient diligent um very creative and and you know opportunistic in terms of how we build this thing out uh you guys have heard me said just like I’m not going to we’re not going to sit here and uh just try to make the playoffs one season and then and then miss the playoffs for four or five seasons row after that like we want to get there and have sustained success so everything that we do in terms of our plan and our path is going to be very uh strategic in order to to you know achieve that goal for us uh and then again you know with with with both these guys we we’ve watched them a ton um throughout the season obviously KJ we have a little bit more uh history with them just being in college and getting see him over the years but um we know just the traits that we want to build around and again you guys are probably TI saying this by now but they they embody those things um to the fullest so uh we again we were incredibly thrilled and excited that that tjn was there at six we we thought there was a world where you know he he could go before that um and then KJ as well like we again we have met a as a first round Talent we had no expectation for him to be there at 42 so again very excited about that as well Steve you had a follow and guys um uh you didn’t get a chance to answer up players that you followed growing up and really looked up to to and all that so when I was young I didn’t watch NBA I didn’t expect to be in NBA I expect to be in NBA only at 16 or maybe 17 uh because just like that uh I think if I work a lot I could be a lot of a lot of sing and uh so I just put the work and um this um come from my sister and U Evan F because it’s the first French player I saw on his series for for well I think it was that and uh it was so cool to to to show a a French player in NBA and uh I remember he was come um at chanton uh and at this moment uh I think I have some star in my eye so just this um well me I mean growing up in La it was kind of hard to to miss Kobe um I wouldn’t say my my game is anything like his but the thing I kind of gravitated from from him was or towards him and kind of take took away from him was definitely like how he approached playing basketball um I appreciated you know how much love and passion how serious he was for it and I’m a joy joyful person I’m a great people person as I mentioned but when I get on the court like that’s how serious and that’s how you know valuable I approach basketball in that same manner so I kind of took that from him and then uh definitely you know a lot a lot of quick guards in the NBA um like I mentioned Tyrese Maxi and growing up you know I watched Colin sexon a lot um you know it was someone I I’m able to contact if I need anything kind of like a big brother to me now so that’s kind of cool to have that you know type of connection but definitely him the way he approaches basketball as well I mean we seen how serious he was in summer league so um definitely players like that um Andrew nard is also another one you know obviously seen his recent success uh played against him in high school and so um ever since then kind of drawn towards those players that do a lot of things out there on the floor for their team another one is kind of weird to kind of compare myself but like and terms of what they bring to the team is probably Derek white um I had a lot of uh conversations with Coach Bole back in Colorado about what he did for you know what he’s doing for the team obviously right now you see the success that they’ve had because of it and what he did for Colorado and the way he helped his team and so like I said growing up I’m an all-around player and that’s definitely what Derek white is and that’s what he embodies and so I kind of try and play similar to that Mike leet from Queen City News Charlotte Sports Live TJ I two questions for you first off we’re peppering you with questions but you’re new to the area you’re new to the city what upon looking at it and and seeing this place for the first time what kind of questions do you have about Charlotte about being here what are your impressions early [Laughter] on ask if they got Hornets uh I don’t really know um when I came here the first thing uh I want I want to know is where is the gym like that yeah just was the gym uh and they told me uh they just build a better better gym better Arena so uh I couldn’t uh go to the gym at The Practice Facility but uh I came to another one but after for the city we will see but uh it’s not on my project you know followup question real quick one of the things that everyone talks about your energy and your your ability to move away from the ball one area though there is that people have said you have to work on is your jump shot your long range ability developing consistency what do you think you have to do to get that jump shot to the next level uh continue to work uh you know just yesterday I I I work uh with the coach um on my shoot and I shoot a lot and uh I think if I regular I’m I’m going to be better it’s uh the process and uh after with my confidence uh that is going to be good TN Scott Fowler from the Charlotte Observer I would like to know more about your basketball Journey when you really started playing early and when you started playing seriously and that’s and where you learned the game uh so uh I start at 7 years old um in my city in in friends and um I just follow my sister before I played Judo one year in football but I wasn’t good uh but I was good on Judo uh so until 14 15 when I when I came in inep you know inep uh in Academy in France one of the biggest Academy I was injur so during 6 months I just lived a lot and uh after at 16 like I said uh at this moment just like that uh I start to work a lot play harder work hard um I start to follow my sister on his work and at this moment uh I made some um great uh performance on the court uh I improve a lot and I uh just joined uh the int uh and I put a 31 Point uh my biggest game and this moment um just make me realize I can do more and more and uh after I’m now I’m here is just because U I work a lot they have no secret for me just Pati walk and uh be positive excellent that’s all the time that we have another warm welcome for tjan and KJ welcome to Charlotte to both of you that’ll do it for the press conference uh we are going to take a quick photo op here thank you all again tuned in at home and for being here in person e e

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