“I See A Team Just Thinking Finals Now.” | Jaden McDaniels Exit Interview | 05.29.25

“I See A Team Just Thinking Finals Now.” | Jaden McDaniels Exit Interview | 05.29.25

your roles expanded this year compared to years previous Now that the season’s over what role do you prefer Do you prefer the wing stopper role or do you prefer more be more able to be a two-way player and hit the boards more Which one if you could choose would be If I could choose I’ll probably say two-way player I mean I still playing defense and then just being able to you show my offense and go just be aggressive and be able to score How tough is it to be a wing stopper and you know take on the team’s best scorer night after night after night I mean it’s hard You just got to be patient with yourself Just know that like since you are guarding the best player on every team that they’re going to make tough shots they’re going to get calls and you just got to be patient Like that’s something I learned early just just if you always contest a shot and miss this or make like most of them are going to miss but a lot sometimes they’ll make tough ones So I just kind of uh learn early that they’re good players and they’ll make hard shots as well Jaden there’s been a lot of guys on this team that have been new that it seems like have meant a lot to you Just what has this team this season meant to you personally Uh it’s meant a lot Like uh I would say like we started off like a little struggle you could say but uh over the months and through the season like we built a lot of trust just with Dante J and even Joe coming in So just just uh them being there being um just being good teammates for real and then we all like binding together pretty cool like everyone’s chill and on the plane and stuff So I mean it was a good good year I think Tim has made some dramatic moves the last few years Do you think this is a team that is facing more change this off seasonason or do you think you know there’s a chance for this group staying together Who knows I mean last year I thought we was going to run it back the same team and I probably think the same this year but who knows The offseason be so crazy that I mean anyone could go really What’s your mindset going into next year knowing that you guys are coming off back-to-back Western Conference Finals just the potential that this team has the trajectory What do you see moving forward Um I mean I see a team just thinking finals now I mean we made it to the conference finals two times and I want to say that’s probably like not enough for us I feel like we’re still hungry like losing this early but just a team coming to win the championship Jaden Finch mentioned last night that they have some young guys that are itching to get in the rotation How close do you think particularly those three top guys are ready to be contributors next year Uh I mean man they they’re ready I watch them every day They play sisle stay in shape They’re always working on their game I mean they could play now if if they want if let them but you know it’s just a patient thing And yeah I’m I’m excited for them I don’t know who’s playing summer league but I’ll probably be there to watch them But other than that yeah I feel like they’re ready Jaden you’re talking finals maybe as the next step So what what is in your mind like the missing ingredient or if you could put your finger on it what like needs to happen in order to get to that next step I don’t know We just got to win Like I don’t know Like we win win two times in a row like the same outcome like the same four to one We just got to I don’t know We just got to find a way to win specifically against the Thunder If and when you get them in a playoff series again what what do you think is the key to changing that outcome I’ll probably say like well my perspective I think we uh like worried about like the Shay foul calls too much Like I’ll say like probably the first two games like we was worrying about that way too much and instead of just playing cuz like I’ll say like the Lakers series Luca kind of does like the same little tricky stuff So like and we didn’t really worry about it that much So I’ll probably just say just don’t worry about the stuff we can’t control Jaden is there another level this team can get to defensively And if so how do you go about doing that Yeah I mean we could be like number one top top team in defense in the NBA It’s just uh we all just got to be uh communicating together and just want to put the work in And I mean at times you see it like all of us could guard one through five really And just yeah when we see mismatches helping our teammates out When you talk about uh not trying not to foul Shay was that more about uh worrying about uh the officials of it all or is it more like you have to make sure not to foul him yourself when he’s legitimately drawing I’ll probably say just worrying about the officials like going into the game thinking like yeah he’s going to get calls or they’re going to call stuff for him So just next time we know just not to even worry about the refs at all Jane just going back to the defense real quick I think Ant described it last night as OKC looked like 15 puppets on one string like how do you guys go about looking like that and or is that a possibility for you You just got to be on the same page and they’re like I’ll say they’re relentless Like they make sure they contest every every shot Like no one gets a open shot no matter how good or bad you shoot Uh and they’re just always hustling But I feel like we can get to that for sure There’s times where you see us like teams can’t get past half court on us So it’s just a thing we got to get better at and continue to do Each summer you’ve pretty much stayed around and worked hard here right here in the building Will you continue that tradition and how helpful has it been I don’t know what I’m going to do yet but I’ll probably be back for sure Sure I mean I’m always here when they start having runs and stuff with like the young guys and just everyone kind of slowly coming back but I’ll be in and out for sure Now as your running buddy got a player option this year have you talked to him at all or worried at all about his his near future Yeah I mean hopefully he stays here but no I don’t even get into all that stuff with him I just just focus on basketball and just being a friend for real I know earlier on in the season you t talked about mentoring Rob defensively and kind of taking on that role How’s Rob specifically kind of improved throughout the season I mean he’s came a long way Like I’ll say Rob like he wants to play bad and like he knows how good he can be So I mean for him it’s kind of frustrating but we always tell him like like for me and Anna for example like when Ann first got in the NBA like he didn’t start or I barely played So like it’s just like a a timing thing And I’ll say like he’s done really well just learning like just to keep working just keep working out like no matter if you’re playing or not I just I think he’s going to be ready next year though for sure Jaden you um worked on the mid game um in the offseason last year What are you going to work on this this off seasonason coming into this year Uh I’d probably say man for everything offensively like shooting threes mid-range uh my ball handling especially just being able to create off the dribble and just make sure everything’s pretty tight But uh defense always but yeah just all three levels of scoring

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