- 14 hours ago
Wizards head coach Brian Keefe joins BMitch & JP following the Wizards winning the NBA Draft Lottery!
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00:00Joining us now on the Rude Guest Hotline, Wizards head coach, Mr. Brian Keefe.
00:04Brian, what's up, man? Thanks for making time for us.
00:07Hey, guys. Thanks for having me on.
00:08Appreciate you, man.
00:09What a day yesterday was for the organization, man.
00:13Curious kind of where you were watching and how you reacted.
00:19Yeah, I was up there at the draft headquarters here in Chicago,
00:25and I was sitting there right – they had it situated like at the Wizards table,
00:29so I was kind of right behind the players.
00:31So, yeah, I was right there in the mix,
00:32and obviously a very exciting day for our organization.
00:37Well, as you go through this whole process, and, you know,
00:40I know people always talk about the front office,
00:42they talk about the general manager, all this type of people.
00:44How much of this do you get to be a part of?
00:48Yeah, very much a part of all of it.
00:50You know, we have a great – obviously with the draft process,
00:53Will Dawkins, led by him and his scouting crew,
00:56who have a great, great group who does a fantastic job,
00:59and they're working on all that all year.
01:01But as we get closer to start identifying players and stuff like that,
01:05you know, I'm involved in the workouts, and they're, you know,
01:08watching film and asking the opinion.
01:09But we got a great group that I obviously trust
01:12who's doing the majority of the work during the year.
01:15But, yeah, definitely involved.
01:16So, throughout your career, I mean, you started your NBA career
01:21with the Spurs, working with Pop.
01:23Then you are, you know, part of what became the Oklahoma City Thunder,
01:27started that career in Seattle.
01:29Like, you've seen some legendary teams get built.
01:34What do you see in the Wiz right now
01:38and what this pick does for the organization?
01:42Yeah, I think you're always drawing from your past experiences.
01:45You know, obviously, you've got to build it in your own unique way,
01:48which we are doing.
01:48But I think some of the lessons you can learn
01:50is that you don't skip any steps.
01:52You build it brick by brick,
01:54and you build the habits that are going to be sustainable.
01:56And I think that's what we've been focused on
01:58since I've been here with Will and Michael
02:02and an ownership group is building it the right way.
02:05And I think this is just another addition to that,
02:08and this is part of it,
02:10is that now we're adding, you know, a high player with high value.
02:14But we're going to continue on building it the way that we have,
02:17and that's just by being steady and growing it, you know, day by day.
02:22And, you know, specifically on my end,
02:24that's what I really focus on with the team
02:25is that we're building the habits that are going to be sustainable to win,
02:29and that's, you know, how we've looked at it.
02:32My mindset has always been, like, once you get into a position like this,
02:35you have to make sure you go through every possibility that you can.
02:39And, you know, do you allow yourself to start thinking about who, what,
02:45or do you just say, I'm going to wait and see how they go through the process?
02:48And when we all come together, we come up with a solution and move forward?
02:52Yeah, I think that's the way I've always looked at it,
02:54and that's the way we do it here anyways,
02:55is that we just kind of follow the process of it.
02:58That will lead us to determine what, you know,
03:00we think is the best player available for us.
03:02And then we continue to plan
03:04and how we're going to build around our team
03:06with the addition of whoever we add.
03:08And, you know, you can obviously add players like we did this year
03:10through trade and then obviously free agency.
03:12And then we've obviously have built a lot of our team through the draft,
03:16and we obviously have drafted well,
03:18and we'll continue to do that with this process.
03:21Talking with Wizards head coach Brian Keefe here on the Rude Guest Hotline.
03:26I'm curious, Brian, in your experience,
03:28and, like, just looking at all the teams and young players you've worked for,
03:32like, when you went back to the Thunder
03:34and you're working with SGA to become the most dominant player in basketball right now,
03:40or previously, you know, you're working with Chris Saps Porzingis
03:43or Kevin Durant in Seattle and then Oklahoma.
03:46Like, what do you try to identify in a young player
03:51that you recognize may not be a complete product,
03:55but what is it you look for most, both on the court and off?
04:00Yeah, I think, obviously, there's some physical gifts
04:04that they obviously need to have, right, size, you know,
04:07the skill level, that type of stuff.
04:09But mostly the biggest thing for all those guys that you talked about
04:12is the love of the game and the mentality.
04:15You know, I've been very fortunate in my career
04:17to be around some really great players,
04:19and there's a common denominator with a lot of them
04:22is that they have tremendous love for the game,
04:24and they love the process of working to get better to be great.
04:28And that takes, you know, a mental mindset, a stamina to do that every day,
04:33and those are, I think, the things that we believe in here,
04:37that the guys who love the game and have a certain mindset
04:39of wanting to get better and really look at this
04:42as to continue to grow their game,
04:44those are the things we think about,
04:46and those are the things that I've drawn throughout my career.
04:48How do you identify that love of the game?
04:52I think that's where, you know, we have, you know,
04:55a lot of people who are involved in our organization
04:58in terms of, you know, you do a lot of work
05:01and find out what they are as people.
05:03You know, obviously there's a lot of our scouts
05:05throughout that are doing that throughout the year.
05:07You're trying to find out what they stand for,
05:09what their values are.
05:11You know, you can kind of sense those things
05:13when you're around them in terms of the love of the game,
05:15but, you know, that's what we have on our team right now.
05:19They've done a great job at the dang fine people
05:21who love to play, and you can see that up and down our roster,
05:24and that's why I think why our guys have improved so quickly
05:27is because they want to get better themselves.
05:29They love the process of it,
05:31and I think that stuff's really important.
05:34I've watched this team throughout the year,
05:36and one thing I see is that a lot of these, you know,
05:40they have that youthfulness where do they compete
05:42in practice like it seems like they do?
05:44They do, yeah.
05:46We already got guys back in the gym already second week already.
05:50Those guys are already getting after it.
05:52Like, we have competitive guys.
05:54Like I said, they want to get better,
05:55and, you know, our practice can be pretty intense,
05:59but I think that's an environment that produces, you know,
06:02something that we want to be part of,
06:03and that's, you know, competitive basketball team.
06:06Coach, when I look at your resume prior to joining the Wiz,
06:09I mean, Spurs, Lakers, Knicks, Thunder,
06:12I mean, these are impressive organizations
06:14that are focused on championships.
06:18Understanding that the job you've had now for a couple seasons
06:21is part of a bigger picture.
06:23Like, how difficult is it to go into a season
06:27where it doesn't look like you guys are a playoff contender?
06:31How ready are you for that switch to flip?
06:35You know, I look at, you know,
06:36I've been parts of all different types of teams,
06:39teams who have been, you know, rebuilding,
06:41teams that are at a championship level.
06:44To me, we stick to the same process that we had,
06:47and I think I mentioned that earlier,
06:48is that there's no skipping steps here.
06:50Everybody starts at zero.
06:51You know, we're starting to lay the foundation,
06:53but, you know, something that I can obviously take back to my days in San Antonio
06:57is, like, you build the habits,
06:59and you do that every day.
07:01And we think that's what's going to lead to be sustainable,
07:04and this is what the goal is for our organization,
07:06is to be a sustainable winner,
07:08to build the habits that are going to be needed to do that.
07:11You know, our team was a younger roster.
07:14They're learning how to win.
07:15They're learning how to work
07:16and what it takes to do that in the NBA.
07:19I think that's the stuff that's going to make us good,
07:21so we're going to continue on that path,
07:24and I think that's going to lead us to where we want to go.
07:26So, it's fascinating because you guys have really built this young core
07:31through the draft,
07:31and then last season you had two star veteran players
07:36in Trey Young and Anthony Davis.
07:38I was there the night Trey got introduced.
07:41You spoke.
07:42I mean, it was a really warm reception by the player and the organization.
07:47What has Trey been like since he's arrived?
07:50Yeah, it fit in great.
07:53Like, a guy who, again, is very similar to, like, the guys that we drafted,
07:57a guy who loves the game, loves the craft, loves working at it.
08:02He's been a great mentor in the locker room.
08:04Obviously, he didn't get a chance because of some of the injuries,
08:06playing a lot of games for us,
08:07but someone for our guys to lean on
08:09and a guy who can help enhance what we're doing.
08:12We can see that in the games he did play, his passing ability.
08:16I think that's the one thing that's always stood out for me
08:18when I played against him is how good a passer this guy is.
08:21And I think he's just going to enhance the development of our whole team.
08:25But he's just a basketball guy, and he's been a joy to be around.
08:28How much does that experience, a guy like that,
08:31help you get your message across when guys come in,
08:35veterans that have the same, like, mentality that the coach may have?
08:39Yeah, it's great.
08:40You know, I think you say the same thing about Anthony Davis, too.
08:43Like, these are guys who are, you know, have won before.
08:46Obviously, Anthony's won at the highest level, won in a championship,
08:50an Olympic, stuff like that.
08:51But they are about the process.
08:54They're about the game.
08:55They love the craft.
08:56They can feel that when they walked into our own gym that they are.
09:00We had a bunch of young guys who were very hungry,
09:02want to get better every day.
09:03So I think they identified for that.
09:05But they have great experience that they can share their knowledge,
09:08and our guys want to soak that up.
09:10So they've been a great fit.
09:11Really have enjoyed the two of them being in the organization.
09:15Any contact with AD since you guys got the number one pick?
09:19Like, he's been pretty honest, I think,
09:22about he wants to kind of figure out where the Wizards organization is
09:25and where he is.
09:26I imagine getting number one kind of helps that, right?
09:30He's been great.
09:31He's been involved with us the whole time.
09:33We've had great conversations through the season and the offseason.
09:36So he's been terrific.
09:37That's great.
09:38Talking with Wizards coach Brian Keefe here on the Rude Guest Hotline.
09:42Man, so Will Dawkins was on this morning with the Junks,
09:46and they did a great job of asking him about some of the specific prospects.
09:50Obviously, you guys have scouting to do.
09:52There's a lot of steps between now and the NBA draft.
09:57But just can you describe, like, how would you describe A.J. DeBance's game?
10:02You know what?
10:04We're going to let the experts do that, for sure.
10:07You know, I was so focused on our own team and our season,
10:11and that's what I should have been focused.
10:12That's really the biggest part of my job is helping our own players develop.
10:15I knew we were going to come to the point where we were going to have a
10:18determination of where we were going to pick,
10:20and obviously that was a great day for our organization yesterday.
10:24I haven't really got into specifics of our players,
10:27the guys we're going to look into that.
10:29We've got some time to do that,
10:31and I know that the scouts have been doing that all year long,
10:33and I'll start catching myself up here over this next, you know,
10:37four to six weeks as we get closer to the draft.
10:40What is that process for you?
10:42Will you kind of get in the room with the scouts and everybody watch together?
10:46Will you go through and, you know, maybe you guys identify five guys,
10:51however many players you think are a real option?
10:53Like, what is your process as we head towards the draft?
10:56Yeah, I think it's always been the same for me.
10:58It's like you're obviously watching film on the guys that you think are in that range.
11:04You know, there's obviously visits and stuff like that.
11:07There's going to be obviously meetings.
11:09So it's kind of a standard practice for us, but I'm excited to dive into it.
11:14Coach, do you allow yourself time to relax and watch the NBA playoffs and all that?
11:21Yeah, it's a fun time for sure.
11:23The one thing we always do is there's so much to learn from the playoffs.
11:26So, you know, we're already studying, seeing what people are doing,
11:30what the teams are running, how schemes and that type of stuff.
11:33This is the stuff we love to do.
11:34So, like, when you're like myself, this is a, you know, I wish we were playing,
11:38but, like, it's fun to watch because there's something you can learn
11:42and take advantage for your team.
11:43So this is a great time of year for me, even though, like, there's not much break for us.
11:48I got a little bit of time there after the season.
11:49But, like I said, our guys are already back in the gym and working.
11:53So, like, you know, we're already starting to prepare for next year.
11:56Have any of the playoff results surprised you?
11:59I mean, the way the Knicks dominated the Sixers, I know they're, you know,
12:02Embiid in and out of the lineup, but, gosh, the Knicks seem to be really rolling at the right time.
12:08Yeah, they seem to be playing some good basketball,
12:11kind of peaking here at the right time as they're building into their next round for sure.
12:17Obviously, you're a part of the Wizards organization.
12:18You're the head coach of the team.
12:20But you guys aren't in it.
12:22Do you allow yourself to kind of root for the Thunder?
12:25I mean, that's a team you know so well, and we're just there.
12:29I've worked for a lot of teams.
12:31You know, I always root for the guys.
12:33I've been around a little bit.
12:35I've been doing this for a long time.
12:36You always root for the guys that, A, you worked with or players that you coach.
12:42You know, I'm not rooting for a specific team anymore.
12:45I've been, you know, I've been from Boston.
12:47I don't even root for them anymore.
12:48I grew up a huge Celtics fan.
12:50So, like, that's how my love of the game grew up.
12:52I grew up in the 80s, and I, Bird, McHale, and those guys.
12:55But, like, yeah, you're always pulling for guys that you coached.
12:59And, you know, you always keep track of their journey.
13:01That's half the fun is, like, you get to kind of watch these people grow as the game goes,
13:07as their seasons grow in the years.
13:09But no specific team I'm pulling for.
13:11My motto is, I have a little love for all the people that pay me.
13:18That's a good one.
13:19If you didn't pay me, I don't cheer for you at all.
13:22And if you pay me, I might not.
13:24But you know what?
13:24I love you a little bit.
13:29As this thing kind of continues on, I don't know if you do social media.
13:36I don't believe you do.
13:37Like, have you been able to experience kind of how much Wizards fans are excited about this?
13:45I've gotten some feedback from people in the organization.
13:47I'm not a social media person.
13:49But the one thing I've, you know, been here the last few years, and this is really a basketball community.
13:56When I'm out and about and just living my normal life, people come up, approach me, talk about the team.
14:02They're so knowledgeable about the game, our players.
14:05That was the thing I was most excited about yesterday.
14:07That was obviously a big thing for our organization as we go forward.
14:12But, you know, we're really excited for the fans and for our ownership group, too, Ted and his group.
14:18But, like, the fans getting able to celebrate things like that, I think that's a great day for them.
14:23But, you know, this is a basketball community, and I can feel that since the time I've lived here.
14:30Hey, Coach, last one for me.
14:32How cool was it for you to have John Wall represent the organization yesterday and then for John to get
14:38it done?
14:39Yeah, I thought that was great.
14:41Obviously, I mean, I coached against John for many years, and, God, he was a handful with the speed, his
14:47passing.
14:49You know, the fact that he wanted to get there and represent us, I thought it was terrific.
14:53You know, he's been around a little bit this year.
14:55You know, I know we had, you know, the night forum and stuff, and I got the chance to visit
14:59with him a little bit.
15:01You know, he got it done.
15:02So, it was great to have him up there.
15:04That's so cool, man.
15:05Well, congratulations.
15:07I know you got...
15:07When you watch tape, like, I know what football coaches, with the tape, they watch.
15:13Do you guys watch broadcasts?
15:15Is there a specific angle you like?
15:16Like, when you're going to call BYU or Carolina or Duke or whoever, UMass, like, do you ask for specific
15:22coaches' tape?
15:23Do you ask for practice tape?
15:25How do you like to dig in?
15:27Yeah, I don't usually watch broadcast stuff.
15:30I'm more like this.
15:31You know, we have ways of getting filmed from stuff that's not from that.
15:36You know, we can look at it from different angles, but it's not your typical broadcast version of watching.
15:42Sure, sure.
15:43I kind of would have been surprised if it was.
15:45Yeah.
15:46All right, Coach.
15:47Thank you for your time, man.
15:49Thanks for having me on, guys.
15:50All right, brother.
15:51Take care.
15:51Wizards head coach Brian Keefe joining us there.
15:55Coach was not interested in providing us scouting reports on any of these players, B.
15:59Did you notice that?
15:59I didn't expect to get that.
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