Buddy Hield's intro press conference and his first days on the job
Welcome to the Buddy Hield Experience
I believe the best way to survive the Buddy Hield Experience is to have low expectations. He should hit threes at an above average rate and absolutely everything else (defensive awareness, passing, etc etc) is a bonus.
Welcome Press Conference, July 18 2024
Interviewer: How does it feel to be a Golden State Warrior? This is our first opportunity to speak with you.
Buddy: I’m excited for the opportunity. I’m excited to come here and learn from great players, a great organization, and a great coach. I’m an open book and will be a sponge to everybody around me.
Interviewer: From a fan’s perspective, it seems easy to fit right into the offensive system. What are some challenges of trying to fit in and working with the other players to create your offense as well as give them the space they need to be successful?
Buddy: Just taking it day by day in practice, and I think practice will help a lot. Watching a lot of film and seeing how these guys play. I’ve watched them my whole life, in college and even in the pros. They’re always fun to watch because of the ball movement and the way Steph, Draymond, Andrew, and Steve coaches. It feels like a great fit, but everything will take time to learn and show my effort. Shouldn’t be that hard.
Interviewer: From the outside, there might be noise about replacing Klay Thompson. Do you feel that pressure or those expectations?
Buddy: There’s no pressure. I feel like I’m just coming to do my job. What Klay has done for this organization is tremendous. I love Klay a lot; he’s special. The way he can get hot, change the game, be a two-way player, and the champion that he is. It’s not like pressure, but I think it’s fun to be in that role and see if I can get the same looks he got.
Interviewer: How do you feel about the “Splash Buddies”?
Buddy: You like it? I don’t see anything wrong with it, but we just take it day by day. If it comes, it comes.
Interviewer: In your conversations with the coaching staff and front office, what do they have in mind for you in terms of your role?
Buddy: We had a chat here and there, but we haven’t really put emphasis on any specific role yet. But I know they’re excited for me to be here, and I’m excited to be here.
Interviewer: What was your experience like this summer playing with the team?
Buddy: We have Chris DeMarco coaching the Warriors, coaching our team. And he's helped me a lot. He's helped the Bahamas a lot. And from where we started, from a small country, being on the world stage, it's even being one game away, a couple of possessions away from the Olympics, it's been great. And hopefully, we can keep this track going, and hopefully, we can get the ultimate goal to get to the Olympics.
Interviewer: Did Chris recruit you a little bit?
Buddy: No, I had to recruit him. No, but really, I think Klay set it up too, because Klay has a team connection. And I think Klay saw that we needed a new direction in coaching and getting his team on the right path. And him and LJ Rose from-- he works with Houston too. He's also bring him in. And they just put the team together. And Klay talked to me a couple of times. I mean, DeMarco talked to me a couple of times. Probably I was in Sacramento at the time. And they said, "Man, I want to coach an actual team." I said, "Man, I'm really happy to have you. We need a coach like you." Just to change the whole program, the trajectory we were going in. And it was fun, man. He was easygoing. And he's really a legend for the things he's done for us already. So we were glad to have him there.
Interviewer: How would you describe Chris as a coach?
Buddy: He's fun to play for. He's fun to play for. He's very sure. He's passionate about what he loves doing. And he cursed me a lot of times too, which is-- he got onto me, he helped me accountable, and that's what I like about him.
Interviewer: Did you ask him much about how the Warriors do things because he's been here so long?
Buddy: I've asked him a lot, and he's telling me how I should go about things. It's fun having a coach like that because I've already been around him. We had a relationship, so sometimes you know it's gonna be a rough part of the season where I don't understand, and I have no problem going to Chris. He helped me and got me through.
Interviewer: When you coach at a camp like this, maybe you get three or four seconds with a kid. What do you try to instill in them?
Buddy: I tell them how I work and to just enjoy it, man. This is the best time of your life. Go out there and have fun. Always remember what you're learning at camp and take it to your driveway because you never know. Sometimes you don't have an opportunity to have a coach that can help you, and you can just build it and help yourself.
Interviewer: Are you here in the Bay Area now? Walk us through what you're doing to get ready for the season.
Buddy: I'm just a couple of months away, but it comes fast. Taking it day by day, I'll probably find a house today. Look for a house, and it's not going to take one day to find a house. And you know how it is, especially in the Bay. But I'm just excited to be here, man. When that day comes where I have moved and transitioned, I can't wait. I feel like all the guys they added are doing the same thing too. This is basketball. We all have been through the business of it, and we get to it.
Interviewer: So you work out here as well?
Buddy: No, no, I stay in Dallas. Dallas or the Bahamas, back and forth.
Interviewer: When you commit to moving to the Bay Area, are you here for the season? Is that a month, two months?
Buddy: This is my ninth year. Going into the season, I feel like I get some leeway when to show up, but I'm always ready, always prepared.
Interviewer: What are you looking forward to the most about just being in the area?
Buddy: The food, the fans, I know they're very passionate. Just, you know, in San Francisco, man, the weather. It's cold here in the summertime.
Interviewer: You like the fog?
Buddy: I mean, it spooked me out a little bit, but I'm excited to be here, man. It's a different scenery from where I came from. But it's a business of basketball. It brings you everywhere, and you get to learn about the culture. I'm excited.
Interviewer: Buddy, the structure of the contract is kind of unique. Partially guaranteed in the third year and then a player option. What about that structure appealed to you?
Buddy: I just think that we’re trying to have a flexible elite because knowing that they wanted me to be here, then I had an option to stay here where things were-- I'd say I can control, but I can control. Where if things work out well, then maybe we can get something deeper in that to just trying to find the best situation for me in the future.
Interviewer: How did it compare to some of the other deals that might have been on the table for you?
Buddy: It's not something I want to talk about, but I'm just excited to be a Warrior and excited to play for the team.
Interviewer: Buddy, you're one of the top shooters. Now you're on the same team with Steph. Do you remember a time where you had someone else on the roster where you were like, "Maybe I'm not the best shooter on this team"?
Buddy: No. Tyrese Haliburton, however, I could be in competitive duel about that. But yeah, Steph is the one. But I've been watching him all my life. So I'm ready to learn, ready to watch him and see how he goes. His shooting mechanics, where he goes, how he works, his routine. I think it's interesting for me. I’ll still learn from him and see how he goes about his professionalism. I think it's fun. I'm excited.
Interviewer: And obviously, Kings fans will have a new reason to let you hear it when you go back up there. Are you excited to be back in that rivalry on this side now?
Buddy: You know, fans in Sacramento are passionate too. It's all love. Sacramento's a team that really looked out for me over the years. I'm happy for that, but I'm on the other side now. It's still all love in Sacramento, though.
Interviewer: And I know you and Tyrese had a little fun competition with dunks, right? Any plans on that with any of your new teammates here for who can get up more?
Buddy: No, I'm sticking to shooting a basketball. [LAUGHS]
Another fiery load of b.sh1t from across the ocean? A group called 'baba3' claims that Kerr has been 'fired' from the olympic team staff, because of alleged misconduct against Tatum, during the olympics. Source: a former player of the Celtics (Wanamaker again? Irving as a revenge on behalf of Klay?)
Steph ain’t feeling Klay’s bromance with Mavs phenom Lively tho:
https://x.com/BleacherReport/status/1832898484032381226?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1832898484032381226%7Ctwgr%5Ef9d4fc039ae4b8d11035652af0cc5ff183d5c7a2%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Fnba