Alex Caruso Full Introductory Media Availability | June 24, 2024 |OKC Thunder

Alex Caruso Full Introductory Media Availability | June 24, 2024 |OKC Thunder

welcome to Oklahoma City I know you’re not exactly new to the organization but what has it been like coming back to the city and walking into into this building yeah it’s it’s been nice um some good memories obviously this is you know like you said where I started my professional career um so many familiar faces you know the continuity of the organization has been great and I think that’ll really help me just you know ease back into it um get to know the teammates facility is still the same so I know where everything’s at uh just really excited to be here from playing against this team over the course of your career what’s been your perspective of of the growth in the trajectory of this team as of late yeah just I mean obviously really young and and obviously they’ve grown up a little bit now um but super competitive um everything that I’ve heard from you know people within the organization is tight-nit group that that you know wants to have success and and cares about each other um pushes each other and that you know seems to be a team that I think I can fit into Alex where where were you when you got the news and just what was your immediate sort of reaction uh I was at home in Austin that’s where I spend the off season um I was just at home I was actually like five or 10 minutes away from changing and going hitting golf balls at the driving range so I delayed my my practice session for the day by a couple hours um but yeah I got the call from AK uh and then Sam called me uh shortly after and you know just kind of took it all in all in stride uh had a lot of texts and and facetimes and calls to answer from uh teammates friends family um just trying to process it all all of them obviously you know wish me the best and were happy for me and um from then just you know try to digest everything and figure out how it’s going to look any idea this is going to happen this coming here or that you want me move period um not not 100% you know I mean there’s been rumors of you know me being traded for the last couple of years around the trade deadline so I’ve kind of just gotten used to it you know in one year out the other um was was a bit of a surprise to me the the day it did happen um you know usually stuff like that happens you know centered around the draft and and something like that so uh caught a little off guard but you know at the end of the day you know that’s professional sports you take everything and stride and do the best you can how does your game suit the Thunder yeah I think the things that I do well complement the team um Team first guy I just want to win you know that’s that’s the biggest thing um super competitive uh will sacrifice for the teammates uh obviously I think I had a good year individually last year shot the ball well had another good defensive year um took care of the ball mostly so I think all those things are things that affect winning and and and positively affect your teammates so I think that’s something that you know I think everyone will benefit from people talk about winning a championship you’ve done that with the Lakers what does that mean what can you bring to a young team well you’re 30 you’re one of the older guys on the team now yeah I mean saying that out loud is is a lot easier than doing it um there’s a lot that goes into that and I think you know showing up every day you know going to work is is the biggest thing um learning from some of the older guys LeBron Rondo um Danny Green just just the name a few that I played with seeing them come in every day you know having having the habits having the rituals being super competitive um a lot of the things that I think you know the Thunder stand for um things that I think that I stand for so hopefully that’s you know the the perfect marriage that that everyone says it will be and hopefully we can find success together blue you had Mark as your coach and then cam Woods was a teammate you have any like things that stood out about those two in particular or any stories about those guys yeah I mean a handful of people um you know two handfuls of people that that were with the blue or at least in the OKC organization that are still here um that have helped me get started and then get back to this spot uh you know Mark I I was I was smiling ear to ear talking to him on the phone just because I was excited to get to play for him again um he told me don’t be a smartass and I told him I can’t wait for him to cuss me out the first practice when I mess something up so it we’ll hit the ground running it’ll and it’ll be great just like it always is um both of us though you know a lot of growth from when we first started together uh I think there there’s a lot of positives and a lot of learning experiences that we’ve both can take from those years and and hopefully come together and look for more in the future I’m wondering if you could um go back to that year you spent with the blue and I mean obviously you’ve come a long way since then but do you think a year in the G League changes who you are or has impacted who you are as an NBA player yeah I mean that and then my two two-way years in La um you know just having to having to really get it out of the mud you know you hear that expression a lot and sometimes this may not always be true but for me um undrafted you know there there’s a story I don’t think a lot of people know uh there was a week span before I came to the blue into training camp where I thought I was going to play in Poland a couple days later I talked to a coach of a team in Germany um and then OKC called the blue c and I came up here um took a physical took a tour of the packs facility um and then started my journey here so to go from that playing a full 50 games with the blue that first year going to three summer leagues um it just kind of it just taught me what I needed to do to get to the level that I wanted to play at um and countless hours a lot of help um a lot of self belief you know a lot of those things are things you need to to turn a career from undrafted to the G League to you know being in the NBA did you have the ticket for to go to Germany like were you that close no I didn’t have the ticket I just talked to the coach on the phone but I was I was I I didn’t know what I was going to do I truly didn’t and uh coming to OKC just decided if I was going to try and play in the NBA I needed to get my foot in the door and you know probably probably the best place I could have done that was there ever a point along the way where you thought you know like you said three summer leagues like is this going to happen like was there ever a moment of of that for you or did you just always believe that it was going to come to fruition a little bit of both um there’s you know I’d be lying if I didn’t say there weren’t days where you you feel a little down and and and you know the weight or the pressure of of getting it done doesn’t doesn’t bear on you but I’m I’m a really competitive guy and and I think I’m the most competitive with myself like I think I push myself and have high expectations for what what I expect myself to bring and and how I expect to work and then ultimately I just I I really do just expect to find a way to get done you know that’s just something that I was I was blessed with I don’t know if I curated that from high school college younger but that’s something that that to my DNA I expect to get the job done whatever it is Alex you just mentioned how tight it this group appeared from the outside obviously it’s mostly made up of of young 20s somethings you instantly become the vet here just how internally are you approaching you know trying to fit into that that young group yeah I mean just taking it I’ve said this a lot but just taking in stride I think I think I’m I’m a good teammate you know I put the others first um I think that’s something that I go goes a long way in this organization and and that they do themselves so just showing up and being there for for the teammates you know pushing them to to maybe levels they didn’t know hopefully they can they can push me to and it’s just you know Iron and sharpen iron and hopefully we can find some success from there you knew Mark before most of these guys were drafted you got to have a different relationship than most of them will have um what are the things that kind of stood out to you about him then and then how much much of that has been reassured over the years that you’ve been watching him from afar yeah it’s funny cuz he still has the same like personality and demeanor on the sideline when I was playing against him in the games that uh that he did when I was playing for him with the blue uh just you know quiet very observant um does doesn’t always you know I’m sure he’s got a few texts now that he’s you know head head ball coach and has to stand up for his guys a little more but um just puts the players first well you know he’s a good leader you know I think he knows what it takes to lead and he lays out the expectations for the team really well um and I think when you have a young team like like the Thunder do like we do um you know you take those expectations and those guys will run through a wall for for a coach that you know believes them and trusts them I think those are some qualities that easily Define Mark you made all defenses last two years what makes a good defensive player is it person thing about you personal pride in that physical statue what what makes you good defensive yeah a little a little bit of all that um obviously you physically you got to be able to compete with you know the best athletes in the world um you got to be smart you got to be disciplined uh you got to be hungry you got to be competitive uh and at the end of the day you know you got to have a little bit of Amnesia because guys are going to score you know you all watched SGA play for the last couple years best defenders in the world you know you can play the best defense you want but sometimes times offense is just going to make shots so just being ready for the next play as a guy who takes so much pride defensively and you look how good this team has been defensively this year all the talent defensively like Lou and Chad how excited are you to to be a part of that now yeah really excited um I I looked up some highlights on YouTube the other day of them playing defense just to kind of get myself in in that kind of head space because I was excited for it but I mean long athletic competitive tough those are all things you know that we just described as you know all defense I caliber players good defensive teams and they have a lot of that they got Rim protection they got active hands guys that are willing to you know sacrifice for the team those are all things that are important I’m excited to to add to that with that just what are some of the most Stark differences you maybe see systematically in terms of you know the defense in Chicago the defense here what you might be allowed to do with guys like CH and LZ yeah I mean I just know that I’m not going to be the main focus every night defensively like I think in Chicago everyone had me number one on the radar for for you know the defensive game plan and I think with Lou with Chad like those are guys that you have to account for um so if however you want to do it right if you want to put me at the top of the list and Overlook them they’re going to take advantage of it if you want to put them at the top of the list and Overlook me I’m going to take advantage of it so uh just the versatility you know I think that that those guys bring um and like we said they’re young they’re hungry like that’s something that that I look forward to being a part of Alex when did you know know that defense was going to be your calling card I mean I’m sure that Consolidated High School like you were you offensively scored and I’m the same way like when did you realize as an NBA guy that defense was going to be up for you probably when they didn’t draft me um and I had figure out a way to get on the court you know that was the big thing uh just figure a way to get on the court you know take my six minutes turn it into eight turn it into 10 turn it into 12 um and that’s kind of what I did when I got to LA and I got on the two-way um trial and error you know Luke Walton gave me a great opportunity and threw me in the fire a couple times and sometimes I failed and sometimes I had success but you know the times that I failed I learned from it and I figured out what I needed to do better um and one of those things was you know if I could be a non you know if I could be relied on on defense and not be a liability um I could earn myself some minutes and and then kind of figure out on offense and I think I’ve done that now to where I’m you know pretty pretty much assured of myself on both ends was there anybody in La either teammate wise or coach wise that sort of helped to show you the way or or or just kind of lead you into that space of of really being a defensive guy you know I don’t know if there was one in particular I think it’s just being around greatness um and then I had you know obviously numerous Hall of Famers on the on the championship team and then even before that um you know getting to play around uh you know Lonzo a little bit when when he was first there uh being around Braun obviously makes everybody better um Danny Green some of the best hands in the game when when he was still playing uh and then I think I had a really good Mentor in uh Kobe Carl who’s my head coach in in South Bay and he gave me great perspective at times on you know who I was as a player and what I needed to do to try and improve and and to be a valuable asset so him and the whole South Bay organization really did a good job of helping me learn um but yeah just just being around greatness and then like you said like I said earlier just learning from failure any memories Stand Out playing for Billy and the Bulls yeah I I love playing my three years with Billy um he’s a great coach you know me and him had some really good conversations and you know you know weird another full circle moment where he was I was the first guy cut in his office over there and he talked to me and said I think you can be an NBA player if you work on your shot and and you know work on your body and stay healthy and those are the things I’ve done and is funny enough that he was my coach for the last three years I make two all defensive teams and and have some good personal years so um great memories I’m still going to like I’m not going to lose those relationships even though I’ve left Chicago you know I’ve made great relationships over three years with people in the city um Chicago itself and then obviously teammates and coaches obviously that that team that won a championship with the Lakers obviously a completely different makeup different build from from this team but some of that that Championship DNA like what are some of the maybe components you see that are in this thing as it you know tries to track to a championship you got to be ambitious you know only one team’s happy at the end of the year every year the the other 29 got to go back to the drawing board so um I know I know I know Mark I know Sam from the outside looking in I I know what the guys stand for um it’s about showing up and going to work every day you know if you want to be great you got to be great every day you can’t just turn it on April 16th 17th whatever the date is for the playoffs to start so um it’s just got to become an everyday thing kind of lifestyle more so than you know what does it look like written on the wall you know in shiny letters have you had the chance to talk to any your new teammates about sort of what’s going on just greeting them um I I met I met Jaylen tall Jaylen today uh Jay will I met him and then Shay reached out and texted me and said he was excited to have me and uh I I you know complimented me and I obviously showered him with the praise back because he’s a really good player um told him we were excit excited to get going and just ready for the opportunity to play alongside him I was just OB was in recent days since the trade that story you told once on on JJ’s pod the the old man in the three about you know Sam sitting in um and sou Falls are answering questions just just that core memory like how often do you think back to that and have you talked with him about that since then yeah it was weird we had lunch today and I thought about it when I was sitting down at the table talking to him today uh ironically enough um I haven’t I I’ll I’ll bring it up to him next time I see him and and we’ll talk about it but uh there’s just you know is immeasurable value in you know him him doing that and I think that just goes to show the person he is the leader he is you know why the thunder have you know found success with with his tenure uh around the organization he he checks boxes he dots eyes crosses te’s like he makes sure that he invests his time um and his Sweat Equity into the organization and and you know that’s that’s somebody you you’ll go to battle with your dad played for Eddie Sutton have you heard about Eddie over the years Eddie Eddie was I didn’t hear a lot I did hear that practices were tough there were a lot of cuss wordss um and they were going to play defense he told me there was a couple practices where they didn’t have balls he just rolled the basketballs into the hallway it’s like that’s yeah you’re dating yourself with that I don’t think anybody’s getting away with that nowadays there were shoulder pads and helmets at Oklahoma State one time yeah I I was a kid I was ball Bo ran in when they had that practice I remember yeah you spent a lot of well some time in Oklahoma City a lot has changed since 2016 but what’s something that you’re just looking forward to like like off the courts in Oklahoma City um I think just getting to see the the city a little bit more getting getting to know the community better because I think my first 10 year here was it was so quick and and I was pretty tunnel visioned at the time like I was I was pretty dead set on like anything besides basketball is not really you know happening so I might have gone to like a cin Mark once and just hung out my teammates at the house but um you know really getting to know the community see some of it some more um find find some places to to eat that that are to my liking are you g to be able to watch any of the College World Series game yeah yeah yeah I’m I’m be able I’m supposed to go to dinner with Mark tonight so I’m going to be checking my phone in between that but uh yeah we’re hoping our agies can pull it out you’re in the last year of your deal is this when you think about that is this a place where you could see yourself for a long time yeah I think so um obviously that’s you know I think their conversations for another place in time but um you know I I I know what Oklahoma City as an organization stands for um I I can obviously tell that they’ve done a good job of you know bringing together a good team so you know possibly but I think for now I’d like to just meet my teammates and get to work before we talk about any of that

Alex Caruso speaks with media today as he arrives in Oklahoma City.

Follow Our Social Media!

Website: https://www.nba.com/thunder/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/okcthunder/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/okcthunder
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/okcthunder/
Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/okcthunder
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@okcthunder
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@okcthunder

#NBA #OKCThunder