LIVE: Josh Giddey Introductory Press Conference | Chicago Bulls

LIVE: Josh Giddey Introductory Press Conference | Chicago Bulls

guys we’re going to get started here again before you ask your question if you can introduce yourself um with your name and affiliation and then we’ll try to do our best to take questions in the order in which you raise your hand um and get through as many as we can um so with that casy Johnson NBC Sports Chicago you just introduced me but I am Casey Johnson from NBC Sports Chicago Josh welcome to Chicago um Sam prey offered pretty specific detail in statement announcing the trade saying that he held some conversations with you about a reserve role that you didn’t show much interest in and professionally conveyed your desire to maybe seek opportunities elsewhere that leads to the obvious follow-up question which is in your initial dealings with the bulls have you been given any indications or assurances that you’ll be the starting point guard next season um yeah I mean in regards to Sam’s comments um I mean it’s you know pretty accurate we we spoke a lot throughout the offseason and um and even our exit interviews and um I’ve had a great relationship with Sam throughout my entire time in Oklahoma and um the one thing about him that’s that I you know really respect is he’s transparency and he’s very open and honest with players and um and especially with me throughout this whole process and obviously I came off a tough year um you know my role shifted a little bit um I was playing a lot more you know off ball and kind of in a different role to what I’ve ever done in my career so um there was no secrets that um it was going to take some kind of flexibility on my part to um you know fitting with the team that we had and the structure that we had and the type of players that we had so um and he spoke about to me about you know looking at potentially different roles coming off the bench running the second unit things like that and um and I just said to him like at this point in my career you know I’m 21 years old it wasn’t something that you know I was overly eager to do and um and he he he completely understood and um just throughout the whole process we were open and honest with each other and um and I said to him look um you know coming off the bench at this point in my career um it’s not then you know I’m I’m I’m trying to do and and you know take a reserve role but um he got it we worked together through the whole process and um and he he got me to a great spot I’m very very excited to be here um in Chicago and um all First Impressions have been unbelievable the people have been great and I feel you know very welcomed here so just quickly following up Josh did have the Bulls given you any indications or assurances you’ll be the starting point guard next season uh no I mean we haven’t spoke about roles and things like that as of yet um I’ve had a lot of you know I’ve met with a bunch of times already um he’s been unbelievable in the conversations we have we’ve had but I understand that the team that’s here there’s a lot of good guards um IO Kobe um Dal they got a lot of guys that can handle the Rocks so um I think it’ll make for you know the competition that we’ll have throughout training camp and things like that to to push each other be better um is going to be great and um you know we’ll see what happens you know when the season rolls around thank you Joe Josh how you do Joe col from the Chicago Times I’m good man that’s real quick U not not to have you play general manager your first day talking to us but have there been any indication of you know you’re the first piece of of these changes that they’ve talked about I mean obviously they got the draft tomorrow and so there could be a piece added there but did you ask like well is this like the Personnel or is this is this the group we’re working with who am I competing against I mean obviously Lonzo ball is still kind of out there and we don’t know his future I mean have you asked those kind of questions been told hey we are changing this thing stay patient no I haven’t I haven’t asked um I’ve just you know kind of focused on you know getting here getting acclimated to the new surroundings um but no I haven’t asked um I understand the drafts in a couple of nights so you they get plays through that but in terms of what direction the franchise is going I’ve um I haven’t asked any questions um I’ve just kind of Bor into whatever happens here um happens and um I’ll try my play play my part in helping our team be as good as we can be um right from the jump and one more thing off of what you said you talked about last year it was it was a tough year for you I mean the obvious question is going to be was all the stuff that happened off the court did that Terry on court did you think that kind of played into it or was it more of a Personnel change where the Thunder were going and your fit was just different than it had been the previous two years yeah look I think there’s a lot of things that go into an NBA season there’s a lot of distractions um whether it’s outside noise um whether it’s internal change and I think for me um a lot of it came internally a lot of it came more with um how good our team got and how much we evolved as a group and uh my role kind of I don’t want to say diminished but it kind of was different to the first two years I had so it was a big adjustment for me learning to play off the ball obviously got guarded a lot differently just with the lineup that we had and um obviously you know with guys like Czech coming in um it forced their centers to make adjustments so um a lot of it was you know basketball related um for me at least that’s that’s the way I felt um but as I said it was more of credit to our team than anything we just got good quickly and um you know um those kind of things happen and um you know I my role changed a little bit and it was just a year of adjusting and learning different things thanks bro Mike hey Josh Mike McGrath M daily H um you we’ve all we’ve all kind of known you as a guy who who fills up the box scort gets a lot of those a lot of different things what do you think you can best you can do to best help a team uh an NBA team win I think um the the player I am my my job is just to make the game easy for everybody else and that’s kind of what I want to do and come in and and make sure you know guys are getting easy looks guys feel confident on the floor I feel when you as as a point guard when you can get other people around you going and making them um involved in the game getting them feeling good early um it opens the game up for everybody so um that’s kind of how I see myself just making um basketball and the game simple for everybody else and making it easy for my teammates around me Cody hey Josh Cody Western on 670 The Score Sports Radio you’ll be uh contract extension eligible before the regular season starts how are you viewing that is it a priority to get an extension before the new season starts or are you leaning toward handling that business in summer 2025 yeah I mean obviously coming off my season in Oklahoma um that was kind of the thought process it was it was all extension extension and then um when a trade happens that kind of flips my mindset to a different thing so uh in regards to exception I haven’t thought about it a lot over the last you know week for you however long it’s been uh week or so um but I’m sure that those conversations will happen with my agent the the front office here and um and those sorts of things so um but you know it’s it’s not the be all end all for me if it happens it happens if not um e either way is fine but um as I said those conversations will happen and I’ll let them play out as they do Julia Jos Julia po Chicago tribute welcome to Chicago um you mentioned that last year was a bit of an adjustment year for yourself what do you feel like you learned about yourself as a player and kind of what were your main priorities in terms of growth for this offseason yeah um in terms of you know how I saw my season um I mean it was different you know um it was a lot of off ball stuff it was um screening it was playing in the dunker um being ready to catch a shoot so there was a lot of different things and um and as I said earlier I think it wasn’t a it wasn’t um a a negative look on me it was more so our team got so good and there was multiple players that could handle the ball and do different things so um I had to adjust I had to learn different things and I think it did and and while you’re in the midst of it it’s hard to see the light but um looking back at it now probably taught me a lot of lessons that I needed um for a young player in their career and how to adapt to different environments and um I thought as I said when you’re going through it during the season it it feels like it’s such a struggle and a grind but um when you reflect on it you know weeks and months after the season’s done there’s a lot of good things to take away from it and um as I said I’m very grateful for my time there um I met a lot of great people uh learned a lot of valuable lessons um on the floor and um I think some of them are definitely going to translate um to this team Darnell thanks Beth what’s up Josh Darnell May with the athletic and Money Talks um I have two questions for you actually one about you and one about OKC and and the Thunder uh the first is about you and or game when prey released that statement he had High Praise saying that you know you had Allstar potential what do you feel like you need to do to to tap into that and get to that level yeah um I mean obviously I thank Sam for those comments he’s a um I speak very highly of him uh great person um but in regards to that I think um it just it was going to be hard to to tap into my full potential in my opinion in in a team like that where there was just so many talented guys who needed the ball in their hands who were great with the ball in their hands and um and a change of senior was probably going to maybe unlock more of that for me um but I think as I said just um being able to make the game easy for everybody being able to get guys involved distribute the ball um and get other players confident around me is kind of the thing I pry myself on doing um and you know it’s it’s hard to do that in a role where the ball’s not on your hands a lot and you’re you’re screening you’re doing different things so um you know for me as I said that’s probably the big thing coming in here I just I want to um you know be the POS Point guy that I am and um and help teammates you know generate easy looks and and get them feeling good um right from the GetGo and then the second question I have is you said OKC down there you guys got good quickly I think is how you said it what is it about that that franchise and the culture that has been created down there that created such a winning environment um and continues to do it you know seem seemingly year after year what is it about that what do you feel like can bring to Chicago from that yeah I think you know Sam and Mark they um they draft people first and that’s one of the best things you know about the the organization is the people from top to bottom are just unbelievable and um my teammates were great coaches fromont office and everybody in between um it was just a very fun place to come in to work every day and um and you know having a bunch of great people together on selfish team first kind of guys um leads to winning and obviously my first year there we weren’t great second year we got a little better and last year we were the number one seed so um things evolved pretty quickly there um we had a very talented group obviously they drafted really well brought in great pieces but um yeah I mean there’s a lot of things that contribute to that um but you know just a from top to bottom a class organization and um couldn’t speak more highly of them thanks Josh we’ll get a couple more will hey Josh will got Le C Sports um I’m just curious if you can talk a little bit about your experience in the playoffs and just the way that ended with your role kind of diminishing a little bit and uh since then have you done like and you’re reflecting about some of the stuff that you can continue to grow and work on in your game as you transition to the balls yeah I mean it was tough because you know as as a player you you first you want to get to the NBA and then when you’re in the NBA you want to be a part of big games in the playoffs and um and that you know I’ve dreamt of that moment for so long and for it to end the way it did um you know kind of left a Sal taste in my mouth for a long time and and it’s tough to go into the summer as that as your last you know stint in the NBA uh For That season and um and it just showed me that there’s so many things I have to work on to be able to um be valuable in those moments and um and and as I said earlier the these are the lessons that you know I’d rather learn now um as a young kid in my career um opposed to when I’m later in my career and it’s the first time I’m experienced playoff action and I don’t know what to expect and um you know it was probably a blessing in disguise for me it really taught me what I need to work on um how I need to get better and obviously shooting’s a big one um but also the the the defensive end is something that um I think just coming into this offseason switch just flipped in my mind and I just realized that to to be at the highest level you’ve got to really compete at that end you’ve got to be able to sit down guard guys and um that’s that’s the side of the ball that I really want to take you know pride in I think the offense will come naturally but it’s that side of the ball that um I really want to take steps forward in um to make sure when playoff time comes around that um you know I’m ready to go both sides of the ball and not just you know one Jamal hey Josh uh Jamal call here from ESPN welcome to Chicago um I’m curious about your conversation you mentioned the Billy and you know maybe our T and just some of the guys getting there you you said you seem eager to certainly said get back to some of your strength some of the things you have been doing in the past few years uh I’m curious just like when they explain their vision for you as the point guard of this team um and the reason they trade for you just kind of did those Visions align what things got you excited about sort of their you know uh willing to go out and require you and put you in a position I guess would want to suceed um yeah no the conversation has been great obviously um I spoke with the all when the trade first happened I was in Australia and then came here on Sunday and met everybody Billy arturus U Mark and and the coaching staff and um and the conversation has been great just in terms of the the guys that they already have here how my strengths can help the team going forward and and things like that but in terms of specific roles and and what the future is going to look like we haven’t spoke a whole lot about um I’ve kind of just wanted to adjust naturally and and let it come as it does um but yeah as I said everyone’s been great um I’ve spoke a lot with Billy Artur as mark and um all the conversations from this point have been have been really excited and um gets me excited to be here and um get into the season Sam Smith samam Smith with bulls.com I wanted to follow up on that briefly um did Billy Donovan talked to Billy at all about the style of play um that you think the team wants to play who wants the team to play uh Visa be you know you your involvement uh no I haven’t we haven’t spoke style a lot I mean the first couple days just getting to know each other um this the first time I met a lot of the people here um in the organization so style of play roles and all those things we haven’t really discussed much a lot of the first few interactions have just been getting to know each other on a personal level so um but those times will come we’ll speak a lot over the phone over the next you know month um 6 weeks while I’m with the national team but um just learning the style of play Early is something I want to do um understanding the offense and what they run um whether that’s through watching games I’m going to watch a lot of their games from the last couple seasons and see what they do um how they defend as a team uh the offense that they run so um getting an idea for that early before you know training camp before all the guys get back here is going to be important especially for a guy you know for a point guard um you know you’ve got to learn the offense and you’ve got to know what’s happening out on the floor and I think I think if I can get a head start on that before I get back here in September um that’s going to really help me and and help the team we’re going to take two more Casey well I have to so but I’ll be brief hey Josh uh I got one off the court one on the court as far as off the court obviously is pretty well documented that you had an off the court issue last season that was uh investigated by both new for Beach police and the NBA they both closed their investigations with no further action I know you probably can’t speak about specifics from legal perspective but just from a personal perspective how trying was that for you and how were you what did you kind of take from that experience that maybe you can move forward with your career yeah um completely understand the question and I know you’ve got to ask it’s part of your job but I just I’m not going to comment on anything regarding that situation okay then I’ll move down on the court um we’ve talked a little bit about the Bulls um and kind of how it pertains to you but what’s kind of your perception of the bulls having played against them the last Seasons um particularly some of the the Personnel on the roster like Kobe white Zack LaVine I mean dear’s future is uncertain I mean you can take it wherever you want your impressions of of the Personnel on the roster yeah great team I mean very talented team um kind of you know top to bottom um and they got a lot of guys that can you obviously Zach dear uh Kobe was awesome you know really emerged last year U Pat Williams so they got a lot of and then the young guys IO Deo uh Dal sorry they got a lot of Talent on this team and um and as I said I’m looking forward to just coming trying to immerse myself in it um and not take away from anybody but just help this team continue to grow and get better um but yeah The Impressions we only play him obviously twice a year um being a Western Conference team but um very competitive team and and one of my favorite things I’m most excited about was playing in United Center in front of the fans every time I’ve been to Chicago to play here the fans have been unbelievable it’s a packed house every time uh regardless of what day of the week it is um so the fans and I know they’re passionate this um this club’s obviously got a lot of history but um that’s that’s one of the things I’m most excited for is getting to United stand and playing in front of these great fans all right looks like that’s uh that’s all we got thank you guys for your time we’ll see you guys um tomorrow on draft night thank you thanks guys bye guys you

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