DeMar DeRozan | Introductory Press Conference 7.9.24

DeMar DeRozan | Introductory Press Conference 7.9.24

[Applause] you could cheer I’m sorry good all [Music] right how y’all managed to be so quiet all right welcome everyone thank you uh for coming to help us welcome dear here to Sacramento um exciting day want to first start by thinking a lot of people had a big part in this um dear’s agent Aaron Goodwin uh you know great partner through this to uh to get dear here uh obviously VC matina uh Coach Brown uh the rest of our coaching staff Wes Wilcox Phil Jabor Paul Johnson our front office uh a big group effort uh but obviously the star of the show here is this guy to my right and uh I’ll give a quick intro though he probably doesn’t need one but six-time Allstar three-time all NBA um zamar is uh somebody who everywhere he’s gone has made an impact on winning and we’re excited uh that that’s going to be here in Sacramento for the foreseeable future so um I’ll turn it over to tomorrow for a few words and we’ll take some questions um thank you um it’s beyond an honor um to be be able to be a part such of you know Uprising franchise you know um the the want that they showed you know going in free agency was you know was amazing I ain’t going to lie you know it’s always it always feel good to be wanted somewhere and you know from day one um they showed that you know so it’s an honor to be able to represent this organization and you know build on what this organization’s been doing the last couple years you know something special you know I want to I definitely want to be be a part of it and you know I want to be one of those guys that hit the the beam the light up at night so I’m definitely looking forward to that looking forward to playing with this young exciting talented team um great coaching staff um it’s amazing you know um last couple days that’s all I kind of been thinking about is you know putting on this jersey representing the city um hearing the fans um scream as loud as y’all can you know so I’m definitely looking forward to it man it’s going to be an exciting year you know I’m I’m definitely going to work my butt off um more than ever you know to make sure you know the city get what it it deserve all right [Applause] question hey y’ can you hear me y uh Monty I’ll start with you really what does it mean for you to land somebody like him uh in your time here in Sacramento and just maybe the importance of this moment for your tenure and with the Kings well I think um you know it’s for the just for the organization to to land somebody uh of Demar stature um is you know just incredible I think it speaks to um you know what we’ve been building here and especially the last couple years you know de’arra and domas uh Keegan On and On Down the Line obviously Malik uh you know resigning here and um but also speaks to dear I think um you know somebody who is always about winning and I think as we said like wi winning is going to bring people in so uh I think this is a great Testament to that and uh you know hopefully more and more winning to come and for you dear if if if someone had told you a month ago that you’d be sitting here in Sacramento as the newest member of the Sacramento Kings joining this franchise would you have believed him no I would not you know and sometimes that’s the beauty of Life honestly you know you never know what what’s going to happen you know and sometime the greatest thing happened unexpectedly so you know be here in this position you know definitely want to make the most of it uh dear welcome to Sacramento um I just wonder what you you kind of heard over the years about this city Kings fans the the way they embrac the team and the players and and how it felt to to walk out here uh the other night and and Reed that Ovation um I mean this I remember playing at the old arena you know when they had the the cow bells and all that um but got them you still got him all right cool um but to get the reception I got the other night was amazing you know like I said i’ I’m over the last couple years playing against the Kings you know it’s been it’s been tough coming in this building you know you feel it you know it’s not many Arenas in in this lead where you you know when you walk in you feel the atmosphere you feel the tension in the air um feeling like you are on the road when you a road team so to be able to get that reception the other night you know it’s amazing you know is is the respect the love that’s already shown you know had me hungry I think I I left there that night and you know went straight to the gym when I got back got back home so you know just the drive the hunger the passion that the fans show you definitely just want to give it back couple for you here dear welcome to Sacramento first off thank you can you walk us through whatever you can the your Saturday as a whole from from arriving to getting to the moment of of with the fans yeah it was it was big I just want to come here more so than anything and just check out the facility you know um meet the staff meet um front office you know just kind of get get a feel you know instead of you know just going back and forth you know talking with my agent you know I just want to get a feel for myself of everything you know um so I flew here set Coach Brown office you know we watched a little of the um the G League game um sat there and talked dear came in we sat there and talked um dou Christie came in we sat there and talk um so everybody just kept coming in the room we just sat there and talked so um but it was it was it was a great it was a great feel everything was genuine everything was real and everything was about the betterment of you know how we can make this franchise you know um grow you know and I left you know middle of the day you know I just wanted to get get it done um and and you know kind of get the relief off my shoulders you know and that’s what happened you know everything was just a genuine from that day and you know um we was in the back eeden and all of a sudden I just heard let’s let’s go outside the fans out there next thing you know when we walked out and got the reception that we gotten that was kind of like the icing on the cake you know for me um that just made me feel like I made the right decision and then yourself and dear have been battling back and forth for clutch player of the year over the last couple I told him that I told him I was mad two years ago that he got it and I didn’t get it um but yeah we definitely been battling and you know just with that there me being a competitor that I am you know I I I sit and watch you know uh a lot of those moments and I think even in Chicago I I remember he had a game winner on us in Chicago and I kind of made it a thing um this past season when we play here I think we was losing by like 20 I made it a thing in the fourth quarter make sure we won just in case we was head-to-head in you know in that in that battle again but you know to see someone special as him you know I’ve been following him since he was in college um see the amazing things he he’s able to do just being a part of that could be special dear you you just mentioned that you didn’t know if this would be a possibility a month ago when did the light go off when you just like yes I’m going to do this I’m going to be part of the Sacramento Kings um like I said just just the want you know just just the expression of being wanted um needed um to do something bigger than you know just me and at the end of the day I’m all I’m all for winning you know I just want to win at at the highest of levels you know and and me being able to be a part of some a team may be missing to help them take them over that hump you know that’s all I needed to see and that was what was expressed to me from from day one you know and um you know as a competitor you know that’s all you need dear over here welcome to Sacramento this team’s really had an uprising over the past couple of years you’re being talked about as somebody that can help propel this team into contention and obviously a really stacked Western Conference how flattering is that for you know for a person of your caliber to you know perhaps be that that Catalyst for for a young team on the rise I love it you know um I love it I love the challenge I love the excitement that come with it and um when you’re a competitor you want to be in the best where the best is at you know and like you said the the the western conference is stack stack with that you get tested every single night um and you work for those moments so it can bring the best out of you so I’m I’m I’m I’m overly looking forward to it I can’t wait I’m excited you know it’s going to be fun Monty um this franchise over the last four years kind of has a stigma about getting big time free agent signings how big is this for you and your group to be able to bring in one of the top tier guys in this year’s free agent class yeah I think like I said it’s you know I don’t know for us personally you know that that’s just our job but I think for the organization um for somebody of Demar CER look when you’re a free agent you get to choose where you go and uh for somebody like that to choose our team I think it just speaks to what we’re building here and uh you know this is a great City it’s a great organization we have incredible fans but number one we’ve been winning um you know I think us and Denver are the only two teams that have won 46 or more in the west last two years is incredibly tough West but um you know hopefully that’s part of what dear saw here and uh that we can have you know even bigger dreams in the future yeah dear sort of the same question just what is it about this fit that you felt like okay I’m willing to take a gamble where so many other players in the past haven’t how many time I seen that beam lit up when I was chilling at home U you know especially being on Central time um you know me watching I I watch every NBA game so like I said you’re just always seeing something lit up and you’re just like God damn what what’s the significance of pushing this button you know but like I said winning saws all and that’s one thing I always express to guys that I play with that you know want to be all stars who want to get paid blah blah blah everything that come winning saws everything you know and you want to be a part of winning you want to be a winner you want to be known as a winner so for me that’s just you know that’s the most impaling thing for me you know and you see it um every single night when his team plays it’s all about winning Monty obviously the excitement with uh over here sorry um the excitement with bringing in dear also some sadness with letting uh HB have to leave this organization what was that conversation like when you uh told him that he was going to be the other part of this trade yeah obviously Harrison um I think along with dearon uh one of the two guys that’s been here since since I came aboard and uh incredible competitor um obviously meant so much to this community and I think it was fantastic that Harrison got to be a part of the team that that broke the playoff drought here uh had some incredible moments uh here in sack and he’s going to have incredible moments uh going forward so we wish him the best but uh just a uh obviously an incredible player even better human and uh happy to have crossed paths with him wish him the best going forward he’s fine I talked to Harrison yesterday so he he’s fine he he was asking me about places in San Antonio [Laughter] so dear how important was dear’s uh voice in this recruitment process and that just from a basketball perspective how do you just view this fit on the court I mean it definitely was big you know dear and um uh Malik was you know one of the first two people to text me about it and you know just their whole approach you know through the text messages you know it just felt genuine it felt the want um and that was a cool part because at the end of the day I told dear you know yesterday um I’ve been a fan of of his game since k you know obviously me being a fan of the game I pay attention to all these guys so for them reaching out you know hearing their point of view with me coming and how much it can help not just the team but them personally you know things like that means a lot from a basketball fit perspective I I always pride in myself feeling like I could play with anybody you know I try to I try to go out there and make everybody else job easy you know um do whatever it takes to win um I never overly complicate anything I just really feel like I go out there and play with anybody all right hey dear way back here man how you doing welcome to Sacramento thank you uh this kind of a two-part question first of all you talked about playing in Arco Arena how loud it was um and just the electricity of the fans and the beam and all of that stuff so what is your overall impression of Sacramento and is there anything in particular you’re looking forward to doing out here and then the second part of that question is a lot of Kings players have theme songs per se when they make a basket or do certain things on the court what would you say your song would be when that happens um to ask your first question one you see the passion in the fans more so than anything just on the outside looking in that’s all you always seen it’s just the fans outside the arena the fans you know I’m talking about the beam again taking videos of the beam in the sky you know um you just see the passion and love um for their team you know and that like that goes a long way you know it’s hard to find you know overly dedicated fans um that been through the ups and downs with a franchise and and this is one of those uh fan bases that that been through everything you know and to your second part um my theme song I have no clue I that’s you I hope somebody pick a great theme song for me Tomar over here maybe it’ll be uh maybe it’ll be they’re not like us huh bringing Kendrick with you yeah um you don’t miss games you average about 24 25 a game um but your passing over the last several years has been one of the more overlooked and understated part of your package how do you see that fitting in with the offense that Mike and Jay draw I mean when you you got a young shoot shooter like Murray the way he shoots the ball is incredible um D is it’s everything is is is overly fitting for me in the sense of my playmaking to make my job a lot easier you know and and those components is they go together well you know and that’s one thing I’ve been conscious of over the last couple years in my career is just being able to be somebody that can make my teammates better and make their life a lot better as well you know because once I do that it make my job a lot easier and those two go hand in hand once you really get the rhythm of of that you know and I take and you know trying to bring the best out of my teammates and not not just about me you know just scoring and shooting the ball I really try to get everybody involved and you know give them a different confidence that that go a long way dear as a during the course of your career most of the time you’ve been usually playing the two but now that uh Harrison is gone and a lot of people might look at you as a three have you played much three in your career or do you look forward to that or how do you slide between the two and the Three As you move forward I mean I mean I played in the leag when it was two bigs out there you know and and and the three was 69ine now you know the game is changed and one thing about that you know I try to adapt and adjust need be um I really don’t look at it like it’s a position thing I look at it as a fit thing whatever is needed for for a night any given night you know um I never really put too much thought on a position you know because nowadays you got you know centers playing point guard in this league so you know for me I’m I I try to be like like water be shapeless formless and be able to adjust to anything uh Monty how much better does dear make the Kings just by virtue of the fact that he gets to the line he makes free throws and he doesn’t turn the ball over well I think the exciting thing for us um is you know adding toar where able to you know bring Malik back which is a big big part of our off season um obviously Alex Len uh Jor mcclaflin and all the guys we got coming back and then you had somebody of Demar stature and I think like he said his ability to fit in in so many different you know between Toronto San Antonio Chicago he’s played you know back to USC internationally so that that passing I think uh as Mark brought up is a huge hugely overlooked part of his game that he’s grown the last few years we we were talking on Saturday and I told him it’s just been so impressive I mean he came into the league he was a huge athlete high flyer you know get to the rim dunk and now he’s you know added the passing added this mid-range you know incredible touch all over the floor and then defensively you know I don’t know what position two three four like he’s got how he takes care of his body um so all those things I think are going to feed fit in seamlessly and uh I think his his accolades and and what he’s done his career speak for itself so you know six time Allstar here I I don’t know where it takes us um but I think adding a guy like him we feel we’re better uh we feel we can compete with anybody in the west and so that’s going to be our mindset dear you’ve you mentioned the conversation that you had with Mike Brown how do you see the relationship with him going playing for him and and what do you like about that potential partnership I’m looking forward to it you know since I’ve been in League you know um playing against him you know respect level that I had for him since he been in the league paying attention to you know um everything he he’s done um the respect is there you know and it goes both ways so with that like I pride myself on being one of the most coachable guys you know whatever is needed however is needed you know I try to be the guy that you always could count on so I’m looking forward to it you know I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a piece of cake I remember seeing a video I don’t know if it was last year or something he was running Sprints with the team and I was like you know that’s what that’s what type of person you want to play for thank you everyone [Applause]

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6x NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan was officially introduced as the newest member of the Sacramento Kings Tuesday, July 9th, 2024, during an instructor press conference inside of Golden 1 Center.

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