Parker Braun & Walter Ellis on Family Connections to Nuggets & More
Su for 116° basketball’s indoors something like that I heard it was like record like it’s the hottest that City’s ever been a couple days ago whatever it was so yeah that’s exciting uh thankfully we playing into sport so I’m have worried about what your thoughts as far as you guys have have gotten together here obviously you got to good practice in you you ready to play some yeah for sure it’s been awesome getting to know everybody just kind of coming together as a team um you know kind of bouncing around and uh trying to figure each other out figure out each other’s games where we all fit in and uh I think it’s going to be a great opportunity hopefully we can we can go all the way is it extra cool for you to wear the Nuggets Jersey for Christian is he who’s more excited kind of about this all um you know any Jersey I think would be great um but being here with Christian like you said is is obviously special getting to put this on and uh just kind of following his footsteps so say um he’s kind of paved the way we’re really proud of everything he’s done and uh yeah it’s special it’s a great opportunity what was your experience like when you I mean just look at your bio stuff the fact that you guys rather play together win state championship I mean that had to be just a tremendous highlight not just to do that but to do that with SI yeah it’s fun uh we kind of grew up playing against each other all the time competing and kind of built that that competitiveness up but uh once we kind of got to high school like you said we’re on the same team and now every time we go back home we play we’re always on the same team kind of playing together I think that’s more fun that way but um yeah it’s been fun it’s really really special to have a guy play at that high level and kind of live his dream other sports you guys play against each other too and how competitive things get who was good at other it didn’t matter what sport it was we could whoever finished dinner fastest you know like it was it was a competition for everything we did basally for those who are more familiar with his game what about yours give us the Scouting Report here um I think just versatility uh just being able to do a little bit of everything on the court whatever is asked to me um you know it might not be flashy but I think making winning plays you know even if you’re not making shots or you’re not kind of being the loudest player out there just being able to make winning plays on both ends of the floor what are some of the final points of emphasis here before you guys head to Vegas for it’s just competing and playing hard that’s kind of bottom line uh you we don’t have a lot of time to put too much stuff in so it’s just a matter of playing hard and and playing having fun and playing together what advice has Christian giv you about this opportunity and about being here just to go play hard and leave it all out there um he kind of when he did it it was we went out there and watched him and you know he had a lot of fun but at the same time like coaches been saying it’s a business trip so I think winning at at this level is kind of what stands out the most to coaches and organizations so we’re just going to go out there and win and that’s kind of what Christian said too who’s the most competitive person in your family my mom not even close uh you guys kind of see Christian get fired up sometimes but never like my mom so when you guys are play one-on-one like would your mom watch like what was that experience um no most of the time she just kind of throw a ball out there and watch us go at it um there wasn’t much splitting us up it was kind of figured out you know they’re the best man went uh have you been in touch with Christian after each of these practices a little bit he’s on vacation right now so I try to stay out of his hair let him let him enjoy his downtime but um yeah he’s kind just kind of picked his brain uh he’s asked me a couple times how’s it going just but nothing really too serious yeah is he uh is he going to be in Vegas or still I think he plans to yeah I don’t know if he I don’t know if it’s going to be like the first game or what but I think um are there any any favorite Christian stories growing up um I think just watching him uh I think I don’t know if it’s been told but he was a big KU guy always growing up and I’ve been asked a couple times like were you disappointed he wasn’t uh he didn’t go to missou with you and I was like honestly I didn’t think there was any chance he would he would go to missou cuz he was a Kansas guy through and through so just kind of watching him live his dream at every level and and following his journey I think is something that I’m really proud of and I think we’re all very of you said it was a contest you could eat dinner fastest who did eat dinner fastest not me I’m I’m the slowest eater out there but uh you know Christian he’s pretty fiery too he takes pride in in winning no matter what it is so he kind of he probably got me in most of that stuff when we talked to him after the t- series he was as down as we’ve ever seen him um what was it like you seen him at his highs and highs and lows and lows that yeah I I tried to call him afterwards we normally talk like after every game or whatever cuz I watch them all but um I tried to call him he didn’t answer so I was like all right I’m kind of let it cool down tried to call him the next day he still didn’t answer I’m like well at this point I hope he’s okay and then my mom was like I think he’s going to come in town Friday or something like that and I didn’t hear from him until he got into town so I think he took it pretty personally I think it kind of hurt him a lot especially you know how much he’s won at every level so I think he wants to win every single year he plays uh he wants to win every game he plays so he was definitely down after that and uh hopefully he’s going to have a big off season and step into a bigger role and you know hopefully they can go back and we’ll watch him in the finals again take your back a year how funny was it to watch him at the parade it was awesome he’s he’s definitely a Work Hard Play Hard kind of guy um and he he deserved it you know this it’s winning at literally the highest level it’s you’re the world champion so he had he had the right to go celebrate a little bit do you hate losing as much as he does I do um I kind of just love playing the game it might not be as fiery and screaming out there like Christian is but um yeah I think it’s it’s definitely you don’t want they man to score on you you want to win every possession is there a time you’ve beaten him in something that you’re most proud of whether it’s basketball home or something there’s definitely things I think I’m more proud of my golf game I think is way better than his he he’s this summer came back and I thought we’d maybe have some competition but I think I got him by a mile in golf so I’m I’m definitely going to hold that over his head will he agree with that or he’ll definitely agree with that he won’t he won’t fight you over that he’ll probably go out there and and try his best but he I don’t think he’ll be able to do it luck appreciate you good to see y man we had the uh lee Jersey on there today were there some starter Reps for you uh yeah no just trying to yeah be an energy guy for us and uh yeah help out shoot the ball when I can’t help pick out so pretty comfortable with those guys just from playing in Grand Raptors last year so yeah just want to help him out when I can so how much has your dad told you about this experience uh it’s honestly pretty fresh for the both of us just because new Arena he played in I don’t remember what it used to be called actually but they were actually in the process of building this by the time he was leaving but um even just walking through the locker room seeing his picture on the wall and everything I that was a cool experience so uh yeah I can’t complain for sure what has he told you about summer league and how to take advantage of this opportunity um I I was with Detroit last year for summer league so I feel like I got my feet wet a little bit there and then um at least going into it now playing in the G League last year I’m just feeling a lot more experienced a lot more comfortable in my spots and um yeah just ready to go attack and compete so what do you expect to bring to this team in Vegas uh yeah just shooting the ball that’s obviously that’s my calling card but obviously just being a Defender um even like I said with those guys in Grand raps coming down last year just being able to help them out in all the ways that obviously they’re going to carry a lot of their scoring load a lot of the ball handling a lot of the playmaking everything like that so just try to pick my spots and help them out when I can similarities and differences between your dad’s game and your game um he played in the ‘ 90s and he was more of a four and he’s Way High Above the Rim in a way that I not I would say I can shoot better I think he would agree um but yeah no he’s playing a lot more out of the post he’s more of a hook shot guy dunking and blocking shots and everything like that I’ll kind of stay more on the three-point line a little bit more so how one-on-one games SK I’m sure there’s been a few of those um he’s a little bit older now so he can’t keep up a little bit but in the post he’s still as solid as ever so we we when I was in high school we actually used to play the Ellis family Jam once a year at Christmas time and he was that’s the only time he would play every year so competitive uh he he still get to the hook shot a lot the hook shot was still going in and uh Corner three is still going in for sure so he’s more of a tennis guy nowadays though it’s his cardio so how’s your tennis you take him to tennis every time I’m home we play every Tuesday Thursday so yeah we go to our little southe ret Club my grandma she put me in tennis Legend when I was like 3 years old so that’s been honestly even more than basketball we’re a tennis F the first off yeah so who’s got braging rights on the tennis court for sure for sure more of a finesse guy you would think he’s more of a power guy but way more finesse Around the Net and everything like that so yeah do you ever go back and watch like any of his film from theight oh yeah oh yeah I think it there’s there’s been a couple like mixtapes on YouTube and he obviously doesn’t watch that stuff we all just crack up about it cuz even him and his personality now he just such a humble guy you would never know he even played in the NBA people always ask did you play basketball like yeah I played in college but um even during Co just going through we had time to just go through all the old tape so he been able to see his games against um Michael Jordan the Bulls teams they had a big really big robberies out here and then um yeah so got to see a lot of those games so had a lot of fun doing that that’s cool when you’re done on the court will you uh try to do little uh play byplay color stuff as well people always ask me that and um I think being at Grand can I got used to being in front of a camera a little bit but I think he has kind of elegancy with him that I don’t necessarily think I have I don’t know maybe I won’t turn it down we’ll see what was your relationship like growing up with him was he dad was he coach was he both um really by the time that I was was of age to like really know what was going on he was retired so I was kind of out of the whole hoop of being an NBA kid and all that he was really just a retired father at that point but um I think by the time IID really got to middle school I actually remember in summer before 8th grade I just told him like no I really want to take basketball serious and actually really go for it and then um we always just had a really good relationship we always called coach had and dad had we kind of switch in between roles pretty well so um yeah at times it kind of has to be a little bit more Stern when we’re talking business but um off the court is just Ling dad as well so yeah really good balance there for sure Week full of practices and scrimmages who or what has stood out to you about this experience um I think just the way the organization um just their standards here I think it’s it’s a fun organization to be a part of because they value the right things very big on culture and I think that’s why I’m excited to be here because it’s part of what I do best but um yeah just really honored to be here obviously the Family Ties it’s it’s a really big blessing to be a part of this organization but um yeah just happy to be here that’s all excited about the opportunity in Vegas too playing against other teams to kind of show yourself absolutely yeah I think like I said after my first year in the g-league just feeling a lot more comfortable um started our last six games of the year and was playing pretty good ball and close the season so at least going into this offseason just had a way better feel for who I was as a player at the pro level and then um really just a really focused offseason so yeah going into summer league just look afforded the opportunity to be able to compete against really high Lev guys and um had to show what we’ve been doing this offseason so is there an area of improvement that you’re kind of most focused on individually um not as much I think I had a hip surgery two years ago so I think really just getting my hips a lot more more mobile so I can really guard guys like I used to and then um I think really just being a three-point shooter just really tightening up my footwork and then shop mechanics but um yeah by now like I said you have a pretty good feel for where my shots and where my spots are going to kind of come so it’s it’s really just a matter of tiing up my forb so everyone’s pretty much the same mral defeatable process so where do where do we think this video is getting posted here uh this will probably go on I’m trying to think I’m trying to expand my social media little brand here so it’ll probably go like a Instagram real Tik Tok probably short I got a YouTube channel coming soon um yes got it all good to know got it all what’s the hand you got to get it all out I’m I’m 55 VA on Instagram 55 VA on Tik Tok I don’t be on Twitter like that so don’t even worry about that um and then yeah I own the clothing company too no bad dot shop go buy some hoodies if you want to so coach wson besides not being late what are some of the points of emphasis here today uh today we were talking a lot about um how to attack switching on and off the ball it’s something uh that’s not necessarily a part of our system but it’s something we’re going to see a lot of uh when we get to Las Vegas so just wanted to make sure we spent some time today talking about how we can attack that if we see it so that was a big Point emphasis and then uh mostly just from a um like up and down standpoint kind of ramp it down a little bit make sure these guys are fresh heading into the game tomorrow day one of practice compared to practice today how far do you think this group has come uh really far exactly how we wanted it to look uh day one as most day ones of training camps are pretty sloppy a lot of mistakes to clean up but that’s good so we had a lot of uh teaching points on film and uh we were able to clean it up through through playing five on five the last few days and then today we kind of again took our time a little bit walked through everything make sure we’re all you know on point for tomorrow night have you seen the chemistry grow in the last couple days as well guys get to know each other a little bit more yeah of course um we I think we talked about a couple days ago PJ and Hunter you know college roommates Gabe and wall played together so we got some guys that that know have experience with each other obviously our returning guys have been playing a ton together so uh it’s been good to see them as a group uh kind of build that chemistry you talked earlier in the week about kind of the balance between wanting guys to have the ball more have more sort of the opportunity the usage that kind of stuff versus the stuff that they might do when they’re on the floor of the cola that kind of what what’s the balance for you as a play caller regarding that is there like a a number of reps you’re trying to get a certain guy with the ball versus like seeing what he can do off the ball spacing cutting that kind of stuff or like I don’t know if there’s really a science to it at all but yeah no it’s good question um there’s definitely probably not an exact number um and it it really it’s probably going to be something I’m I’m looking at more postgame is hey man we just didn’t get Hunter and enough catch and shoot actions that was something we wanted to see I didn’t really call those enough um but hopefully in the game you know I’m hoping I can have a feel for that as well especially if hey Hunter just made back toback threes let’s make sure you run something for him um same idea with Julie and Jaylen so definitely not an exact signs but uh definitely something myself and my coaching Stu will try and keep an eye on as the game goes did Julian participate today I know he tweaked something yesterday uh yeah he went through everything um wasn’t anything again not a lot of running not a lot of highp speed stuff um I know it’s a little sore for him but I don’t think it’s anything serious at all and uh he seems to be all right got you yeah Michael was saying yesterday he’s been more involved with this similar to other teams in the past have you seen that yeah definitely I mean uh he’s uh always helpful and you know yesterday in the scrimmage jump p in drown plays uh teaching guys on the side and that’s it’s invaluable I mean yeah the guys you know I’m teaching my coaches are teaching and and that’s great but to have Michael Malone you know longtime NBA NBA championship head coach teaching these guys it’s just invaluable and those guys really lock in when he’s in the Huddle and he’s making a teaching point so um definitely notice it and welcome it more than anything just as personalities uh have have you noticed similarities between Parker and his brother or are they pretty different uh I would say there’s definitely a few things that you can notice like hey yeah that’s CB that’s that’s uh very similar but I think overall they are they’re they’re different people it’s uh different players and different people so but it’s been really fun getting to know Parker uh another member of the Brown family and excited for this week with him in Vegas from a coaching perspective is this about winning summer league do you have a a goals or priorities or anything uh I mean from a coaching standpoint it’s always about winning you know every time you step on the court you want to win and that’s you know summer league is it’s definitely I would say first and foremost from an organizational standpoint about uh Player Development we want to see those guys get better but I think winning is part of that you know yes there’s all these individual skills you want to work on but you know I think winning and winning habits are a skill so uh anytime you can go out on the basketball court play five on five in an NBA setting and win that’s a positive for for development so have you learned anything about Michael Malone the past couple days that you didn’t know kind of what he goes through or who he is or what that role is like chair that is an excellent question because I just talked to him about it yesterday I have a not that I didn’t respect him before but I have a whole new perspective Ive on his job and um a lot of things that I you know probably had never really thought of before that affects how he does his job and how it’s affected me the last 3 days so it’s been a very humbling experience personally and uh definitely definitely understand where he’s coming from a lot more on some of these some of these situations what are some of those details that you are willing to share I mean one these last few days like constructing a practice you know it’s one thing to just hey roll the ball out and play five on five which we did a lot of and we wanted to but to really make a practice flow well uh when you’re going from drill to drill to keep the energy up but also make sure you’re you’re getting teaching points in it’s really difficult and it’s there’s a lot more that goes into it than you really think it’s not just drawn up the drill and paper um so that would be one and uh and honestly as a head coach especially these days I think more so for him than me but you’ve got a lot more than just basketball to worry about you want to make sure your schedule makes sense our travel as efficient as it could be uh just all those things that you you don’t see on the court and You’ never think of but those things are all on his plate and it’s man yeah whole new respect for Coach Malone again had a lot for him to begin with but a whole new perspective this week cool thanks
Parker Braun brother of Christian Braun, Walter Ellis son of Alfonso Ellis, and Andrew Munson Press Conference before Denver Nuggets fly to NBA Summer League 2024 in Las Vegas.
Timestamps:
0:00 – Parker Braun
5:55 – Walter Ellis
11:22 – Andrew Munson
#nba #denvernuggets #christianbraun #summerleague #summerleague2024
