There are only a handful of guys in the NBA who are going to be superstars and I think I found a bit of a niche with the Jazz to come off the bench and do what I do.
When I come off the bench, I have that intensity and that effort. That's something all of us guys are trying to bring, but especially the guys off the bench. Because we can play a role in any game, let alone the playoffs.
I've started. I've come off the bench. I've not played. I've been on the worst team in the NBA. I've won championships.
I mean, I've definitely found my thing, what I'm good at. Certain things that guys do keep them in the NBA a long time, but I've found what I'm good at, and I'm only going to continue to get better at that.
There are guys on different teams across the league who are bench guys, and guys who that - that's their role, to be on the bench encouraging guys to play hard and get good minutes.
There are a handful of guys that are really good at what they're doing from the receiver position, which is the easiest position in the NFL. There are a handful of guys that are good at it. There's not one particular guy that would concern me when I'm going into a game, but there are guys that you have to take notice of in the league.
Let's say I have a new respect for guys who come off the bench every day. That's not easy to do.
Certain guys are like relief pitchers; they come off the bench, they don’t know when they’re playing – you come in and you just go. Certain guys, they like to start; they like to start the game and play. I believe Kirk Cousins is a reliever. I don’t know if he’s a starter.
Manchester United will be hoping their bench can come off the bench
Hey, the Clippers are a good NBA basketball school. Helps out all the young guys who come into the league. It's not a fast team, not like a real NBA team. All the players have to worry about is improving on their own. You are there for your first few years. They teach you a little bit about the game, and then they let you go.
I kind of like the idea of just coaching, nothing else. But I just think some coaches are better suited for college than the NBA. I believe I'm one of those guys. I think Tom Izzo is one of those guys. Mike Krzyzewski. I think they found the right jobs and they've stayed with them.
You're more apt to criticize an NBA player than you are a college players. Some of these guys are freshmen. They are learning the game. The other guys have taken it to the biggest stage there is. That's the NBA. So they are going to get more heat if they don't perform.
I think when you come off the bench, you know you're going to play, but you don't know really when, what time in the game, what quarter, so it's kind of different.
It was even hard to imagine I was going to play in the NBA, because so many guys playing in Europe are not even getting to the Euroleague and everything. But everybody wants to play in the NBA. So when draft night came, it was a dream come true.
Of course we've lost so many superstars who've made jazz what it is. We've lost so many musicians who created new things and changed the way we think about music and who took jazz to a new level. So jazz is suffering from that. But we still have a lot of incredible people playing jazz in the world. We have a lot of people leading the way.
The bench is really important in the NBA because if you have a good bench, then you can make that playoff push even harder.
Glue guys aren't superstars. They're not the No. 1 option. They just do things only coaches really appreciate. The stars get the headlines, but glue guys help you get in the winner's circle. I don't think you can win without having that kind of player.