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Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky Q: How important is it to you to be the first guy drafted? Towns: For me it's not that important. I just want to go and make my mark on any organization that I'm picked to and fortunate enough to play for. The biggest thing here, just like at Kentucky, is you have to sacrifice. If I go one, two, 59, or 60, whatever team I go to I'm just going to be the best player that I can possibly be for that team and help us try to win championships. Q: Do you see the role of the big man in the NBA changing? How do you see yourself fitting in and how is it changing
Towns: For me the league is not changing. I don't think the league has changed in years other than the basketball one year. I don't see the league changing. I see us as humans changing. I'm watching the other day seventh graders are putting their head at the rim and dunking. I didn't see that back in my day, which is not too long ago. When I was back in seventh grade, I never saw a kid put his head at the rim, dunking with ease, windmills, through the legs. Humans are changing. They are getting quicker, faster, stronger, and more precise. The league isn't changing, it's the players. It's this new crop of talent, this new generation of talent that's coming into the league that's changing the way the league is played because of how explosive, how fast, and how quick we are all becoming. Jahlil Okafor, Duke Q: What are some of your goals? Okafor: I would like to be considered a true professional. One of those guys like a Tim Duncan, someone who never had any problems off the court. I'd like to be looked at as someone like that. Q: Do you have any feel for where you're going to wind up? Okafor: I wish I did, then I'd be able to sleep a little better tonight. It's been a long process. It's been a lot of fun, but I'm ready for it to over with and to know where I'm going to be playing. D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State Q: What are your thoughts on the triangle offense? Russell: Kobe had a lot of success in it. You can name drop all the great players that have had success with it. Phil Jackson did a great job with the Lakers with it. If I landed with the Knicks, the triangle would definitely be a part of that equation. Q: What would it be like to maybe play with a Kobe Bryant or a Carmelo Anthony? Russell: It would be an honor. I don't know how much Kobe has left in the tank. I know Melo is still a young player that's thirsty for a championship. Stanley Johnson, Arizona Q: So many people have talked about you as a defensive player. Is that strange for you considering how much of your life you've been considered the primary offensive player? Johnson: Yeah, people's jobs are to hype things up and when you talk to teams a lot of them talk about both sides of the ball for me. A lot of people say I can't shoot so they will obviously focus on the defense more than anything. I pride myself on playing both sides of the ball, so I don't think I'm better at one side over another. Q: Have you had the "Oh wow, I'm here" moment yet? Johnson: Yeah, I think that moment for me is that I can work out all day now and nobody can tell me I have to go to school. That's always fun. Being in the gym all day is the best. Devin Booker, Kentucky Q: Do you think some of you guys being so young is overblown? Booker: I think so. With me being the youngest player in the draft, I think what really matters is your maturity. I think I have that. I've been around older people my whole life. I've always played against older guys. I feel like I'm mature enough to be in this league. Q: What do you say to the critics of John Calipari's system and that it doesn't feature players enough? I mean, here you are, about to be picked very high. Booker: You guys see how many Kentucky guys are in the draft this year, how many of us are going to get drafted, and how successful we were as a team. I'm probably the one that they highlight, came out of high school, I wasn't in the top 10 or anything, and I was able to go there, share minutes and still be successful. So, there's two different approaches you can take. People want to be that guy, but not everyone can be that guy, and that's not how it's going to be in the NBA. I think Kentucky was the closest thing to the NBA, and it helped me get into this position I'm in right now. Sam Dekker, Wisconsin Q: What will it be like to see yourself in NBA Live and NBA2K video games? Dekker: That's going to be funny. It'd be funnier if I was playing with someone else and someone started getting buckets on me with me. I would probably just keep letting them do it because I would beat my chest every time someone scored on me with me. Hopefully [the game] will get my hair right. Q: What's the best value you bring to a team? Dekker: I think versatility on both ends of the court, being an athletic kid who likes to run up the wing but who can also drive and shoot from the outside. That's going to be big for me, being able to play different positions, guarding different sizes. I think with the way the NBA has been played lately, that will be big for me moving forward. Off the court too. I'll be a good teammate. I'll be a good face for an organization. I don't think they'll have to worry about me off the court. It's just on the court I'll have to produce, and I see myself doing that. Kevon Looney, UCLA Q: What type of impact do you think you can have right away in the NBA, as well as down the road? Looney: I think I can have a good impact right away. I think I will be able to rebound, play defense and provide length for a team, and down the road as I get stronger, I can improve my skillset and become a big-time player. Q: Coming into the process were there something that you wanted to show NBA teams in particular? Looney: I wanted to show them my shooting, as I'm getting better at that. I wanted to show them my dribbling and passing ability. Show them my versatility. They saw what I can do down low but I want to show them what I can do on the perimeter. Bobby Portis, Arkansas Q: Is there a team you see yourself really fitting in with? Portis: No sir. I feel like any team that gets me will get a gem. I feel like I can play in any type of style and system because I'm the type of player that prides myself on hard work and dedication. Q: Can you wrap your head around how life altering tomorrow night will be for you? Portis: I can't wrap my head around it. It has been a busy ride from April to now. Seeing different cities, players, systems and how everything works. It has been crazy because I was just in college, eating noodles, going to class. And now I'm eating steak now. It's kind of fun but it's cool at the same time to see more of how the business side of basketball works. Jerian Grant, Notre Dame Q: What's the best piece of advice you've gotten from your dad [former NBA forward Harvey Grant] and uncle [former NBA forward Horace Grant] about what you're about to get into? Grant: Just to be professional and keep working. Just because you got there, it's easy to leave. It's harder to stay than it is to get there. Just keep working and hopefully you'll have a long career. Q: First NBA check. You have something special planned? Grant: Nothing special. I haven't decided what car yet, but I think I need a new one. My Jeep is about an '02. Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin Q: What do you think the biggest change will be from what you were able to do in the collegiate game to what will become difficult in the NBA? Kaminsky: Well obviously you have to speed yourself up just a little bit. With the 24-second shot clock if you're open you can't pass it up anymore. You can't work for a better one. If you're open you gotta let it go. That's going to be a little bit of an adjustment, just trying to make decisions a little bit quicker, but I'm ready for all that. Q: The time at Wisconsin obviously was huge for you. Do you think it's prepared you for this? Kaminsky: Yeah, you know, I had to grow up. My first couple years I had some problems, mentally not sticking with it, and physically I just had to get stronger, change my body. Kind of the way I played, not really the way I played but how I fit into the system, to try to make myself become the best player, and I was able to do that. Trey Lyles, Kentucky Q: What type of expectations, and not necessarily where you'll get drafted or who will draft you, but what type of expectations do you take going into tomorrow's event? Lyles: I just want to get drafted. Being a kid growing up watching it and now being a part of it is crazy, so just for me to get drafted would be a goal accomplished for me. Q: Even if you're not there, how big is this summer for Canadian basketball in regards to what the team does in qualifying for the Olympics? Lyles: It's huge you know, qualifying for the Olympics is a huge thing for us, and if we're capable of doing that then it's going to put us in a great situation next year. I think a lot of the guys are going to be able to come back and play next year, if they're not able to play this year, and it's going to make the team a lot better. Kelly Oubre, Kansas Q: When you met with teams, what were you trying to impress upon them that you could bring to the court? Oubre: That my shooting has gotten a lot better. I can really shoot the ball. My game has really evolved because I've pretty much dedicated myself to basketball in this pre-draft process. My handles have gotten better and I'm a long, athletic defender who can really lock people up on the next level. It's definitely something that I've showed and I feel like I've showed well. Q: Do you feel like you've learned a lot from [Kansas head coach] Bill Self this past year? Oubre: I learned so much this past year. This year really helped me a lot more than it hurt me. A lot of people look at it and say that my draft stock dropped, but it really helped me because I can face adversity now with no problem. Whatever is in store I'm ready for it, and I'm a better player because of it. I just thank Bill Self for everything that he's done. He's definitely one of the best coaches out there to ever do it. Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky Q: Willie there were questions this week about your ankle. Teams are concerned, even though you played the entire past season without any issues that we were aware of, what do you make of all that? Cauley-Stein: It's politics. People are going to put the stories out there but, I don't know, I don't feel any pain. My game didn't look hindered at all. I increased my vertical by five inches, like I'm putting my chin on the rim, so I don't think anything's wrong with it. A lot of it's just talk. Q: I remember you were annoyed when you were the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. It sounded like you didn't want to be pigeonholed as just a defender, and I'm wondering if you get a sense that the NBA is pigeonholing you in that way. Cauley-Stein: You gotta do what got you there. I'm getting drafted because I was the defensive player of the year, I'm getting drafted because I can guard multiple positions, so anything that comes other than that, there's no pressure. If I bring offense then I bring offense, that's just going to make your routine that much better. But if I don't then I'm still the same dude, I'm still doing something so. I mean there's no pressure for me to have an offensive game, I just want it, I wanna be one of the top players in the league, that's how you're gonna do it. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Arizona Q: Do you consider yourself a lockdown defender? Hollis-Jefferson: I don't know. They say men lie, women lie, numbers don't. I do get a lot of stops, I will say that. Q: All the talk now is that it's an offensive league. But, you do need guys to stop those guys. Do you feel like that's a good thing for you? Hollis-Jefferson: It's definitely good timing for me. But, I'm no scrub on the offensive side. I feel like I can get to the basket and draw fouls, and make plays on the offensive end. As far as defense and slowing other players down, that's definitely strength of mine. Emmanuel Mudiay, Democratic Republic of Congo Q: Everyone says you're a great mystery. What do you think you can bring to an NBA team and how much have you heard about being a mystery player? Mudiay: That's funny to me because I grew up playing high school and AAU basketball here in the states. I didn't go to college, so if that's the whole reason why they call me a mystery, I understand that but I think the people that have seen me play growing up really know how I play. I'm just a competitor and I want to win. My thing is winning championships, which is something that I have dreamed about. Q: You have size, speed and athleticism, but do you have a jump shot? Mudiay: I do. I'm confident in it and I don't care what anyone says. I will shoot it and if I make it, I make it. If I miss, I will come back and shoot it again. I'm confident in my shot. I guess that's the knock people say about my game, but I don't care what anyone says. I have been putting in the work and I'm confident in my whole game. Cameron Payne, Murray State Q: Why do you think it's harder to get here from a mid-major? Payne: All these high majors, you get to see them every day. At Murray, Kentucky, you have to drive two hours from Nashville just to get to the gym. You just don't get the exposure. The thing that's significant with me is that I came from Murray and then at the Draft Combine, people got to meet me. Nobody knew who I was, just basketball. That's how my stock rose – people got to find out who I was. Q: Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard came from smaller colleges. Now they're some of the top guards in the league. Does that encourage you? Payne: Definitely. And you've got Elfrid Payton. I'm in the same shoes. The only difference is that I didn't go to the NCAA Tournament. I wish I would have. It would have been a little better story. But they definitely set the standard for mid-majors who want to go to the NBA. I'm going to be the next guy to let them know. I came from Murray State, OVC. First round. It's crazy. Kenneth Faried did it. I'm just going to be the next to show that all you have to do is trust the process. Kristaps Porzingis, Latvia Q: In an earlier interview, you seemed to express a lot of knowledge about the history of the NBA. Growing up, where was the source of information and how did you learn so much about the sport? Porzingis: I've been learning right now when there is the Internet the last 10 years, watching videos all the time. I want to know the history of the NBA, like who was the champion in 1975? It's interesting to me because I love the game so much. When I was still in Latvia, whenever they would show a live game on TV, I used to get up early in the morning or late at night to watch it. I'm a student of the game and I try to get as much information as I can. Q: You've asked people not to stereotype you in the way that some people have done with other European players. How sensitive are you to that type of stereotype? Porzingis: I'm not too sensitive. I'm conscious that there is a stereotype about white European big men who are skilled, but the thing about me is that I love the game and have the passion. I can be in the gym three hours straight shooting by myself. I love being in the gym, being with my brother working out, putting the work in. I think that will help me in the long run. As my career goes on, I'll keep my mentality the same and keep my work ethic the same way. Myles Turner, Texas Q: How did you think your workout with the Jazz went? Turner: That was my first workout. I think it went really well. That was my first little taste of an NBA workout. I got to work out against some really good guys. There was a lot of physical testing there. I thought it went well. Q: What can you bring to a team as soon as next season? Turner: As soon as next season I can bring adaptability. That's the biggest thing and it's what I pride myself on is to come to a situation and perform right away. My ability to learn I think is huge. I can recognize details and learn at a quick pace at the next level. Justise Winslow, Duke Q: Did you have a favorite NBA team growing up? Winslow: Just being from Houston, I liked the Rockets, liked T-Mac, Yao, that team. But just as I got older I became more of a student of the game than a fan. Q: What advice has your father given you and how has your faith guided you in this journey? Winslow: My father just told me to enjoy the process, stay in the moment, live in the moment, and just enjoy it all, whether it's doing media stuff or hanging out in the hotel with my friends. He's lived through it all. He knows the moments that you really cherish, those with your teammates where you're just having fun, regardless if it's on the court or not. So just enjoying it. You only get one life so just enjoy every moment. And as far as my faith, I would say that, just praying, working hard, leaving it all in God's hand is something that has guided me. — via NBA PR