Kyle Lowry talks about developing into a leader and more.
On his role:
“To be honest, I think I want to be the leader of the team. I think I’m going to be the guy that pushes this team to the limit and as I go, we go. We have great scorers in myself, Kevin and Luis and Chase. We have the great offensive players that we need to score points, but I’m going to be the guy that pushes guys and being that leader, and being a vocal guy, going out there and showing that last year wasn’t just a temporary thing. That’s who I am. I’m going to be a successful starting point guard in this league and I want to be an elite point guard in this league. I think my role is just going to be stepping my game to be an elite point guard.”
On being a leader:
“It’s weird. I’m young, but I’m going into year six. It’s crazy to think like that. I’m so young, then I’m going into my sixth year in the NBA. The average is like three-and-a-half years. Me being in that big-brother role is something I’m going to embrace. It’s something that I always wanted to be and I always looked at myself as, the leader of an organization. With [Marcus Morris] coming in, I’m just going to take my time and let him know, “It’s going to be up and down, it’s going to be a tough road, but at the end of the day, you keep working at what you’re good at, you’re going to be good and successful in the League,’ and that’s going to be my role with him. Now, I’m going to be tough on him. I’m going to make him understand that, ‘Look, this ain’t going to be easy,’ but I think he has the understanding, he has the work ethic to get to the point where he’s going to know he’s going to be successful in this league.”
On playing overseas:
“Yeah, I think China would be my first preference and I definitely want to look to go over there and play. If I got an opportunity to go overseas or China and keep my game sharp and my game going, and make a few dollars on the way—hopefully the lockout ends sooner than later—then definitely, yeah. I think it would be a decision that would be good for my family and for me because I’d have the opportunity to go play and still sharpen my skills, keep building off of last year. I don’t want to be sitting out too long and not be doing anything, just get back and be stale—not stale–but it’s a difference when you get to play against competition overseas and with referees. Pick-up is great, but you need the officials, you need that type of competitive nature to go against. I think I’d definitely want to go if there’s an opportunity.”
On his preparation this summer:
“Just working. I’m staying with my normal routine, just getting ready and preparing for the season. I’m pushing everything a little further back, just in case there is a long layoff. You don’t want to burn yourself out too fast and be in top shape, then you have a lockout going on until December, January. You want to moderate it to the point where you’re 75, 80 percent, just in case the season doesn’t start in October. I’ve been in Houston, I’ve been in Philly. For the most part, I’m in Houston. Once the summer kicks in a little bit later—we’ll see what goes on with the lockout the next couple of meetings—I’ll figure it out. I’ll go to Vegas and train with my trainer [Joe Abunassar] and with my guys out there.”
On being the Rockets’ NBPA player representative during the lockout:
Just being there and understanding, hearing what’s going on and relaying it to the team. Kind of just understanding that you have to be contacted by the NBPA and understanding that you are the voice of your team. You’re the guy that they ask, ‘Hey, would you think your team would like this?’ or ‘Where will you guys be?’ You have to be the voice and you have to be the listener for your team. It’s a good role to be in. Our NBPA does a great job of relaying things to us and getting us to understand what’s going on, and you just have to lay it out to the guys and let them understand what’s going on also.”
On the direction of the Rockets with Yao gone for good:
“With knowing Yao isn’t coming back—although it’s been like that for the last two years–we just have to establish ourselves early. Last year, I think we were kind of in a tough situation with Yao coming in and only playing 24 minutes a game. We didn’t know how we were going to play. We can score with the best of them and I think our focal point has to be defense. We have a vision of team where you can be good defensively, with hopefully bringing Chuck [Hayes] back and being our anchor, and getting some more height inside. Chuck does a great job with what he has, but we need a seven-footer in there, where guys are intimidated to come into the lane and be a dominant force inside. We have to make a commitment to defensively stopping people and having our defense create our offense.”
On his future in Houston:
“I would love to be here the rest of my career. I think it’s a great place for me. I think the team has kind of taken on my personality a little bit with how we played at the end of the year. We were just scrapping and not worried about stats, everyone just wanted to win games and I think that’s kind of what I wanted to bring in for this team. Going into next season, I’ve just got to keep building on my game and making our team better, and as long as I do that, hopefully this will be home for a long time because I love the organization, I love being here. But, at the end of the day, it’s a business and I understand business decisions have to be made. But for me, I hope this is home for a long, long time.”
On hearing young players compared to him:
“It’s humbling. It kind of makes you happy and it’s just exciting to know people look at you as they once looked at somebody else or compared you to this person and you’re just like, ‘Wow, they’re talking about this kid like he could be the next me,’ and I feel like, ‘Wow, that’s a big achievement for me.’ That’s humbling to me, that I’ve got to the point where people are comparing younger guys to me. It’s just great. It’s a great feeling.”
Aggrey Sam covers the Chicago Bulls for Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
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