In the first part of my interview with Jeff Ayres (which can be found here) we talked about his preparation for the NBA Draft, overcoming injuries as well as his stops in Portland and Indiana.
In the second part of the interview we discussed his stop in San Antonio (including his feeling on battling with Tim Duncan in practice, being coached by “Pops” and the feeling of winning his first NBA championship), becoming the #1 overall pick in this year’s NBA D-League Draft, plus the opportunity he has to continue his career with the Idaho Stampede.
Watch Jeff Ayres rack up 28 points and 12 rebounds against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Remember, for the sake of ease of reading I will be represented by the initials “NT” and Jeff will answer as “JA”.
Come along for the ride as we jump back into our conversation:
NT: You played in San Antonio so you would’ve seen Tim Duncan in practice everyday. Did you talk to him alot? Was there any advice he ever gave you? I am sure he had to have some wisdom that he thrust upon you.
JA: One of his things was, “Just go play.” Being with “Pop” and all of those guys, if you are a fan of basketball being around all of those guys you are going to be nervous and even star-struck at times. Add in that your coach is the kind of guy who demands perfection, so you want to make everybody happy and you put a lot of pressure on yourself. “T.D.” was kind of like, “Look, Pop is going to be Pop. Just go out, play hard and just do you. Don’t worry about all of the small stuff… just go play.”
NT: Do you still keep in touch with Tim?
JA: Yeah, I still go and work out with him every summer. Plus, I can call and talk to him any time. He’s a really, really good guy.
NT: I have a date here for you. I am going to quiz you and see if you remember what happened on this date–June 15th of 2014.
JA: Oh, man! We won the championship. And you know what’s crazy? That was also about a month after my daughter’s birthday, right after we beat Miami.
NT: Wow! Not many guys win two “championships” in one month!
Jeff returns shots back to Mitch McGary and several of his “Blue” teammates
NT: Switching gears, you were obviously the #1 overall pick in the NBA D-League Draft and you are off to Idaho. Are you nervous about beginning again with a new, unfamiliar organization?
JA: Well, I already know the General Manager of the Jazz, because he was in San Antonio while I was there. I also know Coach Cooper really well, because he was an assistant coach of mine when I was in Portland. I have known Coach Cooper for a long time.
NT: It’s obvious the goal is to get yourself back into the NBA. Is there anything specific that you feel that you need to work on while you are here in the D-League, or do you feel that just having a place to showcase your talents could be your ticket back into the league?
JA: Well, first and foremost, I need to be more assertive. I feel like everybody knows I am a good teammate, and a good guy, but I need to be more assertive on offense and defense and everything. I feel like I can do a lot of things that people don’t know I can do, so I am using my time in the D-League as a platform to showcase that.
NT: So, you definitely feel like you are good enough to be in the league, but just need your opportunity to make people understand that?
JA: Yeah, a lot of breaks that happen for people in the league are about opportunity and timing. Just like in college for me, I graduated my junior year but felt like the draft was too stacked, so I played my senior year to build my draft stock. There are ebbs and flows to the NBA, so you have to develop your skills and make sure you stay relevant for when your name is called.
JA: There are different kinds of guys in the NBA. Some guys are happy to sit on the end of the bench and get paid, some guys are happy only playing if the guys ahead of them get hurt even though those opportunities don’t come along too often. I would rather use the D-League to shine, because I know I am going to get a chance to play and build myself up. Plus, it helps that almost every NBA team is watching you. Every day and every game is an opportunity to tryout for every team in the league.
NT: That’s the beautiful thing about the D-League. Another team just got added, and rumors of additional teams are swirling around, so before you know it each team will have a “minor league” team to stash draft picks and what not. Being honest, as a fan it sucks to see talented players leave the U.S. to play in China or play Euroleague ball, so I am hoping the D-League will keep our homegrown talent here.
JA: Exactly. There is going to be a lot of opportunity for guys to play right here at home, which is a great thing.
Could Jeff see himself playing alongside “The Stifle Tower” in Utah…?
NT: Speaking of great things, assuming that you are called up to the Utah Jazz this season, you could be playing ball alongside Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert. Would this be a great NBA front-court, or the greatest NBA front-court?
JA: (laughing) It would be great but look at some of the front-courts in the NBA. You have Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka (OKC), you have Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard (SA), you have Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan (LAC) so there is some really good competition out there, but I’d like to think our trio could hang with them and give them a run for their money.
NT: And think about this, Favors and Gobert are both young guys (as are you), so the Jazz front-line could be together for along time.
JA: I am ready, man. I am entering an age where most players are just entering their prime, so I am ready to go play with these guys!
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For more updates on Jeff, or the Idaho Stampede franchise, you can follow Hoops Trends at http://www.hooptrends.com, on Facebook, or on Twitter (@thehooptrends).
You can also follow the Stampede at http://www.idahostampede.com, on Facebook, or on Twitter (@idahostampede).
** A special thanks goes out to Jeff Ayres for his time, plus Hoop Trends would like to thank the Idaho Stampede and Aubrie Warkentien for their efforts in making this interview happen.
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