Reporter: Just wondering, you obviously agreed to a two-way with the Heat pretty soon after the draft. What drew you to the Heat? You know, you're obviously familiar with the city and you've been around this, you know, the team a little bit while you were in college. What drew you to the Heat and just joining their player development program?
Tre Donaldson: The Heat culture, I feel like, is the biggest thing, and I like to win, and they do a lot of that. So just trying to be a part of that, trying to develop, understanding what I need to do for myself and my future, and just trying to get better. And they do that really well, and that's what I was looking forward to.
Reporter: What are you hoping to prove in Summer League over these next two, three weeks?
Tre Donaldson: Going to Summer League, I'm not looking to prove nothing, just to solidify, to back up that I'm a great point guard, that I can control the game and do what my coaches and my teammates need me to do.
Reporter: Hey, Tre, welcome. Thank you for doing this. The world has changed so much in the college game. The fact that you were in three different schools, therefore, three different systems, how might that make it easier to adjust to the NBA game? You've sort of seen a lot already. How does that maybe ease the process?
Tre Donaldson: I feel like it eases the process going into this, just being able to adapt to the NBA game. And it's a lot different. You'll never know. Different games call for different things. So just being able to adapt, I feel like it's the biggest thing that I've taken from my three different stops. But looking back on it, I'm super, super grateful for those three different stops because I learned so much. Discipline from Bruce Pearl, and he instills that in you early. And then just the savviness that Desi made, and then the fast pace that Dave Lucas brings to his offense as well.
Reporter: Did you get a chance to watch the Heat a lot when you were down here? Did you get to the AA Center at all to see the games?
Tre Donaldson: Yes, sir, for sure. I'm a basketball junkie. I don't like TV, so I try to sneak to the games as much as possible when I had... because it was, honestly, we were in season as well over there, watch as many games. I watched most of them on TV as well. So I watched a lot.
Reporter: You worked out for the team also before the draft? Did you have a Heat pre-draft workout?
Tre Donaldson: Yes, sir, I did. I actually did.
Reporter: And tell us about that. What was that like being in the Heat gym? I don't know if Spolstra, Riley were there. What was that like for you?
Tre Donaldson: It's probably been a workout I'll never forget. I got delayed a couple times coming off a red eye, no sleep. Straight from the airport straight to the gym. And it was probably the best red eye I ever took. And then just seeing Pat Riley for the first time, Coach Spo, and all those guys, it was super, super exciting. So I feel like that's what gave me the energy to finish the workout and have a good one.
Reporter: You know, obviously these days in the NBA, rookies don't always get to sit back, and especially with shorter rosters, things like that. So give me two or three skills that you believe are, if not NBA ready, close enough that you believe if called upon this season by Eric Spolstra you could deliver. Maybe two or three.
Tre Donaldson: My playmaking. I feel like that's the biggest thing. That's what I do. And just the way I'm able to make the other four guys better. I'm able to control games, understanding what to do in certain times of the game, time and score, situations, if we need a good shot, if we've had a couple bad shots and we just need to slow into something better. I feel like that's my maturity aspect of it, me playing four years in college, that helps me. So just bringing that to the team, and then just my energy, my physicality with the build I have defensively, I feel like I can bother the ball on defense and become a pest.
Reporter: Hey, Trey, you touched on Coach Lucas and the fast tempo. What were some other big things? And I know you've spoken about this, but just as you reflect back on your year with Coach Lucas, what's the biggest takeaways in helping your game to this progression here?
Tre Donaldson: Going to Miami and just being under Coach Lucas and being a point guard himself, he just helped me sharpen my game, to sharpen the things that I'm really good at and then work on some of the things I could get better at. But the biggest thing I took from Coach Lucas was just being an everyday guy. It's hard to become, come to the gym and leave everything outside and come in and just pour into your teammates, be that energy, as a point guard, I have to be that energy and that leader. So just being that everyday is something I took from Coach Lucas and he helped me perfect.
Tre Donaldson: The Heat culture, I feel like, is the biggest thing, and I like to win, and they do a lot of that. So just trying to be a part of that, trying to develop, understanding what I need to do for myself and my future, and just trying to get better. And they do that really well, and that's what I was looking forward to.
Reporter: What are you hoping to prove in Summer League over these next two, three weeks?
Tre Donaldson: Going to Summer League, I'm not looking to prove nothing, just to solidify, to back up that I'm a great point guard, that I can control the game and do what my coaches and my teammates need me to do.
Reporter: Hey, Tre, welcome. Thank you for doing this. The world has changed so much in the college game. The fact that you were in three different schools, therefore, three different systems, how might that make it easier to adjust to the NBA game? You've sort of seen a lot already. How does that maybe ease the process?
Tre Donaldson: I feel like it eases the process going into this, just being able to adapt to the NBA game. And it's a lot different. You'll never know. Different games call for different things. So just being able to adapt, I feel like it's the biggest thing that I've taken from my three different stops. But looking back on it, I'm super, super grateful for those three different stops because I learned so much. Discipline from Bruce Pearl, and he instills that in you early. And then just the savviness that Desi made, and then the fast pace that Dave Lucas brings to his offense as well.
Reporter: Did you get a chance to watch the Heat a lot when you were down here? Did you get to the AA Center at all to see the games?
Tre Donaldson: Yes, sir, for sure. I'm a basketball junkie. I don't like TV, so I try to sneak to the games as much as possible when I had... because it was, honestly, we were in season as well over there, watch as many games. I watched most of them on TV as well. So I watched a lot.
Reporter: You worked out for the team also before the draft? Did you have a Heat pre-draft workout?
Tre Donaldson: Yes, sir, I did. I actually did.
Reporter: And tell us about that. What was that like being in the Heat gym? I don't know if Spolstra, Riley were there. What was that like for you?
Tre Donaldson: It's probably been a workout I'll never forget. I got delayed a couple times coming off a red eye, no sleep. Straight from the airport straight to the gym. And it was probably the best red eye I ever took. And then just seeing Pat Riley for the first time, Coach Spo, and all those guys, it was super, super exciting. So I feel like that's what gave me the energy to finish the workout and have a good one.
Reporter: You know, obviously these days in the NBA, rookies don't always get to sit back, and especially with shorter rosters, things like that. So give me two or three skills that you believe are, if not NBA ready, close enough that you believe if called upon this season by Eric Spolstra you could deliver. Maybe two or three.
Tre Donaldson: My playmaking. I feel like that's the biggest thing. That's what I do. And just the way I'm able to make the other four guys better. I'm able to control games, understanding what to do in certain times of the game, time and score, situations, if we need a good shot, if we've had a couple bad shots and we just need to slow into something better. I feel like that's my maturity aspect of it, me playing four years in college, that helps me. So just bringing that to the team, and then just my energy, my physicality with the build I have defensively, I feel like I can bother the ball on defense and become a pest.
Reporter: Hey, Trey, you touched on Coach Lucas and the fast tempo. What were some other big things? And I know you've spoken about this, but just as you reflect back on your year with Coach Lucas, what's the biggest takeaways in helping your game to this progression here?
Tre Donaldson: Going to Miami and just being under Coach Lucas and being a point guard himself, he just helped me sharpen my game, to sharpen the things that I'm really good at and then work on some of the things I could get better at. But the biggest thing I took from Coach Lucas was just being an everyday guy. It's hard to become, come to the gym and leave everything outside and come in and just pour into your teammates, be that energy, as a point guard, I have to be that energy and that leader. So just being that everyday is something I took from Coach Lucas and he helped me perfect.
