WEBVTT - Mac & Bone Show - Jermaine Bucknor Interview

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<v Speaker 1>Let's focus on the Charlotte Hornets opening their season tonight,

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<v Speaker 1>and let's do so with Jermaine Buckner, assistant coach for

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<v Speaker 1>your Charlotte Hornets, joining us here on Game Day Morning. Coach,

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<v Speaker 1>what's going on? How you doing?

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<v Speaker 2>Morning, folks. How you guys doing today? I'm great.

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<v Speaker 3>What's up, Coach? Doing good.

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<v Speaker 1>Appreciate you getting up early here on game day and

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<v Speaker 1>chatting with us. I just want to kind of cut

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<v Speaker 1>to the chase. I want to get this question out

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<v Speaker 1>of the way because we're hyped up for the start

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<v Speaker 1>of the season, but as you can imagine, a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of fans are still thinking about the fact, man, for

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<v Speaker 1>the first time in years, LaMelo's not on this team.

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<v Speaker 1>What do you think about– and I know you were

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<v Speaker 1>missing a ton of guys in the preseason and still

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<v Speaker 1>are to start the season– But when you look at

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<v Speaker 1>this team and how they're constructed, I would think you

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<v Speaker 1>guys think this is still a hell of an offense,

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<v Speaker 1>even without LaMelo.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, obviously LaMelo is an incredible player. He

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<v Speaker 2>was in Charlotte for many, many years. I can understand

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<v Speaker 2>what you said about the fans having a connection to

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<v Speaker 2>him and whatnot. And I have a great appreciation for

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<v Speaker 2>LaMelo and all that he did. While he was here.

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<v Speaker 2>In regards to the guys that we have now, I'm

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<v Speaker 2>really excited about heading into the regular season. Obviously, we

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<v Speaker 2>missed a couple guys, like you said, during the preseason.

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<v Speaker 2>And Khan and Kobe, Grayson missed a couple games. But

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<v Speaker 2>I think we got a heck of a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>shooting on the floor. We got a lot of intelligence.

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<v Speaker 2>We got guys that enjoy sharing the ball and guys

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<v Speaker 2>that enjoy playing together. So I'm extremely excited about the

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<v Speaker 2>offense this year.

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<v Speaker 3>In comparison to teams you've been around, the depth of

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<v Speaker 3>this team, where does it compare to teams you've coached before?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, like I said, we have a ton of shooting

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<v Speaker 2>on the floor. Depth is so important. If you want

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<v Speaker 2>to make the playoffs and you want to make a

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<v Speaker 2>playoff run, you want to play in the postseason, you

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<v Speaker 2>have to have depth to your roster, right? You've got

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<v Speaker 2>to have a group of guys that are willing to

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<v Speaker 2>buy in from top to bottom. Like five, six guys

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<v Speaker 2>is not going to do it. And you've seen that

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<v Speaker 2>in the previous years in the NBA. So, I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>I came from the Boston Celtics, right, which was one

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<v Speaker 2>of the deepest rosters in the league the year that

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<v Speaker 2>we won the championship. And we saw how important that was, especially,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, you got to take into consideration injuries that

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<v Speaker 2>come into play and guys having to sit out games.

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<v Speaker 2>And when you got guys sitting out, you need the

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<v Speaker 2>next man to step up. and bring that level of

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<v Speaker 2>intensity and that level of focus that was left behind

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<v Speaker 2>by that injury or whatever that guy is dealing with

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<v Speaker 2>to have to sit out the game. So that is

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<v Speaker 2>extremely important. And for our roster, we're trying to build

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<v Speaker 2>a roster filled with depth.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and I think you've got it. I think there's

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<v Speaker 1>a good chance it shows tonight, you know, with three

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<v Speaker 1>important guys out, that depth that you have. Coach Jermaine

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<v Speaker 1>Buckner is with us, Hornets assistant in Brooklyn, getting ready

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<v Speaker 1>for tonight's season opener. Coach, we've got to talk about

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<v Speaker 1>Brandon Miller. I mean, he's the guy that should be

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<v Speaker 1>buying everybody dinner over there now after that big contract

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<v Speaker 1>that he got. From a coach's perspective, now that he's

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<v Speaker 1>healthy and we've fed, he told– our guys, Wes and

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<v Speaker 1>Walker on our station, what he was going through and

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<v Speaker 1>how bad the pain was last year. And I don't

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<v Speaker 1>think we realized it. What do you think if he's

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<v Speaker 1>a healthy Brandon Miller, as he matures as a player,

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<v Speaker 1>what are the next steps for him? What are the

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<v Speaker 1>steps of growth you think we're about to see from him?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, congratulations to Brandon. We're really excited to have

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<v Speaker 2>him in the contract. Brandon's an incredible talent as we

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<v Speaker 2>all know. And as he, as he continues to grow

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<v Speaker 2>and get older and, His leadership, I think that is

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<v Speaker 2>going to be one of the main things for him

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<v Speaker 2>to focus on. He's got an incredible amount of talent.

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<v Speaker 2>It's unbelievable what that kid can do with the basketball,

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<v Speaker 2>with his athleticism. As he begins to grow, we need

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<v Speaker 2>to see him. And I know he wants this for

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<v Speaker 2>himself to be a better leader, to be a more

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<v Speaker 2>vocal leader, to lead by example. And he's done a

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<v Speaker 2>great job of that so far throughout the course of

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<v Speaker 2>this offseason and heading into this preseason.

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<v Speaker 3>From where camp started and what was going on over

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<v Speaker 3>the summer, Where have Christian Anderson and Steinbach individually improved

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<v Speaker 3>the most the last couple months?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, man. Yeah, it's been really fun to watch them grow.

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<v Speaker 2>Their level of intelligence, you know, you could see it

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<v Speaker 2>already as soon as they came in. They want to listen.

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<v Speaker 2>They want to grow. They want to learn each and

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<v Speaker 2>every single day. But what I've been most impressed with

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<v Speaker 2>them about is just their level of development that's taken

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<v Speaker 2>place just in the past couple months. And you could

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<v Speaker 2>tell when they first got to us, as it is for, like,

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<v Speaker 2>many rookies that come to the league, the game is

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<v Speaker 2>just moving so fast, right? Like, you're coming into a

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<v Speaker 2>league where the athleticism is higher, the speed is faster,

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<v Speaker 2>the physicality is just more. And they've adapted so quickly

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<v Speaker 2>over the course of the summer. And it's been really

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<v Speaker 2>cool to see them throughout the course of the preseason

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<v Speaker 2>getting into real NBA games and figuring that out throughout

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<v Speaker 2>the course of the game. And practice as well. They

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<v Speaker 2>bring the intensity to practice every single day.

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<v Speaker 1>Coach, we're talking with Jermaine Buckner, assistant coach for the Hornets.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's talk about Coach Lee now. And I think you

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<v Speaker 1>guys as a staff, I think, did an amazing job

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<v Speaker 1>last year. So I don't want to make you think

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<v Speaker 1>as I'm asking about the head coach, I'm neglecting the

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<v Speaker 1>staff entirely. I just thought this team was so well

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<v Speaker 1>coached last year. But I want to give Coach Lee

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit of love. This may score you some

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<v Speaker 1>points with him too, Coach. What are the things that

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<v Speaker 1>you see him do in practice or behind the scenes

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<v Speaker 1>that when talking with the team strategy or motivation, like

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<v Speaker 1>what are the things that we may not see that

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<v Speaker 1>make him such a good basketball coach?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, honestly, man, like you're never going to disrespect me by,

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<v Speaker 2>by gassing up coach. He, he, no, honestly, he's one

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<v Speaker 2>of the most incredible people I've ever been around. And

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<v Speaker 2>I mean that like on and off the court, like

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<v Speaker 2>he's just a, first of all, he's just a good

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<v Speaker 2>human being, a good man. And I truly do admire him. And,

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<v Speaker 2>The staff that he's put together, we get along better

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<v Speaker 2>than any staff that I've ever been a part of.

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<v Speaker 2>He knows exactly what he needs around him, and he's

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<v Speaker 2>put that together. In regards to him as an individual,

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<v Speaker 2>one of the most intelligent coaches that I've been a

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<v Speaker 2>part of, been around. Basketball-wise, he knows his stuff. His adjustments,

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<v Speaker 2>his ability to adjust on the fly, his open-mindedness to

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<v Speaker 2>different concepts and different ideas. The way that he is

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<v Speaker 2>able to communicate with his players and hear them out,

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<v Speaker 2>hear their suggestions, and then allow them to feel confident

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<v Speaker 2>in what they're doing, I think is extremely important for

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<v Speaker 2>our team. He demands a level of respect from not

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<v Speaker 2>only his players, but the staff and the people around him.

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<v Speaker 2>And we all do love and respect him. So, I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>he's done an incredible job over the past few years.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm truly honored to be a part of the staff,

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<v Speaker 2>and I think each and every single one of our

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<v Speaker 2>assistant coaches would say the same thing.

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<v Speaker 1>That's awesome. That is awesome. All right, well, hey, we

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<v Speaker 1>wish you guys the best of luck. We're excited here

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<v Speaker 1>at WFNZ that y'all are getting back to it. Good

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<v Speaker 1>luck tonight and the full season, Coach. We appreciate you.

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<v Speaker 2>Appreciate y'all. Thanks for the reach out.