Missouri guard Caleb Grill has been going through pre-draft workouts for a number of NBA teams. After his workout with the Golden State Warriors on Monday, the team had him sit for a media session.
Here’s everything he had to say.
When asked about the process as a whole
“As a kid, everybody always dreamed of being in this opportunity and I just can’t thank the people who have helped put me in this position and to fulfill a dream I’ve had since I was a little kid. Just taking it all in and being a sponge everywhere I’m going to learn different stuff from different people.”
When asked about advice he's gotten
“Just showcase my ability and not do something that hasn’t gotten me here. I think all of us have been in positions at places and we’ve been successful at doing a certain amount of things. And you may get told you have some weaknesses, but one thing I’ve learned from going to each of these workouts is play to your strengths, don’t play to your weaknesses. We know what you’re good at, so just continuing to do what’s gotten me here and keep trying to do that to the best of my ability.”
When asked which of his skills is most Day 1 ready
“My shooting. That’s one thing I can bring out, just spacing and being able to hit shots and have games where I can go hit five or six 3s in a game. That’s what I’ve done the best throughout my college career and that’s what got me here.”
When asked about what areas he most wants to improve
“I’ve still got to keep getting better on the defensive end of the floor, keep building strength. It’s a new league, the players are more developed with their bodies. So I think one thing that I’ve really got to do to go to the next level and keep maintaining my basketball career is to keep building strength and keep (improving) my IQ on the defensive end of the floor.”
When asked about reflection on working out for the Warriors
“A lot of us going through the process right now, the best team that we, or I guess, the best dynasty we saw was Golden State. So just watching how they play, play for one another, play the right brand of basketball. I think that’s super exciting and super intriguing to a lot of players that are in the draft. And it’s a place where playing alongside Steph Curry, who’s been, who is the greatest shooter to ever play, and just being able to learn from him. For me, that would be something cool to learn, just seeing the tips and tricks of what he’s learned throughout his career.”
When asked about what sets him apart
“I would give Coach (Dennis) Gates a lot of credit. He built me into a better player from my first year at Mizzou to my second year at Mizzou and one thing he really got me better at was my leadership skills and being a better teammate. It wasn’t, he told me, it wasn’t about getting better on the basketball court. What’s going to help elevate me to the next level is going to be my leadership skills and learning from Coach Gates, one of the best leaders I’ve been around, and his coaching staff were all phenomenal leaders, and I had so many high-impact people throughout that program who helped make me such a better player from Year 1 to Year 2 at Mizzou. And just continuing to build those habits to the next stages of my career.”
When asked about talking with Tamar Bates about the process
“Me and Tamar probably talk once a week or something like that, just bouncing different workouts and what they’re like off of each other. Our experiences through each workout and how Mizzou really helped us for this situation. Just the style they play and just our knowledge of the game of basketball has helped translate us to these workouts. And I feel like me and him have both talked and we felt like we’ve been doing a really good job throughout this process and we’ve give a lot of credit to Coach Gates and his staff for helping prepare us for this moment.”
When asked about his previous workouts
“I’ve had great opportunities other places. Boston (Celtics), New Orleans (Pelicans), Phoenix (Suns), Portland (Trail Blazers) and in (Los Angeles) with the Clippers and now here with the Warriors. I think just the feedback I’ve gotten is to keep playing to my strengths and doing what I did at Mizzou this past season and that’s shoot the ball at a very good level and then keep having high intensity on the defensive end and keep bringing toughness. And just keep playing to my strengths and getting adjusted to the game is going to be something that’s going to start my career.”
When asked about what the Warriors workout was like
“It’s just a bunch of different settings, some finishing drills, some shooting drills and then some competitive three-on-three drills with the people that we have here and putting us in actions of maybe what’s going to be most effective in the NBA or what’s most effective with the Warriors and having us do those to the best of our ability and then finding different ways to guard one another and just learning on the fly of how to play with each teammate that we have here. We all come from different colleges or other countries as well. So just being able to create that tight bond with each other and in an hour, an hour and a half workout, being able to come together like we’re teammates.”
When asked about current NBA players he models his game after
“I’ve been watching, I would say, throughout this last year, a lot of Max Strus. Just watching how he started his career and I feel like he’s somebody we may be in the same starting spots in our careers and then watching, like, his intensity that he plays on both ends of the floor and how he shoots the ball and how he impacts winning in so many different ways. I feel like it kind of reminds me of how I try to play, except, you know, I try to play like him because he’s at the higher level. But just seeing how the impact he makes and his tenacity on both ends of the floors, he’s somebody that I feel like, I’ll start at the same position as him and hopefully I can work myself up to where he’s gotten to today.”
When asked about future workouts
“I’ve got Orlando (Magic), Brooklyn (Nets), figuring out one with Indiana (Pacers) right now because they’re still playing, and then Dallas (Mavericks).”
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