Team System Quotes

I think it's the hardest part for about 80 percent of the guys in the NBA. That's just the way it is in the NBA, unless you're a mega superstar. You're just going to play wherever you go. You try to find the right fit and the right team with the right system and the right coach at the right time.

Some players thrive in the open-style, AAU games - the all-star games. But when it comes to playing in an actual system and having to 'think' the game, you see where some guys separated themselves.

In the NBA, you're taking a bunch of different talents, and you're managing them. You have to give them a system; you have to give them a belief. That's why coaches like Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich are so great: because they gave the team confidence in the system and in their ability to execute night in and night out.

Pep Guardiola saw me as a central player in his system, which my style of play fit into perfectly.

I will have to play as a goalkeeper and sometimes like a centre-back and play with my feet. I like that system and I feel comfortable in it.

Players at the highest level have got high football intelligence, so they can adapt, but at the same time you need a structure and an idea of how you've got to play that system.

I want to play for a team that has a strong defensive reputation. One that relies on a system and where assists are valued. And a team that needs what I do - making other guys better, leading a team, being a defensive stopper every night. I want to be a good fit.

Mentally I was retired, and physically I was retired. I was playing recreational ball. But when the decision happened with Chris Bosh and LeBron, I felt like I could really be good in that system.

Flip's a player's coach, and I do know one thing, he motivates better than anybody I know. His system is very oriented around the point guard. He and Steph (Marbury) had a great relationship when Steph was in Minnesota.

In this system, I've always played in the position behind the striker. I also don't enjoy being classed as a striker - I don't see myself as one.