New interview with AD on the Athletic

Been a crazy month, obviously. How have you stayed grounded with all the rumors and the questions and the speculation?

I don’t get caught up in all the media, the fame, the spotlight. That’s not my character, that’s not me. I’ve never been that way. I’ve never been a guy who was vocal in a bad way. Never been a guy to only worry about himself. And then the people who’ve been around me, my parents, my family, my friends, everybody who’s been around me. My teammates, coaching staff, whoever is in my corner made sure that I stay levelheaded. But honestly, just the way that I was brought up and the way that I am.

Well, yes. But, I mean, you consider yourself a star, though?

For sure. I feel like I’m the best player in the game. I definitely consider myself a star in this league. There is no question about that. I don’t have to go out there and say it. Just let my game speak for itself.

Would you say all the hoopla has been tough on you?

It’s been a struggle with our team. We’ve been up and down. We’ve been hit with a couple injuries. I’ve been out a couple games and we are a better team than our record shows. We’re a much better team than our record shows. We gotta get back to playing scrappy on defense, get back to winning basketball games. That other stuff doesn’t matter to me. The only thing that matters to me is this team right here, and all I can do to help this team win and what we can do as a team to get more wins. The other stuff is for guys outside the team, and media, whoever wants to look at it. For me, it’s about this team and what we can do to win.

You’re 25. An All-Star many times over. What do you want out of your career now?

Winning. Winning. Made the playoffs twice. Both times we were there, it was some of the most fun I’ve had playing basketball. The atmosphere, going on the road and trying to get wins. Being able to get a playoff win. All the preparation. Every game on TV, it’s just, you know, it’s just different and it’s fun. So my main goal is just to win.

Sure, who doesn’t want to win? Can you quantify it?

I think every player who comes into the NBA wants one or two things. Every player wants to have a ring, to be a champion. The other thing is I think every player in the league wants to be an MVP. Everybody wants to be able to say they were the best player in the league for that year. So, my dreams at first are the same as every other player. I want to get a ring. I think everybody in the league wants to get a ring. I think everybody craves that. And I think it doesn’t matter if you’re the star or you’re the 15th man. Everybody wants that championship, that feeling. Just knowing how hard it is to get a ring, I know it takes time. I crave it so much, I want to see what that championship state feels like on an NBA level. I had it in the Olympics, had it in college. But I wanted to see what it feels like in the NBA.

So, if going to the playoffs was the most fun you’ve had playing basketball, what’s been the toughest thing about being in the NBA?

Ups and downs. The hardest part is just not knowing how good any of the teams that I’ve played on since I’ve been here can be. We’ve always been hurt. You know last year DeMarcus (Cousins) goes down, star player. Jrue (Holiday) has been battling with injuries. This year we have Elfrid (Payton) was out for a while, Niko (Mirotic) is out. You just don’t know, if everyone stays healthy for at least 10 games together how good we can be. Just imagine if we had DeMarcus through the whole thing last year. We think we coulda won it all. The frustrating part, you just don’t know how good your team can be if everybody gets hurt.

We all do it. It seems like too many people in the NBA think about the “what’s next” instead of the “what’s now.” Things like free agency and where the next big star is going to play down the road. What do you think?

I don’t know what other people think, I don’t care what other people think. For me, it’s always about in the moment. If you try to think too far ahead, you get caught, you get lost from what is going on in the moment. For me it’s always about tonight’s game, today’s shootaround, how can I be better in the moment instead of trying to plan too far ahead or look too far ahead, because you lose sight of the moment. I think that’s what people get caught up in, just not being able to stay in the moment and cherish the moment and figure out what you can do right now to help your team.

I saw on here (The Athletic) where a source close to you said money would not be a deciding factor in whether or not you accept the Pelicans’ “supermax” offer if it comes. How do you separate money out of the equation?

I never said money wasn’t important. Somebody (Chris Haynes, of Yahoo Sports) asked me about money or your legacy. In that case, your legacy lasts forever. Your money comes and goes, but for me I want to build a legacy. In that case, if you have to choose between money or legacy, I think legacy wins every time, in my opinion.

Fine. What does “legacy” mean to you, though? How do you think you build it?

Winning first. Individual performance. Team success. For an individual player, how does he make his team better? All that stuff is about performance on the floor. And of course, winning. Everybody might be different in their own eye. I think for me I want winning to be a part of my legacy. Everybody might be different. Some people might just care about individual stats, individual goals, individual accolades, but for me, I want winning to be a part of my legacy.

AD interview