OKC Thunder quotes: Mark Daigneault, Theo Maledon speak with media following Friday’s practice

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault and guard Theo Maledon spoke with the media following practice on Friday. The team is currently in the middle of enjoying a rare three-day break in between playing games. The last time the Thunder played featured a blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.

With just 16 games left in the regular season, the Thunder prepare to play its final batch of games as they welcome the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. Let’s take a look at some of the more noteworthy quotes and paraphrased that Daigeault and Maledon shared during this post-practice presser.

Daigneault thoughts on Maledon

Daigneault said he thought practice had good energy today and when asked about Maledon, supported the idea of him and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sharing the floor together due to spacing and exchanging on-ball responsibility roles.

Daigneault also revealed that he thought Maledon got a little too big over this past summer and thought he needed to dial it back a bit. Which is a pretty interesting reveal. Usually, when people think of player development, adding weight via muscle is what is thought of the first of many steps. So to hear Daigneault said that Maledon needed to shed some weight off is a little bit surprising.

Daigneault on Steven Adams

Sunday marks the return of Steven Adams in Oklahoma City for the first time in front of a crowd. When asked about Adams’ tenure with the team, Daigneault noted that he did a lot of the dirty and invisible work for the team that doesn’t get a lot of appreciation for by most.

“Great guy. Easy to root for and to like,” said Daigneault. “He takes tremendous pride in his craft. Sam (Presti) has always referred to him as a block and tackle player. He’s not always the one scoring touchdowns.”

“He was a huge piece of those great teams we had here.”

Maledon's mom giving him motherly advice

Maledon revealed that his mom Sylvie Maledon, who is a former professional basketball player, occasionally gives him advice as the 20-year-old navigates for his second season as he struggled to get consistent playing time for the first half of the season.

Looking through Maledon’s family tree, it’s pretty easy to see why Maledon became an NBA player. Both of his parents are former professional players while his uncle is an assistant coach. Both of Maledon’s siblings also play either collegiate or professional basketball as well.

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