What brought me back here was my players, ... I know who Rashard (Lewis) is. I know who Nick (Collison) and Luke are, and I don't know what those other guys (on other teams) bring to the table. This is where I've made home and I didn't want anything different and I didn't need anything different.

I always say if the house I live in is comfortable, and I have all the amenities I need, then what more can you ask for?

I've argued this with a lot of people in my life. When people say God blessed me with a beautiful jump shot, it really pisses me off. I tell those people, 'Don't undermine the work I've put in every day.' Not some days. Every day. Ask anyone who has been on a team with me who shoots the most. Go back to Seattle and Milwaukee and ask them. The answer is me -- not because it's a competition, but because that's how I prepare.

When the effort is in question, the ball goes in different directions and the ball doesn't always bounce your way. When you're playing in the home of the NBA champions, it isn't going to be easy.

I look at how we got beat and I thought the hustle points and the energy points were all gauged through offensive rebounds. I thought in the second half they got so many second-chance opportunities they could really run. It just seemed like they were going up our guys' backs. When you don't get any offensive rebounds and they start going the other team's way, it's almost like a snowball effect.

Everything I know now . . . the pitfalls, the highs and lows, everything . . . it taught me and made stronger.

There is an entire culture out there built around siphoning money from an athlete, and the young men and women who come through just feed the machine.