Matt Velazquez

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

OKLAHOMA CITY - Milwaukee Bucks center Thon Maker went through his regular pregame routine Sunday evening, putting in shooting work with assistant coach Darvin Ham and laughing on the court alongside teammate Jason Smith.

Everything was business as usual. There were no signs of discontent despite an ESPN report on Saturday that Maker is unhappy with his limited role and that his agent has told the Bucks that Maker would prefer a trade to a team where he could play more.

Before Sunday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Maker made his first public comments since the report in a conversation with the Journal Sentinel and The Athletic Wisconsin.

Q. How far in advance did you know that story was going to come out? Did you know it was going to come out?

A. No, no. I’ve been focused on the game, like every single game all year just like I always do. I’m a winner. I focus on the games and that’s all that matters to me. I’ve never just said things recklessly without thinking about it or talking to people about it. I always go back to my people and talk to them about it. I just focus on the game; that’s all I’ve done so far.

Q. For you, does it end up distracting you? Obviously, you’re going to focus on the game, but when something like that comes out I would assume there would be some level of distraction to it.

A. Me, I’m just focusing on the games, man. I love this game so much, I can’t let anything distract me. Like if something happens within a family or something happens to a friend or something like that, I always find a way to focus back on the game. I love Milwaukee. I really want you guys to get this down. I love Milwaukee, I love the fans, the city – it works hard, I work hard and I’ve always done that since the first day I decided to play basketball.

NBA:Live scoreboard, box scores, standings, statistics

For me, with something like this, I’ve just got to continue to focus on what I know best and that’s working on my game, trying to win as a team. You see me on the bench always cheering my teammates on as if I’m out there as well. We’re winning. We’re the best – I don’t want to say it, but (expletive) it – we’re the best (expletive) team in the NBA. It’s as simple as that. So, for me, I’m focused on winning and I want to be a part of that winning and I want to be an active part of that winning just being out there with my guys.

Q. You obviously talk with the front office – you talk to general manager Jon Horst, you talk to assistant general manager Milt Newton. In general, what are those conversations like?

A. We’re always laughing, joking around, talking just as usual like every single day. At practice, when they’re there, they come and check up on every player, see how everybody’s doing and catch up as usual.

Q. For you, how frustrating has it been this year to not get as much playing time as maybe you thought you were going to get and seeing a vet like Brook Lopez come in and scoop up minutes, even as well as he’s playing? Has this year gone a bit differently than you expected?

A. I’m a competitive guy, very. I don’t like saying that about myself but people in the locker room say that about me. But I’m a competitive person and the GM, the coaches, those guys, they wouldn’t like it if I was happy not to be playing. They wouldn’t like that. For me, as a competitor, I’ve got to stay locked in. I’ve always been a winner since the first time I started playing basketball. In high school, you can check my record, I played to win no matter what. There were media, articles and stuff talking about me I’m a YouTube guy, this and that. I’ve always focused on playing the game the right way and the real basketball fans when they saw that they actually loved that more than the highlights I produced. The highlights just happen within the game. I’m trying to win the game. I’ve always been that same person.

Q. Do you feel like the message of wanting to play more was already clear to the front office before the story came out?

A. Yeah. I've always had conversations with Coach (Mike Budenholzer). He would let me know these guys are playing really well. When we had John (Henson), he was playing really well early in the season. Ersan (Ilyasova), before he got hurt. And we just have our regular day-to-day conversations as well.

Q. Have any of your teammates talked with you about the story since it came out? Have they talked with you about trying to get past it together?

A. I've talked with a few of them. For them, they just have to say locked in and focused. They can't let this be a distraction. At the end of the day, we're locked in on winning. Like I said, we're the best damn team in the NBA, so that's all that matters for us. Just have to stay locked in.

Q. Obviously, you have relationships with all your teammates. Does this make it awkward or different between you?

A. Nah. I love these guys and they know who I am and how I go about my things, my business as well. My teammates, we're literally like brothers. We hang out together, we eat together, we play together. We're bonded differently. We were all drafted as the same good character guys and people that work hard, down to earth people. So, just like that, we all started jelling. Like you guys can see me and Malcolm (Brogdon) became really good friends since being drafted in the same class. For me and those guys, we're just really, really close. It doesn't change anything.

Q. What's it like to let people in and see this competitive side of you? People see the "I love my teammates like brothers, cheering on the bench" part of you, but they don't see the "I really want to play" part.

A. They see I want to play.

Q. Do you think people on the outside see that?

A. My teammates see that. They know how competitive I am. They know how locked in I am. They know what type of player I am, what type of person I am. So, those guys are like my brothers. Like I said, they see it. They know it. Sometimes, they'll be asking me, "You ready to go? You hurt?" And I'll be like, "I'm good. I'm ready to go. Let's go." I'm competitive. They know that.

Q. In the end, do you feel like getting traded would be best for you? Do you think that would be best?

A. Like I said, I really love the city. It's where I live. The fans have supported me. The Bucks took a historic pick in the lottery with a guy coming straight out of high school. For me, I really appreciated that. And the fans, everything like that. I've been down to earth with this organization because they picked me straight out of high school, a historic pick. For me, I just go out there and play as hard as I can every time I'm out there to repay that. This is where I live. This is where I live.