On when he decided he wanted to pursue a career in TV:
I didn't 100% know, really, the last five years what was going to happen or what I wanted to do, but I tried a few TV things. I did, obviously, Mavs local [broadcast] stuff. I even did some play-by-play stuff. I did some studio stuff and then went to TNT last season, tried it once in the playoffs, had a blast. And then this opportunity arose. Honestly I was just intrigued by this opportunity to really be around the game again. I think I've been out now for over five … almost six seasons now by the end of this season. And, you know, I've always loved the NBA. Obviously I still watch the Mavs all the time. I'm still a big fan. To me this is a good way to be involved still in the game and talk about the game and be part of the game. This is going to be a fun way to talk hoops.
On breaking into the TV business with Amazon:
I already knew I wanted to listen to this opportunity, but then when I met with the Amazon people, they were super nice, super laid back, made me feel welcome and comfortable. The interview process was super easy and smooth. And they seemed very, very nice to work with and work for, which was also a big point for me. I didn't want to do this if I feel like I have to go to work and do this with somebody that's going to be hard to deal with or I'm not looking forward to going to work with every week. I would have never done this if I felt that way. I want to be around good people that enjoy the game. I want to just enjoy going to work every week.
On how well he knows his new studio colleagues:
I know Taylor a little bit and I'm excited to work with her. And obviously, me and Blake, we've had some great battles. I've known him off the court a little bit. Through Chandler [former Mavericks teammate Chandler Parsons] I've heard tons and tons of stories. I'm looking forward to getting to know him more. He's very dry. He's very funny to me. So I think we could play off each other really nicely. I'm just looking forward to next season to obviously get this started and see how it goes. I think we're going to have a lot of freedom and input, which was also important. Amazon, to me, wants our input and wants us to be ourselves obviously. So I felt like this was the best fit for me.
On working in the studio rather than as a game analyst:
I think calling games is a different animal. Like I said, I've tried it a few times now with the Mavs, just to have some fun and not really thinking that that would be something I would do. But it's hard. I think that would take me a while to really get a hang of it, because I talk so long and so much that sometimes during the game, I would try to analyze something ... but the game moves so fast nowadays with all the 3-pointers that I'd be like three plays behind by the time I'm done analyzing one play. [Game coverage] is hard. There's no real time for stories. So I felt like that would be a little bit harder for me, even though I think I could probably get into that, too, if I really wanted to. For now I think the studio work to me feels more natural. You're sitting there, you're getting asked about what you just saw, or in the pregame what you think is going to happen. To me that's more of a natural fit than a [game analyst]. So we'll just see how it goes. Honestly, you know, I'm new to this game as well. So I'm sure there's going to be some rough patches or a learning curve. But, knowing me from my basketball career, I was a little bit of a perfectionist I would say. My obsession with shooting ... if I didn't feel right taking my last shot I would stay another 20 minutes to keep shooting and get it right. I've got a little bit of that in my life with everything I do, so I'm sure if I feel like I'm not right there and I'm not doing a good job, I'm going to be working my butt off to get better and help put a good product out there for Amazon that hopefully a lot of fans will enjoy.
On how it sounds to be called a broadcaster:
Funny. It is surreal still. I gotta say everything happened super quick. We started meeting with Amazon just a few months ago and here we are already. And so to hear that — broadcaster — I'm not quite sure if you would have asked me that 10 years ago that I would have said, "Yeah, that's me." But it's good to never say never. Ten years ago I probably would have said absolutely not, but one thing I want to take from my basketball career is that I always want to improve and I always want to learn. This is no different to me. I'm a beginner here and can't wait to get started and get better and learn.
On how smoothly he has embraced retirement:
Honestly it's been a fun adjustment. I literally played until I was almost 41 years old. I think I gave my whole body and my mind to the sport and there was just nothing left to give there. And I was totally fine walking away. I could feel that, I think, not only the last season but probably the second-to-last season already with obviously some health issues. And my last season right away I missed the first 30 games with inflammation on my ankle. So it was just ... it was getting super hard to keep up and and I felt that mentally the stuff that I had to go through just to play games the end — it was just no fun anymore. So I was ready to walk away. I really was. I was ready to enjoy my family. And my dream was always to show the kids the world, travel and see places. As people know, my wife's from Sweden and Kenya. Obviously I'm from Germany. So I wanted [their three children] to enjoy life and get to know different cultures and languages. I've got to say: It's been a fun couple years. But I also think, from year to year, that the interest in basketball grew again. I think the first two years [of retirement], I barely watched. When I was traveling, I didn't check the scores — not even Mavs games. I just needed to get away. Now I'm obviously watching for sure all the Mavs' games when I can. I'm watching more again. And my kids are also starting to watch more and get excited about the NBA, so that's also natural for me to sit there with them and watch even more again.
On working as an adviser to former Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban and Dallas' recent ownership change:
I haven't really been involved that much. Obviously I'm tight with J-Kidd [Mavericks coach Jason Kidd] and my guy Mike Finley [Dallas' vice president of basketball operations]. We talk hoops sometimes and they reach out to me here and there, but honestly I have not been that involved in the team or the team management at all. Would I eventually down the line consider working for the Mavs again? I would never completely close that door. The Mavs are everything to me. When I have a little more time and the kids are a little older, maybe I'll be able to dive into that deeper. But for now I would say that I'm looking forward to how this broadcast thing works out and we'll see how everything else unfolds after that.
On working in the studio when the Mavericks play:
It'll be definitely weird to analyze the Mavs on national TV. Probably a little, yeah, just a little strange to sit there and and analyze. Obviously I know everybody involved in the organization — players, management, the new owners. So, yeah, it's going to be different. But you know me. I want to do a good job and I want to go into that job unbiased as much as possible. So I'm going to have to maybe take off my Mavs hat for that night and just analyze what I see and what I've been seeing the last few games. I can't sugarcoat anything just because it's my Mavs. I have to be as unbiased as possible in that role. But it's definitely going to be different.
