What was going through your mind when you heard the Kings were going to signDarren Collison?
When they did that, I knew I wasn't coming back. Going into my fourth year, I felt like I kind of proved myself to be a starter, especially on the Sacramento Kings and like I told them, coach Malone, who was one of my biggest fans and the best coaches that I have had in my three years in the NBA, I told him if you bring somebody in better than me I'm just going to compete, I understand if you bring somebody like
Chris Paul that's somebody that I'm not going to start over no matter what, I'm going to play my role and I'm going to compete. But if you bring in somebody, a draft pick or somebody that's just not better than me I feel like it is disrespectful. When they picked Darren Collison, I felt like it was time for me to move on.
So say the Kings had matched the Suns' offer and ended up keeping you, would you have been OK coming back to Sacramento given the circumstances?
If it was competition, if it was training camp starts and the best man may win, I would be happy. I'm a professional though, so no matter what happens, I'm going to stay professional, I'm going to do my job and I'm going to play my role, but I would have definitely been upset if it wouldn't have been no competition, especially if it's somebody who is not better than me.
You say that you are OK coming off the bench if the guy in front of you is better than you. How many guys in this league are better than you in your eyes?
I don't think nobody is better than me, honestly. But nah, there are certain guys that no matter who comes in, he's going to start: Chris Paul, Steph Curry, [Russell] Westbrook - those types of guys, All-Star caliber guys. Like I said, if you're not bringing guys in that made the All-Star team or the Olympic team or stuff like that, I feel like I'm better than them.
Obviously, this is a different front office and everything changed while you were in Sacramento, but do you respect the fact that the Kings were the team that drafted you?
No doubt. I respect the Sacramento Kings, I got the upmost respect for them, they're the ones that gave me a chance before anybody did so I would never put down the Sacramento Kings front office, or anybody in that organization because they welcomed me with open arms. So when I say I felt disrespected, I just felt like the way I played the game of basketball wasn't appreciated. So they always say you don't know what you got until it's gone, and I feel like that's going to happen.