Thunder Q&A with Nick Collison: New practice facility 'unbelievable'

Here is part of Collison's Q&A session from Friday:

Your thoughts on the new practice facility?

“I had been in it when it was studs and drywall but not totally finished. It's unbelievable. It's going to be a great asset for us as players to come here every day. We really appreciate the taxpayers paying for it. It will be a big advantage for us in the next 10-15-20 years, however long we have it. It's got to be the best in the league, I would think.”

You followed labor negotiations closely. How would you gauge the final result?

“It was a tough process, and I think the good thing that we can focus on now is that we can put it behind us hopefully and play. Whether players won or owners won, it's beside the point now. I think we are all fortunate and we've all realized that all along, that we're fortunate to play. We're just all happy to be able to play basketball again. Hopefully, we can start to put the lockout behind us and focus on basketball.”

What did you think about the times you guys held your own voluntary workouts during the lockout?

“We got together three times. We thought it would be good just to touch base. We didn't do anything crazy. We played some pickup every day and worked out for about four days. We did it once in Austin, Texas, once at the University of Kentucky and once here (at Southern Nazarene around Halloween). I don't know if it will give us a huge advantage. I think it was good for us. It was just good to see everybody again and break up the monotony of working out on your own. The guys look like they are in good shape. We'll be as prepared as anybody. I think every team is going to be rushing and probably feel unprepared going into the games because it's less time than what we're used to in getting ready for a season.”