FULL INTERVIEW: CJ McCollum set to start 13th NBA season with young and ambitious Wizards team

Another season of Washington Wizards basketball is here.

After winning south of 20 games in back-to-back seasons, the team returns with new talent, increased experience, and a hunger to compete.

Still, head coach Brian Keefe is not shying away from the fact that the team is still building for the future.

"We're still in the building phase, we're still in the acquiring of talent phase, but we obviously have lots of talent in the guys on the roster," he said. "People are going to start separating themselves; we're going to see that as that comes, but that's part of the healthy competition that we're expecting to see in our gym."

Among the new faces gracing the Wizards' roster is veteran guard CJ McCollum. Brought to Washington in the offseason in a deal that sent Jordan Poole to the New Orleans Pelicans, McCollum is embracing this new start wholeheartedly.

"It's just a really cool feeling being able to play in the nation's capital, being able to play in a city with so much prestige, so much history, so much diversity," McCollum said.

"I'm really excited about the opportunity to be here, to learn and to grow, and to help show some of the guys how to work, how to prepare, how I've done it, historically; and being able to steal some stuff from some of the guys as well," he added.

Entering his 13th season in the league, McCollum is poised to bring knowledge to a Washington roster that ranks among the youngest in the league.

"These guys love to be in the gym, they love to work," he said. "I said it earlier, this is the first time I've seen players work out on media day in the morning. Guys really enjoy putting that work in, and it's going to pay off down the road, for sure."

A rookie who will be leaning on McCollum for advice is sixth-overall pick Tre Johnson. The 19-year-old guard out of Texas admits things are starting to slow down for him both on and off the court.

"It's been great to be down here with the team. Getting acquainted with everybody, getting to meet everybody, getting to know everybody, it's been fun," he said. "Didn't know too much about guys before I got here, but you kind of see what guys do best and see what they do well and you're kind of impressed by a lot of guys."

READ MORE | wjla.com/sports/washington-wizards/

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