Adding players with character has been "important" for 4 years

"Martell is hungry, he's anxious. He's facing pretty much what Greg Oden was facing a year ago, being out for an entire year and sitting around. And he wants to play and we're looking forward to him being back on the floor and seeing how we can take advantage of what he brings to the floor"

"We signed (forward Juwan) Howard. And we all talked about that. We've been discussing free agents, really all summer long. That was a guy we felt would really help our organization, as far as his experience and being able to help our young guys develop, and if we needed him to play, he's had some experience — he can still help us on the floor. And that was a decision that we talked about amongst each other and with some of our scouts ... and we made, we felt, the best decision for the organization."

"...our guard core should be very strong. As far as the starting, we don't want to focus on that. Really, the bottom line for our guys is, I will come up with the starting lineup that will best fit the rotation for the team, and give us, I think, the best chance to win the game. The start is not the big thing. The bottom line is what works for our team. It's just like anything else, you've got to have a balance. I will come up with the balance of how we want to attack teams and try to take — the main thing is, you take advantage of your players. And if that is a guy starting, then we'll look at that. If we can take advantage of what you do by bringing you off the bench, then we'll look at that. What you try to do is try to put your players in a position where they can be effective."