NBA AM: Wolters Hopes to Reclaim NBA Spot

As training camps open up around the NBA, established players are using this opportunity to refine their game and get themselves in peak shape for the upcoming season. However, there are some players who are fighting for their spot in the league. For a guy like Nate Wolters, who is entering camp as the fourth point guard on the Denver Nuggets’ roster, his season starts now.

Wolters has spent time with the Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans in previous years and is coming off a strong season in Turkey, where he averaged 11.6 points, 5.3 assists and 4.6 rebounds.

Wolters has good size at 6’4 and has proven to be a solid lead guard in the NBA and overseas. Along with his other skills, Wolters is particularly adept at making plays out of ball screen action. As the No. 38 pick of the 2013 NBA Draft, Wolters is hoping that this opportunity with the Nuggets gives him a chance to reclaim an NBA roster spot.

Basketball Insiders caught up with Wolters to discuss his basketball journey, what he has learned along the way, his outlook entering Denver’s training camp and much more.

Basketball Insiders: How was it playing in Turkey last season?

Nate Wolters: “It was a good experience. I was in Istanbul. It was a really fun city. It was my first time being overseas, so it definitely took some time to get used to it. The league was really good – a lot of good players, a lot of guys who played in the NBA before a lot of Euroleague teams. Overall, the competition was good. It was a good league and I enjoyed it.”

BI: Who were some of the guys who had played in the NBA or shined in Euroleague that you went against last year?

Wolters: “Fenerbahce had Pero Antic, Ekpe Udoh and Jan Vesely.  Their front line was like all NBA guys. The top teams are really good, and then in the bottom teams, there is kind of a big disparity from the top four or five to the bottom tier. I guess it’s like that in any league.”

BI: You previously played with the Bucks and Pelicans. How do you find the international game different from the NBA?

Wolters: “The spacing [is different], and some teams are almost like robotic it seems like. In the NBA, I don’t think there are any teams quite like that. Our coach actually let us play a lot more than a lot of places, so that helped. It was a lot more fun playing that way too, but those guys know how to play over there. That’s for sure.”

BI: Was the goal all season, in the back of your mind, to get back to the NBA?

Wolters: “Yeah, anytime I go over there, that’s going to be my number one goal. Hopefully, next year I can stay and play in the NBA. That’s kind of what I was thinking – go over there and get better, stay in a different country, learn a different way of basketball, hopefully have a good summer, and then come back here with another chance to play in the NBA. So, I think I am in a pretty good situation here [in Denver]. I just got to wait a little bit and see what happens.”

BI: How have you prepared yourself from a mindset point of view to be ready for camp?

Wolters: “I don’t do anything like setting aside time to do mental work, but I am just by myself right now so there is a lot of time to think [and] just have positive thoughts. I am in a situation where I am competing for a spot. It’s not like I am guaranteed for next year. It’s kind of a tough situation for the next month or so, but I just try and stay positive. Just try to control what you can control, which sometimes isn’t a lot, but just try and play hard and try to make the right play when you’re out there.”

BI: What has your preparation been like heading into training camp?

Wolters: “I work out in the Twin Cities at Velocity Sports with Rakim Anim-Finney. He does my basketball stuff. I also worked with Reid Ouse and Justin DeGrood, who are based out of New Jersey. I had a long offseason. I was back in April, so I didn’t really take much time off either. I tried to scale back from playing games a little after Summer League and just tried to relax with family and work out. But at the same time, I tried to unwind before it all gets started next week.”

BI: How do you see yourself adding value to the Nuggets?

Wolters: “When you’re trying to make a team, there is kind of a fine line between trying to do too much and proving yourself. But still, at the same time, you want to be aggressive so they notice you a little bit. [I’ll] just try to run the team and then kind of pick my spots when I feel like I can be aggressive and try to make plays.”

BI: The Nuggets already have several players at the point guard position including Emmanuel Mudiay, Jamal Murray and Jameer Nelson. How do you see yourself breaking into the mix and getting a chance to make the roster?

Wolters: “They kind of brought in quite a bit of guys in my situation: [Robbie] Hummel, Jarnell Stokes, D.J. Kennedy. There is kind of like six of us competing for one or two spots, so it’s going to be tough. But who knows who they will keep? You can’t really worry about that. Maybe it will work out here, maybe it will work out somewhere else.”

“I just try to play confident. I think that’s a lot of it. At the same time, you don’t know how much time you will get in the preseason, because there are so many guys, so you have to make the most of your minutes. It could be only five or 10 minutes; it could be at the end of the game when it seems like it doesn’t matter if you’re just watching the game, but it matters for us. So, whenever you get your opportunity, just try to make the most of it and try to not overthink it. Just play and have fun.”

BI: What do you say is your biggest strength as a player?

Wolters: “I would say just running the team and being able to make plays off the pick-and-roll, getting in the lane and either finding the guy for an open shot or being able to hit a floater or getting all the way to the hole. I think I am a pretty good pick-and-roll player, and obviously in the NBA, 70 to 80 percent of the possessions end up in a pick-and-roll. I think I am pretty good at that.”

BI: What parts of your game have you been working to improve during this offseason?

Wolters: “I’m still working on hitting open threes when they’re there and also just trying to get stronger in the weight room. In Turkey, we didn’t have the greatest facilities, so I’m just trying to work on my body in the summer to get stronger and work on my outside shot.”

BI: What is your central motivation as you try to achieve your long-term goals?

Wolters: “My motivation is trying to get as good as I can at basketball just so that I don’t regret anything when I am done. [I don’t ever want to] think, ‘I could have done this or I could have done that… that could have helped my career…’ I think a lot about not having any regrets, so just trying to prepare myself the best I can for each season and just going from there. But other than that, I don’t really have a certain goal of like how long I want to play or anything like that. It’s more just a year-by-year thing, trying to get better.”

BI:  How do you prepare yourself to perform at a high level night in and night out?

Wolters: “I think that is kind of one of the most impressive thing the best players in the league [do]. They have to play 82 games and they always have to be on top of their game, knowing they are going to play 35 minutes. So I think that was good for me to be able to go overseas and play those types of minutes in big games over there. I think that kind of helped me for this year. I mean, I probably won’t be getting huge minutes if I make the team – it will be kind of spot duty – but at any point you have to be ready when your name is called even if it is only for five or 10 minutes. That’s something that you have to get used to.”

BI: What sets you apart from other guys who are also trying to make a roster this fall?

Wolters: “I think I have a pretty good work ethic. I am not going to cause any trouble. I am going to work hard regardless of my minutes, and I am a point guard. I feel like I have a good understanding of the game, and I’ll know the plays and know the system, so I think I will do a good job of being able to run a team when needed.”