NBA quotes of the week: What NBA players and coaches are saying

Nice to see you too

Detroit Pistons forward Greg Monroe, to the media gathering around his locker after a loss to the Toronto Raptors: “You guys are gonna aggravate me tonight, huh?”

Parental guidance

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Luol Deng, on the difficulties caused by the trade that forced him to leave the Chicago Bulls, the only NBA team he had known: “My mom doesn’t really understand being traded. To me, that was one of the hardest things I had to do, explain to her that the organization that I’ve been with for nine years no longer wanted me there. She couldn’t understand why. She feels like I’m a nice guy, I get along with everybody. . . . She was asking me, ‘Are you not playing well? What’s going on?’”

Letting it go

Clippers Coach Doc Rivers, on dealing with problem players: “I just let them explode and then move on. There’s not much you’ve got to do. I had Rasheed [Wallace]. He probably was the test market for any emotional player. Rasheed was a great teammate, he was a great guy, but when he lost it, he lost it, and listen, better coaches than me coached Rasheed. . . . I came to the conclusion that if they couldn’t stop it I’m not going to try.”

Making it count

Indiana Coach Frank Vogel, on his team’s mind-set: “We really feel like every night we’re playing for a championship. A lot of teams can’t say that about their regular-season nights. There’s a lot of ‘just another nights’ in the NBA. But not with our team.”