When I was younger, I just thought about playing in the NBA.

My days shouldn't be hard because I'm doing what I'm doing and that's playing basketball.

The other aspect about Aaron McKie is anyone you talk to around the NBA, he is the consummate professional, he is a leader, a standup guy who brings a big defensive presence to the court. He?s solid all the way around on and off the court. They just don?t make them like Aaron McKie.

When I was younger, I thought about retiring.

I want to thank my mom, Brenda Rose. My heart, the reason I play the way I play, just everything. Just knowing the days I don't feel right, going to practice, having a hard time, I think about her when she had to wake me up, go to work and make sure I was all right. Those were hard days.

If I just do everything the opposite of what my dad did, I think that will make things pretty easy. I can joke about it now because I'm past that stage where it used to hurt. By having a kid, it's gone. I could take all that negative energy that I had and put it in a positive way.