WEBVTT - The Dave Pasch Podcast - Jeff Van Gundy 0:00:03.880 --> 0:00:07.160 Hey, everybody, Welcome to another edition of the Dave Pash Podcast. 0:00:07.280 --> 0:00:10.160 I'm Dave Pash, play by play announcer for the Arizona 0:00:10.200 --> 0:00:15.120 Cardinals and for ESPN and ABC. Speaking of ESPN and ABC, 0:00:15.680 --> 0:00:18.479 I figured after the Cardinals played by far the worst 0:00:18.520 --> 0:00:21.240 game of the season on Sunday, we could all use 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:24.360 a little laughter. So I reached out to my friend 0:00:24.400 --> 0:00:27.320 Jeff Van Gundy, who I will work with this week 0:00:27.520 --> 0:00:32.519 along with Mark Jackson on The Sun's Mavericks Broadcast and ESPN, 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:36.559 to come on the Dave Pash Podcast and talk not 0:00:36.680 --> 0:00:42.519 only NBA broadcasting NFL, including his beloved Houston Texans, but 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:45.640 to tell some great stories like the time he blew 0:00:45.640 --> 0:00:49.559 an opportunity at a date with Jody Foster in college. 0:00:49.760 --> 0:00:57.240 I turn around and it's Joey Foster. I absolutely choked 0:00:57.360 --> 0:01:01.480 and I am not joking. I turned around, yeah, and 0:01:01.640 --> 0:01:04.680 I sprint through the gate and back to my room. 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:08.520 Also the dinner that he had with a legendary comedian, 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:12.960 plus the time he held on the Alonzo Morning's leg 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:16.640 after almost getting knocked out by one of his own players, 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:20.920 Plus when his car got destroyed by a seven thirty 0:01:20.920 --> 0:01:23.600 seven jet I lost a car and I lost a 0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:27.400 game on the same night. All that and more coming 0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:30.720 up with Jeff Van Gundy. We are presented by betmgm, 0:01:30.800 --> 0:01:33.720 the official sports betting partner of the Arizona Cardinals, and 0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:37.640 by Hila River Hotels and Casinos. Sign up for BETMGM 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:41.080 today using code cards one thousand and get your first 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:44.120 bet risk free up to one thousand dollars. New customer 0:01:44.160 --> 0:01:47.600 offer paid in free bets. Visit betmgm dot com for 0:01:47.800 --> 0:01:51.480 terms and conditions. Twenty one and over Arizona only. Please 0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:56.320 gamble responsibly. Gambling problem call one eight hundred, next step. 0:01:56.760 --> 0:02:00.600 So here he is in his fifteenth year with ESPN 0:02:00.960 --> 0:02:06.000 and ABC as the lead color analyst on NBA broadcast 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:08.880 along with Mark Jackson and Hall of Fame play by 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:13.840 play announcer Mike Breen. Here's Jeff and Gundy. So, Jeff, 0:02:13.880 --> 0:02:16.120 I've always felt, and I've said this, and I know 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:19.280 it probably like it is embarrassing, but I've always felt 0:02:19.320 --> 0:02:22.880 that Mike Breen, Jeff and Gundy, Mark Jackson is the 0:02:22.919 --> 0:02:27.799 best broadcast team, not only the NBA but in sports television. 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:30.960 And you guys have been doing it for fifteen years together, 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:32.320 and I know I get to pinch it here and 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:35.760 there like this Wednesday for the Sun's game against Dallas. 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:39.800 But can you believe that it's been fifteen years for 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:43.760 you at ESPN fourteenth coming up on the NBA Finals. 0:02:44.400 --> 0:02:46.320 Can you believe it's been that long? But also that 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:48.680 you guys have been that successful, because it's hard to 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:53.799 stay together this long in our business. Well, first of all, 0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:56.200 I didn't have any plan when I got let go 0:02:56.240 --> 0:02:59.240 by the Rockets. All I knew Davis. I didn't want 0:02:59.240 --> 0:03:02.760 to move, And thankfully I had a guy who used 0:03:02.800 --> 0:03:04.760 to work at TNT when I was there for a 0:03:04.760 --> 0:03:07.720 brief time one year between when I coached the Knicks 0:03:07.720 --> 0:03:11.079 and the Rockets named Mike Pearl, who then was now 0:03:11.280 --> 0:03:13.200 you know, when I got fired by the Rockets, was 0:03:13.240 --> 0:03:18.040 at ABC, and he said, well, we'll try it, We'll 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:20.600 try you out. We'll give you a chance with them. 0:03:21.480 --> 0:03:24.960 And I got fired the same day I did a 0:03:25.040 --> 0:03:31.480 Western Conference final game and or Western Conference second round game, 0:03:31.840 --> 0:03:35.040 and it was in San Antonio. So I get fired 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:38.200 at like two forty and I'm in the car at like, 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:44.520 you know, six fifteen, so and I just thankfully it's stuck. 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:47.960 And you're such a great play by play guy yourself, 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:50.280 and so you know, the value of a great play 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:52.760 by play guy is like a great point guard in basketball, 0:03:53.200 --> 0:03:55.800 And so I always consider myself the spot up shooter 0:03:55.880 --> 0:04:00.160 of the corner. Mike's the true greatness. I'm spotting up 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:03.480 in the corner. And Mark is that guy who does 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:06.520 everything he's good at, like taking us to break and 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:09.840 all the things I can't do. So my job is 0:04:09.880 --> 0:04:13.360 pretty easy, and I am grateful and thankful every day 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:16.719 that I get to do these games with great friends 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:21.279 who accept me for who I am and what I 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:25.080 bring or what little I bring that, And you know, 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:28.520 it's just like you know, you look up and time flies, 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:31.120 and like I started this because I didn't want to 0:04:31.160 --> 0:04:35.279 move my oldest daughter, who was going into eighth grade, 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:38.200 and here we are, and now she's a young adult 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:40.600 and I've got another one in high school. So it's 0:04:41.760 --> 0:04:45.680 I am eternally grateful for this, you know, good run 0:04:45.720 --> 0:04:48.680 of fortune. I want to get back into broadcasting. But 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:52.160 you talked about staying in Houston, and I know you're 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:54.920 a diehard Texans fan. We've talked about it for years. 0:04:56.000 --> 0:04:58.160 How did that start? Was it just because you were 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:00.120 living in Houston or did you get to know somebody 0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:02.919 in the organization And who's your team growing up? Again, 0:05:02.960 --> 0:05:04.680 I can't remember. I know we've talked about it, but 0:05:05.000 --> 0:05:07.400 who's your team growing up? Well, my team growing up 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:10.280 was the Raiders. I grew up in northern California, so 0:05:10.560 --> 0:05:16.440 Darryl Lamonica, George Blandickin Stabler, Fred ballet Nikoff, the Stork. 0:05:16.480 --> 0:05:20.440 I mean, what great teams. And they John Madden was 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:25.880 even before he was this iconic broadcaster. He was so 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:29.440 beloved in Oakland, and we got to I don't know 0:05:29.520 --> 0:05:32.120 if there's well, they're probably not doing training camp anymore there, 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:34.640 but back in the day they would. They would do 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:36.480 it in Napa, which was like an hour and a 0:05:36.560 --> 0:05:40.599 half from my house, and you could literally be They 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:43.080 would have it roped off and you would like be 0:05:43.160 --> 0:05:48.080 like five feet from the field like you're watching Freddie 0:05:48.080 --> 0:05:50.680 blet Nikoff would stick him reach out and the ball 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:53.240 just stick to his Hey. I mean it was it 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:57.440 was amazing the access you got, and we would go 0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:00.000 up there. My dad would bring us up there every 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:03.680 every summer and I loved I loved the Raiders. I 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:08.480 still do, but the Texans part was my older one 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:13.200 loves sports, and she was getting to that middle school 0:06:13.240 --> 0:06:17.920 age where she hated everything that I did. And so 0:06:18.120 --> 0:06:20.360 the one thing she liked that I did was got 0:06:20.400 --> 0:06:23.839 season tickets and we went, you know, ten times a year, 0:06:24.279 --> 0:06:26.279 you know, and it was we always played the twelve 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:29.479 o'clock game at here. So it was like this routine 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:32.520 that we got to share together, and you know what 0:06:32.640 --> 0:06:34.680 grew out of it not just was good for us, 0:06:34.720 --> 0:06:38.839 but the whole row of fans was the same. So 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:41.720 we got to like have our little community there. And 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:44.880 the weird part now is I've only gone one time 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:50.280 this year, but also the pandemic changed everything. Now when 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:53.800 I went to the opener this year, no one was 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:56.680 the same. And I don't know if that was just 0:06:57.080 --> 0:06:59.760 Houston because we've got a historically bad team this year, 0:06:59.880 --> 0:07:03.400 or if it's across the board throughout the NFL. What 0:07:03.520 --> 0:07:06.120 did you notice during your time there around the team 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:10.600 and go into the games about JJ Watt? That makes 0:07:10.680 --> 0:07:14.800 him bigger than life because he's here now obviously with 0:07:14.840 --> 0:07:17.560 the team, and he's out. We're hoping he returns to 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:21.440 the playoffs. We don't know. But when he got here, Jeff, 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:25.560 he was a big part of a major locker room change. 0:07:25.840 --> 0:07:27.880 And I don't know if you saw that firsthand. I 0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:29.680 don't know if that started right away when he got 0:07:29.720 --> 0:07:33.560 there in twenty eleven after being drafted in the first round, 0:07:33.640 --> 0:07:35.880 or if that's something that developed over time for him. 0:07:36.000 --> 0:07:39.040 But I know he's got a big imprint on the 0:07:39.080 --> 0:07:42.600 Houston community and his involvement with charity work and stuff 0:07:42.640 --> 0:07:44.280 behind the scenes that not a lot of people. Some 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:46.560 people know, but not everybody knows all that he does. 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:49.960 I'll say this, he was a great player right off 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:54.200 the bat, and he was relentless with an incredible motor. 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:58.320 The first play I remember was he had an interception 0:07:58.960 --> 0:08:03.640 for a touchdown against Cincinnati in the playoffs. You know, 0:08:03.680 --> 0:08:05.920 one year and then you know he was used on 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:08.440 offense some and so that's cool, like when you see 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:11.840 a defender out there catching touchdown passes like Mike Vrabel 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:15.200 used to do for the Patriots. So that was cool. 0:08:15.640 --> 0:08:18.480 But where he really, you know, stepped up was during 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:22.440 the flood here in Houston. What started at very modest goal, 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:25.840 Like I didn't know what his initial goal was, let's 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:29.160 say a million dollars, and he ended up brazen I 0:08:29.200 --> 0:08:33.600 think over thirty million dollars. I mean, he has a 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:38.720 magnetic personality. He cares deeply about the community, even when 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:40.800 he was I think he was in It was Coach 0:08:40.880 --> 0:08:46.920 O'Brien's first year here and we contacted him through I'm 0:08:46.960 --> 0:08:49.840 on a board of a school called Provision, and we 0:08:49.880 --> 0:08:52.720 had to go through his mom and we were just 0:08:52.800 --> 0:08:56.760 going to have Mark Vandermeyer, the great announcer for the Texans. 0:08:57.280 --> 0:09:00.600 We just wanted him to talk. It was like during 0:09:00.600 --> 0:09:03.840 the spring about you know, his relationship with his mom. 0:09:03.880 --> 0:09:07.960 And we sold out the place and they actually postponed 0:09:09.080 --> 0:09:13.559 or got off early from one of those OTA sessions 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:17.559 so he could still fulfill his obligation. And Coach O'Brien 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:20.880 came and you know, jj wat could have easily said, 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:23.360 I can't make a new staff OTA, but he was 0:09:23.400 --> 0:09:26.360 adamant that he was going to fulfill his obligation and 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:29.800 that was just for Provision Academy. Like But so, I've 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:34.360 always appreciated like his motor on the field, but he 0:09:34.400 --> 0:09:36.679 has even a bigger motor in the community, and it's 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:39.800 much appreciated. When I saw you last week and we 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:43.160 did that Rockets game, I'm sitting there after the Cardinals 0:09:43.200 --> 0:09:44.760 or eight and one saying, oh, they're the best team 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:48.319 in football, and then they lay a major egg on Sunday. 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:50.880 Everybody in the NFL lays and egg. This just happened 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:52.680 to be the week the Cardinals did it. I got 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:55.199 a text from Bob Greasy after the Cardinals loss saying, 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:58.120 you know, thank you can appreciate it. We're having another 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:01.079 toast tonight because they're still the only unbeaten team nineteen 0:10:01.200 --> 0:10:03.720 seventy two. He was the quarterback on that team. Patriots 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:05.959 got close, but other than that, that's it. Everybody gets 0:10:06.000 --> 0:10:08.000 a loss in the NFL and everybody has a bad game. 0:10:08.320 --> 0:10:10.720 And I know you watched a lot of NFL. Do 0:10:10.720 --> 0:10:13.720 you think the Cardinals are the best team right now? Well, 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:17.240 I think it's hard to judge them when they're not 0:10:17.360 --> 0:10:20.439 whole right, like yeah, yeah, I mean Murray could be 0:10:20.440 --> 0:10:26.199 the MVP and Hopkins is like I saw it here literally, 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:30.160 if I was a quarterback, I would never worry about 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:33.840 separation with Hopkins because he doesn't get that much, but 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:35.960 he's gonna get every ball. He's got the best hands 0:10:36.000 --> 0:10:39.800 I've ever seen, and he's strong, he's physical. What do 0:10:39.880 --> 0:10:45.160 they call those those contested catches like he's like amazing. 0:10:45.400 --> 0:10:48.320 So when those two guys are bad, I think I 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:51.520 think you are. Now there's no prize for being the 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:55.760 best team after nine games, and so the NFL is unforgiving, 0:10:55.840 --> 0:10:58.880 and you know, it only takes one bad bounce. It's 0:10:58.880 --> 0:11:02.079 not a playoff series like these other sports. So it's 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:03.840 it's really hard to say, but I would say in 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:07.599 the NFC, you know, the Cowboys laid an egg and 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:11.800 then they bounce back with a terrific win. And you 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:15.079 have to say the Packers too. Aaron Rodgers is taking 0:11:15.679 --> 0:11:20.920 a lot of grief, but you cannot underestimate his greatness 0:11:21.360 --> 0:11:24.200 and their greatness because he's so great. Do you think 0:11:24.200 --> 0:11:27.199 that a Shaun Watson situation with the Texans? Because as 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:30.640 we talk about the best teams, there's also teams that 0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:33.520 are looking to the future and trying to either rebuild 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:38.719 or reboot. And I'm not sure where the Texans are. 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:40.840 I don't even know what the word for our team is. 0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:47.120 Well that's what I'm saying, So where are they. It's 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:49.240 hard to reboot, it's hard to rebuild. It's hard to 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:51.480 focus on what the next step is if you don't 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:53.920 know what's going to happen with your quarterback. How do 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:56.800 you are you surprised it hasn't been resolved yet. Is 0:11:56.840 --> 0:11:59.199 this kind of what you thought would happen where we'd 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:01.040 be in the middle of November and he's still not 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:03.560 playing and there's no word from the NFL and he 0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:07.200 was not traded. I just don't. I can't. I told 0:12:07.200 --> 0:12:10.000 you this last week, and I still it boggles my 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:13.719 mind that we're paying this guy not to play. So 0:12:13.760 --> 0:12:17.040 if he's healthy, I think what would help his trade 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:21.800 value is to play. If he was to play, there 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:25.319 is again, like I was just saying about Rogers. You 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:28.240 can judge his personal life, you can like do all that, 0:12:28.640 --> 0:12:31.120 but what you can't do is say this guy's not 0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:34.959 a great play. He's a great player and he comes 0:12:35.040 --> 0:12:38.800 up big in big spots because our line has been 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:42.560 sort of shaky the last few years, and he's made 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:45.840 something out of nothing over and over and over again. 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:49.000 So I don't get why we're not playing him. I 0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:53.199 get why we haven't traded him, because if you're the 0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:57.560 management team of the Texans, you have only one chip. 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:01.960 He is that. So you either have to play him 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:04.520 or you have to trade him. And you can't trade 0:13:04.559 --> 0:13:06.800 him for fifty cents on the dollar. You have to 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:10.719 try to get maximum value, and I think waiting you 0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:15.000 can see where the actual in this year's draft, where 0:13:15.000 --> 0:13:18.440 you'd actually be drafting with those draft picks. And then 0:13:18.480 --> 0:13:21.560 you have to be great, you know, in drafting, and 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:24.160 you have to be great in the free agency by 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:27.720 identifying the right guys. Certainly, but right now we don't 0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:31.160 have We don't have a present, and we don't have 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:33.720 a future, and we can't even start on the future 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:40.000 until this whole Watson dilemma is resolved. Your partner, Mark Jackson, 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:42.440 who was invited to join you on the podcast, but 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:45.800 he's traveling to day so we couldn't connect. But Mark 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:49.679 is he was a fan of the Patriots. Now he's 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:52.480 a fan of the Buccaneers. The reason is, Tom Brady. 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:55.680 Do you have a problem with Mark or anybody being 0:13:55.720 --> 0:13:59.040 a fan of a player and following like his favorite 0:13:59.040 --> 0:14:02.280 team is whatever Tom Brady is on. Does that bother you? 0:14:03.040 --> 0:14:06.760 Was he a Michigan fan? No, this dude is a 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:09.679 front runner. He's a front runner. He didn't become a 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:14.320 Brady fan until they won a championship all of a sudden. 0:14:14.920 --> 0:14:19.520 He's a fan of a dynasty. Well that isn't a fan. 0:14:19.880 --> 0:14:23.720 That's a front runner. So let's clarify it and call 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:26.960 it exactly what it is. Who wouldn't be able to 0:14:27.000 --> 0:14:30.800 admire Brady's excellence? You know all this time? I mean 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:33.960 forty four and they're struggling a little bit, But I mean, 0:14:34.240 --> 0:14:36.520 who would have ever thought somebody could be this good 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:41.400 for this long? And so I admire Mark for admiring Brady, 0:14:41.720 --> 0:14:44.600 But come on, that's week. I'm a fan of whoever 0:14:45.120 --> 0:14:49.960 Brady plays for. He's a front runner. One of the 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:53.320 things I've always appreciate about both you guys is you 0:14:53.400 --> 0:14:55.200 are who you are, like people will see you on 0:14:55.240 --> 0:14:58.680 TV and that's you, like, that's Jeff Van Gundi and 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:01.600 Mark Jackson's the same way. Were you guys like that 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:04.120 in New York when you were a coach and he 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:05.600 was a player, And I think you coached him in 0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:09.200 Houston too, right, I did. I was really thinking I 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:13.200 got to coach him as an assistant coach and then 0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:15.800 I got to coach him as a head coach in 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:19.200 New York, so both assistant and head coach in New York. 0:15:19.480 --> 0:15:22.640 After he had moved around to other teams, he came 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:25.360 back to US and then in Houston. In my first 0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:32.080 year there, we were desperate for solid backcourt help and 0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:33.680 we picked him up in the spring. It was the 0:15:33.760 --> 0:15:37.920 last year he played. And I always say this about Mark, 0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:41.000 He's got the best vision I've ever seen on a 0:15:41.040 --> 0:15:43.760 basketball player. I think he should be in the Hall 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:47.280 of Fame. I think he's excelled at everything he's touched 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:50.400 in basketball. He wasn't the most talented guy, but he's 0:15:50.680 --> 0:15:54.400 in the top five and assists. He played for seventeen 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:58.960 eighteen years. He's been a great broadcaster. He was an 0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:03.040 ultra success head coach in the NBA. I mean, first 0:16:03.080 --> 0:16:06.160 of all, I don't even understand why somebody else hasn't 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:08.200 picked him up as a head coach. I look at 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:12.920 all these vacancies and I'm like, that's just negligence by 0:16:12.920 --> 0:16:15.960 a lot of these teams who are hiring head coaches. 0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:20.480 Because he's a great, great leader, I mean, fabulous leader. 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:26.280 And so one thing about him. He wasn't always easy, 0:16:26.800 --> 0:16:32.280 because people who are great never are. But he also 0:16:32.360 --> 0:16:36.120 had a great deal of respect for the position of coaches. 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:39.920 That doesn't mean he always agreed with them, but if 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:41.720 you said this is how we're going to do it. 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:46.160 That's how he did it, and that level of respect 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:51.480 for the position was a testament to how he was raised. 0:16:52.000 --> 0:16:56.080 And you know, all the coaches that he had along 0:16:56.080 --> 0:16:58.920 the way that it instilled that in him. And so 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:02.840 we could be very honest. And the great thing about 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:05.560 Mark is he's got great sense of humor and he 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:09.359 can laugh at himself. And I think Greg Popovich says 0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:13.720 this all the time, but you want people in your 0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:17.439 program who have great humor and who have gotten over themselves, 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:22.400 and that's Mark Jackson. So I've always enjoyed being around him. 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:25.240 And he's a dear, dear friend that I can count on. 0:17:25.320 --> 0:17:28.080 And when you think about it in life, how many 0:17:28.160 --> 0:17:32.280 friends can you truly count on? You also mentioned pop 0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:36.320 and you were part of USA Basketball, still are and 0:17:36.359 --> 0:17:40.639 you've been a part of USA basketball the Olympic gold medal. 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:44.000 I'm sure you've had opportunities to look at other coaching positions. 0:17:44.040 --> 0:17:47.040 You stay with the ESPN, ABC doing the broadcasting. Is 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:49.200 it cool to have the mix to be a part 0:17:49.320 --> 0:17:54.000 of coaching and a program like USA Basketball get a 0:17:54.000 --> 0:17:56.000 gold medal and then still be able to broadcast the 0:17:56.080 --> 0:17:59.800 NBA Finals. It is I'm really you know, in the 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:04.800 dictionary under lucky. It should be my picture because everything 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:08.000 that has happened, you know, from when I got to 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:10.680 the Knicks and then I got my head coaching chance 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:15.040 at such a young age. Whoever, you know, starts out 0:18:15.080 --> 0:18:18.000 with a Hall of Fame player like I had in 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:22.000 Patrick Ewing, who you know, basically carried me, you know, 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:26.280 and you know, and so I loved USA. I still 0:18:26.280 --> 0:18:29.439 I loved USA basketball. I love everything it stands for. 0:18:29.560 --> 0:18:32.840 And the Olympics this year it was hard because we 0:18:32.920 --> 0:18:36.240 didn't get you know, you know, Devin Booker was. I 0:18:36.280 --> 0:18:38.280 was on the flight with him after the finals, he 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:43.640 and Middleton and Holiday we were on the flight together 0:18:44.800 --> 0:18:47.840 and the Olympics were starting the day we landed, I mean, 0:18:47.880 --> 0:18:50.440 and they played, so you know, a quarter of our 0:18:50.440 --> 0:18:54.000 team was arriving as the games were starting. And it 0:18:54.080 --> 0:18:56.639 wasn't easy, and we got beat by France early. We 0:18:56.640 --> 0:19:00.720 were down fifteen to Australia in the semifinals back in one, 0:19:00.800 --> 0:19:04.200 and then beat France in a five point, hard fought 0:19:04.240 --> 0:19:07.119 game in the gold medal game. It was it was 0:19:07.640 --> 0:19:11.600 exhilarating to be a very very small part of that, 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:15.800 but to watch Greg Popovich and watch these great players, 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:19.160 and I think I mentioned that, you know, to see 0:19:19.200 --> 0:19:23.399 the work ethic of a Kevin Durant was you know, 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:28.960 greatness is never a coincidence. It's like this dude. I 0:19:29.040 --> 0:19:33.520 watched him work after practice, so efficient, so diligent, and 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:35.720 I see, you know, to go along with his great 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:39.640 God given abilities, but the work ethic has made him, 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:44.399 you know, this incredibly skilled player. I mean, the dude 0:19:44.600 --> 0:19:48.280 in his workouts literally doesn't miss. And then people think, oh, 0:19:48.320 --> 0:19:52.000 you're exaggerated, No, I'm not twenty five minutes and I'm 0:19:52.000 --> 0:19:55.199 gonna say he probably misses, you know, one out of 0:19:55.240 --> 0:19:59.040 every ten fifteen shots. It's it's and this is full speed. 0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:02.840 This isn't like some half ass, you know workout. This 0:20:02.960 --> 0:20:07.040 is like game speed, game shots. It was really really 0:20:07.080 --> 0:20:11.000 great to watch. So you're on the flight after the 0:20:11.119 --> 0:20:15.320 NBA Finals going over for the Olympics. It's a quick 0:20:15.359 --> 0:20:18.640 turnaround from you broadcasting the NBA Finals to then get 0:20:18.640 --> 0:20:22.000 back into coach mode. And for Devin Booker, you're playing 0:20:22.040 --> 0:20:23.760 in the NBA Finals, now you're getting ready to play 0:20:23.760 --> 0:20:26.399 in the Olympics. We're obviously doing a Suns game. This 0:20:26.520 --> 0:20:30.800 is airing on Wednesday. The Suns are playing great basketball 0:20:30.880 --> 0:20:32.560 right now. It took a little while for them to 0:20:32.640 --> 0:20:35.159 kind of get untracked at the beginning of the season. 0:20:35.880 --> 0:20:37.760 Do you think the Suns can do it again? They 0:20:37.760 --> 0:20:40.879 took everybody by surprise last year. But I remember you 0:20:40.880 --> 0:20:42.520 and I did a game, I feel like it was 0:20:42.640 --> 0:20:45.680 late in January, and you could tell there were some 0:20:45.720 --> 0:20:47.640 signs that they had a chance to be really good. 0:20:47.640 --> 0:20:50.600 And you even said, I remember on the air, they're 0:20:50.640 --> 0:20:52.879 not just a playoff team. They can do damage in 0:20:52.920 --> 0:20:55.240 the playoffs, and they certainly did that. They came within 0:20:55.800 --> 0:20:58.320 two wins of an NBA championship. Do you feel like 0:20:58.359 --> 0:21:00.320 they can get back there? Jeff, I know it's hard 0:21:00.560 --> 0:21:04.679 to get back to the finals, and everything had to 0:21:04.680 --> 0:21:06.840 go right last year. You know, it certainly didn't hurt 0:21:06.840 --> 0:21:09.199 that Lebron was hurting the Lakers weren't the Lakers. But 0:21:09.280 --> 0:21:11.240 do you think they can do it again? The Suns? Well, 0:21:11.280 --> 0:21:16.640 I don't think the West is as deep or even 0:21:16.680 --> 0:21:19.200 as good at the top as it has been, so 0:21:19.240 --> 0:21:23.959 I think there is great opportunity there. Chris Paul, Devin Booker, 0:21:24.000 --> 0:21:27.600 and Monnie Williams, to me, is a great threesome to 0:21:27.760 --> 0:21:30.240 lead a team. I think a lot of it goes to, 0:21:31.119 --> 0:21:34.280 you know, does Ayton continue to grow and get better? 0:21:34.359 --> 0:21:38.200 I thought he was phenomenal last year. Does his contractual 0:21:38.280 --> 0:21:43.240 situation at all up end his progress? Does any of 0:21:43.280 --> 0:21:46.520 the noise on the outside right now about the Sun's 0:21:46.720 --> 0:21:50.520 leadership in an ownership, does that get in the way. 0:21:51.040 --> 0:21:54.920 But I like what they've done with their team. I 0:21:54.960 --> 0:21:58.040 think they're probably going to try to add even a 0:21:58.080 --> 0:22:02.280 little bit more. And yes, there's no doubt they can. 0:22:02.840 --> 0:22:05.960 They could win the West. It's right there for them, 0:22:06.240 --> 0:22:08.400 and a lot goes into it. A long way to go, 0:22:08.480 --> 0:22:13.840 but they're talented, they're well coached, they're deep, and I 0:22:14.000 --> 0:22:18.400 really like the addition of Javelle McGee. I think Jabelle 0:22:18.440 --> 0:22:22.959 McGee gives them a lob threat at the rim in 0:22:23.040 --> 0:22:27.800 short minutes that they haven't had. And Frank Kamenski has 0:22:27.800 --> 0:22:31.359 really as a third center, has really filled it in 0:22:31.480 --> 0:22:34.560 well when Ayton's been out with injury. So I think 0:22:34.640 --> 0:22:37.000 they have a lot of pieces. And one of my 0:22:37.040 --> 0:22:39.520 favorite players in the league that we didn't speak about, 0:22:39.520 --> 0:22:42.520 but one of the best complimentary players in the league 0:22:43.240 --> 0:22:46.439 is Michael Bridges. I just love the way he his 0:22:46.680 --> 0:22:51.359 strengths mesh so very well with Paul and Booker. I 0:22:51.440 --> 0:22:56.080 think he's a terrific, terrific player. When Monnie Williams was 0:22:56.119 --> 0:22:57.800 with the Knicks, were you an assistant or are you 0:22:57.840 --> 0:23:01.199 the head coach? Then I was an assistant. Montie Williams 0:23:01.240 --> 0:23:04.639 and Charlie Ward they came in the same year. They 0:23:04.640 --> 0:23:09.200 were both late first round picks, and they were incredible 0:23:09.280 --> 0:23:14.199 friends right away, and we were a threesome. That was 0:23:14.240 --> 0:23:17.840 before every practice. Neither one got a ton of minutes. 0:23:17.880 --> 0:23:22.800 Monty played son, Charlie played not at all. But I 0:23:23.000 --> 0:23:26.600 laughed to myself right now, a coach would be absolutely 0:23:26.640 --> 0:23:29.560 sued if they had to go through the workouts that 0:23:30.359 --> 0:23:32.880