WEBVTT - How Magic Johnson Went From NBA Legend to Billionaire 0:00:02.480 --> 0:00:08.240 Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News. 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:15.120 Welcome back to The Deal everyone, I'm Jason Kelly alongside 0:00:15.160 --> 0:00:19.480 Alex Rodriguez a very special episode of The Deal Today, 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:23.240 Magic Johnson, the one and only. We taped this live 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:26.040 at the Milkon and Stuke Global Conference in Beverly Hills. 0:00:26.400 --> 0:00:28.920 It was electric man, so electric. 0:00:28.640 --> 0:00:30.760 Well Magic, I mean, he's one of one, right, and 0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:33.080 we were in his hometown right there in LA where 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:35.159 he played for the Lakers and won five titles. 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:36.920 I've known him almost thirty years. 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:39.600 She's been a friend and a mentor, and I love 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:44.080 the way he talked about value partnerships, demanding excellence. 0:00:43.920 --> 0:00:46.640 And he talked about some of his most recent partnerships, 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:50.080 most notably his ownership stake in the Washington Commanders. He 0:00:50.120 --> 0:00:53.400 talked about Starbucks and a seminal deal that he made 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:56.400 with Howard Schultz and what that took. He talked about 0:00:56.440 --> 0:01:00.000 institutional capital, and he talked about a couple iconic players. 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:02.920 I mean a team that we followed so closely. 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:04.880 Right, oh yeah, and that was the Olympic team in 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:07.960 nineteen ninety two, and of course that changed the NBA, 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:11.320 made it a global sport. And he specifically talked about 0:01:11.440 --> 0:01:14.280 none other than Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. 0:01:14.640 --> 0:01:16.679 You'll hear all of that coming up on this very 0:01:16.680 --> 0:01:32.280 special episode of the Deal. All right, So I'm gonna 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:35.039 say just you know, as a human being, this is 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:39.400 exciting for me. But my excitement, I'm telling you, is 0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:44.440 nothing compared to this guys. Alex Rodriguez is not He 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:47.640 does not swoon, He does not you know, be like, oh, 0:01:47.680 --> 0:01:48.640 I'm so excited about this. 0:01:49.720 --> 0:01:53.080 He's beside himself right now. All right, So I'm Jason Kelly. 0:01:53.080 --> 0:01:54.920 This is Alex Rodriguez. We have home embarrassed. 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:56.640 Yeah, oh just wait. 0:01:57.040 --> 0:01:59.040 We host to show a Bloomberg called The Deal, and 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:01.840 we couldn't be more excited to have you here with 0:02:01.920 --> 0:02:02.600 us Magic. 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:04.320 So thank you, thank you. I appreciate that. 0:02:04.600 --> 0:02:06.600 So what's so interesting is there are a lot of 0:02:06.600 --> 0:02:09.560 fans in this room of both of these guys, but 0:02:09.760 --> 0:02:12.200 there is a very special relationship between these two. 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:13.359 It's so interesting. 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:15.880 As Alex and I have been doing this show, we 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:19.280 have had a north star and I know Alex has 0:02:19.320 --> 0:02:22.200 a north star in Magic and this is a this 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:25.000 is a relationship that goes back a long way to 0:02:25.040 --> 0:02:28.880 a young Seattle Mariner who was essentially cold calling heroes 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:32.120 and trying to learn about business. Alex, I want you 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:34.360 to take us back happened here in Los Angeles, to 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:37.080 what you took from what was meant to be thirty 0:02:37.080 --> 0:02:40.160 minutes turned you into a few hours. 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:43.799 You still have the notes. What's the takeaway from magic? 0:02:44.040 --> 0:02:44.280 Yeah? 0:02:44.280 --> 0:02:47.480 Thanks Jason, and thanks everybody for being here. I'm a 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:51.079 huge believer in the power of mentorship. So I called 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:55.760 Lon Rosen, who's a longtime partner of Irvin, and I said, 0:02:55.840 --> 0:02:58.200 is there any way now we're with the Mariners, there's 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:00.880 like twenty five, twenty seven years ago. I'm just a 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:03.480 young kid, twenty two to twenty three, and I said, long, 0:03:03.520 --> 0:03:06.320 can I get thirty minutes with the guy? And I'm 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:08.359 thinking like, yeah, maybe in a couple of years. He's like, hey, 0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:12.280 how's tomorrow night. I'm like, bet, I'm there. So we 0:03:12.400 --> 0:03:14.680 sat in a room it was supposed to be thirty minutes. 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:16.600 That led to him with a three hour dinner where 0:03:16.600 --> 0:03:19.040 I have like nine pages of notes and there's no 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:21.640 question in my mind that Irvin has impacted me. And 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:24.680 without that dinner, because here's a man of color, here's 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:26.600 a guy that was a Hall of Fame basketball player. 0:03:26.880 --> 0:03:29.040 He comes from humble beginnings, all things that I can 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:32.280 relate with. And I said, if Magic can do it, 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:34.720 why can't I. So anyways, I wouldn't own a team 0:03:34.760 --> 0:03:36.920 without Magic. I wouldn't have a Rod Corp Without Irvin. 0:03:36.920 --> 0:03:38.240 And I just want to say thank you, and I 0:03:38.280 --> 0:03:39.360 wanted to share that story with you. 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:40.440 No, thank you. 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:43.360 Well, let's talk about that, because what you have done 0:03:43.520 --> 0:03:45.600 over the course of the last you know, thirty forty years, 0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:48.960 is a series of unbelievable deals and one of the 0:03:48.960 --> 0:03:51.320 most interesting things, and Alex and I talk about this 0:03:51.360 --> 0:03:54.160 all the time, is your movement to ownership. You know, 0:03:54.240 --> 0:03:56.240 you have a partner mark in here in the front 0:03:56.320 --> 0:03:59.440 row with the Washington Commanders. We spent some time with 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:03.200 your Josh Harris last week in Miami. That's a seminal 0:04:03.240 --> 0:04:06.360 deal for the NFL. I would argue, it's a seminal 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:09.840 deal for you. Would you agree? And how do you. 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:11.680 Put that in the context of your dealmaking? 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:15.880 No, it's the greatest deal I've ever done. I mean, listen, first, 0:04:15.920 --> 0:04:18.680 as a kid, I'm already a football fan. I played football, 0:04:19.520 --> 0:04:21.560 but I knew I was better at basketball, So I 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:25.360 gave it up in high school to concentrate on basketball. 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:28.440 But to know that I've been a big fan of 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:31.799 the NFL, not knowing that a man of color could 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:34.760 actually become an owner in the NFL, but I had. 0:04:35.480 --> 0:04:37.560 Josh Harris said, hey, I want you to be a 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:41.880 part of this ownership group. We had went after the 0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:45.280 Denver Broncos, but a young man for Walmark said I 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:47.640 don't care what you bid. I'm gonna outbid you, so 0:04:48.000 --> 0:04:51.880 you might well just keep your money right and Josh 0:04:52.080 --> 0:04:53.120 I said, okay, we give. 0:04:55.320 --> 0:04:58.200 But the team we're supposed to own, we own. 0:04:58.960 --> 0:05:02.000 Why did I say that Josh Harris is from d C, 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:07.160 so he watched the Redskins as a boy. Marks from 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:10.720 d C, so he watched the Redskins as a boy. 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:12.680 Mitch Rails is from d C. 0:05:13.400 --> 0:05:18.160 So now they got men who grew up loving this 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:23.239 team who now become the owners and the gatekeepers. And 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:25.720 I think, and I knew that we were going to 0:05:25.800 --> 0:05:28.480 do a fantastic job, and then for them to bring 0:05:28.560 --> 0:05:32.320 me in, it's a blessing for me, but also for 0:05:33.160 --> 0:05:36.080 men of color, but also former athletes as well. It 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:39.000 shows them that we can go from the court to 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:42.080 the boardroom, and I want to thank Mark because he's here, 0:05:42.440 --> 0:05:45.159 and Josh has done a wonderful job of leading our 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:47.400 team and the ownership group. 0:05:47.640 --> 0:05:50.120 And look where we when we bought the team. Look 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:50.880 where we are. 0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:54.320 Today, you know, and it's going up and up and up. 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:56.599 And I'm so happy to be a part of the 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:57.360 ownership group. 0:05:57.680 --> 0:06:00.680 Sir, that's your best deal in sports, and we agree 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:02.800 that's just in the NFL is one of one. I mean, 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:04.440 Roger Goodell does an incredible. 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:04.800 Job, we know that. 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:08.360 But going to outside of sports and business, going back 0:06:08.360 --> 0:06:10.880 to the Howard Shult stage with Starbucks one hundred and 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:14.200 twenty five stores, Mark Master for twenty four our fitness 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:16.920 and other deals. Also, you got an insurance business. What 0:06:16.960 --> 0:06:19.800 would you think is your seminal deal outside of sports? 0:06:20.000 --> 0:06:23.560 It have to be Starbucks because it gave me the 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:27.599 stamp of approval. A lot of people wanted to take 0:06:27.640 --> 0:06:29.919 the meeting with me because they wanted to autograph in 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:32.920 the picture, but then they said no, they didn't want 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:33.839 to be in business with me. 0:06:34.800 --> 0:06:36.159 I knew we were going. 0:06:36.040 --> 0:06:38.800 To Seattle, and I knew Howard shows set court side, 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:42.080 So I said to the PR guy or Seattle, which. 0:06:42.520 --> 0:06:46.839 One is Howard Shows and he said there, he is 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:47.880 right there. I said, cool. 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:50.800 I ran right over there to him right and I said, hey, 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:56.200 I'm Irvin Johnson. I know where you are man, And 0:06:56.240 --> 0:06:58.719 I asked him, I said, could I take you to 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:01.640 lunch or dinner the next time that we're back playing 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:06.080 the SuperSonics and to sit down and just go over 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:07.800 business and talk to you. 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:11.760 And he said okay. So a few weeks later. 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:16.160 We went back up there, and my movie Theaters was 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:18.880 crushing it in the inner city. It showed people you 0:07:18.920 --> 0:07:22.760 can make money doing business in the inner cities of America. 0:07:23.240 --> 0:07:25.200 So I went up there. I took the numbers up 0:07:25.200 --> 0:07:28.640 to him. I showed them, Hey, we're doing great. My 0:07:28.880 --> 0:07:32.160 theaters are top ten highest grosing theaters in the nation. 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:36.160 And nobody thought, you know, we can make money. And 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:38.200 he looked and said wow. I said, the growth of 0:07:38.240 --> 0:07:41.240 your business would be through urban America because you got 0:07:41.520 --> 0:07:45.280 one on every corner in suburban America. So he said, Urban, 0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:47.600 let me come down see how you operate your business. 0:07:48.600 --> 0:07:51.000 But also I got to talk to the board and 0:07:51.040 --> 0:07:53.960 the shareholders. I said, okay. So he came down saw 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:57.400 how I operated it. He was very impressed. And then 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:00.600 the hardest thing I thought I was going to do 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:03.680 was play against Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. The hardest 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:07.280 thing was to go before the board and then going 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:12.160 to a movie theater pack with good shareholders and try 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:15.360 to convince them this is a great move for Starbucks. 0:08:15.840 --> 0:08:18.760 And sure enough I was able to do that and 0:08:19.000 --> 0:08:22.320 they all signed off, and I became the first person 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:25.360 to ever own Starbucks. Outside of Starbucks, we built one 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:29.560 hundred and twenty five and forty different markets across America. 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:33.520 They all did extremely well, and that really gave me, 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:37.560 first of all, the stamp of approval. It gave me 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:40.800 the track record that I needed of success so I 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:42.440 can move on to something else. 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:45.560 And then, last but not least, Alex. This is the 0:08:45.559 --> 0:08:46.000 one thing. 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:48.440 It gave me a chance to go up to cal 0:08:48.520 --> 0:08:52.040 Purrs and Cal Stirs. Yeah, because I was using my money, 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:55.440 but if I wanted sustainability and growth, I had to 0:08:55.480 --> 0:09:00.080 go to institutional capital. And it took me three years 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:03.040 man to convince cal Perrs to give me fifty million 0:09:03.080 --> 0:09:06.160 dollars and they said, uh, we. 0:09:06.200 --> 0:09:12.680 Love you magic, but Urban America, we're not too excited 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:14.360 about it. How can we make money. 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:16.840 But they finally gave me the fifty and they said, 0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:18.880 if you over delivered with this fifty, you can come 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:21.280 back and get hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars. 0:09:21.720 --> 0:09:24.079 I did that. I over delivered. I bought a shopping 0:09:24.120 --> 0:09:27.400 center only for twenty two million. It was only forty 0:09:27.440 --> 0:09:30.160 percent occupied. I made it one hundred percent occupied. I 0:09:30.200 --> 0:09:33.720 resold it for almost fifty million dollars. Took that twenty 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:36.320 eight million dollar profit up north and they. 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:37.120 Said, I said here go. 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:43.160 They said, oh, okay, you do no business, let's do it. 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:46.440 So that's when I started my fund. And then you know, 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:50.280 I partnered with Canyon Partners to do Urban Urban America. 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:51.599 So we started an urban. 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:56.080 Fundah Ron Burkle and I started a private equity fund together, 0:09:56.120 --> 0:10:00.400 which was another urban fund U KAIPA Johnson, and then 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:04.440 I just took off from there. How do you pick partners, Well, 0:10:04.480 --> 0:10:07.800 first of all, we all in here have been through 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:11.640 a bad marriage with partners, No, every single one of us, 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:16.719 at least one, right, So I went through one or 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:22.000 two of those and I said never again. And I 0:10:22.080 --> 0:10:25.040 always wanted to pick partners that could teach me something 0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:29.320 that can help expand my knowledge in terms of business 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:31.160 mentor me in a sense. 0:10:31.240 --> 0:10:33.479 So sure enough. 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:37.679 When I think about Mark Waters and Todd Bowley, Peter Gruber, 0:10:37.800 --> 0:10:40.320 all these people that we own the Dodgers together, they 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:44.839 have done an excellent job of allowing me to grow 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:49.040 but also too to use my expertise as well. It's 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:53.280 been wonderful, Bobby Patton, all of them, So it's been great. 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:58.960 And then Mark and Mitchell and Josh is doing the 0:10:59.000 --> 0:11:03.680 same thing issues in DC that they know that, Hey, 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:07.800 I can, you know, be a part of the board market. 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:11.280 And I was on boards Josh assigned us too, and 0:11:11.400 --> 0:11:13.480 so it's been wonderful to be a part of and 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:16.720 have a voice, a real voice. And so I thank 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:19.960 Josh for that. And so I know what I know 0:11:20.200 --> 0:11:22.400 and I know what I don't know, right. I think 0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:25.920 a lot of times when athletes are trying to become businessmen, 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:28.840 they got to take their ego out of it and 0:11:28.960 --> 0:11:33.720 back up and really understand, Hey, what do you really know? 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:34.439 Right? 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:38.520 And to Alice's point, you got to get mentors, and 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:41.960 you've got to be with businessmen and women who want 0:11:42.000 --> 0:11:46.199 to help you grow, right. And so all the teams 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:50.320 that I'm involved in It's been great to learn from 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:54.960 the different people, men and women, and to expand my 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:57.120 own personal growth. 0:12:10.520 --> 0:12:13.040 So I remember when you about the Dodgers we started talking, 0:12:13.040 --> 0:12:14.480 you were kind of peppering me with a questions about 0:12:14.480 --> 0:12:17.000 baseball and all that. My question to you now, as 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:19.320 an owner of an NBA and a WNBA team, what 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:21.760 are two or three things now you learn from the 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:23.920 best and doctor bus you're one of the greatest of 0:12:23.960 --> 0:12:27.040 all times. What can I do to be a better owner? 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:28.360 What are the two or three things I should be 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:29.800 thinking about with my partner Mark Luri. 0:12:30.360 --> 0:12:33.800 Well, I think first of all, to have a three 0:12:33.840 --> 0:12:38.080 to five year plan and where you want to take 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:38.959 the franchise. 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:43.000 Make sure that everybody. 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:46.440 Is on the same page and everybody in your organization 0:12:46.640 --> 0:12:51.440 understands that plan and that strategy right. And have a 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:55.520 great relationship with your players. I think that when you 0:12:55.600 --> 0:12:59.200 have a great relationship with your players, they'll come to 0:12:59.280 --> 0:13:02.520 you and they'll come and tell you, hey. 0:13:02.320 --> 0:13:04.640 We need this, we need that to be successful. 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:08.360 And that's very important that those men or women are 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:11.360 very happy and that they know that you care. 0:13:12.080 --> 0:13:12.280 You know. 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:16.720 And then, last but not least, listen, be demanding and 0:13:16.840 --> 0:13:18.160 hold everybody accountable. 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:20.560 You know, I come around that corner. 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:23.360 You may see a smile, but you let us be 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:28.600 losing no smiling, right. My job is to hold everybody accountable, 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:31.400 and so I will always talk to the guys, make 0:13:31.440 --> 0:13:36.280 sure they understand what's the identity of this franchise, right, 0:13:36.679 --> 0:13:40.439 And you have to say, this is who we are, 0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:43.120 this is who we want to be, and make sure 0:13:43.200 --> 0:13:47.080 those men or women understand that. And we've done that 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:52.120 with we changed the whole identity with the Washington commanders. 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:54.840 They know that we care about them, but they know 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:58.400 we want to win, right, and the fans know that, 0:13:58.800 --> 0:14:01.640 and it's trickled down to everybody in that organization. Some 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:04.520 day one when we had a meeting with all the staff, 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:07.120 we told them were here to win, and we're going 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:11.280 to change the environment that that losing environment that they 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:14.800 were in before. And we've done that step by step 0:14:14.880 --> 0:14:18.120 by step. We changed the stadium, we changed the locker room, 0:14:18.360 --> 0:14:22.160 all the things that players were complaining about. Josh did 0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:25.400 a wonderful job of jumping on top of that, right, 0:14:25.920 --> 0:14:29.120 and so and then he sends us out and where 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:33.120 we're strong. So you make sure Mark, you might go 0:14:33.160 --> 0:14:36.320 one way, but Alex, you might go another way because 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:38.880 there's plenty of things to tackle and then you tackle 0:14:38.960 --> 0:14:42.200 some together. And so that's what I would say to you. 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:44.560 So to that point, Magic, And actually I'm going to 0:14:44.600 --> 0:14:46.520 turn this question on you too, Alex. You know, this 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:49.880 whole notion of an athlete turned owner is fascinating to me. 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:51.760 This may come as a surprise. 0:14:51.800 --> 0:14:57.120 I did not play professional sports, but I know some 0:14:57.160 --> 0:14:59.680 people who did, and soon asked this question. As a 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:03.640 play former player turned owner, what do you say to players? 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:06.080 What's the sort of tack that you take to them, 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:09.360 because maybe they're in your sport, maybe they're a baseball 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:11.960 player or a soccer player or a football player. 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:13.280 What's the tack you take them? 0:15:13.480 --> 0:15:16.600 What's the secrets that you can sort of the secret 0:15:16.680 --> 0:15:18.640 language if there is one that you can speak to 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:21.280 them that you know a Josh or Mark Kent. 0:15:21.600 --> 0:15:26.080 Well, because you know, we talk about preparation and I 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:29.200 talk to our commander players about you know, preparation. 0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:32.000 It starts in practice. You got to. 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:35.920 Practice the way you're going to play on Sunday, so 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:39.760 that starts on Monday all the way through, right and 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:44.080 losing it's got to be a bad taste in your mouth, right, 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:49.160 and then we got to be a team. We lose 0:15:49.200 --> 0:15:50.720 as a team, we win as a team. 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:51.200 Right. 0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:54.800 It can't be hitting agendas that kills you every time 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:59.800 everybody got there. If a player got his own agenda 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:04.640 and it's not about team goes, it's gonna kill you, You're 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:08.760 gonna lose, and it trickles down within the locker room. 0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:11.720 So that's what I would say. But the one thing 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:14.840 we both have is that they respect us already. Yeah, 0:16:14.960 --> 0:16:17.760 and I can say something that Mark can't say right, right, 0:16:17.880 --> 0:16:20.000 because he's gonna look at me and say, oh, he's 0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:20.640 been through it. 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:21.120 Right. 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:23.440 Do you find that, Alex? I mean, like, what's your 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:24.560 experience so far with that? 0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:25.000 Yeah? 0:16:25.080 --> 0:16:27.000 I do agree with every hold on one second, and 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:29.920 then I walk in with seventeen damn World Series or 0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:33.600 World Championship ring, right, So I'm walking in with jewelry, 0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:38.120 so they understand that language, real fans, Okay. 0:16:37.840 --> 0:16:39.560 Go ahead, that's right. 0:16:40.160 --> 0:16:40.760 No, I think. 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:42.320 Look, I think Irvan and I one thing we know. 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:44.560 We know how the players feel, we know where they 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:47.560 come from, we know the pressures, and like, make no mistake, 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:49.880 when Irvan and I played, it was hard to be 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:52.440 an athlete. It's no harder time to be an athlete 0:16:52.440 --> 0:16:55.200 than today. Thank God. I ain't play when at the 0:16:55.240 --> 0:16:57.360 height of social media, I got myself in enough trouble. 0:16:57.720 --> 0:17:00.800 But in New York City, gonna championship. 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:03.120 But no one knows what you're no one, no one knows, 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:03.800 nobody knows. 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:04.000 Good. 0:17:04.040 --> 0:17:18.359 That is your fine? All right? Can we do the 0:17:18.440 --> 0:17:18.880 rapid fire? 0:17:18.920 --> 0:17:19.280 Let's do it? 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:19.600 All right? 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:22.280 We're gonna so on our show, The Deal. Please tune 0:17:22.320 --> 0:17:25.320 in and download wherever you got your podcast. We do 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:27.840 a little rapid fire segment. So we're gonna hit you 0:17:27.840 --> 0:17:28.320 with this magic. 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:28.720 Are you ready? 0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:29.720 I'm ready? All right? 0:17:29.840 --> 0:17:32.560 Just the first thing that comes to your mind? What's 0:17:32.640 --> 0:17:34.960 one word to describe your deal making style? 0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:45.920 One word? Wow? A lot of pressure? Yes, dang success? 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:46.840 Oh? 0:17:47.359 --> 0:17:50.240 Or what's more important to you? Data or your gut? 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:56.480 It's always my feel, feel, always my feel. I'm always 0:17:56.720 --> 0:17:58.480 read the data, no question about it. 0:17:58.520 --> 0:17:59.879 But it's a feel. 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:03.359 When they walk in and we I can just feel 0:18:03.520 --> 0:18:04.680 is it gonna be a deal? 0:18:05.160 --> 0:18:07.200 And I know when it's not going to be a deal? 0:18:07.240 --> 0:18:07.480 Wow? 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:09.719 Who's your dream deal making partner? 0:18:10.320 --> 0:18:10.639 Wow? 0:18:11.000 --> 0:18:11.480 Got a lot? 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:20.400 Wow? That's big? Just the next guy? Growth mode. 0:18:20.520 --> 0:18:26.480 Hey, no, I'm I'm not choosy or picky the next woman, 0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:29.880 next man. Let's go get it done. And the one 0:18:29.880 --> 0:18:32.800 thing they gonna know about me, everything I'm supposed to 0:18:32.800 --> 0:18:37.000 do as Mark, I'm gonna do it in more so, 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:39.160 whatever my role is, I'm gonna play it. 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:42.040 What's the best piece of advice you've ever received on 0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:43.800 deal making or business? 0:18:44.160 --> 0:18:47.119 Ron Berker once told me Irvin, I brought him this 0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:49.480 little deal. He said, Irvan, the same amount of time 0:18:49.520 --> 0:18:51.960 I gotta spend on that little deal, It's the same 0:18:52.000 --> 0:18:54.800 amount of time I gotta spend making a billion dollars. 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:55.879 I said, I got it. 0:18:55.920 --> 0:19:00.960 Thank you for that small deals. 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:05.920 What's the worst advice you've ever been given? 0:19:06.840 --> 0:19:07.760 The worst advice? 0:19:08.680 --> 0:19:09.000 Uh? 0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:12.000 Not with smart women and men, they don't give you 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:13.400 really worst advice. 0:19:14.720 --> 0:19:18.480 Thank God that I'm in rooms. 0:19:18.160 --> 0:19:23.040 Like this a lot, and that you with solid people 0:19:23.560 --> 0:19:27.360 and people who have really been successful at what they do. 0:19:28.640 --> 0:19:31.479 I think the worst advice Alex and I get it's 0:19:31.600 --> 0:19:34.520 usually from people that they don't have much right a 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:35.720 success right. 0:19:35.800 --> 0:19:36.880 They always talk a. 0:19:36.840 --> 0:19:39.480 Good game, but they don't really back it up with, 0:19:40.760 --> 0:19:43.600 you know, action and what they're doing. 0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:46.280 Or what's your hype song before a big game, meeting 0:19:46.400 --> 0:19:47.119 or negotiation. 0:19:47.400 --> 0:19:48.120 Oh that's good. 0:19:48.160 --> 0:19:51.720 Anything Michael Jackson, okay, all right, anything that's my man, 0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:55.600 the greatest artists of all time to me, and and 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:58.359 I love Prince too, So either one put them on, 0:19:58.480 --> 0:19:59.160 I'm good. 0:19:59.040 --> 0:19:59.400 All right. 0:19:59.520 --> 0:20:01.520 You want to few people to win the basketball triple 0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:05.520 Crown and the NCAA Championship, five NBA championships, and an 0:20:05.520 --> 0:20:08.200 Olympic gold medal, which meant the most too. 0:20:08.640 --> 0:20:09.840 I think the gold medal. 0:20:10.119 --> 0:20:13.520 Because of this, I finally got a chance to play 0:20:13.560 --> 0:20:14.480 with Michael and Larry. 0:20:14.600 --> 0:20:17.280 Yeah, I've always on my bucket list. 0:20:17.359 --> 0:20:19.600 I've always wanted to just throw a pass to both 0:20:19.640 --> 0:20:22.920 of those guys, like a no, look past, like come 0:20:23.000 --> 0:20:26.640 down that damn middle, and I'm coming down and there's 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:30.679 Larry in the corner, just no, looking real fast and 0:20:30.760 --> 0:20:32.639