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Speaker 1: Hey, welcome in. I'm Doug Gottlie. This is All Ball,

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Speaker 1: the All Basketball, all year long podcast, and man if

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Speaker 1: we had some good ones and I really appreciate you

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Speaker 1: downloading and subscribing and rating our hod Make sure you

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Speaker 1: tell a friend, tweet it out, put it on social

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Speaker 1: wherever you want. Good stuff. This week from Scott Brooks,

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Speaker 1: which is upcoming part two of our conversation. Part one

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Speaker 1: gave us his early upbringing, one of seven kids. Dad

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Speaker 1: walks out when he's really young and they kind of

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Speaker 1: had to fend for themselves. His mere curial path and

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Speaker 1: making it to UC Irvine after TCU as a freshman,

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Speaker 1: and then uh not making an NBA team in summer league,

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Speaker 1: but sticking around at loyal A Merry Mount, eventually getting

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Speaker 1: invited to seventy Sixers camp, going to the Albany Patroons,

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Speaker 1: back to the Sixers camp the next year, making the team,

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Speaker 1: getting a chance to start six games as a pro,

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Speaker 1: but when in an NBA title with Houston, traded at

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Speaker 1: halftime to the Dallas Mavericks. And then this week we'll

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Speaker 1: get into his coaching journey, which is really an interesting one.

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Speaker 1: He coached in the A B A I played in

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Speaker 1: the A B A. We know each other very well.

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Speaker 1: We know a lot of the same people. But his

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Speaker 1: path becoming a head coach. What's it like to take

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Speaker 1: over a team that was ah that was a disaster

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Speaker 1: there one in twelve I believe at the time p

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Speaker 1: J Carliston would lost the team. He had a young

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Speaker 1: Kevin Durant, they had a Russell Westbrook and James Harden

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Speaker 1: and they go to the NBA Finals. I'm gonna ask

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Speaker 1: him about trading James Harden and um, his thoughts at

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Speaker 1: the time, his thoughts as of now. We'll get what

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Speaker 1: it was like to coach in those NBA Finals, and

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Speaker 1: what he's learned during his during his time away after

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Speaker 1: losing his job at the Thunder, and his thoughts on

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Speaker 1: this year's team with the Washington Wizards. Plus, I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: ask him about that John Wall photo when he was

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Speaker 1: practiced with Team USA and he looked puffy. Let's just

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Speaker 1: say puffy to say the least. Let me quick quickly

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Speaker 1: give you some thoughts on the story of the day

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Speaker 1: or the story of the week. Jimmy Butler wants out

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Speaker 1: of the Minnesota Timberwolves. You watched Timberwolves last year, and

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Speaker 1: I talked to some NBA people like, well, those guys

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Speaker 1: do not like each other. I don't think there's ever

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Speaker 1: just one factor and a guy wanting out. I think

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Speaker 1: it's one a lack of chemistry to um. I think

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Speaker 1: sometimes guys egos aren't in check. Maybe that's the chemistry

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Speaker 1: issue to it. Three, there's also the Jimmy Butler is

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Speaker 1: supposed to be the defender of all things TIBs in

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Speaker 1: that locker room, and it's not like everybody doesn't know that,

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Speaker 1: and I'm not sure he loves all things Tips, but

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Speaker 1: TIBs does depend on him and believe in him. That's

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Speaker 1: why he brought him and all the rest of the

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Speaker 1: seemingly the two thousand eleven Bulls over to Minnesota. And

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Speaker 1: now he now he wants out. But I also think

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Speaker 1: the contract, the upcoming contract, the number of touches, the points,

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Speaker 1: I think all that affects him. Andrew Wiggins is a

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Speaker 1: better score, Karl Anthony town is a better overall player,

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Speaker 1: and Jimmy Butler's story is one of legend, you know, homeless,

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Speaker 1: becoming an incredible player at Marquette and then lightly regarding

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Speaker 1: the NBA draft, being an NBA All Star and a

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Speaker 1: guy playing for Team USA. But some of that, some

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Speaker 1: of that that hunger, some of that maybe anger doesn't

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Speaker 1: present itself well in the locker room over eighty two games,

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Speaker 1: and maybe there's a loss of self, you know, the

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Speaker 1: fact that he wants to be with the Nets and

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Speaker 1: with the Clippers and with the nick shows he he

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Speaker 1: wants to be the man. Remember his friends with Kyrie Irving.

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Speaker 1: And I get the idea, Hey, I want my my

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Speaker 1: own team, But Jimmy Butther is not good enough to

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Speaker 1: have his own team. This is not so if he's

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Speaker 1: your third best player, you can win a title. Your

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Speaker 1: second best player, you cannot. Your best player. You might

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Speaker 1: or might probably aren't a playoff team case in Points Chicago.

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Speaker 1: So um, I'm gonna be fascinate to see where he

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Speaker 1: goes what he does. But there's a little buyer beware

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Speaker 1: because Jimmy Butler thinks of himself as a top ten

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Speaker 1: player in the NBA, and maybe toughness and versatility wise

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Speaker 1: he has some of that, but at some point it's

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Speaker 1: about talent and I think he falls a little bit

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Speaker 1: short in that variety. And so the idea of making

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Speaker 1: him your go to guy is an ill fated, ill

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Speaker 1: fated path for some of these teams. All right, let's

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Speaker 1: get to our discussion with Wizard's head coach Scott Brooks.

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Speaker 1: This is part two. If you missed part one, downloaded

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Speaker 1: as well as download the J Billis conversation. There's something

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Speaker 1: I heard you talk about which I've tried to I've

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Speaker 1: tried to share as a broadcaster and I probably and

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Speaker 1: I learned it as a player, but I probably learned

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Speaker 1: it maybe a bit too late. There's a difference in

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Speaker 1: the role of being a starting point guard and a

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Speaker 1: backup point guard. And you know the Matthew Dellavedova's the

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Speaker 1: Scott Brooks, the Darren Collinson when he was a backup

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Speaker 1: with the Clippers, Like and tell me if I'm wrong,

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Speaker 1: like you you Patrick Beverley, for example, Like guys like

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Speaker 1: man Patrick is like borderline dirty, Like you have to

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Speaker 1: be you gotta pick up, you have to change the

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Speaker 1: tempo of the game. Um, you gotta be able to

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Speaker 1: get out of the way and make an open shot,

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Speaker 1: but also let the other guys play. Uh. It's it's

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Speaker 1: a very it's a it's a it's the same position

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Speaker 1: point guard, but a completely different role. You're not trying

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Speaker 1: to do the same thing the starter is gonna do,

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Speaker 1: only for a shorter period of time. And I think

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Speaker 1: it especially for a guy like you. And this is

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Speaker 1: where I think there's a disconnect for fans. People that

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Speaker 1: know you played in the MBA don't realize, like, dude,

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Speaker 1: you're twenty four a game in in college, like at

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Speaker 1: a legit college. Drop in twenty four game and to hey,

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna score six a game, but I gotta make

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Speaker 1: every open shot. I gotta guard the other team's point

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Speaker 1: guard who's probably a combo guard and that he averaged

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Speaker 1: game in college and do it, you know, be better

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Speaker 1: against better competition and a much shorter period of time.

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Speaker 1: Like that's a really hard adjustment for players to make.

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Speaker 1: It's one of the reasons that some guys might have

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Speaker 1: more kind of upside and talent, but they can never

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Speaker 1: be the backup point guard in the NBA because they

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Speaker 1: can't change rules even though it's the same position. So

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Speaker 1: I mean, you, you nailed it. It's such an important

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Speaker 1: position on a team because you really have to understand

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Speaker 1: everybody's role and you have to be a connector. You've

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Speaker 1: got to be able to play with the starter. You

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Speaker 1: gotta be able to pay some nights. You've got to

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Speaker 1: be understand that you're not going to play a lot

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Speaker 1: of minutes and you're not gonna get a lot of

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Speaker 1: opportunities like starting point guard. But you have to have

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Speaker 1: the mental toughness to be able to compete and do

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Speaker 1: whatever it takes for the coach um that asks up

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Speaker 1: you and be able to make shots. And you're not

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Speaker 1: gonna get a lot of them. And it's funny, I

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Speaker 1: even like change my routine. I knew, you know, most

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Speaker 1: of the most warm ups you always you know, you

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Speaker 1: start with like you know, four footers and go out

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Speaker 1: to six and they maybe free throws and then and

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Speaker 1: then initially get out to the three point line. But

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Speaker 1: what I did, every time I walked into the gym,

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Speaker 1: I started taking shots that I would take this first

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Speaker 1: shot of the game, and usually wasn't It always seems

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Speaker 1: you get the ball, you're wide open and from the

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Speaker 1: basket it's a wide open three. So what I even

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Speaker 1: did my pre practice worked up. I just started like

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Speaker 1: I worked on the court and I just started shooting

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Speaker 1: threes right away, and not a lot because you're not

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Speaker 1: gonna get a lot and I was stopped and then

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Speaker 1: just work on my ball handling and then I would

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Speaker 1: you know, do some push ups or sytups, and then

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Speaker 1: I would come back and just shoot a three like

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Speaker 1: and put pressure on me, I gotta make this shot.

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Speaker 1: And so I think it helped me mentally to not

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Speaker 1: be able to, you know, get a lot of shots,

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Speaker 1: would be able to make that first shot. You're an

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Speaker 1: assistant coach with the Thunder. It's your first season in

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Speaker 1: Oklahoma City, and I think it was twelve or thirteen

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Speaker 1: games in PJ gets fired. Um, did you know you

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Speaker 1: were going to be the guy when PJ got fired? No?

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Speaker 1: You know I was PJ the year before in Seattle

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Speaker 1: as an assistant. He was the head coach. And that's

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Speaker 1: the thing that people don't really put two and two

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Speaker 1: together even though they know it, but they don't really

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Speaker 1: bring it up enough that the team was really bad.

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Speaker 1: Then well I think we only won twenty two games

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Speaker 1: in Seattle. I love t J. Great family, just a

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Speaker 1: great person to be around, fun guy, tough coach, I

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Speaker 1: mean tough, tough on his assistance. Challenging made you do

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Speaker 1: a lot of things and you you wanted it at

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Speaker 1: a high level and very particular and everything you did.

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Speaker 1: But so we've moved to Oklahoma with with the move

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Speaker 1: from Seattle, and we didn't have the start that we

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Speaker 1: would like to have one in twelve. So they ended

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Speaker 1: up firing PJ and coach west Head and they hired me.

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Speaker 1: I didn't know that I would get the job. I knew,

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Speaker 1: you know, I knew maybe I would be the next

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Speaker 1: guy for a game or two, maybe until they bring

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Speaker 1: somebody in. And before the game, we just get we

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Speaker 1: just got our butts kicked by New Orleans. They had

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Speaker 1: a great team that year at home. I mean, I

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Speaker 1: think we lost my thirty, but it could have easily

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Speaker 1: been sixty. So going to the air but we play

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Speaker 1: them back to back. Now we're going to New Orleans.

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Speaker 1: From traveling to the airport and I get a phone

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Speaker 1: call from SAMs do not go on the plane. I'm like, okay,

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Speaker 1: this is a strange call. And he said, I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: call you back in two minutes. So I'm at the

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Speaker 1: airport in my car. I still don't know what's going on.

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Speaker 1: Back and says, hey, we're just we just fired PJ.

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Speaker 1: And then we're gonna put you as an internet coach.

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Speaker 1: Um so I don't know how. He said, basically said,

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Speaker 1: I don't know how long it's going to be. Just

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Speaker 1: you know, lead the team. You're going to New Orleans tonight.

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Speaker 1: Lead the team. So I get we get to New Orleans,

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Speaker 1: I think we land like it. By the time we

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Speaker 1: get to the hotel, like two thirty, we have a

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Speaker 1: team meeting in this little ballroom. Happened. Obviously, it's emotionally.

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Speaker 1: I have a lot of love for PG. It's not

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Speaker 1: it's not a great sailing, but it's also you gotta

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Speaker 1: you gotta do your job. You gotta step up and

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Speaker 1: do your job. And it was not easy game to coach.

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Speaker 1: But you know, we end up losing that game. I

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Speaker 1: don't know how the close game. Middle of the fourth word,

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Speaker 1: I think to beat this by ten or twelve. But

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Speaker 1: I started off with that team. We were one in twelve.

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Speaker 1: I think our first win I put. I decided, and

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Speaker 1: I was kicking myself because I wanted to do it

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Speaker 1: from the first night is to put Russell Lesbrook as

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Speaker 1: our starting point guards. I thought he was the best

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Speaker 1: point guard on the team. And so I waited like

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Speaker 1: I don't know how many games, six seven games in

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Speaker 1: and then I finally put him at the starting point

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Speaker 1: guard at Memphis and we end up winning the first game.

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Speaker 1: Tells you about you know, his greatness that it was.

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Speaker 1: I saw it early on, we all saw it early on.

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Speaker 1: And I'm glad he's having such a good success because

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Speaker 1: he he went through a lot to get there. Who

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Speaker 1: who are you we're starting before that, Earl Watson? Or

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Speaker 1: were you starting? Watson? Watson? Good player? No good player?

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Speaker 1: He was not better than Russell Westbrook and but he

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Speaker 1: was a really good player, good starting player. Uh and

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Speaker 1: had a great career and a really you know, tough

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Speaker 1: but he was I thought he was better our backup,

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Speaker 1: right he's he's actually again another guy who was just

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Speaker 1: he was tougher than a two dollar steak, right, he was.

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Speaker 1: He was a perfect back absolutely um players in the

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Speaker 1: league and had a great by being that type of player.

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Speaker 1: And you know when he'd get back into coach and

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Speaker 1: he deserves another chance. He had a tough, tough run

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Speaker 1: in You know, it's always the second time year round,

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Speaker 1: and a lot of times your best time. So, um,

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Speaker 1: what was the Cup? When did you know that you

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Speaker 1: were getting to keep that job? Um did not know

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Speaker 1: until late late in the season, I want to say,

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Speaker 1: the last couple of games, and I knew we were struggling.

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Speaker 1: We were three and twenty nine, So I I mean,

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Speaker 1: I mean, I'm crazy see it at times, But I

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Speaker 1: don't think I was that crazy enough to think, oh, yeah,

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Speaker 1: you gotta keep this called keeps three and nine. Uh,

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Speaker 1: But yeah, I knew that. You know, it's gonna be tough.

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Speaker 1: It's gonna be tough for you know, Sam Presley to

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Speaker 1: to keep me. But I give you, I give our

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Speaker 1: players credit. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Jeff Green led

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Speaker 1: us as first and second year players that I've never

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Speaker 1: seen it ever in my playing career or my coaching

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Speaker 1: career prior or after them, that they were able to

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Speaker 1: lead a group of players that had a horrible start,

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Speaker 1: and they were our leaders of our team, and they

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Speaker 1: inspired eight every day. I would see them let m'clock

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Speaker 1: practice on the court at I'm like, oh my god,

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Speaker 1: don't these guys realize we're three and twenty nine. This

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Speaker 1: is this is not fun. But they made it fun.

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Speaker 1: They were so competitive you would have thought we were

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Speaker 1: twenty nine and three. The way we practiced. It was

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Speaker 1: so competitive, so much, so much intensity and passion that

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Speaker 1: I said, you know what you can, Let's just keep

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Speaker 1: making these games fourth quarter games. And we did. Unfortunately,

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Speaker 1: I had the worst luck. I thought it was all me.

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Speaker 1: I swear we lost six games on the last second shots.

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Speaker 1: I'm like, man, maybe this coaching thing is not for me.

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Speaker 1: I'm like the jinks of this team and they're we're

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Speaker 1: they're working their butts off and they deserve to win.

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Speaker 1: But these guys are making miraculous shots, last second shots

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Speaker 1: against us. But we made every game a fourth quarter game.

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Speaker 1: I said, we're going to turn it around, and we did.

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Speaker 1: I think we were like ended up being the last

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Speaker 1: fifty games, like I don't know, twenty and thirty. So

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Speaker 1: at that point, I thought, you know what, we turn

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Speaker 1: it around, I might have a camp, and ended up

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Speaker 1: they gave me a chance to coach the team and

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Speaker 1: I had a great run there. Yeah, and I remember

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Speaker 1: when you we won fifty games. Next year, I was

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Speaker 1: at that Lakers series of Game six from Kobe had

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Speaker 1: you know, I think you missed a herround Palpita had

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Speaker 1: to put back to beat you. But it was it

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Speaker 1: was pretty obvious. You guys are gonna be around sound

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Speaker 1: for a while obviously you know lebron is and and

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Speaker 1: they had an incredible roster that beats you in the finals.

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Speaker 1: But if you could go yeah, go ahead, no, no,

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Speaker 1: if you could go back and change something about your team,

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Speaker 1: your approach in those finals, what would it be. You know,

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Speaker 1: we we had we were one of the youngest teams

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Speaker 1: ever to get to the finals, and I thought, you know,

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Speaker 1: we win like twenty three games, twenty two games the

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Speaker 1: first year, and then we jump up to fifty play

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Speaker 1: the Lakers in the should have been a game seven,

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Speaker 1: and then we get you know, every year we get

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Speaker 1: a step further along, get to the conference finals, and

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Speaker 1: then next year we get to the NBA Finals. The

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Speaker 1: natural progression was, you know what, we're there, we stayed together,

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Speaker 1: we get to the finals game. So going back on

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Speaker 1: that finals, you know, the game one, we win, a

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Speaker 1: Game two. We just had a horrible start, just horrible.

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Speaker 1: I think we're down eighteen or something twenty points, but

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Speaker 1: we end up coming back, have a chance to tie

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Speaker 1: the game. Uh, Derek Fisher in bounds the ball. Durant, Kevin,

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Speaker 1: this is a shop. He gets fouled. They don't call

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Speaker 1: the foul. We have a chance to put it back,

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Speaker 1: we get foul, They don't call the foul. The next

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Speaker 1: day the NBA comes out said it was a foul,

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Speaker 1: should have been called, but neither there, neither here. We

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Speaker 1: would we would hopefully would have took it to overtime

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Speaker 1: and maybe win that game game too. So I try

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Speaker 1: to change the dynamics. So now the format was three

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Speaker 1: to two three, and now we have three games in Miami.

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Speaker 1: A lot of I get a lot of questions like

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Speaker 1: why do why did I play per so many minutes? Well,

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Speaker 1: I really didn't play him a lot of minutes. I

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Speaker 1: started him. Uh a matter of fact, I think the

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Speaker 1: most if I can remember correctly, I'm not totally sure.

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Speaker 1: So that checked me on this that he played the

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Speaker 1: most minutes on the game that we won Game one.

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Speaker 1: I think he played like But the thing that I

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Speaker 1: thought that he brought to the team, he was a comfort,

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Speaker 1: like almost like a blanket for a lot of our players.

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Speaker 1: They love Perk. Kevin Durant and Whisperical love having Perk

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Speaker 1: on the floor. They played better with him, they felt

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Speaker 1: more confident Perk had their back. The guy was he

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Speaker 1: was bad. I mean he was bad to the bone.

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Speaker 1: He didn't nobody mess with Perk or our team. So

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Speaker 1: but I knew that you have to make some adjustments

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Speaker 1: and we did. He we lowered his minutes and decreased

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Speaker 1: his menuts as the series went on. The bottom line

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Speaker 1: is we played against a better team in their prime,

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Speaker 1: those same players that you know our players were. Basically

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Speaker 1: there are three best players were in their plime pri nine.

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Speaker 1: That's like saying James, Russell and Katie on the same

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Speaker 1: team right now, it would not be close and you

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Speaker 1: probably wouldn't be talking about the Warriors. That's the way

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Speaker 1: we are if they were on the same team now

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Speaker 1: for the last seven or eight, ten years or so.

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Speaker 1: But I have nothing but a lot of pride for

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Speaker 1: the for the run that we had. My staff did

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Speaker 1: an incredible job. Unfortunately we didn't have the team coming

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Speaker 1: back the next year, but we still battled back. We

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Speaker 1: ended up being having the best record in the league.

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Speaker 1: Russell Westbrook need the first playoff game right before halftime

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Speaker 1: and everything went down from there on out. Yeah, um,

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Speaker 1: I mean, I got it. We we've talked about this

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Speaker 1: in the radio show before, and I um, the James

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Speaker 1: Harden trade, I know some of it was about money

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Speaker 1: and about the luxury tack some of it, I do think,

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Speaker 1: and I'm not trying to defend a trade that I

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Speaker 1: think anybody would point to is not a great trade.

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Speaker 1: But in the context of that time, is it fair

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Speaker 1: to say people did not know what the cap would

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Speaker 1: look like after the new C B A. And I

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Speaker 1: think here's another part that I've often often wondered back then.

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Speaker 1: To get to the finals, you had to go through

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Speaker 1: the Lakers and the Spurs, and they both had two

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Speaker 1: big guys. And so even though Harden was a virgining

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Speaker 1: star and was really your fourth quarter point guard, right

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Speaker 1: you played him and Russ together, and and James hamidleball

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Speaker 1: a lot in the fourth quarter. They're all. They're all

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Speaker 1: was also a feeling like you had to have Ibaka,

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Speaker 1: maybe even more so than had had James Harden, if

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Speaker 1: you if you had to pick one or the other

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Speaker 1: because you had to have two bigs to beat the

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Speaker 1: Spurs and the Lakers. Is that is that at least

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Speaker 1: part of you. The thing is with James, you know what,

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Speaker 1: he made everything go, He made everything he We were

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Speaker 1: a very good team, a high level team, know when

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Speaker 1: we did not have him, but with James we were

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Speaker 1: special we were. That was a that was a for

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Speaker 1: sure mar injuries, a championship team because he made everything go.

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Speaker 1: He was selfless, and he didn't he didn't want to start.

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Speaker 1: He wanted to play as the backup role. But I

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Speaker 1: was smart enough to realize that, you know, he's not

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Speaker 1: gonna play back up minutes. He probably I think he

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Speaker 1: was like six or six in the league and minutes

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Speaker 1: for two guards. So he was playing started minutes. It

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Speaker 1: just didn't start, and he made everything go. He have

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Speaker 1: He should have been an All Star that year. I

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Speaker 1: think somebody got hurt. I think they Commissioner Stern replaced

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Speaker 1: him with I don't remember. I think it was Jason Kidd,

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Speaker 1: but at that year, he's at that time he was

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Speaker 1: averaging like eighteen points a game, and really we were

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Speaker 1: winning every game and he was a big factor in

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Speaker 1: four quarters. But he made everything work. And I think

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Speaker 1: that season the average seventeen and like five assists and

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Speaker 1: five rebounds. Nothing taken away from service. Was a great player.

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Speaker 1: Shot blocker became became a really good three point a

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Speaker 1: shooter and eventually was going to be a three point shooter.

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Speaker 1: But at that point he was averaging nine points and

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Speaker 1: seven rebounds. So James was really good. You know, he

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Speaker 1: was six man in the year, borderline All Star, if

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Speaker 1: not an All start in the next year, probably would

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Speaker 1: have been for sure an All Star. Could you could

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Speaker 1: you could you have gone in or stood on the desk.

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Speaker 1: Could you've gone in and stood on the desk and said, like,

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Speaker 1: you know, don't do this. No, I mean, that wasn't

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Speaker 1: I mean, we we all had, we all said our team.

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Speaker 1: That wasn't my job. My job was the coach the

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Speaker 1: players that I had, and and and and Sam ran

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Speaker 1: the team as he saw fit and I respected that,

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Speaker 1: and my job was the coach the players he gave me,

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Speaker 1: you know, fifteen players a coach and develop and get

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Speaker 1: getting to play together as a team. And that I

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Speaker 1: took pride in that. We got a lot of We

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Speaker 1: had a lot of young guys, a lot of young guys,

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Speaker 1: and they played hard, which is not easy to do.

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Speaker 1: And they played together. And it's really not easy to

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Speaker 1: do when you've got young guys to play hard and

399
00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,640
Speaker 1: play and well together. But we're able to do that,

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Speaker 1: and I'm I'm proud of that. I'm proud of my

401
00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:41,680
Speaker 1: staffs performance and getting those those guys to play extremely hard,

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00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:45,159
Speaker 1: play together and also represent our team in our city

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Speaker 1: with a lot of class and a lot of pride.

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Speaker 1: And and you know what, we didn't win a championship,

405
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Speaker 1: but they were. They were champions in my eyes. Um,

406
00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:55,880
Speaker 1: you fast forward to your last year there you talk

407
00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:58,399
Speaker 1: about bad luck. Not only does k D miss I

408
00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:02,360
Speaker 1: think fifty one games, right, everybody seemingly everybody gets hurt

409
00:21:02,359 --> 00:21:06,919
Speaker 1: on your roster. But then you end up, Um, New

410
00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,600
Speaker 1: Orleans gets in the playoffs, and the only reason they

411
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Speaker 1: got in the playoffs was they hit. Anthony Davis hits

412
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Speaker 1: a crazy three point shot to beat you, and that

413
00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:19,399
Speaker 1: was his only three of the entire season, right, Like,

414
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Speaker 1: how how crazy is it? Yeah, how crazy is it?

415
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:29,399
Speaker 1: Didn't know that? Yes, only three of the whole go

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Speaker 1: back and look, only three of the entire regular season?

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00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:34,160
Speaker 1: Was that three that beats you? I think in Oklahoma City,

418
00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:36,680
Speaker 1: like right around Christmas time or something, And that ends

419
00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:39,600
Speaker 1: up being the tiebreaker that that allowed them to go

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Speaker 1: to the playoffs. And if you go to the playoffs

421
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Speaker 1: even as an AIG seed, you guys, I think KD

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00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:46,359
Speaker 1: was healthy at the end of the year, and Russell

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Speaker 1: was healthy at the end of the year, like, who know,

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00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:53,639
Speaker 1: you may still be coaching in Oklahoma City. Um, you know,

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00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:56,200
Speaker 1: we had we had a lot of tough luck. The

426
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Speaker 1: year before Russell, we end up in number one team

427
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Speaker 1: one sixty games. Russell gets hurt time out right before

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Speaker 1: and right before having Patrick Beverley. Yes, and then the

429
00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:15,439
Speaker 1: next year everybody got hurt. Let's start the season, Kevin

430
00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:17,920
Speaker 1: and Russell are out the first, you know, twelve or

431
00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:21,119
Speaker 1: fourteen games. Surge missed a month, Steven Adams missed a month,

432
00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:25,600
Speaker 1: Nick Collinson missed a month. Everybody, everybody missed time. And

433
00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,600
Speaker 1: I remember one time, I'm we're having some fun with

434
00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:31,160
Speaker 1: it because everybody was hurt. It was almost become comical.

435
00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:34,400
Speaker 1: I read, I read, I read a pick and roll

436
00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:37,399
Speaker 1: with Nick Collinson handley of the ball with Kendrick Perkins

437
00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:39,760
Speaker 1: setting to pick for him, and this is how this

438
00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:41,960
Speaker 1: is how crazy it got for us. But I give

439
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,960
Speaker 1: our guys credit, and they played, they played well, and

440
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,359
Speaker 1: we competed. That was one of the I think that

441
00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:49,680
Speaker 1: was like, probably one of the most fun years I've

442
00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:53,560
Speaker 1: ever had coaching coaching Oklahoma is that year. I mean,

443
00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:55,959
Speaker 1: we had everybody hurt, but we thought we were all

444
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,800
Speaker 1: going to come together and become healthy and march. And

445
00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:01,240
Speaker 1: I'll tell you what. At that time, we had the

446
00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:04,200
Speaker 1: Warrior's numbers and they were kicking everybody's butt and they

447
00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:07,919
Speaker 1: were worried. They thought we were just resting guys to

448
00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:10,080
Speaker 1: get them all healthy at the same time to play

449
00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:11,879
Speaker 1: them in the in the first round. It would have

450
00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,479
Speaker 1: been an epic series US at the eighth seed and

451
00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:18,720
Speaker 1: then at the number one seed. But it did not

452
00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:21,760
Speaker 1: work out that way, and I got fired and my

453
00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:26,399
Speaker 1: staff was fired, and you know, we moved on and no,

454
00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:32,800
Speaker 1: no hard feelings. Really, I mean everything okay, because because

455
00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:36,399
Speaker 1: I mean okay. So there's two parts to this. The

456
00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:40,200
Speaker 1: first part is, yeah, the story you told before by

457
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,159
Speaker 1: getting cut in in layup lines and you know, a

458
00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:47,040
Speaker 1: halftime of Houston, right, like, there's the you had the

459
00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:49,560
Speaker 1: At least now you have the perspective of, hey, I

460
00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:52,040
Speaker 1: was a non guaranteed, undrafted guy from the c b A,

461
00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:54,920
Speaker 1: you know, from outside of Sacramento, and I made it.

462
00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:58,560
Speaker 1: I won a championship. Right. But when you get when

463
00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:00,800
Speaker 1: you get fired for Tina, it's all banged up and

464
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:02,879
Speaker 1: injured and you're this close and you're taken to the

465
00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:07,280
Speaker 1: NBA Finals from one in one in twelve or whatever

466
00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:10,000
Speaker 1: to being a dominant team in the West with two

467
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:13,840
Speaker 1: superstars after a third superstar was traded away. At that moment,

468
00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:18,480
Speaker 1: did you have the same perspective or or were you angry? No, No, Doug,

469
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:21,439
Speaker 1: I was I was upset. I was disappointed. I was upset.

470
00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:24,879
Speaker 1: I thought we built up with enough equity and I

471
00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:27,600
Speaker 1: still had the locker room, I still had the respect,

472
00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:32,000
Speaker 1: and we were improving. Um, even as that tough season

473
00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:34,800
Speaker 1: we had, were right there and making the playoffs in

474
00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,960
Speaker 1: a very very challenging West. And looking back, and I

475
00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:43,080
Speaker 1: have great relationships with our those players still today and

476
00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:47,120
Speaker 1: we've had some really candid conversations and and I'm more

477
00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:51,600
Speaker 1: proud of the fact that I handled my fire with respect,

478
00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:56,439
Speaker 1: but talking to them, and I know that I probably

479
00:24:56,440 --> 00:25:00,359
Speaker 1: deserved that. Maybe coach for one more year. I would

480
00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:04,240
Speaker 1: have been fine. Um. I would have actually told the team,

481
00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:06,119
Speaker 1: you know, after one more year, if we didn't win

482
00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:10,480
Speaker 1: a championship, that you know what, my time as has

483
00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:13,360
Speaker 1: been served, and it was a great run. It's time

484
00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:15,880
Speaker 1: to move on. But no, we have all of our

485
00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:18,920
Speaker 1: injuries and the thing that I I to this day,

486
00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,080
Speaker 1: you know it bothers me a little bit is that

487
00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:25,240
Speaker 1: when you win a championship, or or in order to

488
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:26,960
Speaker 1: win a championship, a lot of times, you've got to

489
00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:28,960
Speaker 1: go through a lot of tough times and a lot

490
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:31,159
Speaker 1: of you have to have basically some scar tissue on you.

491
00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:34,120
Speaker 1: I felt that that team was ready. It had enough

492
00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:39,320
Speaker 1: heart heartache, UH to be able to fight through what

493
00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:41,600
Speaker 1: you need to go through to win a championship. It's

494
00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:44,359
Speaker 1: top You gotta not only go through a grilling eighty

495
00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:48,520
Speaker 1: two game season ups and downs, the injuries, the mental

496
00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:52,720
Speaker 1: care of the physical, charity body, but you've got to

497
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,720
Speaker 1: go through four rounds. And that's hard to win one

498
00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:59,240
Speaker 1: playoff game, let a little four out of seven in

499
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:02,119
Speaker 1: twelve days, and you have to do it two rounds,

500
00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:03,960
Speaker 1: and then you got to do it the third round,

501
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:05,439
Speaker 1: and then to win it all, you gotta win the

502
00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:08,679
Speaker 1: fourth round. But I felt that that team was ready

503
00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:11,879
Speaker 1: and it was hard for me not able to coach

504
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:18,280
Speaker 1: that team. Um when when when Kevin left, what was

505
00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:24,120
Speaker 1: your reaction? Um? You know, as a former player, look

506
00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:27,000
Speaker 1: at the game a lot of times through a player's eyes,

507
00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:30,120
Speaker 1: because I know it's it's very short. I've been through

508
00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:32,920
Speaker 1: a lot of I've seen a lot of players, really

509
00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:35,800
Speaker 1: good players get hurt and have a short career. I've

510
00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:38,920
Speaker 1: seen the players that really get hurt and get traded,

511
00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:43,240
Speaker 1: uh mostly hurt. And because they got traded, they give

512
00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:46,520
Speaker 1: him so much their organization. So as I look bad,

513
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:49,199
Speaker 1: as I look through a player's eyes, I say, you

514
00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:52,240
Speaker 1: know what, they've earned that right to go wherever they

515
00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:56,640
Speaker 1: want to go. Um because of all the great players

516
00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:58,840
Speaker 1: that gave them that right, all the great players in

517
00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:02,960
Speaker 1: the Plastic Pass gave these players to be free agent. Son. No,

518
00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:06,720
Speaker 1: Kevin wanted to leave. That was his choice. You know

519
00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:09,000
Speaker 1: how he did it, Maybe he could have you know,

520
00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:11,680
Speaker 1: maybe he could have did it differently. I don't really

521
00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:13,240
Speaker 1: know how he did it and who we talked to her,

522
00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:15,960
Speaker 1: who he did not talk to, But you know, he

523
00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:18,000
Speaker 1: he had a great run there. He gave that city

524
00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:21,320
Speaker 1: a lot of great memories. And you know, unfortunately we

525
00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:23,680
Speaker 1: weren't able to and I put myself in that we

526
00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:26,760
Speaker 1: were We failed to win a championship for that, for

527
00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:30,080
Speaker 1: that organization, and Mr Bennett all gave us all a

528
00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:34,919
Speaker 1: lot of great opportunities and resources to do that. So

529
00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:37,280
Speaker 1: you go to Washington and you have these these two

530
00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:41,200
Speaker 1: young stars, and the perception is dealing a wall, don't

531
00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:43,760
Speaker 1: like playing with each other. That's that's the perception, right,

532
00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:47,840
Speaker 1: what's the reality of coaching those two Well, going into that,

533
00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:50,560
Speaker 1: I heard it, I read about it, and I was

534
00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:52,560
Speaker 1: well aware of it, and I wanted to make sure

535
00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:55,520
Speaker 1: that I was, you know, had my ears open or

536
00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:58,520
Speaker 1: and my eyes open and just understand that. I want

537
00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:00,560
Speaker 1: to be able to fill it. I'm on, I stay though,

538
00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:03,159
Speaker 1: and I want to certainly want to figure out why.

539
00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:04,919
Speaker 1: But my first year I did not. I did not

540
00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:06,760
Speaker 1: see it, did not hear it, did not feel it.

541
00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:09,719
Speaker 1: So I never really had to worry about that. Now.

542
00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:14,760
Speaker 1: Are they competitive sometimes against against each other and practice? Absolutely?

543
00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:17,600
Speaker 1: But I want that I I manufacture that. I put

544
00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:19,600
Speaker 1: them on different teams. I want the two best players

545
00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:21,800
Speaker 1: to compete against each other. That's why you game respect

546
00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:24,320
Speaker 1: for one another. To tell you game respect for your team,

547
00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:28,000
Speaker 1: and I want to see the other guys step up.

548
00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:31,280
Speaker 1: And you know what, they've been great teammates and you

549
00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:35,119
Speaker 1: know they've been through a lot of um playoff losses

550
00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:38,640
Speaker 1: together and I feel like, you know, we're we're close,

551
00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:41,000
Speaker 1: and you know we've been close for a while. But

552
00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:45,080
Speaker 1: going into the season. It's not about it's not about talking.

553
00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:49,520
Speaker 1: It's about just doing it and and continue to get better.

554
00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:52,560
Speaker 1: But two young players to young guards, that's a good

555
00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:54,760
Speaker 1: start to have. And we have that. And John wall

556
00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:58,920
Speaker 1: is healthy, he's been healthy all summer and Brad great

557
00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:01,320
Speaker 1: job in his training. Saw him both last week and

558
00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:04,800
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to starting the season. Okay, um, there's

559
00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:09,520
Speaker 1: the picture of John at the USA basketball workouts, and

560
00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:11,760
Speaker 1: I mean it, look, it was great internet fodder. It's

561
00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:14,360
Speaker 1: the middle of the summer, and he looked heavy. You

562
00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:17,080
Speaker 1: saw him, You saw him last week? Is he in

563
00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:21,920
Speaker 1: fact heavy? You know what? I saw him before. I

564
00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:24,480
Speaker 1: saw him before he took that picture about ten days before,

565
00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:28,120
Speaker 1: and I saw him about ten days after before. I

566
00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:30,160
Speaker 1: thought he was in great shape. While he fat's like

567
00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:31,920
Speaker 1: I don't know, five or six percent. He was like

568
00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:35,680
Speaker 1: too to eighteen to twenty. It was a bad picture.

569
00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:39,280
Speaker 1: It was definitely a bad picture. And and I tell him, John,

570
00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:41,800
Speaker 1: you got just look. It's like I call it the

571
00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:45,280
Speaker 1: Hollywood cats. Look. He has this wild hairstyle now and

572
00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:47,680
Speaker 1: it's just like you just woke up and it looks bad.

573
00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:50,400
Speaker 1: But that just look He's like, LOOKI he's home was

574
00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:53,320
Speaker 1: But I'll tell you what. He competes. That's what I

575
00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:56,280
Speaker 1: love about. And he competes. And I saw him last week.

576
00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:59,000
Speaker 1: He's down to like to eight to sixteen to eighteen,

577
00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:02,360
Speaker 1: and he in great shape. His knees are good. We're

578
00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:05,720
Speaker 1: looking forward to having another productive year from from him.

579
00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:08,520
Speaker 1: You know. We we want to make the playoffs. Last year,

580
00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:13,080
Speaker 1: he misses forty one games, and I I'm not so

581
00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:15,240
Speaker 1: sure I would have I would have predicted that before

582
00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:18,120
Speaker 1: the season. But hopefully he can stay healthy and we

583
00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:20,240
Speaker 1: can all stay healthy and have a great year. How

584
00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:24,680
Speaker 1: much different is it without Lebron in the East? Big difference.

585
00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:27,760
Speaker 1: Talked to a lot of the coaches that configure his

586
00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:31,320
Speaker 1: that puzzle out. A lot of great coaches lost, a

587
00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:33,360
Speaker 1: lot of great teams. Boston couldn't get by him a

588
00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:35,160
Speaker 1: couple of years. Tryal couldn't get by him, a couple

589
00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:40,440
Speaker 1: of years. Everybody couldn't get by him. He's I think

590
00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:44,360
Speaker 1: Kevin loved said it best playing checkers and a lot

591
00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,480
Speaker 1: of a lot of the other guys are playing playing chess.

592
00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:53,360
Speaker 1: Playing checkers. He has this i Q that you don't

593
00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:57,360
Speaker 1: see often. He knows every team's plays. He knows sometimes

594
00:30:57,400 --> 00:30:59,560
Speaker 1: I will throw out a play called just a random

595
00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:02,080
Speaker 1: play call because I know he could hear. And one

596
00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:05,400
Speaker 1: time I don't know, I yelled out like, uh, four horns,

597
00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:07,880
Speaker 1: and he looked at me, like four horns. You don't

598
00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:11,960
Speaker 1: got four horns. You don't got four horns. So it's true.

599
00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:15,320
Speaker 1: The guy knows everything and to be so great. And

600
00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:17,720
Speaker 1: like I said, only two players in the NBA history

601
00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:20,880
Speaker 1: can be an All Star in all five position, him

602
00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:23,960
Speaker 1: and Magic Johnson. If they want, they could have both

603
00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:25,320
Speaker 1: been an All Star, want to be a two guy.

604
00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:27,680
Speaker 1: They both could be an All start going down the line.

605
00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:30,400
Speaker 1: And he's that talented and a lot of coaches are

606
00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:34,640
Speaker 1: happy that he's no longer around in the um. Should

607
00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:37,000
Speaker 1: we as a guy who played in the Magic and

608
00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:40,200
Speaker 1: Bird era, should people put Magic and Bird in the

609
00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:45,080
Speaker 1: conversation of Jordan and Lebron or should they not? Absolutely,

610
00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:48,880
Speaker 1: when they changed the game, they changed the dynamics of

611
00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:51,840
Speaker 1: the league. They took it to another level. It wouldn't

612
00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:53,960
Speaker 1: be where it is if it wasn't from there. They

613
00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:58,440
Speaker 1: both had team winning spirits and competitive spirits that we

614
00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:01,960
Speaker 1: all want our teams and players have. And I love

615
00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:05,440
Speaker 1: both of the world. As a kid growing up, and

616
00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:08,080
Speaker 1: I was so fortunate to be on the same court

617
00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:13,000
Speaker 1: to compete against them. But they know it's interesting some

618
00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:17,000
Speaker 1: of the older players don't get their respect because, uh,

619
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:21,080
Speaker 1: you know that sometimes the my generation or even the

620
00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:24,080
Speaker 1: younger millennials think that basketball can start to you know,

621
00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:28,640
Speaker 1: mid nineties, late nineties. But man, there's a lot of

622
00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:31,680
Speaker 1: great players. For Jabar not being mentioned as the greatest

623
00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:34,720
Speaker 1: player ever is to be criminal as well. The guy

624
00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:38,160
Speaker 1: played twenty years, made the nineteen All Stars I think

625
00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:42,440
Speaker 1: six times, the m v P, six times, championships and

626
00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:45,760
Speaker 1: all the time leading score. For him not to be mentioned,

627
00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:50,240
Speaker 1: uh is crazy. In my opinion. He had a shot

628
00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:56,680
Speaker 1: that nobody can ever stop or ever tried to ever duplicate.

629
00:32:56,800 --> 00:32:59,200
Speaker 1: And but there's so many great players. It's so unfair

630
00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:01,360
Speaker 1: to say who is better than who. Who's the best

631
00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:05,320
Speaker 1: player who's asked you kicked in an NBA game? Say

632
00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:07,920
Speaker 1: that again, who's the best player who's asked you kicked

633
00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:14,400
Speaker 1: in an NBA game that I did? Yeah? Like I

634
00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:17,120
Speaker 1: got that that I got Huh. I mean it's not

635
00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:18,920
Speaker 1: you're gonna play against him now, so you can now

636
00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:20,320
Speaker 1: you can now you can tell. It's like, man, I

637
00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:24,239
Speaker 1: got him. Oh my god, there's you mean the other

638
00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:27,200
Speaker 1: way around? That kicked mine. No, I'm saying that you

639
00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:29,160
Speaker 1: I was going to do the opposite in the second,

640
00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:31,000
Speaker 1: but at first, I first, I wanted the first. I

641
00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:33,400
Speaker 1: one of the guys who has asked you kicked Well,

642
00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:35,640
Speaker 1: I'll tell you what. There's one game it was so

643
00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:40,640
Speaker 1: we inst the game. Uh, we threw the ball out

644
00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:42,120
Speaker 1: of bounce. We had a chance to win the game.

645
00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:44,880
Speaker 1: We're at Detroit and I we're playing. It was one

646
00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:49,040
Speaker 1: of the few TMT games at the time, and I

647
00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:52,160
Speaker 1: happened to be having my best game. I think I

648
00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:55,240
Speaker 1: had like twenty against Isaiah. I'm not saying I kicked

649
00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:59,240
Speaker 1: his butt, but I had a good game against him.

650
00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:01,600
Speaker 1: But yeah, that was that was one of my better games.

651
00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:04,200
Speaker 1: But unfortunately we didn't win the game. But and then

652
00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:08,680
Speaker 1: you're gonna ask you the next question. Yeah, he kicked

653
00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:11,440
Speaker 1: my butt all the time. That guy, that guy is

654
00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:14,680
Speaker 1: so good and he was and he did it with

655
00:34:14,680 --> 00:34:17,680
Speaker 1: a smile, and he would he would. I mean, he

656
00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:22,160
Speaker 1: was borderline dirty, and you knew he was, but he

657
00:34:22,239 --> 00:34:24,600
Speaker 1: did it with a smile and he I mean, that guy,

658
00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:28,080
Speaker 1: I can't even imagine what he would do in today's game,

659
00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:30,759
Speaker 1: the way the game is played, that you don't not

660
00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:34,200
Speaker 1: you don't get chucked walking across the court anymore. And

661
00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:37,080
Speaker 1: everybody's going in three point line. The middle's wide open.

662
00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:41,040
Speaker 1: That guy with average a game, Yeah, no, I mean

663
00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:42,680
Speaker 1: he had he just he was. He was a killer.

664
00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:44,600
Speaker 1: He was he was a killer. Only he did it

665
00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:46,799
Speaker 1: with basketballs instead of with knives or you know, with

666
00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:51,399
Speaker 1: with guns. That's that's that's uh exactly, all right, let's

667
00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:54,440
Speaker 1: let's let's finish with this. So here's here's my version

668
00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:58,680
Speaker 1: of the story. Um is Los Cabreros. And you used

669
00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:01,960
Speaker 1: to have your crew, right. I think Bob Thornton was

670
00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:06,840
Speaker 1: on that crew, right, Um, I think I think Scotty

671
00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:10,120
Speaker 1: was on that crew. Um, I think Todd Murphy was

672
00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:12,560
Speaker 1: on that crew. I'm trying to think. I'm not sure

673
00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:14,720
Speaker 1: if Wayne Englestad would show up and play as well,

674
00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:19,759
Speaker 1: but it was all okay, Johnny Rodgers of course. Um,

675
00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:22,600
Speaker 1: and so you guys would play and we would kind

676
00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:25,200
Speaker 1: of fill out the younger you know, and then there

677
00:35:25,239 --> 00:35:27,000
Speaker 1: was the Cherokee Parks of the world and kind of

678
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:30,000
Speaker 1: the younger college age players in Orange County and then

679
00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:32,839
Speaker 1: or and then there was like high school kids, and so,

680
00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:34,520
Speaker 1: you know, kind of like you used to hang around

681
00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:36,879
Speaker 1: l m U. We would hang around Los cab there's

682
00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:39,839
Speaker 1: two gyms, and sometimes we play in the JV court.

683
00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:42,680
Speaker 1: Sometimes we get to play in your varsity court. So

684
00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:46,840
Speaker 1: all I remember was you lit me up and said

685
00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:49,200
Speaker 1: get the funk off of my court or something like that.

686
00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:53,279
Speaker 1: And I was like I was And all I remember was,

687
00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:55,279
Speaker 1: I don't know what what did I do to piss

688
00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:58,239
Speaker 1: off Scotty Brooks said. They were like, dude, Scotty hates you,

689
00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:00,200
Speaker 1: he hates you. I was like, I don't know what.

690
00:36:00,239 --> 00:36:01,840
Speaker 1: I don't even know what I did. Just tell me

691
00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:04,680
Speaker 1: what I did, Okay, So what was it? My dad

692
00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:06,840
Speaker 1: was My dad came in and put me in the game.

693
00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:11,320
Speaker 1: I remember, I remember the story, and I remember the games,

694
00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:14,160
Speaker 1: and I remember. All I remember is this. I said,

695
00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:19,160
Speaker 1: this guy was the basically seven high school player went

696
00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:24,200
Speaker 1: to not O S and this guy is strong. I mean,

697
00:36:24,239 --> 00:36:27,160
Speaker 1: this guy is strong and athletic and jump out of

698
00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:30,360
Speaker 1: the gym and could dim it as well as anything.

699
00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:34,560
Speaker 1: I'm like, I'm making sure that he didn't know that

700
00:36:34,719 --> 00:36:38,000
Speaker 1: I have any respect for him. And that's the truth.

701
00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:41,560
Speaker 1: I had a long because you played hard. No, I

702
00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:43,520
Speaker 1: thought it was that my dad got me. Young guys

703
00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:46,400
Speaker 1: compete like that. You played hard and you're you're a

704
00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:50,400
Speaker 1: freak athlete, and nobody ever talks about that because hey, guys,

705
00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:54,719
Speaker 1: you know, five eleven white guy can't jump. But no,

706
00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:57,680
Speaker 1: you were. You were pretty athletic, and you didn't get

707
00:36:57,680 --> 00:36:59,560
Speaker 1: a lot of credit for that. But I do remember

708
00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:01,839
Speaker 1: those time times, and I didn't want to give you

709
00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:04,840
Speaker 1: an edge at all. I think it's being nice. I

710
00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:06,759
Speaker 1: think I think the story was though that early on,

711
00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:08,839
Speaker 1: my dad would say like, hey, he's got to get

712
00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:10,600
Speaker 1: in a game. Like he would like he would sit

713
00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:12,239
Speaker 1: there and like make me get in a game and

714
00:37:12,239 --> 00:37:14,360
Speaker 1: would just piss You're like, this is my game, that

715
00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:17,440
Speaker 1: we're NBA players, Get off my court, get out and

716
00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:20,080
Speaker 1: get out of my rewind rewind And I know, I

717
00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:23,319
Speaker 1: definitely know part of the reason I remember your dad,

718
00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:27,640
Speaker 1: God bless him. The guy loves his kids and love

719
00:37:27,719 --> 00:37:31,120
Speaker 1: basketball like like I do, and like I want to

720
00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:34,920
Speaker 1: like I want to do the same. But he would

721
00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:37,759
Speaker 1: put you into the games and this was you were

722
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:43,399
Speaker 1: you just graduated from high school. Where'd you go like Tustin? Yeah, yeah,

723
00:37:43,680 --> 00:37:46,239
Speaker 1: you just graduated from high school and he would put

724
00:37:46,280 --> 00:37:48,960
Speaker 1: you on the court against like and at that time

725
00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:51,680
Speaker 1: we had any given day, we had nine NBA players

726
00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:54,359
Speaker 1: in and I'm like, no, no, no, no, man, we

727
00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:57,640
Speaker 1: can't play play play him on the court. It's no,

728
00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:00,320
Speaker 1: it's no fun. At that time, you weren't enough to

729
00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:02,480
Speaker 1: go on the court. But not only will your dad

730
00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:05,880
Speaker 1: put you on the court, he would take me out

731
00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:08,560
Speaker 1: in the game and put you in my places. I said, no,

732
00:38:09,239 --> 00:38:12,359
Speaker 1: that's not happening. But that's how that's how, that's how

733
00:38:12,400 --> 00:38:14,560
Speaker 1: you got better, think about it. That's how you got

734
00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:18,239
Speaker 1: better by playing against really really good players. Um, all right,

735
00:38:18,239 --> 00:38:20,799
Speaker 1: all right, last thing. Um, obviously your mom was an

736
00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:25,080
Speaker 1: amazing lady, amazing lady. And we started we started we

737
00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:30,160
Speaker 1: started by by, um, is that what what drives you?

738
00:38:30,200 --> 00:38:31,840
Speaker 1: I mean, because like, look, you do get to a

739
00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:33,759
Speaker 1: point and you're not old. You do get to a

740
00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:36,520
Speaker 1: point to which you're like, look you can keep doing this, Washington,

741
00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:39,120
Speaker 1: there can be another team, Like what is that the

742
00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:43,399
Speaker 1: internal motivation for you to keep pushing pressing forward? You've

743
00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:46,160
Speaker 1: talked about how it's your upbringing, but what what drive

744
00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:48,640
Speaker 1: once you've made it, Once you you made in the NBA.

745
00:38:48,760 --> 00:38:50,239
Speaker 1: You made it as a head coach, you made it

746
00:38:50,239 --> 00:38:52,040
Speaker 1: to the NBA Finals, you made it to get a

747
00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:54,799
Speaker 1: job in d C with great players. What drives you

748
00:38:54,880 --> 00:39:00,040
Speaker 1: to keep achieving? Uh? Well, obviously my mom and know

749
00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:03,080
Speaker 1: that into me just as your your family, and now

750
00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:06,520
Speaker 1: that I have a wife and two kids. They drive me.

751
00:39:06,920 --> 00:39:10,160
Speaker 1: They drive me. I love what I do. I'm passionate

752
00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:12,200
Speaker 1: what I do. I care about what I do. I

753
00:39:12,239 --> 00:39:16,040
Speaker 1: get nervous still to this day before practice, before games

754
00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:17,840
Speaker 1: because I want to win every practice. I want to

755
00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:20,440
Speaker 1: win every game, and I care about it. It's good

756
00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:23,319
Speaker 1: to have those butterflies in your stomach. But I tell you,

757
00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:25,400
Speaker 1: people always ask me, how do you handle all the

758
00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:27,840
Speaker 1: you know, all the criticism and the social media and

759
00:39:27,920 --> 00:39:30,400
Speaker 1: just the the internet just bowls up. I said, I

760
00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:33,080
Speaker 1: don't really, I don't care about any of that. I

761
00:39:33,080 --> 00:39:35,719
Speaker 1: can get criticized all all I want. That's just part

762
00:39:35,719 --> 00:39:38,439
Speaker 1: of the territory. You win a game, you're a great coach.

763
00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:41,880
Speaker 1: You lose the game. Um, you're a bad coach. Actually,

764
00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:43,560
Speaker 1: when you win a game, you've got great players, you

765
00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:46,799
Speaker 1: lose the game the coach think. So I get that mentality,

766
00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:49,720
Speaker 1: but really, what drives me as my kids and my wife.

767
00:39:49,960 --> 00:39:53,480
Speaker 1: If I disappoint them and they criticize me, that's when

768
00:39:53,480 --> 00:39:55,800
Speaker 1: I say, you know what, I gotta step back and

769
00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:58,200
Speaker 1: you know, check myself and make sure that I'm doing

770
00:39:58,239 --> 00:40:02,200
Speaker 1: things right. But they don't criticize me. I'm in good shape,

771
00:40:02,239 --> 00:40:04,480
Speaker 1: and I don't I don't care about the other thing.

772
00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:06,040
Speaker 1: That's just part of the part of the business. But

773
00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:08,759
Speaker 1: that's what drives me. I love what I do, and

774
00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:10,640
Speaker 1: I care about what I do, and I think I

775
00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:13,040
Speaker 1: have a great opportunity and a great team to coach.

776
00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:15,960
Speaker 1: And I'm really excited about this coming year. All right,

777
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:19,560
Speaker 1: I I I lied, I have one more. Um, how

778
00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:21,920
Speaker 1: do you and this this is a question I really want.

779
00:40:22,040 --> 00:40:23,800
Speaker 1: So I grew up you know my dad that he

780
00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:26,840
Speaker 1: got fired Lombary State in eighty four, and I you know,

781
00:40:26,880 --> 00:40:28,799
Speaker 1: we didn't grow up with with much. But we didn't

782
00:40:28,840 --> 00:40:30,600
Speaker 1: grow up you know, I didn't grow up with one parents.

783
00:40:30,600 --> 00:40:33,240
Speaker 1: Seven you know, seven kids in at a house picking

784
00:40:33,280 --> 00:40:37,919
Speaker 1: walnuts and onions. How do you how do you get

785
00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:40,279
Speaker 1: your kids to be as hungry? I asked NBA guys

786
00:40:40,280 --> 00:40:42,319
Speaker 1: this all the time. How do you get your kids

787
00:40:42,320 --> 00:40:45,759
Speaker 1: to be as hungry as you were? Even though you

788
00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:47,920
Speaker 1: know yours have grown up in for the most part,

789
00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:50,080
Speaker 1: in another Oklahoma city, when you're an NBA coacher in

790
00:40:50,120 --> 00:40:53,360
Speaker 1: southern California, Like, how do you instill the same hunger

791
00:40:53,880 --> 00:40:56,160
Speaker 1: and yet you give them all of the different support

792
00:40:56,239 --> 00:40:59,000
Speaker 1: that we didn't have them we were kids. You know,

793
00:40:59,120 --> 00:41:02,040
Speaker 1: that's the that's the question that we all ask ourselves

794
00:41:02,120 --> 00:41:06,400
Speaker 1: and have kids. And that's funny. As you said that, Brad,

795
00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:09,799
Speaker 1: Bradley Bille just had a little baby boy, and I

796
00:41:09,880 --> 00:41:11,560
Speaker 1: told him the same thing, Brad, how are you gonna

797
00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:14,520
Speaker 1: do it? How are you going to be on a conduct? Uh?

798
00:41:14,640 --> 00:41:17,360
Speaker 1: Your son's upbringing is gonna be probably different than yours.

799
00:41:18,120 --> 00:41:20,120
Speaker 1: And we've talked about that. You know what, I what

800
00:41:20,239 --> 00:41:24,239
Speaker 1: I did. I knew I wanted my kids to be

801
00:41:24,320 --> 00:41:27,799
Speaker 1: good people and the treat everybody with respect like everybody does.

802
00:41:28,760 --> 00:41:31,360
Speaker 1: But I needed them to be the having burden, desire

803
00:41:31,440 --> 00:41:33,960
Speaker 1: to compete, and I felt that, you know what, the

804
00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:38,160
Speaker 1: chance of them to be athletic uh and then is

805
00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:41,719
Speaker 1: probably not very high. I'm not I'm not gonna say

806
00:41:41,760 --> 00:41:43,839
Speaker 1: they can't do it at a young age. I'm saying,

807
00:41:43,840 --> 00:41:46,880
Speaker 1: you know what, if they do, great, I'm gonna encourage it.

808
00:41:46,880 --> 00:41:50,359
Speaker 1: I'm gonna empower them and making sure that they had

809
00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:54,240
Speaker 1: the best um chances to succeed. But I definitely wanted

810
00:41:54,280 --> 00:41:57,439
Speaker 1: them to have the burden desire to be educated. That's

811
00:41:57,480 --> 00:41:59,799
Speaker 1: something I grew up and we didn't know about all

812
00:41:59,840 --> 00:42:02,799
Speaker 1: the things that you can do with your brain, with

813
00:42:02,880 --> 00:42:06,400
Speaker 1: your mind, all the education, all the great things that

814
00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:10,239
Speaker 1: that um gives you. And but I that's what my

815
00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:12,160
Speaker 1: wife and I decided to do. And you know, my

816
00:42:12,239 --> 00:42:15,480
Speaker 1: son goes the USC. My daughters a senior in high

817
00:42:15,480 --> 00:42:18,160
Speaker 1: school and then she has a great opportunity. She's probably

818
00:42:18,160 --> 00:42:20,800
Speaker 1: the smartest part of all of us. But I'm proud

819
00:42:20,840 --> 00:42:23,880
Speaker 1: of that. Uh, And I think that's what I'm challenging

820
00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:27,760
Speaker 1: them to be. Do great things off of athletics field,

821
00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:29,680
Speaker 1: and you guys, when they are and they're doing it,

822
00:42:29,680 --> 00:42:32,480
Speaker 1: I'm proudable. Yeah. Well, I'd like to point out that

823
00:42:32,520 --> 00:42:35,719
Speaker 1: you obviously sold out your wife's athletic jeans because you

824
00:42:35,800 --> 00:42:37,759
Speaker 1: were a great athlete, and saying your kids would not

825
00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:45,000
Speaker 1: be athletes only proves that you're like, yes, yes, that

826
00:42:45,120 --> 00:42:47,400
Speaker 1: that's that's that's a great way to wrap Hey, man, listen,

827
00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:49,799
Speaker 1: you've been awesome with your time. I can't wait to

828
00:42:49,840 --> 00:42:52,359
Speaker 1: catch up with you during the season. Thanks so much,

829
00:42:52,360 --> 00:42:54,200
Speaker 1: I'll see it yoga not must stay and thanks for

830
00:42:54,280 --> 00:43:00,719
Speaker 1: joining us. All right, man, all right, doc man, all right,

831
00:43:00,760 --> 00:43:04,640
Speaker 1: that's it for All Ball. Um. Look, basketball season clearly

832
00:43:04,840 --> 00:43:08,640
Speaker 1: heating up. Glad you enjoyed Scott Brooks and his fascinating

833
00:43:08,680 --> 00:43:13,359
Speaker 1: life in our discussion this week on the Thunder and

834
00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:16,880
Speaker 1: the Washington Wizards. We'll start to dig in next week

835
00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:21,080
Speaker 1: on this year's NBA. Is Jimmy Butler to be traded

836
00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:24,080
Speaker 1: by the time the next All Ball drops. We'll have

837
00:43:24,160 --> 00:43:27,280
Speaker 1: to pay attention to that. How that reshapes the league.

838
00:43:27,880 --> 00:43:30,600
Speaker 1: I will have some previews for you and more outstanding guests.

839
00:43:30,640 --> 00:43:33,719
Speaker 1: Make sure you tell a friend, make sure you subscribe,

840
00:43:34,280 --> 00:43:37,480
Speaker 1: you download, and you rate the show. And oh yeah,

841
00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:39,200
Speaker 1: by the way, if you give us a listen to

842
00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:42,120
Speaker 1: Doug Gottlieb show is daily on Fox Sports Radio, Fox

843
00:43:42,120 --> 00:43:44,440
Speaker 1: Sports Radio dot com, the I Heart Radio app three

844
00:43:44,440 --> 00:43:46,719
Speaker 1: to six Eastern, twelve to three Pacific. We also have

845
00:43:46,840 --> 00:43:50,640
Speaker 1: daily podcasts with that as well. Thanks for listening. I'm

846
00:43:50,680 --> 00:43:52,520
Speaker 1: Doug Gottlieb in This is All Ball.