WEBVTT - #417 - Amar'e Stoudemire 0:00:03.400 --> 0:00:06.480 Bulet Cavs show man. We got a special guest as 0:00:06.519 --> 0:00:09.880 an Arizona native. It is an honor one of my 0:00:09.880 --> 0:00:12.319 favorite Phoenix Sons of all time, and his jersey is 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:15.560 going into rafters the Ring of Honor. I'm Mari Stoudamyer. 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:18.520 Welcome brother, long time coming man. 0:00:18.640 --> 0:00:20.239 Yeah, yeah, we hear now, we hear now. 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:22.560 I gotta tell you, man, Like, it just feels like 0:00:22.720 --> 0:00:27.560 ever since Matt Ishbia bought this team, he is done 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:31.960 right by US fans and by like the era of 0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:34.560 Sons basketball that we all love so much. 0:00:34.800 --> 0:00:37.640 Absolutely, I mean he's great, bro, Like since he came in, 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:41.800 he started this new wave of like excellence with the organization. 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:44.160 Right, crazy, It's awesome, man, And it's so crazy because, 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:48.320 like you know, I feel like I pinched myself every 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:49.720 time he does some cool shit, like we get the 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:50.879 G League team now. 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:53.599 Right, he knows long time right, Yeah for sure. 0:00:53.360 --> 0:00:57.200 Bro, games are free on TV, right. You know, it's crazy, man, 0:00:57.480 --> 0:01:00.760 you are such a staple in this community, not just 0:01:00.800 --> 0:01:01.360 on the court. 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:01.760 You know. 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:04.240 I think back to like going to Stota Meres and 0:01:05.400 --> 0:01:08.840 having penny drinks and getting wasted. Stottlem Myers was a 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:11.800 stable downtown for so long. I even think to when 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:14.240 you had your record label and you had like Judge 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:17.640 and Juice and those guys like and you were like 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:19.240 doing your part to kind of like help put on 0:01:19.280 --> 0:01:23.720 like asy hip hop. Like all these years later, Like 0:01:23.840 --> 0:01:26.679 how connected are you still to Phoenix? Obviously you know 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:29.640 you went to New York and had an amazing run there, 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:31.160 but like Phoenix is kind of like where it all 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:31.720 started for you. 0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:33.520 Yeah, it is. It's where it all started, bro. And 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:36.479 I think my time in Phoenix was was great because 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:38.600 I was able to put on for the city you 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:41.000 were you know what I'm saying, Like you were saying 0:01:41.040 --> 0:01:44.400 the record label who was doing the It was hosting 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:48.840 like talent shows and so local artists would get a 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:53.360 chance to to you know, broaden a platform from that standpoint, 0:01:53.360 --> 0:01:55.760 from a fastest standpoint. I had fasties shows out here 0:01:56.080 --> 0:01:58.080 for All Star Weekend and these things. I mean, it 0:01:58.120 --> 0:02:00.200 was just its just Phoenix became a home to me, 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:02.160 you know what I'm saying. So I embraced it. I 0:02:02.240 --> 0:02:05.160 even trained here in the summertimes, and most people will 0:02:05.200 --> 0:02:08.320 leave and go to laause the summertime is hot. Whatever exactly, 0:02:08.560 --> 0:02:10.639 I stayed here and train because the facilities are great, 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:12.600 and plus I want to be in top shape and 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:16.040 I felt comfortable in my own home training with my trainers, right, 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:17.960 you know what I'm saying. It was a good fit 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:18.280 for me. 0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:22.040 It's crazy, man, because I think back to like the 0:02:22.160 --> 0:02:26.040 Sun's heyday, the seven seconds or less era of Phoenix 0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:29.440 Suns basketball, and you know, a lot of highs, a 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:34.280 lot of heartbreak. Uh Western Conference Semifinals seven. You and 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:38.160 Boris jump off the bench to defend Steve nash yep. 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:40.840 I was Actually I made it on tn T because 0:02:40.840 --> 0:02:42.359 at the time they called me bootleg Kre for a 0:02:42.400 --> 0:02:44.880 reason because back then I used to bootleg everything, mixtapes 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:48.160 like Nicky Nice and all the stories around town. But 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:52.240 I had fuck Robert Ori T shirts that I made. Yeah, 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:54.800 I remember those, and I sold that was me and 0:02:54.880 --> 0:02:56.320 I sold them on the corner in front of the 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:59.160 arena and Craig Sager remember that. I remember that one 0:02:59.200 --> 0:03:02.000 on TV. That's right, That's right, And so that was 0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:05.480 like it felt like that year was like our years. 0:03:05.760 --> 0:03:08.200 Yeah. Man, that was a crazy moment, bro, because no 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:10.720 one knew about this rule you can't step in the court, right, 0:03:10.840 --> 0:03:12.760 No one heard of that the coaching staff didn't know. 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:15.000 If they would have known, they would have held us back, 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:17.639 or we would have just not stepped in the court, 0:03:17.680 --> 0:03:20.200 you know what I'm saying. So, and I was always 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:23.560 pretty upset about that time too, because it's like, what 0:03:24.040 --> 0:03:26.200 kind of rule is what kind of punishment is that 0:03:26.280 --> 0:03:29.840 to suspend someone for a playoff game without a warning, 0:03:29.880 --> 0:03:34.240 you know what I'm saying. But the following game I 0:03:34.240 --> 0:03:36.400 came back, Game six. So what I did was that 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:39.680 game I spent a stud of Myers downtown, so I 0:03:39.720 --> 0:03:40.160 had all my. 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:42.200 Sit there because you couldn't you couldn't even be in 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:42.840 the building. 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:44.760 Right right, So I was across the street from the arena, 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:46.839 and I went to the restaurant the big screen TV, 0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:48.480 and we sat in eight Food and watched the game. 0:03:49.040 --> 0:03:51.400 And then game six, I came back with thirty eight sixteen, 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:53.480 you know what I'm saying. But by that time, they 0:03:53.480 --> 0:03:54.760 had the momentum. 0:03:54.800 --> 0:03:56.240 They did, They did, they did. 0:03:56.320 --> 0:03:56.480 Man. 0:03:56.600 --> 0:03:59.720 You know, it's crazy. I recently, you know, as a fan, 0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:03.320 like we carry sports fan hate with us, and when 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:05.840 Kobe passed away, I like hit me real hard. I 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:07.440 used to hate Kobe when he was alive as a player. 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:10.000 You know because I co co was Cole was a 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:12.760 Son's dagger exactly right. But you know when he died, 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:14.400 like I cried, you know, and I was like, it 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:17.600 made me like let go of like, you know, some 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:19.880 of the toxicity we have a sports fans. With that 0:04:19.920 --> 0:04:22.560 being said, I'm not sure how much I've let go 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:23.320 of the Spurs hate that. 0:04:24.000 --> 0:04:25.960 Yeah, I'm not. I'm not I mean Spurs. I mean 0:04:25.960 --> 0:04:28.800 I have less love for the Spurs. Oh my gosh. 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:31.839 It's I want to like Wenby but he's got that jersey. 0:04:32.200 --> 0:04:33.440 Yeah for sure, for sure. 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:36.640 I just think all the heartbreak man, like it's crazy, Like, uh, 0:04:37.240 --> 0:04:39.280 what was it like for you? Because you know when 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:41.760 we think of d'An tony like he wasn't high on defense, 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:43.520 but like you had to be the guy to like 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:47.080 guard Duncan a lot, you know what I'm saying. What 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:49.800 was the hardest part about he wasn't he didn't show 0:04:49.839 --> 0:04:53.080 much emotion. I mean I remember he hit a three against. 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:55.200 Us in one of those playoffs and then I was 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:56.960 just like, that's the most most of you might have 0:04:57.000 --> 0:05:00.000 seen his entire career. It's crazy. 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:05.080 Nonetheless, I think, like you know, he somehow gets when 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:07.000 we talk about the goats. He kind of slips through 0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:08.720 those conversations when he should be imm he's the greatest 0:05:08.720 --> 0:05:11.800 power for it of all time, like five rings, going 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:13.960 and on. But what was the hardest part about competing 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:17.400 against Tim Duncan in those high intensity series and games. 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:20.560 Well, I mean the problem was is that the Spurs 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:24.600 were always well coached and were organized right, So and 0:05:24.640 --> 0:05:29.080 with Tim, he was a player who playoff angles, so 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:31.680 that wherever he is on the court, he's figured a 0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:35.200 way to get a basket or a rebound. And it's 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:39.240 not like allowed thirty points, right, it's a few free 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:41.359 throws here, it's a jump shot here, a couple offs. 0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:42.919 He's like, it works the angles of the game. 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:45.800 You got thirty points and fifteen rebounds. Yeah, Like I'm 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:47.560 dunking the ball all night and you don't even know 0:05:47.760 --> 0:05:50.880 my points are allowed? Right? His are like the end 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:52.400 of the game. It's right where you got thirty five 0:05:52.440 --> 0:05:55.880 and fifteen. Yes, you know, but that's just how he played. 0:05:55.880 --> 0:05:58.400 He played silently and got his job done. 0:05:58.839 --> 0:06:02.719 You got to play with Steve. I consider you to 0:06:02.880 --> 0:06:05.560 be a top three or four son of all time. 0:06:06.160 --> 0:06:09.080 I put you in that conversation obviously, a shout out 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:13.080 to Walter Davis, shout out to Steve Nash. You know, 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:14.960 I put Barkley a little lower because he only played 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:17.320 a few years for US. But I think Devin Booker 0:06:17.360 --> 0:06:20.560 has taken the reins as the he might be up. 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:22.200 He might be the go to the Suns all time 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:24.760 for you. I know you, you know you, he had 0:06:24.760 --> 0:06:27.640 said recently yesterday he actually said that when he was 0:06:27.640 --> 0:06:29.160 going through a lot of the losing his rookie season, 0:06:29.200 --> 0:06:30.479 you had kind of reached out to him. But like, 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:34.400 what's it like to just see a guy like Book, 0:06:35.160 --> 0:06:38.840 you know, kind of carry the torch from what you 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:42.760 guys built because there was the dark ages and now 0:06:42.760 --> 0:06:45.839 it's like, all right, we're relevant again. What's your guys' 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:48.440 relationship like? And you know, where would you put book 0:06:48.440 --> 0:06:51.440 in terms of like the all time son's greats? 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:54.000 Yeah, I think I think Books of a long ways 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:55.760 to go, Right, He's really just gonna started man's on 0:06:55.880 --> 0:06:58.479 his mid twenties, right, you know what I'm saying, And 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:02.719 what he accomplished already is incredible. So he's definitely in 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:07.520 those top conversations for sure. And so yeah, there was 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:09.760 some times where when I played here, we had our 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:12.760 run and then there was, like you said, a dark moment, 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:14.760 and then they draft the book and then they start 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:17.920 to kind of revamp and now they're doing great, right 0:07:17.960 --> 0:07:20.760 with KD and these guys. But Devin is definitely at 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:22.160 the top of the list when it comes to all 0:07:22.240 --> 0:07:25.120 time suns and the way he plays a game. We 0:07:25.120 --> 0:07:27.360 was at the game last night. The way he plays 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:29.520 the game is like fundamentally sound. 0:07:30.040 --> 0:07:32.680 He's got that, He's got that killer instig man. 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:34.280 Go he goes for it. It goes for it, you know 0:07:34.280 --> 0:07:36.000 what I'm saying. And that's and that's what you want 0:07:36.040 --> 0:07:38.840 from a from a coaching standpoint or just suspectator standpoint. 0:07:39.160 --> 0:07:40.880 You want to see your player go for it. You 0:07:40.920 --> 0:07:41.360 know what I mean. 0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:46.000 For sure, for you Man twenty ten, you end up, well, 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:47.920 it was what summer of summer of the end of 0:07:47.960 --> 0:07:50.880 the twenty ten season right going into twenty eleven, there's 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:55.560 the giant I guess, the most memorable offseason probably in 0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:58.160 basketball history. Because you're a free agent. Lebron's a free agent, 0:07:58.240 --> 0:08:01.160 Chris bosh is a free agent. You end up with 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:03.640 the Knicks. You have an MVP caliber season your first 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:08.600 year there, before the injuries happened, What was uh, tell me, 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:10.600 like what what your mind state was? Because it would 0:08:10.600 --> 0:08:12.720 have been nice to have kept you, It would have 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:14.239 been nice to have kept a few people in the suns. 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:17.560 We'll get to that, But what was like your mind 0:08:17.560 --> 0:08:20.960 state year one in New York? You know, like because 0:08:21.000 --> 0:08:23.520 you were playing with a chip on your shoulder that 0:08:23.560 --> 0:08:26.880 first year, it was crazy. I think you had you 0:08:26.920 --> 0:08:28.880 had a bunch of MVP votes, like I think I 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:30.520 think you guys were like a little over five hundred, 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:32.920 but you were balling. Like what was that first year 0:08:32.960 --> 0:08:33.480 with New York? 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:36.800 Like, I mean it was incredible, bros? Like New York 0:08:36.920 --> 0:08:39.880 was a place always wanted to play in, right, everyone 0:08:39.920 --> 0:08:42.320 wants to play a massive square garden and to be 0:08:42.360 --> 0:08:45.400 a nick and to play in New York. And for 0:08:45.559 --> 0:08:49.560 me to be able to just show my entire skill set, right, 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:50.600 so I was able to You're. 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:52.520 Still with Mike D'Antoni too, that's he was he was 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:53.160 coaching that year. 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:55.440 So I was with Mike. Mike d'antonia was still coaching then, 0:08:55.679 --> 0:08:57.680 and so now I'm able to really show my whole 0:08:57.720 --> 0:09:00.120 package my game, you know what I'm saying. So when 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:02.040 I did that, It's like the league wasn't ready for 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:04.880 all of what I had in store. So so I 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:07.760 took the lead by staring crazy MVP chance. I was 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:11.480 leading candid for MVP halfway through the season, and the 0:09:11.559 --> 0:09:13.880 city was on fire, right, every restaurant I go to, 0:09:13.920 --> 0:09:18.360 everything's free. I mean everything was like New York was 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:21.840 on fire, bro, So it was it was a beautiful 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:22.679 time in New York. That. 0:09:22.800 --> 0:09:25.839 Yeah, well, can you give me a little window of 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:28.280 what it was like to be around for the Insanity season, 0:09:28.640 --> 0:09:30.880 because because I think you were you hurt when all 0:09:30.880 --> 0:09:31.400 that was happening. 0:09:31.559 --> 0:09:33.920 Nah, My brother had passed away, okay, and I had 0:09:33.960 --> 0:09:37.280 went to Florida for like, I think a week or. 0:09:37.280 --> 0:09:40.040 So, and then it happened while you, while you were 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:40.960 while I was gone. 0:09:41.400 --> 0:09:43.240 So but I came back and caught it. So, so 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:45.400 what happened was a few players were hurt. 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:48.360 Mellow was out right, Mellow was hurt, You were gone. 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:50.320 I was gone, and there was a few other players 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:53.400 that were hurt. So Jamie Land was like the fifteen 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:55.440 mail on the roster whatever, twelve mil and the roster right, 0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:57.120 and so he got a call to say, we need 0:09:57.160 --> 0:09:58.280 you to play. I need you to start. You gotta 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:00.200 you gotta step up for us, and he stepped up 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:02.840 and had thirty points game one. All right, you know, 0:10:02.960 --> 0:10:03.600 thirty points. 0:10:03.880 --> 0:10:05.240 Anybody get thirty on any given. 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:07.079 You know what I'm saying. It comes back with another thirty. 0:10:07.120 --> 0:10:09.199 Like well all right, well, and I'm in Florida watching 0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:11.800 the games. I'm like, dang Germany, Lynn going off and 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:14.600 then play the Lakers had thirty in on Kobe. I'm like, wait, 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:16.880 hold on that, hold on, something ain't right, what's going on? 0:10:17.160 --> 0:10:19.679 And then I get back to New York and the 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:23.240 city's crazy. It's upside down. I mean, everybody's everywhere cheering channing. 0:10:23.720 --> 0:10:26.600 The crowd was crazy in the streets, every single restaurant, 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:27.720 everywhere was like. 0:10:28.360 --> 0:10:29.120 It was a movement. 0:10:29.200 --> 0:10:30.040 It was a movie. 0:10:30.120 --> 0:10:31.240 It was all that was on TV. 0:10:32.040 --> 0:10:35.040 It's crazy, bro. And it lasted for a good two weeks. 0:10:35.080 --> 0:10:35.520 It was fun. 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:37.880 It was like two weeks. Yeah. Well then like because 0:10:37.880 --> 0:10:39.720 like Mellow came back and I feel like, like I 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:42.120 think he's talked about it, like but like there was 0:10:42.160 --> 0:10:45.480 like weird energy there, but like Lynn, Jeremy Lynn. Saturday 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:46.000 was a moment. 0:10:46.200 --> 0:10:48.080 So yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean I was back. I 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:50.960 was back Also, we played the game against Toronto and 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:52.480 it was down to the last you know, a few 0:10:52.520 --> 0:10:54.920 seconds and I'm like, all right, it's my time to 0:10:55.120 --> 0:10:57.640 hit the game winner. Jerman Lynd kind of moves everybody 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:00.520 out the way. I'm like, okay, all right, Jerry, I 0:11:00.559 --> 0:11:03.600 got this. I got this and pulled up for the three. 0:11:03.679 --> 0:11:04.280 Won the game. 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:04.800 Wow. 0:11:05.080 --> 0:11:07.240 So we were like, I'm gonna let him, I'm gonna 0:11:07.320 --> 0:11:08.880 let him shine, I'm gonna let him be who he 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:12.520 is and have fun. But it all changed Mellow came back. 0:11:12.559 --> 0:11:14.520 Then it kind of got a little a little shaky 0:11:14.559 --> 0:11:17.200 because Jermanlyine wasn't playing much and the ball wasn't going 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:19.520 to him as much, so it kind of dropped there. 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:21.120 But it was a good run for him. 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:24.839 You've played with a lot of amazing players, I mean, 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:27.959 obviously even throughout the later years of your career. H 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:31.480 when you're on certain rosters like back to back MVP, 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:34.480 Steve Nash, Mellow. Who's who, in your opinion, would be 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:36.880 the best player you played with or just your best 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:37.600 teammate you had. 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:42.240 Man, I had a lot of cool teammates. Bro I 0:11:42.280 --> 0:11:45.120 had a lot of fun, right. I was always invite 0:11:45.120 --> 0:11:49.520 my teammates out to dinner, to gatherings. 0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:50.559 To Wyant, Yeah you didn't have a nightclub. 0:11:51.200 --> 0:11:52.800 You know what I'm saying. I was, I was viting 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:54.480 all my guys out to hang out because I think 0:11:54.600 --> 0:11:57.400 the best thing about it was is to build team Canaderie. 0:11:57.880 --> 0:11:59.520 For sure, because I'm on the court, I'm telling I'm 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:01.360 the leader that team, and I'm telling my guys, you 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:03.959 gotta do this, you gotta do that. It's like, after, 0:12:04.200 --> 0:12:06.360 you know, demanding so much, they be like, man, I 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:08.480 can't you know, I can't take I can't take this. 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:10.560 But if we go out, we have a good time. 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:13.160 You see. It's all coming from a good place. And 0:12:13.200 --> 0:12:15.840 now when I demand my teammates to do something, it's 0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:16.960 not reprimmending. 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:20.079 They know you guys are friends my guys. Yeah, you 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:20.760 know what I'm saying. 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:24.720 And so I think for us in Phoenix, the team 0:12:24.760 --> 0:12:28.200 we had with Nash, Sean Joe. 0:12:28.000 --> 0:12:30.400 Johnson, We're gonna get to that team. 0:12:30.400 --> 0:12:32.280 But yeah, you know what I'm saying, those guys will 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:34.040 come out and will hang out like Nash will come 0:12:34.040 --> 0:12:35.719 out of hang out in the clubs with us. Who 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:38.640 would have thought, you know what I'm saying, Yeah, yeah, 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:41.520 with the guys. Yeah, you know what I'm saying, And 0:12:41.600 --> 0:12:45.120 so that team camaraderie helped. So I would say Steve 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:47.560 Nash is probably my favorite teammate that I played with, 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:50.240 not only as an unselfished player and he played with 0:12:50.600 --> 0:12:52.920 a certain type of passion for the game, but I 0:12:53.080 --> 0:12:54.720 enjoyed playing with Steve. 0:12:55.040 --> 0:12:58.760 Your guys is two man game the lob man listen. 0:12:58.840 --> 0:13:02.360 And I feel like somehow how Nash was like a 0:13:02.400 --> 0:13:05.280 decade before it's time because I keep I think about 0:13:05.280 --> 0:13:07.800 like the three point eer of the game, and how 0:13:07.840 --> 0:13:09.959 good Nash is a shooter, Like how much he might 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:13.040 have averaged if the game was you know the way it. 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:14.840 Is, he shoot more threes. Now, I mean we left 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:16.680 the league in three point shooting I think shooting what 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:18.360 twelve three is a game? 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:21.760 Yep, and got players that would probably be the last place. 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:25.200 Yeah, and we led the league in three point shooting 0:13:25.200 --> 0:13:28.600 a percentages during that stretch. So we started this whole 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:30.760 wave of now three point shooters, right, we started that 0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:31.839 whole thing for sure? 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:34.120 Is it is there something about the seven seconds or 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:36.520 less thing that you feel like gets a bad rep 0:13:36.559 --> 0:13:40.280 because you know, we always hear D'Antoni wasn't like he 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:43.839 didn't coach a lot of defense, right, yeah, Like, and 0:13:43.880 --> 0:13:47.199 I've talked to other players who've said that, like Baron Davis. Yeah, 0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:50.440 I mean, you know, but it obviously works to the 0:13:50.480 --> 0:13:53.400 point where the Suns were the number one seed the 0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:56.640 number two seed, like very like it. You know, caught 0:13:56.640 --> 0:13:58.720 a couple of tough breaks in the playoffs, but like, 0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:03.800 you know, I feel like that brand of basketball somehow, 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:05.720 Like when you talk to basketball and nerds, they're like, yeah, 0:14:05.760 --> 0:14:07.000 but you'll never win a ring with that. 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:09.200 But well, I mean the thing is, we could have 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:11.120 won a ring for sure, right, we had a couple 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:13.680 of couple of breaks. Yeah, we had you had a 0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:18.200 couple of breaks, a couple of bad releases, right, certain players. 0:14:18.200 --> 0:14:20.160 We could have signed Joe for like fifty something million, 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:22.520 and then he went to go sign for one hundred 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:25.000 and something million and become a six time All Star, Like, 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:26.320 we could have had him on our squad for a 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:31.320 long time. Twenty ten team eight eight or nineteen we 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:32.960 lost against the Lakers in the Western Finals. 0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:36.120 That was twy t Robin Lopez was starting center. 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:38.520 Yeah, yeah, exactly, and I had him playing well, he's 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:39.240 playing along side of me. 0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:41.560 Yeah, and then and then Ron Artest decided he wanted 0:14:41.600 --> 0:14:43.240 to start making threes, right, and then. 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:45.479 We go and not and not bring me back to 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:47.600 to to for the following year. And we're right there 0:14:47.640 --> 0:14:50.360 the Western Finals, so we had chances to win with. 0:14:50.400 --> 0:14:54.160 That style, right, But well, that was that was Gentry though, 0:14:54.160 --> 0:14:56.600 that was Gentry. That was Alvin Gentry, who had more 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:58.280 of a defensive mind. I was going to say, like 0:14:58.640 --> 0:15:01.920 that season, somehow we forget about it, but that was 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:04.040 the closest you guys got to the finals and Marion 0:15:04.120 --> 0:15:07.200 was not on that team. It was very it was like, 0:15:07.720 --> 0:15:11.120 and that was like a very underrated Grant Hill season. Yeah, absolutely, 0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:14.840 Robin Lopez underrated season from the step. 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:18.080 Up big for j Rich, stretch four, stretch five, which 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:19.239 is now the game. 0:15:19.360 --> 0:15:22.000 Is now the game and we were so close and 0:15:22.040 --> 0:15:24.920 the Lakers ripped our hearts out. But like that season, 0:15:25.000 --> 0:15:26.880 your final season, like it would have been crazy to 0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:28.760 get a ring man like it was right there. 0:15:28.840 --> 0:15:29.560 Yeah for sure. 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:32.480 Yeah. I mean going against Kobe though, that was because you. 0:15:32.440 --> 0:15:34.920 Know, Kobe wasn't the easy gotta go against Bro. You 0:15:34.960 --> 0:15:35.880 can't stop Kobe. 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:38.360 I think back to the times though, where we bounced 0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:41.200 them out as they eight seed after Shack left. Right, 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:43.720 anytime I get into arguments with Laker fans. 0:15:44.640 --> 0:15:46.520 We beat we beat the Lakers. We got Kobe out 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:48.720 of there in the first round, in the first round, 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:50.080 for sure, you know what I'm saying. 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:52.360 I always bring that up because always do the Lebron 0:15:52.400 --> 0:15:54.160 or Jordan verus Kobe because you know, I live in La, 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:56.520 so the LA fans they don't want to hear anything. 0:15:56.600 --> 0:15:59.560 And I'm like, well, when Kobe was just Kobe and 0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:03.280 there was no other guys eight seed and we got 0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:07.320 them up out of there too, straight straight over the Lakers, 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:11.680 talk to me about that seed, So listen the what ifs? 0:16:11.760 --> 0:16:11.920 Right? 0:16:12.360 --> 0:16:14.320 You brought up Joe Johnson, which is one of the 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:19.560 more heartbreaking UH free agency departures because we think about 0:16:19.600 --> 0:16:23.240 what could have been right, Like I remember being at 0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:25.320 those games with Joe. I remember being at that Clippers 0:16:25.320 --> 0:16:27.240 game where Tim Thomas hit that three in the corner 0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:28.960 against the Clippers in the playoffs and the Clippers had 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:35.520 like samper, what like when as a player, what's the 0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:40.160 morale like when the Joe Johnson thing happens and you're like, 0:16:40.200 --> 0:16:42.640 this is this is an easy this this, I mean, 0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:44.160 it has to kind of mess with you a little 0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:44.720 bit where you're. 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:47.360 Like, yeah, I mean, Joe's my guy, like we both. 0:16:47.640 --> 0:16:49.800 And it's such an obvious basketball move to make. 0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:54.120 Yeah, yeah, you would think. So Joe was there my 0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:56.200 rookie year, right, so we we was like around the 0:16:56.240 --> 0:16:59.800 same age, and so we had great, you know, camaraderie 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:02.600 as young players. It's going to grow in this league, right, 0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:05.520 we figured we'll be you know, on the same squad 0:17:05.520 --> 0:17:07.080 for it for some time and keep growing and keep 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:10.159 getting better. And we had a solid playoff run, solid 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:11.760 you know, when we had q Rich and those guys. 0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:17.199 We went to the Western Finals. And so when when 0:17:17.320 --> 0:17:19.399 Joe leaves, I'm like, all right, well that's just a 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:21.919