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Speaker 1: Welcome back to The Draymond Green Show. Our next guests.
Speaker 1: I'm excited to have because you know, this guy obviously
Speaker 1: great basketball player, had a really good career. Actually a
Speaker 1: lot of people who I've talked to has said it's
Speaker 1: the best player they've ever played with, Like most talented
Speaker 1: they've played with. Like several people I'm talking Andre Dalla,
Speaker 1: Richard Jefferson, like real NBA guys, like all stars I
Speaker 1: have all said best player they played with. Uh No, chill,
Speaker 1: gil Gilbert Arena's my brother. Welcome to the show. I
Speaker 1: appreciate you for having me. Thank you for having me absolutely. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, first off, you know, just getting into early life.
Speaker 1: You know, born in Tampa, Florida. At what age did
Speaker 1: you move to the valley uh and you know out
Speaker 1: here in Los Angeles. Yeah, so my dad decided to
Speaker 1: become an inspired actor. You know, I wanted to do
Speaker 1: the Hollywood life. So around seven is when we took
Speaker 1: the journey, um from Tampa to uh CALLI uh didn't
Speaker 1: work out so well. You know, was homeless for a
Speaker 1: little bit, lived in a car for a little bit,
Speaker 1: and then um, because he didn't have his his ship together,
Speaker 1: he uh shipped me back to the Tampa But until
Speaker 1: he got to the you know stable, he was working
Speaker 1: with Chuck Norris, Mike Tyson, bodyguarding for Mike Tyson, John
Speaker 1: Claude Van Dam And once he got situated, I came
Speaker 1: back out around ten. Okay, what effect do you feel
Speaker 1: like it had on you? Moving on her? Because like
Speaker 1: la as you know, is a hot bed for talent
Speaker 1: in the basketball out here is dire For Florida, it's
Speaker 1: more of a football state. What effect did that have
Speaker 1: on your life and moving out here? That's the funny.
Speaker 1: Parnt I was a football player, real I was. Yes,
Speaker 1: I was a straight football player, baseball player, so nothing
Speaker 1: about basketball. And my dad was making ends meet coaching basketball.
Speaker 1: So he was coaching and refereeing, right, So I'll just
Speaker 1: be sitting there or playing outside at the park. So
Speaker 1: I never really paid attention to basketball. And then what
Speaker 1: ended up happening is one of my friends in school
Speaker 1: lived next to the park, so I used to go
Speaker 1: watch him play. He's like, I'm trying out, So I
Speaker 1: was like, should I will try out too? And then
Speaker 1: whatever he said, I just copied point guard point guard right,
Speaker 1: you know. It was one of those things. And then, um,
Speaker 1: you know that's how I got started. Yeah, my boy,
Speaker 1: Bobby Mitchell. Ye, that's crazy. Yeah, going back there, that's
Speaker 1: that's NUSU. You go through finished school here, go through
Speaker 1: high school, you go to University of Arizona. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: play for the great Lou Olson. What was that experience
Speaker 1: like as a freshman going into Arizona? I know, those
Speaker 1: legendary coaches like that can be really tough on freshman now.
Speaker 1: You know. You know what's funny, um it if it
Speaker 1: wasn't for Loot, I probably would have made it to
Speaker 1: the NBA. I probably would have been kicked out of school. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, I was young. I was seventeen going in,
Speaker 1: so I was real immature, right. I was like it
Speaker 1: was I was twelve going into college as most of us,
Speaker 1: like the kids side of me, just want to do
Speaker 1: everything that I can possibly can, paintball, shooting like I
Speaker 1: did everything, fire, alarm, ringe and still in the go
Speaker 1: karts or the golf carts from the security. So lud
Speaker 1: Olsen didn't penalize me on the basketball court for the
Speaker 1: immature stuff I was doing outside of the court, and
Speaker 1: he's like, you know what if the school decides to
Speaker 1: penalize you, you won't be able to play this. So
Speaker 1: that's if you mess up here, they gonna take it
Speaker 1: away from you. I don't need to do that. And
Speaker 1: then from there made me understand like what this can
Speaker 1: affect this and then if I don't want this affect
Speaker 1: of this court, then I got to really, you know,
Speaker 1: calm down on this side of the on this side
Speaker 1: of the lines. Absolutely, And your sophomore year you go on,
Speaker 1: you win Pac ten Player of the Year, you carry
Speaker 1: squad to the national championship game where y'all eventually lose
Speaker 1: to do But what was that? What was that year? Like,
Speaker 1: you know, you have a decent freshman year, good freshman year,
Speaker 1: and then really t taking that jump that next year?
Speaker 1: What was like, what happened with you? Was it to
Speaker 1: confidence jump? Obviously he's working on your game, but what
Speaker 1: helped you take that next step that next your sophomore year.
Speaker 1: You know, just like anything, you know, like our rookie
Speaker 1: our rookie season, you know, we don't know what to
Speaker 1: expect when we get there, right you know, Um, you
Speaker 1: know we're watching on TV. It seems faster, seems slower,
Speaker 1: you know. You know, so that first year it was
Speaker 1: like I'm just playing just off field. You know. Then
Speaker 1: once you know, um, once I got into my second year,
Speaker 1: the game slowed down. I got smarter. Um, I understood
Speaker 1: the rules, more understood players, understood concept and schemes. So
Speaker 1: you know, when we all got into our second year,
Speaker 1: it was we're going for the championship. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: we thought our my rookie season, my freshman season, that
Speaker 1: we were good enough to win it. But we was
Speaker 1: no Cincinnati, you know what I mean absolutely, And that's
Speaker 1: Kenyan Martin and those guys that the time, right, yes,
Speaker 1: Damar Johnson, Kenyan Martin, uh Logan, um, Kenny Satterfield. So
Speaker 1: they were stacked, but there was there was rugged there
Speaker 1: was a rugged group. We was you know, he was
Speaker 1: all for next and stuff. They were just you know,
Speaker 1: they was rugged. Um. You know, so going into you know,
Speaker 1: the tournament that year, we was really like really filling ourselves. Hey,
Speaker 1: we blew, y'all, we blew the No need to go there.
Speaker 1: They can look up to history if they want to.
Speaker 1: We're not doing no Michigan State slander here. However, I
Speaker 1: watched that. I watched that game, you know, like you
Speaker 1: know us you guys duke Illinois that year was was good.
Speaker 1: I think Frank Frank Robinson Frank something. Frank was there,
Speaker 1: um and Maryland was yes, you know, so it was
Speaker 1: it was five teams that that could have could have
Speaker 1: won it all that year. Okay, and you know then
Speaker 1: you you decide to take that next step after after
Speaker 1: your sophomore year drafted the thirty first overall pick by
Speaker 1: the Golden State Warriors, number one. What why do you
Speaker 1: think or maybe you know, why did you go second
Speaker 1: round with the talent that you had, the year that
Speaker 1: you had. Then you go to go in the second round?
Speaker 1: What was that about? You know back then them they
Speaker 1: didn't it was them tweeters. And I would tell me
Speaker 1: about that word. Yeah, I was. I was a tweeting guard,
Speaker 1: so I wasn't I wasn't big enough to be a
Speaker 1: shooting guard and wasn't a point guard, right, so I
Speaker 1: was stuck in the middle. So my comparison was like
Speaker 1: a smaller Contino mobile. Um. Yeah, so I was a
Speaker 1: smaller Contino mobile. If you look in that draft and
Speaker 1: said I'm the best one on one player as draft,
Speaker 1: um me doing some things like um like like you
Speaker 1: know through the draft, like I didn't want to do
Speaker 1: the trade no tests me. It was it was more
Speaker 1: of a m an ego thing, right. I trained my
Speaker 1: ass off, like I really, like really ran miles and
Speaker 1: then you put this test and say eighteen minutes, but
Speaker 1: nobody can win. That didn't said, well there has to
Speaker 1: be a winner. We just can't just all go to
Speaker 1: eighteen and then you know, like, nah, I want you know,
Speaker 1: somebody sat on here three hours. I want that type
Speaker 1: of you know what I mean? So I'm like, why
Speaker 1: why do I need to prove that I'm in shape?
Speaker 1: And then what does this test got to do with drafting?
Speaker 1: And what does this test got to do with training camp?
Speaker 1: So whatever you see here's meaningless to be honest, because
Speaker 1: me being in shape now doesn't have nothing to do
Speaker 1: with me being in shape with that season start. So
Speaker 1: like the little things like that, I just seen flaws
Speaker 1: and I attacked the flaws. That's that's interesting. That's interesting,
Speaker 1: and I agree and I understand. I actually I worked
Speaker 1: out for the Boston Celtics UM and they were one
Speaker 1: of my one of my twenty workouts when I was
Speaker 1: coming out, and I worked out for the Boston Celtics
Speaker 1: and they had us do like this Boston Celtics three
Speaker 1: minute run or something at the end of the workout,
Speaker 1: and like, I did the run, but like, I'm not
Speaker 1: hauling ass like and it was a good learning experience
Speaker 1: for me. But I did the run. And afterwards, Danny
Speaker 1: Danny Ain't jaxx Me. Who's the president GM at the time,
Speaker 1: Danny Aine jax Me. He's like, yeah, so you I
Speaker 1: expected you to do better in that run. Why why
Speaker 1: didn't you get more lines in the run? And I
Speaker 1: was like, well, quite frankly, I feel like the run.
Speaker 1: It's kind of to say whether I'm in shape or not,
Speaker 1: But you just watched me work out for two hours
Speaker 1: and destroy everybody, So I'm not really sure, like what
Speaker 1: the run is going to show you? You know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying, Like it's a is not basketball, just running
Speaker 1: from line to line. And like when we just played
Speaker 1: a lot of basketball, we played one two threes, how
Speaker 1: to get out of a trap? I did everything well
Speaker 1: in this workout, So I'm just it's not sure like
Speaker 1: what I really needed to prove in this run, Like
Speaker 1: I don't that don't really work? Understand that? Ye? Like
Speaker 1: it's the draft process to me is so flawed. Um,
Speaker 1: you let players dodge players, Like if if I'm if
Speaker 1: I'm a team right and I'm I'm looking at a
Speaker 1: few guys, I want to put them together, Like this
Speaker 1: player's dodging this player. If you're dodging this player, then
Speaker 1: why would I want you? Yes, you're not gonna take
Speaker 1: You're not taking the challenge. I want the guy that's
Speaker 1: willing to take the challenge. He's willing to say, I'm
Speaker 1: testing my skill against everybody. Because when the NBA, you
Speaker 1: can't sit games and be skinned. You know that, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. So it's like it's it was
Speaker 1: one of those things where when you go through it
Speaker 1: and it doesn't work the way it should have, you
Speaker 1: be like this is flawed. Like I did seventeen workouts Sacramento.
Speaker 1: I went, I went like twenty three for twenty five
Speaker 1: from three. Their excuse for us I couldn't shoot because
Speaker 1: they said, all I had a set shot. You know,
Speaker 1: that's not realistic. It can get blocked. It's too slow,
Speaker 1: And I was like, how am I going to get blocked?
Speaker 1: In fact? A pump fake? It's like it's like it
Speaker 1: just make excuses, right, you just make up excuses. Not
Speaker 1: the draft. Just say you didn't want to draft me, bro,
Speaker 1: That's right. But no, absolutely, it doesn't. It doesn't measure
Speaker 1: your heart. It doesn't measure if you have heart, if
Speaker 1: you have a work ethic. And that's why a Hall
Speaker 1: of Famer like yourself can go in a second round
Speaker 1: and they're not and they not They miss it because
Speaker 1: this this doesn't measure this. This system doesn't measure who
Speaker 1: has it, who wants it, you know, And that's the
Speaker 1: problem with it. Absolutely, I agree, you get drafted and
Speaker 1: you get the number zero. I've heard um speculation of
Speaker 1: why you got the number zero. But I think what's
Speaker 1: also impressive, it's like I feel like you were really
Speaker 1: the first person to really go that route like zero
Speaker 1: and kind of make that number a thing, you know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying. And I don't think people in sports
Speaker 1: or fans, I would say, really understand that, like the
Speaker 1: impact that you had on the game, Like zero was
Speaker 1: a ship number. Now zero is a very prominent number,
Speaker 1: you know. Um, but what was your reasoning for going
Speaker 1: with number zero once you was drafted? Yeah? So actually
Speaker 1: started in college, so I was twenty five because I
Speaker 1: was a Penny Hardaway fan. So I'm you know, I
Speaker 1: was Penny Memphis Penny, I'm Penny Hardaway. So going into Arizona, um,
Speaker 1: you know, looking at get twenty five. But that was
Speaker 1: Steve Kerr's number. Ye, So they were saying they're going
Speaker 1: to retire it so you can't play in it. So
Speaker 1: I'm like, uh, I don't have any other number. So
Speaker 1: they said, all right, these two numbers are being released
Speaker 1: this year. One in zero. The first thing I'm talking, oh, Penny.
Speaker 1: But when that zero. When I seen the zero, I
Speaker 1: was like, man, that's how many minutes they said I
Speaker 1: will play in Arizona. They said I am not a
Speaker 1: Arizona type of player, and I'm gonna play zero minute.
Speaker 1: So I was like, I want to go to zero
Speaker 1: so I can like, no matter what I'm doing, I
Speaker 1: can always look at it. And this is what they said,
Speaker 1: you was gonna play zero minutes. So you know, So
Speaker 1: when I went to Golden State drafted thirty one, mad hot,
Speaker 1: you know through my Qubicsaconia out the window, get all out.
Speaker 1: I want that. I don't know if they have to
Speaker 1: record it, but this is a recording that you should find.
Speaker 1: I was the cockiest person when I got drafted, Like
Speaker 1: I was mad, like I don't care about this. Hey, hey,
Speaker 1: by the middle of the season, I'm gonna be starting.
Speaker 1: I don't care who's in front of me. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: be starting. Click geez, and you are. Yeah. It ended
Speaker 1: up happening forty games. It wasn't promised like me started,
Speaker 1: Me started happening overnight. It wasn't just saying what what
Speaker 1: What was your break? Like my break was David League
Speaker 1: got hurt um I started the season. We started like
Speaker 1: sixteen and one or something, and then the rest was history.
Speaker 1: What was your break? To kind of get you over
Speaker 1: that hump after those first forty games, it was it
Speaker 1: was Mookie Baylock basically getting kicked off the team because
Speaker 1: he wasn't being a veteran UM. Then Larry Hughes going
Speaker 1: down with an eagle spring, so I was on IR.
Speaker 1: Like back then, we didn't have G League League, we
Speaker 1: didn't have UM. So I was on IR and I'm
Speaker 1: playing like, you know, two minutes, one minute if there's
Speaker 1: a blot over with it, you know. There was no
Speaker 1: me getting a little There was none of that. So
Speaker 1: it was she wrote a one hundred like really fast. UM.
Speaker 1: So Larry Hughes goes down, and then they took me
Speaker 1: off IR. Bobby so didn't want to start, so he's like,
Speaker 1: I'm I'm playing well at where I am right now,
Speaker 1: So putting bench for a couple of minutes, you know,
Speaker 1: let me see how the game was going. Then set
Speaker 1: me in. That sounds that sounds. That sounds like a
Speaker 1: like a true vet who knows I gotta go out
Speaker 1: here and deal with these starters. I'm gonna keep coming
Speaker 1: off the bench so I can play against these guys
Speaker 1: coming off the bench. You're gonna deal with the starters up. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and Dave Cowen's got fired, so Dave okay, Collens got fired,
Speaker 1: and Brian Winters ended up being the coach and Brian
Speaker 1: Winters was like, you know, I'm gonna go with the guys,
Speaker 1: you know, who play hard, who work hard, who shows
Speaker 1: up every day for practice. And because I was coming
Speaker 1: in at six o'clock in the morning, you know, working
Speaker 1: on my game, Mark Jackson like, Mark Jackson saved my career. Um, wow,
Speaker 1: mine too, by the way, Mark's mine too, by the way,
Speaker 1: Yeah no, not that one. Philly Mark Jackson. Oh okay, okay, Philly.
Speaker 1: Mark said he were teammates and he used to wake
Speaker 1: me up back sister to click and say, man, listen,
Speaker 1: don't worry about where you are. He said, I made
Speaker 1: twenty five million, and I only played twenty five games,
Speaker 1: the last twenty five games, and up made twenty five million.
Speaker 1: And he was like, just just focus and he was
Speaker 1: just teaching me playing because I was in a funk like, man,
Speaker 1: I don't you know, I'm probably not good enough. And
Speaker 1: I was, you know, I was ready quick. I was
Speaker 1: ready to I was ready to quit. And then all
Speaker 1: of a sudden, you know, when when he said my name,
Speaker 1: I was actually ready. That's dope. I always tell people
Speaker 1: your name is getting your name, your number is getting
Speaker 1: called in the NBA, and if you're not ready, it
Speaker 1: may never get called again. Yep, you're gonna get called once,
Speaker 1: and it is so important that you're ready for that
Speaker 1: when they call your name. I tell these young guys
Speaker 1: like man I used I used to get called in
Speaker 1: with twenty seconds ago to go guard Colby because they
Speaker 1: got the game when the shot coming up, Like that's
Speaker 1: how I got on the floor. So you have to
Speaker 1: be ready for that name getting called. But coming out
Speaker 1: thirty first pick, you sign a two year, eight hundred
Speaker 1: million dollars excuse me, eight hundred thousand, eight hundred forty
Speaker 1: five thousand dollars contract for two years, and something very
Speaker 1: interesting happens happened with you. And you know, for those
Speaker 1: of you out there that don't quite understand the CBA,
Speaker 1: which is the Collective Bargaining Agreement you see all these
Speaker 1: contracts and different things, it is the agreement that is
Speaker 1: the rule book, the law book, or whatever you want
Speaker 1: to call it for the NBA. It's what we have
Speaker 1: to go by. That's how what the NBA functions on
Speaker 1: is the CBA, and is they have something in their
Speaker 1: call to Gilbert Arenas rule. For those of you that
Speaker 1: don't understand the Gilbert Arenas rule outlet Gilbert Arenas, explain
Speaker 1: the Gilbert Arenas rule to you. But you go on
Speaker 1: to sign a six year, sixty four million dollar contract
Speaker 1: after your second year in the NBA, can you explain
Speaker 1: to us to get over Arena's rule and what you
Speaker 1: went through during that period and signed and your contract
Speaker 1: in and the signing that new deal as a restrict
Speaker 1: to free asient. Okay, so you know, like they had
Speaker 1: the bird rights, meaning like after four years, you know
Speaker 1: you get you get some type of rights. Right, So
Speaker 1: with a second year player, no second year player basically
Speaker 1: played over the mid level exception, right, So you know,
Speaker 1: the best best second rounder, but then two years you're
Speaker 1: going to sign mid level. So what ended up happening
Speaker 1: is I played above that. So, um like, I think
Speaker 1: it was forty nine million, right was the that was
Speaker 1: the cap of Golden State. And midway through the season,
Speaker 1: I was already being like, I remember Kiki Vanderway from
Speaker 1: Denver's like, we're offering them fifty one whatever whatever they can,
Speaker 1: we're gonna go above that. So it was already be
Speaker 1: said that you're not gonna be able to afford them. Um.
Speaker 1: So during that season with coach Musselman. That second season,
Speaker 1: they were trying to try to hold the contract down
Speaker 1: by putting me in three minutes, putting you know that
Speaker 1: that was going on. Oh yeah, yeah, that was going
Speaker 1: out because the first part of the season I was aviaciate.
Speaker 1: About eighteen six and six, you know, I became the
Speaker 1: second option at that point. Um, I'm the last five
Speaker 1: mining guy. Huh second option to who Antoine Jamison? Okay okay? Um?
Speaker 1: Yeah so anton Antoine Jamison. Um. So he was being
Speaker 1: told to keep him down. You know. So they're trying
Speaker 1: to play me three minutes and then you know, think
Speaker 1: my man Earl Boykins. Earl Boykins and UM and coach
Speaker 1: Musselman had a great relationship. And Earl Bullkins is like, like,
Speaker 1: if you want him next year, you don't think he's
Speaker 1: going to remember this. Yeah, right, if you're losing games,
Speaker 1: you don't think you're gonna fire. You play him, play,
Speaker 1: play him right? And then you know that's when coaches
Speaker 1: I get in my bad. I'm just and then so
Speaker 1: he uh, he put me out there and I ran
Speaker 1: with it. So when we went to free agency market,
Speaker 1: you know it all the doors already opened up. I
Speaker 1: think I was I was either number two behind lamar
Speaker 1: Odham okay in the free agency market. So, um, because
Speaker 1: of because of I only played two years, I didn't
Speaker 1: have my bird rights, meaning that Golden State can only
Speaker 1: offer me a certain amount, which was forty nine it
Speaker 1: was it was basically seven years forty nine million. Oh wow. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so seven year forty nine was the was the max
Speaker 1: that they could offer me. Denver already came out with
Speaker 1: six year sixty fifty one. Um, so I went to go.
Speaker 1: I went listen to everyone in Golden State was the
Speaker 1: last one, and I ain't gonna lit. They had a
Speaker 1: hell of a pitch. They had a hell of a pitch,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. Um, we were all young.
Speaker 1: We were young. Um. You know they had like a
Speaker 1: Viper Ferrari, the Lambo downstairs, the corvette, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. So what what we were trying to do
Speaker 1: is we were trying to sign the under the table deal,
Speaker 1: you know, one year four point nine and then have
Speaker 1: the contract already signed seven years seventy nine million. Okay,
Speaker 1: So that was the That was the deal that I
Speaker 1: was gonna sign now, and then we was both going
Speaker 1: to hold it in the vote. Um, and like bye,
Speaker 1: by the time I got to them, Golden Wizards already
Speaker 1: offered me the max they can offer me. So the
Speaker 1: owners like, whatever, whatever I have, you know, fifty eight,
Speaker 1: sixty one, sixty five, seventy five, whatever I had, it's yours,
Speaker 1: just come. So you know, the number was the number
Speaker 1: from Washington was coming around sixty sixty to sixty four.
Speaker 1: It was somewhere around there. So when we did the calculations,
Speaker 1: you know, you take the four point nine plus the
Speaker 1: seventy nine came up around about eighty three million. By
Speaker 1: the time matched I would have already been out of
Speaker 1: my Washington deal. Yeah, you have Jason Richardson, you have me,
Speaker 1: you have Troy Murphy, right, have Yurie Welston. Next year,
Speaker 1: you have done Levy. Someone was gonna get screwed. All
Speaker 1: of us wasn't going to get our money. And you know,
Speaker 1: it was basically like the only one that can get
Speaker 1: screwed who don't have a name is you. And I
Speaker 1: had to really take that in consideration, like if I
Speaker 1: got hurt that next year and didn't perform, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean. So I was like, you know what,
Speaker 1: as much as I want to love to stay here,
Speaker 1: I need to go and branch off myself. That's very interesting.
Speaker 1: Like I said, for those of you, um that don't understand,
Speaker 1: as a second round pick, I actually benefited off of
Speaker 1: off the Gilbert Arenas rule. UM, because you're you're you're if,
Speaker 1: if you're a second or so if you're if you
Speaker 1: are a first round pick. For those of you out there,
Speaker 1: you have two years guaranteed. Then you have two years
Speaker 1: of player option and the team controls everything. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's not player options, I'm sorry, it's two years of
Speaker 1: team options, so the team controls everything. As a second
Speaker 1: round pick, you can get back to the money faster.
Speaker 1: But prior to Gilbert Arend, the Gilbert Arenas rule you
Speaker 1: can only get the mid level. And then that rule
Speaker 1: changed with you, which was huge. It changed a lot
Speaker 1: for myself and change. I think Jay Crowder was able
Speaker 1: to take it. There's so many guys. So what happened
Speaker 1: was after me, who who benefited first front, it was
Speaker 1: Carlos Boozer, Yes, yes, so which which So what happened
Speaker 1: was they did they they did, they did, you can
Speaker 1: match it. Then they added another year so they sold
Speaker 1: you know, back then it was one year deals, one
Speaker 1: one or the max two. That was it for the
Speaker 1: second round. There was no option three and there was
Speaker 1: none of that. Yes, so after the rule they added
Speaker 1: an option three, right like, okay, just in case. So
Speaker 1: with Carlos Boozer Boozer after his second year, it's the
Speaker 1: team's option. Yes, So he already he already got a
Speaker 1: deal from Utah. He got a deal from Utah. So
Speaker 1: basically he went into the office and convinced them that
Speaker 1: you know, you know, let me out of the deal,
Speaker 1: and I just signed right now for the twenty four million, right,
Speaker 1: I'll signed right now for the twenty four million. This
Speaker 1: is where I want to stay, you know. And it
Speaker 1: was dumb enough to do it. There was enough to
Speaker 1: do it, and he took all and he like he
Speaker 1: laughed and went and signed where he went to Utah
Speaker 1: like eighty it was like eighty sub million, okay. So
Speaker 1: who was he with prior to Utah? He was with Cleveland,
Speaker 1: he was with Lebron oh okay, so he was he
Speaker 1: was bawling. So he was basically saying like like if
Speaker 1: you signed me this year and then I go to
Speaker 1: the next year, I'm gonna be worth all of this.
Speaker 1: So right now, you know you know, twenty four million.
Speaker 1: I signed a twenty four five year or whatever, and
Speaker 1: it's like, oh shit, okay, we'll get him for the
Speaker 1: twenty four So they let him out and he took off.
Speaker 1: That's crazy. Yeah, that's crazy. I want to get it
Speaker 1: with the Okay. I wonder who his asient was. I know,
Speaker 1: Cleveland Forever Hate. Yeah, that was a bad one. Like
Speaker 1: that's what you cheer like, Yeah, alright, somebody. Absolutely, And
Speaker 1: it happens. They come few and far in between, so
Speaker 1: you gotta appreciate the ones that do happen. So you
Speaker 1: but you leave Golden State and you go sign that
Speaker 1: deal with Washington. Um, how was it adjusted? Number one?
Speaker 1: That's a whole life change, moving from the West coast
Speaker 1: of the East coast after all of those ships about
Speaker 1: how how was that adjustment different organizations? Um? How was
Speaker 1: that adjustment? Before you moving to Washington? You know, just
Speaker 1: you know, I had the relationship with the owner, you know, uh,
Speaker 1: mister a Poland rest in peace. Um, that was my backing.
Speaker 1: That's who I talked to. That to me and him,
Speaker 1: you know, had the conversation that you know, and his
Speaker 1: his all he asked for us get me out of
Speaker 1: the Jordan era. Everyone's killing me about Jordan. I need
Speaker 1: you to make them stop talking about Jordan, and you
Speaker 1: know what happened with us, and I'm I'm indebted to
Speaker 1: you and that's all right, I got you and that yeah, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: made people forget about Michael Jordan. That's tall ties, Yeah,
Speaker 1: because you know, it's like, you know, it's think about it.
Speaker 1: It's mj and you was supposed to be an owner
Speaker 1: and you didn't hire him as an owner. He was
Speaker 1: getting killed in the media, you know, so he was like,
Speaker 1: you know, make them forget about this, you know, and
Speaker 1: focused on him, you know, the team, and I'm gonna
Speaker 1: go out there and do my best. And it's like
Speaker 1: as long as as long as you're you know, doing
Speaker 1: what you're doing, I'm gonna push for you because you know,
Speaker 1: he was one of the original four owners. Uh okay, yeah,
Speaker 1: so he has pool Pool Yeah for sure, Yeah, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 1: It makes a ton of sense. Uh. You become a
Speaker 1: three time All Star, which is huge. Um, career going great,
Speaker 1: then you run into the unfortunate incident um with Javar's Crista.
Speaker 1: How did you think or do you think that situation
Speaker 1: really changed the way Gilbert Arenus was treated in the
Speaker 1: NBA the way Gilbert Arenus was looked at. Do you
Speaker 1: think that really ended up changing the outcome of your career? No?
Speaker 1: Before that, Um, I had three knee surges in fourteen months. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you had microfractures, right, Yeah, I had to. Yeah. That
Speaker 1: just ruined everyone's career absolutely, you know, so I was
Speaker 1: part of that experiment. Um, so truth being told, I
Speaker 1: wasn't the same player when I got into the trouble.
Speaker 1: I wasn't the same player. There's my owner just passed. Um,
Speaker 1: them being loyal to me, wasn't It was more business
Speaker 1: at that point? Um? You know eight, mister a Poland
Speaker 1: signed his guide to Max the Elita to me either
Speaker 1: because mister And this was this was this what happened
Speaker 1: the year before. Um, when I opted out of my contract,
Speaker 1: I'm hurt. Didn't only play two games. Mister Poula said,
Speaker 1: I don't care what they saying. You did your job.
Speaker 1: Whatever you want, I'm gonna sign it. Whatever you want.
Speaker 1: I don't care what you want, I'm gonna sign it.
Speaker 1: I don't care what the doctor said, I don't care
Speaker 1: what the general manager saying. So you're my guy. You
Speaker 1: lived up to yours. I'm gonna little up to mine
Speaker 1: and signment to the one eleven. Right. So he didn't
Speaker 1: listen experts, he didn't listen to the general manager, he
Speaker 1: didn't listen to no doctor. He didn't care. Um. So
Speaker 1: once he passed um, I remember, I remember We're at
Speaker 1: the ceremony and Brendan Haywood was like, uh, he looked
Speaker 1: at me and said, uh, yeah, they're gonna come. You
Speaker 1: better be on your best behavior. They're gonna come after
Speaker 1: that contract. Man, I'm untouchable. Man ain't doing nothing to me, right, No,
Speaker 1: he was. He was right. I was wrong, right. So
Speaker 1: you know, going through that situation with Javaris, it was
Speaker 1: it was real shocking because it's like my whole thing
Speaker 1: was like, man, you can do a hundred things right,
Speaker 1: you may one mistake, idiot races your whole legacy. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: your whole legacy, like my whole legacy is, is cleared
Speaker 1: out for one bad decision, one bad judgment, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean. And that's what didn't sit well with me.
Speaker 1: Like the Wizards part, you know that's expected, you know,
Speaker 1: that's business. I get it. I under I understand that
Speaker 1: I would have did the same thing, you know, especially
Speaker 1: now when you're older. Um, you know, it's it's business.
Speaker 1: It's just you know, I gave them a chance to
Speaker 1: do it, you know, and they have to make their decisions,
Speaker 1: so you know. But my thing was just worldwide over
Speaker 1: is like, you know, this one thing is what you're
Speaker 1: judging me off of now, and that's that's that, you know.
Speaker 1: I couldn't I couldn't sleep at night with that, Like
Speaker 1: that's where I just lost the love. Like it's like
Speaker 1: I was batting one hundred percent, i missed one shot.
Speaker 1: I'm the sorriest on the plan. And then that's where
Speaker 1: you know, I really kind of had lost the love
Speaker 1: at that moment, you right down, just moving through the motions.
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Speaker 1: an official sports betting partner of the NBA. So you
Speaker 1: lose love for that, You're also battling the microfracture stuff
Speaker 1: and injuries from that. And I know at towards the
Speaker 1: end of your career where the last year you end
Speaker 1: up playing, you you went over to Shanghai and played
Speaker 1: with the Shanghai Sharks. Um, do you ever look look
Speaker 1: back at your time in Shanghai or do you feel
Speaker 1: like you weren't just quite the player that you were
Speaker 1: anymore to do that? But do you ever look back
Speaker 1: at your time in Shanghai and wonder or wish you
Speaker 1: would have stayed over there longer? After looking at the
Speaker 1: business that Stefan Marbory Marbarry end up building and going
Speaker 1: over to China and kind of making a career out
Speaker 1: of it after the NBA Nazi So when when I when?
Speaker 1: So I was before with the Shanghai I was working
Speaker 1: out with the Clippers. So I was playing with the
Speaker 1: Clippers that summer. You know, they had opened, Jim Bella
Speaker 1: was there, everybody was there. So I'm playing well. Um,
Speaker 1: and then the Lakers opened up their their practice facility
Speaker 1: two weeks before training camp started, so that's when like
Speaker 1: Steve Nash was there. That's when that team was coming in.
Speaker 1: So I'm playing well. Like you know, Eddie Jordan my
Speaker 1: my my head coach, he's the assistant coach. Ordan. Mike
Speaker 1: Brown came over. So I'm ten asses up right, So
Speaker 1: I'm talking to Eddie and he's like, what are you
Speaker 1: gonna do? He said, because they really like him. So
Speaker 1: they're they're they're trying to see if you want to
Speaker 1: go to the At the time, I think it still
Speaker 1: was the d League and you play on the DV team,
Speaker 1: get all the understanding of the offense. I's like, the
Speaker 1: what offense? The one I created? The Princeton Like like,
Speaker 1: I don't have to worry about that. I know that
Speaker 1: back of my head. And he was like, you know
Speaker 1: that's what they're saying. Just to stay in shape because
Speaker 1: you know they don't want to the season starts and
Speaker 1: he's just in limbo mode. So I was like, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm thinking about going to um, China, you know, are
Speaker 1: going to China. Get my little swag back over there
Speaker 1: shooting shit, you know, every shot. You know, I'm thinking
Speaker 1: about the ball. It's like that would be that would
Speaker 1: be a good thing. Um. I didn't know Doc Rivers
Speaker 1: was invited me to training camp for the Clippers. Um,
Speaker 1: but you know it was when I heard about it,
Speaker 1: I'm like, nah, because they just signed JJ Reddick, Um,
Speaker 1: they got Jamal Crawford, Chris Paul. So I'm like, well,
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna play. I mean, I'm not. I'm not
Speaker 1: gonna put myself in a situation where I could get
Speaker 1: some time and show I still got it. So I
Speaker 1: end up going to you know, I ended up, you know,
Speaker 1: going to China. Make the team. The coach there, I'm glad.
Speaker 1: I don't even remember this motherfucking name. I'm glad I
Speaker 1: don't remember his name. He made me train ten days straight,
Speaker 1: two of days what right, Yeah, to see if I
Speaker 1: I was in shape and still if I had it,
Speaker 1: like you know what I mean, and just twirled my body.
Speaker 1: So by the time he got to the first game
Speaker 1: we're playing against Steph Mulberry, came down, hit the three
Speaker 1: on them, came back down, pulled my growing, pulled three
Speaker 1: muscles in my growing. Yeah, so pulled three muscles on
Speaker 1: my growing. And that's what kind of hurt my situation there.
Speaker 1: So I had to come back to the States, you know.
Speaker 1: I finished the season like, you know, hobbling here and there,
Speaker 1: came back to the States, rehabbed all summer, and then
Speaker 1: I was playing with Boogie. I was playing with Boogie
Speaker 1: and me and Boogie was playing well. Um he said
Speaker 1: he was gonna give me an invite to play for Sack. Um,
Speaker 1: so it's gonna go, you know, Sack or go back
Speaker 1: to China. And I played in the Drew League, Uh,
Speaker 1: toured my my niscus jesus. Yeah. So it was one
Speaker 1: of those things like all right, I give it up.
Speaker 1: I get it, I get it, I understand, I give
Speaker 1: it up. So that was really how how it kind
Speaker 1: of ended that. You know, every time I put some
Speaker 1: much working in the little a little knack, let me know,
Speaker 1: let it go. Yeah yeah, yeah. You you you quickly
Speaker 1: start like moving into the podcast space and like different
Speaker 1: media opportunity. What what made you branch into that space
Speaker 1: so fast? Because guys weren't doing that, like I have
Speaker 1: a podcast now in the NBA and Patrick Brevly, But
Speaker 1: you started moving into that space really fast. What was
Speaker 1: it that took you into that space so fast? And
Speaker 1: obviously you got no chill guil. Now for those of
Speaker 1: you out there, Gil's arena is premiering soon. Um, you
Speaker 1: could tell us more about that. But what what really
Speaker 1: took you into that space so fast? Okay? So, uh,
Speaker 1: the NBA was during this experiment called uh like players diary, right,
Speaker 1: so they was they was looking for players that can
Speaker 1: be like the diary players. It was like me, um
Speaker 1: done Levy as a bunch of non other you know,
Speaker 1: they didn't have no personalities, right, Um. So what ended
Speaker 1: up happening is you know, just like you you put
Speaker 1: a mic, you know what to do with it? Did
Speaker 1: you put the biking my mout? So what happened was
Speaker 1: I blew up like like you know, my diary was
Speaker 1: the hottest thing moving on NBA dot com right like
Speaker 1: our it was you know, like it really helped me
Speaker 1: sell my brand to you know, to to everyone. So
Speaker 1: when I was done playing and people started talking about podcasting.
Speaker 1: See podcasting. It wasn't how we're doing it now. It
Speaker 1: was just audio. Yeah, and I'm like, I'm not no
Speaker 1: radio dude, man, Like you know what I mean. So
Speaker 1: I was like, man, just supported video wise and then
Speaker 1: we'll go from there. So it was like then it
Speaker 1: became video podcasting. Yeah. My first three episodes, I was like,
Speaker 1: I don't I adn't like it. It didn't sound right.
Speaker 1: And then it put it out anyway, and then everyone
Speaker 1: started liking it. And what I decided it was like,
Speaker 1: this is like new media. Yeah, this is new media
Speaker 1: because players get to talk to players both understand each other,
Speaker 1: We both understand how to protect each other, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean. So absolute, this is this is the lane.
Speaker 1: We're different from the big media who who has no
Speaker 1: They don't care about the person themselves, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. They don't have an interview of us. They
Speaker 1: just talk about us. Yeah, but we need each other.
Speaker 1: And if I say something about a payer, it's not
Speaker 1: a grudge. I can say something bad about him today,
Speaker 1: I can say something good about him tomorrow. You know
Speaker 1: what I mean. This is not you know, I don't
Speaker 1: I don't grudges against a player you know, and when
Speaker 1: players see that, Okay, okay, he gave him my credit here, Okay, cool,
Speaker 1: they don't take it personal. You know, ESPN, they gonna
Speaker 1: they go, they hold him like you did something personally
Speaker 1: to them. Well, I think with a lot of this media, man,
Speaker 1: you start, you start like these guys, they're no longer
Speaker 1: just dissecting basketball game. They're like taking shots at people character,
Speaker 1: you know, like I had, like I had, I had
Speaker 1: an issue last week. Uh and I spoke about it
Speaker 1: on the podcast or a week maybe two weeks ago
Speaker 1: now whatever it was when Russ got traded away from
Speaker 1: from the Lakers. Now, like I said, I'm not in
Speaker 1: the Lakers locker room, so I can't speak on how
Speaker 1: Russ was, how anyone was tourist Russ um, what his
Speaker 1: attitude was. I can't speak on any of that. But
Speaker 1: the entitlement in media today is what really Like like I,
Speaker 1: you know, I would speak like you just said, the
Speaker 1: new media, like I speak on this new media thing.
Speaker 1: And initially when I started speaking on it, everyone think
Speaker 1: I'm talking about like, oh, athletes doing media like athletes's
Speaker 1: been doing me. Like I'm not the first athlete to media.
Speaker 1: I have a podcast. But when I was when I
Speaker 1: first started speaking to new media, the new media to
Speaker 1: me was or is like going about media a certain way,
Speaker 1: you know, like, um, there used to be a term,
Speaker 1: as you know, called a homer in media. That term
Speaker 1: is non existent anymore. Like you see people on TV
Speaker 1: actually cheering for a team that they're critiquing against another team,
Speaker 1: as if you're not a human being and you don't
Speaker 1: feel a way about this person, like that just doesn't
Speaker 1: come into play, like you can just push all these emotions,
Speaker 1: and so like the term homer is no more, which
Speaker 1: I think is ridiculous because it doesn't allow you, it
Speaker 1: doesn't allow you to do unbiased journalism, Like you can't.
Speaker 1: You can't give an unbiased opinion. You're giving me your
Speaker 1: biased opinion, which like, all right, it's one thing if
Speaker 1: your biased opinion is basketball. But now these biased opinions
Speaker 1: are turning into character characterized opinions, and I don't like that.
Speaker 1: And so Dave mcminiman, who I don't really know, from
Speaker 1: a can of paint, he says, Russell Westbrook was a
Speaker 1: vampire in the locker room. I'm sitting there listening to it,
Speaker 1: and I'm like, Okay, that's strong and then he's just stopped. Now.
Speaker 1: I was like, if you're gonna say someone's a vampire
Speaker 1: in the locker room, A, that's something that someone has
Speaker 1: said to you, and I know how this business work.
Speaker 1: They probably said it in passing, like man, I can
Speaker 1: see it, like somebody like, man, that vampire out of here.
Speaker 1: And then you run on TV and you say they
Speaker 1: got rid of a vampire in the locker room. That's
Speaker 1: a character hit that can affect his livelihood and his
Speaker 1: next job. So if you're gonna say something like that,
Speaker 1: you better have example ABCD and E to validate you
Speaker 1: calling that man a vampire in the locker room. Right,
Speaker 1: And so that's been my whole thing, like with media,
Speaker 1: like it's not what it used to be, is now
Speaker 1: what it's intended to be. So I agree one hundred
Speaker 1: percent on the conversations that you're saying about like players,
Speaker 1: interview and players, because that's that's my number one goal
Speaker 1: with this show. It's like it's a safe space. Um,
Speaker 1: if you say something in this interview and like people
Speaker 1: you're hearing now, but if you say something in this
Speaker 1: interview that's gonna get you in trub we're taking that
Speaker 1: shit out like we're protecting each other. Like I'm not
Speaker 1: about to put that out there just to get you
Speaker 1: like to get some clicks and get get some people Like, No,
Speaker 1: we're taking that out like protecting guy because I look
Speaker 1: at it like this, If you protect someone, they'll always
Speaker 1: come back. I don't need to get some clicks off
Speaker 1: somebody else. Listen that, And and I think that's what
Speaker 1: people started realizing too with me, Like you know, I'll
Speaker 1: have the t os. You know, he's a personality. Nick
Speaker 1: Young's um Fizzdale, right, and you know they'll say some
Speaker 1: things and you know, and then we get to really
Speaker 1: like gauge it, like what I want what I want
Speaker 1: that clip to be out about me? Um, now he's
Speaker 1: you know, he's trying to get a job. This is
Speaker 1: this you know what Hey the last twenty minutes cut
Speaker 1: it right. Yeah, And there was a point where you know,
Speaker 1: my man, t O, that's my man, and as a friend,
Speaker 1: you know, just not an acting as a friend like
Speaker 1: when Golden State was trying to get me back. I
Speaker 1: was on a private jet with t O, right, so
Speaker 1: as a friend, you know, you know some of the
Speaker 1: comments he was making as a as a friend I'm
Speaker 1: taking it out. And if you want to sit on
Speaker 1: your platform, okay, that's you know what I mean. But
Speaker 1: I'm I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna. It goes against
Speaker 1: our friendship. And if I allow this to go out
Speaker 1: just to go viral against some clipbings, So that's going out.
Speaker 1: We keep our friendship. I come on your show, you
Speaker 1: come on my ship. And that's what athletes are doing.
Speaker 1: And I think that's what the media of the old
Speaker 1: media is not really understanding the athletes. We don't we
Speaker 1: don't fuck with y'all like that. Yeah, Like we rock
Speaker 1: with each other no matter what we say. We know
Speaker 1: we can call each other and say out of my bag,
Speaker 1: you know, I was just I fucked up. We could
Speaker 1: do that whole thing. Like sometimes I will say something
Speaker 1: and I DM hey, I would just yeah, yeah, I
Speaker 1: want to I want respect that when I was thinking
Speaker 1: and body came out wrong, but this is what I
Speaker 1: was thinking, and you know, and that's the space that
Speaker 1: athletes are starting to move in where they can trust,
Speaker 1: you know, the podcast is knowing that I have editing,
Speaker 1: you know, editing control and whatever you don't like, hit
Speaker 1: me up, we'll remove it. M Yeah, I think it's incredible.
Speaker 1: I think that's dope. I think that's what's made this
Speaker 1: space like for me, And it's what it's what made
Speaker 1: it's what's made the space one that I really want
Speaker 1: to live in, you know, because and you know someone,
Speaker 1: someone just says something to me yesterday, I practice, Um,
Speaker 1: he's an assistant GM of Oars. He said, Yo, I
Speaker 1: appreciate the way you're going about doing media because you're
Speaker 1: you're creating a lane for guys, because lane, like guys
Speaker 1: don't see it anymore and be like, oh, you have
Speaker 1: to sell out, like you have to say things that
Speaker 1: you really don't want to say, you have to attack
Speaker 1: guys like you don't want to Like I know, I can.
Speaker 1: I can be very critical of Steph's game and not
Speaker 1: attack him like I could. I can be very critical
Speaker 1: of um, Anthony Edwards, the game Anthony Edwards have or
Speaker 1: the week he's I can be very critical of that
Speaker 1: and not attack him. And and that's what we see
Speaker 1: a lot of media today, and I just totally disagree
Speaker 1: with it. And so my goal is to change that.
Speaker 1: My goal is to make that style of journalism obsolete
Speaker 1: because media it's becoming more and more prevalent. It's as
Speaker 1: accessible as it's ever been, and that will only continue
Speaker 1: to grow and become more and more accessible. And you
Speaker 1: just can't have people out here doing a lazy job
Speaker 1: like like just attacking people. Man, that shit tired, Like
Speaker 1: nobody want to hear that. No more, like all the
Speaker 1: stuff we got going in the world, and you think
Speaker 1: I want to sit here and listen to you attacks
Speaker 1: on one character because they missed the jump shot, Like
Speaker 1: we're not doing that. It was so funny as That's
Speaker 1: why you know, with my new show, Gills Arena, I
Speaker 1: signed with an underdog fantasy right, and my whole thing
Speaker 1: is I wanted ESPN style right where it can be
Speaker 1: a bunch of us. We don't have to be in
Speaker 1: a suit. I don't have to tell you about the
Speaker 1: game wearing suiting time, okay, And I mean had the
Speaker 1: same format, so you can see I'm creating the same format,
Speaker 1: the same layout, talking sports without attacking character. Yeah. Right,
Speaker 1: So even with Kyrie, I remember probably I was watching
Speaker 1: someone and they were like, you know, I'm not going
Speaker 1: to attack the character we're talking about the basketball player,
Speaker 1: So I'm you know, I tuned off hitting let me
Speaker 1: see if he can actually know the difference, right, I mean,
Speaker 1: I want to see if he knows the difference. And
Speaker 1: then the person he's talking about, it's the character you're
Speaker 1: talking about, the man you didn't say nothing about his back.
Speaker 1: The basketball part of the player is how does he
Speaker 1: come to practice? Is he practicing hard? How does he
Speaker 1: get along with his teammates when he when he gets
Speaker 1: on that court, is he performing right? Like? You know,
Speaker 1: what's his practice happens? What's this like? What does this
Speaker 1: eating habits? Like? That's the if you're gonna if you're
Speaker 1: gonna say basketball critique, that part, ye like when you
Speaker 1: start talking about, oh he missed you know this because
Speaker 1: of you know, COVID and that's personal. That's the man.
Speaker 1: That's the man. I want to know when he's between
Speaker 1: those lines, when you're talking about basketball, what is he doing?
Speaker 1: That's all I care about. I don't need the man
Speaker 1: part that can figure itself out. I'm judging this man
Speaker 1: part right here and right head, I'm cooling you know
Speaker 1: the rest of the stuff. That's not my problem. He
Speaker 1: gets on the court, how did he get along with
Speaker 1: his teammates? All right, he's at the end of the bench, Okay,
Speaker 1: he's shaking hands. Okay, he's cheering. I'm good. Yeah, absolutely
Speaker 1: he can we understand that whole element we we we played.
Speaker 1: These guys haven't played right, so they don't really know
Speaker 1: the difference between the two. Yes, hey, they do, but
Speaker 1: they're just gonna attack to play the character himself. Yes,
Speaker 1: chat the man. They're not gonna talk nothing about his
Speaker 1: skills or what he brings to the game itself. Absolutely no.
Speaker 1: Before we get out of here, I know I've taken
Speaker 1: a lot of your time, and I appreciate you. You
Speaker 1: mentioned Nick Young, who I had as a teammate, won
Speaker 1: a championship with I know y'all relationship, y'all super tight. Um,
Speaker 1: I mean swave fight as hell now. But and initially
Speaker 1: and initially getting out of the like him being out
Speaker 1: of the league. You look at Dwight Howard now, who's
Speaker 1: playing overseas. I think, and I want to I just
Speaker 1: want to get your take on this as someone who's
Speaker 1: done it at the highest level. Vets, the dying breed
Speaker 1: that is Vets in the NBAUM, the effect that you
Speaker 1: yourself thinks has on the NBA. It's like, I'll give
Speaker 1: you my opinion after, but just do you think the
Speaker 1: lack of vets in the NBA now it's problematic for
Speaker 1: the league moving forward. Yes, I really do think so,
Speaker 1: because just like your vet, he was once young. Right,
Speaker 1: so with this older guy, he's been there, he's understood, right,
Speaker 1: he's been a star, He had to sit the bench,
Speaker 1: he got booted in a sarna, you know, he got fined,
Speaker 1: he's done, did every single thing where when a young
Speaker 1: player comes in, like when I had John Wall, you know,
Speaker 1: and I and you know me and Washington wasn't seeing
Speaker 1: Ida high. But that had nothing to do with me
Speaker 1: and John Wall relationship. You know, like John Wall here,
Speaker 1: come to the closet, give you a hundred thousand dollars
Speaker 1: worth of stuff. You don't spend your money. You don't
Speaker 1: need to spend your money, right, don't try to you know,
Speaker 1: match player for player on clothes and stuff like that. Right, uh,
Speaker 1: right before I was leaving, you know, you know I'm
Speaker 1: telling them how to you know, take the bus early,
Speaker 1: you know, go to sleep early. You know, if you're
Speaker 1: gonna party, you know you're gonna have to do this
Speaker 1: this this um. You know, get into a routine. You know,
Speaker 1: practice is practice, but get yourself an in season routine,
Speaker 1: learn how to be a pro and do not accept winning.
Speaker 1: Winning is not something you accept accept right you You
Speaker 1: let it affect you, like you when you lose. Like
Speaker 1: if you start accepting it, you become a loser. Right Yeah, Absolutely,
Speaker 1: what ends up happening if you don't have a veteran
Speaker 1: telling the young stars how to be stars, then what
Speaker 1: ends up happening? They're learning on the same they're learning
Speaker 1: the same thing I learned. When if you have a veteran,
Speaker 1: he takes away some of those pitfalls. Absolutely did They
Speaker 1: take away some of them pitfalls. So without the without
Speaker 1: that leadership to help the new generation, you just have
Speaker 1: the same cycle of things going on. So I agree,
Speaker 1: I agree. I think you know when I look back,
Speaker 1: like on my career, the value of vets that I had,
Speaker 1: Jared Jack, Jermaine, O'Neil, Carlin, Richard Jefferson, your ex teammate, Yah,
Speaker 1: like theyve league like them my vets, David West, Yeah,
Speaker 1: some good them my first few years in the league.
Speaker 1: They're my vets. Those are the guys that taught me
Speaker 1: Zaza Petulia my fifth year, four fourth year, like, those
Speaker 1: are the guys that taught me how to take care
Speaker 1: of your body, how to act, what time you should
Speaker 1: be showing up, Fight this battle, don't fight that battle.
Speaker 1: And like at the end of the day, I'm gonna grown, man,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna still pick and choose my own battles. But
Speaker 1: to have that guidance, Like you look around some of
Speaker 1: these teams down't like Houston don't have a VET, Nope,
Speaker 1: but they got this promise, all this promising young talent
Speaker 1: with with no veteran leadership. Or you look at OKAC.
Speaker 1: They don't have a VET who no one to teach them,
Speaker 1: no one, no one to teach them. So they're all learning.
Speaker 1: They're all learning, and that's the They're all learning on
Speaker 1: the fly, learning bad habits, you know, you know, lose
Speaker 1: in laughing thinking it's going to like that's you know,
Speaker 1: a veteran you know, like somebody like uh u D. Right, yeah, absolutely,
Speaker 1: you know, you know u D has been there so
Speaker 1: long that you know when he speaks, when he does speak,
Speaker 1: you you're gonna listen. Absolutely, You're you're you're you're gonna
Speaker 1: listen no matter what. So you know, I think like
Speaker 1: having you know, two vents on your team, even on
Speaker 1: the even on the bench, like it seems like you know,
Speaker 1: there's fifty two people on benches now, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean, they got assistant coaches as they got players,
Speaker 1: you know, start bringing some of these stars back. Yeah,
Speaker 1: because you gotta. I think somehow they think a star
Speaker 1: player hasn't grown up. So if I take Ida and
Speaker 1: Iverson and I put him around my young guy, he's
Speaker 1: still gonna be the twenty year old Alan Iverson Like no,
Speaker 1: he like he's he's learned. He see where his career
Speaker 1: would happened to his career. He's gonna I this man like, hey, no,
Speaker 1: no, no no, no, no, no, no, not gonna do. That's
Speaker 1: what I was like. You know what I mean. You
Speaker 1: have those guys that they had pitfalls, Let them teach
Speaker 1: these guys. We're not to have that pitfall a you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. And um, you know, like you
Speaker 1: know I can talk to a John Moran and be like,
Speaker 1: hey man, you know, um, to move up in this world,
Speaker 1: we have to pick our friends wisely, right, We can't
Speaker 1: take everybody to the picnic, absolutely, So you pick the
Speaker 1: guys that can handle themselves in this picked in these rooms,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, there's there's friends you hang
Speaker 1: out with at home. There's friends you hang out with rooms,
Speaker 1: pick them, Yeah, coordinate, like because your company, you show
Speaker 1: me your company, I can show you where you canna
Speaker 1: end up. Back facts, you know, because there's some point
Speaker 1: you don't want to be getting your name ring because
Speaker 1: of something one of your friends did. So you know
Speaker 1: what I mean. You know you still got to be young,
Speaker 1: but still be mindful of you know the things they
Speaker 1: have to be as professional leg they have to protect
Speaker 1: your brand. Also they're gonna hang with you, they need
Speaker 1: to pretend they're you and protect the brand. Also, they
Speaker 1: need to protect your brand almost more than you protected, Yes,
Speaker 1: because they also have to protect you from yourself from
Speaker 1: you good friends in this position, good friends, good friends. Yeah,
Speaker 1: good friend. You trying to go to the club. And
Speaker 1: then I'm like, nah, man, you not no, not to night, man,
Speaker 1: Let's get on out of here. You absolutely, I'm trying
Speaker 1: to drive to take mckeys. They don't care about they
Speaker 1: don't care about ruffling your feathers. Yes, you know, and
Speaker 1: then that's just gonna be yes man, Yeah, absolutely, man,
Speaker 1: before we get out of here, I know you watch
Speaker 1: a bunch of NBA basketball who you got taken home?
Speaker 1: The MVP this year. Who you got winning the championship?
Speaker 1: You know I got you know, you know right now
Speaker 1: as I think your kids is leading because they're number
Speaker 1: one and playing having that triple double season. Um, you
Speaker 1: know Mbid is doing what mb does? I mean, he's
Speaker 1: most likely're gonna be runner up. If if Jayson Tatum's
Speaker 1: got runner up? Um, Greek the freak is always somewhere
Speaker 1: to miss and what I mean, but it's always But
Speaker 1: you know, I think Yoki, if they finished off strong
Speaker 1: and he continues to, you know, have this triple double year,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a great, great storyline. You know, absolutely
Speaker 1: when it comes to the championship, it's it's no different
Speaker 1: than how you guys came into the playoffs, right Whoever
Speaker 1: clicks the best when time comes. I don't know if
Speaker 1: anyone has put themselves in a situation yet where they're
Speaker 1: dominant then verse good. No one's afraid of no. No,
Speaker 1: It's like in the first round, no one's you know,
Speaker 1: so right now there's no real team that says all right,
Speaker 1: Um that isn't for sure. You know, dark Horse take home.
Speaker 1: You know Katie changes things over in sons um. It's
Speaker 1: like it's like when he came to you guys, you
Speaker 1: guys already had the infrastructure. You're just adding another piece
Speaker 1: versus you know what Brooklyn happened, all three new pieces
Speaker 1: trying to figure out how they're gonna do it. So, um,
Speaker 1: I want to see how that the first week of
Speaker 1: you know, him and the Son's look. Um. But for
Speaker 1: the most part, it'll seem like there's a real dominant
Speaker 1: So it's basically wherever it clicks at the right time.
Speaker 1: You know, coming into the playoffs is is you know,
Speaker 1: you know, it's all seating two. Yeah, yeah, it's all
Speaker 1: seating you know what I mean. It's it's you know
Speaker 1: that team that when they get into the playoffs and
Speaker 1: everybody's healthy, everybody's clicking. You're looking at a sixth seed
Speaker 1: that that was the champions Laue ship. That's like, hey back,
Speaker 1: we're back, you know what I mean. So it's it's
Speaker 1: it's you always got to be mindful to look at
Speaker 1: the like you just watch it. Yeah, I just watch
Speaker 1: and see all right, who matches up? All right? Okay,
Speaker 1: like damn okay, if this is their role, this might
Speaker 1: be you know, you know, you start watching like that,
Speaker 1: so it's like we still have about two weeks before
Speaker 1: we can start seeing what's playing out. Absolutely, man, one
Speaker 1: more question, I'm sorry, why why does European players not
Speaker 1: get the same flak for winning championships or not then
Speaker 1: US American born guys for instance? I saw a list today, Stephen,
Speaker 1: they put out and like it was like players with
Speaker 1: under the most pressure to win a championship. I think
Speaker 1: James Hard was one, CP was two, Jason Tatum was three,
Speaker 1: Joker was four. Joker has two MVPs. Joker has two
Speaker 1: MVPs more than likely about to be a third MVP
Speaker 1: and he's older than JT. H Why is it that
Speaker 1: he's fourth but JT's third and Luca wasn't even on
Speaker 1: the list right like just now you obviously Luca's a
Speaker 1: little younger than JT. But I feel like over the years,
Speaker 1: European players has not had the same um caught the
Speaker 1: same flat I went in a championship as US players,
Speaker 1: and I don't understand that, And I wanted to know
Speaker 1: if you feel the same way about that. It's really
Speaker 1: a not to be honest. Do they do they think
Speaker 1: that they're even capable of winning it by themselves? Um?
Speaker 1: Do they hold them to the greatness of what they
Speaker 1: hold the American players too, right, so when you have
Speaker 1: a Luca, when you have your kitch at the end
Speaker 1: of the day, it's like, yeah, they're good. European players
Speaker 1: are coming over there, dominating, but do we hold them
Speaker 1: to the same standard. So it's like they get a
Speaker 1: free they get they get a free easy pass, right,
Speaker 1: they get a free easy pass versus you know someone
Speaker 1: you know you, you, you know me, you know, you
Speaker 1: know what I'm about. Um, it's them. Might be the
Speaker 1: color of the skin a little bit, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. You know the America, remember the American white
Speaker 1: boys gone. They adapted the black side of the game, right,
Speaker 1: and they they adopted the athletic part of the game.
Speaker 1: So they don't have the same fundamentals that they used
Speaker 1: to have. Ye you know what I mean. So when
Speaker 1: you name when when when you when I see, oh,
Speaker 1: the the white players, and then you put Luca in there,
Speaker 1: like that's European stopping. I wanted you. I can't say,
Speaker 1: you know, he's competed with Larry Burden. No, no, no, no no, no,
Speaker 1: that's Hayward. That's true. So you know that's that group,
Speaker 1: you know, So I think you know, they're trying to
Speaker 1: find a way to ease the Europeans in, to make
Speaker 1: it a broader game. And I don't think they want
Speaker 1: to really give them that that umphit um, but we're
Speaker 1: mentally built for it right now. You know, the jury
Speaker 1: is still out on the Europeans, you know. I mean,
Speaker 1: you know we see Luca amazing, Dirt amazing, Pajia amazing.
Speaker 1: The ones that came over have been amazing, right, Um,
Speaker 1: but they need to start understanding that there's a lot
Speaker 1: from everywhere. There's a lot. Now, I mean, you can
Speaker 1: really put an All Star game together the overseas versus
Speaker 1: the American Yeah, you can. Really, you can really do
Speaker 1: that now, you know what I mean, because you know
Speaker 1: you'd be surprised who's from who's not American? Absolutely, like
Speaker 1: so like Shay is not American? Yeah, yeah, you can.
Speaker 1: You can really have an All Star game where it's
Speaker 1: so you know what I mean. You need to play it,
Speaker 1: play it down the middle. Now, you know, give the
Speaker 1: same respect to them as you do us, which means
Speaker 1: you have to put the same type of responsibility on them.
Speaker 1: Just like there's no way JT is supposed to be
Speaker 1: in this and this this, this this conversation right now,
Speaker 1: know that why why yeah you know he's twenty four,
Speaker 1: twenty five years old, absolutely like Jaylee Brown is older
Speaker 1: than him. But you put more like shout out like
Speaker 1: but that's you know that. But that's what media does, right, Yeah,
Speaker 1: they're trying to set you up so you can fail
Speaker 1: no one. And I, like I said, I I can
Speaker 1: agree with you one like these Europeans today, Luca Joker,
Speaker 1: Yannis Yanni's accomplished defeat, uh Joel like in Joels African
Speaker 1: but just you know from another continent like these these
Speaker 1: these guys, they real guys, and they like, these guys
Speaker 1: are top ten guys in our league, like majority of
Speaker 1: top five, but they top ten guys in our league.
Speaker 1: And I think I didn't even think about it from
Speaker 1: the perspective you're saying like it's a knock, Like I
Speaker 1: didn't even think about that. But what I will say
Speaker 1: is whoever is knocking them at something like at some
Speaker 1: point you gotta stop, like these guys are as good
Speaker 1: as anyone in the league, uh, if not better. And
Speaker 1: if the thing is, oh it's a knock and we
Speaker 1: don't hold them to that standard, that gotta go because
Speaker 1: because and by the way, I think Luca wants to
Speaker 1: be held to that standard. I think, great, we know
Speaker 1: Yannis wants to be We know Yannis wants to be
Speaker 1: held it. So I think these guys want to be
Speaker 1: held to that standard. And I also think, again talking
Speaker 1: about it from a journalism standpoint, honesty, we need that
Speaker 1: back in this business. Not a narrative. Not a narrative.
Speaker 1: If we don't know, we're not going to put no, no, no.
Speaker 1: We need honestly, we need to trove back in this
Speaker 1: business because that is what ultimately helps grow this game.
Speaker 1: And that helps you, It helps myself, it helps everybody
Speaker 1: involved and who is touched by the game of basketball.
Speaker 1: So I that's something that I hope to see. I
Speaker 1: appreciate your perspective on that because it definitely gave me
Speaker 1: a different, a totally different perspective that I haven't thought about.
Speaker 1: But like as a as a as a player, like
Speaker 1: like you're you're more like you're more controlled in your
Speaker 1: im media space as a player. People don't realize that
Speaker 1: with someone who has their own I would have been oh,
Speaker 1: I would have been five, would have been fined my asshole.
Speaker 1: I would have I would have win live. I would
Speaker 1: have win live playing just like you know, like NBA, Michael,
Speaker 1: I'm liking myself up, iking myself up, and I'm doing it,
Speaker 1: you know, myself, Like I would have tried that, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. I would have tried it. I
Speaker 1: would have tried some boofy shit like that, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean, because at the end of the day,
Speaker 1: I don't need to play the footage now, yeah I
Speaker 1: should it. I can hold it, I get hold it.
Speaker 1: Sure it is my footage. I could I could be
Speaker 1: in the game doing my thing and hold that footage right.
Speaker 1: So I would have tried that. So you know, watching
Speaker 1: you like, you know you're responsible. I appreciate that you're responsible.
Speaker 1: And you know what I mean. With hey, Underdog Fantasy,
Speaker 1: we we we talked about it, man, like you know
Speaker 1: what I mean, Like he's he's an active player. That
Speaker 1: that that he has real time information. He has real
Speaker 1: access right now, so he has a better You gotta remember,
Speaker 1: we're dealing with secondary information about a one information right now.
Speaker 1: Real time can tell you the game, to tell you
Speaker 1: how he's feeling. That's more important. So yeah, I've already
Speaker 1: tried to send him your way. I'm like it's it's it.
Speaker 1: When he's done, they're gonna they're gonna buy the podcast,
Speaker 1: they're gonna do whatever someone's coming because he's just too
Speaker 1: good at what he does. I appreciate that, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean. I appreciate you, man. I've been obviously
Speaker 1: I've been a big fan since, you know, watching you
Speaker 1: play the game at Arizona, then to the Golden State
Speaker 1: Warriors with Jay Rich. You know Jay Rich from Saginaw,
Speaker 1: So I was always watching the Warriors and just followed
Speaker 1: your career and then also you in the media space.
Speaker 1: I think, uh, very admirable. How you speak your mind
Speaker 1: and from a very intelligent place. Like you know, people
Speaker 1: can say what they want to feel what they want
Speaker 1: about what you have to say, but they can't call
Speaker 1: you dumb. And that's the first thing people try to
Speaker 1: do when you speak your mind, you know, it's trying
Speaker 1: to discredit your knowledge, discredit how smart you are. And
Speaker 1: so I have a huge appreciation for who you are,
Speaker 1: for what you've done, Like I said, how you went
Speaker 1: right into that space and show the other guys how
Speaker 1: to navigate that. I appreciate it. I thank you for
Speaker 1: coming on the show. Much love, Bro, and if nobody
Speaker 1: else ain't giving you your flowers. Like I said at
Speaker 1: the very beginning, I watch you play. But also just
Speaker 1: hearing from several people that I respect their basketball mind
Speaker 1: like one of the best players they've ever seen. Brok.
Speaker 1: When you're freeing a summer and you ain't got you
Speaker 1: to do, don I come chop it off for show
Speaker 1: for show. You see the the steak colors. Absolutely, I'm
Speaker 1: coming to chopping up for sure. Thank you, man. I
Speaker 1: appreciate it absolutely. Thank you, Bro