WEBVTT - EPISODE 20: Kangz to Kings! 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.960 Welcome to this league. I'm cut in the world of 0:00:04.080 --> 0:00:19.760 twenty four NBA news. Christ This liguln cut is underway. Fire. 0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:26.280 This should be a good one. Everybody. Welcome back to 0:00:26.320 --> 0:00:30.200 another episode of this League of Cut with my partner 0:00:30.240 --> 0:00:33.080 in Mark Stein. This is Chris Hayes. Here. Let's we 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:36.400 have a special guest and this guest, this this guest. 0:00:36.440 --> 0:00:38.400 The time inc is is just perfect because there's a 0:00:38.400 --> 0:00:42.560 lot going on in this particular market, that particular city, 0:00:42.840 --> 0:00:47.200 and this guy right here, he pretty much is very 0:00:47.240 --> 0:00:53.040 influential and recreating the culture, the foundation of this team 0:00:53.080 --> 0:00:56.440 and this team I'm talking about the Sacramento Kings just 0:00:56.760 --> 0:00:59.800 clints of birth to the playoffs for the first time 0:01:00.040 --> 0:01:04.280 in sixteen years. And this individual right here that we're 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:08.200 going to have on today again, very special guests, and 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:11.200 you know, I'm just you know, Mark sty go ahead 0:01:11.200 --> 0:01:14.120 and introduce the man. Go ahead, jump in here. Coach 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:19.840 Mike Brown, who Chris Haynes says should and will be. 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:22.640 Now he didn't say will, he said should should be 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:27.000 the unanimous Coach of the Year winner. Coach, Congratulations, you 0:01:27.000 --> 0:01:31.360 guys freshly clinched a spot in the playoffs. Just I 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:34.160 guess what was it like waking up this morning knowing 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:37.760 that Sacramento Kings will be in the playoffs for the 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:41.800 first time since you were in Cleveland many many, many 0:01:41.880 --> 0:01:45.520 years ago. You know what I tell you, it's it's 0:01:45.920 --> 0:01:52.440 it's a special feeling, mainly because you know what it 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:55.840 means to the city, just as much to the organization 0:01:55.920 --> 0:01:59.360 as well. And you know, I've been sacramental for a 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:02.520 short period of time and allow a lot of good people. 0:02:02.560 --> 0:02:07.120 They're very knowledgeable about the game, very passionate about the game, 0:02:07.520 --> 0:02:10.400 and that passion hasn't subsided even though they hadn't been 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:14.320 in the playoffs uh in sixteen years. They're still trying 0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:19.120 to rep sack wherever they can, whenever they can, and 0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:22.919 so to be able to be a part of this 0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:27.400 experience h clinch at this point in the season and 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:31.960 continue to help uplift that that that town as well 0:02:32.000 --> 0:02:37.600 as the organization. There's no better feeling. What did you do? 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:40.440 What did you do? After Clinton? Is there anything anything 0:02:40.520 --> 0:02:45.200 specially you did? What? You know? What? So a lot 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:49.160 of our wives came up, a girlfriend, significant others came 0:02:49.240 --> 0:02:51.800 up to to Portland because we knew we were going 0:02:51.880 --> 0:02:54.040 to be here for a few days. It's a short trip. 0:02:54.520 --> 0:02:57.480 And uh so when we got back to the hotel. 0:02:58.120 --> 0:03:00.720 Uh we had a little room down right off the 0:03:00.760 --> 0:03:05.280 bar in the hotel and we popped a few bottles 0:03:05.320 --> 0:03:08.080 of champagne, had a couple of time and listen to 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:11.639 some good music while chatting it up. Is this the 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:15.720 Nines Hotel? Yes it is. I said, that's my favorite 0:03:15.720 --> 0:03:19.480 spot right there, favorite spot right there. I'm sure you 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:21.840 wanted to clinch at home, but is there kind of 0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:25.040 to do it on the road. And you guys are 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:27.240 all there kind of on foe and turf, but you're 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:32.040 all there together. I mean, what is that like? You 0:03:32.080 --> 0:03:36.280 know it? Yes, you want to clinch at home because 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:38.600 again you want to do it in front of your fans. 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:41.280 And there was a lot of anticipation a couple of 0:03:41.400 --> 0:03:44.160 nights to go against the timber Wolves. But at the 0:03:44.240 --> 0:03:48.920 end of the day, you know, for us, it's just 0:03:48.960 --> 0:03:51.160 about getting it done. And I told our guys this 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:54.760 um not too long ago. I said, hey, you guys 0:03:55.440 --> 0:03:57.840 put yourselves in the position to be able to control 0:03:57.880 --> 0:04:01.320 your own destiny. And when you're able to do that, 0:04:02.040 --> 0:04:03.520 you know, at the end of the day, it doesn't 0:04:03.560 --> 0:04:07.240 matter really for us. Whether it's here or there, might 0:04:07.440 --> 0:04:10.000 except for the fact, like I said, you know, you 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:12.800 you like your fans to have that opportunity to see 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:15.560 it in person. But at the end of the day, 0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:19.120 because the guys put themselves in this position, they had 0:04:19.160 --> 0:04:21.240 plenty an opportunity to do it, whether it's at home, 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:24.000 on the road, and just so happy to be up 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:28.039 here in Portland, and it feels it feels good either way. Coach, 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:31.440 did you ever this is your first year as the 0:04:31.480 --> 0:04:34.440 head coach of the Kings, and you spent your time 0:04:34.480 --> 0:04:37.320 and Lakers, you spend your time with the Cavaliers, and 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:39.320 then you spent time as his assistant with the Golden 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:43.640 State Warriors. Did you ever think or was there any 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:47.160 doubt at all during the time that you would Golden 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:49.320 State that you would get another opportunity to be a 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:53.120 head coach in this league. I didn't know. You know, 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:57.000 I'm the type that looks at things, that looks at 0:04:57.000 --> 0:05:00.679 a glass or a jars as half full as opposed 0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:04.520 to have empty. So I'll pretty optimistic optimistic person as 0:05:04.680 --> 0:05:08.479 is I felt. If I if I kept you know, 0:05:09.320 --> 0:05:13.039 grinding and doing my thing and kept trying to be 0:05:13.160 --> 0:05:17.400 part of uh situations, that will not only help me 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:21.120 grow and evolve, but also where you win is usually 0:05:21.760 --> 0:05:24.919 if you're in a situation where you win, more eyes 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:28.200 are on you, and everybody usually has success that comes 0:05:28.200 --> 0:05:31.799 from a winning situation. So I didn't know I felt 0:05:31.839 --> 0:05:34.680 being in Golden State, working for Steve and being around 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:38.800 the great players that I was around and winning at 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:42.560 that At that level, I get opportunities to interview, but 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:46.000 you just never know what's going to unfold in those interviews. 0:05:46.040 --> 0:05:47.640 Most of the times when you go on an interview, 0:05:48.920 --> 0:05:52.760 the club has somebody already in mind. But for me, 0:05:52.839 --> 0:05:55.960 it didn't matter because every interview that I went on UH, 0:05:56.640 --> 0:05:59.320 I felt like I learned, I got better, you know, 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:03.240 because I spoke in front of a different UH staff 0:06:03.240 --> 0:06:07.960 and had explained my plan and had to dive deep 0:06:08.000 --> 0:06:10.839 into what the what the team was and where I 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:13.680 take them, and and so for me to get an 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:17.120 interview at this point was something I wasn't going to 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:19.520 turn down. So at the end of the day, I'm 0:06:19.560 --> 0:06:21.600 glad it worked out the way it did. But UH, 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:24.560 you know, you never know in these situations. You just 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:27.279 keep your fingers cross and keep trying to do the 0:06:27.360 --> 0:06:30.680 right thing, and maybe that happened, coach, Can you name 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:33.040 the teams the other teams that you interview with you 0:06:33.200 --> 0:06:36.440 during your time to go to state. Yeah, I interviewed 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:45.080 with Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers. Obviously the 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:47.720 Sacrament of Kings. I think that might think that might 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:50.720 be it. I think it might be it. The New 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:52.760 York Knicks. I also interviewed from the New York Knicks. 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:56.520 How did you come away from the ones that you 0:06:56.640 --> 0:07:02.039 didn't get? The only one that, uh really the only 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:05.160 one that I thought that I had a decent shot 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:09.479 at because I truly felt that they didn't have a 0:07:09.600 --> 0:07:12.760 candidate in place was the Clippers. Uh. You know, I 0:07:12.800 --> 0:07:16.920 knew ty Loose, He's a fantastic championship coach. I knew 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:19.640 he had a leg up on me. Um you know 0:07:19.960 --> 0:07:25.080 uh in that interview process because of his track record. 0:07:25.680 --> 0:07:29.040 Uh and how you know again how successful he is, 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:31.680 but the type of person is, and then he already 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:34.080 knew the players and so on and so forth, and 0:07:34.120 --> 0:07:35.880 they had a lot of trust and confidence in them. 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:38.680 But I, you know, when I was going through the process, 0:07:38.720 --> 0:07:42.880 I really felt like the staff hadn't made up their 0:07:43.200 --> 0:07:47.240 mind yet or didn't have a have ty loose as 0:07:47.720 --> 0:07:51.480 you know peg as, No, he's the guy, but maybe 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:54.800 we'll see what Mike bring to the table. And and uh, 0:07:54.840 --> 0:07:56.720 you know, at the end of the day, obviously the 0:07:56.840 --> 0:08:00.280 job went to him and for me, uh, and that 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:04.400 he got that job for me, I felt good because 0:08:04.440 --> 0:08:08.080 he's a fantastic human being and obviously a great coach. 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:12.320 So I didn't feel like, uh, that was tough to 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:15.520 handle not getting that one at all. But I was 0:08:15.600 --> 0:08:17.480 I thought I was. I thought I had a chance 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:20.880 at that one. Other ones, Uh, they're fantastic to the 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:23.520 interview for but going in, I knew that for the 0:08:23.560 --> 0:08:25.880 most part, they had their guy in mind and it 0:08:25.960 --> 0:08:29.600 and it wasn't me. I think you ended up in 0:08:29.640 --> 0:08:32.920 the right spot. I'm gonna go out on a limb. Hey, 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:35.120 you're one hundred percent correct. This is the spot I 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:42.960 was supposed to being. Well, we talked to you know, 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:46.000 thank you for giving the time for the story I 0:08:46.000 --> 0:08:49.640 wrote on the Keys and just a transformation of the 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:53.160 culture that everybody please go check that out. Brought that 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:56.600 about two weeks ago on the Keys and Mike Brown's 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:59.280 involvement in that process, because what what is what has 0:08:59.320 --> 0:09:01.640 it been? Like, you know, I want you to for 0:09:01.720 --> 0:09:04.199 people to hear it because you know there's a lot 0:09:04.240 --> 0:09:07.560 of bandwagon Kings fans now and so uh you got 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:13.000 so okay? Can you explain exactly what what it took 0:09:13.400 --> 0:09:17.199 for you guys to get from being an organization that 0:09:17.360 --> 0:09:21.840 was thought of as an afterthought, you know, just quite 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:23.560 being honest, there was a lot of players, a lot 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:27.320 of players that didn't you know, to workn't too fond 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:30.000 of the sacramental Kings or free agents and you know 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:32.920 problems with that. Can you tell me just about your 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:37.920 process and revamping um the culture and the foundation of 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:40.520 the Kings, just your part. I know other people had 0:09:40.520 --> 0:09:41.960 a role as well, but I just want to tell 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:45.760 you how you went into the situation. Yeah, you know 0:09:46.320 --> 0:09:50.400 the well, there was a three part I guess process 0:09:50.520 --> 0:09:55.480 for me when I looked at trying to uh change 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:58.720 the culture. You know, everybody says that they want to 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:02.319 win and as a as a young head coach, when 0:10:02.760 --> 0:10:05.920 when I got the earlier jobs, I felt like I 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:09.880 cannot work anybody I had control over that. I felt 0:10:09.920 --> 0:10:13.120 like I was organized, and I felt like, uh, I 0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:15.320 had a good feel for my exs and oos, but 0:10:15.520 --> 0:10:19.360 being around you know Steve Curry's last six years being 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:24.240 with the players in Golden State, with Bob Myers at GM, 0:10:24.520 --> 0:10:28.600 you know, you learn a lot about you know, how 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:31.760 they go about their business and the exs and oos 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:34.920 are great, but they don't start and in with that. 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:40.520 But the culture there is is second second to none. 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:44.720 You know it rivals that uh you know Greg Popovich 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:46.640 in a different way, but the rivals out of Greg 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:52.400 Popovich on many many levels. And and uh, those true guys, 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:55.640 in my opinion, are the two best messengers, are two 0:10:55.640 --> 0:10:59.800 of the best messengers out there, and you realize being 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:02.080 on around them. You know, being around Pop you learned 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:04.000 a lot. But I was really young around Pop, so 0:11:04.040 --> 0:11:08.240 I didn't really Uh you couldn't really appreciate everything that 0:11:08.320 --> 0:11:10.720 was being done at the time, nor could you really 0:11:11.200 --> 0:11:16.160 know how know the true meaning or how deep the 0:11:16.320 --> 0:11:19.920 things are, how deep things are that he was doing 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:23.120 in or saying to the team. Being older, going through 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:27.080 a lot of life experiences being with Steve. Now you're 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:31.720 listening and you're watching the action. I used to take 0:11:31.720 --> 0:11:34.320 a notepad. I used to carry a notepad with me 0:11:34.360 --> 0:11:36.960 a lot of times, and it was just because whenever 0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:40.000 Steve addressed the team, I wanted to jot down a 0:11:40.080 --> 0:11:42.160 note or two, you know, because I learned a lot 0:11:42.200 --> 0:11:45.080 from him, even though I've coached many more years than 0:11:45.440 --> 0:11:48.520 than he has. And and so for me coming into 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:53.280 this situation, I felt that my biggest thing that I 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:56.280 was going to attack right away was the culture and 0:11:57.120 --> 0:12:00.120 the way that I put a plan together. And one 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:02.440 that was the first thing I knew that there had 0:12:02.480 --> 0:12:05.520 to be a vertical and horizontal alignment between all of 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:10.080 the units within the organization. You know, whether it's ticket sales, 0:12:10.240 --> 0:12:14.240 it's the medical staff, medical staff, the performance staff, the 0:12:14.280 --> 0:12:18.880 coaching staff, community relations. We all had all had they 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:22.200 had their alignment of trust that was vertical and horizontal 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:24.880 across the board. And I was going to go about 0:12:24.920 --> 0:12:30.400 doing that by being present, uh, letting everybody feel my confidence, 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:34.040 by engaging with them as much as I could, trying 0:12:34.080 --> 0:12:37.640 to bring all these group to groups together as much 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:40.520 as I could. For instance, when we went on our 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:43.640 coaches retreat, you know most most staffs they just go 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:46.880 with their coaching staff. Well, we invited our front office 0:12:47.160 --> 0:12:50.760 Monae McNair, West Wilcox. We also extended the invitation to 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:55.800 Matina and Jr. And all of hierarchy in the front 0:12:55.840 --> 0:12:58.520 office so that they felt like they were part two 0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:01.679 of it. And and then you know, you also want 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:05.079 to give ownership to your group, not just to the players, 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:08.040 but to the people that are working for you and 0:13:08.080 --> 0:13:11.160 that are working in other departments. And I did that Basically. 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:15.280 I didn't go on the floor at all. Well, I 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:17.360 tell you back, I went on the floor twice prior 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:20.360 to training camp, and I was in the gym a lot. 0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:23.600 But I told myself, I'm gonna let my coaches handle it. 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:26.480 They know exactly what they're doing. I want players to 0:13:26.520 --> 0:13:28.600 see that I have belief and trusting them, and I 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:31.520 don't need to step out there every five minutes to 0:13:31.600 --> 0:13:33.600 make a correction or try to coach or show that 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:36.319 I could coach. And I'm just gonna watch it. I'm 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:38.160 gonna be a fan, and I'm gonna talk and get 0:13:38.160 --> 0:13:41.800 to know these guys personally, and you know more, talk 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:43.800 to them about their families, how our days going, and 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:46.200 all that other stuff. So that was the first step, 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:49.839 and trying to get the group connected, trying to establish 0:13:50.040 --> 0:13:54.360 that sustained winning culture. The second step that I wanted 0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:56.920 to make sure I did was establish a set of 0:13:57.000 --> 0:14:02.640 rules or principles and values that not only were upheld 0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:05.400 by me, but we're upheld by it. Then all of 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:09.840 the leadership within the organization, including you know, the leadership 0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:14.120 in terms of players on the team. And once you 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:17.560 established that you know and your leaders believe in it, 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:19.960 then everybody's going to follow that path. And then the 0:14:20.040 --> 0:14:23.800 last one was, you know, I'm a I'm a big 0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:29.160 role guy, and so trying to identify and establish you know, 0:14:29.240 --> 0:14:33.440 everybody's role while giving them ownership and defining their role 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:36.080 so that at the end of the day, everybody would 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:39.440 embrace it. And you know, you can do three or 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:42.800 three three things. You can reject it, which is not good. 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:45.000 You can accept it if you just accept your role. 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:47.840 What you're telling me is okay, I accept it. It 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:50.160 means when things are going good, you get their foot in, 0:14:50.280 --> 0:14:52.240 but when things ain't going good, which we all know 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:54.920 happen to this business, and other foot is out. So 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:56.600 I wanted to get it to get to a point 0:14:56.600 --> 0:15:00.560 for everybody that they can embrace their role and giving 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:05.240 them ownership in um and defining their role was was 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:07.520 a huge part of that. It was that in itself 0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:10.480 was a three step process. That we went through meant 0:15:10.640 --> 0:15:14.840 with the last step being, um, you know, we got 0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:17.720 everybody together and I just went down the line asking 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:21.160 each guy I had up on the BIXS frame, these 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:24.200 are the three to four things that we defined this 0:15:24.400 --> 0:15:27.840 person's role. For instance, HB. These are in front of 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:32.080 the whole team. These are Hb's points for defining this role. 0:15:32.800 --> 0:15:35.640 Read them out everybody saw. I said, HB, do you 0:15:35.680 --> 0:15:38.200 agree to this? Because once you agree in front of 0:15:38.200 --> 0:15:41.120 the team, then that means there's no going back. And 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:43.440 each guy had to read it and say yes they 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:45.840 did because they were a part of the process. And 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:49.200 to me that that everybody embraced their role and once 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:53.000 everybody was on the same page and and they valued 0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:55.960 this as much as I did. I had everybody signed 0:15:55.960 --> 0:16:00.160 a contract and we have three copies that contract. One 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:04.760 we carry with us, others are locked room downstairs at 0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:07.560 Golden One Center, and the third one is in our 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:14.560 training area upstairs in the practice facility. Mike, I'm guessing 0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:18.760 that this whole approach is radically different from the three 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:21.560 other times that you were a head coach. And obviously, 0:16:21.600 --> 0:16:24.320 like you said, you've accumulated a lot of wisdom through 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:28.040 through all these years. But you clearly had this plan 0:16:28.120 --> 0:16:30.960 and it's a three step plan. But how confident were 0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:34.520 you that you could actually implement it and make it work? 0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:37.800 Because just what was the confidence level? Could not have 0:16:37.840 --> 0:16:41.560 been high when you arrived there after sixteen years of 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:47.560 nothing but lottery for this granchise. That's a that's a 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:52.680 great question. From the standpoint, my confidence was high, and 0:16:53.520 --> 0:16:57.440 I felt I would have an opportunity to take a 0:16:57.520 --> 0:17:00.720 swing at exactly what I said, the way that I 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:05.399 wanted because they hadn't had success and they were looking 0:17:05.440 --> 0:17:10.760 for direction. And usually when people are you know, you know, 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:15.560 looking for direction at a pretty high level, they're gonna 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:19.520 give you a second to faith, you know. And the 0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:24.280 more small successes that you have along the way, that's 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:26.199 the more leeway that you're gonna be able to have 0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:30.720 to implement your plan fully. And you know Luke Laux, 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:34.359 you know, we worked together in Golden State, so I 0:17:34.480 --> 0:17:36.280 I you know, I known Luke for years. We were 0:17:36.280 --> 0:17:39.800 close and Golden State, and you know, every job that 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:43.240 I interviewed for basically Luke helped me out. You know, 0:17:43.400 --> 0:17:46.440 I'm an old head. I do know computers a little bit. 0:17:46.480 --> 0:17:49.439 I do know analytics a little bit. But you know, 0:17:49.560 --> 0:17:51.360 Luke's a young guy and he's gonna be a head 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:55.000 coach in this league someday soon. He's that good. But 0:17:55.080 --> 0:17:58.640 he helped me gather my information and prepare for every 0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:00.760 interview that I went on. So he, he and I 0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:03.959 when we knew that the Sacramento job was open the 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:08.720 same majority. Luke was more involved in. Jordy was during 0:18:08.720 --> 0:18:11.840 each one of the processes. But uh when when when 0:18:11.920 --> 0:18:15.520 we knew Sacramento was open, we both looked at it. 0:18:15.600 --> 0:18:18.240 We were like, whoa, this this is a sleeping giant. 0:18:18.600 --> 0:18:21.920 You know that. You know, you have two potential All 0:18:22.000 --> 0:18:25.879 Stars and Deer and Fox and domus a bonus, you 0:18:25.920 --> 0:18:30.399 have a championship veteran Inharrison Bars. Uh, they're going to 0:18:30.480 --> 0:18:33.600 get a high pick. And it looks like the draft 0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:36.320 was was pretty deep, and you know there were some 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:38.280 other guys that you know you might be able to 0:18:38.280 --> 0:18:41.240 do some things with. You know, we going there and 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:44.360 and have a chance to really put our footprint on 0:18:44.480 --> 0:18:47.159 the direction that the organization wants to go. So I 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:50.159 was excited about it from day one just because of 0:18:50.200 --> 0:18:54.120 the potential, uh not only potential for the organization going 0:18:54.200 --> 0:18:57.359 forward with the city and the facilities and in my opinion, 0:18:57.400 --> 0:19:00.520 the ownership and everything else, but also for the potential 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:03.439 of us being able to do it we felt was 0:19:03.560 --> 0:19:07.960 right and growing this program the way that we wanted 0:19:08.000 --> 0:19:12.920 it to grow. When you're trying to implement a new culture, 0:19:14.440 --> 0:19:17.639 you know, it's not always easy and a lot of 0:19:17.680 --> 0:19:20.159 times there are some tough conversations that need to be 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:23.600 had because the team or the players have been doing 0:19:23.640 --> 0:19:28.520 something for so long that hasn't been the right way. 0:19:28.600 --> 0:19:32.199 So I want to ask you, is there a conversation 0:19:32.280 --> 0:19:35.320 that you can reveal where you had to have a 0:19:35.359 --> 0:19:40.760 tough conversation with someone and but you took it, you know, 0:19:40.800 --> 0:19:43.680 you took your head on and it ended up working out. 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:46.800 Is there anything that comes to mind where when you 0:19:46.840 --> 0:19:48.919 took the job there was a tough conversation that you 0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:52.080 need to have and how did it? How did it 0:19:52.400 --> 0:19:55.520 fare from there? You know, again, I go back to 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:58.199 that's part of the reason why this was so attractive, 0:19:58.240 --> 0:20:05.200 because everybody was itching, you know, itching to just find 0:20:05.240 --> 0:20:06.880 a way to get out of the hole that they've 0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:12.680 been in. And so literally when we came in, especially 0:20:12.680 --> 0:20:16.439 coming in from coming in off of a an NBA 0:20:16.680 --> 0:20:20.680 Championship run. You know, you got a lot of you 0:20:20.800 --> 0:20:23.000 got a lot of clout with what you're saying, and 0:20:23.640 --> 0:20:26.520 not just because of that one time, but you know 0:20:27.200 --> 0:20:29.720 I had done a part of six finals runs even 0:20:29.760 --> 0:20:33.040 once as a head coach and been able to say 0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:36.720 I've been part of four of winning it four different times, 0:20:37.119 --> 0:20:39.280 you know, which is hard. There's a lot of people 0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:43.280 that hadn't even gotten there one time in their career, 0:20:43.359 --> 0:20:47.199 and so you know, the team that we had that 0:20:47.280 --> 0:20:50.520 we had inherited, um, you know, there was one guy 0:20:50.600 --> 0:20:53.320 that didn't want a championship on the roster, and that's 0:20:53.320 --> 0:20:57.040 Harrison Barnes, and nobody else even really experienced. I don't 0:20:57.080 --> 0:21:00.000 even think going to the finals, let along the conference 0:21:00.040 --> 0:21:06.520 finals was conference semifinals. So again, um, there wasn't There 0:21:06.520 --> 0:21:10.879 weren't many tough conversations to be had, like maybe some 0:21:10.920 --> 0:21:13.760 other situations that I might have taken taken over. You know, 0:21:13.840 --> 0:21:17.439 I remever forget when I took the Lakers job. You know, 0:21:17.600 --> 0:21:20.000 one of the things I was explained was explaining something 0:21:20.040 --> 0:21:24.040 to COVID and you know, the God rest his soul. 0:21:24.119 --> 0:21:27.400 But and Kobe said, well, you know, when Phil was here, 0:21:27.520 --> 0:21:29.360 you know, this is how we did it. I was like, 0:21:29.359 --> 0:21:35.240 oh shit, you you're good. You're good, coach. Oh, I said, 0:21:35.280 --> 0:21:38.040 oh shit, you know Kobe got a point, He'll got 0:21:38.119 --> 0:21:43.240 like fifteen of them. As a head coach, I was 0:21:43.280 --> 0:21:45.320 only there once to the head coach and I got 0:21:45.359 --> 0:21:47.720 a couple or you know, riding back to some player. 0:21:49.520 --> 0:21:53.359 So you know, so you know that that's a dynamic 0:21:53.480 --> 0:21:57.320 that I didn't have to deal with. Uh, in this situation. 0:21:57.440 --> 0:22:00.280 It was almost reversed for me to be acus of 0:22:00.320 --> 0:22:03.200 where I came from and what my issue was compared 0:22:03.240 --> 0:22:06.199 to not only the players, but everybody else too. That 0:22:06.280 --> 0:22:08.479 was in the organization, for people in the front office, 0:22:08.840 --> 0:22:12.600 to people on the basketball side too. So uh, that's 0:22:12.640 --> 0:22:15.080 why that's part of the reason why you know, you 0:22:15.680 --> 0:22:20.440 really uh, even before the job for me was one 0:22:20.920 --> 0:22:24.320 that's why it was an extremely attractive job, you know, 0:22:24.359 --> 0:22:30.000 to be had for us. So how do you strike 0:22:30.119 --> 0:22:35.240 the balance now of convincing your guys, yes, we clinch, 0:22:35.320 --> 0:22:38.719 but we also haven't achieved anything yet Because of all 0:22:38.760 --> 0:22:41.159 these playoff runs you've made, I'm guessing that you're not 0:22:41.200 --> 0:22:45.119 really satisfied with just getting to the playoffs, you know how, 0:22:45.240 --> 0:22:49.000 I'm saying and part of it is, you know, the 0:22:49.080 --> 0:22:52.119 messaging that we that we did from day one. You know, 0:22:53.720 --> 0:22:57.560 every conversation that I had wasn't about making the playoffs. 0:22:57.800 --> 0:23:01.159 It was when we make the play house, this is 0:23:01.200 --> 0:23:06.880 what needs to happen when when Yes and our guys 0:23:07.480 --> 0:23:09.600 brought into it. I had you know, I talked to 0:23:09.600 --> 0:23:11.399 a lot of people when I took this job, just 0:23:11.440 --> 0:23:14.680 to pick their brain. And and you know, one of 0:23:15.280 --> 0:23:18.520 my best conversations I had was with Randy Bennett, head 0:23:18.520 --> 0:23:22.800 coach at Saint Mary's College. He basically took over a 0:23:22.920 --> 0:23:27.840 prential losing programs at Saint Mary's back in the day. 0:23:27.880 --> 0:23:30.399 They were the dorm out of I think they were 0:23:30.440 --> 0:23:33.840 the WCAC at first and then the WCC after that. 0:23:33.920 --> 0:23:37.800 But he took that over and I asked him, I said, 0:23:37.960 --> 0:23:40.240 you know, first of all, what are some of the 0:23:40.240 --> 0:23:41.800 things that you did when you took it over? And 0:23:41.840 --> 0:23:44.880 then I said, what's the biggest regret that you had 0:23:45.560 --> 0:23:48.760