WEBVTT - Kenny Smith 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:06.240 Welcome to the Sports Bubble, a production of iHeart Radio 0:00:06.400 --> 0:00:15.200 Entree Fork Media. My name is Jensen Carp and I'm 0:00:15.200 --> 0:00:17.200 a sports fan and like my one year old when 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:19.720 he plays with his mom in our backyard, I'm intensely 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:23.000 watching bubbles. But amongst all the social media updates about 0:00:23.040 --> 0:00:25.680 Dwight Howard being alone at a DJ party and slightly 0:00:25.720 --> 0:00:28.280 unimpressive food plans, I think we're missing out on a 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:31.040 big story. A Rod and JL are trying to buy 0:00:31.080 --> 0:00:33.479 the Mets. Sure, they're part of a large group that 0:00:33.479 --> 0:00:36.479 includes finance bros and Bradley Beale, Travis Kelsey and of 0:00:36.520 --> 0:00:40.640 all people, Mason Plumley, but still the Mets. Sure, the 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:43.080 TV deal is great, but I can't imagine seeing these 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:46.200 celebrities even traveling the Flushing let alone hanging at the games. 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:49.880 I doubt Jennifer Lopez knows who Benny Agban Yanni is. Also, 0:00:49.920 --> 0:00:52.000 wouldn't it be prime Mets behavior to sell the A 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:54.360 Rod and JL then have them break up publicly and 0:00:54.400 --> 0:00:56.400 have to sit in separate sides of City Bank and 0:00:56.440 --> 0:00:58.360 never even promote they own the team so the other 0:00:58.400 --> 0:01:02.160 doesn't succeed and way l f GM here, I am 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:05.320 still interviewing athletes and sports and superfessionals finding out how 0:01:05.319 --> 0:01:08.120 they're doing during this very weird time because someone has to. 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:12.720 This is the sports bubble with Jensen Card. When people 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:15.319 first started looking at sports for normalcy, I called foul. 0:01:15.720 --> 0:01:17.640 It's weird, and I never would have expected how much 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:20.400 people look to televise competition to feel whole. But then 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:23.399 I started thinking about my favorite TV show, Inside the 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:26.320 NBA on T and T, and I realized maybe I 0:01:26.360 --> 0:01:28.600 needed sports more than I ever thought, because I really 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:31.320 miss my ritual of watching it. And a major reason 0:01:31.360 --> 0:01:34.800 for that show's success and relevancy is today's guest, Kenny Smith. 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:38.000 Kenny the Jet played ten years in the NBA, most 0:01:38.000 --> 0:01:40.559 notably for the Houston Rockets, where he won two championships 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:43.959 alongside players like a Chemalai Juan and Clyde Drexler. The 0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:46.240 former u n C Tar Heels score just under ten 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:48.960 thousand points in his professional run, and his career three 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:51.560 point percentage still ranks him top fifty in the history 0:01:51.560 --> 0:01:54.520 of the NBA, and since his tremendous playing days, he's 0:01:54.560 --> 0:01:56.800 continued to give back to the game, becoming a premier 0:01:56.840 --> 0:02:00.720 broadcast voice alongside Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, and Ernie Johnson. 0:02:00.840 --> 0:02:02.600 Where they might not only be the funniest force in 0:02:02.680 --> 0:02:05.440 working on TV, they've also helped guide a sports fandom 0:02:05.480 --> 0:02:08.120 through heavy subjects and social issues well beyond the court. 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:10.640 With the NBA bubble ramping up, I talked to Kenny 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:13.240 about the Woes email, Lebron's decision to keep his name 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:16.840 on his jersey, and Kenny's upcoming virtual basketball camp, and 0:02:16.880 --> 0:02:19.520 I break the news of Russell Westbrook testing positive to him, 0:02:19.560 --> 0:02:22.080 which felt like quite a Woes bomb in itself. It's 0:02:22.120 --> 0:02:24.200 an honor to talk to Kenny, the Jets smith in 0:02:24.240 --> 0:02:42.959 the sports bubble Press one. Kenny, it's an honor to 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:45.760 speak with you. I wanted to at least start with 0:02:45.840 --> 0:02:48.480 the idea that that with inside the NBA, on T 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:50.920 and T, it's it's not just basketball talk. You guys 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:53.560 have this incredible personality thing going on, and you've become 0:02:53.600 --> 0:02:56.840 so relevant and raw with talk about what's going on 0:02:56.880 --> 0:02:58.960 around the world. You're sort of a north star for 0:02:59.000 --> 0:03:01.079 a lot of people at time. I know that you've 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:05.640 been quarantining pretty steadily, pretty strictly, but I wanted to 0:03:05.680 --> 0:03:08.040 know what you think, why are so many people rebelling 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:12.120 against this idea of masks and science? Well, I have 0:03:12.200 --> 0:03:15.400 no idea because, um, you know, honestly, for me, who 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:18.960 is you know, outside in public particularly you know, I'm 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:22.320 an average criticism, I'm gonna have to wear it when 0:03:22.320 --> 0:03:24.799 maybe an hour a day, you know, if I'm out 0:03:25.280 --> 0:03:28.480 and if i'm Let's say, let's say, if everyone's right 0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:30.760 about hey, you didn't really need to wear math. Let's 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:33.519 say you're right. I don't mean a convenued for an hour. 0:03:34.200 --> 0:03:38.960 What if you're wrong, you say, you kill people, The 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:43.440 the the the risk out weighs the reward, you know. 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:48.560 So I think that it's important to understand that as 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:52.480 a citizen is just you know, you're sacrifice. And I 0:03:52.520 --> 0:03:55.720 think maybe being in sports. People have been in sports 0:03:55.720 --> 0:04:00.240 have sacrifice their personal game for the better or of 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:04.520 the good of the team. And so for us, it's 0:04:04.640 --> 0:04:08.000 not unusual to do that. For me being on a 0:04:08.080 --> 0:04:12.400 championship team East Rockets, you know, number one team in 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:16.159 the country in college, Like, you're you're okay with giving 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:20.560 some of your individual things up for greater the good. 0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:24.480 I totally understand it. It's just it's so mind boggling 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:26.440 to me, and I ask you about sort of the 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:29.880 role of larger issues like politics and sports. This week, 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:32.919 as I mean a large story is that a reporter 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:36.560 we all call Woes and lovingly love his bombs. Uh, 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:39.320 he gets suspended for two weeks for sending an F 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:42.279 word laced email to a senator as a reply for 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:44.719 being critical of social issues. A lot of people and 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:46.800 players are standing up for woes. What what were your 0:04:46.800 --> 0:04:49.479 feelings when you read about the situation. Well, I just 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:54.320 feel that there is a line of you know, personal, 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:59.240 and there's a line of work, and sometimes those lines 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:05.160 do glect. However, his personal emails, I don't know if 0:05:05.200 --> 0:05:10.800 he even ESPN email to send these things out. I 0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:16.320 don't know how that leaves in. At times, when you 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:21.040 publicly make statements on your Instagram, Twitter, at times I 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:26.000 could really reflect on your employer and and their news. 0:05:26.279 --> 0:05:29.240 So I understand that. But if he's sending a personal 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:34.120 email about his personal political views to a personal senator 0:05:34.720 --> 0:05:38.240 at times, we got it bad. Yeah, it seems crazy 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:41.080 for me, especially because I applaud so much of finding 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:43.560 out personal beliefs of people, especially in the NBA. But 0:05:43.600 --> 0:05:46.200 I found it so messed up that it was basically 0:05:46.240 --> 0:05:48.080 you know, it was sent to his personal He responded 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:50.680 with a personal. I mean if if employers or you know, 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:54.559 any sports league start looking into people's personal emails as 0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:57.080 you know, a reflection of their employer, it does seem 0:05:57.080 --> 0:06:00.080 like a very slippery slope. Yeah. Yeah, I think that 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:05.960 when you make it a public your point, then you 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:09.000 do have an obligation to your family, your friends, and 0:06:09.040 --> 0:06:12.520 your employer in that order, like when you make it public. 0:06:12.920 --> 0:06:15.320 But if you do not make it public, you don't 0:06:15.360 --> 0:06:18.080 have an obligation regardless of what you're believe, if I 0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:20.719 agree with it or not, you don't have an obligation 0:06:21.360 --> 0:06:25.599 two to us at all, or your employer, or your 0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:28.159 fans or your press. Yeah, if you make it public, 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:31.960 you do, which which brings us to the NBA bubble. 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:34.960 This past weekend we saw finally some optimism from players 0:06:35.000 --> 0:06:37.320 in Orlando, whether it was Chris Paul playing corn hole 0:06:37.520 --> 0:06:40.719 or the MAVs having a DJ Balcony dance party. But 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:43.479 right before we got on the phone, Russell Westbrook announced 0:06:43.480 --> 0:06:46.000 that he had tested positive for COVID and now obviously 0:06:46.040 --> 0:06:48.760 has to quarantine and not play. So what do you 0:06:48.839 --> 0:06:52.159 think morale is right now in Orlando for these players. 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:56.800 I think it's you know, I would say if I 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:59.000 would be I'm not obviously being in that bubble as 0:06:59.000 --> 0:07:01.040 a whole unique situation and told you have to tell 0:07:01.040 --> 0:07:03.640 you to be there if I was there again, I'm 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:06.760 just I'm optimistic, but super cautious because we understand that 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:10.160 this is the most contagious the virus that we've had, 0:07:11.440 --> 0:07:14.440 and it's the most beat in our life that period. 0:07:14.960 --> 0:07:18.160 So there's no question that out of bound, there's no 0:07:19.200 --> 0:07:22.600 you know, process that out of bound. So everyone is 0:07:22.680 --> 0:07:26.160 optimistically cautious, though, and here you have a guy who's 0:07:26.240 --> 0:07:28.880 you know, already down there or or right to be. 0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:32.720 I think it's just getting there um or whatever you 0:07:33.200 --> 0:07:38.040 and so you know, it's a it's an unbelievable, you know, 0:07:38.160 --> 0:07:40.880 scenario that one of the best players in the league 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:44.680 has to be quarantining for minimum before teen days. I mean, 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:46.840 I know, I've heard you say in other interviews, and 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:48.440 it's kind of how I feel about. You know, a 0:07:48.520 --> 0:07:50.480 rookie is going to have a different response to leaving 0:07:50.560 --> 0:07:53.720 his family and and sort of the risks than someone 0:07:53.720 --> 0:07:55.360 who has a full family has been in the league 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:58.720 for seven eight years. But now with Westbrook and you know, 0:07:58.880 --> 0:08:01.360 sort of seeing some of the video from from the 0:08:01.400 --> 0:08:03.880 bubble and we're all laughing at it because it is 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:06.560 it is funny to see, you know, JJ Reddick shot 0:08:06.600 --> 0:08:08.720 on a beer because he's bored. But do you think 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:12.160 this overall bubble idea now not having Westbrook play and 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:14.560 what will this championship mean? Was it the right thing 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:17.080 to do? I don't. I don't think there's the right 0:08:17.400 --> 0:08:22.720 home thing, Like there is no equation that is comfortable. 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:27.440 Every day we get new information that actually contradicts sometimes 0:08:27.560 --> 0:08:31.080 what the information was before. I don't think there's any 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:34.840 right way, Like, you know, besides, the opening as we 0:08:34.880 --> 0:08:37.240 opened up is like should we wear a mask or not? 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:41.480 Like the information that comes in it's so contradictory and 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:44.600 so diametrically opposed and the one that we've heard before. 0:08:44.679 --> 0:08:47.800 At times, there hasn't been a united front. There hasn't 0:08:47.840 --> 0:08:51.240 been one message that's comes from people we trust and 0:08:51.280 --> 0:08:54.880 say we're going to follow that as a nation. Uh So, 0:08:54.920 --> 0:08:58.319 now that's why you have spiking and so areas and 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:01.720 all of those things, and that that's the most difficult 0:09:01.800 --> 0:09:05.920 part about being part of this is the uncertainty of 0:09:05.960 --> 0:09:09.040 the information and where you're getting it from. Yeah, And 0:09:09.240 --> 0:09:11.560 like even right before we got on the phone together, 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:14.080 I was talking to my wife about Westbrook, and you know, 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:16.520 I've heard from Gobert a little bit that he still 0:09:16.520 --> 0:09:19.360 has lasting effects. We've heard whispers that like, oh, these 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:22.280 players could feel or anyone could feel the effects on 0:09:22.320 --> 0:09:24.480 their lungs for years to come. I mean, I don't 0:09:24.520 --> 0:09:26.320 even know if that's a true statement. I mean, I 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:29.480 hate putting anyone, let alone my favorite athletes in that predicament. 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:31.400 But I don't know if that's the truth. I don't 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:32.599 know if it goes away, I don't know if it 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:35.160 sticks with you. I have no clue. It's a new 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:37.199 it's a new violence. So no one knows where the 0:09:37.360 --> 0:09:40.679 long term round offlications are. And I like, even when 0:09:40.720 --> 0:09:42.559 you told me where, you're the first one to tell 0:09:42.600 --> 0:09:44.760 me that, I wasn't aware that he would, you know, 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:48.520 a touch the probity. So like I'm learning this information 0:09:48.640 --> 0:09:52.160 as we're talking. And because there's so many other things 0:09:52.240 --> 0:09:55.280 between the social and jud you know, the spiking and 0:09:55.720 --> 0:09:58.719 Plauda and Texas, you know, and then like I live 0:09:58.760 --> 0:10:01.360 in Los Angeles, what did it do in here and 0:10:01.480 --> 0:10:03.960 you know, you have young kids and and then all 0:10:03.960 --> 0:10:06.920 of sudden, West Lot like that's last on my Look, 0:10:09.360 --> 0:10:13.160 that's quite a time, quite a time. Uh, Well more 0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:15.240 at home for you. What what is the plan for 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:17.800 you guys to return to Turner, to basketball, to the 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:20.839 our favorite TV show? What is what? What's the role 0:10:20.840 --> 0:10:23.760 out for you guys? Well, you know, we we start 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:27.720 doing home shows this month, and then they they're asking 0:10:27.840 --> 0:10:31.520 us to possibly, you know, to to continue that shows 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:34.960 in Atlanta and then from there, I don't know, you know, 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:39.319 right right after that, I don't know. And it's um 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:43.240 an interesting time when you really don't know your schedule. Yeah, 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:46.199 you kind of know it if you could propose schedule, 0:10:46.640 --> 0:10:49.760 but is it actually gonna follow through, you know, based 0:10:49.800 --> 0:10:55.600 on what's happening? That's crazy to hear. Even uh when 0:10:55.640 --> 0:10:57.680 it comes to inside the NBA. I wanted to ask 0:10:57.720 --> 0:11:01.040 also about you know, my favorite it with Ernie, Like, 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:03.679 you know, he has faced you know, hot skins of 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:06.240 foam in the past, and he is of a higher 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:08.520 age group than the rest. I mean, is there concern 0:11:08.679 --> 0:11:12.040 over him jumping into anything quickly? Has it been talked about, 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:14.080 you know, sort of keeping him at Bay. I think 0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:17.600 we've all seen that this is not just age anymore. 0:11:17.640 --> 0:11:20.200 I think initially those were, you know, the first reports, 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:23.760 but I know eleven year old kids in Los Angeles 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:27.880 who have it, you know, so it's not an age 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:31.520 thing anymore. I think we're all concerned, you know, obviously 0:11:32.200 --> 0:11:34.640 you know for Ernie of course, but we're all concerned 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:37.520 for all about families and friends and what they you know, 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:40.599 they have to go to um. You know. I've unfortunately 0:11:40.720 --> 0:11:46.040 had probably a more direct loss probably than maybe some 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:48.440 of the other guys, because I'm from New York and 0:11:48.520 --> 0:11:50.960 that was where it initially came, you know, the episode 0:11:51.040 --> 0:11:53.680 of where it's kind of like first people were getting 0:11:53.720 --> 0:11:57.720 tested more and people were dying more. So for me, 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:01.959 my thought process about this virus is a lot different. 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:06.480 I think that maybe even everyone else that lives and 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:11.160 work in Atlanta. You've talked about on on kind of 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:14.240 a more surface level, You've talked about how you expect 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:16.280 a lot of young teams to sneak in a possible 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:18.640 championship here in Orlando. I wanted to know why you 0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:21.360 saw an advantage for those teams over like say a 0:12:21.440 --> 0:12:24.360 Lakers or Clippers who under different circumstances in a normal 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:27.560 NBA playoff would be clear far and away favorites. Well, 0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:30.360 I think just because of the fact that you know, 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:34.600 young players trained differently. They trained to be ready right now. 0:12:35.200 --> 0:12:37.920 As you become a season vet, you're trained to become 0:12:38.800 --> 0:12:41.800 better as the season goes on. And this feels more 0:12:41.840 --> 0:12:45.000 like an AU tournament than it does the continuation of 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:48.640 the season. And I think the young guys, some of 0:12:48.679 --> 0:12:51.400 these guys are only two or three years we moved from. 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:53.600 They're saying, oh, this is in the newsual environment, but 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:57.160 and an you tournament like this being there all in 0:12:57.200 --> 0:13:00.400 one hotel, public teams there, this is what they grew 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:03.520 up doing, most of these guys, So I think the 0:13:03.559 --> 0:13:06.720 comfort level might be different. And then the lack of 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:11.360 home court advantage. Home court advantage is big for veteran teams, 0:13:11.480 --> 0:13:14.840 and because there's no home court advantage, I think that 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:19.320 allows younger teams to play better in this environment. Yeah, 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:23.000 I I totally see that. And I guess my thing 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:25.719 too is like guys like Lebron, which we'll get into 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:28.840 in a little bit, like they're dealing with much heavier 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:31.440 things right now. I kind of think if you're uh, 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:33.640 you know a rookie in the league, and you're just like, man, 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:36.000 I don't know. I play basketball and call of duty 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:38.360 when I get back to the the hotel, it does 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:40.240 feel like they have less on their mind to jump 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:44.160 into this bubble. Yeah, and you know, when you have 0:13:44.240 --> 0:13:47.240 less responsibilities, you're worrying about you. They're the anxiety that 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:51.760 other players are having from you know, typically you're worrying 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:54.840 about who I have to God, Chrick, Paul, but Matthew, 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:57.520 worrying about what I eat? Can I talk to this person? 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:00.320 Can I play card in this room? Could I read 0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:03.280 this book because someone touched it? Then you if you 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:05.760 have more responsibility, how my kids doing at home? How 0:14:05.840 --> 0:14:08.240 was my wife, my family, my mom my dad. So 0:14:08.920 --> 0:14:12.000 the younger you are, the unless responsibilities you have. So 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:16.720 unless anxiety may have possibly in this environment, I know 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:20.440 I have more. I have more anxiety year olds on 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:24.600 right now, right right, Yeah, I hope. So I have 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:26.320 a one year old, So I tend to think that 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:29.440 I have way more neurosis, at least I hope. Back 0:14:29.480 --> 0:14:31.800 to basketball, you became a bit of a Twitter ratio 0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:34.280 last week when you placed Lebron as tenth best in 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:36.240 the NBA You've talked about it enough. We're not gonna 0:14:36.280 --> 0:14:38.280 go too deep into it, citing sort of the change 0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:40.680 in gameplay over the years, a bit of an equalizer. 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:44.640 I wanted to ask you on the other side of things, 0:14:44.760 --> 0:14:48.240 as a common just watcher of the game and super fan, 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:51.360 I see dudes like Zion or Jonas or Dame and 0:14:51.360 --> 0:14:53.880 they're they're they're kind of these like health specimens, Like 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:55.960 I can't believe they look like that. And then I 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:58.080 see my dad's favorite players and I'm like, these dudes 0:14:58.120 --> 0:14:59.880 are sticks, you know what I mean. Like, I'm always 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:03.040 shocked at how physical, beyond belief the game has become. 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:06.520 With the competition being so much tougher than say, when 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:09.720 we'll scored a hundred, wouldn't it be almost that Lebron 0:15:09.800 --> 0:15:12.040 has it harder or what am I missing in in 0:15:12.040 --> 0:15:16.360 in the expertise of it. Well, I would say that, yeah, 0:15:16.360 --> 0:15:20.480 athleticism is more on display. I don't think that it was. 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:23.880 It's got much more, if you know what I mean. 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:27.240 So Michael Jordan was jumping from the foco box, right, 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:31.240 so zac Lavini says, oh, I saw that, So now 0:15:31.320 --> 0:15:32.840 I'm going to try to jump on the d and 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:36.200 put it between my legs, so you know, it's not 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:41.720 it's justok, more on display because of the rules as well, 0:15:42.240 --> 0:15:45.440 because there's no hand checking and there's no flagrant foul rules. 0:15:45.600 --> 0:15:49.160 There's no you know, there's no suspension of games. So 0:15:49.400 --> 0:15:53.280 now you have freedom of movement, which puts your athletics 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:56.560 as a more on display. It looks very similar if 0:15:56.600 --> 0:16:00.800 you want to am a luck of the or pick 0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:04.320 up game in in in the nineties, you would see 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:09.400 this type of athleticism on display. So I just we're 0:16:09.400 --> 0:16:11.800 talking about threads of greatness now, you know, between Kevin 0:16:11.880 --> 0:16:16.160 Durant and and and and Lebraun and Oscar Robbinson and Kareem. 0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:19.360 But I you know, I've seen Kaleem when he was 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:23.640 Kareem the guy. You know that he paid it, and 0:16:23.680 --> 0:16:27.160 it doesn't look much different. And if you don't, I 0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:32.040 think that you know, these guys appear to be you know, 0:16:32.240 --> 0:16:39.840 Zion like however, are massive of around It's really not. 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:42.520 You know, if you were in them, you can rocket lockerroom. 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:45.680 You saw you know, the athleticism and Rarning Maxwell, the 0:16:45.760 --> 0:16:48.400 keep Alijaan and and those guys like that. You go, well, 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:51.360 it doesn't look that much different. You know, you know, 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:55.320 Championshill looks like Darren Collinson, you know, and like they're 0:16:55.360 --> 0:17:00.240 not really that much different. Um so some of god 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:03.080 he used to play football and now play basketball. Yeah, 0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:07.920 that may be it, but in terms of overall athleticism, 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:12.320 it's not that much different. I think it's just more 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:16.760 consistent that these guys jump. But I don't think it's higher. 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:20.400 I think they just do it more consistently. Well. Uh, 0:17:20.680 --> 0:17:23.240 speaking of Lebron, you know, he's been in the news 0:17:23.359 --> 0:17:27.520 all week regarding the idea of the league approved protests 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:30.480 sayings for the back of the jerseys. He has decided 0:17:30.520 --> 0:17:33.000 not to go with it. Anthony Davis has followed suit. Uh. 0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:34.800 Some players I think we'll be hearing about in the 0:17:34.800 --> 0:17:36.840 next couple of days will also agree that it doesn't 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:40.080 resonate with their own missions. Much like Lebron said, I 0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:43.280 think we live not only in COVID times, but with 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:47.320 obviously people starting to wake up to the racial divide 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:50.160 thanks to so many things, but to the unfortunate murder 0:17:50.200 --> 0:17:54.200 of George Floyd. What was your reaction, because I feel 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:56.800 like I've changed my thoughts on it. At first, I 0:17:56.840 --> 0:17:59.119 was like, well, that sounds like a cool thing to do, 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:00.320 put them on the back of the or is he's 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:02.200 And then as I listened to Lebron, I thought, well, 0:18:02.600 --> 0:18:04.720 I don't want anything to be uniform right now. I 0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:06.919 think everyone should make their own personal choices. And I 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:09.840 guess I'm just very confused at what are your thoughts 0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:14.760 on the jersey situation. Well, I think that I do 0:18:14.920 --> 0:18:17.359 like the idea that guys have that opportunity to do it. 0:18:17.400 --> 0:18:21.560 I would have liked to for them to admit certain 0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:27.399 things individually if they didn't see one of their quotes 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:29.800 that they wanted on the twenty two lists, and I 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:31.760 don't know if that's happened. I have to be, you know, 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:34.399 be careful that I'm not a hundreds in sure, but 0:18:34.720 --> 0:18:37.960 I think that you know this awareness there are guys 0:18:38.280 --> 0:18:41.760 like Lebron. He doesn't have to always wear something on 0:18:41.800 --> 0:18:44.639 the back of his jersey to get his political message ahead. 0:18:45.400 --> 0:18:49.920 But there are guys on the team that they do. 0:18:50.400 --> 0:18:53.960 They don't have the same breach socially and politically that 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:57.840 he does, so this helps us get their message, of course, 0:18:57.880 --> 0:19:00.480 So I think it's both and it's hard to stannable 0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:03.280 and no one, no one is forced or I don't 0:19:03.320 --> 0:19:08.560 think anyone's obligation ever is to to jump in a cause. 0:19:09.040 --> 0:19:11.119 But if you should be aware of it, and you 0:19:11.119 --> 0:19:16.160 should be able to say that, let me say you don't. 0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:18.879 I don't think you're obligation to start a cause. I 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:21.199 think your obligation is to know what your cause is. 0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:26.680 And because we all don't have the same mental um 0:19:26.880 --> 0:19:31.040 imagination to create programs and so you know what, man, 0:19:31.040 --> 0:19:32.640 I would love to help kids, but I don't even 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:34.600 know what to do. I gotta said that all the time. 0:19:35.000 --> 0:19:37.320 All right, Well, here's a program that you should do. 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:40.320 You should research that. You do obligation and research it 0:19:40.560 --> 0:19:43.080 and figure out where do you want to land. Your 0:19:43.160 --> 0:19:45.880 job is to create the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. 0:19:45.960 --> 0:19:49.560 That's not your obligation, right, you could seek it out 0:19:49.600 --> 0:19:52.320 and figure out maybe I'll support that. You know that 0:19:52.440 --> 0:19:56.439 is an obligation. Yeah, And you obviously played with with 0:19:56.560 --> 0:19:59.800 Jordan's uh and we're friends with him, and he obviously 0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:02.840 at a different approach towards politics and social justice that 0:20:03.000 --> 0:20:05.920 you know has kind of come under scrutiny and he's changed. 0:20:05.960 --> 0:20:07.159 It seems like he's making a bit of a one 0:20:07.240 --> 0:20:10.600 eight there. Have you been impressed as a fan watching 0:20:10.760 --> 0:20:13.840 Lebron becomes this sort of north star for politics and 0:20:13.920 --> 0:20:16.320 social justice. I just don't think we were in the 0:20:16.359 --> 0:20:18.760 same place that we're at. I don't think we're in 0:20:18.760 --> 0:20:23.359 the same place to compare what Michael or Mohammad Ali 0:20:23.520 --> 0:20:26.520 or even Lebron is doing, because they're all different. Like 0:20:26.600 --> 0:20:29.640 Mohammed Ali is the ultimate of what we're talking about. 0:20:30.119 --> 0:20:32.560 So I think that then to say, well, Lebron doesn't 0:20:32.600 --> 0:20:34.840 do it, momma a leave, did you know? I think 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:38.800 it's just it's a different time and Lebron is great 0:20:38.840 --> 0:20:43.760 at using social media platform where if he tweets something 0:20:43.880 --> 0:20:49.920 right now, millions of people know instantly. Where the news 0:20:50.000 --> 0:20:54.320 cycle is so different in the nineties, like time it 0:20:54.440 --> 0:20:57.840 got back to the whole news cycle. It's not news anymore. 0:20:58.160 --> 0:21:02.840 It's not even news. It's like so it's a different environment. 0:21:03.280 --> 0:21:06.360 You know, Uh, there are people, you know, even when 0:21:06.440 --> 0:21:09.240 Rodney King happened, it took weeks for people to even 0:21:09.240 --> 0:21:13.399 see the video, like weeks. You know, people say, oh, 0:21:13.440 --> 0:21:15.320 I haven't seen that yet, you know, like what you 0:21:15.400 --> 0:21:17.840 hadn't seen the Rotney King because you have to wait 0:21:17.840 --> 0:21:20.000 for the eleven o'clock news to kind of show it again, 0:21:20.240 --> 0:21:22.320 so all day you don't have an opportunity to see it. 0:21:22.400 --> 0:21:26.320 Right now, that information has passed instantly around the world. 0:21:26.560 --> 0:21:29.120 That's why George Floyd around the world there was protests. 0:21:29.119 --> 0:21:32.840 It wasn't protests just an American so you know, they 0:21:32.840 --> 0:21:38.760 were all protesting injustice. So it's just a different that 0:21:38.920 --> 0:21:42.920 everyone lives in. Because imagine if mom and Ali who 0:21:43.280 --> 0:21:45.919 was able to move the needle without any kind of 0:21:45.960 --> 0:21:49.800 social media, imagine if he lived in miss Era, the 0:21:49.920 --> 0:21:57.600 changes he could have made. He talked like a Twitter account. Yeah, um, 0:21:57.640 --> 0:21:59.439 I did want to ask you what you expect to 0:21:59.440 --> 0:22:02.399 see I mean with these hopefully, man, I don't know 0:22:02.480 --> 0:22:04.520 even with breaking news just before we talked, but you 0:22:04.560 --> 0:22:06.720