Speaker 1: Welcome to All the Smoke, a production of The Black
Speaker 1: Effect and our Heart Radio and partnership with Showtime. Welcome
Speaker 1: back Man, season two of All the Smoke. We got
Speaker 1: a real special guys, what's up with your brody with
Speaker 1: the virtual handshake? I'm gonna tell ya something that I
Speaker 1: never told go back, I want to smoke. Welcome Back
Speaker 1: All the Smoke Season two with a very special guest today. Uh,
Speaker 1: Steven Jackson had to attend to a family emergency, so
Speaker 1: he won't be with us today. But I have my
Speaker 1: former coach mentor someone I look up to in this space,
Speaker 1: Steve Kerr. Welcome to the show, Matt. Thanks for having
Speaker 1: me on. Appreciate it. Thanks for your time. You just
Speaker 1: told me I didn't know. But you guys are out
Speaker 1: there in the Bay Area and your bubble right now practicing.
Speaker 1: How's that going. It's going well. You know, we were
Speaker 1: obviously one of the eight teams that that didn't qualify
Speaker 1: for Orlando, and so some of that was a positive.
Speaker 1: I mean, let's be honest to the type of season
Speaker 1: we had. We didn't really want to go down to Orlando,
Speaker 1: sit in a hotel room for a month and and
Speaker 1: play meaningless games. On the other hand, as we watched
Speaker 1: all those teams playing and we were not able to
Speaker 1: get together ourselves and practice, we realized how quickly we
Speaker 1: were falling behind. So, you know, all eight teams now
Speaker 1: have been given this space by the league, and so
Speaker 1: everybody's doing an in market bubble. So we're in San Francisco.
Speaker 1: We're just going back and forth from the hotel to
Speaker 1: our facility and and we're getting getting good work in
Speaker 1: and um it's been really productive. So UM, you know,
Speaker 1: trying to make the best of the situation. How long
Speaker 1: do you guys actually are in this this uh, this bubble.
Speaker 1: It's it's two weeks, um, and it's um, it's totally voluntary. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, this was not something that was required. UM.
Speaker 1: So we have most of our guys here, Steph and
Speaker 1: Draymond or not. They both had family stuff that they
Speaker 1: needed to tend to. But we've got the rest of
Speaker 1: the group. Clay is here, Andrew Wiggins, all of our
Speaker 1: young play years from last year, and then we've got
Speaker 1: some players from our G League team as well. And
Speaker 1: the biggest thing, honestly, Matt, is just the guys getting
Speaker 1: to play five on five for the first time in
Speaker 1: like six months. I mean, it's been a long time.
Speaker 1: So just to feel the contact and the joy of
Speaker 1: playing basketball again has been really good for for everybody.
Speaker 1: How's Clay looked. I mean, obviously the world has been
Speaker 1: waiting on his comeback. I love that he got to
Speaker 1: actually take the adequate amount of time because I feel
Speaker 1: like too often as players were rushed back or you know,
Speaker 1: the game is calling us, so the team needs us back.
Speaker 1: Clay got to take the right amount of time to
Speaker 1: recover and we'll have well, we'll see a healthy Clay
Speaker 1: Thompson next year. How's he been with this kind of
Speaker 1: being his first run, first contact in a long time. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Clay's looked great. And I've seen him a couple of
Speaker 1: times during the quarantine in Orange County, and uh so
Speaker 1: I've watched him work out over the last few months
Speaker 1: a couple of times and and kept up to up
Speaker 1: to speed with him. So I was already aware that
Speaker 1: he was doing well and feeling really good. But this
Speaker 1: is just a kind of an ex natural step, you know,
Speaker 1: to be on the floor with nine other guys, and
Speaker 1: so it's been really good for him. He looks great. Um,
Speaker 1: because rhythm and his timing aren't there, but that that's
Speaker 1: there's no way that that it would be given that
Speaker 1: he's been off for a year and a half. But
Speaker 1: he's healthy, he's feeling good, and it's been great to
Speaker 1: have him in the building and and obviously just thinking
Speaker 1: about next season with him, with stuff with Draymond, with
Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins. You know, we we can start to think
Speaker 1: about having a good team again. Yeah, that's gonna be good.
Speaker 1: We'll get back to basketball a little bit. We're gonna,
Speaker 1: you know, start with some other stuff. Obviously, we're in
Speaker 1: a crazy time right now in our country. You've been
Speaker 1: someone I've admired from a standpoint if you haven't let
Speaker 1: your position of who you are hold back your true feelings.
Speaker 1: You've always been very outspoken and passionate when you speak.
Speaker 1: Obviously in the midst of a pandemic, in the midst
Speaker 1: of I don't even know what we want to call
Speaker 1: it a change, hopefully for the better for our country.
Speaker 1: Like I said, you've always been someone outspoken. Obviously, I
Speaker 1: think your past, and we'll get into your past, but
Speaker 1: I think your asked to help you be very confident
Speaker 1: who you are and what you speak about. Where did
Speaker 1: that come from as far as Hey, you know, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna speak my mind regardless if I'm the head coach
Speaker 1: of the Golden State Warriors or I'm just a man
Speaker 1: on the street. Well, it's a good question. Um. I
Speaker 1: think I've always felt a responsibility just to conviction inside too,
Speaker 1: to try to do the right thing and say the
Speaker 1: right thing. But I never really said much politically when
Speaker 1: I was playing. But then again, nobody really asked either.
Speaker 1: You know, it was a different time, totally different era. Um.
Speaker 1: I do remember speaking out against the Iraq War when
Speaker 1: I played for the Spurs living in San Antonio, and
Speaker 1: I was not a popular position to take, and it
Speaker 1: was kind of my first sort of foray into public protest.
Speaker 1: And uh, you know, San Antonio has five military bases. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, of military influence in that town is is
Speaker 1: really really uh important. And so did to you know,
Speaker 1: make my feelings known about the war was not an
Speaker 1: easy thing because I wanted people to know that my
Speaker 1: my words had nothing to do with the military. They
Speaker 1: just had everything to do with humanity and and um,
Speaker 1: you know where things were heading. And so that was
Speaker 1: kind of my first time where I felt uncomfortable. Um,
Speaker 1: But but knowing that I was speaking out in the
Speaker 1: right way, and so that gave me a little feel
Speaker 1: for what what was to come. And I think now
Speaker 1: we're obviously in a totally different era where, um, the
Speaker 1: times are really calling for people to speak out, and
Speaker 1: and we all have this enormous platform given the state
Speaker 1: of media, social media. As coaches, you know, on a
Speaker 1: on a typical road game, I do three media sessions
Speaker 1: a day. Um, it's insane, you know. So I'm getting
Speaker 1: questions every day on politics and you know, social issues. So, um,
Speaker 1: it's now it seems almost part of the job. Really,
Speaker 1: it's anonymous, right, they go hand in hand now and
Speaker 1: and for so long it was stick to stick to
Speaker 1: sports and politics and sports still mix. But I completely
Speaker 1: agree with you. I think they go hand in hand
Speaker 1: now and I I want also who speak out, But
Speaker 1: I think, like you said, it's people with platforms and
Speaker 1: who have a voice to travel. And obviously, you know,
Speaker 1: through our careers we've been able to, you know, build
Speaker 1: this platform that has allowed us to when we speak,
Speaker 1: people listen. So we're obviously in tune with other things
Speaker 1: outside of our profession, such as politics, such as families,
Speaker 1: such as there's there's so many more facets to who
Speaker 1: we are as human beings, were not just athletes. So
Speaker 1: I applaud you at the position you take, in the
Speaker 1: stance you take, and and really the vulnerability you put
Speaker 1: yourself in speaking out on issues. Like you said, they
Speaker 1: don't always politically correct, I guess, but they're socially and
Speaker 1: morally correct. Yeah. I think that's the key. I mean, um,
Speaker 1: you've got to feel in your heart, and you've gotta
Speaker 1: you've gotta have a conviction and and then ultimately the
Speaker 1: most important thing is to have uh, real knowledge to
Speaker 1: to go with it, you know, the education of what
Speaker 1: you're speaking of. And and I think that's what I've
Speaker 1: really tried to do over the last say four months,
Speaker 1: when with this social movement, this UH movement for racial
Speaker 1: justice really heating up, and given the time off that
Speaker 1: we've had, I've just been trying to educate myself and
Speaker 1: and read as much as I can about racism. I've
Speaker 1: read some incredible books, um that have taught me so
Speaker 1: much and helped me realize that reality is. Even though
Speaker 1: I've always kind of felt like I was educated and
Speaker 1: open minded, I was pretty ignorant to a lot of
Speaker 1: what black Americans face. You know, I really was he.
Speaker 1: I've been playing with with black teammates and friends since
Speaker 1: I was you know, in junior high, growing up in
Speaker 1: Los Angeles and integrated schools, and yet I felt over
Speaker 1: the last few months, you know, kind of humiliated, like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, how do how do I not know
Speaker 1: about Black Wall Street? You know, how do I not
Speaker 1: know about some of these awful, awful times in our
Speaker 1: history where the black community has just been devastated by
Speaker 1: by violence, by um all kinds of horrific acts that
Speaker 1: nobody taught us in school, you know. And so I
Speaker 1: think that's what's been most eye opening for me is
Speaker 1: just the realization that, um, we are all um why
Speaker 1: when I say we, I mean white people, We're all
Speaker 1: blind to a lot of this stuff. And it's it's
Speaker 1: on us to learn and to under understand and to
Speaker 1: put ourselves in someone else's shoes and and understand what's
Speaker 1: what's happening and why and what can we do to
Speaker 1: change you I think you hit it on the head too,
Speaker 1: because it's not taught. So I mean you have to
Speaker 1: really go out there and search and look and try
Speaker 1: to educate yourself in the ability to open your mind
Speaker 1: up enough to not only be present within yourself and
Speaker 1: what you have going on, but the ability to put
Speaker 1: yourself in someone else's shoes, because as a white man,
Speaker 1: you can learn as much as you want, but you'll
Speaker 1: never understand the feeling that a black person will go to.
Speaker 1: But all we want you guys to do is try
Speaker 1: to understand, you know what I mean. And I think
Speaker 1: there's a I think there's been a turn. There's been
Speaker 1: a shift in the paradigm where people are actually willing
Speaker 1: to do that now because of the George Floyd situation. Unfortunately, normally,
Speaker 1: when African Americans are gunned down by law enforcement, it's
Speaker 1: a shot and they're dead. And I think for eight
Speaker 1: and a half, almost nine minutes, almost the time of
Speaker 1: an NBA quarter, we watched a man suffer and call
Speaker 1: for his mother and plead for his life. And I
Speaker 1: think that really pulled on the heartstrings of America and
Speaker 1: it really started opening up people's eyes and making people
Speaker 1: realize that, you know, hey, there's a real issue in
Speaker 1: this country and now is the time to address it. Um.
Speaker 1: I feel we're still going through it, but I definitely
Speaker 1: feel like we're going to turn the corner and good
Speaker 1: things are coming, but it takes things like what you're
Speaker 1: doing to educate yourself and then not only educate yourself,
Speaker 1: but then spread what you're learning. You know what I mean?
Speaker 1: I can said you do a great job of utilizing
Speaker 1: your platform to speak what you've learned. Um. Fast forward
Speaker 1: to the NBA bubble. How do you feel like the
Speaker 1: NBA did be able to create an environment, a safe
Speaker 1: environment not only for the players, but then also for
Speaker 1: the players to continue to carry their their messages through
Speaker 1: social justice and the initiatives that the NBA has put
Speaker 1: upon their shoulders to try to help, you know, be
Speaker 1: a small part of change. Yeah. I thought the league
Speaker 1: has did a really good job of first of all,
Speaker 1: creating a safe environment and the bubble, by really every
Speaker 1: measure has been a resounding success. And the first thing
Speaker 1: I do is is give credit to the players and
Speaker 1: coaches and administrators who are down there and who have
Speaker 1: been there for over three months now. If you know,
Speaker 1: if you look at the Lakers and the Heat, I
Speaker 1: mean the sacrifice that all those players those organizations are
Speaker 1: making for the rest of us to keep the league going.
Speaker 1: I want to make sure I I reference that because
Speaker 1: it's it's been hugely important for the league to be
Speaker 1: able to put games on TV and to entertain our
Speaker 1: fans and keep things going. UM from a racial justice standpoint,
Speaker 1: the great thing with the NBA is that I think
Speaker 1: the players have always felt the support. Maybe not always,
Speaker 1: but in the last you know period of time, UM, decade,
Speaker 1: couple of decades, the players and coaches have felt the
Speaker 1: support of UM, the league management in large part. You know,
Speaker 1: we've been really led in a powerful way by Adam Silver. UM.
Speaker 1: You know, his very first act as commissioner was was
Speaker 1: kicking we're all startling out. Yeah we were. We were
Speaker 1: in the playoffs when that happened, which is insane, but
Speaker 1: that it was a huge first step a lot, you know,
Speaker 1: for that to be your first issue, and he handled
Speaker 1: it swiftly and gracefully. It was beautiful then it and
Speaker 1: it felt empowering. UM. And I you know, I I
Speaker 1: can't I can only speak as a as a white man,
Speaker 1: but I was proud that to be part of a
Speaker 1: league that said, okay, like we're going to really address
Speaker 1: this stuff, and we're gonna support our players and our coaches. UM.
Speaker 1: So I think going into the bubble, you know there's
Speaker 1: that uh foundation that's already there where there's a trust
Speaker 1: level between the players and management. Um, not that everything's perfect,
Speaker 1: but I think there's a trust level. Fast forward to
Speaker 1: the Jacob Blake shooting and the players kind of throw
Speaker 1: their hand ends up and say, we can't do this anymore.
Speaker 1: UM my take on that. As I sat at home,
Speaker 1: obviously I'm not in the bubble um, I just sensed
Speaker 1: an incredible frustration of a group of players who had
Speaker 1: dedicated this entire season to the Black Lives Matter movement,
Speaker 1: to social and racial equity justice, using their their platforms
Speaker 1: to spread the message throughout this time, and then the
Speaker 1: same old thing, just black man getting shot by by
Speaker 1: cops seven times in front of his family, and combined
Speaker 1: with the fact that these guys had already been in
Speaker 1: Orlando for a couple of months away from their families,
Speaker 1: It's like, to me, it just looked like everybody through
Speaker 1: their hands up and said, we can't, we can't do this,
Speaker 1: Like we can't just perform for your entertainment and not
Speaker 1: see real change. And and so last thing, and I'm
Speaker 1: rambling a little bit, but I think this is important.
Speaker 1: I think the reason that was an important time time
Speaker 1: out was that the players missed a couple of games.
Speaker 1: They sat out and they said, we're not playing and
Speaker 1: they use that as leveraged to get some concessions from
Speaker 1: the owners terms of opening up arenas for for voting
Speaker 1: centers and U, I think there were some financial considerations
Speaker 1: in terms of donating money to to social causes. To me,
Speaker 1: the reason this is so important is that what can
Speaker 1: really change things is corporate America deciding to jump on
Speaker 1: board this train and putting their money where their mouth
Speaker 1: is and changing policy. Changing um, the way we police,
Speaker 1: the way we go about our business, the way we
Speaker 1: protect each other. Um. It has to come from rich
Speaker 1: white people to be perfectly, blunt, absolutely rock the vote.
Speaker 1: In your opinion, how important is it for you into
Speaker 1: everyone else to not only vote on the federal level,
Speaker 1: but the local and state level as well. Yeah, it's
Speaker 1: huge and and um, you know, I've I've read all
Speaker 1: the stats. I mean, young people generally don't vote. You know,
Speaker 1: it's uh, the numbers are are are staggering, and I
Speaker 1: think it's like one in five, you know, between the
Speaker 1: ages of eighteen and thirty, UM, in the last election,
Speaker 1: if that actually voted, Um, and yet the future of
Speaker 1: our country is at stake. And and so because of
Speaker 1: this movement, because there's so many young people really of
Speaker 1: of of every race, UM and background or so invested
Speaker 1: in this movement. Uh, they got to back it up,
Speaker 1: you know, they have to back and back it up
Speaker 1: and show up at the polls, um and help create
Speaker 1: the change that that that they're calling for. And it
Speaker 1: can only happen if they if they get out and vote. Absolutely. Um.
Speaker 1: You had a very unique upbringing, Um, with your father
Speaker 1: moving around, you know, had spent some time at Beirute, Egypt, France, Tanzania.
Speaker 1: What was it like as a young child growing up
Speaker 1: in so many different cultures? It was a real blessing,
Speaker 1: although I didn't realize that at the time, Matt. You know,
Speaker 1: my dad was a professor at u c. L A.
Speaker 1: And I just wanted to live in l A and
Speaker 1: and go to U c l A basketball games and
Speaker 1: you know, play play sports with my friends. And then
Speaker 1: my dad would would come home and he'd say, all right,
Speaker 1: we're gonna, you know, pack up the v W van
Speaker 1: and and uh put it on a boat to Egypt,
Speaker 1: and you know, we're gonna go live in Egypt. For
Speaker 1: the next two years when you're ten years old, like
Speaker 1: what we're doing? What? So not exactly something that that
Speaker 1: thrilled me at the time, but I look back on
Speaker 1: it, it it was the best education I ever could have
Speaker 1: had to live in in Cairo for three years. Um.
Speaker 1: Also in uh in France it was actually too easy
Speaker 1: and not Tanzania, but uh, excuse me, that's that's all right.
Speaker 1: The point, the point at the point is the same.
Speaker 1: It's living in a different culture, totally different part of
Speaker 1: the world. It just gives you an entirely different perspective
Speaker 1: on life and and it gives you an empathy for
Speaker 1: other people and um and an awareness that you know, uh,
Speaker 1: we all come from different places, but we're basically all
Speaker 1: looking for the same thing. We get all these political
Speaker 1: and racial differences get in our way and suddenly you've
Speaker 1: got horrible inequities and atrocity is happening, and it's insane
Speaker 1: because we're all just We're all just flesh and blood.
Speaker 1: And I think getting that perspective as a kid was
Speaker 1: was really important for me through that process. Where did
Speaker 1: basketball fit in? Is that where you found when did
Speaker 1: you find your passion for the game? And who were
Speaker 1: some of the people you looked up to in the game. Well,
Speaker 1: my uh, I was a bruin at heart. I know
Speaker 1: you like that, you know. But my first game was
Speaker 1: at Pauli Pavilion. I was five years old and Bill
Speaker 1: Walton was playing for U c l A. And and
Speaker 1: uh and so I I was. I was raised during
Speaker 1: that heyday when U c l A was winning year
Speaker 1: after year and John Wooden was was the coach and
Speaker 1: and so too. That's where I fell in love with
Speaker 1: the game, you know, walking into Pauli Pavilion for the
Speaker 1: first time and hearing the band play and watching the
Speaker 1: team and every seat was filled, and the crowd noise
Speaker 1: and the energy. It was just invigorating and and uh,
Speaker 1: that's that's where I fell in love with it. And
Speaker 1: then I played all sports, you know, like we we
Speaker 1: did back then. I know you you played baseball and
Speaker 1: football and I did the same and and so I
Speaker 1: just played played sports all the time. But basketball was
Speaker 1: my favorite. And when I was overseas, I was able
Speaker 1: to play. That was one one of the good things
Speaker 1: about basketball was that you know, people played basketball in
Speaker 1: each of they didn't play baseball or football, so that
Speaker 1: that helped I I just was had an outdoor hoop
Speaker 1: at our school and played on the school team, and
Speaker 1: you know it was it was fun. Ye finished sing
Speaker 1: up your high school career in California, not very highly recruited.
Speaker 1: You end up at Arizona as part of Lute Olsen's
Speaker 1: first recruiting class. What was that like playing for such
Speaker 1: a lary Dairy coach? Obviously we lost him not too
Speaker 1: long ago. Rest in peace to coach. What was that
Speaker 1: experience like being a part of his class, going to
Speaker 1: you know, wanting to go to u C. L A,
Speaker 1: ending up at Arizona, and then having a successful career
Speaker 1: at Arizona. Yeah, it was sort of unexpected. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: I finished my senior season without a scholarship offer, and
Speaker 1: I didn't really know what I was gonna do. So
Speaker 1: everything kind of happened at last second, and um it
Speaker 1: turned into the break of my lifetime because to go
Speaker 1: to Arizona and learned from from coach Olsen. Um and
Speaker 1: then too you know, he built the program so quickly. Um,
Speaker 1: so within a few years I was playing with NBA
Speaker 1: players like Sean Elliott and and Judd Bushler and and
Speaker 1: Sean Rooks, And I mean we we we were we
Speaker 1: were loaded. Tom Tolbert, Kenny Lofton was on our team
Speaker 1: and went on and had a amazing big league career.
Speaker 1: And so Lute built this incredible program quickly, and and
Speaker 1: so to be part of it and to learn from
Speaker 1: him and to have the foundation upon which the rest
Speaker 1: of my life has been built was just the ultimate gift.
Speaker 1: So I will forever be thankful for Coach Olsen and
Speaker 1: what what he meant to my life. Do you apply anything,
Speaker 1: probably most likely that you learned from him to your
Speaker 1: coaching style you have now? I do? I do? I think, Um,
Speaker 1: I've probably taken a little something from all the coaches
Speaker 1: that I've played for, but from from him, it was,
Speaker 1: you know, there was such an environment of you know,
Speaker 1: this is something special, like you're part of something special,
Speaker 1: and you felt that the first day you walked in,
Speaker 1: and he made it feel that way through the work,
Speaker 1: through the mission that we were on, through the family
Speaker 1: Vie that that was there, um, And so I think
Speaker 1: I've taken that. I I always want players who come
Speaker 1: to the Warriors to feel like they're part of something special,
Speaker 1: and that's how coach, That's how Coach approached it. Absolutely
Speaker 1: your father accepts a role as president of American University
Speaker 1: and eighty two. Unfortunately January of nine four. Uh, still
Speaker 1: while you're at Arizona. Uh, your father was killed. How
Speaker 1: did that tragedy impact you being thousands of miles away
Speaker 1: and then also obviously impact your family. Yeah, so he Uh,
Speaker 1: he was one of the early victims of terrorism during
Speaker 1: you know, this age of terrorism that we're in. It
Speaker 1: really began, um kind of in the late seventies, um,
Speaker 1: with the hostage situation in Iran at the American embassy,
Speaker 1: and then you know, the early eighties there were various um,
Speaker 1: you know, hijackings and kidnapped things, and bombings and in
Speaker 1: the Middle East and and and so my dad was
Speaker 1: was killed by gunmen and two gunmen outside of his office.
Speaker 1: I was eighteen at the time, um, freshman year at Arizona,
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, just crushed me, just destroyed me.
Speaker 1: And I was really close with my dad. I have
Speaker 1: three siblings. We were all really really close. And and
Speaker 1: you know, it's hard to hard to know how to
Speaker 1: function when something like that happens, because you you know,
Speaker 1: I suppose a lot of us just live in a
Speaker 1: little cocoon growing up if you know, assuming things go
Speaker 1: well for us as as a child like they did
Speaker 1: for me. You know, I was pretty innocent and you know,
Speaker 1: I didn't think anything like that would happen to me,
Speaker 1: and so when it did, it was devastating. But you know,
Speaker 1: I'm I'm proud of my family, everybody, you know, really
Speaker 1: stuck together, My siblings, my mom, everybody as as moved
Speaker 1: on and with their lives and done really well. And
Speaker 1: we think about our dad every day, and um, but
Speaker 1: you know, you keep keep moving, keep moving forward. I
Speaker 1: lost my mom, um two thousand seven to cancer. Um.
Speaker 1: What role did basketball play for you and in helping
Speaker 1: you not necessarily get over but try to you know,
Speaker 1: start life after your father? Yeah, I think it was.
Speaker 1: That was my sanctuary for sure, you know, just going
Speaker 1: to the gym and um. You know, I remember about
Speaker 1: about a few days after um my dad died, we
Speaker 1: had a game and actually the next day I went
Speaker 1: to practice, you know, and coach Olsen said, are you
Speaker 1: sure you want to practice? And I said, what else
Speaker 1: would I want to be doing? You know, um? And
Speaker 1: it wasn't like some heroic act, it was just what
Speaker 1: else do you do? Um? You know, you're just at
Speaker 1: home and you're sitting there, you're thinking about everything. It's
Speaker 1: it's a miserable time. And and sort of get on
Speaker 1: the court for a couple of hours and lose yourself
Speaker 1: in the game and be with your friends and and
Speaker 1: you know, feel the endorphin kick of of you know,
Speaker 1: intense energy and exercise. It all helps. It's very therapeutic,
Speaker 1: and it it you know, people might think it sounds insensitive,
Speaker 1: but it's really not. It's it's just part of part
Speaker 1: of that process of immediate grief. You know that the
Speaker 1: game was like the the one thing during the day
Speaker 1: that I could look forward to. Yeah, that was that
Speaker 1: was to say, I played two days after my mom passed,
Speaker 1: and so, like you said, lose yourself for that two
Speaker 1: and a half hours to just something you love. Although
Speaker 1: every time there was a foul call or a whistle
Speaker 1: was blown, you you know, you obviously revert back to
Speaker 1: missing your father, to missing my mom. But basketball was
Speaker 1: a huge part and obviously my supports this and which
Speaker 1: was my team with the Golden State Warriors at the time.
Speaker 1: With that, we believe team was tremendous and in kind
Speaker 1: of you know, being a shoulder to lean on and
Speaker 1: allowing me to be okay, to agree and be those
Speaker 1: people you needed them to be. It was. It was
Speaker 1: a special experience. But like I said, I really think
Speaker 1: basketball helped me transition through that point in my life. Well,
Speaker 1: your teammates become a family for sure, especially you know,
Speaker 1: a team like that. I mean, you know, I remember
Speaker 1: I was in broadcasting at the time, and I did
Speaker 1: I did some of your games, and I remember you
Speaker 1: going through that loss, and I remember, um, you know,
Speaker 1: just um, and of course we knew each other already
Speaker 1: because you had been in Phoenix, uh before that when
Speaker 1: I was in management with the Sons and and so
Speaker 1: I was, you know it just feeling for you and
Speaker 1: watching you and and just um knowing exactly what you
Speaker 1: were going through because I went through the same thing.
Speaker 1: But that game and your teammates, that's what you have
Speaker 1: to rely on. Absolutely. Um. How special was that final
Speaker 1: four team? You guys had? You know him and saying
Speaker 1: the guy Sean Elliott, Kenny Lofton, Tom Tolbert, Anthony Cook,
Speaker 1: a young Jed Bushler. What was it? What was that experience?
Speaker 1: Like I think Kansas with Danny Manning won the championship
Speaker 1: that year. If I'm not mistaken. Yeah, we lost to
Speaker 1: Oklahoma in the final four. It's the one game, Matt,
Speaker 1: honestly that I still think about to this day. I
Speaker 1: don't think about I don't think about any of the
Speaker 1: good ones. I really don't. I only I only think
Speaker 1: about that one because I played so poorly and I
Speaker 1: shot two for thirteen, not that I you know, have
Speaker 1: kept tracked, and uh, it was so painful, um because
Speaker 1: we had a we had an incredible team sodid Oklahoma
Speaker 1: and they were fantastic and they beat us and then
Speaker 1: Kansas says, you said they upset him in the finals.
Speaker 1: But I think about that game still. This season was
Speaker 1: so special. Those guys remain my best friends to this day,
Speaker 1: the guys from that team, and you know, we still
Speaker 1: have that that bond that's going to exist forever. So
Speaker 1: I've been lucky just to not only be on great teams,
Speaker 1: but beyond teams that just were really close, you know,
Speaker 1: and and where I made really good friends and so
Speaker 1: much fun to stay in touch with old teammates, you know,
Speaker 1: just touch base. W It's great. Absolutely. When this is
Speaker 1: a two part question, when did the NBA become reality?
Speaker 1: And then once you made it, when did you feel
Speaker 1: like you found your footing in the NBA and you
Speaker 1: felt like you belonged. Man, That's a that's a great question. Um,
Speaker 1: it really didn't become a reality to me. I guess
Speaker 1: I've realized my senior year in college that maybe I
Speaker 1: had a chance, um, and I got drafted. It was
Speaker 1: the last pick in the second round by the Suns,
Speaker 1: And when I made the team, it didn't feel like
Speaker 1: I was really there yet. I just was on the
Speaker 1: end of the roster. So the next few years, I
Speaker 1: got traded to Cleveland, played for Lenny Wilkins, who was
Speaker 1: a good, fantastic coach. We have really good teams with
Speaker 1: Mark Price and Brad Doherty, Marry Nance, Craigy Lowe, Ron
Speaker 1: Harper Um and I found my footing, uh for for
Speaker 1: a couple of seasons. During that time, I had had
Speaker 1: a couple of good years, but but I was really
Speaker 1: still a fringe guy for most of my career, And
Speaker 1: to be honest, I'm not sure I ever felt a
Speaker 1: comfortable that I belonged, you know I And maybe that's
Speaker 1: what drove me. I always just kind of felt like,
Speaker 1: you know, I could get cut at any time, and
Speaker 1: so as a result, I put in the work and
Speaker 1: I competed, and uh, and I just kept sticking around
Speaker 1: and um and yeah, I ended up playing fifteen years,
Speaker 1: which is sort of shocking. Um, I still can't believe
Speaker 1: that that my career lasted that long. But now I was.
Speaker 1: I was fortunate and and I kind of ended up
Speaker 1: on in the right place at the right time in
Speaker 1: a lot of cases. Absolutely, Uh with Chicago, you end
Speaker 1: up in Chicago, And uh, you guys go on a
Speaker 1: three pet run from nineties six, obviously, with the last
Speaker 1: dance being such a huge success and winning a lot
Speaker 1: of awards. What do you remember from that time? Obviously,
Speaker 1: I'm sure that refreshed you a lot, whether things that
Speaker 1: you saw there, like that ship didn't happen that way,
Speaker 1: or things you completely forgot. What was the experience like
Speaker 1: kind of going because you guys missed the social media generation,
Speaker 1: you know, so this that was almost like us being
Speaker 1: able to see social media version of you and Michael
Speaker 1: Jordan's Scottie Pipot and Phil and Dennis and all this
Speaker 1: stuff you guys went through. What was it like just
Speaker 1: sitting back, like watching stuff that happened over twenty years ago?
Speaker 1: It was really fun because you know, at the time,
Speaker 1: they didn't have all the sort of Heart Knocks style shows,
Speaker 1: you know, um with teams like nobody was allowed behind
Speaker 1: the scenes. Yeah, no, behind the scenes at all. Nothing,
Speaker 1: nothing like even NBA Entertainment. You know, they might be
Speaker 1: allowed in the locker room during the championship celebration, but
Speaker 1: you'd never see a camera and a team meeting. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, you'd never you know how now like you know,
Speaker 1: let's let's listen in on Frank Vogel during his halftime
Speaker 1: speech during the platform that's never never never. Um. So
Speaker 1: when Phil told us that the cameras were going to
Speaker 1: be behind the scenes, and you know why he was
Speaker 1: allowing it, it was kind of shocking. And then seeing
Speaker 1: all those guys every day was really weird. The first
Speaker 1: month it was, you just felt so exposed. And I'm
Speaker 1: still not sure it was a great idea. UM. I
Speaker 1: don't think I would allow it as a coach. I
Speaker 1: think I think it's you're opening yourself up to a
Speaker 1: lot of potential problems. Um. But I'm really glad that
Speaker 1: that it happened because now, you know, to watch it
Speaker 1: twenty two years or later, especially with my kids who
Speaker 1: were babies at the time, you know, Um, and now
Speaker 1: they're all grown up. So to to watch with them
Speaker 1: and for them to see kind of what life was
Speaker 1: like for me back then, was was really fun. What
Speaker 1: was it like? I mean, I'm sure this is a
Speaker 1: common question playing with Mike. Um. You know we heard
Speaker 1: you guys had your differences at times, but just overall,
Speaker 1: him as a teammate, him as a competitor, and is
Speaker 1: there a friendship there's Is there a friendship there? There's Uh,
Speaker 1: there's there's a mutual respect that that exists, and and uh,
Speaker 1: we don't really stay in touch, um, but we see
Speaker 1: each other maybe once or twice a year, whether it's
Speaker 1: at at a game in Charlotte or All Star weekend
Speaker 1: or you know, maybe a golf tournament or something in
Speaker 1: Lake Tahoe. Like we've we've we just seemed to run
Speaker 1: into each other once in a while because we're kind of,
Speaker 1: you know, traveling the same circuit. And there's always it's
Speaker 1: always a great reunion, you know, He's Um, it's so
Speaker 1: much fun to kind of relive those days and to
Speaker 1: ask about, you know, our teammates and talk about you know,
Speaker 1: the good times back then and being his teammate was hard. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, he he was really tough on everybody because
Speaker 1: his whole philosophy was he had to toughen us up
Speaker 1: to get us ready for the playoffs in the finals,
Speaker 1: and so he came after us and you had to
Speaker 1: you had to stand up to him. He had to
Speaker 1: sort of survive the the MJ test, you know, and
Speaker 1: and the guys who who survived it. Um, he had
Speaker 1: immense respect for him. And so you know, people know
Speaker 1: about the fight I got into him and I that
Speaker 1: we got into two together, and um, that was just
Speaker 1: about him kind of testing me and uh, and I
Speaker 1: probably the best thing I ever did was not you know,
Speaker 1: not take his his crap, and you know, stood back
Speaker 1: up and he respected it and we got along ever since.
Speaker 1: So that was a similar you know, obviously we weren't
Speaker 1: teammates at the time, but like I said, I think
Speaker 1: getting a chance to play against Kobe for so long
Speaker 1: and he'll test you mentally physically obviously as an opponent. Um.
Speaker 1: But then you know, it came to a head in
Speaker 1: the in the two thousand nine, two thousand ten situation
Speaker 1: with the ball fake, and you know, we almost ended
Speaker 1: up fighting at that point. But what a lot of
Speaker 1: people didn't know was at the end of that season,
Speaker 1: he personally called me. I didn't even have his number
Speaker 1: for some reason. I just picked up and it was him.
Speaker 1: He's just like, you know, anyone crazy enough to funk
Speaker 1: with me, is crazy enough to play with me? Do
Speaker 1: you do you want to be a Laker? And you
Speaker 1: know similar you know, I mean, like the great ones
Speaker 1: will test and they want guys that aren't going to
Speaker 1: back down from anything. And obviously you've earned Mike's respect
Speaker 1: through that, and then you guys went on to win
Speaker 1: some championships, him coming back, Um, you guys losing to
Speaker 1: Orlando and then coming out and having that tremendous ninety
Speaker 1: six season where you guys go seventy two and ten.
Speaker 1: What was that like? I mean, to lose ten games?
Speaker 1: And then obviously as a coach you surpassed that record
Speaker 1: which no one thought would ever be broken. But as
Speaker 1: a player in that in that moment, what was that
Speaker 1: time like? It was incredible that because is uh, none
Speaker 1: of us had ever experienced anything like it. But you
Speaker 1: know the fact that Michael had left the game for
Speaker 1: a couple of years just completely recharged him. Between him
Speaker 1: having a full off season to prepare and being recharged
Speaker 1: and motivated, and then Dennis coming aboard from the Spurs
Speaker 1: during an offseason trade. We were just revitalized, the whole
Speaker 1: whole franchise. And I remember the media asking us about
Speaker 1: possibly winning seventy before the season started, and we were all,
Speaker 1: you gotta be kidding me. Nobody's gonna win seventy. And
Speaker 1: yet we just blitz teams right out of the gate,
Speaker 1: and I think we were forty one and three at
Speaker 1: one point. It was like we were just looking at
Speaker 1: each other, like this is this is insane, This doesn't happen.
Speaker 1: But it was that perfect storm because of his absence
Speaker 1: and because of Dennis's arrival and just this amazing energy
Speaker 1: that existed and Phil's genius as our coach. Just the
Speaker 1: way it all happened, and by the way, Scottie Pippen
Speaker 1: was one of the great basketball players in the league
Speaker 1: at the time. It was an amazing, amazing run. What
Speaker 1: was it like with Dennis? You saw stuff and it
Speaker 1: fucking blew me away when he left for Vegas and
Speaker 1: Phil being Phil, I got an opportunity. I got a
Speaker 1: chance to play for Phil his last year before he
Speaker 1: announced to us he had cancer and he was going
Speaker 1: to step away from the game. And when I tell
Speaker 1: people like that's what I saw in you when I
Speaker 1: came to Golden State, was Phil implemented his system as
Speaker 1: you did. And then you kind of take a step back,
Speaker 1: and you're not the raw ry unless you have to
Speaker 1: cuss someone out, you're not that. You trust the players
Speaker 1: you put out there to allow us to create and
Speaker 1: play the game and see the game through our eyes.
Speaker 1: What was it like kind of a two part First
Speaker 1: of all, what was Dennis like? And then playing for
Speaker 1: someone like Phil Jackson. Well, it's a good question because
Speaker 1: the way Phil coached Dennis really, um was was the
Speaker 1: key to everything um and and it and it really
Speaker 1: informed me about what coaching was about, you know, because
Speaker 1: as Phil demanded certain things of Dennis and then got
Speaker 1: out of his way, and I saw how powerful that was.
Speaker 1: Um you know, the idea of giving someone a vision
Speaker 1: and then letting them go and then occasionally raining them
Speaker 1: back in, show him the vision again, letting him go again.
Speaker 1: That's powerful, you know. To me, that's coaching. Because these
Speaker 1: players are artists. Man, they're they're they're so gifted at
Speaker 1: this level, especially and you know, if you're if you're
Speaker 1: gonna call every play and try to orchestrate everything, you're
Speaker 1: overthinking things and you're not letting the players be who
Speaker 1: they really are. The way Phil handled Dennis was was genius. Uh.
Speaker 1: The first year was it was incredible because you know,
Speaker 1: Dennis was so excited to be part of the of
Speaker 1: the team and he was so different, but he connected
Speaker 1: um with guys in in in strange ways, like he
Speaker 1: wouldn't say anything for a week, um, you know, but
Speaker 1: you've you've like there was just energy from him that
Speaker 1: you know what, that's a good dude. Like he just
Speaker 1: you could tell he had a good soul and he
Speaker 1: so he was vulnerable in that way, like he allowed
Speaker 1: you to see his soul and what he was about. Um,
Speaker 1: but he didn't communicate a whole lot, so you had
Speaker 1: to you had to understand him and get to know
Speaker 1: him a little bit. Beautiful minds um finals h M J.
Speaker 1: Flew game his amazing game and then you hit the
Speaker 1: game winner in game six? How did your life change
Speaker 1: after that? I think in some ways it was it
Speaker 1: was validation that I belonged. You know, you asked that
Speaker 1: question earlier, When did when did I feel like I belonged.
Speaker 1: Maybe that's the answer. Maybe it took that long. I
Speaker 1: think that was maybe my tenth year in the league.
Speaker 1: But you know, I hadn't hit many big shots before that,
Speaker 1: and so hitting that shot felt like I actually belong here.
Speaker 1: I had to prove it to myself, but I had
Speaker 1: to prove it to other people also. And then it
Speaker 1: also led to another contract, you know, my I was
Speaker 1: a free agent a couple of years later, and the
Speaker 1: Spurs gave me a five year contract, which was the
Speaker 1: most money I ever made my career, which allowed me
Speaker 1: to buy a house in San Diego and and you know,
Speaker 1: take care of my family. And so it changed, it
Speaker 1: changed a lot of things. I think hitting that shot
Speaker 1: probably got me my job in TV, you know, because
Speaker 1: playing for the Bulls and having a big moment took
Speaker 1: me from a place of relative obscurity too. Oh we
Speaker 1: know that guy, and you know, so that season, that
Speaker 1: those years in Chicago and hitting that shot, it all
Speaker 1: added up to kind of giving me a boost um
Speaker 1: to another another level in my own career in life.
Speaker 1: I love it now obviously with the last Dance, you
Speaker 1: know that you guys win your third title. Seeing last Dance.
Speaker 1: There was so much behind the scenes that obviously we
Speaker 1: didn't know. I don't know, I'm not sure if you
Speaker 1: guys were, But did you guys really feel like this
Speaker 1: was really really going to be the last run? Or
Speaker 1: at any point did you just think it was talker
Speaker 1: did when you guys knew that season? Hey, you guys
Speaker 1: really knew it was going to be the last run.
Speaker 1: We knew it was done. We really knew. Yeah, we
Speaker 1: knew we were done. And uh, you know, it's so
Speaker 1: funny because you know, the last Dance came on whenever
Speaker 1: it was, I guess it was June July, so it
Speaker 1: came on, and it finishes up, and and after the
Speaker 1: tenth episode, I had, you know, all my friends are
Speaker 1: calling me and the media is asking me, you know,
Speaker 1: could you could you? Or why didn't? Why didn't the
Speaker 1: Bulls keep the team together? You know what was Rhyan's
Speaker 1: store of thinking? Why didn't they just sign everybody and
Speaker 1: keep going? And I think that's the logical sort of thought,
Speaker 1: But it's never that simple. It's never that simple. And
Speaker 1: and what I've what I've really realized, you know, coaching
Speaker 1: the Warriors and feeling feeling that pressure that you feel,
Speaker 1: you know, going to the finals multiple years in our
Speaker 1: case five years or row with the Warriors. With the
Speaker 1: Bulls it was, you know, six times in eight years.
Speaker 1: I think there's an emotional toll that is so big
Speaker 1: that it's hard for people to understand that when a
Speaker 1: team loses its edge, it's you know, it's energy, it's motivation. Um,
Speaker 1: it's just over. And so people can say, you know,
Speaker 1: you gotta if you guys had come back, or you know,
Speaker 1: if Michael hadn't left for baseball, you would have won
Speaker 1: eight championships in a row. I call bullshit, Like it's
Speaker 1: just you know, there's just no way. There's no way
Speaker 1: we were There was too much fatigue and it ended
Speaker 1: for a reason, it was supposed to end. It was
Speaker 1: just that was the time speaking out on that as
Speaker 1: a player and what you saw and what you felt.
Speaker 1: Did you feel that with this current team did you
Speaker 1: feel like you guys had had done Obviously injuries played
Speaker 1: a huge part kind of and you guys is not
Speaker 1: winning again, But did you feel like because we're in
Speaker 1: a different era now, so everything is publicized. Small arguments
Speaker 1: don't stay in the locker room, Criticisms don't stay in
Speaker 1: the locker room. Everything is for public consumption now. So
Speaker 1: did you feel as a coach, which you felt as
Speaker 1: a player in Chicago at all, in that Golden State
Speaker 1: organization or locker room so to speak. I did. Um,
Speaker 1: I could feel it a little bit. You know, the
Speaker 1: the last year when we lost to Toronto in the finals. Um,
Speaker 1: it was a different type season, you know, we um,
Speaker 1: we could just feel. Um, the connection wasn't as powerful. Um.
Speaker 1: And it was just human nature, you know. The there's
Speaker 1: nothing like the climb. The climb is the best, the
Speaker 1: best part. You know, you get to the top and
Speaker 1: you've got to start over again. That's that's you know,
Speaker 1: it's pretty hard, but it's worth the climb. But you try.
Speaker 1: You got to make that climb three, four or five times.
Speaker 1: It's exhausting. So we felt that exhaustion. UM. I thought
Speaker 1: last year Draymond, Stephen Clay desperately needed to get away,
Speaker 1: and unfortunately it took really horrible circumstances, um for Draymond,
Speaker 1: or for for Steph and Clay with season ending injuries.
Speaker 1: Even Kevin Durant, you know, after three straight years of
Speaker 1: going to the finals. Um, you know, uh, I think
Speaker 1: he probably needed arrest and Uh, I hated that had
Speaker 1: happened the way it did with his injury, but you know,
Speaker 1: making these runs out of to me, that's why what
Speaker 1: what Lebron incredible? It makes no sense. It makes people
Speaker 1: don't understand and I think, obviously because you played and
Speaker 1: you're a coach, people to understand the mental drain it
Speaker 1: takes on your body, on your family, on everyone around
Speaker 1: you as well, because like I said, it's from the
Speaker 1: outside looking in. Know you keep k d and you
Speaker 1: guys keep running, or Mike doesn't go play baseball and
Speaker 1: you guys. It's never that simple. It's it's so it's
Speaker 1: such an emotional roller coaster. I mean, and not to
Speaker 1: mention the physical grind, but the mental grind is just
Speaker 1: as tough, if not tougher, than that actual physical grind. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And while you're going through that grind, there's four or
Speaker 1: five other teams that are on the climb that are
Speaker 1: incredibly motivated, that have been building their teams specifically to
Speaker 1: beat you, and that can't wait to play you. And uh,
Speaker 1: and you're so you're you're already exhausted and now you
Speaker 1: see these people climbing below. You're trying to pull your
Speaker 1: leg down. You're like, leave me alone, you know. So
Speaker 1: it's uh, it's exhausting. So you know, ten ten finals
Speaker 1: appearances for Lebron, But I think, if I'm not mistaken,
Speaker 1: this this is nine out of the last ten years, right,
Speaker 1: that he will be in the finals. That's insane. That's insane. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and you guys had a lot to do with his
Speaker 1: record in the finals. But yeah, he got up. He
Speaker 1: got our best team. The you know, the three win
Speaker 1: team was you know, not our most talented team, but
Speaker 1: you know that that team was, oh, steam rolled through
Speaker 1: everybody and then and then they got us, So that
Speaker 1: one stung. We're gonna get to the to the Warriors,
Speaker 1: it was. But I want to continue with what you
Speaker 1: had going on. So you leave, m J retires, Scotty
Speaker 1: goes to Houston. If I'm not mistaken, you guys, you
Speaker 1: go to San Antonio. You guys win that next shortened year.
Speaker 1: Correct with a mention, David Robinson and in a very
Speaker 1: young Tim Duncan, you landed on your feet. You leave,
Speaker 1: you leave a three pet and you go to to
Speaker 1: pop in the Spurs and you keep the train going.
Speaker 1: What was that like? Yeah, it was really weird because
Speaker 1: it was a lockout season, as you mentioned, fifty games season. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, Pop wasn't Pop yet, he was maybe in
Speaker 1: his third year coaching. I didn't really know anything about him. Um,
Speaker 1: But to go there and to immediately be part of
Speaker 1: a championship team was kind of crazy, you know. Um,
Speaker 1: I felt like I just sort of fell off of
Speaker 1: a train and landed on a bandwagon. And you know,
Speaker 1: they handed me a trophy and I was like, Okay,
Speaker 1: here we go again. It was it was really bizarre, Um.
Speaker 1: But I think the the experience that I had in
Speaker 1: San Antonio, even though I didn't play a ton, I
Speaker 1: made a much bigger impact in Chicago than I did
Speaker 1: in San Antonio on the court. But what I learned
Speaker 1: in San Antonio has been so important for me and
Speaker 1: my coaching career and UH, and and playing with such
Speaker 1: incredible guys. Tim Duncan is as good at a teammate
Speaker 1: as there is um on earth and and UH. To
Speaker 1: go through that experience was was remarkable, given that I
Speaker 1: had just been granted the opportunity to play with Michael
Speaker 1: Jordan and the and the Bulls. So I've been I've
Speaker 1: lived right, and I've lived right, absolutely, So after that
Speaker 1: you had to Portland and then you come back and
Speaker 1: get your fifth ring. Um, you know my colleague was
Speaker 1: a part of that team as well. You guys both
Speaker 1: hit big shots to help secure your fifth ring. And
Speaker 1: that was your final season. What made you say it's time? Well,
Speaker 1: I was thirty seven and my knees were probably my
Speaker 1: last three years playing. Um, my knees were really hurting
Speaker 1: and I was popping by ox, you know, just to
Speaker 1: feel capable of, you know, moving the way I wanted
Speaker 1: to move. And it was so frustrating. You know, not
Speaker 1: that I was ever very quick or fast, but you know,
Speaker 1: you want to feel your best to be able to play.
Speaker 1: And so when you get old, and you you probably
Speaker 1: remember this, you know, at the tail end of your career.
Speaker 1: You know, one day you feel twenty five and the
Speaker 1: next day you feel thirty eight and you can't figure
Speaker 1: out why, or you know, get banged up. And when
Speaker 1: you're young, you know exactly why you you're banged up.
Speaker 1: And you get older and you get out of bed
Speaker 1: and you go, why does my left hip hurt? You know?
Speaker 1: And and so that three years of that thirty seven,
Speaker 1: we won the championship and in oh three, it was
Speaker 1: just time. It felt rain. Yeah, now I felt that
Speaker 1: to the extreme. You know. I came. I was thirty
Speaker 1: seven with my my finding you're with you guys, and
Speaker 1: it pissed me off because a sprained ankle had never
Speaker 1: taken me out like I sprained my ankle, and I'd
Speaker 1: always bounced right back. But this sprained ankle was the
Speaker 1: sprained ankle of them all, and it just wouldn't heal.
Speaker 1: And by the time and I tell people, you know, obviously,
Speaker 1: I took in less money my whole entire career to
Speaker 1: get into a winning situation because I wanted to win.
Speaker 1: And I finally get an opportunity to come to you guys,
Speaker 1: when unfortunately Katie goes down, I step in you know,
Speaker 1: you insert me. It was crazy. So I'm at working
Speaker 1: my kids out DeMarcus were I'm in Sacramento that the
Speaker 1: King's talked through me to get to DeMarcus all the time.
Speaker 1: So they're reassuring me the whole time they're not trading DeMarcus. Oh,
Speaker 1: he's good. He's you know, we're a half a game,
Speaker 1: a game and a half out of the playoffs. He's good.
Speaker 1: He's not going nowhere. We're gonna make this playoff run.
Speaker 1: We're gonna play the Warriors in the first round. So
Speaker 1: we have this whole game plan for Sacramento and the
Speaker 1: first year in our new arena. All Star Break hits
Speaker 1: and DeMarcus gets traded while he's on the podium asking
Speaker 1: questions and I'm like, what the funk you guys have
Speaker 1: just been telling me for the last three weeks to
Speaker 1: a month. He's not going nowhere. So DeMarcus gets traded.
Speaker 1: Fast forward. I talked to Bloody. I'm like, Bloody, I'm
Speaker 1: too old to try to rebuild, you know. I needed
Speaker 1: to try to win, and he understood. He let me go.
Speaker 1: Katie goes down. I get an opportunity to come in
Speaker 1: and when I tell you, like I wasn't. I went
Speaker 1: from being at KFC one night to talk to you
Speaker 1: on the phone because I just got done working the Twins.
Speaker 1: I was like, You're like, hey, we need you in Chicago.
Speaker 1: I'm like, holy sh it. I catch a flight the
Speaker 1: next day and then get to Chicago and I played
Speaker 1: twenty five minutes. I'm like, oh shoot, I'm I'm back
Speaker 1: in the NBA. Let's go, you know. So for that opportunity,
Speaker 1: to arise, and then Katie comes back and I get
Speaker 1: hurt the game Katie, So I never People don't know,
Speaker 1: like I never got a chance to play with Katie,
Speaker 1: like we were on the same team. But he was
Speaker 1: hurt and then he'd the first game back. I got hurt,
Speaker 1: and then I played sparingly in the playoffs. So but
Speaker 1: back to your point, I couldn't get over that sprained
Speaker 1: ankle and a spring. I'm a football player. I played
Speaker 1: through everything, and that fucking spring ankle wouldn't get better.
Speaker 1: So it was just it was it was humbling, and
Speaker 1: and you know, we got a chance to win it,
Speaker 1: to win a ring as as a team, and it
Speaker 1: was a tremendous opportunity. But I was just like, it's
Speaker 1: getting time and and and you know, and that's why
Speaker 1: I wanted to ask, like it was my fourteenth ory,
Speaker 1: it was your fifteenth year, like when you start listening
Speaker 1: to your body. Could I played a couple more years? Probably,
Speaker 1: But I was just I was ready to see what
Speaker 1: was next in my life. And and obviously you know
Speaker 1: you felt a similar way. Yeah, yeah, I mean, but
Speaker 1: but how lucky are we to make it that far
Speaker 1: so that we where we could actually say, okay, we
Speaker 1: know now it's time. Most players they before before that.
Speaker 1: I have to tell one quick story just for your
Speaker 1: listeners because it's one of my favorite NBA stories from coaching.
Speaker 1: But you know, one of the things that you know
Speaker 1: that that I believe as as a coach, and I
Speaker 1: really learned this from Pop was, you know, involving family
Speaker 1: members um in anything that you can with it with
Speaker 1: team stuff is uh is really fun. It's it's just
Speaker 1: you know, so we always invite guys to bring their kids,
Speaker 1: their families on the plane if they want, and and
Speaker 1: so you probably know where I'm going with this. But
Speaker 1: so we had a game in San Antonio and uh,
Speaker 1: we're staying out in the hill country the Hyatt. Uh
Speaker 1: we have a breakfast meeting, and you bring your boys
Speaker 1: to the breakfast meeting, the twins and everybody's having breakfast,
Speaker 1: and then you know we're gonna get the meeting started.
Speaker 1: And you you were like, coach, should I send the
Speaker 1: kids back? I'm like, no, no, they're good. They're good.
Speaker 1: And so they's and they're they're hoopers right there. At
Speaker 1: that time, they were probably I'm guessing eight years old,
Speaker 1: seven years old, so they would you know, they would
Speaker 1: shoot around before practice and stuff, and they're hoopers. They
Speaker 1: love this stuff. So it was Mike Brown's scout. So
Speaker 1: I said, Mike, why don't you go through the through
Speaker 1: the matchups and he goes, all right, um, we're gonna
Speaker 1: change the starting lineup. You hadn't started the previous game.
Speaker 1: And I'm sitting in the back just observing, so you're
Speaker 1: kind of sitting right in front of me with your boys.
Speaker 1: Mike Brown's beyond that. So Mike gets up. He goes,
Speaker 1: all right, we're gonna we'rena start tonight. We're gonna start
Speaker 1: Steph Clay, Uh, Matt, you're gonna start at the three,
Speaker 1: and you're gonna guard Kauai and your boys are the
Speaker 1: twins get up and they start going. They start pumping
Speaker 1: their fists. They're like, yeah, yeah. It was one of
Speaker 1: my all time favorite favorite moments because that's really, you know, ultimately,
Speaker 1: that's what it's about. You know, you want to be
Speaker 1: able to enjoy everything with your family, and how cool
Speaker 1: is that, Like, you know, there were your boys watching
Speaker 1: this team meeting and hell, yeah, Dad's starting tonight. Yeah
Speaker 1: now that was that was the best experience obviously for me.
Speaker 1: To be able to come to a team like that
Speaker 1: and just see how you were able to manage so
Speaker 1: many different stars and egos and personality and come along
Speaker 1: for the common goal. But outside of that, the kids
Speaker 1: ride was the best time. Like the chance that the
Speaker 1: people don't know, Like the kids flew on the plane,
Speaker 1: they were in the locker room, they were in our
Speaker 1: pregame breakfast meetings. Like you couldn't tell these guys they
Speaker 1: weren't on the Warriors, you know, I mean one game
Speaker 1: you let them. I want to say, we were in
Speaker 1: the Western Finals against Houston. If I'm a mistaken or
Speaker 1: sit and they're shooting with Stephen Katie at the end
Speaker 1: of practice, like shooting three and like they were just
Speaker 1: blowing away. And so when we finally won the championship,
Speaker 1: like the Twins were up, I was sitting in the
Speaker 1: back just kind of taking it all in. The Twins
Speaker 1: are in the front row trying to hold the Katie
Speaker 1: got the m v P trophy. They wanted to hold that,
Speaker 1: steph got the championship trophy. They were trying, like you
Speaker 1: couldn't tell the Twins that they weren't a part of
Speaker 1: that team. So that's why I wanted to make sure
Speaker 1: that you know, when I came back and got my ring,
Speaker 1: I got them rings, and these kids were on cloud nine.
Speaker 1: So I really, oh, I really personally, I never really
Speaker 1: I thank you, but I never got a chance to
Speaker 1: really thank you because, like you said that that was
Speaker 1: to me, that was a perfect exclamation on. Like my
Speaker 1: kids got to see me play, My kids got to
Speaker 1: be a part of this special team. It was their
Speaker 1: favorite team. And then for them to kind of get
Speaker 1: rings when Dad got rings, it was just a perfect
Speaker 1: time to say goodbye. And I really owe a lot
Speaker 1: of that to you and obviously the WARS organization for
Speaker 1: accepting me back. So thank you very much for that. Coach.
Speaker 1: I really appreciate that. Oh, I appreciate the compliment. And
Speaker 1: and um, and I'll just say it was a pleasure
Speaker 1: to to coach you. Just your your competitiveness and your
Speaker 1: toughness was it was important in our locker room. And
Speaker 1: and you know, the the the joy that the twins
Speaker 1: brought every day was was great stuff. And and Zaza's
Speaker 1: kids would come in and uh, you know, sometimes the
Speaker 1: kids would be having like a three on three game
Speaker 1: between David West's son and so we had we had
Speaker 1: a good group. But but I really learned that from Pop.
Speaker 1: You know, Um Pop was the first coach I ever
Speaker 1: had who invited family on the plane. And so I
Speaker 1: remember taking my five year old son, my oldest on
Speaker 1: a road trip, and then a few weeks later, my
Speaker 1: three year old daughter on a road trip, and you know,
Speaker 1: she was so excited because she was like, you know,
Speaker 1: we get to sleep in the hotels, like yeah, and
Speaker 1: she's like, we're gonna get room service, We're gonna watch
Speaker 1: a movie. She's like, this is gonna be the best
Speaker 1: best night of my life, you know, and it's like,
Speaker 1: I'll never forget that. And so for Pop to understand
Speaker 1: that as a coach, like how how much that meant
Speaker 1: to me? It meant It was so powerful that it
Speaker 1: was it became a no brainer for me when I
Speaker 1: became coach. Got to give the players that joy of
Speaker 1: seeing their kids in the same environment, and it's an
Speaker 1: amazing feeling. That's one thing that that that people to
Speaker 1: understand is is is championship teams are built at the top,
Speaker 1: and it's two little things like that. Obviously, you need
Speaker 1: everything to be aligned and you need plenty of luck,
Speaker 1: but it starts at top with management and when I
Speaker 1: tell people when I play for the Words, you guys
Speaker 1: literally took You guys take care of all the players
Speaker 1: on your team. Have to do is obviously fall in
Speaker 1: line and you know, stay ready. But all you have
Speaker 1: to do is worry about basketball. You guys take care
Speaker 1: of family. You guys take care of friends. You guys
Speaker 1: make it such a warm family environment that like we
Speaker 1: you want to go run through a wall for an
Speaker 1: organization like that, because I played for the Clippers my
Speaker 1: first year and we were practicing at a junior college
Speaker 1: where we had to keep the back door open to
Speaker 1: make sure people didn't break into our cars. You know,
Speaker 1: I mean, it's just like little ship. There's levels to this,
Speaker 1: and I think you guys did such an amazing job
Speaker 1: of just all you guys have to do is go
Speaker 1: out and focus on basketball. We got everything else and
Speaker 1: then you know, you guys got rings for that. But
Speaker 1: back to you retiring from the game, You step into
Speaker 1: broadcast booth and then you wept into the front office
Speaker 1: of Phoenix during their runs. What was that transition like
Speaker 1: from obviously playing, I don't know if you knew you
Speaker 1: wanted to be a coach, you went to the front
Speaker 1: office first. But what was that change from being a
Speaker 1: player to moving into the front office and kind of
Speaker 1: managing things behind the scenes. Well, I had a bridge,
Speaker 1: you know, doing TV for about four years before I
Speaker 1: got into management, and it was important for me to
Speaker 1: kind of step away from the grind. And so the
Speaker 1: TV gig with T n T was an incredible time
Speaker 1: in my life, you know, to be with my family
Speaker 1: at home and then I'd fly off and do one
Speaker 1: game a week. So it was kind of perfect. You know.
Speaker 1: I got just enough time away to keep my wife happy.
Speaker 1: So I was out of the house for a couple
Speaker 1: of days, but plenty of time at home to do
Speaker 1: the things I wanted to do. And then after about
Speaker 1: four years, I just started feeling that itch to compete
Speaker 1: and to be involved. And I had this opportunity in
Speaker 1: Phoenix and and I took it. But you know, I
Speaker 1: was GM for three years, but I I knew deep
Speaker 1: in my heart that I wanted to coach and I
Speaker 1: didn't love being a GM. You know. I like being
Speaker 1: on the court. I like being with the players, and
Speaker 1: I like the highs and lows of of winning and losing.
Speaker 1: Like if you're right in the thick of it, rather
Speaker 1: than watching from above and trying to make more big
Speaker 1: picture decisions. I'd rather be in the fight. So it
Speaker 1: was fun to watch the team. And we had a
Speaker 1: hell of a team. You were part of it, you know,
Speaker 1: with with Nash and grat Hill and an older shack
Speaker 1: older shack By Yeah by that time, and we had
Speaker 1: a couple of good runs. But it was not a
Speaker 1: job that I excelled at. I was not a great GM,
Speaker 1: to be honest with you, correct me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 1: You were broadcasting during our We Believe times, right, didn't you?
Speaker 1: Weren't you broadcasting when we were playing Dallas? Yeah? I
Speaker 1: did the final game. So how loud was that arena?
Speaker 1: Because I tried to tell people because I went back
Speaker 1: to the championship and we were fortunate to be on
Speaker 1: that team, But I still felt like those we Believe
Speaker 1: crowds were the loudest crowds I've ever been a part of. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I agree, I've told people that many times. That game
Speaker 1: six again Stallas, the closeout game was the loudest arena
Speaker 1: I've ever heard in my life. It was insane. It
Speaker 1: felt like they were shaking the arena like we came
Speaker 1: out to warm up and and the stands were already full.
Speaker 1: Like normally when you go out to warm up, no
Speaker 1: one's really out there yet, you like when individual players
Speaker 1: the second they opened the door, the arena was filled
Speaker 1: and they were all standing as soon as we came
Speaker 1: out there for like the real team warm ups, like
Speaker 1: you it was there was an electricity in there, and
Speaker 1: there was we knew we were going to blow them
Speaker 1: out like that. Home fan base was tremendous, you know,
Speaker 1: obviously transitioning to becoming the Warriors coach, but I kind
Speaker 1: of wanted to jump ahead a little bit, obviously having
Speaker 1: to leave the history of Oakland and Oracle behind and
Speaker 1: transitioning to obviously the amazing venue you guys have in
Speaker 1: San Francisco. What do you miss about those Oracle crowds?
Speaker 1: I always loved Oracle, even going way back to when
Speaker 1: I was a player. There was just this energy in
Speaker 1: that building that didn't exist in every NBA arena, Certain
Speaker 1: arenas that just feels special, certain crowds that seemed to
Speaker 1: know the game and love the game. The Garden in
Speaker 1: New York feels that way to me, you know, despite
Speaker 1: the struggles of the teams over the last couple of decades.
Speaker 1: It's still special to go into the Garden. There's a
Speaker 1: sense that that there's a real basketball history and and
Speaker 1: that the fans know the game. And that's how I
Speaker 1: always felt coming into Oracle, going to Toronto same way,
Speaker 1: there's this energy in the crowd in Toronto that's really
Speaker 1: fun to be a part of. Yeah, it's electric Seattle
Speaker 1: the Sonics when you know, playing the old Sonics teams
Speaker 1: Key was amazing. The Oracle has always been a special place.
Speaker 1: And then obviously to have the run that we did
Speaker 1: and get to the finals and and you know, win
Speaker 1: a championship at home in seventeen and just feeling that
Speaker 1: energy and the joy of the fans was really amazing.
Speaker 1: That's special. So head coach of Golden State, your first
Speaker 1: crack Um replacing Mark Jackson, what was your philosophy and
Speaker 1: expectations Obviously coming into with a new young team, you
Speaker 1: start with two core stars and you find out, you know,
Speaker 1: Draymond works itself into being a star. What were some
Speaker 1: of the ups and downs with that young Warrior team
Speaker 1: and how did you feel like you earned their trust? Well,
Speaker 1: I think our whole focus coming in was was let's
Speaker 1: respect what Mark has already built and what the team
Speaker 1: has already built. That was what fourteen fifteen was our
Speaker 1: first year. They had the Warriors have been in the
Speaker 1: playoffs the previous couple of years. They had a top
Speaker 1: four defense in the league the previous year. Uh when
Speaker 1: when I became coach, so I'm looking at him like,
Speaker 1: this is a gold mine. You know this, This team
Speaker 1: is ready to win. They've already they've already become a
Speaker 1: damn good team. And so let's honor that. Let's respect that.
Speaker 1: And and that was our whole approaching our approaching camp
Speaker 1: was we're not coming in here to reinvent the wheel.
Speaker 1: We're coming in to help you with the foundation that
Speaker 1: you guys have already built, and let's grow it. Let's
Speaker 1: get better from here. That was important because the players
Speaker 1: liked Mark and had great respect for him, and he
Speaker 1: had done an amazing job. He deserved the credit that
Speaker 1: he had been given. It was controversial when he was
Speaker 1: let go, So I thought that was the main thing
Speaker 1: we tried to do, was just hey, let's keep building
Speaker 1: this thing. And and here's a few areas where watching
Speaker 1: on tape, we think we can get better. But other
Speaker 1: than that, like, let's let's keep rolling. We had Steph
Speaker 1: on the first season of the show and he said
Speaker 1: he personally felt like the first one was the best
Speaker 1: one for him. What was that first journey like? You know,
Speaker 1: obviously you being there as a player, you walk into
Speaker 1: an amazing situation fifteen you guys get there, What was
Speaker 1: that first one like for you as a coach? Honestly,
Speaker 1: um it in terms of basketball, and I've had a
Speaker 1: lot of amazing moments in my career and been on
Speaker 1: championship teams, but clenching Game six in Cleveland and as
Speaker 1: a head coach might have been the best feeling that
Speaker 1: I've ever had in basketball because it's different. It's different
Speaker 1: like a lot of times as a player I was
Speaker 1: on those teams, I was a reserve. I might have
Speaker 1: had a good game here there, and but I didn't.
Speaker 1: I it wasn't me. I wasn't you know, the one
Speaker 1: winning the championship. You know, as a player, um, so
Speaker 1: when you become a coach, it's even more so pronounced
Speaker 1: because you never touched the floor, right, you never take
Speaker 1: a shot, you never get a rebound. But what you
Speaker 1: do feel is this responsibility to the group that you're
Speaker 1: trying to help them win a championship, and so as
Speaker 1: a coach, it's a different vibe. Like you you didn't
Speaker 1: you didn't do anything yourself, but this group that you're
Speaker 1: in charge of has accomplished their goal. And that's a
Speaker 1: special feeling, you know, in any kind of leadership role,
Speaker 1: when when the group you're in charge of has that success.
Speaker 1: It was probably the most gratifying moment of my my
Speaker 1: whole career. See, that's that's cool, And obviously I felt
Speaker 1: it not a much smaller scale, but you know, coaching
Speaker 1: the Twins now and we have one of the top
Speaker 1: teams in the country and seeing their excitement when they
Speaker 1: start to get stuff and understand and you know, we
Speaker 1: run similar offenses to what you guys do. When I
Speaker 1: tell them every single night, the Warriors are gonna get
Speaker 1: everyone's best shot. You know, that's the same with my
Speaker 1: team because I coach him and everyone knows the Twins
Speaker 1: now every single night you have to understand how to
Speaker 1: play with a target on your back. You there's no
Speaker 1: let ups, there's no But when we finally start winning
Speaker 1: these championships and we see I think we're number eight
Speaker 1: or number nine in the whole country right now at
Speaker 1: twelve years old, you know what I mean. But to
Speaker 1: see their excitement and know that I'm I don't shoot,
Speaker 1: I don't play defense, I don't do nothing on that court,
Speaker 1: but I'm helping them achieve their goals. So I can
Speaker 1: only imagine on the highest level, which is the NBA,
Speaker 1: the excitement an opportunity like that would bring for you. Yeah. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, there's there's nothing like playing basketball. You know,
Speaker 1: once you're done, you can't play anymore. To be involved
Speaker 1: as a coach, to me is the next best thing.
Speaker 1: But winning a championship as a coach is a feeling
Speaker 1: you can't describe because you you just feel responsible for
Speaker 1: so many people. You know that so much can go wrong,
Speaker 1: and if it does go wrong, you feel responsible for
Speaker 1: that too. But when everything clicks and and as it
Speaker 1: did that first year, oh man, amazing special feeling. How
Speaker 1: do you feel like your experience as a player with
Speaker 1: your seventy two and ten team We touched on this
Speaker 1: earlier and then the experience coaching the seventy three and
Speaker 1: nine team prepared you for that? And did you see
Speaker 1: any similarities differences? The pressure not in night out and
Speaker 1: like I just said a minute ago, it didn't matter
Speaker 1: who you guys were playing every single night, you were
Speaker 1: going to get their best shot. In that ship alone
Speaker 1: is draining mentally and physically. So what was it like,
Speaker 1: obviously being a part of the player and then coaching
Speaker 1: a team that surpassed a record that no one ever
Speaker 1: thought would be touched. Yeah, and I was maybe leading
Speaker 1: that charge thinking that nobody would ever beat seventy two,
Speaker 1: you know, having been through it as a player, I
Speaker 1: was like, no way. But our guys came off that
Speaker 1: championship in fifteen and they were so confident. You know,
Speaker 1: that's one thing when you win a championship, there's a
Speaker 1: deeper level of confidence that you now have. That year,
Speaker 1: I think we hadn't gotten to the stage of fatigue yet.
Speaker 1: It was more excitement of oh my god, we're the
Speaker 1: best team in the NBA, We're the best team in
Speaker 1: the world. This is fun, you know. And uh so
Speaker 1: that was a similarity, just this this vibe of you know,
Speaker 1: nobody can touch us, you know, let's go dominate. And
Speaker 1: so I didn't really have to to say a whole lot.
Speaker 1: It was, you know, just just let them let them go. Um.
Speaker 1: The only thing I tried to do, was you know,
Speaker 1: down the stretch, you know, talk about you know, we're
Speaker 1: not gonna We're not gonna do anything stupid. You know,
Speaker 1: we're not gonna go and push you guys forty four
Speaker 1: or forty six minutes in a game, you know, in
Speaker 1: order to chase a win that we don't actually have
Speaker 1: to have. And I tried to try to play it,
Speaker 1: you know, pretty conservatively. And and for the most part
Speaker 1: we did. Our minute totals were pretty low that year,
Speaker 1: but you know, there was there was definitely a feeling
Speaker 1: of of you know, nervousness that you know, somebody would
Speaker 1: get injured and the whole thing would go off off track. Yes,
Speaker 1: so falling short in sixteen that season, uh, Lebron in
Speaker 1: the has got you guys to then landing one of
Speaker 1: the biggest free agent signings in the history of the game, Uh,
Speaker 1: picking up Kevin Durant, And it was just like, let's go.
Speaker 1: What was it like knowing that, I mean, obviously there
Speaker 1: was a bunch of talks when it finally happened. Knowing
Speaker 1: that you're gonna be able to add one of the
Speaker 1: greatest players we've seen to an already amazing team, yeah,
Speaker 1: and and not not just an amazing player, but a
Speaker 1: player who was going to fit in perfectly with the
Speaker 1: way we already played. You know this, I mean Draymond
Speaker 1: Green has led us and assists for like five years
Speaker 1: in a row. He's our starting power forward. So we
Speaker 1: just play basketball and and everybody makes plays. And watching
Speaker 1: Kevin over the years um in Oklahoma City, the most
Speaker 1: skilled guy in the league terms of shooting, passing, versatility,
Speaker 1: shot blocking, like it was gonna be such a seamless
Speaker 1: fit because of he was not ball dominant. You know,
Speaker 1: he didn't he didn't have to have the ball in
Speaker 1: his hands all the time, and of course neither did Steph.
Speaker 1: They were both perfectly willing to play off the ball.
Speaker 1: So it was pretty incredible to watch that group together
Speaker 1: and one of the best teams in the history of
Speaker 1: the game, one of the most talented, and to watch
Speaker 1: them on the floor when when we were really clicking
Speaker 1: was just beautiful, special, absolutely special. Seventeen. You get a
Speaker 1: ring eighteen and then how hard was it? You know,
Speaker 1: you guys are at the top of the hill and
Speaker 1: you've been there as a player, you know how mentally
Speaker 1: draining it is, physically draining is how hard was it
Speaker 1: to see you guys go for that three p nineteen
Speaker 1: and then guys start to get injured. Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: you know, you sort of feel it if you're in
Speaker 1: the league long enough. Every year injuries play a role
Speaker 1: when we want our first title. And fifteen Kevin Love
Speaker 1: and Kyrie Irving were both out, So we've been on
Speaker 1: the other end of it too, so that you know
Speaker 1: that you just sort of go into it as a
Speaker 1: coach or as a player and you understand that sometimes
Speaker 1: things don't go well, sometimes they do and you regardless,
Speaker 1: you just have to respond and play your best. And
Speaker 1: I was as out of that nine team team as
Speaker 1: I was of any of our championship teams, just from
Speaker 1: the standpoint of they fought, They fought and almost took
Speaker 1: it to seven. You know, um, if Clay doesn't doesn't
Speaker 1: tear as a c L, I think you guys still
Speaker 1: win if play doesn't get hurt. I mean that's my
Speaker 1: personal opinion. I think we win that game six because
Speaker 1: Clay was Clay was on fire and looking we're at
Speaker 1: home and and if it goes seven, who knows, and
Speaker 1: and so, but Toronto was great and they deserved it,
Speaker 1: and great respect for for their team and their coaching staff,
Speaker 1: and they were fantastic. Um, but I walked away from
Speaker 1: that series as proud of our group as as as
Speaker 1: any group that that I've ever been around. They were
Speaker 1: they were amazing, They were awesome. Speaking of that that series,
Speaker 1: how hard was it managing Kevin wanting to come back?
Speaker 1: But still you guys, trying to be cautious as you
Speaker 1: possibly can't managing you know, obviously his injury and knowing
Speaker 1: how many years he still had to play. How hard
Speaker 1: of coaching decision, manag decision, doctor, decision, his decision. Did
Speaker 1: that play with you, guys? Yeah? I mean it was.
Speaker 1: It was a really tricky situation, um. And what we
Speaker 1: tried to do was just to make sure we covered
Speaker 1: all our bases and and to trust our training staff,
Speaker 1: trust the surgeon, and then also bring in you know,
Speaker 1: Kevin's own medical people and make sure that everybody who
Speaker 1: was good with him playing before we put him out there. Um.
Speaker 1: In hindsight, UM, I wish we hadn't, because now we
Speaker 1: know what what happened toward towards a c L, I
Speaker 1: mean towards Achilles, and and so UM, you know, I
Speaker 1: think we we I think we handled it the way
Speaker 1: we thought UM was was the best way. With with
Speaker 1: you know, Kevin and his representation and their their own
Speaker 1: medical team putting their heads together with with our group,
Speaker 1: we felt like we were, you know, in the clear.
Speaker 1: But it was it was a it was a stark
Speaker 1: reminder that, you know, medicine is not necessarily math. You know,
Speaker 1: it's not just either yes or no. There's a gray
Speaker 1: area in everything. And so when Kevin went down, I
Speaker 1: was just my first thought was, oh, man, he he
Speaker 1: re injured his calf. And you know, the thought was,
Speaker 1: you know, what a bomber. He's put in all this
Speaker 1: work and and there's the there goes the calf. And
Speaker 1: it didn't It didn't hit me until we walked in
Speaker 1: at halftime and I saw everybody's faces. I saw the doctors,
Speaker 1: I saw a trainer, and I saw Kevin. I was like, oh, ship,
Speaker 1: like this this was an achilles and it's devastating and
Speaker 1: and you know it was Kevin was heroic and in
Speaker 1: terms of you know, trying to be out there on
Speaker 1: the floor with his teammates, UM he got off to
Speaker 1: a great start too. He came out, he was cooking,
Speaker 1: he he was he was on fire right away, and
Speaker 1: it seemed like everything was good and UM, but it's yeah,
Speaker 1: it's one of those ones that that will forever look
Speaker 1: back on and and go, you know what. Um, we
Speaker 1: we wish we could have that one back, but not
Speaker 1: not from a not from a process standpoint. I think
Speaker 1: the process we handled um in the right way. But
Speaker 1: I think I learned from that and that even if
Speaker 1: the process is sound, UM, you know, just go overboard,
Speaker 1: Just go overboard. And don't you know, I would love
Speaker 1: to have that one back. And but again, hindsight, right,
Speaker 1: we're with the home stretch right now, almost finished up. Um,
Speaker 1: Kevin decides that he wants to leave. How did that
Speaker 1: hit you personally? Obviously as a coach, you know what
Speaker 1: the business, but how did how did the organization feel
Speaker 1: when he felt it was time for him to move on?
Speaker 1: Didn't It didn't surprise us. We all had a sense
Speaker 1: that Kevin probably looking to move on and and take
Speaker 1: on a new challenge. It's been here three years and
Speaker 1: won two championships and been finals M v P twice
Speaker 1: and it was just for in his own personal career,
Speaker 1: was time for a new challenge. And and we all
Speaker 1: totally respected that. You know, I always feel like players
Speaker 1: should control their own destiny, and especially through free agency.
Speaker 1: And you know, once your contracts of every every player
Speaker 1: has the right to go wherever he wants. And and
Speaker 1: so there were no hard feelings at all. In fact,
Speaker 1: it was the opposite. It's like, man, thank you for
Speaker 1: thank you for everything you've done. You you helped bring
Speaker 1: us two championships and almost another one, and and you
Speaker 1: brought an incredible amount of joy to Oracle every night,
Speaker 1: and our fans got to watch one of the best
Speaker 1: basketball teams on Earth. My feeling was thank you and
Speaker 1: good luck and you know, get healthy. Yeah. Absolutely, So
Speaker 1: you came into the coaching space a lot luckier than
Speaker 1: most coaches. So you came in in a championship your
Speaker 1: first year, you have a hell of a five year run.
Speaker 1: Last year, a little bit of reality sets in. You know,
Speaker 1: you guys go to a new arena, there's a lot
Speaker 1: of excitement, players already hurt. Uh steph ends up going down.
Speaker 1: So it kind of becomes a development year. And I
Speaker 1: was talking to Draymond a lot that season, like, hey, man,
Speaker 1: keep your head. I I can see you're about to snap.
Speaker 1: You know, what was it? Like coming in at the
Speaker 1: highest level and winning and having that run and then
Speaker 1: kind of coming back down to earth last season and
Speaker 1: you know, your two stars are out. Draymond is still in.
Speaker 1: But just a really a season of developing these young guys.
Speaker 1: It was a slap in the face for sure. The
Speaker 1: injuries to Uh, to Steph and Clay, we're just killers,
Speaker 1: obviously you're talking. You're talking about you know, two of
Speaker 1: the best guards in the league and probably the two
Speaker 1: best shooters in the world. So you know, when Steph
Speaker 1: went down in the third or fourth game, whatever it was,
Speaker 1: it was apparent pretty quickly like this is this is
Speaker 1: now a development. You're got to play these young guys
Speaker 1: and try to help them get better. And um, you know,
Speaker 1: a little perspective is uh is usually what happens um
Speaker 1: in life. You know, nobody, nobody gets to win every year.
Speaker 1: And um, so we had we had been on this
Speaker 1: incredible run and it now is our turn to get
Speaker 1: smacked in the face. And and now it's time to
Speaker 1: get up off the bat and see if we can uh,
Speaker 1: you know, get have another run and us we'll see
Speaker 1: I think obviously you don't like to ever see anyone
Speaker 1: get hurt, but I think it was needed. You know
Speaker 1: what I mean. You guys had such a tremendous run.
Speaker 1: I think dre clay and and Steph needed a break.
Speaker 1: And I mean those guys are probably in that five
Speaker 1: year span, probably played more minutes possibly than you know,
Speaker 1: some of the guys in NBA history, and as far
Speaker 1: as a five year span. So those guys went on
Speaker 1: the hell of a run. Will rests. So I think
Speaker 1: I speak for all of us when we say we're
Speaker 1: excited to see what you guys come back with. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna hit you with a couple of quick hitters and
Speaker 1: we'll be done. One player in your era, you wish
Speaker 1: you would have got a chance to play with Patrick Ewing.
Speaker 1: I loved I loved ings game and is competitive desire.
Speaker 1: He was incredible. Thoughts on the Basketball Hall of Fame
Speaker 1: class arguably one of the greatest classes. You know, I
Speaker 1: rest in peace, Kobe, but you know you've got a
Speaker 1: chance to play with the young Timmy and know him well.
Speaker 1: And then Kevin Garnett. I don't know my history well enough,
Speaker 1: but there there can't be many classes more decorated than
Speaker 1: this one. UM three three All time grades. UM maybe
Speaker 1: the three best players of their UM shared era, you
Speaker 1: know really when it comes down to it, But yeah,
Speaker 1: that was um devastating. You know, learning of Kobe's death
Speaker 1: was a you know, one of those moments that you
Speaker 1: you'll remember your whole life because of the shock of
Speaker 1: it and and feeling feeling that shock with our whole team.
Speaker 1: UM was devastating, And it still doesn't even seem real.
Speaker 1: But you know, this this fall with with Kobe and
Speaker 1: KG and Tim all going into the Hall of Fame together,
Speaker 1: it'll it'll feel you know, from a basketball standpoint, it
Speaker 1: feels right. But the fact that Kobe is no longer
Speaker 1: with us obviously just takes it. Takes it and completely
Speaker 1: excuse everything. It still doesn't make any sense. Absolutely. UM.
Speaker 1: Your thoughts on cannabis and CBD use of professional athletes, Well,
Speaker 1: it's funny because I spoke out about this a couple
Speaker 1: of years ago. You know, I had my own uh
Speaker 1: health issues with my back surgery that went wrong, and
Speaker 1: and so I spoke I was getting prescribed all these
Speaker 1: opioids constantly for pain, and and you know I'd read
Speaker 1: about this stuff like I'm not I'm not taking this stuff,
Speaker 1: this oxy cotton or vic it in or whatever, and
Speaker 1: it just seems so insane, and so, you know, I was.
Speaker 1: I spoke out about the you know, the the athletes
Speaker 1: should be allowed to use cannabis, and uh, you know
Speaker 1: how we like to play music during our our warm
Speaker 1: ups in practice. So I can't remember what song. There
Speaker 1: was some song about smoking dope or something, and so
Speaker 1: so our our video guy puts that song on. JaVale
Speaker 1: McGhee is running down laughing, looking at me like like
Speaker 1: you know, like he's puffing. Everybody's everybody's cracking up because
Speaker 1: I've made this statement. Meanwhile, I had literally tried it
Speaker 1: for my for my pain, for my back stuff and
Speaker 1: had no success with it. So and unfortunately it didn't work.
Speaker 1: But because I spoke out on it, all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: like I got this reputation as as the pot guy,
Speaker 1: like oh there's you know, like or whatever the players took,
Speaker 1: they got a good kick out of it. Anyway, So
Speaker 1: I remember, I mean I remember seeing you. It hurt
Speaker 1: my heart because I remember when I was hurt in
Speaker 1: the Portland series, like how uncomfortable you would lay for
Speaker 1: a second, you would sit for a second, you would
Speaker 1: have to stand up for a second, and you would
Speaker 1: lay for a second. I'm just like, I can't imagine
Speaker 1: what you were going through through that time. And and
Speaker 1: I was to the point where I didn't want to
Speaker 1: cross player coach boundaries, but I was gonna say, Coach,
Speaker 1: let me go on my badgroup quick. I got something
Speaker 1: for you. But it was, you know, it was a
Speaker 1: little I think I was a little bit before my time.
Speaker 1: But I mean, I remember the pain you were in.
Speaker 1: I particularly in Portland. I remember because I was in
Speaker 1: the locker room icing the whole time, and you couldn't
Speaker 1: literally sit in the same position for more than two minutes.
Speaker 1: Like you would try to lay for a second. You
Speaker 1: try to sit for a second, you have to get
Speaker 1: up and stay and then you would have to get
Speaker 1: up and walk around. I was so close that day
Speaker 1: to being like, coach, I got a joint for you. Man,
Speaker 1: it's gonna change everything. Anyway. Last question, um historical anybody
Speaker 1: who were five people you would love to sit down
Speaker 1: and have dinner with, dead or alive. Oh man, that's
Speaker 1: a really difficult question. That's a good question. It's a
Speaker 1: good way to end it. Yeah, I'm a huge sports
Speaker 1: fan growing up. I was I was into every sport,
Speaker 1: and I suppose I would want to speak with some
Speaker 1: of the people who kind of laid the foundation for
Speaker 1: what sports are today. Jackie Robinson would definitely be one.
Speaker 1: I would love to to to hear his story what
Speaker 1: it was really like, um, and being being such a
Speaker 1: big baseball fan. Um, Babe Ruth would be another. Like,
Speaker 1: you know, he he was the he was the king,
Speaker 1: and he was you know, the MG of his era.
Speaker 1: And uh so I would from a from the baseball world,
Speaker 1: those two guys for sure. Um. From a historical standpoint,
Speaker 1: I don't know, this is a tough one because you know,
Speaker 1: there's so much that that I'm learning and that I
Speaker 1: want to learn about American history, and so you kind
Speaker 1: of want to go back in time to our founding
Speaker 1: fathers and see how, you know, how can we how
Speaker 1: can we have these parallel universes of you know, pursuit
Speaker 1: of happiness in life and liberty and and here's this
Speaker 1: component of of slavery, right, Um, how do you reconcile
Speaker 1: all that? Who would we ask about that? You know,
Speaker 1: Thomas Jefferson, You know, I know Jefferson had he owned slaves, right,
Speaker 1: and he helped write the Constitution and I think going
Speaker 1: back in time during the course of history, there are
Speaker 1: a lot of questions about this country that that I
Speaker 1: would want to ask and uh, you know, probably probably
Speaker 1: starting with with with the people who were who were
Speaker 1: putting the putting it all in place, and you know,
Speaker 1: what was what was what was the thought process? And
Speaker 1: I don't know, that's only three. I've only given you three. Two.
Speaker 1: I gotta give you two more, don't I. What I'm
Speaker 1: doing is I'm showing you how limited my outside activities
Speaker 1: and interests are. I should be naming like some artists
Speaker 1: or musicians or not at all. Not this, this is
Speaker 1: your this is your dinner table, this is my is
Speaker 1: my show, every whoever you want. Yeah, probably Lincoln for
Speaker 1: that reason, you know, President Lincoln for that very reason,
Speaker 1: because he would be able to bridge the education gap
Speaker 1: between what happened and uh, you know, late seventeen hundreds
Speaker 1: with the founding of our country to all the way
Speaker 1: up to the Civil War. Like I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: that that conversation and that viewpoint. And then, um, who
Speaker 1: gets the last seat at your table? The last seat?
Speaker 1: I'll give you one. That's a little offbeat, but James
Speaker 1: Baldwin the author. I just read a fascinating book about
Speaker 1: him called Begin Again, and by a writer named Eddie Gloud,
Speaker 1: who was beautiful book. And Baldwin had the most unique
Speaker 1: look at the Civil Rights era because of his proximity
Speaker 1: to it and his brilliance as a writer, and his
Speaker 1: friendship with so many of the key figures. He was
Speaker 1: so deep and powerful as a human being. Just his humanity.
Speaker 1: Knowing his story and learning his story, UM has been UM,
Speaker 1: really really powerful. If you get a chance. Um. There's
Speaker 1: a documentary about him. Well, the book is called Begin Again,
Speaker 1: Begin Again. Where is it? There? I go, here's the book,
Speaker 1: brilliant book, Begin Again by Eddie Cloudy's a professor at
Speaker 1: Princeton Um. But there's a documentary about about James Baldwin
Speaker 1: that I highly recommend. It's it's called I Am Not
Speaker 1: Your Negro and it's about his relationship with Mega Evers,
Speaker 1: Malcolm X and Dr King during the Civil Rights era
Speaker 1: and all three men were murdered and Baldwin. Baldwin was
Speaker 1: writing throughout the sixties about the Civil Rights era and
Speaker 1: here he's watching this great hope that he has for
Speaker 1: his country, and then these hopes are violently turned back
Speaker 1: and his own evolution as a writer, as a human being,
Speaker 1: and what he went through as a black American. It's
Speaker 1: powerful stuff and one of the key figures during the
Speaker 1: Civil Rights movement who are young people should should read
Speaker 1: more about and read his his his stuff. I put
Speaker 1: it in my notes as you were speaking, so I'm
Speaker 1: definitely gonna check it out. Coach Kerr. We appreciate your time.
Speaker 1: Thank you very much, as an honor to have you
Speaker 1: sit down. Good luck this season. We're excited to see
Speaker 1: what a well rested Golden State Warriors team looks like.
Speaker 1: In a thank you, Matt, that was really fun. You're
Speaker 1: doing a great job and all enjoy hearing hearing from
Speaker 1: you and say, hi, did the boys you have a
Speaker 1: new Do you have a new son? Right, Ashton? I
Speaker 1: got a little one here. I got at Ashton's twenty
Speaker 1: two months. Yeah, a little man. So I started all over.
Speaker 1: So it's been a blast. Oh man, man, I'll bet you.
Speaker 1: I'll bet he's beloved by those twins. They probably take
Speaker 1: good care of him. This guy runs the house already.
Speaker 1: A twenty two months I'm in trouble. Yeah, I'll bet,
Speaker 1: oh bet. Thanks for having me. That was great. Really
Speaker 1: appreciate it. That's a wrap all the smoke. You can
Speaker 1: catch us on Showtime Basketball YouTube in the I Heart platform.
Speaker 1: This is All a Smoke, A production of The Black
Speaker 1: Effect and Our Heart Radio in partnership with Showtime