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Speaker 1: Welcome back to The Draymond Green Show. This is our
Speaker 1: sixteen episode, and we got my little brother, my little
Speaker 1: spartan dog brother, Miles Bridges on the show. Today. We
Speaker 1: will talk about his breakout season, him thinking he can
Speaker 1: dunk on me, uh, which is beyond me. We're also
Speaker 1: going to talk about Michigan High school basketball and as
Speaker 1: well as the AUTH circuit and a lot more. I've
Speaker 1: known Miles for a very long time. I think I've
Speaker 1: known Miles since he was maybe in the eighth grade,
Speaker 1: and you know, just watching him grow his entire journey
Speaker 1: becoming somebody in the basketball world as a kid from Flint,
Speaker 1: it's just not that that easy. And I know that
Speaker 1: because I'm from Saginaw, Michigan and they're one and the same.
Speaker 1: And to watch him work, work and become who he's
Speaker 1: become and being able to provide for his family the
Speaker 1: way he provides makes me extremely proud because I know
Speaker 1: what it's like to to start with that dream and
Speaker 1: not have a clue on how it's going to work out,
Speaker 1: and to see him living his dream and flourishing it
Speaker 1: means the world to me. But before we get into uh,
Speaker 1: the Miles Bridges conversation, let's take you around association as
Speaker 1: we love to do. Number One. Lebron's historic night, historical
Speaker 1: night against my Warriors was brutal to watch, number one,
Speaker 1: but in the same token, was extremely incredible. I mean,
Speaker 1: you're talking a guy at thirty seven still being able
Speaker 1: to produce at that level. And yes, you know, he
Speaker 1: had fifty six, which was incredible. You know, it's not
Speaker 1: as if this is just surprising and Lebron had fifty
Speaker 1: six and we're like, oh my god, like that came
Speaker 1: out of nowhere. It didn't come out of nowhere. It's
Speaker 1: insane that Lebron is still able to produce at the
Speaker 1: level that he's producing in his nineteen season in the NBA.
Speaker 1: It's it's funny because we were just we were just
Speaker 1: in Cabo a couple of weeks ago for All Star break.
Speaker 1: I walked into Bronze crib and he's like, he's using
Speaker 1: this stem like electrical current type machine on on his quad.
Speaker 1: And I said to him right then, I said, dude,
Speaker 1: you you just don't stop like like and He's like, man,
Speaker 1: I gotta do it, gotta gotta get the quality fire.
Speaker 1: You know, I had to knee issue, so I need
Speaker 1: to get this quad. And I'm just like you, you you
Speaker 1: just never stopped like it's always something with you in
Speaker 1: regards to your body in the game, and and I
Speaker 1: it's it's mind blowing to me. Obviously I was there.
Speaker 1: I was rehabbing, so you know, I'm in the weight
Speaker 1: room every day, and you know he comes down every
Speaker 1: day to get this work in. I will say I
Speaker 1: was up before him early bird gets the worm. No,
Speaker 1: but obviously my my work, I was away longer as
Speaker 1: I'm rehabbing to come back from injury, which by the way,
Speaker 1: I am projecting our targeting my return next Monday. Um,
Speaker 1: next Monday the fourteenth versus the Wizards. That that is,
Speaker 1: that is the date that I am targeting. I'm excited
Speaker 1: as hell. I mean it's been two and a half months,
Speaker 1: almost two and a half, two months for sure, almost
Speaker 1: two and a half by the time I play. I've
Speaker 1: never missed that much time during season now. I have
Speaker 1: once had an ankle injury that kept me out for
Speaker 1: a very long time in high school, but it was
Speaker 1: the off season. So this is something different for me.
Speaker 1: So I'm extremely excited to get back out there with
Speaker 1: my guys, um to try to help write this ship.
Speaker 1: You know, it's it's been a little haywied these last
Speaker 1: few weeks, and you know, but we'll figure it out.
Speaker 1: I think this rough patch has been great for our team. Uh.
Speaker 1: You know, people always look at our team and they
Speaker 1: still think like this is the Warriors that was winning championships,
Speaker 1: and the reality is it's not. Um, you know, Clay
Speaker 1: Thompson's won championship championships, Andre Dallas one championships, Steph Curry's
Speaker 1: won championships, Cavan Looney and myself that's five of seventeen
Speaker 1: and so this isn't the same Warriors that won championships before,
Speaker 1: which is why I'm happy we're going through this patch
Speaker 1: because now you really have to figure out what it
Speaker 1: takes to win in this league. Now you really have
Speaker 1: to dig deep. We're in a rut, so you're gonna
Speaker 1: have to claw your way out. You're gonna have to
Speaker 1: gut a nasty one out. Probably, that's just normally how
Speaker 1: it goes, and so um as much as it sucks
Speaker 1: to go through this, no one ever wants to go
Speaker 1: through it, I'd much rather this be happening now then
Speaker 1: get punched in the mouth the first round of the
Speaker 1: playoffs and scrambling trying to figure out how to respond
Speaker 1: because so many guys in our locker room have not
Speaker 1: witnessed or have not played under that type of pressure,
Speaker 1: have not played in that type of environment, have not
Speaker 1: run up against a tough period of tough stretch and
Speaker 1: had to get through it. You know, this this season
Speaker 1: for us, it's pretty much been rolling through. And so
Speaker 1: like I said, you you never feel good about it.
Speaker 1: You never feel good about losing. You know, we always say,
Speaker 1: like you much rather get you much rather get learn
Speaker 1: your lessons from winning. That's that's just always the better
Speaker 1: way to learn the lessons and saying that it just
Speaker 1: doesn't normally doesn't go that way. And that's kind of
Speaker 1: where we are now. So um, you know, the team
Speaker 1: will keep fighting and we'll get better and we'll figure
Speaker 1: it out. I have no doubt in my mind that
Speaker 1: we'll figure it out. But I am very happy to
Speaker 1: be returning and um and and able to help right
Speaker 1: the ship. So that's that's gonna be good for me.
Speaker 1: I have a doctor's appointment today. I got my final clearance,
Speaker 1: so I'm ready to roll now, just you know, getting
Speaker 1: a little more playing under my belt, a little more
Speaker 1: five on five, four and four, just kind of trying
Speaker 1: to get my legs back under me and get my
Speaker 1: stammina back of my endurance back. So it's going well,
Speaker 1: and I am looking forward to that day next week,
Speaker 1: the irony and and Clay Clay going or excuse me,
Speaker 1: Clay returning the day that my calf locks up and
Speaker 1: and I'm dealing with the disc injury. It's crazy to me.
Speaker 1: I mean I've I've literally looked forward to that day
Speaker 1: for two years. Um, and you know obviously thought it
Speaker 1: was nearing, you know, November, and and then obviously the
Speaker 1: Achilles injury happens, and so or or September. I'm sorry
Speaker 1: when we were getting ready to kick off camp and
Speaker 1: then they killer Killes injury happened, and like I couldn't
Speaker 1: wrap my mind around like all the anticipation. I mean,
Speaker 1: if you were around the facility at that time, like
Speaker 1: everything was about Clay Day. You know Clay that Clay
Speaker 1: Day is Clay Day, that Clay d is approaching. I mean,
Speaker 1: I I even think back to, like I'm out there
Speaker 1: doing my pregame warm up sometime in December and I
Speaker 1: maybe December ish, and and I can recall Clay he
Speaker 1: he was shooting at the same time as me, are
Speaker 1: shooting times overlap, and he's walking off the court and
Speaker 1: if I'm not mistaken, he's holding up one three walking
Speaker 1: off the court, and he had his countdown going. And
Speaker 1: it was thirteen days until he returned, and at that
Speaker 1: point they hadn't released yet that he was targeting into
Speaker 1: the January ninety date, And so we were getting ready
Speaker 1: to head out on the road trip. Um, I think
Speaker 1: it was Dallas. No, I'm sorry, it was Denver in Utah.
Speaker 1: The Denver game end up being canceled which was the
Speaker 1: game that just happened this week in Denver that no
Speaker 1: one played in or for US. Uh and no, not
Speaker 1: no one. Um, Steph Wiggins, myself, Clay auto porter, Gary
Speaker 1: Payton a second, like we were missing a lot of guys. Uh,
Speaker 1: just this game. And Clay's walking off holding up thirteen
Speaker 1: or like one in the three and I'm looking at
Speaker 1: him like he's so excited. And as I'm watching him
Speaker 1: walk off holding that up, I'm thinking to myself, like,
Speaker 1: these people have no idea these numbers he's holding up.
Speaker 1: But actually if they knew it to countdown to his return,
Speaker 1: like he's been counting down days and he's been making
Speaker 1: sure every day you walk in the facility, you know
Speaker 1: where his countdown is. And so he's walking off and
Speaker 1: holding that up. I'm just sitting there laughing because I'm
Speaker 1: watching these people go crazy, like our fans are going nuts.
Speaker 1: He you know, he just finished shooting. And I'm like,
Speaker 1: but they really don't have a clue or why he's
Speaker 1: holding up those numbers. And that was exciting for me.
Speaker 1: And so the build up, the build up, and you know,
Speaker 1: then we scrimmaged the day before and like I told
Speaker 1: you before, I was humming, like buzzing, playing well. And
Speaker 1: the reality is what I have not said is leading
Speaker 1: up to that. Maybe like with a few games before,
Speaker 1: I ended up sitting out the New Orleans game and
Speaker 1: that Dallas game when we played in Dallas, I think
Speaker 1: it was I Ain't worry four for fifth somewhere around
Speaker 1: that time. Um, I couldn't move that game, like I'm
Speaker 1: just out there and I couldn't move. I'm like, man,
Speaker 1: I'm I'm just hurting. And so the next day in
Speaker 1: New Orleans, I didn't play, and which I was projected
Speaker 1: to play, and then I did it, and so come
Speaker 1: to find out I had already been a few games
Speaker 1: before that. I was in the tunnel rolling out like
Speaker 1: my glue because my glue was tightening up, like just
Speaker 1: randomly with tighten up. And so before I go back
Speaker 1: in the game, I'm like rolling on the lacrosse ball
Speaker 1: because it can get too deeper muscles than a phone
Speaker 1: roller can. So I'm rolling on the cross ball and
Speaker 1: then it loosen up a little bit and I'd go
Speaker 1: back in the game. And those end up being symptoms
Speaker 1: of the injury that I had. But like I think
Speaker 1: back to all of that built up and like feeling
Speaker 1: bad those couple of days, and then practicing the day
Speaker 1: before Clay returned and feeling great and like, oh man,
Speaker 1: it's time. Like and then that even and I'm sitting
Speaker 1: at home and my calflock up, and then the whole
Speaker 1: snowball effects starts to happen. But I said all of
Speaker 1: that to say, I have been waiting for this moment
Speaker 1: I get I have the opportunity to get back out
Speaker 1: there and play with my brothers again. And you know,
Speaker 1: there were times where I was doubting whether like I
Speaker 1: mean not doubting, but like you know, we we we
Speaker 1: none of us like to hear the surgery where it
Speaker 1: come up, but that was a possibility, and so and
Speaker 1: you know, and Dr T has been incredible. Dr Walkers
Speaker 1: in l A, who I saw it consulted with as well,
Speaker 1: like neither one of them thought I need a surgery.
Speaker 1: So it's great to put that the rest. But there
Speaker 1: was a point where I mean, even three weeks ago,
Speaker 1: like you, I still wasn't short that I was out
Speaker 1: of the woods. You know, I'm feeling better, symptoms are gone,
Speaker 1: but you can just never be so sure. And so
Speaker 1: now that it's it's almost here. Man, to how the opportunity,
Speaker 1: like I'm excited to take the floor with all my guys,
Speaker 1: all my brothers, but to how the opportunity to go
Speaker 1: out there and take the floor again with Steph and Clay,
Speaker 1: guys who always say and Andre as well. I'm not
Speaker 1: sure if when Andrea will be back, but guys who
Speaker 1: we always say like we started to build this thing
Speaker 1: from the bottom, like when the Warriors were to laughing
Speaker 1: stock of the NBA. We started to build this thing
Speaker 1: from the bottom. And now to be taking the floor
Speaker 1: with those guys again, Man, I can't tell you all
Speaker 1: how excited I am. And you know I always say
Speaker 1: that this is my time of year right now, like
Speaker 1: I I historically have performed better in the playoffs, and
Speaker 1: so fourteen, I'll have fourteen games to get my rhythm
Speaker 1: back and to get in a swinger things and try
Speaker 1: to get my endurance back in my and my stamina,
Speaker 1: which at this point you just go for what you
Speaker 1: know and regardless of what it is, I'm gonna make
Speaker 1: it work. Like that's the competitor, that's the fight in me.
Speaker 1: And so man, it's time and I cannot fucking wait
Speaker 1: to take the floor with my brothers again, I cannot wait.
Speaker 1: And in speaking of returning from injury, we also know
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant just returned from injury, and boy did they
Speaker 1: run up into a monster the other day. My goodness,
Speaker 1: Jason Tatum fifty four points the one move where he
Speaker 1: threw it out between Kyrie and somebody if I think
Speaker 1: maybe Bruce Brown, it's like and then split up. I
Speaker 1: don't even I can't even um, I can't even walk
Speaker 1: you through the move. How I want to walk you
Speaker 1: through it because it was so unorthodox and so incredible.
Speaker 1: So if you have not seen that clip of Jayson
Speaker 1: Tatum split in those two guys, whatever the hell he did, Uh,
Speaker 1: it was one of the most insane moves. And you know,
Speaker 1: to see Jayson Tatum um going up against the Brooklyn Nets,
Speaker 1: up against Kevin Durant and go for fifty four insane.
Speaker 1: I already know and understand how good Jayson Tatum is,
Speaker 1: and saying that, uh, and spending a ton of time
Speaker 1: with him in the Olympics, you quickly realize how young
Speaker 1: he is and he's I mean, he's been playing at
Speaker 1: a very high level since he came into the league.
Speaker 1: And so when you have guys like that, you tend
Speaker 1: to forget how young they are. And then you you
Speaker 1: spend a ton of time around Jayson Tatum and like
Speaker 1: some of the questions he asked, and you realize, like, yo,
Speaker 1: I he's still a baby. And you know, we've started
Speaker 1: we were We've built the relationship, which I am extremely
Speaker 1: thankful for. I don't take any relationship for granted. I
Speaker 1: am a relationships person. I build relationships. I cherish relationships.
Speaker 1: Uh They're very important for me. So I am very
Speaker 1: thankful for the relationship that we've built. But to see
Speaker 1: him put the team on his back after the way
Speaker 1: the Celtics were struggling to start the season. You heard
Speaker 1: all the talks about needing to break Jason Tatum and
Speaker 1: Jaylen Brown up. And and I commend Jason because he
Speaker 1: came out right away and said, no, me, me and Jason,
Speaker 1: I mean me and Jalen, we're not a problem, Like
Speaker 1: we can play well together and we're gonna figure it out.
Speaker 1: And they are figuring it out. And it's been beautiful
Speaker 1: to see, extremely happy to see such a young man
Speaker 1: take on this of a situation and and in doing
Speaker 1: that has produced like no other. And his team is
Speaker 1: now I think eleven games above five hundred maybe in
Speaker 1: the fourth and fifth season in the East and continuing
Speaker 1: the climb. So it's a beautiful thing to see. That
Speaker 1: was an incredible game. It was also great to see
Speaker 1: Kevin back on the floor. I mean this Kevin is.
Speaker 1: I think everyone already know how incredible I think Kevin is.
Speaker 1: But you know, he used to be like a walk
Speaker 1: in twenty five dude to walk in thirty piece now,
Speaker 1: I mean he come out of injury. I think his
Speaker 1: first game he had thirty one, second game thirty seven. Um,
Speaker 1: I mean, just just for a guy to miss what
Speaker 1: seven weeks of time and then come back out and
Speaker 1: doing that like it's nothing. It's the most insane thing. Uh.
Speaker 1: The Nets are having some problems at their own. They're
Speaker 1: on some losing they've been in the midst of a
Speaker 1: losing streak or a couple of different ones, and so
Speaker 1: they need to write their ship as well. And and
Speaker 1: you know, I'm looking forward to seeing how they handle it.
Speaker 1: Just says how how we're going to handle it, because
Speaker 1: we're kind of in the same space. Maybe not as
Speaker 1: far as like public issues or whatnot, but as far
Speaker 1: as records I mean, our record is better, but as
Speaker 1: far as like currently what you're doing right now, we're
Speaker 1: kind of in the same space. So I'm I'm I'm
Speaker 1: as a basketball fan, I'm looking forward to seeing how
Speaker 1: how they come out of it as well as I'm
Speaker 1: looking forward to seeing how we come out of it. Man,
Speaker 1: I am extremely honored and excited to have his next guest,
Speaker 1: a guy who I is a little brother, not who
Speaker 1: I call is a little brother of mine. Um who
Speaker 1: Man I've known since who probably this eighth or ninth
Speaker 1: grade year. Um. And obviously I'm from Saginaw, Michigan. He's
Speaker 1: from Flint, Michigan. You know, we we kind of wanted
Speaker 1: the same that Flint Sagon all connection, but we also
Speaker 1: the routes run a little deeper. H Michigan State. Spartan
Speaker 1: played two seasons at Michigan State, was a Freshman of
Speaker 1: the Year at Michigan State, was All American his second
Speaker 1: year at Michigan State, and more importly, was then moved
Speaker 1: on to be the twelfth pick in the NBA Draft.
Speaker 1: Was originally drafted by the Clippers, but was traded um
Speaker 1: on draft night to the Charlotte Hornets, where he is
Speaker 1: now making a huge impact, having an all Star worthy season.
Speaker 1: I think should have been an all Star but you know,
Speaker 1: only going to continue to get better so that to happen.
Speaker 1: But I want to welcome none other than the than
Speaker 1: the absolutely incredible Miles Bridges. What's up, my brother? Nothing much, man,
Speaker 1: I thank you for coming on this. As you know,
Speaker 1: this is exciting for me. Just I enjoyed doing this, um,
Speaker 1: not only to shirt this with the fans, but I
Speaker 1: also get something out of these conversations, and especially when
Speaker 1: I have opportunities to chop it up with with guys
Speaker 1: who I have personal relationships with and obviously you know
Speaker 1: how that how that runs deep for us. UM. But
Speaker 1: uh and getting started, UM, you know you're having a
Speaker 1: great season, but we all know that you are in
Speaker 1: a restricted free agent Uh, I mean I'm sorry, a
Speaker 1: restricted free agent coming up this year. How are you
Speaker 1: feeling about that process? Are you excited about it? Are
Speaker 1: you nervous about it? I mean I'm excited. You know,
Speaker 1: it's definitely always exciting for for somebody to go through that.
Speaker 1: I'm especially the position that I don't put it in UM.
Speaker 1: But for me right now, I'm really just worried about
Speaker 1: the season, though, we can feel out of the top eight.
Speaker 1: So I'm trying to get us to the playoffs and
Speaker 1: that's the main goal right now. And speaking of falling
Speaker 1: out of the top eight last year, Uh, you guys
Speaker 1: were in the play in game as well, and you
Speaker 1: you ultimately lost to Indiana. We were in the playing
Speaker 1: game as well and lost. UM. How did you feel
Speaker 1: about the whole playing scenario? Did you think it was
Speaker 1: great for the league? Did you not like it? How
Speaker 1: do you feel about it? I mean for for us,
Speaker 1: I mean it's good because we have a chance to
Speaker 1: get in if we're not in. UM, But I feel
Speaker 1: like if if I was in the top six, I
Speaker 1: don't know, the top seven times, don't you like it?
Speaker 1: It's funny? Go ahead, go ahead. Yeah, for fire position
Speaker 1: is good, but for for the ones that made it
Speaker 1: to the seven and eight un like that. It's funny
Speaker 1: because we were actually a victim of that last year
Speaker 1: where I think we were the eight. No, we were
Speaker 1: the seventh seed, and we were the seventh seed. We
Speaker 1: lost that first game to Memphis and then we lost
Speaker 1: the second one to the Lakers. UM, and I feel
Speaker 1: like I got I got the seating off a little
Speaker 1: bit because then we played at the Lakers, so maybe
Speaker 1: we were we were the eight, the Lakers were seven.
Speaker 1: We lost to Memphis, and then we lost to the
Speaker 1: Lakers in the l A And I think for me, Um,
Speaker 1: I can't lie. I actually enjoyed the plan in the game,
Speaker 1: in part due to you know, I had missed the
Speaker 1: playoffs for a year and so then having our tunity
Speaker 1: to kind of feel that intensity a little bit. I
Speaker 1: enjoyed the actual game, but in saying that, where we
Speaker 1: were sitting in the a C. It was kind of
Speaker 1: a bit frustrating because we lost the Memphis, who we
Speaker 1: had just beat three days before that. Man, yeah, I
Speaker 1: understand that. That's why I said she if I was
Speaker 1: in the seventh or hey, I'll be bad. Sure? Absolutely.
Speaker 1: But Um, last year LaMelo Ball joined you guys team,
Speaker 1: and I think we all know how incredible of a
Speaker 1: player that he is. Um, what's been most exciting for
Speaker 1: you about playing with LaMelo? Uh? Just the excitement that
Speaker 1: he brings to the game and you never know what
Speaker 1: he's gonna do. You know, you might think you're growing
Speaker 1: up for a regular lobby go between the legs and
Speaker 1: throw it up, or Um, just him getting hot at
Speaker 1: any moment. He's very very stricty. If he he sees
Speaker 1: one though go in. He's excited. He's exciting the whole game.
Speaker 1: So like, I love playing with him, a great pass
Speaker 1: and great facilitated, great teammate. Um, I love being around
Speaker 1: him as a person. So I'm happy that we get that,
Speaker 1: we get little absolutely And I think when from what
Speaker 1: I see his energy seems to be contagious, like you
Speaker 1: guys go out there, it reminds me a lot of uh,
Speaker 1: a lot of stuff in a different way, like Mellows
Speaker 1: more flashy and in life overall, not just on the
Speaker 1: basketball court, but he's more flashy, he's you know, he's
Speaker 1: just kind of more culturally into different things that stuff weren't.
Speaker 1: But when I say remind me of Steph, I mean
Speaker 1: the looseness. Like Steph is super loose, super chill, super casual,
Speaker 1: and he played a game of basketball that way, and
Speaker 1: in turn, our entire organization en up following that, Like
Speaker 1: you come around and it's loose, you know, you walk
Speaker 1: into a practice guy storing basketball all over the place,
Speaker 1: and I think I see some of that from you guys.
Speaker 1: Do you feel that way or my awful little bit.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I mean right on the Monday. You know,
Speaker 1: as soon as he got here, the culture change. Um.
Speaker 1: He's always had a lot of fans until was like
Speaker 1: with thirteen fourteen, So he's he's always had that swag
Speaker 1: to him and all that, and he brought that to us. UM.
Speaker 1: You know that's how we've been playing. UM. Our practice
Speaker 1: has been different. Our our energy within the crowd during
Speaker 1: the games is different. You could tell whenever he steps
Speaker 1: on the court that they just love him. UM, and
Speaker 1: he feeds off that. So I feel like that helps
Speaker 1: us out too. He does a great job of keeping
Speaker 1: everybody energy. Like you said, hiss his energies tags. Um. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he's been a great distance that you guys have a
Speaker 1: You guys have a lot of a young talent Um
Speaker 1: and yourself, Kelly, who I had the opportunity to be
Speaker 1: a teammate with last year that I really enjoyed, Uh,
Speaker 1: Terry Rocher. But then you also have a couple of
Speaker 1: veteran guys UM and Gordon and my Mason. I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: how is how is that? X? I know, coming into
Speaker 1: this season like we had, we were kind of in
Speaker 1: that same position where we have a mixture of some
Speaker 1: experienced guys and then also a bunch of young guys
Speaker 1: as well. And I wasn't sure, and you can check
Speaker 1: my interviews from the beginning of the season. I wasn't
Speaker 1: sure how that will work because and I said it
Speaker 1: in my interview, I said, historically, we've never seen that
Speaker 1: work or where you try to mix a group of
Speaker 1: young guys with some old guys who who timeline are different.
Speaker 1: And it's it's been working for us, and and it's
Speaker 1: worked for y'all to some degree. To um, how do
Speaker 1: you feel about that mix and how it makes the
Speaker 1: magic of your team happen? Oh, I mean it's great
Speaker 1: for me. You know, Like my first season, I was
Speaker 1: in there with the straight veits. You know, we had
Speaker 1: Kimba Walker, Nick Betune, Jeremy Lamb, Marvin Williams, all those guys, um,
Speaker 1: and we were good. But you know, it's just it's
Speaker 1: hard just being a young guy coming in. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: they got they got wives, they got all that type
Speaker 1: of stuff. You know, you don't really you don't really
Speaker 1: get to hang out with him like that. My second
Speaker 1: year is more so all young guys and then brit
Speaker 1: in experience, we're getting we're getting blown out by twenty
Speaker 1: every game with no bed to tell us what's going on.
Speaker 1: So for us to have a mixture now, um, I
Speaker 1: feel like it's great for us. You know, we have Gordon.
Speaker 1: We have Gordon. Whenever things get out of out of hand,
Speaker 1: he has he calms us down. Um. And then when
Speaker 1: it's time to go up and down the floor, you
Speaker 1: can rely on young guys. So I feel like it's
Speaker 1: good for make sure in the locker room, um, and
Speaker 1: outside the locker room. To me, and you know, when
Speaker 1: I watch your team, to me, it feels like you
Speaker 1: are the vocal leader and it all, it feels like
Speaker 1: you've made a concerted effort to step your leadership up.
Speaker 1: And I think I see guys following that. Where do
Speaker 1: you feel you are in your leadership UM skills and
Speaker 1: and just in your leadership journey? And how much further
Speaker 1: do you need to go? Uh? I say, because I'm
Speaker 1: the longest team morning right now. Um. So I feel
Speaker 1: like last season I tried to take initiative and become
Speaker 1: like a vocal leader, helped the younger guys out. I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm saying younger guys like I'm not in my forefeit
Speaker 1: season but like just helping the under guys out the rookies, UM,
Speaker 1: and keeping everybody's head straight. You know, I feel like
Speaker 1: everybody on the team likes you, UM and they listened
Speaker 1: to me, So you know, I kind of got it
Speaker 1: from you, what you what you did with the Warriors,
Speaker 1: you know, just keeping everybody straight, being that guy that
Speaker 1: that that leads and not afraid to get on anybody
Speaker 1: at any time. So I feel like I tried to
Speaker 1: be like you with that type of stuff, and I'm
Speaker 1: getting better at it too. I can also do a
Speaker 1: better job. You know, Charris came in, He's done a
Speaker 1: great job of that. UM. But you know, I feel
Speaker 1: like I'm a leaders team. That's That's that's great to hear.
Speaker 1: How is it having um the owner of the of
Speaker 1: the team that you played for being Michael Jordan's Like,
Speaker 1: are you guys able to lean on Mike for advice
Speaker 1: for um, just for different different questions that you may
Speaker 1: have or is it or is he not that connected
Speaker 1: with the team? Oh no, he's connected. You know, I
Speaker 1: got I got MJ's number. I text him whenever, you know,
Speaker 1: we hit a rough patch and see what he would
Speaker 1: do in a situation or I text him by the
Speaker 1: game and he takes right back, like like as soon
Speaker 1: as I take five minutes, he takes right back. It's crazy.
Speaker 1: Um yeah, I mean before all started, but he came
Speaker 1: in and ripped our eyes by Orlando, so he's very
Speaker 1: in tune with us. And it's just nice to having
Speaker 1: having the goat just being there for you at all times,
Speaker 1: being connected and just being able to rely on him
Speaker 1: and have resources like that. So I mean, it's good
Speaker 1: for me. And speaking of of All Star break, um,
Speaker 1: I have I have a question that I need to
Speaker 1: know for myself, especially coming on the hills of you
Speaker 1: talking about I'm the guy you're going to dunk on,
Speaker 1: which I think is absolutely ridiculous. But first of all,
Speaker 1: what what was spark you to say that? Because now,
Speaker 1: I mean not that I wasn't already expecting you to
Speaker 1: try dunk on me because you've tried it before, but
Speaker 1: like now, I'm I'm too all my toes for now, Like,
Speaker 1: what was spark you to say that? My house? Because
Speaker 1: every time I try to dunk on you, you found
Speaker 1: me or or something that ship out of here. You've
Speaker 1: never blocks always put the flower every time time, so
Speaker 1: so so so with this clip, We're gonna We're gonna
Speaker 1: pull the clip of me blocking your shot, and we're
Speaker 1: gonna post this when when we promote this episode of
Speaker 1: the podcast, it's going to be a clip of me
Speaker 1: blocking your shot. Since you said I've never blocked your
Speaker 1: shot to no, no, no, we're talking about the block
Speaker 1: I ain't I see because one thing I didn't say
Speaker 1: I never follow you. I also didn't say I wouldn't
Speaker 1: follow you to stop you from dunking on me. I said,
Speaker 1: you not go on to dunk on me. So I
Speaker 1: really don't care about the file house. So i'mna catch you.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna catch you one day. Watch you know what happened.
Speaker 1: But and and speaking of that, which is not happening.
Speaker 1: But in speaking of All Star Break, I have a question, um,
Speaker 1: especially coming off the hills of probably one of the worst,
Speaker 1: if not the worst dunk contest we've ever seen in
Speaker 1: the NBA, why why is it that you don't participate
Speaker 1: in the dunk contest? I mean, I participated my my
Speaker 1: rookie year, but you didn't win it. I didn't win
Speaker 1: it at all, so I didn't did terrible. I don't know.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's just For me, I don't know, all
Speaker 1: start break. For me, it is like me getting the
Speaker 1: break away from basketball, you know. And I this year,
Speaker 1: I played the most minutes in the NBA UM, so
Speaker 1: I feel like my legs definitely to break. You know.
Speaker 1: I know the fans, they they want to see the
Speaker 1: best ducktors in the league go at it like myself,
Speaker 1: John Moran, Um, Zion Ampson when he's healthy, UM, Anthony Edwards.
Speaker 1: But they gotta look at it like like it's an
Speaker 1: All Star break. You know, if I woult to make
Speaker 1: the All Star Game, I'll probably I probably would have
Speaker 1: did duck contest. But during that time, I'm trying to
Speaker 1: rest my legs and get ready for the second half
Speaker 1: season because it's it's a huge run for us, trying
Speaker 1: to make the playoffs. I think fans don't get that.
Speaker 1: But at the same time, it's definitely entertainment. It's definitely entertaining.
Speaker 1: So you know, I'm gonna think about it. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: think about it. I think you make a great point
Speaker 1: there that most people don't realize even when you are
Speaker 1: an All Star UM that weekend or I mean, they've
Speaker 1: they've extended the break now with kudos to commit our
Speaker 1: commissioner Adam Silver uh extending the break because I remember
Speaker 1: when I first came in the league, right when you
Speaker 1: would play your last game Thursday, you then get on
Speaker 1: in the airplane after that Thursday night game, fly to
Speaker 1: whatever city you're going to and like have media and
Speaker 1: if and and if you played your last game on Wednesday,
Speaker 1: you had to fly Wednesday night and be there Thursday
Speaker 1: morning for media, and then you're there to a Sunday night.
Speaker 1: And at that point games you used to start back
Speaker 1: up on Tuesday. And you see like now you had
Speaker 1: games starting back up on Thursday and Friday, you had
Speaker 1: teams finishing on like Wednesday, and so I think that was, uh,
Speaker 1: that's a huge improvement for us. But most fans don't realize.
Speaker 1: And in being an All Star or participating in All
Speaker 1: Star Weekend, you you end up not getting a break.
Speaker 1: And especially when you're an All Star and you are
Speaker 1: the last event, which is the All Star Game, you
Speaker 1: don't get out of there like I didn't. I didn't
Speaker 1: leave Cleveland this weekend and I didn't play. I didn't
Speaker 1: leave Cleveland til three am with Monday morning, and so
Speaker 1: it's not much of a break, and I think I
Speaker 1: think that's that a very great thing that we have now.
Speaker 1: And we always talk about like you younger guys, as
Speaker 1: the younger the league gets, the more spoiled you guys get.
Speaker 1: Y'all gets this this long break now that that we
Speaker 1: never got. Yeah, but I didn't get that break, you know,
Speaker 1: I didn't dunk contest. Um, I probably had like wood
Speaker 1: two days, two days and you got right back to it.
Speaker 1: So yeah, it was tough. I think, Um, I think
Speaker 1: the NBA can do a better job in making the
Speaker 1: dunk contests enticing. Like I'm not sure exactly what the
Speaker 1: what the bonus is currently, it's maybe fifty or a
Speaker 1: hundred thousand dollars or somewhere in between. That I think
Speaker 1: if the NBA made made it more enticing, Um, you
Speaker 1: get more guys in it, like all the guys that
Speaker 1: you just name. Uh, if it's a two hundred and
Speaker 1: fifty thousand dollar bonus or I remember when Blake Blake
Speaker 1: Griffin jumped over the key and then he had that
Speaker 1: key a sponsorship for the next six years. I think
Speaker 1: if the league can incorporate something where where they um
Speaker 1: where they maybe use one of their partners that they
Speaker 1: already have a deal with, like hey, you're you're you're
Speaker 1: gonna have a Kia deal or you're gonna have this
Speaker 1: deal or that deal, um, Mercedes deal, whoever the league
Speaker 1: our partners with, if they can include in that an
Speaker 1: endorsement deal for the guy who wins, a much bigger
Speaker 1: bonus for the guy who wins, would that be more
Speaker 1: enticing for you as someone who should be in the
Speaker 1: dunk contest or could be and shouldn't could win ith Yeah,
Speaker 1: jumping over Mercedes for Mercedes deal. Yes, I would definitely
Speaker 1: do that or for any type of endorsements, but really
Speaker 1: we're just doing it for what you said, a hundred
Speaker 1: thousand dollars. Yeah, but this is more stuff like that though,
Speaker 1: like endorsements, um uh. That guy's definitely get into it.
Speaker 1: And I think they need to change the format back
Speaker 1: to like being timed on the dunks. You know they
Speaker 1: had because on it you can hear Man just watching
Speaker 1: guys and miss dunks over and over and over again.
Speaker 1: So it's good. I think the NBA is gonna fix it,
Speaker 1: especially this year was kind of a wake up call
Speaker 1: for them on the dunk contest. Um. But it will
Speaker 1: get fixed. Michael Levine, you heard it here. First, you
Speaker 1: need to bump your bonus up, my man, you need
Speaker 1: to get these guys an endorsement deal for winning the
Speaker 1: dunk contest. We gotta do something, Michael, because what I
Speaker 1: do know is I don't think the answer is to
Speaker 1: get rid of the dunk contest. Like you were so
Speaker 1: many people saying get rid of the dunk contest. I
Speaker 1: don't think that's the answer. No, that's that's that's definitely
Speaker 1: not it. That's definitely not it. A little more interesting,
Speaker 1: that's all. Absolutely. Speaking of awards, um, there's a lot
Speaker 1: of guys for most Simpool Player, yourself being one of
Speaker 1: Jordan Pool is a guy who mentioned a lot of
Speaker 1: my teammate John Moran, Darius Garland, uh Dejont Murray, which
Speaker 1: are also too uh so that there's there's three of
Speaker 1: the top five clush clients. By the way, but where
Speaker 1: do you feel like you you rank as far as
Speaker 1: as those guys go. And let me just throw this
Speaker 1: out here. I don't think John Moran is in the
Speaker 1: in the most Improved player category as yes, huh, I
Speaker 1: think he's an MDP conversation. That's it, Like that's the
Speaker 1: only conversation he's in. He's not in the most improved
Speaker 1: player of conversation like last year Gyris points a game. Now, yes,
Speaker 1: he's up to twenty eight points a game. Yes, that
Speaker 1: is a huge improvement, but if you know anything about basketball,
Speaker 1: you're not shocked by that by that improvement. And so
Speaker 1: I I personally don't think he he should be in
Speaker 1: that conversation. But nonetheless, where do you feel like you
Speaker 1: rank amongst those guys as far as most improved player goes.
Speaker 1: I mean, at the beginning of the season, for sure,
Speaker 1: I thought it was first. Um my numbers went down
Speaker 1: a little bit, um so and and plus Darius and
Speaker 1: made the All Star Game. So I probably say I'm
Speaker 1: third right now. Um, we forgot to mention the guy
Speaker 1: Anthony Anthony signs too. He's been having a great season. Um.
Speaker 1: But yeah, for me to be honest, I'm probably like
Speaker 1: like third right now. We've still got twenty more games.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna staying kill mode. Um, continue to try to win.
Speaker 1: I feel like the more the more that I win, Um,
Speaker 1: the more I have a chance to it to to
Speaker 1: win m P doesn't That's really not my goal. My
Speaker 1: goal as the playoffs, but I think the m I
Speaker 1: P P race is going to be very tight. You know,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of guys that improved their game during
Speaker 1: the summer. UM, so we'll see no no doubt. And
Speaker 1: I think, um, well, I'll ask you this question. Do
Speaker 1: you think with twenty games left that there are still
Speaker 1: something you can do to change that? Or do you
Speaker 1: think coming down to stretch in the NBA with twenty
Speaker 1: games left, most races are already decided. Mm hmmm, You're
Speaker 1: right about that. Most most races are decided. Um, But
Speaker 1: like I said, safety going like crazy wind Street getting
Speaker 1: to the playoffs. Um, I'm still killing in that situation. Yeah,
Speaker 1: sure now, and I agree with you. I think most
Speaker 1: of the times when you get when you get to
Speaker 1: the point of the season where we are now, most
Speaker 1: of those awards kind of be already decided. I actually
Speaker 1: think this year all of them are actually still off.
Speaker 1: For graphs like, I don't think um anyone has solidified
Speaker 1: themselves as the m v P. I think we know
Speaker 1: the front runners for m v P and for me
Speaker 1: and no particular artist, that's John Damar and Joel for me. UM,
Speaker 1: I think Joker also has to be in that conversation
Speaker 1: as well. That's for me personally, but I think amongst
Speaker 1: those guys, they're still a race. I think if you
Speaker 1: look at Defensive Player of the Year, obviously, if I
Speaker 1: didn't get hurt, I was running away with that. And
Speaker 1: you know, I was running away with it because no
Speaker 1: one still has solidified themselves and I had solidified myself
Speaker 1: at game thirty, and so I feel like I was
Speaker 1: running away with that. Even every dog has his day,
Speaker 1: sun shines on the dog ass every now and then,
Speaker 1: you can't do nothing about that, you know. So you did.
Speaker 1: And it's crazy too about that, because I was actually
Speaker 1: piste off about that Game winner because I got you
Speaker 1: to go to the shop at the exact shot I
Speaker 1: wanted you to go to. You drive middal And and
Speaker 1: the angle that I had you on. Obviously, I know
Speaker 1: you like to get back to your right hand, but
Speaker 1: the angle I had you on, if the rim is here,
Speaker 1: you almost shot it from like here. So I was
Speaker 1: a little frustrated about that. But I'll tell y'all what
Speaker 1: funny story mouse myself, Jared Brent Forbes, Denzel Valentine, Travis Walden,
Speaker 1: Aaron Henry um Am I missing anyone cash is we're
Speaker 1: all in a group chat from our Spartan Dog Sparting
Speaker 1: ground week group chat, and uh, the moment Myles gave me,
Speaker 1: I went to the group chat like, hey, y'all, Moles
Speaker 1: just gave me because I already one thing, listen, the
Speaker 1: one thing I didn't want to happen. Two things I
Speaker 1: didn't want to happen. I didn't want one of those
Speaker 1: guys to come post in the show like, oh man,
Speaker 1: Myles games, Myles game Draymond. And then I also, and
Speaker 1: more importantly, I didn't want Miles to come in the
Speaker 1: chat like, yeah, I just gained Draymond. So I went
Speaker 1: right away soon as I got through my locker, like, man, y'all,
Speaker 1: never believe Miles just games. I wouldn't. I was gonna
Speaker 1: let you do it. I wanted to do it. I
Speaker 1: was not gonna do it. You're smart, because then I
Speaker 1: would have put them blocks in the group chats. But
Speaker 1: but I want to ask you some a couple of questions,
Speaker 1: just going back to high school. You played your freshman
Speaker 1: year at Flint Southwestern, and then after that you transferred
Speaker 1: and you went to Huntington Prep. What what was your
Speaker 1: reasoning for for leaving FLYNT and going to hunting To Prep. Uh,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of distractions. You know, most of most
Speaker 1: of my friends in the streets at the time, and
Speaker 1: I was still trying to play basketball. Um, so just
Speaker 1: me getting away from distraction is getting away from the city.
Speaker 1: UM and just focused on having my main focus on
Speaker 1: basketball and going to Huntington, West Virginia. It wasn't nothing else,
Speaker 1: literally nothing else out there but to focus on but basketball.
Speaker 1: So m I mean, my mom was crazy because my mom,
Speaker 1: she didn't want me at all. Really, yes, she did it.
Speaker 1: She didn't want to go. She wanted to stay off
Speaker 1: four years because I'm a baby. Yeah, I'm a younger child.
Speaker 1: She didn't want me to go, But I kind of
Speaker 1: made the decision. UM and Jeff Gray, he helped me
Speaker 1: make that decision to um, just to just to get away.
Speaker 1: Um and I was probably the best decision I've ever made.
Speaker 1: And see where I'm at, I don't. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: that's that's one thing that I am marked I admire
Speaker 1: about you. Um since coming up, you seemed to me,
Speaker 1: I mean even when they came to not going in
Speaker 1: the NBA, driving, going back to school. Then once it
Speaker 1: came to going in the NBA Draft, then once it
Speaker 1: was time to pick an Asian, you to me, um
Speaker 1: it it feels like you're a young man that always
Speaker 1: has made your own decisions, and that's not that's not
Speaker 1: always comment for young men, young African American men, especially
Speaker 1: not young African American athletes. You know, you have the
Speaker 1: AU coach I was just putting on my Instagram earlier
Speaker 1: about kJ who you know, um, just the AU coaches,
Speaker 1: you have, leeches, you have all of these people who
Speaker 1: get involved in the decision making process. And that's something
Speaker 1: that I've always admired about you and I wanted to
Speaker 1: share that with you. Um. But just going back to
Speaker 1: to Michigan High school basketball, I think the m h
Speaker 1: s a A is a fucking joke. Terrible. I hate it.
Speaker 1: And that's why everybody's when you see the top of
Speaker 1: cruise leaving, it's terrible. It's and they still haven't figured
Speaker 1: that out. And for those of you that don't know,
Speaker 1: I'll share a little bit of history with you. UM.
Speaker 1: If you are Miles Bridges, who's a who's a top fifteen,
Speaker 1: top ten player in the country, who go who gets
Speaker 1: invited to Nike Camp, who gets invited to all of
Speaker 1: these different things. UM. It used to be the Elite
Speaker 1: twenty four. When you came out, it was a Nike
Speaker 1: game in the Bahamas, UM that you into. But you
Speaker 1: have all of these things that you know, you have
Speaker 1: the sneaker companies with the grassroots programs, and they have
Speaker 1: all of these things for for the top players. And
Speaker 1: if you're if you're a player in the state of Michigan,
Speaker 1: you you can't go to most of those things. You UM,
Speaker 1: if you're if you're out of camp and you make
Speaker 1: the All Star Game, you're not allowed to play in
Speaker 1: the state of Michigan. UM. In the state of Michigan,
Speaker 1: you're not allowed to travel I think seventy five miles
Speaker 1: seventy five and ninety miles outside of where you play.
Speaker 1: So for instance, for me and Sagging all, the firstest
Speaker 1: we could travel to play was Toledo, Ohio. And you
Speaker 1: have all of these tournaments where you where where the
Speaker 1: world was first introduced to Miles Bridges. Was him playing
Speaker 1: in the Dicks Sporting Good Classic? Was him playing in
Speaker 1: you know, all of these big time games on national television.
Speaker 1: In the state of Michigan, you're not allowed to go
Speaker 1: to any of those or your or you forfeit your season.
Speaker 1: And I and I think it's so ridiculous. So now
Speaker 1: you start going down the list and all of the
Speaker 1: top players leave the state of Michigan. I can't believe
Speaker 1: that the rule hasn't been changed. And and I also
Speaker 1: think coaches, oh um and the coaches at the other
Speaker 1: schools down the way need to push more for that
Speaker 1: because the reality is, and I think you can probably
Speaker 1: attest to this is do you don't you think it
Speaker 1: ultimately cost them recruits when you end up letting a
Speaker 1: guy lead to state and go somewhere else to high school?
Speaker 1: Do you think that ultimately end up causing them recruits? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean that's almost went to Kentucky. Um, when I
Speaker 1: went to West Virginia because um, it was like what
Speaker 1: two hours away to ours a way, so they were
Speaker 1: coming to literally every practice, every game. UM, and Michigan
Speaker 1: State they're coming, they're coming, but they couldn't come as
Speaker 1: much as it is Kentucky. But uh, but yeah, I
Speaker 1: don't know, I don't know. I don't know why they
Speaker 1: haven't changed the rule yet. You still don't have a
Speaker 1: shot clock. It's ridiculous, Like I said, the national, the
Speaker 1: national the national schedule is what is what put me on.
Speaker 1: You know, I was playing against the top players every
Speaker 1: every game, Jason Tatums, Josh Jackson's at the time, the
Speaker 1: Harry Giles, those guys. I was playing against those guys
Speaker 1: and Michigan Wood I was playing against I don't know
Speaker 1: who getting thirty easy. Absolutely, they definitely need to change that,
Speaker 1: especially with the All Star games because I I didn't
Speaker 1: even know about the Allstar Game. You couldn't playing that. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: in part do you left the state so early that
Speaker 1: by the time you were making them All Star games
Speaker 1: you could play in them. Yeah. So, like I said,
Speaker 1: like you said that, they're losing the cruise because of that, um.
Speaker 1: Michigan State, the other school um. And they just gotta
Speaker 1: fix that because they're not giving kids out of Michigan
Speaker 1: a chance to to showcase their talent um and stayed
Speaker 1: in the public school or a private school there and
Speaker 1: put off for the State of Michigan. Like like you
Speaker 1: used to be, like you had it, you had uma,
Speaker 1: you had second, all it. Second, what's your school called you?
Speaker 1: Trojans Man, I ain't going to know damn r to here,
Speaker 1: all right? And you went to Northwestern. Cool, no big deal.
Speaker 1: I want to bet against them. I'm gonna beat against him.
Speaker 1: So I'm good. Northwestern was still a school when you
Speaker 1: was in high school. Yeah it was. It was for sure.
Speaker 1: That's crazy, that's funny. But and a couple more questions
Speaker 1: and I'll let you go. But when it comes to
Speaker 1: a U basketball do you do you want an AU
Speaker 1: basketball team? Would you rather just support the family? What?
Speaker 1: What's your view on AU basketball? In the way this day? Uh?
Speaker 1: I mean right now, I feel like he was mess me.
Speaker 1: You know, the kids, they really it's different nowadays. It's
Speaker 1: a it's a different generation. You know, kids play for
Speaker 1: the highlights. Um. They don't play the win and play
Speaker 1: the game the right way. So I so bought me
Speaker 1: UM separate. You can. You can find some good basketball
Speaker 1: in the Yale UM. But I honestly I'm trying to
Speaker 1: I'm in the works of starting my own program, putting
Speaker 1: in the E. Y B. L. Myles Bridges Elague UM
Speaker 1: soon UM for for the State of Michigan. The first
Speaker 1: of the first person to hear about this. So but
Speaker 1: but when I get that team, I definitely want to
Speaker 1: teach them how to play the game. The right way. Um,
Speaker 1: go back to oh Au style. When you're playing to win.
Speaker 1: You know, if you win, you get offers, get you
Speaker 1: get all the highlights, you know, ball his life and
Speaker 1: all that that they're gonna be there. Um. So yeah, hopefully,
Speaker 1: hopefully I can change change the game when I when
Speaker 1: I get in there, right out for a kind of
Speaker 1: mess about how far out is that? Like when when
Speaker 1: should we expect Miles Bridges elite to hit the hit
Speaker 1: the scene? Um, if not? If not, this a season
Speaker 1: and next I'm gonna start off with the fi TU first, okay,
Speaker 1: and then then go from there. One thing I will
Speaker 1: say to you is make sure you have the right
Speaker 1: people running the program. I tried to get into that
Speaker 1: that Au business, and I was in it for a year,
Speaker 1: and it's it's like, if if you don't have the
Speaker 1: right people running your program, it's done before it even
Speaker 1: gets started. So just make sure you have the right
Speaker 1: people running the program, doing it for the right reason
Speaker 1: and not to take advantage of these kids like guys
Speaker 1: tried to do myself, like guys tried to do you,
Speaker 1: because that what it ends up turning into is something
Speaker 1: something that you did from the contents of your heart,
Speaker 1: and something that you did because you simply wanted to help,
Speaker 1: it ends up turning into a negative, you know, And
Speaker 1: so I would say, make sure you have um the
Speaker 1: right people running a program. A funny story about this, Actually,
Speaker 1: uh Mouse is getting ready to come out in the
Speaker 1: NBA Drive obviously Michigan State Spartan. I flew we were.
Speaker 1: We were playing in Oklahoma City. Miles last game was
Speaker 1: in Tulsa against Kansas. I'll never forget it against Kansas,
Speaker 1: Josh Jackson, those guys. And I told Miles after the game,
Speaker 1: I said, man, great year, you had great two years.
Speaker 1: I'll see you next year in our league. And He's like, uh,
Speaker 1: I don't know, Yeah, man, I really like school, but
Speaker 1: uh whatever. And so I'm like, yeah, whatever, I'll see
Speaker 1: you in our league next year. Fast forward about within
Speaker 1: the next week, I get a call. I get a
Speaker 1: X from Miss Cynthia Bridges and she said to me, Hey, Draymond, Hey, Draymond.
Speaker 1: I am so thankful for everything, all the guidance that
Speaker 1: you've given Miles and being there for him when it
Speaker 1: comes to his decision of whether he's going to the
Speaker 1: NBA or not. You can stay out of it and
Speaker 1: I said, huh. I said, well, with all due respect,
Speaker 1: miss Bridges, I told Miles I'll see him in the
Speaker 1: league with me next year. So whoever is contacting you
Speaker 1: and telling you that I'm telling Miles to go back
Speaker 1: to school, they're lying to you. She then proceeded to say, well,
Speaker 1: they told me you telling Miles to go back to
Speaker 1: school and get a cut so you can get a cut.
Speaker 1: I said, well, Miss Bridges, well there's there's a couple
Speaker 1: of things wrong with that statement. Number one is I
Speaker 1: would have to be telling Miles to leave Eve in
Speaker 1: order to get a cut from anything, but you're actually
Speaker 1: telling me I told him to stay. Also, Miss Bridges,
Speaker 1: I'm actually pretty rich. Like I'm gonna pretty well for myself.
Speaker 1: I don't really need to cut from from Miles and
Speaker 1: like what Miles gonna do. But just so you know,
Speaker 1: the cut would actually come from getting Miles to sign
Speaker 1: with an Asia. And I don't know, do you do
Speaker 1: you recall what I said to you when you asked
Speaker 1: me about my agent and who I was with. Do
Speaker 1: you do you recall what I said to you? Uh? No,
Speaker 1: But I know for sure that you that you told
Speaker 1: me that to go to leave told me that for sure.
Speaker 1: I told Miles, I said, I'm I'm with b J
Speaker 1: Armstrong and b J has been He's been good for me.
Speaker 1: We have a great relationship. But if I wasn't with
Speaker 1: b J, I'd be with Rich Paul, who you ultimately
Speaker 1: ended up signing with. Which leads me to what different
Speaker 1: or what have you gotten from Clutch that has helped
Speaker 1: propel you in this league? Because I know there are
Speaker 1: a lot of agents in the business. I think there
Speaker 1: are other great agents in the business. I'm not saying
Speaker 1: it's not, but I know Clutch has given me something
Speaker 1: that I never got from someone else. What is it
Speaker 1: that they've given you that you you don't think it
Speaker 1: is normal or it's common in our league? Um, you know,
Speaker 1: being being being a teenager, being a twenty year old
Speaker 1: being thrown into into this lifestyle. Um, it's tough. It's
Speaker 1: tough for everybody. And I feel like Rich has a
Speaker 1: great job of just making sure that you're you're on
Speaker 1: your PS and Q seven like basketball, um, with girls,
Speaker 1: with the party and all that type of stuff. Like
Speaker 1: he always tried to give you some type of advice, UM,
Speaker 1: to make sure that you that you're that you're doing
Speaker 1: the right things. And I feel like other agencies don't
Speaker 1: reach out to the guys like like Richard, Richard Brandon
Speaker 1: or Fair or all those people will do UM, but
Speaker 1: but Clutch does a great job of doing that and
Speaker 1: and it's like a brotherhood, and it kind of reminds
Speaker 1: me of Michigan State UM just like the events they
Speaker 1: we haven't UM putting guys in group chats and making
Speaker 1: sure you're talking to the main guys. As soon as
Speaker 1: I got in the Clutch, me and Brown protecting is
Speaker 1: giving me advice about anything, so nobody's off limits and
Speaker 1: Clutch like it's no bigger and they treat everybody the same.
Speaker 1: So I feel like that's what it is about Clutch
Speaker 1: for me. But what about you? You know, I think
Speaker 1: all I agree with all of those things. I think
Speaker 1: also one of the one of the most beautiful things
Speaker 1: UM to me is how they teach you and try
Speaker 1: to prepare you for life, how they try, how how
Speaker 1: rich Uh and Fair and the entire team, how they're
Speaker 1: trying to give you things that most people don't give
Speaker 1: to young African American men. UM know. When when I
Speaker 1: was looking to buy a house, rich walked several homes
Speaker 1: with me, Like, I mean, at one house that I
Speaker 1: thought we were gonna buy, I call Rich Hayes. When
Speaker 1: I had walked the house and I call Rich and
Speaker 1: I was so excited, and I'm like, man, I found
Speaker 1: the house is the one And Rich walked in the house.
Speaker 1: And when he walked in, he's like and he just
Speaker 1: literally walking through the house pointing stuff like m M.
Speaker 1: And then we walked all the way back through the
Speaker 1: house and everything he pointed to and said, uh. He
Speaker 1: told me why. He was saying, like, look, this stone
Speaker 1: doesn't match. Uh. You go in the backyard, there's four
Speaker 1: different stones back here. It's just like they pieced this together.
Speaker 1: He's like, um, he said, he said, they're going to
Speaker 1: get a sucker about his house. And I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: let you be that sucker, you know. And and and
Speaker 1: it's things it's things like that. It's it's him teaching
Speaker 1: young African American men about the art business, because you
Speaker 1: buy a twenty uh piece of art and in three
Speaker 1: years that piece of art can be worth a million
Speaker 1: dollars like it could be. And so I one of
Speaker 1: the things that I really appreciate about Clutch is are
Speaker 1: those things and and just helping guys adjust to life.
Speaker 1: You know, we get thrown into this fire, into this
Speaker 1: world that none of us has ever been privy to
Speaker 1: because we're all poor black kids from the inner city,
Speaker 1: and you're just expected to figure it out. And most
Speaker 1: agents don't take that, like most agents don't give a
Speaker 1: damn will house you buy like most most agents don't
Speaker 1: care whether you go buy a chain or you go
Speaker 1: buy art, like most agents won't do that. And so
Speaker 1: that's what what I'm very appreciative of about clutching and
Speaker 1: something that I think separates them from the bunch. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I definitely agree with that. But but last question before
Speaker 1: we get out of here, man, very simple one. I
Speaker 1: just want to hear how your children are doing. How
Speaker 1: old are they or like I? And and secondly, how
Speaker 1: did it becoming a father change you as a basketball
Speaker 1: player and as a young man. Uh well I have
Speaker 1: to you already know, but I have two children, you know.
Speaker 1: A A Smiles bridges um Ela Marie Bridges um Asis
Speaker 1: as three birthday October twenty six. Ala, she's she's too.
Speaker 1: She just turned to she turned to February. Um And
Speaker 1: I feel like they changed my gang. Don't bang you
Speaker 1: heard you got me a vice. But but yeah, I
Speaker 1: had my son. Um, what a month a month before
Speaker 1: the season started or no, it was a month after
Speaker 1: the season started. It was a month after the season
Speaker 1: started in October. Um. It just changed my life for
Speaker 1: the better. You know. Before I came into the NBA,
Speaker 1: I really not anything to play for. You know, it's
Speaker 1: my mom my mom, but she was good. I got
Speaker 1: her house and all that, but I really didn't have
Speaker 1: nothing to play for it. Um, and I feel like
Speaker 1: my kids were born, I had something to play for
Speaker 1: it and it's definitely a good responsibility. Gives me a
Speaker 1: good motivation, um to go out there and do what
Speaker 1: I do. And the best thing about my kids is
Speaker 1: I never changed to them. You know, I got the
Speaker 1: worst game in the world. Come back, I'm still dad.
Speaker 1: You know. That's the best feeling every man. Just just
Speaker 1: coming back to my kids being loved by them, um
Speaker 1: and and me giving them love. It's there's no it's
Speaker 1: it's unconditional love. And you can't explain it really. So
Speaker 1: I'm happy to be a dad. I'm a dad first always. UM.
Speaker 1: So yeah, absolutely, man, I think the one thing it
Speaker 1: gives you, it just puts everything into a perspective. You know,
Speaker 1: before kids, you have a bad game, you go home,
Speaker 1: you think about that game until you play another game.
Speaker 1: You have kids, you go home back gag daddy, what's up?
Speaker 1: What's going on? Like it's like nothing ever happened. So
Speaker 1: I definitely understand it. Man. I am extremely proud of
Speaker 1: the father that you have become, that you're growing into
Speaker 1: and and and and more importantly, I think we all
Speaker 1: can get better, uh that you will continue to grow into.
Speaker 1: I think it's a beautiful thing man. And and I
Speaker 1: also obviously having kids young, I also have an appreciation
Speaker 1: for them being able to see your career. You know,
Speaker 1: like and you know your kids, your kids are going
Speaker 1: to come into money that that they will never they
Speaker 1: would have never understood how the money was made as
Speaker 1: you act had kids older. And so I think it's incredible. Man.
Speaker 1: As a big brother, I'm super proud of you. Keep going.
Speaker 1: I appreciate you coming on the show. My brother and
Speaker 1: will link soon and we're definitely doing Sparking Ground week again.
Speaker 1: But I actually have one more question before I let
Speaker 1: you go, a lit that I'm sorry about that, but
Speaker 1: recently Darius basically just came out and said he's the
Speaker 1: best rapper in the n B A. I've never heard
Speaker 1: a dB song, so I can't say he's not. But
Speaker 1: I do know two rappers in the NBA that I
Speaker 1: absolutely respect, and that's Damian Lillard and you and I.
Speaker 1: And where do you rate yourself? Y'all My too, y'all
Speaker 1: man too. Maybe you know someone else who's better. I
Speaker 1: don't know, But where do you rate yourself or ranky yourself?
Speaker 1: As as far as rappers in the NBA, I mean,
Speaker 1: of course, I'm I'm writing myself number one. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: I don't one day to try to getting the rap
Speaker 1: beef me. He don't want to smoke dollars. I want
Speaker 1: that smoke dollars. He saw what you did this shot.
Speaker 1: He don't want to smoke. But but I definitely think
Speaker 1: I'm number one. You know, damn gotta great songs, very lyrical.
Speaker 1: I heard debates of debates. I'm messing with me, your dame,
Speaker 1: you know. And it's the great thing is you heard
Speaker 1: my first, my first ever rap song I ever made
Speaker 1: when I was in Michigan, when I took my official
Speaker 1: Michigan state I played I played it for you because
Speaker 1: I don't start this over started over here. I was
Speaker 1: good at the time, so it's crazy. But yeah, I
Speaker 1: say myself, dang debates. He all right, but Anthony Everards
Speaker 1: he's pretty good too, rap. Yeah, I gotta get him
Speaker 1: to him. He's pretty good. Okay, yeah, okay, all right,
Speaker 1: I'll tell you what. I'll let you go. Since I
Speaker 1: feel like you've changed your whole rap style since I
Speaker 1: last heard that song like it's I think you're rap
Speaker 1: style now it's more like the it's like the Detroit
Speaker 1: like UM, like there's a sound and everyone there. There's
Speaker 1: a sound to it, and I think if people hear
Speaker 1: it and they know that type of music, they'll understand it.
Speaker 1: But nonetheless, brother, I appreciate you, man. Thank you for
Speaker 1: coming on the Draymond Greeny Show. Bro. I appreciate getting
Speaker 1: the playoffs, man, because that's gonna make that bad bigger.
Speaker 1: Believe that. I appreciate you. I love you too, Bro,
Speaker 1: Thank you man. That was incredible, Um being able to
Speaker 1: share with you guys some of my story and his
Speaker 1: journey and you know, the growth that he's had to
Speaker 1: have over the course of his career. I was also
Speaker 1: excited to hear like no I talked to m j
Speaker 1: and like I can text him all the time, Like
Speaker 1: that's a big deal. I don't care who you are,
Speaker 1: what you say. When you can just text Michael Jordan's
Speaker 1: that's not like some small thing. That's a very big deal.
Speaker 1: And just to know that Mike is is that hands
Speaker 1: on with the team and and those guys, like you know,
Speaker 1: we all have someone in basketball that we can turn to.
Speaker 1: When you can turn to Michael Jordan's right, that's incredible
Speaker 1: and intimidating, extremely intimidating. But you know, I think it's
Speaker 1: amazing for them to be able to call them Mike,
Speaker 1: and I'm looking forward to continuing to see their team grow.
Speaker 1: Obviously very young. Miles is still very young, LaMelo is
Speaker 1: very young, and they're building around those guys. So it's
Speaker 1: beautiful to see. Um. I hope you all got to
Speaker 1: know Miles a little bit better than you knew him before.
Speaker 1: Extremely hard worker, really push the time in and I
Speaker 1: think most another thing that was important for me to
Speaker 1: hear is just about Miles as a father. I've seen it,
Speaker 1: and you know when when you have children, it just
Speaker 1: it stimulates a different type of growth and and also
Speaker 1: at a different different speed and and and so it's
Speaker 1: beautiful to see him taking on that responsibility and really
Speaker 1: raising his children the right way. I know, for me,
Speaker 1: that is the most important thing in my life is
Speaker 1: raising my children and doing that with love and compassion.
Speaker 1: And so a young guy like that to have, for
Speaker 1: him to have two kids, still thriving in his career,
Speaker 1: thriving as a father, as a as a young African
Speaker 1: American man from the inner city. Uh, you know, I
Speaker 1: cherish that and appreciate that way more than the high
Speaker 1: flying dunk and and the Harness crazy absolutely insane announcer.
Speaker 1: I mean, he brings the most insane energy. I absolutely
Speaker 1: love it. But I take that way more to the
Speaker 1: heart as far as him as a father than the
Speaker 1: high flying dunks. That will always mean more to me.
Speaker 1: So kudos to Miles, appreciate them coming on the show.
Speaker 1: I hope you all enjoyed. Until next week, it's a
Speaker 1: rout Draymond greenshow piece,