WEBVTT - #thisleague UNCUT: Dame Trade Time 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:04.680 Welcome to this league uncut rule of twenty four hour 0:00:04.800 --> 0:00:09.160 NBA News. This's you, Chris Hans. 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:17.040 It's time, work's time, It's so time. 0:00:17.120 --> 0:00:19.800 This league uncut is underway and on fire. 0:00:21.440 --> 0:00:24.439 This should be a good one. 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:31.400 Friends, Welcome in to the long awaited return of this 0:00:31.520 --> 0:00:38.120 league uncut. Yes, we are back, and back just in time. 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:45.960 After Wednesday. On Wednesday this week, the NBA was hit 0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:53.840 with a legit, no holds barred, true blockbuster trade. Damian 0:00:53.920 --> 0:00:59.800 Lillard shipped from Portland to Milwaukee in a three team 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:07.039 and then Thursday followed with the next blockbuster. Chris Haynes, 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:13.520 star of this very podcast, with a very detailed behind 0:01:13.560 --> 0:01:19.480 the scenes inside look at how this trade came together 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:24.319 how Damian Lillard, with very little chatter about the Milwaukee Bucks, 0:01:24.520 --> 0:01:32.800 ended up being sent to Wisconsin to now partner with 0:01:32.920 --> 0:01:37.200 Jana Santetakumpo and form one of the stariest star duos 0:01:38.000 --> 0:01:41.440 in this league. I think if you've already read Chris's story, 0:01:41.720 --> 0:01:45.720 you understand why we did not do an emergency immediate 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:49.640 reaction pod Wednesday after the trade. Chris obviously needed to 0:01:49.720 --> 0:01:52.640 report out that story, and if you haven't read the story, 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:54.120 I urge you to read it, but we're going to 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:59.760 get into tons of it here, mister Haynes, good evening, 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:04.160 recording this late Thursday night. And you threw a lot 0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:05.320 at us today, sir. 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:09.919 Well Stein, there was a lot. I'll tell you this. 0:02:11.120 --> 0:02:14.360 You said, I threw a lot at you. There was 0:02:14.560 --> 0:02:19.880 still a lot of meat left on the bone. Still 0:02:19.919 --> 0:02:21.799 a lot of meat left on the bone. 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:24.720 Let's well, hopefully we'll get into so, hopefully we will, 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:27.680 we will, hopefully we will reveal some of that in 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:29.080 this forthcoming discussion. 0:02:29.680 --> 0:02:32.360 Yeah, but it's that time again. It seems like Stein 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:34.280 will glad to be back man. 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:36.800 Yeah, no question, And look, it was it was. It was, 0:02:37.639 --> 0:02:40.200 you know, a source of curiosity I think around the 0:02:40.280 --> 0:02:46.480 league that how would Portland? Was Portland really treating Media 0:02:46.560 --> 0:02:50.520 Day as a deadline? How motivated were the Blazers to 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:55.160 get this done and make a Dame trade before Media Day, 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:59.200 before the season started so they could truly move on. 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:03.720 And as we've come to learn that after a very 0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:09.160 quiet second half of July and a very quiet August, 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:13.119 things really did heat up in the back half of September, 0:03:13.160 --> 0:03:17.080 and the Blazers were determined to get this thing done. 0:03:17.480 --> 0:03:20.640 Before the new season started. And one of the many 0:03:21.680 --> 0:03:26.080 very interesting revelations in your piece is that when Damian 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:29.320 Lillard and Joe Cronin, the Blazers general manager, when they 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:33.519 met on September fifth, as it was becoming apparent to 0:03:33.600 --> 0:03:37.120 Damian Lillard that a trade to his preferred destination of 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:41.440 Miami was not going to materialize, Damian Lillard, as you've 0:03:41.480 --> 0:03:46.200 reported tonight, offered to rescind his trade request and go 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:49.520 back to the Blazers, and Joe Cronan told him no, 0:03:50.560 --> 0:03:54.000 that the Blazers were going ahead with trading him. And 0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:56.680 in your story you talk about how Dame realized at 0:03:56.680 --> 0:04:00.000 that point he wasn't going to Miami. He didn't nowhere 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:01.920 he was going yet, but he knew he wasn't going 0:04:02.400 --> 0:04:07.200 to Miami. And most of the league twenty eight teams 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:11.640 media day is Monday. Dallas and Minnesota because they're playing 0:04:11.720 --> 0:04:15.040 exhibition games abroad, they were able to start this week. 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:18.599 Minnesota's media day was today, Dallas's media day was Friday, 0:04:18.600 --> 0:04:21.520 but everybody else in the league media day is Monday. 0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:25.520 And now Portland has its deal and has its fresh start. 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:29.159 But just just take us take us from there, I 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:32.280 guess just I mean that was you have a lot 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:34.520 of stunning stuff in here. But the fact that Dame 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:40.039 actually offered to rescind the trade request and stay a 0:04:40.040 --> 0:04:42.400 Blazer for the short term to give them more time 0:04:42.440 --> 0:04:45.960 to make a trade, and the Blazers turn that down. 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:50.040 Wow, Yeah, I mean it just got really ugly behind 0:04:50.040 --> 0:04:52.240 the scenes. And you know, a lot there was a 0:04:52.240 --> 0:04:55.960 lot of developments that happened throughout the course of this offseason, 0:04:56.279 --> 0:05:01.360 this journey, I should say, and I just couldn't bring 0:05:01.400 --> 0:05:06.760 it home at the time. But I will say to Dame, like, yes, 0:05:06.839 --> 0:05:11.400 he he made an effort to say, you know, he 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:14.280 would rather resend his trade and come back if he 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:16.880 was going to get traded to somewhere other than Miami. 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:21.760 And he you know, he was shocked to hear that 0:05:21.760 --> 0:05:27.279 that wouldn't be allowed. And so with that being said, 0:05:28.760 --> 0:05:31.200 it's still like there was still we weren't hearing much 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:34.719 traction from any other teams. You know, we heard, you know, 0:05:34.720 --> 0:05:39.960 we heard about Toronto and Minnesota. You know, there was 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:44.799 there is some concern Utah could jump in, who else 0:05:44.880 --> 0:05:49.120 who else? South was out there talk Chicago, they were 0:05:49.160 --> 0:05:52.160 doing they were trying to feel around and so Dame 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:56.240 thought like, look, okay, you know he's saying I might 0:05:56.320 --> 0:05:59.600 not be welcome back, but if they can't get a 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:02.560 trade done, then I you know, I would rather go 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:05.360 and do what I've always done this time of year, 0:06:05.520 --> 0:06:08.960 and that show up to the practice facility, you know, 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:10.800 around this time, because this is the around the time 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:14.080 where guys gather a few weeks before camp and they 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:21.440 start during their their pre camp routine schedules of these 0:06:21.480 --> 0:06:26.520 are unofficial practices that take place. And so he went 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:31.279 like a few days after It was like literally the 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:33.880 next week, a few days after his meeting with Joe Crone, 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:36.440 and he went to the facility and he went for 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:39.400 eight days, and you know, you know, he told me 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:41.320 that you know, people were excited to see him, and 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:44.880 you know, he hasn't been at the facity in a while, 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:51.160 and he had just got had his his new house built. 0:06:51.600 --> 0:06:53.920 It took a few years to build his house from 0:06:54.040 --> 0:06:57.520 from scratch and his house has his home actually has 0:06:58.080 --> 0:07:02.080 a full court, plush basketball gym in there, and so 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:05.440 he's been working, you know, he spent the majority of 0:07:05.520 --> 0:07:07.800 the off season working at you know basketball while I 0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:11.840 was working in in his gym and his home and 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:14.200 so he decided to go back to the practice practice City, 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:18.240 and you know, he said everybody was receptive. Man. You know, 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:21.240 he went in there for eight days and he said 0:07:21.240 --> 0:07:25.560 he saw Joe each and every day and he didn't 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:28.960 say not one word to him during that time. So 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:32.640 you know, he didn't know. And he has a quote 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:35.640 in there in the story of him not knowing if 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:40.640 they felt like he was trying to cause a commotion 0:07:41.000 --> 0:07:43.280 or whatever, but you know, he was just doing what 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:46.840 he's been doing for you know, ten plus years already, 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:49.640 and just going going into the facility getting ready because 0:07:49.640 --> 0:07:52.000 he didn't know where he was going to be. And 0:07:52.040 --> 0:07:54.480 so it just got to it. It just got to 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:57.720 an ugly place, man. And it was unsad and fortunate 0:07:57.760 --> 0:08:01.360 to see it all come down to this. But there's 0:08:01.400 --> 0:08:04.320 a lots time. There's a lot in there. I forgot 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:06.280 a lot of ship that that that's in the story. 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:11.520 And so it's at the end of the day they 0:08:11.560 --> 0:08:15.960 had to pivot and think of other teams outside of Miami, 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:20.360 and word trickled trickled out to my excuse me, word 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:25.840 trickled out to Milwaukee that Dame would be receptive to 0:08:26.000 --> 0:08:28.960 going there if he was moved there and from there 0:08:30.000 --> 0:08:32.679 that's when the Bucks got on the move, and and 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:37.240 that's what led us to to Dame and Johannest teaming up. Yeah. 0:08:37.280 --> 0:08:41.000 I mean, it's just that's going to be a spectacular pairing. 0:08:41.120 --> 0:08:43.360 And you know, you've kind of talked about it a 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:47.239 little bit that you know, these guys have huge appreciation 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:52.080 for each other. They have talked about playing together, and 0:08:52.160 --> 0:08:55.480 I think you you reported earlier this week about how 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:57.360 you know, Dame said well, why why can't we get 0:08:57.400 --> 0:08:59.400 you to Portland? And Giannis is like, well, why can't 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:02.199 we get you to Milwaukee? And and it ends up 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:06.640 being Milwaukee. I mean so so, I mean, you know 0:09:06.720 --> 0:09:09.560 I always call you the world's foremost damologist. Do you 0:09:09.600 --> 0:09:11.480 think he you think he's going to be good with 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:14.960 this that that obviously Milwaukee is not South Beach, but 0:09:15.040 --> 0:09:17.000 he is going to get a chance to play for 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:19.640 a championship with a guy. 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:22.880 I'm going to be candid with you. I was on 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:25.520 the phone with him when he got word he was 0:09:25.559 --> 0:09:28.360 going to Milwaukee, Like I was live on the phone 0:09:28.360 --> 0:09:38.800 with him and he was just really just speechless, you know, 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:42.880 he he was he was saying, like I gotta wrap 0:09:42.920 --> 0:09:44.680 my mind around this. I gotta wrap my mind around 0:09:44.840 --> 0:09:47.520 That's that's what he kept saying. And he was talking 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:51.320 about his kids. You know, you know, what is his 0:09:51.400 --> 0:09:53.360 kids going to do? Are they coming? Are they you know? 0:09:53.840 --> 0:10:00.400 You know, that's that was what he was thinking. And slowly, 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:04.720 over time he started to think about the basketball side 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:08.560 of it. He was like, yeah, this will be the 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:11.680 the greatest team I've ever been a part of, you know, 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:14.840 he was he was like talking himself through it, like 0:10:15.200 --> 0:10:18.920 it was really like he you know how it is 0:10:18.920 --> 0:10:22.040 like when you when you with somebody or are you're 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:24.079 on the phone with somebody and they're just hit with 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:30.800 this life's changing news and they're they're just they're just 0:10:30.840 --> 0:10:32.920 speechless for a minute, and you can tell they're just 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:36.400 taking it all in. And that's what what I kind 0:10:36.400 --> 0:10:38.360 of caught. You know, I didn't I didn't catch them. 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:40.440 We just happened to be on the phone at the time. 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:46.600 And slowly, I will say so, I would say probably 0:10:46.640 --> 0:10:49.520 a few hours afterwards, you know, we were we were 0:10:49.559 --> 0:10:52.920 texting throughout and he was like, yeah, I'm still thinking 0:10:52.960 --> 0:10:57.200 I'm just informing a family, informing loved ones what's going on. 0:10:58.160 --> 0:11:00.840 But like as the day went on Star, he got 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:04.040 more excited and more excited, man like, and I think 0:11:04.240 --> 0:11:10.080 I think what really got him to that point as well, Uh, 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:14.520 he finally read a text from Jannis that said, let's 0:11:14.520 --> 0:11:17.880 fucking get this championship, you know, and so that like 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:23.400 really got his juice is flowing right there, and you 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:26.760 know he's ready, He's all in now. Like when it 0:11:26.800 --> 0:11:31.440 first happened, I didn't know how long that type of 0:11:32.760 --> 0:11:34.600 feeling he had. Initially, I didn't know how long that 0:11:34.600 --> 0:11:38.200 would last. But as he started, you know, he started 0:11:38.240 --> 0:11:40.400 talking about the roster and looking at you know, I 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:43.520 was going over the roster with him at one point, 0:11:43.640 --> 0:11:49.600 and I'm like, damn, Like they got Brooke Portos. You know, 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:51.920 they didn't they didn't really gut the team. You know, 0:11:52.400 --> 0:11:55.920 it's the team is intact, and you know, I forgot 0:11:55.920 --> 0:11:59.600 they got Malik Beasley out there. You know, Milik Bezy's 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:04.240 our first our first player guests on our podcast, and 0:12:04.360 --> 0:12:07.720 so you know, he just started thinking looking at the roster. 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:10.080 I hope, I hope, I hope Dame is the first 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:16.040 player to do two interviews on this podcast. Look, I like, 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:21.199 I love this move for Milwaukee and it is definitely risky. 0:12:21.440 --> 0:12:26.839 I mean, Drew Holliday is a fantastic player who you 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:31.520 see the frenzy that his availability is now sparking with 0:12:32.000 --> 0:12:35.439 Portland fielding all kinds of interest because everybody knows the 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:39.280 Blazers want to trade Drew Holliday now, and Milwaukee doesn't 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:43.480 win a championship without him, and there's definitely going to 0:12:43.559 --> 0:12:47.000 be a hit on the perimeter defensively. But like this is, 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:50.480 you know, Yannis has been so vocal this summer with 0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:54.000 the two interviews in the New York Times and then 0:12:54.200 --> 0:12:57.200 on the forty eight Minutes podcast, and he, you know, 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:01.440 so openly kind of you know, put it to the 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:03.720 Bucks that hey, guys, I need to see something. I 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:06.199 need to see more. And they turn right around very 0:13:06.280 --> 0:13:09.680 quickly and make a trade for Damian Lillard. I mean, 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:14.360 can I sit here and guarantee that it's going to work. No, 0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:18.040 But as you said, the Bucks still have a lot 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:22.240 of defensive minded players on that team. This trade moves 0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:26.200 Chris Middleton to third Star rather than second Star, which 0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:28.679 I think helps him. But most of all, the Bucks 0:13:28.800 --> 0:13:31.240 are going to be able to no matter what happens, 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:34.599 if this goes well, If if it doesn't if somehow 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:37.839 Jannis still doesn't want to stay down the road whatever, 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:39.360 But the Bucks are gonna be able to look their 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:42.320 fans squarely in the face and say, we try to 0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:45.480 do everything to make Giannis happy. 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:50.440 Yeah, I will say this, so also take people behind 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:54.080 the scenes. Jannis called me. So when the trade went down, 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:59.480 I'm texting with Giannis and you know, we're texting back 0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:04.640 later on in the day, which was yesterday. Yesterday, he 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:09.160 gives me a gives me a call, and he was like, 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:11.560 I wish people could I wish I could play the audio. 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:21.720 But he was really distraught about losing Drew, but very 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:25.840 very excited about having Dame. So it's like that, it's 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:31.760 like the emotions, you know, he described as bittersweet, and so, uh, 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:35.720 you know, he just talked. He just talked really glowingly 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:40.400 and favorably about the person first and foremost that Drew 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:42.560 Holliday is, And he talked about the still that he 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:44.720 had in Game five in the finals that helped them 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:48.040 win their first championship, and how he's always going to 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:51.000 be indebted to him. Say, he loves Drew, Drew loves 0:14:51.040 --> 0:14:55.000 his family, He love everything he stands for and so 0:14:55.080 --> 0:14:57.840 he's really caught in a tough place there because yes, 0:14:57.880 --> 0:15:00.240 the honesty, you know, he did have words out. They're 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:07.160 kind to illustrating the need for the Bucks to continue 0:15:07.200 --> 0:15:10.200 to try to improve the roster if they want to 0:15:10.280 --> 0:15:13.640 keep him, and you know, in doing so, you know 0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:16.360 you're going to you're gonna lose, there's gonna be collateral damage, 0:15:16.400 --> 0:15:19.240 You're gonna lose key pieces. And Drew Holliday is one 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:21.520 of those guys. And you know then he then he 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:24.320 goes into Dame and saying like, you know, Dame's going 0:15:24.400 --> 0:15:27.200 to be spread the floor and you know, the pick 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:29.920 and roll game. So he you know, it was tough 0:15:29.920 --> 0:15:32.120 for you, honest too. It was very tough for honest 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:34.880 too because you know he had those public comments and 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:39.840 then this happens, and you know, you lose a great 0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:46.480 player and a greater person two to get Damian Lillard. 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:48.800 So tough, tough situation all the way around. 0:15:48.880 --> 0:15:51.600 But I have this quote here, I've got your piece open. 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:53.280 Here's here's what you quote. 0:15:54.720 --> 0:15:57.680 Hold on Stein, Oh no, no, no, no, no, Stein. 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:01.320 If you're going to read this, read this verbatim. I 0:16:01.360 --> 0:16:04.680 want you to read every single words STI every single 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:10.200 word love to get me in trouble, man, you could 0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:10.520 do it. 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:14.720 Drew is my fucking brother for life. I love his family, 0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:17.600 I love him, I appreciate him. I wish him nothing 0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:21.040 but the best. He blessed me with a fucking championship. 0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:24.600 Antetokumpo told b R he's the one who made that 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:26.960 huge steal in Game five of the finals. I went 0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:31.160 to battle with him multiple times. Fuck basketball, Fuck the media. Shit. 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:34.160 This guy is my brother for life, and it's always 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:36.440 going to be like that. He's going to thrive wherever 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:41.360 he ends up and then he continues. Now. At the 0:16:41.400 --> 0:16:43.680 same time, I'm excited to have Dame. He gives us 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:45.840 a chance to win a championship. I'm excited to play 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:47.920 with the caliber player that he is. He can score 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:49.760 the ball in his sleep and shoot the lights out. 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:52.880 It's a bittersweet day for the city of Milwaukee. You 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:55.080 get Dame, who is a great player, but you lose 0:16:55.120 --> 0:16:57.960 a great guy. Drew took us to the promised Land. 0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:00.560 I'm ten years in now, I know it's of business. 0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:02.800 At the end of the day, Drew will always be 0:17:02.880 --> 0:17:05.400 my brother for life. He's one of the best human 0:17:05.440 --> 0:17:07.719 beings I've ever been around, but we've got to focus 0:17:07.720 --> 0:17:10.280 on the goal to win a championship. Dame wants this, 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:12.560 he's hungry to win, and he's going to push us. 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:15.639 I'm very happy to have him on our team. I 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:17.600 actually want to see if you would expound. You had 0:17:17.600 --> 0:17:22.040 a tweet right after the trade about Giannis in a 0:17:22.080 --> 0:17:25.920 barbershop in Fresno, and I I know more of that story, 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:28.439 but I don't think the audience knows that story. So 0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:30.000 can you kind of tell that. 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:32.520 Stun I think no, I told that story here on 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:33.280 this podcast. 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:35.240 You don't want to retell that whole story. 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:42.480 I can, so this would this would be the off 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:45.119 you know, the off season the Bucks are eliminated and 0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:53.840 every summer, so for full transparency, Gianni's fiance is my cousin. 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:57.920 That's my blood cousin, Mariah. She's from Fresno like I am. 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:02.399 You know, they have beautiful kids. You know, those are 0:18:02.440 --> 0:18:08.199 my cousins. So every summer, Jannis takes a trip to 0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:11.679 Fresno and spends time with the family down there. And 0:18:11.920 --> 0:18:15.440 I got a phone call from one of my partners 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:19.000 who was at Phase two barbershop in Fresno. It's a 0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:22.600 popular barbershop. We have in Fresno. It's been there for years, decades, 0:18:23.160 --> 0:18:27.920 a few decades, and Yannis Yannis went there. Uh, my 0:18:28.040 --> 0:18:33.160 cousin took Giannis up in there, and my partner who 0:18:33.160 --> 0:18:36.440 told me that he was there, was just raving about 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:41.480 how Giannis was just saying like giving them like great stories, 0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:45.960 like just being free and open and transparent about how 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:49.280 he feels about what he's looking for, you know, in 0:18:49.359 --> 0:18:52.600 a team and who he wants to play play for 0:18:52.640 --> 0:18:55.840 and play with or like he was being transparent and 0:18:55.880 --> 0:18:58.480 I'm not even going to say some of the stuff 0:18:59.080 --> 0:19:02.440 that he said because it was off the record. You know, 0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:07.919 no cameras were in there, so props to uh to 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:10.119 the people that were getting haircuts with keeping keeping their 0:19:10.200 --> 0:19:13.880 phones uh in their pockets. But one thing, one thing 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:16.440 for sure. He was asked like if is there one 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:19.800 player that he would like to play with that he 0:19:19.840 --> 0:19:23.960 hasn't played with before, and without hesitation, he said, Damien Lilok. 0:19:24.720 --> 0:19:27.200 So you know that that you know? And then look, 0:19:27.920 --> 0:19:30.159 you know they they brought this up on social media. 0:19:31.160 --> 0:19:33.080 I think it was what was this past this past 0:19:33.160 --> 0:19:37.080 draft All Star? Yeah, this All Star game, Joannis made 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:41.840 Dame the number one pick over his teammates Drew Holliday. 0:19:41.960 --> 0:19:44.679 Yeah, which because I'm I can't even remember yesterday, so 0:19:44.720 --> 0:19:48.080 of course I did forget all that and now that 0:19:48.240 --> 0:19:52.359 was that was, that was, it was right there in 0:19:52.359 --> 0:19:54.560 front of us, and we we we didn't realize it. 0:19:55.600 --> 0:19:59.000 Yeah. Yeah, so this has been going on going on 0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:02.560 for a minute. But no he he he. He revealed 0:20:02.560 --> 0:20:06.520 that in a barbershop with about ten people in that shop. 0:20:06.760 --> 0:20:10.840 And so I shouldn't meddle people, I should not meddle 0:20:10.880 --> 0:20:15.200 into your writing life, but I can't resist. Someday I 0:20:15.240 --> 0:20:18.639 would love to read when I want to read Chris 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:21.560 Haynes and Joannis. I want to read a day in 0:20:21.640 --> 0:20:24.320 the I want to read a story, a day diary 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:29.159 of you guys in Fresno, because that's the thing I 0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:31.320 think people are like, why is and Fresno? 0:20:31.840 --> 0:20:35.320 I kid you not, so Stein, this was about seven 0:20:35.440 --> 0:20:38.480 years ago, I kid you, not about seven years ago. 0:20:39.880 --> 0:20:42.639 I'm covering the Portland Trailblazer at one point and then 0:20:43.080 --> 0:20:46.640 leave they're in the playoffs. The high school I went 0:20:46.680 --> 0:20:49.639 to is Edison High School, where same high school as 0:20:49.680 --> 0:20:55.320 your good pal Bruce Bowen. Yes, indeed so so Edison State. 0:20:56.920 --> 0:21:00.199 Yes that that Bruce Bowen, So, Edison High School is 0:21:00.200 --> 0:21:02.560 on the west side of Fresno, which is the roughest 0:21:03.440 --> 0:21:08.400 side of town in Fresno. So just for background, So 0:21:08.440 --> 0:21:11.880 my dad, who's not you know, he doesn't keep up 0:21:11.880 --> 0:21:14.439 with things that well with what's going on in the 0:21:14.480 --> 0:21:16.679 news and things, so a lot of times when he 0:21:16.720 --> 0:21:20.360 brings things up, I have to clarify and and tell 0:21:20.400 --> 0:21:23.560 him what's really going on. So I just know I'm 0:21:23.640 --> 0:21:26.600 covering a playoff series and my dad gives me a call. 0:21:26.880 --> 0:21:30.120 I pick up and I'm like, what's up? Dad? He said, Hey, 0:21:30.840 --> 0:21:35.200 the Greek freak is at Edison High School? And I'm like, what, Dad, 0:21:35.200 --> 0:21:38.120 what's wrong with you? Like I'm mad, and like I'm 0:21:38.200 --> 0:21:40.200 almost about to hang up on my dad because I'm 0:21:40.200 --> 0:21:42.959 like I'm busy, Like I got like, why is the 0:21:43.000 --> 0:21:46.280 Greek freak at Edison High School in Fresno? Like what 0:21:46.440 --> 0:21:48.399 is the point? What is he talking about? Like, the 0:21:48.440 --> 0:21:50.840 Greek freak is at Edison? I saw him? Like, Dad, 0:21:50.840 --> 0:21:52.600 you saw some other tall dude. You didn't see no 0:21:52.760 --> 0:21:56.560 Jannis after Coupo and Fresno at Edison High School? Stop it? 0:21:57.119 --> 0:22:01.359 So I hung up. I dismissed it and about a 0:22:01.400 --> 0:22:06.680 month later, I was was it Vegas? I don't know, 0:22:06.800 --> 0:22:11.200 but I saw Mariah. You know, Mariah used to work 0:22:11.240 --> 0:22:16.040 at Mariah used to work for the Philadelphia seventy six ers. 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:19.760 She used to work in their media relations department. And 0:22:20.920 --> 0:22:24.480 I would get a customer meeting up with her in Philadelphia, 0:22:24.520 --> 0:22:26.560 you know, saying, you know, when I get there on 0:22:26.600 --> 0:22:32.399 the road, we'll catch up or whatever. And then she 0:22:32.560 --> 0:22:36.000 never told me one thing. Last thing. That first thing 0:22:36.040 --> 0:22:39.760 I heard her dad Pat, which is my that's my 0:22:39.800 --> 0:22:44.400 first cousin, her dad. So, yeah, Mariah moved to Milwaukee. 0:22:46.200 --> 0:22:52.080 I'm like, what, her dad's the one that told me. 0:22:52.320 --> 0:22:54.840 So then they just hit I'm like, hold on, she 0:22:55.040 --> 0:22:59.959 really is. She's she's what Yanna Yes sees what Yanna's 0:23:00.119 --> 0:23:06.200 Chris like wow, just wow. So that's how that all. 0:23:06.320 --> 0:23:10.080 That's how all transpired. Man. So uh yeah, I have 0:23:10.240 --> 0:23:13.920 yet to actually, I have yet to be in Fresno 0:23:14.040 --> 0:23:16.399 the same time has been there ever since. They've been 0:23:16.400 --> 0:23:17.960 a good I have yet to be there at the 0:23:17.960 --> 0:23:18.320 scien time. 0:23:18.359 --> 0:23:21.720 The city can't handle that much stardom at once. 0:23:21.920 --> 0:23:24.359 Oh that's that's a lot. That's its bell can handle 0:23:24.400 --> 0:23:27.080 it with just me. That's that's a lot stun. 0:23:28.800 --> 0:23:32.280 So. All right, back to your story here, So, I mean, look, 0:23:32.320 --> 0:23:35.720 the first quote you run is, you know, is a 0:23:35.760 --> 0:23:39.520 headline in itself. I mean, for one, Dame wrote an 0:23:39.560 --> 0:23:43.040 incredible thank you letter to the city of Portland and 0:23:43.080 --> 0:23:46.080 to fans. You gotta you have to read the whole thing. 0:23:46.119 --> 0:23:49.600 If you haven't seen it, it's everybody. It's eight screen 0:23:49.680 --> 0:23:53.720 shots long. And uh, you know, I actually tweeted the 0:23:53.800 --> 0:23:57.560 last line because you know, it was a beautifully written line. Quote. 0:23:57.640 --> 0:24:00.200 I do believe a day will come where I put 0:24:00.240 --> 0:24:03.800 on a Blazer's uniform again, on again, and hopefully by 0:24:03.840 --> 0:24:07.480 then I'll be forgiven, Dame says, for breaking your hearts 0:24:07.600 --> 0:24:10.800 along with my own. So I mean he knows that he's, 0:24:11.480 --> 0:24:15.160 you know, disappointed a lot of Blazers fans by leaving. 0:24:15.200 --> 0:24:19.159 But I mean, look this, this quote in your story again, 0:24:19.320 --> 0:24:22.440 the first quote, this is from Dame again, first quote 0:24:22.440 --> 0:24:24.920 to you. How this summer played out behind the scenes. 0:24:24.960 --> 0:24:28.919 Definitely definitely left a sour taste in my mouth, but 0:24:29.000 --> 0:24:32.080 it doesn't change and doesn't change the amazing experiences I've 0:24:32.440 --> 0:24:35.639 had with the Trailblazers and this city. I'll always cherish, 0:24:36.160 --> 0:24:39.600 cherish this place. This is my home. I'll always live 0:24:39.640 --> 0:24:43.040 here regardless. So I mean, he's he's referring there in 0:24:43.040 --> 0:24:45.720 the beginning to just the way this all went down. 0:24:46.000 --> 0:24:50.200 Your story details over and over about how the Blazers 0:24:50.600 --> 0:24:53.400