WEBVTT - The BroadCast: 9/10/2018 - Insights on 76ers Summer Development Program 0:00:00.880 --> 0:00:03.240 If you've listened to a lot of Brett Brown over 0:00:03.240 --> 0:00:05.880 the years, and I have, it's a part of the gig, 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:09.280 a really great part of the gig. They're probably certain 0:00:09.320 --> 0:00:12.559 signature isms and phrases of his that you can buy 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:15.920 now rattle off the top of your head, things like tonight, 0:00:15.960 --> 0:00:19.120 we're gonna guard, you know, a water bug, or something 0:00:19.320 --> 0:00:21.720 such as this. We want to play with pace, we 0:00:21.760 --> 0:00:24.120 want to play with space, and we want to guard 0:00:24.280 --> 0:00:26.720 Whenever a seventy six or season comes to an end. 0:00:26.720 --> 0:00:30.120 You can also back on Brown, inevitably bringing up this 0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:33.680 next concept, the notion that the offseason ahead holds the 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:36.519 key to a player's success the following year. When I 0:00:36.560 --> 0:00:39.120 watch our guys come back to a man, you can 0:00:39.159 --> 0:00:41.440 tell in two seconds like what did you do over 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:43.760 the summer. The last couple of months since the Sixers 0:00:43.760 --> 0:00:46.040 playoff run ended with a second round loss of the 0:00:46.040 --> 0:00:50.440 Boston Celtics, it's been pretty well documented, especially on social media, 0:00:50.800 --> 0:00:53.080 just how much work members of the roster have been 0:00:53.080 --> 0:00:57.160 putting in in the gym. Ben Simmons has been primarily 0:00:57.200 --> 0:01:00.880 based out of Los Angeles to do anything during the 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:03.000 season that I wasn't comfortable doing because you know I've 0:01:03.040 --> 0:01:06.360 been working this summer. I've been working a lot one 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:08.680 certain things that I'll definitely use. The same goes from 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:11.520 Marquel Folks, Markuel. People are going to see the results 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:14.520 during the season and that's all that matters. And Joel Embiid, 0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:17.440 He's been a little bit of everyone. Like in Africa. 0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:20.320 I love being on the basketball card and I love 0:01:20.360 --> 0:01:23.840 doing this. That's my job, but also you gotta want 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:27.080 to love it. That's what I'm about. Regardless of where 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:29.880 their players have been during the summer, the Sixers are 0:01:29.920 --> 0:01:32.640 still keeping close tabs on their activities and what they're 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:35.080 up to, and on this episode of the broadcast will 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:38.399 speak with Chris Babcock, one of the team's coaches who's 0:01:38.440 --> 0:01:41.640 responsible for didn't just that as well as putting together 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:48.560 He's Sixer's offseason at development program. Hey there, and welcome 0:01:48.600 --> 0:01:52.000 back to the broadcast, Bryan Seltzer. But I got back 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:54.960 into the office last week after the Labor Day holiday. 0:01:54.960 --> 0:01:57.480 It got me thinking, I'm sure, much like many of you, 0:01:58.320 --> 0:02:01.920 that the summer for all in tens and purposes is 0:02:01.960 --> 0:02:06.600 over finished, gone by, just like that, which then got 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:10.160 me thinking more about the team and what the players 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:12.680 have been up to over the last few months, and 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:15.079 this notion that Brett Brown has talked about at the 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:18.440 end of each of his previous five seasons that the 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:22.360 summer months the offseason in his mind, that holds the 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:25.959 key to the foundation being laid for a players success 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:29.359 the following season. So I figured the timing was good 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:32.600 to try and track down our guest on this episode 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:35.440 of the podcast. His name is Chris Babcock. He has 0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:38.639 been an assistant for the Sixers since Brett Brown's first 0:02:38.800 --> 0:02:42.919 year in two thirteen two fourteen. The season before that, 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:45.720 the two of them overlapped in San Antonio on Gregg 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:51.680 Popovich's staff. Chris comes from a recognizable basketball family, has 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:55.160 a ton of experience in the sport, both playing and coaching, 0:02:55.680 --> 0:02:58.320 and one of his key responsibilities with the Sixers is 0:02:58.360 --> 0:03:03.000 helping structure the blueprint for each player's offseason regiment. And 0:03:03.080 --> 0:03:05.079 as Timey would have it, the day we recorded the 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:09.640 podcast was the same day that NBA Twitter and Instagram 0:03:09.840 --> 0:03:14.680 erupted when both Ben Simmons and Lebron James posted photos 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:17.079 of themselves sitting next to each other after a workout 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:19.560 in New York City. So it was on that note 0:03:19.919 --> 0:03:22.680 that Chris and I dove into talking about the seventy 0:03:22.720 --> 0:03:26.920 sixers player development program. There's so much work that you 0:03:26.960 --> 0:03:30.200 guys put into structuring these offseason plans for the players. 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:34.280 It can't hurt to have someone of Ben's ilk coming 0:03:34.320 --> 0:03:37.560 in still so green, but with such great potential in 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:42.200 this game to further relationship like that and absorb whatever 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:44.440 it could be for however long those two guys were 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:46.640 on the court together, you would think, oh, yeah, absolutely, 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:50.360 absolutely man. Obviously Lebron is one of the best ever 0:03:50.440 --> 0:03:54.200 to play this game. Though Brett Brand it seems like 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:55.880 I feel like and you could probably do a better 0:03:55.960 --> 0:03:58.200 job at this than I could. That there are certain 0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:03.000 isms and sayings and pray is that are just staples 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:05.560 for Brett, And it seems like at the end of 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:07.920 the year, whenever the season ends, something that he brings 0:04:08.000 --> 0:04:10.680 up in his press conferences is that the key to 0:04:10.840 --> 0:04:14.720 the entire next season is what goes on in the summertime. 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:17.880 And you're thrust with your responsibilities right in the middle 0:04:17.920 --> 0:04:19.800 of that. So why don't you give us a general 0:04:19.839 --> 0:04:22.479 oversight of what it is you do and how you 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:25.880 try to help these guys causes in the summer so 0:04:26.040 --> 0:04:29.280 our whole staff is involved in all this, and each 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:31.920 of our guys are kind of assigned certain guys during 0:04:31.960 --> 0:04:35.560 the off season, and you know, we coordinate plans with 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:39.320 them first off of like travel plans depending when our 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:43.680 season ended, travel plans, what guys have like commitments to 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:47.280 whether it's weddings, you know, so be like personal vacations 0:04:47.320 --> 0:04:51.440 and uh, we have a structured plan of what we 0:04:51.800 --> 0:04:54.560 want for them to accomplish on the court for the 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:58.159 summer and do our best to do it either with 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:01.200 them in a certain area, them coming back here year. Um. 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:05.200 And over the past few summers, I've um, you know, 0:05:05.240 --> 0:05:07.480 aside from just doing in Philadelphia, I've had some unique 0:05:08.160 --> 0:05:11.680 trips as well, um, going with players all over the 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:16.640 world and uh for instance, like this summer, uh started 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:20.800 out went with t J McConnell to his uh, his 0:05:20.800 --> 0:05:23.760 his old stomping grounds at the University of Arizona. We 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:26.800 did a few workouts there. Uh he spoke at a 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:30.640 one of Sean Miller's camps. But uh, you know, it's 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:32.880 always cool to go see where guys went to school. 0:05:33.360 --> 0:05:36.600 The two years before, Todd Wright and I went with 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:40.719 Joel to Kansas and uh, um, you know, just very 0:05:41.440 --> 0:05:44.000 it's a it's a unique experience. The you know, the 0:05:44.320 --> 0:05:47.120 guys i've are usually very very very proud of what 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:49.640 they had accomplished there and what they've done in relationships 0:05:49.640 --> 0:05:52.640 and um, you know, those two guys we saw right 0:05:52.680 --> 0:05:54.760 like the minute they step on campus, everyone's coming to 0:05:54.760 --> 0:05:57.320 say hello to them. You know, everybody teach and Joel. 0:05:57.400 --> 0:06:00.719 I mean it's obviously separate campuses, but they are just 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:04.600 beloved there. Um. So those were two of the college 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:07.720 visits that we've done in the past few years. And 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:10.240 after that, I went back and forth to the Los 0:06:10.279 --> 0:06:13.440 Angeles a few times. Some are Kel out there, saw 0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:15.719 Joel out there. I miss Ben He was actually in 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:19.800 China at the time. Um. Obviously Los Angeles not a 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:21.520 bad place to be during the summer, and there's a 0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:25.479 there's um you know, Joel and Mark Eli spent a 0:06:25.480 --> 0:06:28.360 bunch of time with Drew Hanlon out there and great guy, 0:06:28.520 --> 0:06:30.840 really good on the court. Um, you know, so we 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:33.840 go out there and visit them. Uh. One of the 0:06:33.920 --> 0:06:39.520 days I actually had to Joel like incredibly obviously good 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:42.800 guy and everybody just loves to be around he. Uh, 0:06:42.839 --> 0:06:45.880 we went to go play tennis with Steve Nash, who 0:06:46.000 --> 0:06:49.320 is in I mean it's great of a player at 0:06:49.480 --> 0:06:52.240 basketball players. He is, he is a just an incredible 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:56.880 overall athlete. Before it went to go see TJ play 0:06:56.920 --> 0:06:59.520 in the charity soccer game, and they have all a 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:02.360 bunch of pros out there, and Steve Nash literally looks 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:05.320 just exactly like an ex pro soccer player. Um. And 0:07:05.520 --> 0:07:08.000 playing tennis. I mean I'd played him before and he 0:07:08.600 --> 0:07:12.480 is he isn't just an incredible athlete, but Joel plays 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:14.560 a bunch of tennis. They went out there and played 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:17.680 some doubles, they hit around singles wise and uh it 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:20.840 was um you know. Then after that they went and 0:07:20.880 --> 0:07:25.240 grabbed some food and Joel does everything to pick everybody's brain. Uh, 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:27.600 he's just such an intelligent guy and takes a bit 0:07:27.640 --> 0:07:30.400 from everybody that he that he meets, so very good 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:35.720 obvious experience for everybody there, and um, keep building off 0:07:35.760 --> 0:07:38.520 of that. We went to Joel went to did he 0:07:38.560 --> 0:07:42.000 did the Basketball without Borders in Johannesburg. Um, I went 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:46.800 there to and visited him there. Uh, incredible experience and 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:50.760 I'd never been to Africa and Johannesburg was beautiful. I 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:54.120 wish I would have been there earlier. UM, like a 0:07:54.120 --> 0:07:55.760 lot of the guys, a lot of the players that 0:07:55.800 --> 0:07:57.840 were down there are coaches went down a few days early, 0:07:57.840 --> 0:08:01.280 did their own Safari's. Um. It was just a really 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:03.400 really cool experience that a bunch of workouts got to 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:05.880 meet a bunch of other NBA players and coaches and 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:09.920 everybody that was down there was fantastic. Um. We did 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:13.400 a habitat for humanity down there. So there's a few like, um, 0:08:13.560 --> 0:08:16.360 non basketball related things that were really cool and unique. 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:21.160 And uh, you know that Joel was they obviously I 0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:23.120 can't remembers. They called like the Africa Game and be 0:08:23.200 --> 0:08:26.400 Africa game and um, I had actually leaved that day 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:29.480 and flew from Johannesburg to Croatia then to go visit 0:08:29.560 --> 0:08:32.760 dark So you missed the behind the back dribble sequence 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:36.560 play that he had there. I did, I was. I 0:08:36.640 --> 0:08:38.560 was actually at the airport and I was just watching 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:43.120 the game on on the TV there. UM, but unfortunately 0:08:43.160 --> 0:08:45.880 did not get experienced that in person. You were off 0:08:45.920 --> 0:08:50.719 to somewhere else. Another jet setting venture for you, right yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:53.439 another long flight which uh, I don't know how I 0:08:53.480 --> 0:08:56.319 didn't really understand how long those flights are but Johannesburg 0:08:56.360 --> 0:08:58.920 flew up to a head a flight through Germany and 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:03.800 then um, Dario's from shipack and Dario apologize if I 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:06.840 said that wrong, but uh, we flew into Split, Dario 0:09:06.920 --> 0:09:09.240 picked me up, Um went down to his home. He 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:12.560 picked you up personally, yep, yeah, guy, oh he's oh, 0:09:12.559 --> 0:09:15.800 he's great and um. And actually he picked me up 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:18.040 and showed me. We went to through Split and he 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:21.440 showed me some of some of the historical sites um, 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:26.640 and went to grab like some local food there. Um. 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:28.960 And then he drove me to Shivneck, which was about 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:32.320 an hour drive and I'd never been a Croatia, so 0:09:32.360 --> 0:09:34.960 we like he could have done like the forty five 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:37.439 minute drive. We went the hour thirty minute like along 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:40.200 the coast and unbelievably beautiful. I mean, as you're flying 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:44.360 into Croatia, you can see all the islands and um, yeah, 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:47.400 next time I go there, I bringing my family there. 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:54.240 So it's a beautiful, beautiful country. Um. And then uh 0:09:54.600 --> 0:09:57.120 um Dario showed me around there. They have the draws 0:09:57.160 --> 0:10:00.240 and Petro Rich Court that's right up there. Um, you 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:02.560 know a lot of a lot of good basketball history. 0:10:02.559 --> 0:10:05.319 That's around there's aside from it being it's a beautiful 0:10:05.760 --> 0:10:09.480 kind of travel vacation place, it's uh, I'm got a 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:12.080 lot of good history basketball. And then he took me. 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:16.520 He actually he does these jogs there, um that are 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:19.080 right along the coast. Um. First of all, to see him, like, 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:20.960 you know, hit his size, he just you know, kind 0:10:21.000 --> 0:10:22.440 of just throws on his T shirt and he's going. 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:25.040 He has his little trail he went jogging. I feel 0:10:25.040 --> 0:10:27.440 like he has a very distinct gait about him too, 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:31.920 you know, I could see his running form being very distinct. Yeah, yeah, 0:10:32.040 --> 0:10:37.240 he's great. And um, you know it, uh the trail 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:39.480 went up to the top of this hill if you 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:42.679 want to call it, and overlooked. H I don't watch 0:10:42.720 --> 0:10:46.680 the show, but Game of Thrones, yeah of course, of course. 0:10:46.800 --> 0:10:48.719 Yeah whatever looks like one of the one of the 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:52.559 sites there. And it's mean, it's incredibly beautiful. And uh 0:10:52.559 --> 0:10:55.800 so we did that. His whole family had me over 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:59.560 for dinner and to like they the food they had 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:02.400 was on believable, Like they're they live right next to 0:11:02.400 --> 0:11:04.840 the sea, so everything was like freshly caught and uh 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:07.760 it was it was a very good experience. What type 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:10.400 of casine. Is it is anything like the stink to 0:11:10.679 --> 0:11:14.040 that um particular region or is it influenced by other 0:11:15.400 --> 0:11:17.480 scenes in the area. What would you compare it to. 0:11:18.240 --> 0:11:20.240 I don't have a good answer for you that we're talking, Like, 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:23.040 are the other pastas or their fish dishes? There's fish, 0:11:23.080 --> 0:11:25.920 there's pasta, there was. It was a wide variety. It 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:31.080 was incredibly good. Like it. Uh, his mom did mostly cooking, 0:11:31.120 --> 0:11:35.120 if I'm not mistaken, it was it was really good. 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:38.480 There were a lot of you know, mostly seafood is 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:42.080 what we had. It's awesome. Yeah, well there's a ton 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:45.040 to unpacked from all that. Um, two things I need 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:46.960 to ask about before I forget Based on what you 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:49.960 just said, Um, I can imagine t J. McConnell will 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:52.920 get a hero's welcome on campus at the University of Arizona, 0:11:53.000 --> 0:11:57.240 But how is Dario received at home in Croatia. I 0:11:57.280 --> 0:12:00.600 gotta think it's like rock star level. I would think 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:03.959 I could be wrong. Yeah, yeah, it's a I mean 0:12:03.960 --> 0:12:06.920 he is. Um, it's different, you know, like well, like 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:09.400 we were walking around splits, you know, people do come 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:12.840 up and ask for their picture. Um. The culture there's 0:12:12.840 --> 0:12:15.079 different though, like they're not like uh, he didn't get 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:18.600 bothered a ton. Um. I mean, ever, everybody knew who 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:20.120 he was, the kind of like I mean they said 0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:23.120 stuff and crows. I try to pick up a few 0:12:23.120 --> 0:12:27.640 words that. Um, but uh, I mean he's the I 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:30.320 mean he's he's everybody there knows who he is. I 0:12:30.360 --> 0:12:32.920 could see him being like, um, I don't know, I 0:12:32.920 --> 0:12:35.400 guess like in high school or colleges are just the 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:37.960 things that I'm thinking of. There's like use that expression 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:40.000 phrase like oh it's it's the mayor of campus or 0:12:40.000 --> 0:12:42.680 it's like I could just see him being the gregarious, 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:46.280 outgoing person that people they just know and uh, you know, 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:49.920 obviously he's the terrific athlete basketball player, but just has 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:53.520 that type of disposition that that people gravitate to. Um. 0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:56.280 The other thing I wanted to follow up on, uh, 0:12:56.480 --> 0:12:59.480 just to make sure I heard you set correctly. Steve 0:12:59.559 --> 0:13:03.520 Nash and Joel and Need were a doubles pairing. It 0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:06.800 was actually, uh, Joel and I versus Steve and his 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:11.040 wife and she's also very good. Yeah yeah, um, so 0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:14.040 it's Joel. Um, he would be a servant. You would 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:16.400 do serving volley with Joel? Right or no? Or do 0:13:16.400 --> 0:13:19.160 you keep him back. Uh, we did a lot of 0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:22.400 serving volleys. Uh. His serve was good that day. Um. 0:13:22.960 --> 0:13:26.440 When he had been playing, Um, I think maybe it 0:13:26.480 --> 0:13:28.840 was two summers ago. He got to a point he 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:30.600 was playing a lot and he was his serve was 0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:34.520 very good, topspin, slice flat. How does he h? How 0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:37.000 does he do it? Um, he's got a very good 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:39.000 for so fourhand. He's got a I mean so so 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:41.400 servey gun. It does like he has a pretty good 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:43.520 kick serve with a little spin on it. Um. And 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:45.719 obviously with his heights he's just hitting down so it 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:50.440 comes at you had a very good speed. But uh, um, Yeah, 0:13:51.000 --> 0:13:54.080 he's actually despite his size, he actually more of a 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:56.480 finesse tennis player when you play him in singles. Um, 0:13:57.160 --> 0:14:00.760 like loves to do drop shots. He's got a good touch. 0:14:01.960 --> 0:14:06.439 But it was It was a fun experience. And this 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:09.320 seems too in your role as assistant director player Development, 0:14:09.760 --> 0:14:11.680 it seems to be all encompassing. And I'm sure that 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:14.680 in season you have a lot as the team does 0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:17.680 more control over what these guys are doing or just 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:20.520 direct contact, but in the summer, clearly there's a lot 0:14:20.560 --> 0:14:23.080 of effort being made to stay in touch with these guys. 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:26.880 For as much as you can share. Going back to 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:30.320 putting together the individual programs for each of these guys, 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:33.760 I remember Brett saying after the Boston series that each 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:37.240 player the morning after. I mean, it sounds incredibly efficient. 0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:39.680 It starts, it sounds like pretty early in the morning, 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:41.480 and guys are given a folder with a couple of 0:14:41.480 --> 0:14:44.360 different documents. Can you kind of break down exactly what 0:14:44.440 --> 0:14:49.320 you guys craft and when you start planning their offseason development? Yeah, so, 0:14:50.600 --> 0:14:54.400 I mean in past years we had unfortunately been able 0:14:54.440 --> 0:14:57.600 to start playing their off season at the known date 0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:01.920 that our season was gonna end. And um, you know 0:15:02.000 --> 0:15:05.440 this year with the playoffs, Um, obviously we were hoping 0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:08.720 to go further. But um, you know, when we have 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:11.600 days in between, we were we were playing our guys 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:15.280 um offseason developments and already kind of communicating with them 0:15:15.320 --> 0:15:18.480 just a little bit just of what big stuff they 0:15:18.520 --> 0:15:22.320 had and you know, weddings and such. But um, we've 0:15:23.360 --> 0:15:26.240 we uh once, you know, I mean we didn't we 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:28.720 we didn't intend to end on that date. So um, 0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:32.000 when that happened, you know, like you know, but just 0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:34.360 like obviously the you know, not a good feeling to 0:15:34.400 --> 0:15:39.360 get it not your your season ended. UM. But uh yeah, 0:15:39.560 --> 0:15:41.560 right from there, I mean I like we had to 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:45.400 pull up the documents, get everything ready and UM, you 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:47.800 know we communicated not only with them, with our agent 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:55.040 UM and like most of the guys, uh, you know, 0:15:55.080 --> 0:15:58.240 Brett's great with like like it's not just us telling 0:15:58.280 --> 0:15:59.920 them of like, this is what you need to do. 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:04.800 It's it's a collaborative UM decision on what's what what 0:16:05.000 --> 0:16:07.720 needs to be done in the offseason. And we're talking 0:16:07.760 --> 0:16:09.760 more it's not just Uh, I would think it's probably 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:12.280 not just hey, get on a court and do this. 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:15.560 Is it more nutrition base, how holistic? What are what's 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:17.760 everything that goes into it? Yeah, so each guy will 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:21.320 get uh you know there's usually four four to five 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:27.200 very detailed on the basketball court, UM, skilled acquisitions that 0:16:27.200 --> 0:16:30.600 we'd like them to focus on. UM. Todd, Todd, Wright 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:34.400 and toador usually come up with strength and conditioning UM. 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:38.440 And they communicate uh with whoever they're also going to 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:41.080 be with throughout the rest of the summer. That like 0:16:41.120 --> 0:16:43.480 if they have to go home for you know, three weeks, 0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:45.800 they communicate with whatever guys can be working them out 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:49.440 down there. And UM. Yeah, so everybody's on the same 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:54.360 page and gets done very efficiently. Before I ask you 0:16:54.360 --> 0:16:57.320 about some specifics, Um, how did you notice the way 0:16:57.360 --> 0:16:59.880 the season ended, because you just reference that affect the 0:17:00.240 --> 0:17:04.879 mindset that guys went into this offseason with. Um, well, 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:07.639 I mean obviously it's significantly different from the past. I 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:10.800 mean we were able to you know, we don't want 0:17:10.800 --> 0:17:12.320 to ever do it again, but to be able to, 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:14.679 you know, we knew when our season was ending, and 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:16.600 then we were able to tell them what date to 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:18.679 come back. And you know it's just you knew when 0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:21.640 everything was gonna end, and you know, we get knocked 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:23.879 out of the playoffs and uh, you know, it's a 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:28.360 it's a very long season. Um. Guys have a lot 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:31.520 of obligations too. I mean like currently right now, Dario 0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:33.880 and fur Connor still with their national teams right now, 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:37.560 and you know, guys just have to Um, you know 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:40.320 that when you start playing deeper into the playoffs, there's 0:17:40.359 --> 0:17:42.280 definitely a lot more that goes into taking care of 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:46.800 your bodies. Um. You know, it's just a different plan 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:51.320 in the off season then prior. All right, I'm gonna 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:53.919 ratle off some names and as much as you are 0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:57.000 able and willing to share Uh, go ahead, So let's 0:17:57.000 --> 0:17:59.520 start with Uh, let's start with the big man, Joel Embiid. 0:17:59.600 --> 0:18:03.840 What was his offseason? Itinerary as far as he's to do. Listen, 0:18:03.960 --> 0:18:07.080 what you guys wanted to see him achieve? Um, I mean, 0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:10.040 Joel obviously is a unique player. He's uh, he's so 0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:13.239 dynamic in many certain ways, and uh, you know, one 0:18:13.280 --> 0:18:14.639 of it is just like a lot of balance in 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:18.200 the post um. He's obviously a very very very good 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:21.640 post player as it is right now. We um, he's 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:24.560 worked a ton. I worked an absolute ton and paying 0:18:24.600 --> 0:18:27.040 off right now. I mean, looks great right now. And uh, 0:18:27.800 --> 0:18:29.359 a lot of it was just as balanced in the 0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:33.280 post um. Really, he's got, you know, two moves he 0:18:33.359 --> 0:18:37.440 really focused on. Some of it was attacking closeouts as 0:18:37.480 --> 0:18:41.400 three point shot. Um. He he had a very very 0:18:41.400 --> 0:18:44.879 good summer. He was in Philadelphia for a good amount, 0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:46.440 in Los Angeles a good amount, like until he was 0:18:46.440 --> 0:18:49.359 over in Africa and he went from Johannesburg and spend 0:18:49.359 --> 0:18:52.840 time in Cameroon as well. Back at home, you're a 0:18:52.840 --> 0:18:54.960 pretty modest guy, but it seems like you you two 0:18:55.080 --> 0:18:58.920 in particular, have really developed a pretty strong relationship over 0:18:58.960 --> 0:19:02.040 the last four years. That would that be accurate to 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:05.679 say Joel's the best? He is? Uh? He is, I 0:19:05.680 --> 0:19:08.080 mean forever really gets to know him, Like he is 0:19:08.119 --> 0:19:12.840 just an unbelievably good human being. UM, funny, extremely competitive. Um, 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:16.200 I mean like anybody that's ever played him in a 0:19:16.280 --> 0:19:19.000 video game or just any sports. Um, you know, he 0:19:19.400 --> 0:19:22.119 you know, it's a it's a characteristic that you do 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:24.400 see in a lot of like the top top top 0:19:24.440 --> 0:19:28.360 athletes of any sport. There's so competitive and a lot 0:19:28.359 --> 0:19:31.399 of stuff they do. And you know, Joelson, he's also 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:35.080 just a great human being. I mean all anytime I'm 0:19:35.119 --> 0:19:38.280 out jogging around and I have my little one year 0:19:38.280 --> 0:19:40.720 old daughter, like you know, we'll stop by Joe's place. 0:19:40.920 --> 0:19:44.240 You know, he hangs out with her. She he makes 0:19:44.240 --> 0:19:47.120 her laugh and everything, and he's a great guy. Would 0:19:47.119 --> 0:19:50.000 you have expected him Joel to be at this stage? Um, 0:19:50.040 --> 0:19:53.320 as far as I'm talking, like All Star, All NBA, 0:19:53.359 --> 0:19:56.240 All Defense. Um, did you see that even from the 0:19:56.240 --> 0:20:01.920 beginning when he first came into the organization. UM, yeah, 0:20:02.440 --> 0:20:05.560 I think that's fair. Yeah, yeah, he uh, he had 0:20:05.960 --> 0:20:08.760 so much, he has so much talented. I mean, he's 0:20:08.800 --> 0:20:12.280 he's only gonna keep getting better. I mean, Um, he's 0:20:12.320 --> 0:20:16.480 extremely competitive, works hard. Um, it just checks all the 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:20.000 boxes that's gonna make it has made him a great player. 0:20:20.040 --> 0:20:23.879 And you know he's you know, he doesn't he doesn't 0:20:23.880 --> 0:20:27.439 settle either, tries to keep getting better. Um and obviously 0:20:27.520 --> 0:20:30.480 can't get better in a lot of areas. And uh yeah, 0:20:30.560 --> 0:20:33.800 so I mean I did see it. I you know, 0:20:34.200 --> 0:20:36.800 you never know how quick that's gonna happen though, And 0:20:37.640 --> 0:20:41.280 he's good, he's been great. Another guy who made an 0:20:41.280 --> 0:20:45.240 impact real quickly. Rookie of the Year, Ben Simmons. He 0:20:45.359 --> 0:20:48.560 seems like anywhere he's been on this planet, a basketball 0:20:48.560 --> 0:20:53.359 in a gym are within pretty close access for him. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Ben. 0:20:53.880 --> 0:20:56.400 Ben's great, you know, and he's got uh, he's got 0:20:56.560 --> 0:21:00.240 um you know, comes from a great family like you know, 0:21:00.280 --> 0:21:03.159 but Ben's Ben Ben Ben also you know, it's just 0:21:04.040 --> 0:21:07.879 very good at a lot of different sports. And uh, um, 0:21:07.960 --> 0:21:09.639 you know he had he's had a very good summer. 0:21:09.680 --> 0:21:11.840 I'm you know, we're we're all really excited to see 0:21:11.960 --> 0:21:15.000 this whole team next year. And he's been he's been great. Um, 0:21:15.040 --> 0:21:20.000 he's been back here too. What were Ben's points of emphasis? Um, 0:21:20.040 --> 0:21:23.119 you know, obviously he's working a bunch on his shot. Um, 0:21:23.240 --> 0:21:27.280 and he's also a you know, extremely dynamic player. He 0:21:27.280 --> 0:21:31.280 can play multiple positions. Um. You know, Um, so he 0:21:31.720 --> 0:21:33.800 worked on his shot, I know, a lot of different finishing. 0:21:34.000 --> 0:21:36.920 He put in a ton of work, like, um, a 0:21:36.920 --> 0:21:40.199 ton of work. I was very very impressed. Um. We 0:21:40.280 --> 0:21:44.200