WEBVTT - Interview with Toronto Raptors HC Nick Nurse 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:04.080 On this episode of the Heat Check. It's here, It's here. 0:00:04.160 --> 0:00:08.200 I've been teasing it for months. It is finally time 0:00:08.680 --> 0:00:13.200 to drop the one on one with Toronto Raptors head 0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:17.200 coach Nick Nurse. You're gonna hear Nick Nurse talk about 0:00:17.320 --> 0:00:22.480 everything from roster construction to Scottie Barnes to jazz music. 0:00:22.720 --> 0:00:25.320 We cover and that's I'm not talking about Danny Ainge 0:00:25.320 --> 0:00:28.120 and Rudy Gobert. I'm talking about actual jazz. We cover 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:32.280 just about everything. It's Nick ur Nurse's world and we are. 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:34.080 Just living in it. So do me a favor. 0:00:34.360 --> 0:00:48.559 It's actually not true, but just drop the peak. So 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:52.159 after the Jerry West interview, I decided I liked it 0:00:52.280 --> 0:00:54.720 narrating these and this is a very clean interview. 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:56.240 There is no audio issues. 0:00:57.080 --> 0:01:00.360 But I do think that giving additional context and what 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:03.000 we were doing, what we were thinking going into the 0:01:03.040 --> 0:01:06.520 interview in each section makes sense. So first and foremost, 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:09.240 getting an interview with Nick Nurse has taken me years, 0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:11.679 literally literally years. 0:01:11.720 --> 0:01:15.440 His book came out in twenty nineteen, I think twenty twenty. 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:17.080 And I tried to get I tried to get an 0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:21.040 interview with him in like the summer or fall of 0:01:21.080 --> 0:01:22.280 twenty twenty, and we. 0:01:22.240 --> 0:01:24.720 Got it set up. It was happening. It was on 0:01:24.840 --> 0:01:25.520 this league. 0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:28.160 He was all down to do it, and then all 0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:31.320 of a sudden, I don't know why, but the interview 0:01:31.360 --> 0:01:32.000 was canceled. 0:01:32.360 --> 0:01:34.880 There was no there was no rescheduled date. 0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:38.240 Nothing, And I've been trying to get him in, trying 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:39.640 to get him in, trying to get him in, and 0:01:39.680 --> 0:01:40.560 head coaches in this. 0:01:40.600 --> 0:01:41.679 NBA they're busy guys. 0:01:41.840 --> 0:01:45.280 They're scheming, they're trading, they're wheeling, their dealing, they're traveling. 0:01:45.520 --> 0:01:50.200 And so while I was at summer league, I remembered, Oh, yeah, 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:53.520 everybody's here. So I sent him a little texty text 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:56.040 and I said, Hey, by any chance, do you have 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:59.360 any time in the next day or two to sit 0:01:59.440 --> 0:02:02.040 down and finally do that interview. I could do it 0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:06.200 literally any time you want. And because I've been preparing 0:02:06.200 --> 0:02:09.280 for this interview, I don't know for two years, I 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:13.440 had notes written down and I even mentioned, Hey, there's 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:16.200 some things that have gone on in this league that 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:18.560 sort of correspond to some lessons that I've learned in 0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:21.320 your book that I really would like for us to discuss, 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:24.880 and he mentioned he got back to me, Hi, how 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:25.200 are you? 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:31.560 Yes? How about today? Today? Perfect? Let's do it. So 0:02:31.639 --> 0:02:32.080 we did. 0:02:33.400 --> 0:02:37.400 I think he's one of the most remarkably deep people, 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:44.919 A very introverted dude, very funny, very gentle energy, a 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:47.919 very musical. Everybody has talked about that, there's a million articles, 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:51.880 but he actually brings his piano and his guitar with 0:02:51.960 --> 0:02:54.400 him everywhere he goes on the road. He had it 0:02:54.440 --> 0:02:56.080 with them at Summer League. He mentioned that to me. 0:02:56.560 --> 0:03:00.359 So the level of commitment to take that amount of 0:03:00.400 --> 0:03:05.440 equipment with you and all those bags dope. So let's 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:09.440 start out by sort of, I guess, getting into the mindset, 0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:11.360 and I wanted to start with a conversation and a 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:14.920 question that was non basketball related, knowing that from his book, 0:03:14.960 --> 0:03:17.760 him and his mom were really, really close. His mom 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:20.560 passed away in his first year as head coach of 0:03:20.600 --> 0:03:23.480 the Toronto Raptors. Obviously we know what happened. He not 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:27.799 only won the title in that year, but also ended 0:03:27.880 --> 0:03:30.200 up writing a book about the autobiography of his life. 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:32.280 So I thought it would be a very proud moment 0:03:32.320 --> 0:03:35.640 for a mom to know all this. But his answer 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:38.800 about whether she was proud of him or whether she 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:40.640 would have been proud of him writing a book about 0:03:40.640 --> 0:03:43.920 the autobiography of his life was even better. 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:44.520 Than I expected. 0:03:45.560 --> 0:03:49.600 How proud do you think she would have been to 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:53.560 see you have your name in print as the author 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:55.200 of your life story. 0:03:56.480 --> 0:03:59.720 I don't know about that one, right, but I think 0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:02.200 that a couple of things. My mother would be proud 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:02.320 of it. 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:04.400 I mean, she loved the Raptors, watched it, you know, 0:04:04.680 --> 0:04:08.800 never missed a game, had a lot of merchandise. 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:12.600 You know, she was a really big fan, obviously. 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:17.279 So, but she also was She'd be probably more proud 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:20.320 of me that I'm still playing the piano and the 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:22.960 things that she tried to get me to do when 0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:25.400 I was a kid that I was reluctant to do 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:30.040 because I was chasing every ball bouncing that I could find, 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:33.720 and have five older brothers and played every sport known 0:04:34.000 --> 0:04:36.960 known in our area and didn't want to play the 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:39.480 piano there, but she ingrained it in me and. 0:04:39.400 --> 0:04:41.560 I've come back to it. She'd probably be most proud 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:42.760 of that, to be honest with you. 0:04:43.320 --> 0:04:46.000 The fact that you did stuff creatively or the fact 0:04:46.040 --> 0:04:48.560 that that is now integrated into your life. 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:51.359 My mother was very her side of the family is 0:04:51.480 --> 0:04:56.919 super musical. I wouldn't say artsy, but they really believed 0:04:57.000 --> 0:05:01.920 in in you know, that everybody should play an instrument. 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:04.440 That we had pianos in the house, and we had 0:05:04.520 --> 0:05:07.480 you know, like all my brothers and sisters played something right. 0:05:07.560 --> 0:05:10.560 It was in her side of the family. There's there's 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:15.279 tons of like you know, their their professors and music 0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:17.560 at university now and like things like that. 0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:19.479 So it's just it was just a thing for her 0:05:19.600 --> 0:05:20.799 that she really loved. 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:23.680 You know, She'd seen every musical that she could get 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:27.360 to when she was growing up or whenever she could 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:28.800 get to when she and she loved them. 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:30.719 That's it was just part of who she was. 0:05:30.720 --> 0:05:35.599 Was she musical herself? No, really, no, she wasn't just 0:05:35.760 --> 0:05:36.240 enjoyed it. 0:05:36.279 --> 0:05:39.480 She was a music lover to no end and really 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:41.720 wanted the kids to share that. 0:05:42.279 --> 0:05:44.720 How how did she feel about hip hop? 0:05:45.839 --> 0:05:47.880 I don't think I ever had a conversation with her 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:49.520 about that. I don't think so much. 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:52.719 My mother is an interesting story too, is she got 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:55.839 married at twenty nine, started having kids at thirty, and 0:05:55.880 --> 0:05:59.560 had nine and so she was you know pretty pretty. 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:02.840 Had me when she was forty three, so she was 0:06:02.880 --> 0:06:06.520 you know when I was coaching. We actually she passed 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:08.559 away during the first year of my head coach right 0:06:09.160 --> 0:06:11.320 and gig when we were out on the West coast 0:06:11.320 --> 0:06:15.080 and got I mean the you know, got back. I 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:17.560 did a lot of flying there. We were in we 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:19.960 just had landed or just took off for LA. My 0:06:20.000 --> 0:06:21.920 sister called me and said, you better, you know, when 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:23.600 you land you better come home. So I did and 0:06:24.240 --> 0:06:26.760 got to see my mom, and then she passed away, 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:28.680 and then I flew back to I think met the 0:06:28.720 --> 0:06:31.560 team in Golden State, and then flew right back for 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:33.520 the funeral, and then flew back to Portland. So I 0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:35.440 was doing a little flying back and forth. 0:06:35.480 --> 0:06:38.400 But I think we had ever had a conversation about 0:06:38.480 --> 0:06:40.159 hip hop, just. 0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:41.480 Never came up on the radio. 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:46.880 In next book, he also discusses how much friction the trade, 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:50.000 the Demart Rosen trade made on the team, considering that 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:53.159 Kyle Lowry and Tomorrow were best friends. Right Kyle Lowry 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:59.039 was fucking pissed, and that's well documented, and he discusses 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:02.599 how important it is to work through that friction, to 0:07:03.000 --> 0:07:06.719 handle the elephant in the room, to tackle that no 0:07:06.800 --> 0:07:11.560 matter what head on versus some things also needing to 0:07:11.640 --> 0:07:14.440 kind of let time cool them off and settle them down. 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:17.160 And given where we're at in the NBA landscape, there's 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:20.760 a lot of that going on, a lot of tiptoeing around, 0:07:20.920 --> 0:07:25.560 players getting traded without anyone knowing why, players getting coaches 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:28.200 fired without anyone knowing why. And I think that there's 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:32.640 a lot of, I would say, a lack of conflict resolution. 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:36.920 So I wanted to get his perspective. 0:07:36.320 --> 0:07:38.480 On these types of situations and what he would do, 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:43.320 given that James Harden left the Nets, given that what 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:45.960 was looming around the summer league was that Kevin Durant 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:49.600 wanted to be traded, and whether teams should allow time 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:55.000 to pass, which they did, or whether they should appease 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:57.360 these players and do whatever that is, whether that's trading 0:07:57.400 --> 0:08:00.440 them or firing a coach, what have you do? See 0:08:00.440 --> 0:08:02.840 that that's what the Nets did decide to do, and 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:05.920 Kady decided to pull his trade request off the table. 0:08:06.160 --> 0:08:08.960 Listen to what Nick thinks about these types of situations. 0:08:09.840 --> 0:08:12.160 How do you how do you make sense of that 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:13.160 type of thing? 0:08:13.320 --> 0:08:15.880 Well, first of all, it is there's a lot of 0:08:15.920 --> 0:08:19.040 things in this job that are part of the landscape 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:24.000 or come with the territory. Right, So, accepting that these 0:08:24.000 --> 0:08:26.160 things are going to happen and knowing that you're going 0:08:26.240 --> 0:08:26.880 to have to deal with. 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:28.480 Them, I think prepares you. 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:32.320 When they do happen that it's not so stressful or 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:36.200 such a worrying, lose sleep thing over. It's it's part 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:38.959 of the business and it's part of the landscape, right. 0:08:39.040 --> 0:08:40.920 So it's the first thing. 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:44.480 Second thing is I'm way more on the side. 0:08:44.160 --> 0:08:47.000 Of, you know, let's talk it out. 0:08:47.280 --> 0:08:50.400 You know what, what's the problem, and here's how you 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:52.920 see it, Here's how I see. 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:57.520 It as a kind of curator of the organization, Like 0:08:57.520 --> 0:08:58.800 like my job is. 0:08:58.760 --> 0:09:01.240 To do what's best for the organization at all times, right, 0:09:01.320 --> 0:09:04.480 so I have to give my viewpoint speaking for the 0:09:04.600 --> 0:09:06.040 entire organization. 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:06.240 A lot of the time. 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:10.320 So and and usually there is a lot of common ground, 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:12.280 there's a lot of shared ideas, there's a lot of 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:16.040 understanding that that that irons irons will sing out. I 0:09:16.040 --> 0:09:18.520 think what you mentioned of kind of taking your hands 0:09:18.520 --> 0:09:21.960 off the wheel and letting it play itself out it happens. 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:24.120 But I would probably be in the camp where I 0:09:24.120 --> 0:09:25.440 wouldn't do that as much. 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:29.720 I like to tackle as honestly and frankly as I can, 0:09:29.800 --> 0:09:31.839 whatever problems are facing us. 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:37.640 So do you think making those changes, whether that's changing 0:09:37.640 --> 0:09:41.600 coaches or allowing players to move teams, is that is 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:43.200 that addressing the elephant? 0:09:43.800 --> 0:09:45.560 Is that? What is that? 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:48.920 Like? Should should you say okay, like we're going to 0:09:49.120 --> 0:09:51.679 tackle whatever this issue is between player and coach or 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:55.360 player and player, or do we just say okay, let's 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:56.040 let them move on? 0:09:56.280 --> 0:10:00.320 Or well? I think I think like in any group 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:04.520 setting or relationship, there's always probably a point where sometimes 0:10:04.559 --> 0:10:08.920 moving on is the right answer, right. But I also 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:13.840 think that maybe going back to your question, is there 0:10:13.960 --> 0:10:17.280 is a time element that heals things sometimes right, you 0:10:17.320 --> 0:10:19.760 try to work through, try, try and get a plan, 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:23.240 try a couple point a point, B point, plan c, 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:25.440 whatever you want to call it, and see if you 0:10:25.480 --> 0:10:27.640 can't improve it, and then in the end, if it's 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:30.000 just not right, then maybe you do find a new 0:10:30.760 --> 0:10:35.439 home or solution to it. But I think that I 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:40.720 don't know, it's it's I think too that be careful 0:10:40.760 --> 0:10:43.120 how I say this, but I think that it's a 0:10:43.160 --> 0:10:50.480 lot more mediaized than the problems really are, you. 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:50.880 Know what I mean? 0:10:50.960 --> 0:10:52.560 Like, I think I think there's a lot of talk 0:10:52.600 --> 0:10:54.560 about this, that and the other thing. In the reality, 0:10:54.640 --> 0:10:56.960 the problem isn't nearly as big as everybody's making it 0:10:57.000 --> 0:10:57.760 out to be right. 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:02.360 And it's interesting because media eyes we can use that, 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:05.000 we can use that. It does feel to me that 0:11:05.080 --> 0:11:07.320 teams can be very quick to move on from a 0:11:07.320 --> 0:11:11.800 player and move them when they are asking to be moved. 0:11:12.120 --> 0:11:15.080 I think that there's no case more prominent than James Harden. 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:17.280 I don't know what happened there. I don't know what 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:21.400 the straw that broke the Harden's back was, but I 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:24.600 wanted to hear his perspective on whether time could have 0:11:24.760 --> 0:11:27.600 solved that. Considering how good this team was, it was 0:11:27.720 --> 0:11:30.440 a shoe print away from going to the finals and 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:31.400 maybe winning it all. 0:11:32.960 --> 0:11:35.200 Listen to what he has to say about it, because. 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:37.480 When I think about, like James, I think that there 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:40.360 was possibly a way a path forward for that to 0:11:40.400 --> 0:11:41.080 be repaired. 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:42.800 If there's success on. 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:45.080 The court, if you have all three of them together, 0:11:45.520 --> 0:11:50.240 especially since the mandate changed where Kai was able to play, 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:54.120 you get success. Or maybe if Katie's foot wasn't on 0:11:54.160 --> 0:11:57.760 the line, you know, maybe things the course of NBA 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:01.480 history is different, So maybe you say, you know I 0:12:01.520 --> 0:12:04.320 get you're not happy right now, but we're riding this 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:06.760 thing out because we think we're a championship caliber team 0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:09.559 and we don't want the Dominos to fall from here. 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:13.400 Well, my first comment is this is I got enough 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:15.600 to worry about with my own team, worry about what's 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:16.680 happening with other teams. 0:12:16.800 --> 0:12:17.040 Yeah. 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:20.719 I understand your point, broader point you're trying to make 0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:23.480 with the question, and I agree with you. I think, Yeah, 0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:26.439 I mean I don't have any idea of the specific 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:30.120 so what right down there? But you know I would 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:35.760 say what we just talked about sometimes letting time kind 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:37.960 of heal it and trying to work through it. 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:42.360 You know, maybe we result a different outcome for sure. 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:43.160 Yeah. 0:12:43.520 --> 0:12:46.559 Surrounding this Ktie trade request, there's a lot of boomers 0:12:46.840 --> 0:12:50.600 out here saying, fuck KD, don't trade him. 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:54.960 He's under team control. What can he do? Very old school. 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:59.280 Perspective, and they want to know pundits too. How come 0:12:59.360 --> 0:13:03.520 teams can't just say no? So I asked him, how 0:13:03.520 --> 0:13:08.800 come teams can't just say no? I think he's also 0:13:08.880 --> 0:13:11.160 what's interesting too, is he's very much on the side 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:13.880 that players aren't very effective if they're not happy. 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:14.920 I think this. 0:13:15.160 --> 0:13:21.480 I think that if someone becomes you know, disenchanted or 0:13:21.559 --> 0:13:26.720 super unhappy and miserable and they don't want to be there. 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:29.520 Yeah, and what are you going to get out of them? Right? 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:31.959 If they're just dead set that this is not working 0:13:32.040 --> 0:13:35.840 for me and I don't feel good here, I need a. 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:39.320 Change of scenery. I think that a team, we. 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:42.000 Probably don't want somebody that doesn't want to be there, right, 0:13:42.240 --> 0:13:44.559 And I think that's where it all stems from. 0:13:45.160 --> 0:13:46.760 And yeah, maybe there was. 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:50.440 Less requests like that in the good old days, or 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:52.720 maybe there was a lot more behind the scenes when 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:54.360 it was so public or whatever. 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:59.560 Right, and they probably did again what you suggest that 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:00.600 they write it out. 0:14:00.440 --> 0:14:04.280 And they get through the stormy waters and it's okay, 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:06.520 you know a little while later, you know, or they 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:07.120 just like. 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:09.040 You said as well, if they just say we aren't 0:14:09.040 --> 0:14:10.800 trading you, you know, figure it out. 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:13.560 I mean, but I don't think that's that's really the 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:14.480 culture we're in now. 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:19.080 What do you think is the ramifications of a team, 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:23.520 like outside of that player interaction, reputation around the league 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:25.960 or whatever. If it's if they say something like, I'm sorry, 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:27.800 we can't get what we want from you, you're four 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:30.040 years left or three years left, or whatever the case 0:14:30.080 --> 0:14:33.800 may be, and so you're kind of you're kind of here. 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:37.920 Well, I would say too that if you look at 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:40.920 this from a player's point of view, you know, there's 0:14:40.920 --> 0:14:43.040 always a time where the team can just trade you too. 0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:45.800 They've got you under contract, and they aren't necessarily they're 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:48.440 just boom moving you like out of nowhere. 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:50.080 Yeah, that happens a lot of time. 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:52.640 Right, So there's there's the players that see that and say, well, 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:55.760 if that's the case, then why can't X be the 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:57.240 case on our side too? 0:14:58.600 --> 0:15:00.520 I don't know what was your question again, what do 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:03.080 you think the ramifications are if somebody does. 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:06.080 Put their feet in the ground and say sorry, Well. 0:15:05.960 --> 0:15:09.320 I think I think we see some ramifications where people would, 0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:14.640 you know, not look too kindly upon that. 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:16.000 Yeah, right, I think. 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:18.720 I think agents, other players, free agents, media. 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:20.360 You know, they get they get you know, they get 0:15:20.520 --> 0:15:20.880 you know. 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:23.560 A hard time, you know, maybe from fans, maybe from media, 0:15:23.640 --> 0:15:26.120 maybe from you know, whatever. 0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:30.000 You know, Some of them do, some of them don't. 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:33.280 Maybe it's just the individual case that matters. 0:15:33.680 --> 0:15:36.840 In this era of sports, first round picks are being 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:39.680 treaded away like crazy for teams that think that they 0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:42.680 can win right now, their articles being written about whether 0:15:42.680 --> 0:15:46.520 they matter or not. There's memes being thrown out by 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:51.800 players like Lebron James like fuck them picks and first 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:55.520 round picks are being used to construct roster with stars, 0:15:56.160 --> 0:15:58.680 and I wanted to talk about that with him in 0:15:58.720 --> 0:16:01.680 the context of how you use these assets, whether those 0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:04.680 assets really are valuable enough to keep, or whether they 0:16:04.680 --> 0:16:07.040 should be used as chips. 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:08.320 For a trade. Not sense. 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:11.880 No team has been better about finding value late in 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:15.200 the draft and also traded first round picks to get 0:16:15.200 --> 0:16:17.000 a star in order to win a title. I thought 0:16:17.000 --> 0:16:19.200 this was an apropos time to ask him about that, 0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:23.200 especially considering his assistant is the head coach of a 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:25.800 team that just traded a million picks for Rudy Gobert. 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:28.200 I mean, obviously I hired to pick the better your 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:30.400 chances of finding a good player that can impact your 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:34.720 organization and be along round for a long time. But 0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:38.160 there's many, many, many cases of late first round, mid 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:41.080 first round, second round players who are some of the 0:16:41.080 --> 0:16:43.440 best players in the league. So there's that part of it. 0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:47.320 But I think you're right they are, for lack of 0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:50.600 a better term, their assets for the organization right there, 0:16:51.880 --> 0:16:53.200 and you say, well, they're not. 0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:56.960 Worth whatever, but you know what they are worth is. 0:16:59.080 --> 0:17:03.240 Probably other chips to throw in another deal, right you know, 0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:06.560 They're just assets that get included in deals. And they 0:17:06.640 --> 0:17:09.399 seem to move around in circles a lot right now, 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:13.560 right like you know, I'll saying, well, this team doesn't have. 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:15.280 Any picks, now what are they going to do? 0:17:15.359 --> 0:17:17.080 And then they trade one of their stars and now 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:18.680 they've got a whole bunch of them again m m. 0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:21.800 So it's like their assets their player right now, and 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:23.120 if they give that player. 0:17:22.960 --> 0:17:24.440 Up, they their assets become a bunch. 0:17:24.520 --> 0:17:27.000 It's like a house, right, Like you've got a house 0:17:27.040 --> 0:17:30.000 that's worth or whatever a piece of You're like, oh, well, 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:31.639 maybe I don't have a lot of cash in my 0:17:31.680 --> 0:17:33.720 bank account, but I've got all this real estate. 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:37.240 If I needed to flip it for cash, I could. 0:17:37.440 --> 0:17:39.480 The go Bear trade Rock the Summer League. 0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:42.080 So I asked Nick about it, knowing how close he 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:44.960 is with Wolve's head coach Chris Finch, I wanted to 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:47.760 get his explanation on why Minnesota pulled the trigger on 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:50.600 Rudy Gobert and how he would get used to Carl 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:55.680 Anthony Towns. Very fascinating conversation and a nice panacea the 0:17:55.720 --> 0:17:58.200 people who are saying that this trade made no sense. 0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:01.320 Clearly Nick feels Minnesota can win now and got better, 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:04.399 a lot better. And what that also shows about what 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:08.119 this team feels about Karl Anthony Towns. How how do 0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:13.960 you imagine Rudy gets used alongside of Carl Anthony Towns, 0:18:14.760 --> 0:18:18.239 especially in today's modern MBA where we're seeing you know, 0:18:18.520 --> 0:18:21.439 bigs in and bigs out and some of them getting 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:24.480 ran off the floor. And and also how does that, 0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:26.640 you know, unlock things for talents? 0:18:26.720 --> 0:18:29.160 Well, I think, first of all, answer the first part 0:18:29.160 --> 0:18:32.920 of your question. They obviously do a deal like that 0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:35.639 because they think they've got pieces. 0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:38.560 To win now. I mean more than they are winning. 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:40.399 I'm not saying like win at all now, but i 0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:44.800 mean obviously that's everybody's end goal. But they obviously feel 0:18:44.840 --> 0:18:46.879 like they've got enough pieces that they went out and 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:50.720 kind of gave up some of their future right for 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:53.800 the immediacy of the results this season. Okay, so that's 0:18:53.840 --> 0:18:55.760 first part of why they do it. That's that's what 0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:58.560 they think, right, That's what any team would do that 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:00.119 thinks they could make. 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:04.280 Could jump up, right, and how are they gonna play together? 0:19:04.280 --> 0:19:05.760 I think it's gonna be super interesting. 0:19:05.800 --> 0:19:09.320 I think, I mean, Gobert who it is, who he is, right, 0:19:09.359 --> 0:19:12.240 He's gonna rim protect and lob dunk and and do 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:13.960 what he does at a super high level. 0:19:14.480 --> 0:19:18.840 I think Towns is you know, certainly plays a lot 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:19.600 from the perimeter. 0:19:19.760 --> 0:19:23.000 Yeah right, he shoots threes, he he trails and drives 0:19:23.040 --> 0:19:26.359 it a lot. He's a playmaker out there from the outside, 0:19:26.400 --> 0:19:28.240 even though he's got the size that he has. 0:19:28.359 --> 0:19:31.040 So I think it'll work out just fine. I mean, 0:19:31.800 --> 0:19:35.480 I mean they'll have their they'll have their challenges. 0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:37.560 You know, teams will say, well we can't match up 0:19:37.560 --> 0:19:40.720 with them, Well let's just go small and quick and 0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:42.800 see if we can't just drive around, you know whatever, 0:19:42.800 --> 0:19:43.560 play faster pair. 0:19:43.640 --> 0:19:47.400 You know, they'll have some some you know ways, teams. 0:19:47.200 --> 0:19:49.919 Will have some ways to try to go against the 0:19:49.960 --> 0:19:51.280 grain of what they have. 0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:53.560 Because he just can't. Man, who's got who's got two 0:19:53.560 --> 0:19:54.280 guys that big? 0:19:54.520 --> 0:19:57.120 Not very many teams, right, And to me it kind 0:19:57.160 --> 0:20:00.680 of feels like, as I watch from the outside, Wow, 0:20:00.760 --> 0:20:05.199