NBA Finals Preview: Nuggets vs. Heat | WHAT'S BURNIN ft. Tracy McGrady | SHOWTIME BASKETBALL

Thank you all for being here. Wel come, What's Vernon Live from the four Seasons in Beverly Hills, but the one, the only, the Hall of Famer, mister Tracy McGrady. Welcome, sir.

It's a pleasure. We haven't done this in a while. Yeah, it's been a while.

Back again, like we never left it.

I love it.

Good to see you Showtime family. Always nice to have you in the building in Los Angeles. And it's funny you have been everywhere doing everything. You were just in China, right. I try to explain to people how crazy it is for you and some of the other players who go back in China, but I don't think I do it justice. Can you explain how the people are when you're there.

I think it's like it's like, you know, they elevate you to like rock star status. Right, you show up to the airport and there's just thousands of people waiting for you at the airport. I was just telling them outside while I was there. You know, although I've been out of the game, I think what ten years, you know, being over there in China, they just open back up. So this is my first trip and you know, first first trip in probably about four years.

Yeah.

So in my hotel, I'm in my room and when I every time I come outside of my room, like these fans are on my floor. And these these fans actually sleep in this stairwell on of my floor waiting for me every time I come out.

And this is you know, they have friends at the hotel.

I mean, you know, the words spread and it's it's just, you know, they don't mean any harm. They just you know, they are fans. They're huge fans, and they just want to see And my name over there is Mighty. So every time I come out of my.

Room, Mighty, Mighty, Mighty. We've been here for twenty four hours waiting for you. Mighty like it.

And and you know it's so uncomfortable for me, you know, having someone being obsessed with me like that.

I just you look, think you're doing okay. I'm not gonna lie.

No, I don't like it, rajol, I promise you I really don't.

And then you've got your four kids in the back here who were like, yeah, whatever, he can you got people sleeping in the stairwell to be near you and your kids learn you know when.

I take them over there, there are stars as well. Okay, nice, so they think there's somebody when they go over there take fishes and sign autographs.

I love it. And you're working on the ones Basketball League, which is one of my favorite projects. You and I talked about this in the fall, and this is a one on one basketball league, which is genius and you get the behind the seeing stories of the guys, showtimes putting together the documentary.

Yeah, so my one on one league is really just perfect timing because it's like, you know, I didn't create anything new. It's been around for quite some time in other companies. It's trying to really you know, pull this off. But I think, you know, it was just the timing for me and starting this. And then I think the way that you know, I structured my league with the rules and the statics of how I really you know,

I love it.

I love it, professor, you know.

I mean I said, you're still doing your thing out there, and you know why you're here. I'm proud of you, man, because a lot of guys will let their dream fade away and you continue to You found your lane and you're mastering that ship. I see you, I see you, and I appreciate that. So you know, keep going, bro for sure.

Very nice, very nice. Who's the best sort of guy in the NBA who you think would adapt to one on one lake?

I think we had.

There's a lot of guys in the league that you know are great one on one players, you know, and one on one basketball it's so difficult, like you gotta be wired differently. And I was telling my guys, like, you know, when I asked this question, I pose these questions to like my AAU kids. They all think, and I know Lebron is older, but you know, I tell these kids, like Lebron is the best player in the NBA, but he won't be the best one on one player, and one if the NBA had a one on one league,

Because he's thirty eight, or because.

Even in his prime. You know, I think there are guys that are have better one on one skills, right, but if we're talking nowadays, I mean I look at like Kyrie as Kyrie is definitely one of those guys. Paul George to me as a one on one type player, Dame Lillard one on one like all the small guards.

So yeah, an All Star game near you? Maybe, I don't know. I'm still going to try to get this concept to the NBA because.

They needed for what I witnessed this year, what we all witness this year.

I got to get to a little news because this is your guy, Bob Myers, who is your former agent, announced today that he is leaving the Golden State Wars.

What am I.

Giving you some news? Like like we're breaking news today? I mean, it just happened in the last hour. Really really, you know.

You're full of surprises. Wow, I'm shocked by that. Yeah.

Well, tip tip my hat to to to Bob. He had a hell of a run.

You know.

I don't think he gets a lot of credit because how great Steph and Clay and those guys been.

But he drafted them.

He drafted that and put that team together with Draymond, Steph Clay. He drafted those guys. Four championships later. I tipped my hat off. He had a hell of a run. What's next, Bob?

That's a good question, that's the question. The entire MPN is as Game two time Executive the year four titles.

Let's see, Lebron is about to retire here soon, Las Vegas wants a team, Bob Myers. Maybe he's setting himself up for Lebron being an owner in Las Vegas.

Yeah.

So, by the way, do you believe Lebron saying he wants to think about retiring?

No? Hell no, I mean no, not at all, not at all. I ain't buy it at all.

What do you think that was?

That was to take a little bit of heat off of them losing to you know, That's why I just think it was probably take a little bit of heat off of them them losing that series.

I felt like it was also just in the moment. I mean, you know, at the end of a tough Nay.

He's tired, man, That's what I was about to say. And he was tired. He's thirty eight years old. But trust me, he don't feel that way today.

Yeah, it was in a moment, all right. So he and Bob Myer's not teaming up quite just yet, not yet.

You know, Bronnie has what a year or two before he enters. He's gonna play with his son, I feel, but that'll be one year and then lebron will be an owner, like yeah, right off in the sunset.

Yeah yeah, but you remember near the end of your career, those there's days you just don't feel like doing it anymore.

Listen, you know mine was different that you know, at least he could ride off on his own.

For me, it was just health. It was health.

But in the end it might be health for him too, I mean, and more injuries in this year than he's ever had.

Eventually twenty years, there's gotta be something something hurt on.

This man body.

Because it goes a long way.

We'll have to see if he ends up in year eleven, twenty years.

He's now starting to feel.

Now, I starting to feel it, you know, man, it's blessed there you go. Did you watch the Celtics heat game? I did? I did, all right, So give me your just overall impression.

I'm I'm faoroughly impressed what Miami has been able to do, you know, having to play in the playing game, when that first series, and to make it to the Eastern Conference finals when Tyler herro Is, one of their main scores, is out. I think what sposure in the Miami he did was incredible. And I was just acting these guys who they think, and they was like Miami, And I'm saying to myself, there is no way, hell Miami is

It really just takes me.

To the way they draft or the way they select their talent right. And I don't know how many undrafted players.

They have free undrafted players, and all.

These guys have major rotations right with with within their their system. I think having undrafted players, they have so much to prove, right, and they understand that. And I think, you know, with with pat Riley, with Spoe, with the message that they send to these guys, and they're understanding of receiving that message and going out and just giving everything they possibly can for the organization because they gave them an opportunity. You can't find that. Whereas you draft

Did you have the play on a team or against a team that had that strength of will that was just so sort of like that wall or shit.

San Antonio have that every year. Yeah, every single year.

Right, they bring in those type of guys, whether they're guys from overseas where they're undrafted, second round guys. They it's just a well alle machine, right.

Yeah, Well now they're bringing in a pretty big name from overseas, Victor Weapon.

Yes, they are.

You played for Pop? What do you think of I was out there, you played Pop. You're on the bench that he was on TI Mac doesn't like to talk about the fact that he was on a team that went to the finals.

Listen, you know how I am.

I'm a competitor, right, So if I show up to a team that's you know, destined to win a championship and I had no contribution to that, like it, I don't feel a part of that.

Well, I will maintain you're selling yourself short there. But you were around the organization and the team and the fact that this highly highly touted I mean really the most highly touted prospect since Lebron James is going to San Antonio and Pop. What do you think of that? In the sort of education he's going to get there. Tim Donkans already said he's gonna be around.

First of all, let's talk about this like this is what nobody talk about. And I've seen this shit like during the season, right, I said to my friends back home. I was like, do y'all see what San Antonio Spurs are doing? Like it was so quiet, it was so quiet, and it was clear of what.

They were doing.

Quiet tanking.

Yeah, quiet tanking.

No one and no one said anything about them taking when teams are tinking.

You hear it?

And where at all the sports show, right, no one said anything about this, and you know, rewarding him with the the number one pick. I think this kid is going to be very very good in the league. Being seven ones like a combination with Kyrie handles, with Kevin Durant type shooting nobility. He has to get stronger, right, I do think that, And I think I hope he's healthy because I've seen it before. Pauzingis was like this, right,

Well, look those San Antonio teams you're talking about, with that strength of will, that believe a bunch of guys who maybe you had to be a little bit more scrappy. They still had Tim Duncan or they still had David Robinson. This Heat team does not have some like elite number one overall pick. They've got Jimmy Butler, They've got Kyle Lowry, They've got scrappers. Scrappers, Yes, guys.

See, they have scrappers. They have mentally tough guys. They have guys that master their roles. They have guys that when one guy goes down, they fill in that void, right, And the number one thing that I see from them is they when a guy goes down, they could fill that void, but they don't have a problem when that guy comes back and they go back to their original role. You know how tough that is. That you get the opportunity to get a bigger role and you know you

And Tyler Hero may come back for a Game three as the target. They're saying, so they might situation you were talking about might happen exactly well, and.

I'm sure he's a smart guy, so I'm sure he's not gonna be throwing in the fire like that. You know, these guys are rolling right now, So he's going to be the one that has to sacrifice.

To adjust for sure. Before we leave the game they just played though, Look it was the begining in the game, Boston was coming on strong. Jason Tatum gets hurt right at the start, turns his ankle. How big a factor do you think that is? And what happened or do you think the heat We're gonna win that game no matter what the way Boston was playing.

I really truly believe Boston was going to win that game. You know, with Jason Tatum going now is just a shell of himself couldn't, you know. And I think it put too much pressure showing Jayalen Brown to have to do more, and.

He fell short. Their team fell short.

It's just everything got, you know, thrown out a whack when he twisted at ankle. He really couldn't do much, wasn't explosive, couldn't create for his teammates. It was just one of them things. But the mental toughness, though, I go back to this all the time, the mental toughness that Miami showed. Do you know how demoralizing it is when you lose the way they lost in Game six? Like just Antonio, sir, I've seen it. I felt it. I went into Game seven like, man, no where in

Just felt the yellow ropes in Miami right.

Yes, this was after that ray Ellen shot and just being around the guys. Yeah, you felt confident that they were gonna come out and play and compete.

But I was like, nah, that we're done. There's no way we're gonna win that.

And but Miami last night, I felt the same way I'm telling my guys like, this is going to be a blowout. There's no way they're going to be able to get up for this this cover and man, the mental toughness and the leadership that they displayed last night was incredible.

I'll blowout.

Well, look, Boston helped them out by jacking up threes what half a second into the shot clock half the time. I'm exaggerating, but only by a little bit. The Celtics were nine of forty two for the game on threes over twelve.

They started the game. Oh yeah, over twelve.

That's that's almost like who did that a few years ago into Western Coast side?

Was it the Rockets? Whatever? Yeah? Over twenty s yes, how the hell you go over twenty seven? Oh for twenty so you can hit one of them, just one over twenty seven.

At what point you, as a coach, hey, guys, stop shooting threes. Let's just get to basket, Let's get to foul line, mirror.

Stop shoot.

So that's my question, isn't on the players or the coach at that point?

This both?

Yeah?

I think it's both.

You know, you got a young coach, you know he's in over his head. This is you know, we're this is Boston we're talking about, right, they hang up banners. So this is a lot of pressure on a young coach. And then you got these guys that have been here before. You can't It's just it was a tough situation for him to be in. But yeah, that was that was a bad, bad outing body. I'm just shooting all those threes and not getting to the basket. But you thought they would learn their lessons from last year.

Just keep going and you can get closer to the basket. You don't have to be from all the way out there. They let you go in. They let you go in the pane. It's exciting.

But you know, I think what exciting Miami Miami was.

You know, Miami did a hell of a job of implementing the zone. Yes, that was throwing them off.

And they still you know, they surprise.

Miami has been playing zone the entire series and also the entire playoffs and also throughout the season.

They didn't figure it out.

It's not that figure out to know that that's going to happen. That's not to take anything away from Miami. And by the way, I think Joe Missoula will be the coach of the Boston Celtics next year. That is just my opinion. We obviously will have to wait and see. I don't see Brad Stevens wanting that team to have its fourth coach in four years. And also, he knew what he was getting when he picked him. He picked him,

See it as Boston.

You know, they if they're not hanging up any banners, everybody needs to be fired. If they want to trade Jalen Brown, they want to do all this stuff, They're crazy. There is no way I'm getting rid of Jaylen Brown.

Okay, So this is my question, right, Brown and Tatum both Look this duo has made the conference finals four times. They were a head by a game in the NBA Finals last year. They both made all NBA. They're both due supermax extensions. Total will be six hundred million dollars over the next couple of seasons. That you will start paying those guys. Jalen Brown is up first. I know anytime you say current money to a former player, it's just painful. I know, between the two.

Of them, between two players.

Between the two of them, Yes, two hundred and eighty five point six million dollars is the max extension that Jalen Brown can sign this summer.

How many years? Five years?

Five years? And this is a man who by the way, and by the way, I'm gonna tell you that I think that the Celtics should do this. But I'm also going to point out that he had eight turnovers and shot eight for twenty three in Game seven. He has had a rough turnover playoffs in general, fifty eight turnovers

Right?

Hell? Yeah, you keep that, You keep that? This what twenty five and twenty six year olds? How would you get rid of that? I don't understand.

Why would you get rid of two guys that have, you know, played for NBA championship, right, went to four Eastern Conference finals. Yeah, come on, at some point, these guys are gonna raise a banner, you know what I mean. Lebron is on his way out, Steph is getting older like the KD, and those guys are getting older. These guys are twenty five and twenty six years old. You're not gonna find a better duo than these two.

I mean, I can look around the league and say I like Kevin Duranton dem Booker, I can they're older.

KD is thirty five, Yeah, they're older. Jimmy Butler is how old?

Yeah?

Right?

And Jimmy Butler's played for a finals, He's been to East Eastern Compass finals. Now he's playing for another championship at what thirty two thirty three years old?

And plus he had Tibodou years on him those right.

Right, So no, you don't know, you ride this out, ride it out.

They're gonna hang banners.

So you think that the Celtics will end up.

I think they need to improve around them, But no, you keep that core.

You can't forget too. Malcolm Brogden was the sixth Man of the Year and he was injured, so you know that was a big factor. In the series as well, and certainly in that Game seven you could see he just didn't have it right at the game last night.

So I think they need better interior play. But those two Marcus smart rodnin No way, I'm getting rid of that.

All right. And look, they can sign him to the deal and they have a year with him, and then after that he becomes trade eligible. So if you really, if it doesn't work out, somebody will want to make a deal for him. But I would sign him.

Check.

You know, shit, there was only two teams playing in the Eastern Conference.

Why would you break that up? I don't understand that.

Yeah, yeah, Look, now we're going to move on to the NBA Finals. Nuggets hosting the heat first finals ever for Denver, which is kind of hard to believe really when you think about all the different times they've around.

You know, y'all suck. They had to go through the Lakers made at the time, I know.

But look, they've got the They've been the most steady team this postseason, no question, They've got the toughest player to solve. And by the way, people, I mean, it's it's not the most celebrated beef in the NBA, but there's some sneaky beef there, right, Let's see twenty twenty one was the member Joka took the shot on Markis Morris, and then the entire right, the entire Heat team is basically in the hallway waiting outside the Neckers locker room.

But I honestly didn't see this from either team.

I mean, I really think they were not the favorites on either side.

Really didn't. I honestly didn't see Denver getting past the Lakers.

And here's why. Here's why I knew they were the better team, right. I just didn't think. I thought that Lebron and that Lakers mistique was gonna overcome anything that Denver had.

I really thought that. I thought it was gonna be so tough.

For them, But you know they shut that down. Jokic. Let me tell y'all something. This dude is so fucking good man, straight up, Like, I haven't seen anything like him. Where he passes, you got a seven foot seven to one center bringing up the ball, initiating the offense.

Everything goes through him and pass.

It is amazing, the passes that he makes from one side of the courts the other, on time and on target, the bounce passes in between defenses. You can't guard him on the post because he's too big. He can't jump over a dollar bill. He rebounds. He is amazing.

He like, if there is one purpose, one guy I would want to I would love to play. He's a problem. I mean he's a problem.

Like he he's like Jason Kidd as a point guard, Like those guys don't have to score to affect the game.

But he also scored.

But he can score.

He shoots a three.

What can he do? He can't jump up, he can't jump. He can't jump. And like you see how big he is.

There's no muscle definition on him, and he's just wearing you down.

And he's strong. And I love him. I love him. I don't even know what other words is. I love him as a basketball player.

I don't understand why more people aren't into watching Nicolo play because he's a beautiful game. It's exciting, it's fun to watch him play. I don't know what's gonna happen. He's super creative. Why do you think he hasn't been more popular.

He's in different so let's be honest. It's the same way.

You know Damian Lillard, like the stuff that he does night in and night out is in Portland, Like those guys played Late at Night, they're on the West coast, like you know, I'm sorry, but he's in New York somewhere, or I mean somewhere on the East coast. One of those scenes, they'll be a different story. But hey man, he's putting people on notice now right because I think he's on the version of winning his first championship and he's gonna be the m v P.

Dam damn. I feel sorry for you, bad boy.

I mean, they're gonna try to protect him, right, They're gonna throw Kevin Love out there on your kitchen.

He's gonna send Kevin into retirement, like this is Kevin Love. His as is about to be out of here. Fucking with what with yo kics telling you that kid is. He's everything I love in the basketball player.

All Right, So I'm gonna ask you about sort of who has the edge and the bigs I already know, right, gets at the edge?

Okay, hands down? All right, that's like ten to five. Yeah. I love Bam though, but he's messing. He's dealing with problem a lot. Yeah, ahead of him?

All right? What about guards, Peter Nuggets.

Jamal Murray looks like he's back at the bubbles. He has some flashes of that. I still gotta go with Denver. You know, casep has been having a great postseason as well, defensively at offensive Defensively, he's shooting the ball at three and D. Guy again, Jamal Murray is playing spectacular basketball. Not to take anything away from Vincent and Strews, but I like those two guys.

Let me ask you a question about Jamal Murray because I asked him this in the last round and he couldn't quite answer it for me. Well, yeah, because it's about when a player gets hot, a scorer gets hot? Right, what is the said? Yes, he can answer that right, run in the crowd. Oh yeah, he can answer that. You be the most qualified person on the earth to answer this actually, since you have gotten the hottest in the shortenestcount of time in NBA history, what is that?

I think it is Obviously it's a feeling, right, It's a feeling, and it not only a feeling. But it's crazy to think that we are extremely confident basketball players.

Yes, right, But.

It fluctuates within a game, okay, you know, because some days you just feel like you don't have it right. I mean you could chump up, chunk up as many shots as you can. It's just like man like.

They feel good.

But you know what you say is a make a mislake. I think in some moments though throughout the course of a game, your confidence you could be could be confident, but I think it rises when you make whether a difficult shot or you get consecutive shots, like you just don't know when it comes. It could comes making a

That's just hard from the outside to understand.

I can't explain it. It's science. I don't know what the hell out of shit. I don't know. I don't know. It's it's a feeling.

You feel it.

Yeah, it's a feeling, That's all it is. You know, it's a feeling. And you know, once we get that, we stay in that mode. Right, certain guys can stay in that mode once they get that.

I mean, we know the most famous instance of you doing that. But if you had like runs where it's been games weeks type of thing where you just feel like I'm hitting everything.

Yeah, yeah, I've been on a role for about thirty games where I just felt like you know everything that I threw up was going to go in because I was.

I was confident.

And what I don't understand about some players in the league, Like if I have a forty five fifty point game and I like it's efficient game where I play like really, well, I don't know how guys come back the next game and they have like twelve points. I'm still as confident even though it's another day. It was when I walked off that floor when I had that forty five or fifty point game, like, I'm still that com Well.

That's the difference between you who has made the Hall of Fame and guys who haven't. So there you go. Well, I know that the heat better not let Jamal feel that way because when he gets hot, he gets hot, and he is the kind of guy who carries it over from game to game. So we saw that in the earlier in the playoffs. What about the wings heater nuggets.

I think Jimmy is gonna have his work cut out for him because now you're dealing with you know, Aaron Gordon, like six 'ten extremely athletic, right strong, and that's gonna be his greatest assignment is to slow down Jimmy Butler. I think Jimmy Butler is such a cerebral player he'll be able to figure it out from.

Gaining the game.

But it's gonna be challenging, right because now you got to do a little bit more, right because these guys have better scores, they have the best player in basketball, right, they they're efficient than a Boston.

Team that you guys play. So yeah, I.

Like the matchup, but I think Jimmy will probably struggle because of the length, the size, the strength of those guys.

Jimmy got some open threes in that game seven against the Celtics that I do not anticipate him getting against Denver. I think they're gonna mump him around a lot more. But look, the Heat as a team shot more than fifty three out of the seven games from three in this seven game series, So they shot more than fifty out of eighty two games during the regular season.

You know what bothers me about today's game, And it really really bothers me when I watch these games.

Man, even going back to like last year how Boston played Steph. There is no way in hell that if I'm coming off the pick and roll. Gelani McCoy guarding the pick and roll is gonna be back. When I come off of pick and roll, he's gonna drop.

Yeah.

We're talking about the greatest shooter ever in Steph Curry, and that's how they was playing him last year.

That's how they played pick and rolls. They you come off of pick and roll and the big man has dropped like what I couldn't imagine playing in today's game.

I mean we saw that last night.

Yeah, I don't understand it. These guys are great shooters, man, bring you a big man up, like, get the ball out of some of these great players' hands. Make somebody else make a play. It bothers me when I watch some of these defenses.

Well, that's what the Lakers tried to do with Steph, right, is that the Anthony Davis actually came out and bothered him and Steph kept taking steps back. Yeah, and that's how they got past him. And that's serious.

Yeah. So I know a little something about that.

Will something, well something will something something. Zone defense has been a big part of the Heats attack here we talked about in the last series and you should know what to expect it. But Denver is actually eating up the zone the times that they've played and Sposters pulled that out.

So I don't know why Jokic. When you when you have the idea of breaking a zone is to get the ball in the middle of the court.

Right, you get the ball in the middle, it's you're going to dismantle the zone because now you got shooting and wing got shooting this wing right when you get the ball to Jokic, he's such a smart basketball player. It's going to make the right play every single time. And if they try to do that on dinner, that that's going to be a problem.

That's the thing is that I think that weapon is going to get taken away. Now. By the way, Eric Spolstra is a great coach. I think that he will figure something else out. But Michael Malon's a very good coach too.

Yes, yes, I mean, but he has joys to put him in the middle.

Right there you go, He's figured out his own.

But that's the offense.

You put Jokic in the middle free throw line, throwing the ball, your guards and everybody are slicing off, cutting.

There's a lot of movement that is simple offense. It's simple offense, but it's difficult to guard. And when you have somebody that can make unbelievable passes, you know, between defenses, the wrap around, bounce passes to the basket, like that's that's tough.

Do you think this NBA Finals is going to make more of a star out of Yoka? You said he's in Denver, that's why, people, But do you think this will do it?

Sure?

Because everything you're describing as you're saying, and I'm like, Oh, that's gonna be so fun to watch, that's gonna be so funny.

Yeah.

No, I think this will elevate his brand tremendously for sure.

He doesn't like doing stuff though. I mean, he's kind of like Tim Duncan and that he doesn't want to do commercials. He doesn't want to go make a bunch of appearances. He's got horses back on his farm and he likes to be horse racing and carriage racing. I believe, I mean, I think really, you know.

Let's let's find out who this cat is. Where's he from?

Slovenia? Sorry Serbia, Sorry, I'm I'm I'm Luka don in my head? Sorry, sa you go do.

A story on that man over there, Showtime let's go take me over there. Should I ride some horses?

Yeah, it has to be a big horse, very large horse. I want to talk NBA Top Shot. The best playoff moments from Miami Heat and Never Nuggets can be collected on NBA Top Shot right now and during the finals, fans will be able to collect history as it happens. The best moments from the Heat and Nuggets turned into limited addiction edition collectibles. Say that four times fast no

So I gotta go with Yokaz.

I think he's going to average thirty five point triple double. Yeah, I honestly think he's gonna average that.

I mean, he's got eight triple doubles in the playoffs already, and he's about to have well, I don't know how many games, fourteen, so six games? You think, ooh so mathing, it's good. You can start your NBA top chat collection today at nbatopshot dot com. Get closer than ever to the games and players you love. Get that Nikola Jokic moment. Sign up today, all right, and we have to get to on the Radar presented by DraftKings as well, the only sports book you need this postseason. So we're gonna

Yeah, yeah, I mean again, I'm going with Denver. My gut is saying, Denver, I can't you can't count behind me out. Look more, what they've they've done, you know, I mean a team that's you know, together and understands their role as well, coached and competes and mentally tough.

I mean I give them a chance to win.

I just feel Denver is the better team with the better the best player will.

Win in six games and the whole rest versus russ The Nuggets have had ten days off. The numbers are on their side if a team has had more than five days off and they start the series at home. I know that sounds like a lot of ifs, but they're eight and one in game one, and they're actually eight and one in series overall. So it's just it's interesting to look at the heat of Goune and stolen game one and every series they played to I.

Mean, would you rather as a team, would you rather have all the rest or would you rather have a couple of days off.

And you know momentum have the momentum. I want the rest.

Yeah, well you're old now, so you know the rest is good.

I should have hit it with the diner.

Some other news around the NBA, Nick Nurse gonna the Sixers next head coach. Reports are saying Embiid and Nurse met, the meeting work really well, that's gonna be a good pairing and Beads had a lot of good things to say about Nick's defenses on him in the past, but will he have James Harden on that roster as well, because there are a lot of rumors about James possibly being interested in going back to Houston, where you live. That's a great face.

Really, it doesn't make basketball sense.

That is not the question.

What was the question?

Well the question. I mean, my point is that just because it doesn't make basketball sense, it doesn't mean that he wouldn't do it. Matt Barnes says that James Harden.

So what are we saying about James? If it doesn't make basketball sense, then what are we saying?

Right, I'm gonna tell you Matt Barnes's line about James is that he really liked doing work in the community in Houston.

He does a lot of great community work, a lot of great a lot of yeah, he's he does a lot of great.

Community work, patronizing local businesses.

No, I think I don't know if Houston has a Hall of Fame, but he has multiple hall of fames.

Yes, I mean in various places.

Yes, exactly. No, I mean there's certainly been reporting and he has not addressed this directly that much, but it does it make stop it okay? Well, that he wasn't that happy with his roll in Houston.

You're trying to go back to Houston and jack up thirty threes and just average thirty again and lose. That's the question that doesn't make sense. You're on the back end of your career. Why are you going backwards? I don't understand that James Harden is going to Phoenix.

Oh you think so boom? You think so boom.

I just feel again that makes basketball sense. Right, He's on the back end of his career and I don't know what happened in Philly. If he leaves, I feel the best position for him miss Phoenix.

Him and Chris Paul is older. Toward the end of that time, Mark Chris paul.

Role will be diminished because of his only because of his age. James Harden comes in, Chris Paul can be a backup. I mean, what better backup would you want to have than Chris Paul? Right, because of his health, It just makes that makes basketball sense to me.

Phoenix is interesting. There's certainly a lot of discussion out there about them. Maybe trading down Drayden could be good for AID and could be good for everybody if they can get a little depth back right.

Disappointed in him, I feel.

Like maybe he's just not in the right place. Here's a guy who grew up in Arizona, played college ball in Arizona, with drafted number one overall, has been in Phoenix. It's a very small Sometimes you need to leave the nest.

Right, Yeah, I mean I believe change of scenery would be good for him.

Yeah.

So it's like, who do you get in replace of him? Though, That's like you got to make sure somebody is on that level.

We want some depth, right, because that's what got exposed. I mean, to me, that's the team that has a chance for the most growth.

I mean, did they get exposed or did they not just play guys on the bench, because I mean I've seen some guys on that bench that was quite talented that should have gotten some minutes. I don't know what was up with that, but and not to you know, degrade Manti's coaching by any means, so I think he's a hell of a coach. But it seemed to me like, you know, a few of those guys could have gotten some minutes and contributed to you know, didn't play the ball.

We'll be interesting to see if Monty lands anywhere. You were with him in San Antonio. Is that right? He was already gone by timate in Orlando's right.

Yeah, yeah, that's my teav world. Oh my gosh, you was there to witness it, right.

Truth words spoken. Do you think he gets another job?

Of course?

You know what I actually think from what I'm seeing this off seat, I think.

The league is going to younger guys.

Right, you look at Detroit, Detroit, Adrian Griffin, you have you got Tyler, you got our guy Chauncey and Portland. I think they're going to younger guys to be able to relate to these knuckleheads that they're coaching.

Say tis out to our generation though, so but they're young, youngl What do you think of the Jamarant situation? What should happen next there?

Well, obviously there's a suspension, you know, jaws, and people want to like go at his friends, like his friends didn't this last incident that I'm talking about his friend, He didn't do anything wrong.

He's just on live. His friend didn't have the gun.

His friend is doing what young kids do their own live you know what job, he's just all. I don't think he knew he was going to pull out a

It's just a really really.

Unfortunate situation because he's one of my favorite right like, he's one of my favorite and I just hate to see that from him.

Kind of wanted the next to pick up drum I did he still doesna.

Man if he was in New York, Oh my gods, and this happened. Man.

But you know, hopefully this is a wake up call for joh I don't want to jump on him like a lot of people because I don't know jall.

I don't know his upbringing. I don't know any of that.

I just know, you know, when you are making thirty forty million dollars as a what is he twenty three, twenty.

Four years old?

I mean, and where he comes from, Like that's a lot of pressure on a kid. You know what I'm saying, you don't know how to act. You don't properly know

Well, you're someone who came right out of high school, you were very young in the NBA, and you had a lot of people telling you how wonderful you were.

Well, I didn't care care for carrying a gun though, Like, well, I love to hunt, you know what I'm saying. I love hunting.

But I just mean, like, what is that balance? When did you sort of have to have a moment with yourself to be like, Okay, I know I've got the whole world telling me I'm the ship basically, but I need to actually still work hard.

I was about I.

I've always stayed dedicated to my craft, right always always. I Yeah, did I have fun, absolutely, but I was always aware of what I was doing. I was aware of what was around me and who I surrounded myself with. I've always been like that. Like I moved differently, and that was when I was even younger because of my environment that I came up in.

Right, Like I moved.

Different There was like the ship that I see when I was younger. You know where I came from. I grew up in Central Florida, and you know it was it was one way in, one way out work where I grew up. Drug one of the most drug infested neighborhoods in Central Florida where I grew.

Up, and and to you know, be in that.

I was schooled early by the ogs in my neighborhood or what I needed to stay away from. It was strictly baseball season. I played baseball. It's basketball season. I played basketball, football, I played football. So I stayed busy. I stayed away and just stayed busy and active. But it was around me, right, But I I knew when I became a pro what I needed to do, getting the guidance and information from other pros.

Being around our guy Kobe, Yes, right, he thought differently.

Yes, I was in front of that yet so he thought differently.

And I think that the greatest thing for me is when we took that trip to Paris, Like that that was for me moving forward in my career because I think I was like nineteen years old at the time he was twenty. Being around him from that trip, coming out here, staying with him and his family and seeing.

How he moved that completely.

Changed my whole mindset and I knew how I needed to move more forward. Like I wasn't. I'm in LA I'm eighteen, nineteen years old. I'm like, I want to go out. You know what I'm saying.

I'm in the league. I want to go party. Let's go do this. Let's go chase him.

Kobe.

No, let's go chase him.

Man, Kobe and the has you watching these Michael Jordan videos? He watching karate flicks he watched.

I'm like, man, what that?

It was?

No?

No going to the gym six o'clock in the morning to work out. He's going later on in the afternoon, He's going at night.

I was like, Okay, this is different.

But we had to tell the Paris story because you're talking about a trip to Paris was a night trip, right that the two of you were on. Was it Nike? I'm sorry, Adida, Sorry, I'm just come over here and you can.

Throw a fine see what I'm rocking.

I understand, I get it, but that's what I was gonna say. I'm looking down and the Adidas aren't there. But we're going to talk about that on a different day. This n Adida's trip. That was very silly to me, and uh, you guys were there and you, me and Kobe were talking about this. Unfortunately, but the year before he passed, but the story was amazing, and he was explaining to me how he tried to dupe you. Can you tell the people about what happened.

The roller coaster or did well that's two stories. The gym.

So he did get you on a roller coaster though, which a little ugly.

All right, all right, so I'm you know, I'm young. I think I just completed my my rookie season.

Right.

We go to Paris and we get there. Uh, it's in the summertime, so this is when we're back working out.

So we get there. I tell Kobe I'm about to go to the gym.

And work out, right, and he is looking at me like why why?

Why? For what?

We in the off season, something like, what are you going to work out for? Let's have some fun.

So I'm looking like I'm respecting him.

Because it's just Kobe. Right, He's this his second year, he's had it. He's coming off an unbelievable year, right his second year. So I'm like, okay, you know, I'm listening to my guy. So I'm like, but it's not making sense to me. So I'm like, go to my room and I'm chilling. And I had we both had our trainers with us, right, his parents was with us. I had my training, he had is. So I got to my rooms and relax a little bit. I just get antsy. I'm like, nah, I'm about to go work

He was just testing me, just tested me.

And you know, from that moment, I was like, Okay, I.

Know who I'm dealing with. Like these guys.

He liked to play games, mind games, just to see where you're at. And then we went to the gym he was working out, played one on one, and he lied about the one on one Gosh.

Lied about the one on his last his last day.

They did, they did.

He told two different stories about that, but no, that was I learned a lot from dude.

Well, John mort obviously has not had that kind of influence in his life yet, but I'm sure you know, I love.

To talk to John.

I really would, because he needs to really understand his role and how you know, important he is to the culture of basketball and so the youth out here. I mean, he has a has a huge impact on these kids because wherever I go, I mean I see kids, you know, trying to play basketball.

Like Jill wearing his shoes, wearing his shoes.

Absolutely excellent. Well, we will look forward to checking back in with you as we go here, and especially with the OBL which I'm very excited about. It's nice to be talking oop with you.

It's been fun. I like this. This is a nice little chat.

Yeah. Good, we should. We should do it more often.

Yeah, let's do this more often when you're older.

Exactly when I get older. When I get older, I've been the same age this whole time.

There you go.

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