Hmm, welcome back all the smoke, Las Vegas Summer League twenty twenty three, coming to you from the Blue Wires Studio. You're here at the Wynn Hotel and we got one of the homies here and we met Telu back in the late nineties when you first came from Mexico, Missouri outter La.
Yeah, welcome to the show Man T you.
I appreciate. I'm finally made it man to get you a minute. Yeah, And I wasn't big time y'all, just really had a business, A busy man.
The big time.
He's a busy big time And we got the dude was in the building.
The legend, it's part of the crime.
Man man, let's get to it.
Eleven year pro, one of the smartest players in the game, transitioned into a coach.
What's life like as a coach? What's the day to day?
I mean, obviously less to play double digit years in the league, But someone just asked me the day would you ever coach in the NBM Just like that's a whole nother monster about that monster.
I mean it's a grind.
I mean, you know, being a you know, a lower level player in the NBA you always had a grind to get to my next contract, get to the next season, get to the next year. But this is a totally different grind. Like you know, as a player, you know, you win a game, you can go out and celebrate and kick it, you know, hit a game, win or whatever. But as a coach, you're going on to the next It never stops, you know, And so it's a lot of work. You know, it's a lot of work, a
lot of pressure. You know, you have good teams and you are supposed to win a championship or you supposed to be a contender. It's a lot of work. And so when I first took the job with the Clippers, you know, Mter and Lawrence Frank was like, you know, like what do you do, Like what's your your get away.
From the game?
I said, like, when I'm in the season, I don't get away, Like I'm diving all the way in. And so it's like, you know, you got to have something, you can have a release, and so I'm trying to get better with that because I don't play golf. I don't do none of that stuff. So it's just a grind. It's it's a big difference and so I tell all guys like, if you.
Made enough money in the league, you probably don't want to coach.
But yeah, if you made a kind of money I made, then.
You want to coach for sure. But it's like it's it's all lifestyle.
It's all we know, like you know, and so giving back to the younger guys, you know, really it's really a blessing.
So you know, I enjoy it.
That's I mean, that's a good question because you don't smoke, don't drink, never have or nothing.
So it's like, how do you unwinding?
Like you know what I'm saying, It just like get away from it, because it's hard to get away from when your head coach.
I think it's tough.
I think when I first, you know, took over Stack and when I was thirty eight years old and one of the youngest coaches in the league, and count how it transpired. You know, it really was. It really wasn't a good look, you know Coach Black, you know, he was number one in the East when he got fired. We went to finals a year before and taking over midway through the season, it was tough. And so you know, Kyrie k Love Tryst and Lebron They'll have my back Jr. Shump.
But you know, moving over one seat like you don't need I think I can do it.
I want to do it, but you know I haven't had that experience, and so so I said, Man, I got come. I got a grind like it can be no days off. You know, lebron he knows everything, every play called another, teammates everything, everything we do.
So I got to be on top of my stuff, and so I just dove right into it.
I'm grinding. I'm gonna make mistakes, but lebron k love like I said, Kyrie, and it was behind me one hundred percent. So I made a lot of mistakes along the way, but it made me better and it kept me on my toes and it kept me grinding.
You're one of the most I don't know it matters, but it's always good to be like. But you're one of the most liked coaches. You've been known as a player coach to me, one of the best in game adjusting coaches in the game. What do you feel some of the more important skills to succeeding in a position such as yours are.
Thank you, man, I appreciate it. It just you're a player's coach until you tell a player no stuff about you know what I'm saying. They don't get their shots or you don't get their minutes.
You know what I'm saying.
But you know, the biggest thing is like being a player of coaches, like, you know, I understand the league and so people go, oh, man, they go out or they so what like when office people go out too, y'all go out and have wine and y'all kick it. So why can't the other guys do it? So the biggest thing about being a player coach is like y'all get in late, and man, can we move practice back from eleven to two? Yeah? Cool?
Like you know what I'm saying, Like I'm a I'm.
Are you been there?
I understand what it takes, you know what I mean. So that's one of the biggest things as far as player coach, I think as far as just coaching in general, I think just you know, doing it for the black coaches. And now I think we have sixteen or seventeen black head coaches in the NBA. Yeah, when I got there, it was only I think three, you know, And so just trying to be a vehicle between the black coaches and just the league and just trying to like, Okay,
we can do this. And so as much as I grind, I keep grinding getting better and better, They're gonna allow younger coaches and young black coaches to have a chance.
And so that's kind of like, that's my that's what I'm supposed to do.
So and for me, it's nothing against coaches who haven't played the game, But for me, it's just something special about having a guy like you on the sideline because they can players and come out of the game and you can see something that you have experienced yourself in the game that they don't see, and you can and you can coordinate that to your players and they can take that back to the game to help y'all win
the game. Right If but coaches never played the game or never been in those situations with guys, that's a plus that you have, you know what. That's why I say having you, I can see why you are one of the best in game decision making coaches because you've been in there on.
The court as well.
Yeah, I mean that helps with my adjustments because I been through it.
I played, and I've seen different situations, but you can't be afraid to do it. You know, a lot of coaches might have a lot of adjustments, but they're worried about what the media is gonna say with the guy like yeah, yeah, So like if you work on it and we do this every single day, like I don't care what the outside things like. My players know we work on this every single and this is what we do. And so you know you want to make adjustment, you
gotta be ready to do it, like right now. You can't wait till after the game all over you in the playoffs. Man, that's a big you know what I'm saying. So you got to do it now. And so I'm always trying to think three steps ahead, like when I'm watching film getting ready for the game, I want to make sure this is my first, second, third adjustment they beat me with this, I want to be prepared to do this, and so I'm always ahead of the game.
Got an opportunity to come benchside with Doc in Boston and then with the Clippers's where I had you the first time. And I've seen obviously knowing you before, but seeing your mind start to work. I never got a chance to play with you so seeing your mind work, because I don't even know if you're the second or third as system, but I would like you were a voice that we still listen to and respect it even
though you weren't the head coach. Speak to the importance that Doc has kind of had in your coaching life.
Yeah, everything, you know. In two thousand and three, when I played for him in Orlando, He's like, when you're done playing, you can come coach with me.
I'm like, I ain't an never coach, Like I'm I'm never doing this.
But like in two thousand and nine, I was done playing and I was like, what else I'm I going to do? All I know is basketball? So I gave Doctor call and he's like, I'll call you back in a day or two. And I was like, yeah, right, you know, but he called back the next day, had a job for me, him and Danny Ainge.
So I give him credit for that.
And then just you know, the first year in Boston just kind of like let me get the player out of me, like see if you like it, see if you enjoy it. And then the second year I got more responsibility doing some of the offensive stuff, and then he appointed me to KG and Rondo, the two of the craziest, craziest guys you can kind of you know, be appointed to. But it helped me as a coach because I was able to tell those guys the truth.
And I think, you know, as players, you know, you might you might cuss me out, you might be mad, but if I tell you the truth, Yeah, but if you hear the truth, like if you're real with yourself, you can you can understand that, you can respect that. And so that right there helped me and allowed me to like, if I can tell KG and Ronald the truth,
I can tell anybody the truth, you know. And so that's kind of like how I coached and Doc gave me that platform or do that, and it got me better and better and better.
And he's one of the best.
You know, ato guys, you know, you know, adjustment guys as well, which he don't get a lot of credit for, you know. And so I learned a lot from him, you know, I learned a lot from a lot of coaches I played for Bil Jackson. I learned a lot from Scott Skiles, you know, Stan Van Gundy, Jeff van Gundy, Doug Collins, And so you kind of take pieces from every coach of how you want to do it and how you don't want to do it, and everybody have
their own philosophy. So you know when people talk about, oh, I can't believe he did the coach did that, Well, if he works on that every single day in practice, how are you going to question what he did? Like, that's his philosophy, you know, and so it's not yours if you don't work on it every single day, like you can't go like on TV, oh I can't believe
he did that. That was a poor adjustment or he did Like, No, these coaches work on this every single day, you know, And so it's hard to kind of question me as a coach now saying it. It's hard to question what a guy does, especially if that's what he believes in. Right.
Yeah, I've asked former teammates of that Clipper team.
I've asked Doc this.
I felt like we have one of the most talented rosters in the NBA for a couple of years with those Clipper teams, but never materializing nothing. As a truth tailor that you are, what did you see our issues being and why did you feel like we couldn't get over the hump.
I think the biggest thing for me it was like the CP and Blake, like two great players, and you remind me a lot of like Kobe and Shaq, like two great players that really didn't get along as best they could, like and you always had a step being there like man, no, we're gonna do it like this, and they would get on board. But like they were too talented, like once you gifted, once you're a max player,
like like the like whose team is it? It's Steve Bomber's team worth Yeah, Like y'all gonna make the most money you can make, you max players, like you could get all their attention. Everybody in La loves y'all. They know who you are. So let's just come together, let's win and so. And they were young, you know, young at the time. And so I bet they look back on it right now, Blake and CP, if they look
back on it now, they're like, you know what we couldn't. Yeah, it was special, very special, two talented players, two great players.
And that was the biggest thing.
When you get two best players don't really get along and you know, take that next step together, it's kind of hard.
It had to be the problem because the supporting cast was there.
Yeah, yeah was there. Yeah, and me even like I said, CP and Blake, what they did for that franchise was huge, amazing, and so like just getting on board with each other, like you said, taking that next step, like Okay, you know what, get together, we're gonna win a championship. Because I said supporting cast was great, and then our two best players they were they were great.
You know, And so that was the biggest thing for me.
We showed flashes like yo, ain't nobody in the world that Yeah, it was crazy. Recently invested millions of dollars into your hometown Mexico, Missouri. What are you trying to build over there? What you got going on.
Was called credle to career and just giving our young kids in Mexico an outlet and the vehicle to try to better themselves. And so growing up in Mexico, it's eleven thousand people, you know, So when you play in in Arena, it's two times more people in the stands than it is in my hometown. But it's when I grew up, it was always something going on. You know,
we we're playing baseball outside, we're playing football. All we're playing basketball, and now these young kids don't get a chance to see a lot of growth, like they just you know, nobody's in the park playing basketball, nobody's doing anything. So theyn't really don't have no one to look up to except for like you know, why I get a chance to come home two or three times, you know out of the year, which is not enough. It's clearly
not enough. And so just talking to the kids and just talking to the what they call themselves, so they say they don't want to be called older, but the knowledge of Mexico Missouri, you know, the older crowd. They just talk about things that we need and things that we can do to try to help our kids. And so you know, we're putting in a tutorial program. The biggest thing in Mexico, which I didn't know is the transportation piece of it, Like kids be able to get
to and from places, you know, the transportation part. And then you know your mother they're working two or three jobs now, they can't take the kids there, they can't be there with the kids at different function. So just trying to put a lot of things in place. We're putting in the studio, were putting in the podcasts, center. We're putting in a tutorial program of computers and after school gramm and barbershop where kids can go and learn
how to cut hair. So just yeah, different, all the different trades that kids can learn to better themselves and then hopefully be had to graduate and move on and leave Mexico and you know, do better things. And so that's my that's my biggest thing. And Steve Bomber's been great, you know, Steve Bomber has been great and as far as you know, moving this charge along, like he's like, you know, I told him what my vision was and from day one he's been great and he's been on
board and he's helped me out a lot. Beautiful.
You mentioned on the Pivot you missed seven funerals in the past year, but felt like didn't feel comfortable leaving to go more because the team wasn't doing well. Obviously that speaks to the grind, But have you had time to kind of step away and spend time with family and and and kind of grieve the way you need.
Yeah, it's been great.
You know. I had a chance to go home twice in the last you know, month and a half, went home from Mother's Day then my mom came out here.
Then I went back from my fourth to July.
Weekend, which I do every year, and so just having a chance to be with my family, be around them. And I know it's tough for my grandma. You know, it was tough for her, especially getting older and you know, seeing a lot of loved ones you know, lost, and so you know, if I could do it all over again, I probably would take you know, one or two trips to be home, be with my family because, like I said, we lost some important people.
When you lose five games.
In a row, it's different in a different city.
Then let me bounce. I'm in Indiana, let me go home.
Yeah, like l a travel market travel to get to Mexicano, Missouri, you gotta fly in the Saint Louis.
Then you got to hire to have driving me.
Over some area.
Yeah.
So it's just no, it's just a lot, you know.
But like I said, losing five games in a row, like I didn't want to leave our team, Like oh, it's easy to like you know, give in, like okay, take the easy way out. And I'm like, man, you know what, I'm gonna stick it out. We're gonna ride it out and I'm.
Gonna sure you.
I'm here like here for the long haul, and our guys can respect.
That all three of your season with the Clippers, and it would and it would one up both of Kawhi, Pap one of them.
Out Hi has been dealing with that.
You know, it's been tough. You know, it's been frustrating, you know, especially as a coach. I think as as fans of the Clipper fans as an organization, because we feel like we have the potential to win a championship. We have all the pieces, all the right pieces, and we have two great stars like PJ and Kawhi, two of the best stars I have ever been around as far as Yeah, both ways, two way players, but not a headache, Like you can go to them like they're
not looking for media then are looking for attention. Like you can go to those guys and ask them to do anything and they'll do it. And it's just unfortunate because you know, everybody here the low management and they
kind of get those guys a hard time. But at the end of the day, like they don't want to play in the playoffs like those these are real significant injuries, you know, and so you know, you try to manage guys to get to that point when we get to the playoffs, we can finish the season, and it just you know, it just hasn't been that way. And so it's not a thing where they're sitting out or lower management in the playoffs, like that's that's the dumbest shit
I ever heard. You know, Just what people don't understand.
It's not Kawhi and Paul making these decisions, right, it's the staff in the medical staff.
And it's smart because when you go through the injury they've been through over the course of their career. We got to do the right thing to try to be healthy going into the playoffs. Investment, yes, our investment, you know, so you got to be smart about it, you know. But one thing I do, you know, one thing I told Kawhi and PG this summer, like we do got to poast a regular season in a different way, Like we got to be you know, forst a regular season,
like let's be serious about it. Let's not way to the playoffs or yeah, because it matters who you get matched up with. I have a home corn advantage not fighting the last ten games with the season, so we won't be in the play in so now you can get rest, you know, now you can now you can get yourself together and be ready for the playoffs.
And so they both understood that as well.
And I know that's got to be frustrating for you because Kawhi will sit out. Then you come in the playoffs and average thirty five and lock up and you're like okay, yeah, yeah, and then he has to sit because the knee starts acting up. So I just know, as a competitor and you and a fan of the game, that's hard to see.
As a head coach, Yeah, it's tough because like if it wasn't good enough, then you like, you know, it is what it is.
But I think we're good enough, you know, I think we're good enough.
And so with the coaching staff that I have, with our players, like you said, the role Players organization's done a great job of putting this together, and like, I just want to see it just one time. Just let me see it one time, and then we can go from there and then you can kind of evaluate where we're at.
I'm one, I'm a guy who I know him, but he don't know like that. But I'll die for Russ. But I love it in front of the train for some reason, Dodgs, I just you know what I'm saying. The way he played the game, the way he approach it every night, Like I just you know what I'm saying. He's somebody that I wish I could have been his teammate. Tell me your opinion of Rush and how you feel about Russ.
I love Russ, I know day one, from day one, you know.
And when you get a guy like that that plays hard every single night and gives you everything every single night. And he plays every night and he plays the same way everything, So like teams that acquiring more teams that you know what you're getting. Like, you know what I'm saying. He's a tough dude, tough minded, you know. And I mean what he did for our season, him and Plumbley and Balls and Eric Gordon, but with Rust and those guys did coming in for the last twenty games.
With this season, he saved us.
You know, PG goes down and then he went to another level, you know, And so I love him. You know what I'm saying. We got a great relationship. I can be real with him, he can be real with me, and all he wants is the truth. Like we tell him the truth and say, Luke Russ, it's what we're gonna do. This is how we're gonna use you. It could be this with that. He's good with it.
He respected, you know, and so.
Sometimes you got to save it from himself because he gets you know, he gets fired on you know what I'm saying.
But so what do you you know, if you're doing too much, I'll let you know.
But be who you are, and I got it's my job as a coach to try to make you fit into this this puzzle, you know, as far as our team. But do be who you are and then give me five ten games and I can put you in place to be successful.
And he was great man.
I loved I think you and Darvin Ham extended his career from a standpoint of I feel like and Jack talked about earlier and interview player coaches who've been there and done that, and I think that he was more susceptible. I think it started with Darvin. It might have took a little while to accept the role with the Lakers, and he accepted it and flourished. And then, like you said, when he came over, you explained what he needed, and
he accepted the roll and flourished. And to me, there's a knock on who people think he is, right, not who he necessarily is. But I really think you guys have mentally helped him grab another five years in this game.
Yeah, for sure. And the athleticism is still there, IQ, the passing like I mean, he was great man, like I said. And when he when we found out we only had like three point eight to pay him whatever, I'm like, man, there's no way we're going to get him back, like you know, but he's like, I want to win. I want to be in the city I'm from. I want to win Clippers never won before and I love what we're doing here.
And so he came back.
And so you know, a guy like they could have went out and got fifteen minutes somewhere else. You don't come back for the three point eight. I just tell you who he is, and he wants to win. So I really appreciated that.
You rather guy have that motor and pull him back to put the mode in him, because he don't.
Have it, you know what I'm saying.
He can't put him motoring. That's why I respect him so much.
No, every every day practice, not not just games, practice, like every day he goes he's going hard every single day. Like I mean, I don't where he gets the energy from fifteen years in the league, but every day Jack
no Lie practice every day. And that's what kind of helped us get over the hunk too, because when he got there, we had like six good practices where we can actually go hard and like kind of teaching the new guys what we were doing, but actually you know, learning some good habits going into the playoffs.
And man, those six practices.
He was a monster, a monster, you know, and so he allowed us to do that every single not no, no, come on, PG.
Come on, let's you know, And that made it easier on me, you know.
What I'm saying. So it was great, man.
That's what's up?
Shout out rush Man. Twenty twenty four. You're moving into a new home. You ready for that new arena? How you feeling? What does that symbolize?
It symbolized growth, symbolizes growth for the Clipper organization. And I remember when mister Bomber came in, that's what he said. I want to build arena. I want to have our fans, you know, our place, our home, and so the vision came true and he was he was serious about it
and he got it done. But it definitely symbolizes growth for the Clippers organization, I think for the Clippers fans, for the city of l A. You know, I know it's the Lakers fans, Clipper fans, and but once if we're not playing each other, you should cheer for each you should cheer for each team because it's home, you know what I mean.
Like, and so I think we're getting around with coming around to that.
Misch Obama doing a lot of great things in the community in Inglewood, putting I think he said was a one hundred million or three hundred million in the in the in the city of Inglewood, you know, so just you're developing that, you know, so that project and so just trying to be there for the people man and people of La the city of l A.
And I just think it's you know, it symbolizes his growth.
Yeah, he's super excited, he's so he's so excited. He motivated about the number of shiitters.
Yeah that arena, yeah, yeah, yeah, because his whole thing he.
Wants more toilet. So now peoples not waiting in line, you're.
Missing the game. Yeah, everybody be in their seats.
Yeah. How has it been working with him? And any funny stories because I see he he he turned up like he' on a red bull every day.
It's been great because like he taught me more about the business side, you know, and people don't get that game, well you don't get that game up and learning more about the business side, you know. I asked a lot of questions about him coming up in Microsoft and kind of how he got started. But the biggest thing I would say, man's just him and help him with this
project from Mexico, Missouri. And so I told him when he said he would come back home with me, he wanted to see like Mexico and and go forward with it. We talked about a few times during the season, and so after said I'm not gonna worry him and just ask. He caught me three times when we going to Mexico. When we're going to Mexico, picked me up on his private plane. We flew into Jefferson City, Missouri. He went down to Mexico, saw the landscape, had a vision, put
that vision, you know, on paper. Then we started working with pr I dreaming her group and then Jenny Goldstock, who's helping me on my side and so kind of put this whole group together and he donated a lot of money to the city and then we just kind of went on from there.
But he's taught me a lot man.
And then I played with so many teams. Some of the teams I don't even know the own right.
Yeah, but he's but he's genuine. It's not like he's treating you as like like it's like family and it's real. It's not like I've been around a lot of owners, a lot of different people, you know, but it's not it's not bullsh it's it's real.
We got him that first year after Sterling got fired and I only had one year, but you could feel it, like you said, it's genuine. It's not because of the name on the back of your jersey, Like he cares about you as a person, which is which is different.
So that's dope.
Uh.
Born and raised Mexico, Missouri. What was your upbringing?
Like it was tough? You know, it was tough.
You know my mom being a single parent, you know, having three kids, my sister Toy, my brother Greg, and you know, she was the neighborhood booster. You know. She would go on the road and she would you know, shoplift and she would come back and sell stuff a half price, you know, in the hood. And that's how we made our living. I was best dressing in school for six seven.
We had no money, but I'm best dressing.
Yeah. And you know my dad, you know, he was on crack, you know, for you know, majority of my life.
And so when he went to prison.
He got out when I was playing for Orlando in two thousand and two thousand and three, and we never had a great relationship, but we kind of, you know, had a relationship.
When he got out.
I said, listen, if you get back on drugs, I'm not dealing with you no more. And he's been cleaned for I think twenty three years. Really yeah, clean, no drink, no drugs. We got a great relationship, textan call every game, like yeah, so like it just it was great, you know. But like the upbringing was tough because you know, in Mexico you did wane dabbing a lot of different things. So I got into trouble, into trouble a couple of times.
I had to move to Kansas City my sophomore year in high school, live with my uncle Kevin Graves, who did a good job of just you know, giving me that father figure and teaching me, you know, discipline and understanding different things because in Mexico, you know, my mom was going out of town two weeks at a time
doing what she was doing. So I'm staying with my grandma and grandpa and they go to be at eight thirty, I'm sneaking out of the house, you know, you know, yeah, going to the Gama spots doing different stuff, you know, six seven, eighth grade. And that's kind of like you know, Mexico, Like Mexico raises you, it's not really your parents like Mexico raises the community. And so I had a lot of help from a lot of people. So I saw I don't have a problem giving back.
You mentioned you moved out to Kansas City. I went to school with Jerron and Earl. There was a lot of talent from out that way. Speak to the talent that.
Was in.
I don't Missouri.
It was a lot of talent coming through, you know, Larry Hughes and Darius Miles and Jehia White, Lauren Woods on the Saint Louis side, then Jason Tatum.
Yeah, he's a lot younger.
But then yeah, Bill, So we had a lot of Missouri talent on the Saint Louis side. Then you come to Kansas City. We had Derick Hood who was top five players in the country, Earl Watson. Then you had you know, Jeron Rush myself. So we had a lot of talent, you know coming through that through that area. Now you got Michael Porter and what's your boy from Toronto o g and anob like he's from Missouri. So we got a lot of like a lot of talent
from Missouri. But back then, like there was a grind just trying to you know, everybody had a vision of getting to this point and so you just had to put the work in. And so I'm glad I was able to, you know, be one of those people that can you know, say I made it.
Could you speak to Russia's talent.
Man, listen he him and Anthony Peeler, I would say was the best, well him, Anthony Peeler and and Larry Hughes as far as talent in high school, not as far as NBA careers, but challenged the high spital they were three best players they ever come out of Missouri, and you got a guy who's six seven, can handle push in transition to shoot three point shot, post up guard like I mean, he was like one of the
best players I've ever seen. And you know, just and then Kareem come along, then Brandon came along.
But Jiran like by far.
The NBA by far, and that's what all do. Respect to both the brothers.
And they would say that too, you know, they would say that too.
But he was by far.
He was.
He was a bad dude. I said, yeah, for.
Sure, so good. It was crazy how good he was.
Ended up going to Nebraska Big twelve school, played against Paul, played against Chauncey a lot more people. But some of your favorite memories in college good football team, school.
Yeah, yeah, good great football team, Tommy Fraser, Lawrence Fielders, rest in peace. So going to Nebraska, some of my favorite one of my favorite stories is, you know, I got recruited. I wanted to go to Georgia Tech and so because I idolized Kenny Anderson a lot growing up, and so I wanted to go to Georgia Tech. But they had Travis Best who was cold, and then they had Stephan Marlbur who was going, so they didn't even
looked my way. And so we had a game we played in the Slamming Gym and uh in l A and I got my first start, you know, in that in that tournament. And it's a coach called Jimmy Williams. He recruited me from Nebraska Danny and he was the
head coach, but Jimmy Williams in the stands. And so after the first game, I had a good game starting whatever, played good, and so Shannon Spradland, who was the coach, like, man, there's a team that want to talk to you and they're talking about they want to offer you a scholarship what else? I was excited? What great were you at this time my junior summer going into my senior year. Yeah, and so I was like, I'm excited, like thinking Kansas.
I think he said Nebraska. I was like Nebraska, Nebraska, and what He's like, No, you want to talk to you. So Jimmy R. Williams like giving credit, like he stayed on me from day one. And so after that au situation, I didn't pass the ACT test my first time, and so like all the schools like Kansas started recruiting me Arkansas, Memphis State, Missouri, and Kansas State. And so I didn't pass my test, and so all the schools stopped recruiting me.
I'm like, I'm gonna pass my test.
Whatever. So Nebraska said, listen, we'll take you to Prop forty eight. Like you don't, I said, listen, I'm gonn pass the test. If you don't, we'll take you to Prop forty eight. So they stayed the whole way. So I passed my test, and all the schools try to come back. Oh, we knew you were like no, So I.
Just stuck on thebra because they stuck with me. That's kind of a story behind it.
You mentioned briefly the football team, but talk about what those experiences like watching those corn Huskers out there do what they did.
So when I first got there, the football team and the basketball team didn't get along.
And so yeah, but if anyone converge the gap.
Yeah, So so so we came to Nebraska. They said we had the worst recruiting class ever in the history of Nebraska. So it was me myself, Alvin Mitchell was from Omaha, Nebraska. Bernard Garner, who was a junior college Player of the Year, Vincent Hamilton and Larry Florence and so we got like five six fights with the football players.
We got suspended.
We couldn't even go to study hall like they we don't wasn't allowed to go to study hall because we got kicked out of study hall, So which is good for me.
I didn't want to go to seven or nine anywhere, so that was that.
Was cool with me. But like it's like, man, y'all the worst recruiting class ever in the history of Nebraska, and so we just bumped his and then like after a while, they're like, man, these dudes are just so they so that we became close. Then Vincent Hamilton he roommate, he was roommates with tav Then Kenny Cheating was one of my closest friends, Eric Warfield. So like then we all became tight and we was all crew. And then from that point on the basketball and football team got along.
It's like, man, we didn't mess with the football I mean the basketball team because them guys are the sucker.
I'm like, man, what y'all talking about?
Jeron Boone and Eric Strickland, Mikey Moore, they never bridged that gap, and so like they took t lou bridged that gap.
They had the football teams that during that time.
No.
Nineteen ninety eight draft, taking twenty third overall to the Nuggets, traded to Los Angeles for Nick Bennex. So do you ever look back in your career and think, like, damn if I would have just went to I mean, obviously went to a great situation, but what if I would have stayed on this path?
Yeah? I do that all the time, you know, But I think God putsh the position you want you to be in, and so never looked back and never have any regrets. And so but you know, coming out of college, you know, I every twenty three points a game, and then you get drafted by Denver, like, okay, I can go there and make mistakes, get all, maybe get paid, you know, and then tim s l get you get
traded to the Lakers, and everything totally changes. And so you're in LA like you know, you're in practice, You're playing good, you scoring me and defish going at it. And I never seen the floor. I'm like, I'm playing good, I'm balling, but I couldn't get on the floor. So I had to change my mindset, how to change my mentality, and so I try to tell these young guys the same thing, like, Okay, you want to be a scorer.
You scored, but like when you come to the NBA, you gotta find a way to get on the floor. And so I was like, Okay, if it's playing defense, picking up full court, then I do. I never play defense in college, but if it's what I gotta do to get on the floor, and That's what I'm gonna do. And then Phil Jackson started trust me a little bit more. Then you get more and more leeway to do more things.
And so that's kind of like I just had that talk with Musa you know today, you know, before the game of day, talking to him like you take steps. NB is about steps, and so that was one of the steps I had to take.
I mean, one of the doc's favorite lines. Do you ever say it was be a star in your role? What you need to do running that lane?
When did you start working out with KG and Chauncey last ninety five Joey Abanazza.
Yeah, Joe Bonar.
Was Bonazar Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm proud of you trying.
Yeah, I tried.
Me and Chauncey relationship started when we were seventeen.
Playing in Slamm and Jam he played for the Oakland Soldiers, and now we played against each other and we changed numbers.
We were seventeen years old and we've been best friends since.
And then Chauncey was, you know, his top top five players in the country, so he was tight with Steph and mckag and Sham and all those guys. And so we went to college. We stayed in contact, and when we got drafted, When Chancey got drafted, were represented by Andy Miller, So Kevin Gard that had Andy Miller and Chauncey and Andy Miller. Stephan Stefan had Andy Miller. So that's kind of how we formed that bond. And then so Chncey introduced me to KG and then we all
just had that bond like you know, forever. And then we started working out with Joe, which started in Bloomington, Indiana. Then we went from there, we went to Sarahsota, Florida, and then Joe's like, how do you think about you know what you think about you know, taking the shoulder to Vegas?
You know what I'm saying, Let's try it.
And then I think two thousand and five, two thousand and six, we moved to Vegas Impact Basketball and it took off.
Rest is history still doing it.
I needed Jill practice on Friday, Got anything anything? Literally put a message on Instagram yesterday a bunch of people hitting me up.
No Joe doing right now?
Sure, best story you have from those runs? Give me quick story from those runs from Impact?
So you stack, I was saying, I'm about to tell you, I'm about to take the story. So one summer it was me, Jared Dudley, Alan Anderson, Tayshawn Prince, and Patrick O'Brien. So for the whole we never lost a series the whole summer. Right, So y'all came in, You came in with b D.
Y'all came in, and.
We never lost a series the whole summer. So we played the whole summer and now we were five middle, middle of the pack players. Now we wasn't know, like top, top of the line NBA players, and we didn't lose the whole summer. So he brought you in, bout bad, bought Matt and we still never lost.
All the big Antoine Walker, all the big dogs.
We didn't lose that summertime chemistry.
And we had rotations and and and double A that summer Double A was on fire. He was on fire, and so they would bring everybody in. So like y'all was getting mad.
Matt wanted to fight and j Jayo wanted to fight.
Patrick O'Brien. He he picking pop And if we double team and y'all double team in the summertime, it's booish like he going. So that was the funnest. That was the fun of summer.
Ever ever, I'm we're gonna forget it, Julyie.
No, Yeah, they was cooking, the cooking. They was cooking. Yeah, they was in the cooking. That's funny.
Do you think the current big players really work out like that in offseason like y'all did back then.
I think they work out, but I don't think they compete. Yeah, you know, it's a difference. It's a difference doing between doing individual workouts.
Who know and who you know. So we traveled. Man, you go to Houston and man, they bumping in Houston. We're gonna go to Houston playing at UCLA. We're gonna go to UCLA playing in Vegas.
Go to Vegas.
Like we wanted the competition, you know, So we didn't want to work out individually. All day and at all.
We really didn't work out it. We'd lift weights, maybe.
It was very little.
We shoot, yeah, shot.
We would play basket playing basketball, and that's the that's a competition. Part of the kind of games kind of lost a little bit, you know, just compete.
Well. I feel like not only a competition, but I feel like the basketball IQ with this generation is a little bit lower, but the skill levels higher skills because they're doing the individual workouts since they were younger now, so the skill level is a lot different. But they just don't bump, like they don't know how to play off the ball, high do you cut?
How do you.
Handle the game when you're not in the midst you know what I mean.
So I feel like some of it is lost because it is so much one on one individual workout.
Yeah I agree with that, but it's like I said.
A skill level levels astronomicro like these guys are doing the things they're doing now.
It's crazy, you know.
But me personally, I want to play.
I want to book.
I said, I played a little something.
I played again.
I played with so many guys in the NBA, like, and they talk about all the people who talked about I say, bro. I know some hoopers in the league that was better than these guys. They might be in the Hall of Fame, but I know I was a hooper. I know hoopers that came along this game that never get the props to just do that they deserve because they bust a lot of those Hall of famers to ask.
But you also see it in the summer because you know, you have a lot of us are role players. So in the summer, I mean in the season you're a role player, you let the leash off these motherfuckers time.
Ricky Davis is the main one. J R. Smith. Yeah, that was the funnest part, Like like playing the summertime. What because you got me as a you know, a role player. You gotta play a role every single night. So that's okay, I'm fine with that. But in the summertime, I'm going after Yeah.
And then as sinners, we're done with that. Were fighting the bitches?
Yeah yeah, I'm going to see them. Did you did you uh rock with the U s l A Run? Oh yeah, that's why I bad bad Joy bead Or.
They were still in college.
Yeah, yeah, so they were coming.
They would play and.
They ustill call t Lou. I'm not talking about best, but t he f you mean, man, you.
Know I know that.
I'm coaching now the day.
This is why.
Yeah, I'm saying, would be active on the court, and then if you wanted something to do, just hit them up.
They would find something that if y'all wanted to do something.
Hit them up.
Yeah.
But I'm just gonna put it like this. We ain't even get in that. Just know he allegends, he's agend Yes, put that to bed.
But I mean, you see l A runs with the best runs ever.
Man. But my first year of the lockout season, yeah, I walked in the gym chem Olajah want Scottie Pippen, Kobe Shack like man, I was in heaven, in heaven, and I played against my idol, Kenny Anderson.
I mean, I was in heaven, tell you bro.
And then we were dope too because we kept our little UCLA squad. That's to me, that's what got us to the pros. Because say what you want about the regular season, but those bumps against people like him and people he mentioned like, we got to see that every single day. Every day in the summertime lockout, you come into a lockout, Right, that's your first year because that was my freshman year of college.
What was that like?
I mean, obviously now you're drafted, you come in into a season lockout hits, But how do you say.
How do you do? You have money?
How you make the money stretches their money to stretch you in la you want to have fun?
Like what was that first lockout part of your first year? Like? First, first of all, the first part of taking out a line of credit, you know, trying to take out a line of credit because you not know when the lockout is going to end. And a lockout ends, now you find out, Okay, I'm making wasn't making five seventy five or something like that? Now you get half of that because the lockout here, you're only playing fifty games, so you're looking like, man, everybody's interest.
That yeah yeah, and that FI hundred yeah yeah it's three hundred.
So you know, you get drafted, so everybody about man, he's rich. He on TV, Like, no, I'm broke, you know what I'm saying. So just that was the biggest thing, like coming too the lockout, like man, not having any money. But the first thing I did with my money, I bought my mama my mama car, bought my grandma car.
And my mom never had a car.
My whole year, my whole life growing up, we never had a car, you know what I'm saying.
So I bought her escalade. You know, she was happy, and then I bought my grandma car.
Yeah, So they was doing it out there for years.
Just the biggest thing was being broken, then just having a grind man, just grind, grind, grind, and then playing fifty games and guys can playing about back to backs. We played back to back to back, played three games in a row, you know a few times that year, shocking and played it. They didn't complain like back to back to back, and so it was a grind man. But the biggest thing from that was just being broke, you know what I'm saying, Just having to grind and just trying to get through.
That year coming from Mexico, Missouri and then Nebraska.
What was that?
La just lifestyle Palm trees saying, women lifestyle. It's just a whole nother How did you how did you guys take that?
In?
Man?
Me and Dudles hit the ground with twenty one. So me and Doodles first get here and so who took us up under the wing was Eddie Jones. Eddie Jones took us up under his wing. Move Yeah, and we went out twenty seven nights in a row, Hey, Matt, twenty seven nights and Dwey Doodles twenty seven nights in a roll stack for real, and like, man, and that
right there, just that just changed who I was, you know. Yeah, never drank, never smoked, you know what I'm saying, But like the just over y eyes to a lot of different things.
Man, it was.
It was crazy. And so you know, a lot of people can't play in l a you know what I'm saying, open jays to a whole nother hold little lifestyle and it's just different, you know what I'm saying. So, but I had great vets that that kept me straight. B Shaw, Robert or Horse, Grant, Rick Fox, you know, de Fish and Shock. They took me like, no, you're not doing this. They took me under the wing and got me straight when I'm supposed to do. And that's kind of like
what I think is missing in the game today. The veteran, the vetterer gone man, because even if they're not playing, Yeah, they can't keep it present.
Yes, traveling, Yeah, taking you out twenty seventh straight night.
You don't get you don't want to do that, Bro, You trust me, you don't want to do that. You know what I'm saying. To give them that game?
Oh yeah, you know what I'm saying seven straight back in the summer. It was summertime though it wasn't during the season season. But but I've been saying, like we did Bets a missing Man, like just.
We had to teach, you know, just different things man, and so you know, the young teacher to young so hopefully we can get together. Ye.
First impression of Kobe, I think you come into him your rookie years, his third year, he's just.
Starting to kind of come into it.
A killer, a killer man, and a guy that never loses confidence. And so you know, looking at Russ, like he has that same mentality, like you think of a guy like, oh, Russ, he can't shoot, he can't man, Russ, so he missed like two or three shots in a row. And Dante Jones like, man, you can't shoot, Rus said, man I had two scoring titles.
Man I got with twenty five.
I carry about missing the shot like and that's the mentality Kobe had, like he felt.
Every night on the floor he was the best player in the world, and you know, just just being to work with him.
And so I was hurt. I got hurt my first year, my second year and Kobe broke his hand. And so they would go on team, go on the road, trips, go on the road, and we were staying grind and play one on one every single day, one on one, full court. He's playing left handed, like yeah, he was just a killer man. And every single day, like you know, he worked out of five third in the morning, first guy to be there, last got to leave. And he just wanted to be the best, like he wanted to
be the greatest of all time. And so, Larry, you would tell a story about Kobe. We played Minnesota and after the no, no, I'm sorry, I wasn't there yet. They played Minnesota and after the Minnesota game, Kobe's in the locker room and he was just sitting there just smiling, and Larry, she was like, man, what what you smiled about? He said, Man, I had this game circle on my calendar since the beginning of the season. He's like, what game?
He said, Man, we play Chicago tomorrow. Back to back.
Larry, you said, young Feller, be careful what.
You asked for, that you playing against Black Jesus, not be careful what you asked for.
He said no, but I had this date circled on my count and that's just how he thought. You know what I'm saying, twenty years old, nineteen twenty years old, that's how you're thinking.
You want to play against Michael Jordan.
You suckle Michael Jordan on your calendar.
That's just the mindset that he had.
Man, you had to kill list in high school?
Did he all the top players in our class marking them off as he's playing kill list?
Jermaine O'Neill, Richard A.
Rip Ham. So I wasn't on that, because wouldn't. That's who he was man every single day like in practice, shooting, drills, sprints, condition everything that's he wanted to win, every single thing.
And that's that's why it was a great Your second year as it second year Field comes, yeh, second year. First impressions of Field.
I mean, I don't even know how to put in the words like because really you in awe like coach Michael Jordan, somebody you grew up, idolizing and loving, and then just his presence, like when he walks into a room, like his presence is like it's like none other. Yeah, and so the things I learned from Phil, which was
the best, is he coached in practice. He coached hard in practice, but in the games, he lets you figure it out, Like he's not jumping up, cussing, going crazy, because it's hard to play as a player, especially as a role player, Like if you make a mistake, you got to look back and they cussing that coach coaches going crazy. You play on egg shells, but he lets
you figure it out. And so I respect that about Phil, just his presence and when he came in he had instant credibility and that's what Kobe and Shaq needed, Like he held those two guys accountable. I'm gonna holding my best two players accountable every single day like me, Fish and all everybody. He didn't care about it, well, he
didn't care about us every day. Film session, the first fifteen clips was Kobe and Shaq of how they got to be better every single day and ship we all had a fall on line after that, like you're gonna beat Kobe and Shaq you ain't got no problem from us.
You know, So what was the You know, obviously Field got there and kind of wrangled them the best he could, you know, for your guys' greaterst success. But what what did you see being in the locker room day to day all the shit you what did you kind of see maybe the disconnect being between those two. Was it Shaq obviously his team and he's this and then he sees this young fella coming up? Or what did you kind of see between those two?
I think both of them just wanted to be the best.
I mean I don't think you know, you know, Shaka said today like Kobe was, He's gonna be Kobe like you wasn't no holding him back, you know, the two air balls and you told her that ain't nothing like he was gonna be great. And Shock and he saw that. And I think the biggest thing they both just wanted to win at a high level. And they thought Shock thought posting the basketball every single time was gonna get it done. Kobe thought, me on the wing, I isolate,
we was gonna get it done. But they came to common grounds and understand, like listen, we put it together, we can win they did it. They did it, you know, and I was there and b Shaw and like I said, b Shaw and Robert Orry had a big, a big role on that, you know, just bringing those two together, but just being able to do it together. After we won that first championship and it was over, they was like, it was like this, you know, you see Kobe run
jumping Shack's arms, grand like, and it was over. Once they won.
It seemed like the blueprint of how we could win. It was over from there.
Two thousand finals versus the Pacers, We're seeing Kobe turn into a star in front of our eyes. Jayden Rose spoke to this about that series. It's a new part of our show. We never did this shit before.
He's coming off party. We hit us with the get down and laid down.
That was dope because he was arguing with their bench like I used to hear Phil yelling at Kobe passed.
The ball, the ball, Get off of it, Yeah, yeah, get off of it.
I don't know again, he watched it right and Shaq fouled out.
Hey, man, Cole, I love Cole so much.
He went to work on us and then he hit that jumper at the top of the kid, and he did this that.
Wasn't even to us, that was to his team.
When Cole first got drafted to the probably shouldn't say, I'm just trying not to say too much of what I know, but like Cole was presented by his own teammates, by his own teammates, I couldn't believe it.
They was hating on him. I'm like, why y'all gonna hate on him? Because he was that confident. But he ain't hen't even like go out, he ain't dreams.
He was over at UCLA with us, we was in college. He was a laker on campus.
Chilling when you hear stuff like that, taking you back to those times, what comes to your mind?
Man, just a killer, just like we talked about it, just you know, shock foul out. So like everybody kind of panicked. So they thought, like, okay, shock foult out. We got to move the ball, we gotta get everybody involved. Gott to play a different style of basketball. And so I think Covid missed like three shots in a row. He like took a couple of bad shots whatever, and he missed three shots in a row. So guy's like, man,
you gott to move the ball. And Field was on him a little bit in the time out and he came out. I think he might have scored like twelve straight or something, and then he hit that big shot and he was.
Like relaxed, like I got this.
And after that, after that series, then that's when he it was over. It was over, relaxed, I got it.
So you know.
The reporter asked Kobe, He's like, you know, your teammates say you don't trust him, You don't, He said, how do you feel about that? He said, well, I feel like I got a better chance of making a shot over two people than the guy. You know what I'm saying.
You know what I'm saying, You got a series?
Serious, serious, you know. So you know I love him, We love you. Show with that, and with that, he might just make this ship out of.
Man two thousand and one, fifteen to one in the playoffs, the infamous step over with Alan Iverson. He spoke to that on our show, and I think surprised a lot of people with his answer. Let's take a look at that. You guys run into the Lakers in the two thousand and one finals, go into La Get Game one, when you hit the jumper on Tulu and stepped over I mean that still gets played daily looking back now almost twenty years ago, what do you think about that?
I don't like it.
Really, he was giving me so many problems, man, straight doll, Like when I stepped over him, it was like I ain't knowing I did it, and then they try to get me to mimic that shit years later, like, I don't even know how.
To do it.
You don't know when you're gonna do something. You don't know the emotions in the game or what go on throughout the game. It can be a coach that pitched you off and you react a certain way, you know, to basically tell him, yeah, look what I did that moment.
Yeah it was.
It was dope when you look back on it, but I just don't like it.
Obviously a moment we live in a social media moment now that wasn't back then, but it's still something that kind of surfaces around. Speak to that moment, and then also your relationship with him at.
The moment, you know, Like I said, people make a big deal out of it, like he crossed me over and I fell down and they stepped over me. Like here a contested shot. I stepped back and I failed. He stepped over top of me. And you know, for me, it wasn't even a big deal. Still to this day, it's not a big deal. And you get kids like, oh that's the guy. You weren't even born the same
I'm on that same mixtape. They showed me more highlights after they're falling, So I'm with you, But it wasn't even a big deal, like to me, you know what I'm saying. People make a big deal of it, like it's part of history and that's okay. Like I love I love Ai even before the series, like it's somebody idolized. He's two years older than me.
But like man the corn rolls from the hood, like my height, all the things.
That the girls like.
But like he he changed our game, like to get the culture of our game, like the change you know, Jordan, they weren't suits, they like te white teas, change braids, Like he changed the game for us as from where we come from. That's huge for us because a lot of times, you know, it's young black men. Yeah, I'm not comfortable wearing a suit, and if I get a suit, it might be a two h suit. Eddie Jones laughing at me, like what you got on? You know, you're
always teasing people. So like he changed the culture for us and made it okay to be an NBA player but also be who you are. And so I idolized this dude. I told him from day one. And so when I played him every day in practice before he played in the finals, like just mimicking who he was and feel like play fast, do this. I knew every movie did Like I was so happy two weeks of just being a man. Move And so I played against
him in the game. I knew everything he was gonna do, like I swear to God, stack every every move, every counter, and so you know to me, like I said, I idolize a dude. And so if it's a moment in history and he deserves it, like he deserves it, like I don't, I don't make me no.
No was that because how he is the love for you, for you like he don't like people try to make it as it seem like he be littling you.
You know what I'm saying, Because the love he got for you, that's why he don't like it. And I love but I mean you ai, I'm t lou and I don't have no problem with that. Like I'm a realizah. I mean, I'm a dog like you know all you like, like I'm I'm a dog, Like I'm a guard every night. I'm not gonna back down. If you got a scrap, I'm gonna scrap. You know what I'm saying. So it
is what it is. But at the end of the day, like he's m v P and I'm just I'm just happy to be able to have a chance to compete against him and I high level, so I'm giving everything I got.
But like I say, that's my guy, Like if he needed it and whatever, that's that's my guy.
To the end.
They don't know.
Chuck is one of the most sensitive NBA players ever.
He cried all that he gonna tell you he loved you twenty times, twenty times.
You know what I'm saying.
People don't just a random phone call out the blue.
Yeah, I love you, Yeah, And I love it too. To get a chance to compete against him in two thousand and one, I don't know where I would be because, like you know what I'm saying, Like, you don't know if you don't get that opportunity, like I was like on the bench kind of you know what I'm I didn't play till six minutes to go in the third quarter.
I didn't play the whole first half, you know what I'm saying.
So, like having an opportunity to compete against him, like it just it changed my career, changed my life.
Yeah.
Yeah, that two thousand and one team one of the greatest, the greatest of all time, all time.
Yeah, the greatest of all time for sure. Nobody could beat that team.
Who was so it was name that wrote who who's on that roster with y'all?
Derek Fisher, Ron Harper, Brian Shaw, Rick Fox Horse, Grant Shack Cold.
There, Yeah you came.
Robert or Yeah. So I mean it wasn't.
I'm just basing off of shock and Cold, like people talk about, you.
Know, Draymond got crazy, Like yeah, I mean nobody see the problem is what they don't understand is Shack, Like, you know, we can you can double team guard Shack, forget everything, forget everything else, Like how you're gonna guard Shack Like that's that's the biggest thing, because now you're in the bonus for six minutes to go in the game. I mean, the in the quarter. Now Kobe gets loose, you can't touch him now. Line, So like how you
gonna guard Shack? That's what people who understand like that was. That was the best. That was the great team of all time to me for sure, Kobe, any Kobe and Shack team, I don't see how you can how you can beat that team.
Shack off the court, the biggest kid you'll ever meet on the court, a monster. You got to see both sides of him. Talk to us just about him as a person, and then off the court and on the court.
Off the court, when of the funnels got ever been around, the biggest thing was shocked, Like he really genuinely cared about people, you know, like bought mad Dog a truck, bought me, you know, a whole wardrobe, bought me a car. When I first met him, I met him at Sentry Club. They come to my house tomorrow, my chepherd's cooking, come up to the crib. Gave me twenty thousand cash Like
I'm in the league. Like you know what I'm saying, lockout, You know what I'm saying, Like that's just who he is, Like he's a given person, you know, a genuine guy. And so I asked him one. I said, Man, Shack, how you be going out all the time. He's like, the more you go out, the more they see you, the more they won't bother you. Like, if I'm in the house and I don't ever come out see you see Shack, You're gonna go crazy. But man shocks at them all shocks at fat burgersh He's always out. So
then it becomes, oh, it's just shocked. And it's kind of a smart way to live. So when you're that big time, you know what I'm saying, it's hard to go out you know a lot of times. And so he just kind of made itself like amongst the people, just put itself amongst the people, and it was an easy way for him to live. And it was it was. It was dope.
But as a player, like the most dominant guy I've ever seen, Like, I mean, what can you do with him?
Like post up? He could pass, He's aged put the ball on the floor passing. And I think, you know, I think when Field came to the Lakers in kind of games, some structure of putting that triangle in, I mean, it was over like just having some structure. But like he's the most dominant guy I've ever seen in my life.
A lot of people, a lot of people forget that they was on their way to Ford Peton. You don't even remember that. Yeah, like they were going to win four. Yeah, that's crazy. Two thousand and one, you signed with the Wizards. What was it like playing with the foart of Yo MJ?
I didn't care. He was ninety.
Yeah, Like, come on, man, like, get a chance to play with with m Man. It was like it was a blessing, you know, like I said, my career has been blessed. Like I said it just when I first saw well, when he first called initially because he was he was part of the front office, and I heard his voice, I'm like, man, what are you serious? Like MJ calling me, like called and we want you to come in with the Wizards. Whatever he said, I'm thinking about coming back.
You know.
We didn't discuss it, you know, didn't. He didn't go public for a while. But then just when I first met him, just in Awe, man, like just having a chance to you know, see Black Jesus in person, like talk to him, be his teammate like I was in Awe and my first year playing with him, and I just didn't. I didn't know what to do, like you know what I'm saying, Like you know, throwing to him every time and just go stand or he's like no play like but you just get so messed with r
By who he is about forty? He was forty, Hea was twenty points a game at the age of forty on one leg because his knee was messed up. He and he played eighty two games at the age of forty on one leg and play all eighty two games.
So I mean, I just tell you who he is.
Crazy eighty two games.
That's crazy.
Two thousand and three, Yeah, you're on five teams in five years. What's ther most memorable team since two thousand and three?
After two thousand and three, Yeah, two thousand and three, I.
Had a chance to play with Dirk and j Kidd in Dallas. That was dope.
Glad you wasn't in two thousand and seven.
Atlanta with Joe Johnson and Al and Twinna was good. But I think I didn't play in two thousand and nine. But I think that run the Dwight Howard never had when he went to the finals in two thousand and nine against the Lakers. That that was a fun year for me because it was my last year. I didn't play and I was just along for the ride. But it was it was It was a great ride.
Speak to Dwight thought, because people don't understand. I think they currently And when he went to the Lakers, he hurt his back, that Dwight Howard because I came to the next year that that Dwight Howard.
Yeah, I mean that Dwight was supposed to be the next Shock and he could have been, like said, he didn't hurt his back, but dominant defensively, like one of the best defensive players we've ever seen in this game. Like and then his athletic ability, you know, give me if he gets me on the defense, don't even just go the other way like it's a it's a dunk,
it's over. And then when he mature and got better for ceiling the paint, ducking in because was great for him, stany ban gunny, like we're not gonna throw it to you on the post every single time, like we're gonna run stuff for charlotteis picking Poppy on now we're going down the gut. And it made the game easy for him and he was able to understand how easy it is to play the game, you know, and so. But like far as defensively, I've never seen a better defensive
player in my time. You know, have you stacked? Yeah, I mean block shots, rebound and so. And then the athletic Billy had like far As going upstairs like he was dominant man. And it's unfortunately with injuries. You know, he hurt his back and you know, he wasn't ever like the same player. Still a really good player, you know what I'm saying, but he wasn't the same player, and the potential is like what he was supposed to be after he heard his back.
What was the process of you land in the CALVS job?
So?
I was on doc staff in twenty thirteen and it was with Matt and CP, DeAndre Blake, JJ and Jamal So we had we had a great team. And after that summer, I mean after that season, it was summertime and I had a chance to interview Hick interview for the head coaching job with Cleveland, and so I flew down to Cleveland interview for the head coaching job. And when I left Cleveland, I flew back to Vegas. I could it was said. With summertime, I flew back to
Vegas and so I thought I had the job. So David Griffin told me, like, you know, I think it's a good chance you might have a job, and so, you know, we want to prepare you for everything. So I called Doc like, man, I think I got a good chance to get the job. And then you know, a day later, it's like, you know what, we might go with David Black, you know. So I was like, Okay, I was kind of bummed about it. I was like, all right, cool, you know whatever, I'm going back to the Clippers. And so.
They hired David Black.
And then the next day David Griffin call was like, hey, we wanna make you associated head coach.
I was like, no, I'm cool, Like I'm loyal, you know what I'm saying.
Sometime to a fault and I was like, no, I'm gonna stay with doct Like you know, if I'm on a DOC, I'm gonna get a head coaching job anyway, because he's the most you know, he's one of the top two or three coaches in the league. So I'm gonna get a head job anyway. And the team that we had was good enough to be on TV every night. I was a defensive coordinator and so I was gonna get the opportunity. So I wasn't really tripping about that.
So then he came back. It was like, you know, we want to offer you one point two million a year, one point two, one point three, one point four. I'm getting three. I'm getting three seventy five with the Clippers. You know what I'm saying. I'm like, that's a lot of money. So I asked b Shaw. He said, man, you gotta take it. I was like, no, man, I'm loyal to Doc. You know I talked to j Jerry Wes. You know, he cussed me out, going you gotta take it. I said, nah, I'm gonna stay with Doc. Man, I
ain't gonna take this job. He's like, man, if you don't leave Doc, now they gonna think you're never gonna be able to leave and they never offer your job. Like I was like, I'm not gonna do it. And so my agent said you sure, Like I'm sure. So we called Griff back like, no, he's not gonna do it. He said, well, what's he want to do. I was like, I just don't want to do say came back with another offer. I was like, nah, I ain't taking He said, well, what's he want? I said, man, just tell him one six,
one eight, two million, two to two Major. Callback said done. I said what I like what he's like? They said yes. So I called Doc back and Doc was like, you know what, like to that kind of money you got to and I think it's time for you just kind of expand your wings and just kind of do your own thing and let people know that you can stand on your own.
Was this That was twe fourteen.
So you were there when I came for that short little time ten days for the clips.
I was up for two weeks.
I was gone, Yeah, I was gone, yeah. And so he's like, you gotta you gotta take that job.
And so that's kind of like I went to Cleveland the first time and then coach Black guy fired medway through the season. I took over.
What was it like sliding into that first because, like you said earlier, like Coach Black didn't do a terrible job.
Yeah, he did a good job.
What was it like sliding over one seat?
I think nobody, nobody just didn't know who he was, Like, yeah, I was.
Scared to be. I was scared and I'll never forget, you know. David Griffin called me. I was my way to a dinni's appointment. He said, what are you doing? Someone my way to the dentist. He was like, we had a day off, and he was like, I need you to come into the office. I was like, I got here's the point. He's like, just we scheduled come into the office. So I came into the office and he was like, how are you feeling. I'm feeling good. Like what's going on? He said, we just we just
fired David. I was like, you know, David coach Black? Like who's He's like coach Black. I'm like why.
He's like, we want to hire you to head coach. I was like, man, I can't do it.
Like I was scared. I'm serious, I'm scared. Like you got bron James, you got Kyrie k Love the expectations and so I was like, so I called Doc first.
I said, man, I gotta call Doc.
Called Doc. Doc said, Ty, you gotta take it to you know, black coaches don't get opportunity to have a championship caliber team. He said, yeah, he said, you ready, I said, Doc, I don't know if I'm ready. Like I mean, I put it all the work in, but I've never sat there before, you know what I'm saying. I never said that before. And he was like, you got to take the job, Like you got to. I was like, man that called Jay West. He went crazy, you're going to take the job.
If you don't, somebody else.
Is gonna take it. So I like I took the job. And like I said, I was scared.
I was nervous, you know because I didn't know, like we haven't had a training camp.
It's not my team, it's not my play, like what we put in a lot of our stuff because you know, the second year we had to put more convention on NBA set tennents to oversee stuff. But it was just I was scared. And like I said, I give Kyrie Braun and k Love and trusting them to credit like they like, man, listen, do your thing.
You ready, You're.
Gonna make mistakes. We got your back one hundred percent. And that's what made my job a lot easier. And so like I said, shout out to those guys, you know, Shump and Jr. And trusting all those guys. They really had my back, and so I was able to make mistakes and kind of like learning to fly, and it made it easier for me.
Uh, play with Kobe, play with Mike coaching Lebron.
What was that?
Like, I'm only one.
Blessed again, like to you know, play with Kobe and and Jordan and then and then.
You play against Lebron too.
Yeah.
Yeah, but like to be in the conversation of all three of those guys and being a feeling with all three of those guys, it's just a blessing, you know, three of our great greatest of all times. Yeah, to be three greats of all yeah, all time, and to be able to be a part of their lives and be a part of my lives. And I can call Michael Jordan, he can call me, and you know what I'm saying, Like it's just like Bron, you know, talked
to him earlier today. Like that's just crazy to me being from Mexico, Missouri and just going through what you go through and not really having nobody look up to, you know, small towns, because you don't we ain't have nobody to look up to.
We looked up to some guys we.
Were supposed to look up to you. You know what I mean, and so you know it's just it's a blessing, man, Like I think about it all the time, like where I come from and who I've been able to be affiliated affiliated with over the course of my career has been a blessing.
Sound sixteen Finals against the Warriors one of your defining moments as a young coach. Obviously, take us back to that locker room down three to one. You didn't do the typical ship the coaches do walk us through that uh that moment, because it's funny. We just had Shump on here and Shump told us what Bron said on the bus to kind of get them going.
And then you added your part to it.
You to my game seven or just about the whole thing process.
Yeah.
So we got down three to one, and I just felt we can beat them, like if some things we had to adjust and make some make some adjustments and some tweaks, but I just felt we can beat them.
I swear I did.
We got down three to one and I was like, man, so I called Bron into the officer to listen, we got to do this, this and this, and we can beat the and Brons on boards like man, they getting tired, they getting worn down. But some things we had to change defensively to kind of change that. And so I came into practice before a game before we leave, before we left to go to game five, I said, listen, if you don't believe we can win, just stay here.
Like I'm being like, no bulls, like, just stay here, like we don't want you on the bus, we don't want on negativity. If you don't think we can win game five, just stay at home. We'll see you for game six. So we go there for game five and we win Game five. And so Kyrie had forty one, bron had forty three, whatever, and through after the game, everybody's in the locker room, all the coaches, on office people, the owners, their keyds, training staff. So so everybody in
the locker room, give me two hundred dollars. It's like, give me two hundred dollars, players to everybody, and I'm gonna take it, and I'm putting the ceiling. And we come back to get our money for game seven. So I mean we had to go home and win game six and then come back for game seven, and so it's like what the man? Everybody, So everybody gave me them money, took it, wrapped it up, put in the ceiling.
We go home, win game six. So we coming back, Bron get the speech and it was like listen, they getting worn out, They're getting tired. They getting like, we just got to keep going, keep going. So we get back for game seven, and you know, Bron was you know, Bron is bro. He can get twenty and ten in the and one half, just like growing out of bed. So but in the first half he was like he was just he wasn't doing enough for me, you know
what I'm saying. So he come to the bench one time, he's like sitting on the bench and he said with legs crossed, he's like fire on his nails and something like. Djo's like, no, not right now, not I'm sorry. So d Jon's like not right now. I'm like, man, this dude, he blow he buzzing me, Like what's he doing? So then halftime comes and we go into the locker room and so a halftime you got the film and all the film. I's like, na, we ain't doing no films.
To Bron, you got to be better, bro, He's like, what you mean, I got this? I said, I don't care about no stats. You got to be what you want me to do. T Lou guard Draymond, be aggressive, shoot the ball, stop turning the ball over anything else. He's like, man, I said, man, we need you to be better. If you want to win, it's on you. He's like, so I stormed off. I go in the locker room, stand in the door. Boom. So we go grab d Jones, d joing man with your boy tripping me.
He's like, he's like who. He's like, man, T Lou, he talking a me. I ain't doing this and doing that. He said, well, man, listen, I ain't been here all year. But everything I read about how you trust him and how you why not trust you? Now? So Bron like, fuck you. So he go to James Jones, JJ, I can't believe man ty and then James Jones like Lebron's he lying fu he gratuated Boom, He stormed out of
the locker room. In the second half, dominated the whole game, and so they're like, man, if you didn't get that speech at halftime, we went to one like you know what I'm saying? So like man Broun Man, yeah, I knew how to get him going like he can man, he can listen, bro, like he can score fifty anytime. He wont like, I'm like fifty anytime he wants, Like he just wants to play the game in the right way. But sometimes, man, the right way is man, we need to get fifty. Yeah. Yeah, so he can do that
every night. And so I pushed that button, and so luckily I did.
And you never heard.
I heard the first part.
I haven't heard him kind of going somewhere to stamp when he was he was wrong and was stamping it.
Yeah, he went to djond On like, man, listen everything, bring in this ship, j J. I can't believe it.
J Well, is he lying.
J stuff? He stormed out of there and killed it and killed it, you know what I'm saying. So I'm glad I did that. Thanks Broun.
In fact, taking us back to that Kyrie shot, UH talked to us about that shot. That's something that Clay said one of the biggest regrets of his life was switching that play.
Uh.
You know you have Bron, you have Kyrie into me Kyrie's hands. Walk us back through that process.
So you remember Bron had just made that big block and he was exhausted, like he hadn't came out of the game the whole game, and so he was he was done. He was fried. And so we came to the bench. I think it was a man in thirteen left in the game, something like that, And we came back to the bench and then Bron's over there. He got the wet towel. He's just so I'm looking like shit, man, I'm going to Kyrie. You know what I'm saying, Like
he's exhausted. So we come out of the time out and we just run a twelve action with j R. And and Kyrie. We cleared the whole right side out and said, jay All, you got to set us a hard screen makeer and Kyrie you got to fly off to force to switch. Jay All said, a great screen, and then Kyrie came off. I ain't gonna take the three. I thought, go right, you know what I'm saying. Kyrie sized him up, stepped back to the right. That's one of the biggest shots in NBA history. I said, I
don't care who was guarding them. It could have been anybody.
That ship was cash Kye for those moments, like you know, he's a killer and who's his mentor Kobe, and so like he wanted that moment that one of the biggest shots, Like I said, the NBA history.
Speak to Kyrie. You've got to play with a lot of greats. You coach some greats. I think he's someone who's very misunderstood. But speak to him as a as a person and a player.
Well as a person. You know, Kyrie's a genuine person, you know, like if you get to know him and you know, you know who he is, he's genuine and so like a lot of guys, you just got to be straightforward direct with him, you know, just tell him what you want, what you need, and he's gonna listen and do that. And so sometimes you misunderstood. You know, Kyrie is Kyrie that I only listen to none of
that nonsense. And so I know the relationship that we had, which we had a great relationship, and it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't be sitting today like that big shot man. That that's that solidified my career as a coach, winning the championship, and so I always, you know, forever love him for that.
But as a player, no weaknesses, man, go left, go right, pull up.
Three going right, pull up three going left, catch and shoot, post up, finish left, finish right, float whatever you want, he can do it like no weaknesses offensively at all.
And so I mean he's a bad dude, man, a bad dude.
So this year you're you're you're joning coach Kerr uh staff for the Fever Cup. Can you speak to us about that?
Man? Just a blessing, you know, I always want to be part of the USA team. Of course you want to be a player. But I wasn't good enough, you know, of course, but you grew up, you know, watching you know, Magic and Bird and all those guys playing the Olympics and the dream teams, and you always dreamed of, you know, being there one day. And so my opportunities coming and coaching, So I thank Sean Ford and Steve Kerr and forgive
me this opportunity to be an assistant coach. So it's me Steve Kerr, Eric Spostra, Mark Feu and so just having an opportunity to be you know, on this staff is a blessing.
Man.
Medal, yeah, and get a gold medal and add that to my resume as well, you know. So it's it's crazy man.
Appreciate.
I don't know if you've done it yet, but it'll probably come at some point. You and Steve Kurt sitting down and having a glass or you don't drink so you have some water, him having some wine and talk about that sixteen Finals.
Gonna roll one probably, he said, you know, he know his bag was hurting.
Took a little bit, you know.
What.
It's never and we're good friends, and we never talked about it, you know, we never mentioned it.
Yeah.
I wonder if he ever brings it up, you know, but we've never talked about it.
It's crazy because, I mean you think about historical significance. Obviously that was your guy's first ring. But they have the best record in the history of the game and would have got a championship on top of it, but y'all derailed that.
Yeah, I won a championship with Steve kursh world.
Yeah, that's crazy.
Can you compare It doesn't have to be necessarily gains, but can you compare the Kyrie and Lebron duo to Shack and Kobe in any ways?
Yeah?
I mean you can.
Because I see as Kyrie is like Kobe, It's like a finesse player that can get it down from anywhere on the floor, and I see shaking Kobe's it's just dominant, like just dominant for yeah, just dominant forces. So the comparison, you know, Lebron doesn't play center, but he's dominant, powerful, strong, so you can kind of have that comparison. And I wish we would have never broke that up, man like that that come on man like breaking up Cob and Shack, I hate it, and then breaking up Kyrie Bron, I
hate it. Like those are two things that could have been dominant for a long time. So you know, I always look back on on everybody else because I like what everybody else does.
I don't really care about myself.
But those are two things I wish would have never happened, with the Kyrie Bron situation and in the Shaq and Cobe situation because that could have been special, a lot more juice to squeeze.
Whats So for me, Kyrie and Braun because I could see that, I could see it I was competing with k you know what I'm saying that I could watch them too just years when you know what I'm saying, champions, I would love to see that. Why what's your opinion. Why do you think Kyrie hasn't found a true home since Cleveland.
Hopefully? Well, I mean it's his choice, like Boston wanted them back, you know, but he has it's a decision he wanted to make and go elsewhere. And know, I'm the same thing with Brooklyn. He could have went back to Brooklyn, and so like, as a player, you gotta
do what's best for you. And so I think those teams, you know, were love, they loved, they wanted them back, you know, And so it's just something he want to do for his career, Like he wanted to move on and experience something different, and so you know, he could have he could have stayed in those places. So I don't think it's something necessarily that they didn't want him back, you know. So it's more of his decision. Yea.
I love Superstar movement in the game, though normally guys like us move Yeah, cho, but I love Superstar movement because it's just it keeps you you tuned into the game year around, but then you just get to see different combinations play with each other that you might never obviously have seen maybe back in the day.
Yeah, I hate season tournament.
I really don't know much about it, you know. I was on you know, in the meet with the competition committee and we talked about a little bit. But you know, my thing is what it is best to go to the league and go to the NBA. And Adam Silver has a great vision.
You know, you already got know's low managing. You want to put him in tournaments now, let's come on.
It's not more games. Though, it's not more games. You still got to play those games anyway. And I just think, you know, it gives the fans something to see, something different, something to be excited about. Though well the championships the home mind, Yeah, I don't mind that. But like I said, Adam Silver's done a great job of growing to the NBA. Man, Like the playing tournament is going to be We'll see,
but I think it'd be great. And just like the you know, make it to the playoffs, you know, just having you know, ten teams like that's been great. You know, So we'll see, Yeah, we'll see what happens.
What coaches do you like to coach against?
Any coaches like you just get up for like any of your homeboys and coach like, oh yeah, I get to get at him tonight.
Yeah.
I love coach against Chauncey.
Yeah, yeah, I know that, you know, but Chos has changed a lot, you know, from you know player, he was a so you're getting all the technical fouls and now I got a good you know, calm to mean on the sideline.
Yeah, and just seeing him do it. It's funny, man, just being calm.
I love coaching against Steve Kerr obviously, and I loved coaching against Brad Stevens when Brad was there, you know, Brad was you know, like he motivated me, you know, being being in Cleveland, he was in Boston. They was always like the team we had to get past and get to the finals. And so I always loved coaching against him. And I ain't really like coaching against Doc. I ask my mentor, I just don't they don't feel right?
Like looking down I'm looking at Doc like, I just don't it don't it don't feel right, It don't seem right, you know, so.
Real quick, uh.
I think it was Chancey spoke. When Chancey was I think debating on becoming a coach. Did he come stay with you for like a crash course or.
So covid Hit, and so I went to Denver and stayed with Chancey for two months. Yeah, and so he was trying to get into the front office stuff. And but I've been telling himself in Cleveland, said, man, come and coach, like, you got a lot of knowledge for these young guys.
And I mean, you'd be great that And he's like.
Noah, I want through the front office. I want to be a GM president. And so like when covid Hit, I went to stay with Chian for two months and I brought my board and I'm working in all this and he dove right into. It's like, man, I want to try. It's like all right, So every day we on the on the board, getting better with that. We're watching film, breaking down film. He had a basketball court, you know, this house and we going to court like going through things and that next that next seat. He
joined my staff. You know with the Clippers. You got a job next year, you know, first year, you got a job. And so he dove right into it. Man, and he's been great. Man Like, his personality is, demeanor is great, and he's gonna be a great coach.
Leader.
He's a leader for sure.
How tough, how tough can coach and be on your health and mental health.
Really tough, you know, really tough because you know, as a player, you know, you lose a game like it's I think it's more collectively. We all lose together, you know, unless you miss it. You know, you miss a game winning shot and you match yourself for a while. But as a coach, when you lose a game, you take it all home every single night, like what could I have done different? You know, could I sub better? Could
I call different plays like rotations like? And so when you lose a game as a coach, it goes home with you every single night. It's hard to sleep.
And we know as players we could turn it off for a little while the least. Yeah, y'all can't turn it off thinking about what you could have done. But then also I got to prep for the next team.
Yeah, and so as a role player, I'm not never had to do media.
You know what I'm saying. I play the game, I make a mistake, I ain't gotta never address the media, so I go home. I can live with it.
You know.
As a coach, I'm out front every single day, you know, every single day, every single night, And so when you lose a game, man, you take it home every single night. And that's that's the hard part. Like so farjudr mental health, Like you know, you get anxiety because you know, like you waiting for the next game or what can I do different? Like yeah, anxious you lose three or four in a row, like we gotta get off this slide. So it's a lot that goes into it, man, and
people don't understand. So, you know, a lot of people have a lot of you know, criticism with coaches about coaches and things like that. But it's a tough job.
It's a tough job.
It's a tough grind.
It's a lot that goes into it, and you got to wear a lot of different hats every single day.
Give me two players you like watching outside of your team, Kyrie for sure.
And then I love watching Jah.
Yeah.
I love watching Jah.
Yeah. I mean we got a lot of other greats you know, of course, but you know, I love watching Jah. I love watching you know, kind of do his thing, your boxing fan. Yes, don't bring it up, please, Spence Crawford. I love both of them.
You know what I'm saying. Young black you know, or young black.
You can't go wrong before you you can't go wrong either way.
Well, no, I mean, I'm going with Bud because he's from Nebraska.
I love I love Spence too, and everything he's brought to the game, And so we don't want to see them fight because I love both of them. But you know, since they got a fight on a big payday, it's a big money maker and everybody wants to see it, so they gotta do it for their career. I gotta I gotta go with Bud because it's hometown, is my guy. So I'm gonna go with Bud.
What you got where I'm from.
You know I'm wrong the big fish. You're not catching me with no fish board. You better get a harpoon, the big fish not. I like it because it's the dynamic of both of them.
At the top.
Arrow had, I mean Bud has.
He's one of the best counterpunchs you'll ever see, right, and he can hit with both hands. His speed, He's gonna show Arrow a lot of things he's never seen before, as far as a boxer and as far as getting hit. But Arrows from the hit Bud with power that he's never thought was possible. You know, what I'm saying, both of them take you to another level. They both they both bringing something that they've never seen. So that's why
I want to see it. But either way you go on this fight, you can't lose because both of them to go.
Yeah, both of them were gonna be here.
We're gonna be here.
Here, Jack, I'm gonna be having a couple of packs showtime, box Man, We really appreciate your time. Before we get you out of here, we're gonna have some quick hitters. So first thing to come to mind, beside yourself. Three best coaches in the game at in game adjustments. In game adjustments, Yes, yeahpose great. Steve Kerr curs great.
And then let me see who always talk about doodle? Oh yeah, Taylor Jenkins. Yeah, I like Taylor Jenkins too.
Yeah, I like to Mike Malone. I really felt like the and Mike Malone was chess for a little while. Yeah, you know what I mean in the finals, Taylor Jenks, that's a good call.
Yeah, Taylor Jenkins, I'm still a go oh yeah, I mean, come on, some stuff in games Bro. I never thought it was possible, but you know how, the talent like you, you know what I'm saying different, but Pops, come on, he had the players to do it.
Come on, man, he's a goal for sure.
One album will.
Repeat, no skips, baby, which one the last one?
Okay, okay he said that Queen a little baby. M J.
Kobe Brown wrinkle.
Nope, nope, no, no, I'm no.
That's about what do you love about Mike.
At the age of forty Just his killer instinct, like he was still a killer. And then the biggest thing is like there's a young player. You come out still that's my third my fourth year, you know. So you think you're working hard until you actually get around somebody that's working hard for real. And so coming to practice, you get there hour and a half early. Jordan's already done, laugh it up, don't lift it alright under his court workout, He's finished, He's done, And I'm just not getting to
the gym. And so you see guys like Cob and Bron and Jordan's then work the kind of like I ain't really working, you know what I'm saying. I thought I was working hard, but I really ain't. And so like just seeing Jordan work at the age of forty, the way he worked every single day to play eighty two games that just showed you kind of work you put in the killer and then just the biggest thing
is just like never giving in. Like after the Utah series when shot the airballs, he could have folded, and just to see like from that that moment on, he worked even harder to get to the point where he was at. And like, you know, I still cry sometimes thinking about it, looking at old pictures and stuff, just you know, knowing we lost a great man. And so to this day, I can't stay at the Bohemian in Orlando, That's where I was at when it happened.
I can't. I told the team, I'm not staying there.
So if y'all book us there, your Mama's give me another room because I can't do it. And so just seeing him and just how he prepared and how he was able to, you know, keep pushing forward and being one of our greates man like it was, it was, it was amazing.
Every time I watched the episode we had with an interview with my breakdown.
Yeah yeah, Bron, bro Bron. I just love how he was able to change the game as far as picking where he wanted to go. Like you said, the stars, be able to move having movement, but also so be able to take on his team like with Rich Paul and Maverick Carter, Randy Mimes, and just be able to put those guys together, put them in school, put them through classes, and now they're running multis real businesses, you
know what I mean. And so to put his guys in position to run real businesses, not worrying about what the outside people thought or they're his friends.
No, these guys are educated and they know what they're doing. And Bron showed that.
And so for him be able to change the game, to build the school in Ohio, and the things he's done for the game and for everybody like Kevin Durant, be able to have the board room and like just the things he's able to that we've been able to see with Bron and things he's done, you know, far as the business side of basketball has been phenomenal.
Bron created the real Entourage had the show. They had the show on h Field, but Bron created the real real.
I say that all the time to every basketball player that came around, tried that with their homeboys, and he the only one to get it right, right, completely right.
Yeah, you know what I mean.
So he did go for that along for sure as dead or alive and he five people sit down at the table, you plus five at dinner Biggie pop.
For sure, that's that's right to it. Yes, what what?
I don't know why people don't y'all don't know what. Tu is a ghetto baby. He might not look like it, don't talk like it.
But trust me, Bro, he from that President Obama, Muhammad Ali And at least.
I say, Denzel nice, Denzel.
Around around that off.
Yeah, if you could see one guest on our show, who would it be? But you have to help us get your answer on the show.
You said someone calls you and you talked to on the phone today and him.
You flex a little bit.
You flex a little bit people to We just talked to him another day today today.
Yeah, for someone you you would like to see on the show that you can help us.
Get yea Lebron James okay cool, Yeah, I'm okay, man.
We appreciate you. As Jack said, Man, things happen to good people.
Bro. And I got a chance to meet you when I was seventeen eighteen. You've always been the same way, never got too big now you can't it big, but.
You know what I mean.
But always, but always mild manner, cool down the earth, do the same way, man. So really happy of just your you know, your your grind, your growth to the league, to coaching now and I'm guarantee whatever you want to do, continue to do or after this you'll succeeded it.
Man.
So think they they can't talk about the AI said and say you wasn't a Hall of Fame player, but you're definitely finna be a Hall of Fame coach.
Yes sir, yes sir.
But that's a wrap.
Tyron Lou all the smoke.
You can catch us SoC Showtime Basketball YouTube and the iHeart platform Black Effects.
We'll see y'all next week