¶ Intro / Opening
The volume.
Hell on, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for joining us for another episode of Nightcap.
Y'all know me.
I'm your favorite, UNC shining sharp and look who's feeling there for you? O Choe Sinko. That's right, the triple og port off of NATed but h t X Worrid call home now that one and only Bun b bun, what it do?
Man?
I'm good, I'm good. It's funny because I'm always called unk. Everybody calls me up and then I'm in here with unk, so it's UNC and unk tonight.
That's what it.
Don't getting up show tonight, all right, Bud. Please make sure you guys hit that subscribe button. Please make sure you hit the like button, and guys, do us a favorite. Go subscribe to the Nightcap podcast feed wherever you get your podcast from. We would like to thank each and every one of you for your eyes, your ears, and your word of mouth, because thanks to you, we've been able to do everything we've been able to do and because of you, we are who we are. So thank
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eighty four, with eighty four being spelled out. The link is pinned in the chat. Supplies unlimited. Once they're gone, they're gone, so please grab yours while supplies last. All right, all right, make sure you got you know what bun. We're gonna talk about this, the trill Burger. Now, I haven't yet to try the Trail Burger, but you know, you know, ACX is one of my favorite cities. It might be my favorite city, you know, and I'm an Atlanta native. But you know what, We're gonna get the
at a minute. But let's talk about the Trio Burger. Yes, sir, how did you come up with this concept? And I'll be honest, Shannon, I didn't come up with the concept of the burger, okay. I made friends with a gentleman named Andy Wynn, probably over probably eleven years now. He used to be in the clothing industry. So I met him at the Magic Convention. The Magic Invention is a huge clothing convention that happens in Las Vegas twice a year.
I met him there.
He had the clothing line called I Am King and most of the people that are there they're showcasing. The convention is from people who have clothing brands, shoe brands, anything in that fashion, and people who sell. So it's a conference where people come, they look at your brand, see if they want to put it in their store, and that kind of a thing. So a lot of what they've shown is just samples of what's to come.
Because if you go there in the summer of let's say, if I go this summer in twenty five, what I'm buying for them, I won't get your winner of your mayby spring.
You know what I'm saying. So you're right, yep.
So he had this hat with I Am King on it, and I knew it was the only one he had, and so I said, let me get that hat from you. That way, I knew I was rocking something nobody else would have back to convention, and so we were very cool, and then he moved into food in California. He's done extremely well for himself in the food industry. He's a licensing genius, so he has a license for a Hello Kitty.
He's got a couple of stores with Hello Kitty. He's got the license for this Japanese anime series called One Piece, which is extremely successful. He had a sonic, the hedge Hog Cafe. Before he had this. He his partners in the ice cream company called After His ice Cream.
They opened over thirty plus doors.
So he's been extremely and this is just a small number of the things that he's got his hands in.
So he's been very successful.
And he and his partners had developed a burger and the smashburger trend was starting to take off in California a couple of years.
Yeah.
Yeah, So he was like, well, I can't do it in California because it's too much competition, too many things have too many companies got traction out of yet. I need to move a little bit further down in the country because kind of what happens is these trends will take place and start in one part of the country and then start to move across the country.
You know this.
Maybe eight years ago you started seeing poke everywhere you go. You start seeing poke poke. Okay, about four years ago you started seeing hot chicken everywhere and everywhere you go. Now you see slash burgers. Everybody's got a smash burger concept. So he was like, if I don't catch it by the time they get the Texas, I'm gonna miss the whole thing. So we had a mutual friend, a guy named Nick Stirfield. Nick used to work for the Texans. I met him when we got whooped terribly by the Patriots.
I'm sure you remember the that bought to the jacket field. So yeah, yeah, that's why I met Nick. That was a rough pill, y'all. Yeah, And we learned that we weren't a big lesson about showing up is about on the field, not about on the bush. But you know, we we became good friends. And so he moved into out of working with the Texans and starting a marketing company and a promotional company. And so he was one
of his company was doing marketing for Andy's company. So he reached out to Andy said, man, I'm really looking to start this in Texas.
He was like, well, I know, Bun and Bun didn't want to.
Do something in that space for a while because I started a food blog about ten years ago called you Got to Eat This Now. In all of minds, it was me and my partner, Premium Pete. In all of minds, we figured that we started a food blog, at the very least, we'll be able to get tables at good restaurants and yeah, but but if we do it right, we might get invited to try, you know, hostless to get some new snacks or you know, you always see
that big tackle bell presentation. It's almost as big as the Apple with tim Cooking that come out and do the new Apple presentations every year. When they popped them new snacks out, I said, man, it'd be cool to get invited to somewhere for they knew stuff and all of that. But it really became a passion project. We never made no real money out of it. There's always been a passion project. But both of us wanted to
move into actually selling food and presenting food. So he started a spaghetti sauce which.
Has been doing real well.
He used his grandmother's recipe which is doing really well. And I was approached by the guys about being a part of this company, and once I tried this burger, I was like, this burger is a problem, Like this body is really really good. It was like, hold on, we we think we almost did, you know what I'm saying. And then when they came back to me about two weeks later, I said, man, this is this is some of the best food I've I mean, not just a burger.
I realized this burger was far beyond anything anybody had ever done with a hamburger. But I realized, you know that this is a this is an opportunity. It's a real opportunity for me to be a part of a company that I believe could potentially change everybody that's involved a lot, you know what I'm saying. And so far, we've got two doors open here in Houston, one on on Shepherd and one on the Weather, and we're about to open two more before the end of the year, which is driving us crazy.
You know what I'm saying.
Most people right now, obviously what's going on, everybody's worried about staff, you know what I'm saying, staff and people, and even before everything that's happening in this country, man, post COVID, people don't really want to work no more.
You don't want to work from home. But if you're in the service industry, it's hard to work from home.
And you're in the service city, can't cook their burgers from home and then send them to somebody house. That's not how this stuff works, you know. But we're working the King South, you know what I'm saying. We've had our ups and downs, but you know, everything's been a learning experience and it's beautiful that I get to connect not only with people that have been supporters and fans, because obviously the first people that come through the.
Door, you know, we're bum Bee fans, correct, you know.
But we've had amazing opportunities to present this burger to the entire city of Houston. For the past four years with the Houston Life Start Sewing Rodeo, they get over two million people through the gates every year and that's where the city fell in love with the burger, you know what I'm saying. So we've had some great opportunities to present this brand to the city in a big way. They've been recepting and you know, obviously the bum Bee fans and the UGK fans, they come throughout the gate
and show love. But now it's at the point, man, We'll come in and you can tell these people have no idea who I am, They have no idea what trio means any of that.
They just know this is a good burger and that works for me, you know what I'm saying. That's not a day.
Yeah, and there's in the day or a moment where you come in this restaurant and you don't really see what Houston really reflects.
You see white people, you see black people.
You see Latina Asian, you see couples, you see single people, old people, young people, straight people, any gender, any affiliation with any religion. We've had them all come in, you know what I'm saying, because we want to represent a version of Houston that's as inclusive as possible, that don't block nobody out. So you ain't got to know who bum Bee is. You ain't got a new trill lid, got that big PEMPSI mirrel on the wall. They may not even know who that man is. And the white
nick cooking. Yeah, but you know what, they know it's good food. They know it's good food, and that's all that matter. The thing is, you know, Bun Bee might have got them in the door, but to get them to come back, Bun Bee can't get them to come back. Bun might have got him initially. Man, Hey man, I heard Bun got a new spot down there. Man, you know, Bun always give them back to the commutery. Let's go support it one time. It's just like you start something.
It's like over a new podcast. This is what I tell people. I said, look, if you got a podcast, I say, you can only get somebody once. You got to leave an impression to say they want to come back, because if you lose them, they're not coming back. And there's so many content choices right now. Absolutely absolutely, And that's that's the thing. And that's why I like about you because y'all are so consistent. That's the number one
thing about podcasting. Not about gas, not about topics, not about location, back drop, none of that mess.
It's about consistency. Yep.
When you're telling people meet me here every tuesday. You missed a Tuesday. Some of the people don't come back. They ain't coming back. You're right, some of the people don't come back. Man, That's what I tell them. That's what that's what I try to tell people bun, because here's the thing people think, because man, all you got is a microphone and the camera. I can do that because you know, Bun, the easier it is to make money,
the more resentful people will become of you. Because see, people don't really really resent an athlete because man, I can't run, I can't jump, I can't throw a football, I can't tackle, I can't hit the baseball. But everybody feel they can talk. So if I got a camera, I got a microphone, I should be able to do it. And they see what some of these influencers and bloggers or whatever the case may be, and to see what they're making. But when I say, brug, you just don't
turn the camera on and start talking. You have to have a staff, you have to have a top. But you have to have a rundown. You need to know what you want to talk about. You need to have somebody to weave you in and out of traffic. It's not as easy as it looks so but and people like with man a man, But you know, A I got to have a life. Okay, A life is fine if that's what you want life. If you want life,
that's nine to five fine, you can have that. But but when you know, when you become successful or you want to become oover successful, there is no off time, There is no nine to five, There is no balance greatness.
There is no balance to greatness. I don't know why people don't understand that.
No, No, it is the thing, man, like when you decide you want something, right, when you decide you really really want something, then you have to figure out how to restructure your life to benefit that. And you know, like, I'm a married man, you know, and there's been many times where I've had to sacrifice family time for business. Absolutely, you know what I'm saying. People don't see that. You know what I'm saying. People see you, you know, on stage or on the TV or all of these things.
You know what I'm saying and being available and accessible to them. But every time I give my time to the world, it's time I take away from my family. So my family has to understand the sacrifice I'm making for fum, you know what I'm saying. For the family. You know what I'm saying. So there's a lot to
go into it. But here's the first thing that dude, people really want to even hear what you got to say yes, Like like, there's a level of self awareness that has to be present in podcasting for it to work. Because you jump out that the first week you you you're gonna talk, mumble over your words, you're gonna mix up things.
You know that the Wi fi ain't gonna hit.
Things ain't gonna work, you know what I'm saying, And that will discourage most people.
Yes out the dope.
Then you try to come back and push through it and push through it and make it work. You gotta decide if we if we, if we're gonna be a guest driven podcast. We got to have somebody every time we will to do a show that ain't easy. Everybody ain't always available. O Jo Siko somewhere with a beret owned equal sauce, you know what I'm saying. In France, somewhere we win all over the place, you know. So, so you got to have potential co host, potential guess.
People don't understand how hard it is to even book talent. Bro Like, you got to have a book. It's so money, so many different parts of this that have to be moving succinctly before you even sit down. In the chat I was on line for about five six minutes, talking to two different people before you even pop up on the screen. And that's but that's the level of commitment that it takes, and that's requires it's serious.
Now. The problem is, like me with a recording arts.
It's very easy to gather the equipment and resources needed to record a song and release the song to the public. You buy a laptop, you know, Apple laptop. It's gonna come with garage fans, you know the equipment. Every year, recording equipment and excess is get cheaper and cheaper and cheaper. So it's very easy to actually make the music, create the music, and put the music out to the public. But that don't mean you fin to blow up exactly. You know what I'm saying. This stuff all take time.
It's trial and error. Everything's trialing.
Area is.
The first song I made was terrible. I can tell you the first round I wrote. When I say bad, my rap name was terrible. Backing my rap name used to be Shadowstorm. So I just thought I had to have one of these glorious type of names that you know, would tell everybody who I was before I walked in the room.
I was way off. They had nothing to do with that. The name don't matter.
My rap name ended up being bun Beat, which don't mean much of anything in the world of name, you know what I'm saying. So a man a man is not made by his name, you know what I'm saying. That had nothing to do with it. I had to realize that if I want to be good at this, I got it. If you want to be good at something, you gotta be pared to be prepared to actually be bad at something, right.
That's the thing.
You have to walk in the room and be prepared to tell these people, like you say on American Idol, you just ain't ready.
But if you watch American Idol.
Most people don't watch it consistently, but if you watch American Idol, you'll see somebody that you look familiar.
Y'all tried it out of season two and it didn't work.
So here I am season four trying it again, and they might and they come here and y'all and then and then on year five they hit They picked the right song right. Sometimes it's the right song, the right look, the right field, something in the moment they picked. And then those people actually get on American Idol just because you get a no don't doesn't mean it's not meant. Field might just mean you not ready.
Right.
But it looks like you were giving the keys to your hometown of Port Arthur, Texas. I mean, growing up, could you have imagined that, growing up in Port Arthur, that one day you would come back and have a key to the city. You know, they gave me a key to the city, my hometown. It was a crow ball. But they say come back any time you like.
You know what I'm saying. I can come back it, I can come back any.
Time I want you, bud Nah with all seriousness, I mean, think about it, Bun, when you growing up and you didn't brought I mean HTx is a hop skipping a jump from Port k but for the city and it's residence to show you love and what you've been able to accomplish once you left, and to be able to come back and to fully embrace you.
What does that mean to you? Bun? Let me tell you something. I'm growing up in Porto.
If you had business on Fourth Street, somebody had to pick you up from jail or you at he was at court. Unless you work for the city, you really ain't got no business on that part of Fourth Street, you know what I'm saying. So being of value as a black man in Portos on Fourth Street, you either the mayor or that's it, you know what I'm saying. That's the only people, the mayor and the police chief. Those are all the people in that part of town. They got edi pout. If you on that side of town,
you did something wrong. So for me to be there tonight, but do something right, I mean, it couldn't have even been something I predicted what happened, you know what I'm saying. Because you really want to try to be built in a certain way to get out of a small town,
¶ Bun B got key to city of Port Arthur, TX
you know what I'm saying. Like that's a big part of it is like, man, I got to get out of this town, you know what I'm saying. But you don't forget the town, right, you don't turn your back on the town who made That's what that's city made. Bun the guy that we see and everybody see the refined product. But it was shape. It was formed in port Off of Texas. Absolutely, That's where I got my determination from. Because you have to be determined to escape
certain environments in this country. You know what I'm saying, you have to have focus because it's a very small and it's a very I don't want to say it's a comfortable town, but it's a town that allows people
to high a level of comfort. If you hungry and put off, you got a cousin, you know somebody mom, you can get a meal, you can get a couple of dollars, you can get a bill, you can get you know what I'm saying, You get enough to get through, which would make some people not even want to try to do more.
Das.
You know what I'm saying. So you know, I grew up in a small town, Shaddy, You know, like I know where they under the treat yep right like you for years, since you was a kid, the same people been right there, sitting there, sitting in them folding chairs in a four point table, you know what I'm saying, with a little purple brown bag on the side of playing dominoes, talking shit right there all day long. And I just I just knew that's not the life I
want them now, That's okay. When I pull in town, I pull up certain places, I sit down, I pull up go fifth Avenue. I passed by Brad house, Brad them in the garage, I sit down, hang out with him for a minute or whatever. But neither Brad nor I want that to be our life. But I do see people, you know, older people that went to school before me, people who you know, were you know, top athletes.
You know, they was homecoming kings and all that type of thing, and they just for some reason, the transition didn't work for that.
You know what I'm saying.
Going on from the king of high school to the King of college is a whole different atmosphere for people, much less being making it to the professional sports and anything like that. So then there's not a lot of motivation, like most people are like, no, we're good right here. And you know, and I'm not knocking anybody that lives you know what I'm saying, You have to do what you have to do to make it in this world.
But I believe that I had more in me not only to contribute to the world, but to also help put my city on the map perverted, you know what I'm saying. So me and Pip, you know, rest his soul man, we really put a lot into it, and we did it knowing that we came from a place where if you went out there and misrepresented it, you couldn't welcome when you come back. Right, So, if you're gonna take put off the around the world, you better
take it the right way. Let's get into some topics a bun shop board, the concern that Tyre's Halliburton had a cap string cap strain. Despite the industry, Halliburn will to continue to push the play in a team's upcoming game on Thursday, per The Atlantic.
Should the Pacers shut him down?
Now, we saw a guy about four or five years ago, five six years ago, excuse me, have a calf injury and he pushed to play one Kevin Durant and it didn't end up well for it.
We saw JT Jason Tatum.
He went down earlier in the postseason with an achilles injury. And that's the debilitating injury. It's going to take you out for the entirety of a complete season. Now, watching the game last night, I thought, and I said this last night, Rick Carlile, Tyree's Halliburton's Like, I understand, he wants to play and he doesn't want to let his teammate down, but you weren't giving him anything.
TJ.
McConnell was our playing you and you went back to Tyreese Halliburton and the amount of minutes that TJ. McConnell played, he I played Tyree's. I mean, if I'm out there, and I understand guys want to be out there. I was exit professional athlete and I wanted to.
Be out there.
But it's hard if I'm not giving you, If just me being out there, that's not enough, not in that type of situation.
What are your thoughts on that bunt?
Well, for one, you know your coach is supposed to the coach is supposed to protect the players, right, you know what I'm saying now, Tyler? You know, Tyler's postseason has been built on how the league portrayed him, right, Yes, the players got out there said he was the most underrated that'll put a fire on fire under your feet
for show, yes, right. That pushed him all the way up to the finals, to the conference finals, and then I feel this could just be me, but I feel like, see I can get in the MVP put another fire on his feet a free So there's so much in his mind that ty Reach really has to prove right now, and I don't think it's just to himself. I really think he really wants to show this league that he's
the best. I think he wants to prove it. The beauty of your team is not necessarily that you're the best, is that your team is deep, so that and you aren't productive. You know what I'm saying, mccullull can come in, see I can can come in. People can come in and pick up that slack, you know what I'm saying. We had that issue here when we had Chris Paul in the playoffs with the Rockets. You know what I'm saying,
Chris pushed Who are Christmas? You know, Chris at that time was you know, a little bit dealing with injuries, you know what I'm saying, oft and artists to this day, you know, as he played and he probably shouldn't have pushed himself that far. If they had held him back a little bit, we would have won one of those two games had he not gone out, you know what I'm saying. We might have won the first one, but we would have been competitive in both of those games.
So you really got to think of the long term when these things happened. But I mean, you know, like I know, Shannon, this is it ain't no basketball after this, no anyway. So you played football, you know what, guys were willing to live live on the field during the playoffs. Yeah,
¶ Shams reports Hali calf strain concern
they're gonna leave them all out on the field. I remember with the you know, I'll pitch you in out and we had the guy who's sitting in there, man, and he's ready to go in. He's ready to go in, and he had just pissed a while back, and he was a little tender. But it's it's game seven, like, I'm ready to go in. Put me in, and they're like, no, because I just want to keep you on the contract and make sure you're still good.
And the Astros ended up.
Loving for one game and then now now we got you on the hook for one hundred and fifty million dollars for the next six years, and you can't pitch. I mean, you know with you know, Luckily mccolors, when Colors was just getting ready to come back. You know what I'm saying from two years of injury. So I understand it. You know what I'm saying. It's hard to stop a player, especially one is the money, right, obviously, the money is a driver. I don't think that's a
factor in this. It's a competitive nature. It's the want to prove that I am who I've said I am, and I'm not who y'all try to say I am. You know what I'm saying. I think they got it. I think they've got a rotation that they can work throughing. But again, if they if they don't put him in right or giving him restricted time, he's gonna blame himself if they don't pull through and gainst it right. But I think the thing is, look, he has to understand
he could. I mean, and I don't think. I don't think he's overrated, but he happened to be in an error with Steph Curry, with Luka Doncic, with Shay Gilgis with James Harden. If you job around, if you look at the guys he's up against, there was some good two guards. But ain't nobody getting mentioned with Jordan. I'm sorry, it's just the way it is. There's some there's some really really good quarterbacks with Tom Brady, let me think
about it. There was a really good quarterback. So you try to say that Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers and Drew Brees weren't good quarterbacks. But when you got that guy, you just have to get what people give you. And I think that's the thing with Tyre's Halliburton. He could go out there and he could average thirty. People are not gonna put him in front of Steph. They're not gonna put him in front of Luca, They're not gonna put him in front of Shade.
They're just not bun.
You know, look, go ahead, you're in the rap game, Bud, and you know this. I mean when Tupac and Biggie, let's just say Tupac Biggie hole uh k r s one rock him, Big Daddy Kane. You got to take take the tim Best rappers. Okay, everybody's gonna be talking about the tim Best rappers. It's gonna be one or two. And that's how it's always been and it's always gonna be.
There's been some great R and B singers, a bunch of them back in the y, you know, the eighties or night if the R and B was king, but only Marvin Gaye if you want Marvin gay if you.
Were Teddy p uh brug.
Baron White. Oh well, baby Fred you threw Freddy. Freddy came along in there and Snuky Snucky in there. He got a little time, Yeah, he got a little time. But it was basically Marvin Gay and Teddy p Look that that doesn't mean you aren't a great player just because you considered the greatest player, and that shouldn't affect you mentally, you know what I'm saying. My favorite my
favorite player was always crawl for Jamal Crusts. Okay, yep, right, I'm talking about one of the best to ever play the game, right, but he was and he was always considered the best sixth man, right. You know what I'm saying. If somebody go down, I got us from here, you know what I'm saying. And I feel like ty Reesis is a player like I feel like the Pacers as a team.
They ain't got no superstars on the.
Team, but they got they but their mentality that everybody's ready to step up.
Yes, you never know.
It's really hard to game plan for them because you never know who's gonna get that twenty five and then who's gonna have the nineteen to eighteen to seventeen to sixteen. They don't have that one guy and maybe in some situations that hurt them because most teams that win championships they do have that one guy. They can give him the ball and he can go get you a bucket.
That's why we did that week. That's why we didn't get further than we have because right now we have a very young team with a first time coach, and we just don't have anybody that we could say, hey, I need I need to too right now. If you have every team has to have somebody that can give you that two when you need it consistently. Now, if you have a rotation where you know, if I, if I get these guys who I want him in this
particular scheme, we can make this work. But all of that's wish for thinking I'm talking about and he's a two, he's a too, bro, that's a that's a tall.
Lud of the climb bro.
Yeah, that's a lot of wrongs to climb to try to, you know, to say that you are considered amongst the best, bro, the best person that ever played this game played your position, the best ever to play the game played your position, some of the best, the best shooter ever to shoot the basketball played in your position is going to be a wild you got to have chips, You got to have a couple of you know what I'm saying, there's a couple of things that have to that are going
to have to come together in order for everyone to consider it t reased to be that player. That doesn't mean he won't be that player all right now. I don't even think he has to be that player, you know what I'm saying. I think they I don't think he has to be that player. But if it ain't his time, bro, you left thirty plus teams behind, bro, right, take some pride in that, and y'are only gonna get better.
This team's only gonna get better.
But right now, yeah, he's got to be very very careful because he could do some real good. Yeah, yeah, he could do some real damn And you know, like I know, it goes far beyond the physical side of it in this point in the game, when you are not at your top, you know what I'm saying, health and performance, ability and capabilities in.
The moments like right here, this is the biggest moment.
This is the stage that eight year old and seven year old you know, guys, that's who they want to be that's where they want to go. And when you're not an optimum pride position to take advantage of it, Man, that becomes far beyond physical. That's a mental thing that can cripple you mentally or it could supercharge you. I'm gonna say this when we're gonna move on. Go back and look at Grant Hill. Grant Hill had a injury at Mankel injury and he played in the playoffs, and
Grant Hill was never the same. He was on his way to being a historically great player. He could do it all. Go back and look at Grant Hill, and once he got that ankle injury, he was never the same player. Guys, be careful. Lebron James is pushing back on the idea that championship rings are the only measure
of greatness center back on back in basketball. On this new episode of Mind the Game podcast with Steve Nash, Lebron said, I don't know why it's discussed so much in our sport and now why it's the end all, be all of everything. It's like, you aren't a great player if you never won a championship, or if you won one. You can't be the same conversation as this person. You sit here and tell me Alan Iverson, Charles Barkley,
Steve Nash wasn't unbelievable. Oh, they can't be talked about or discussed with these guys because they want It's weird to me. It's like saying Peyton Manning can't be in the same room with Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes because he only has one ring. Well, Peyton has two rings. But I get, I get what Lebron is trying to say. But that's that's what society, that's what social media, that's what we've done. Now, we've turned everything into a ring.
If you don't have a championship, it's almost And at what point of time it.
Was like that with the Grammys, bud Man, you ain't got no grap man, you ain't got no gravy. But some time to take that's what it takes to fuel you though, right if you if you would ask Lebron that pride to having a chip, that's his motivation, of course it was.
That's his drive. That's what I want to be. I want to be I want to be placed on the mantol next to those other greats. Well, you have to look at what those other great people have achieved. You look at what their success is gauged by, you know what I'm saying, and who they played against, the level of competition. All of these things come into that. So and and you got chips. I'm really gonna I don't know who he's arguing.
For, I think.
But if you look at Lebron, look at the guys that he out of lines, what do they have? Jordan ring, magic rings, bird rings. So that are the three guys that we know he looked up to. What does all those guys have in common? Championships? There's a reason why he left because he wanted a championship. He felt that the organization didn't have didn't have the word withal or he didn't trust him to get the requisite pieces in Cleveland,
so he went to Miami. You see, it's a big relief once you have something, because it's even for the person that says, man, would I'm gonna take me some time? Well, yeah, Elon Buss can take a six month vacation, Jeff Bezos can take a six month vacation. But asking when they were building their business, did they take a six month vacation? Okay, now, Lebron, did you feel this way before you had championships or after you got them. And I agree with everything he's saying.
I just believe this, bun when we're having a conversation and I got to put est on it. You got to have championships. Now, I'm not saying you can't be great because Charles Barkley. I'm old enough. You and I old enough because we remember a lot of these cats. I remember Charles Barkley, I remember Karl Malone, I remember a Patrick You and I remember some of these great players.
¶ Bron pushes back on Ring Culture
But when I need to add e st I just don't know how I.
Can when you come from football. So Marina, that was always the argument about Marino. On every other level, up against every other standard, he was always the limit sets for the position. The only thing was and look, I'm a Rockets fan, so we got those asterisks next to us.
But Jordan would play baseball. You know what I'm saying.
But no, I mean it's it's a very very real thing to have the want to get a championship, which is what inspires and drives a lot of people. Yes, but when you're a grand of talent as Lebron, you know, quite frankly, if you want to be in that conversation.
That there's a couple of things missing.
We know you have the talent, we know you have to Still that's never been a question with Lebron James, you know what I'm saying. But if you want to be in that Mount Rushmore, you still have some work to do. And that's fine, there's nothing wrong with that. He's actually still physically capable enough to do the work.
But I think one.
I don't think this should be something that should be bothering Lebron James because he's going to succeed at a level that very few people in any sport.
Or any business will be able to succeed.
But then also I don't know if that's something that still is potentially could drive him because if that's who he's looking to compete with, how many more years would it realistically take him to get those extra two rings that he's probably looking at right now.
Yeah? No, Like I said, so is this a the gate that argument preemptively? Is that what we're doing? I think the thing is.
What people hold, They say when you jump, you went to Miami, you went to Cleveland, you went to LA And so I think you know, he's like the rings I and when we talk about NFL players, they say the greatest, the greatest player.
I mean, Damn Reno is always on the list.
The name that you miss it mentioned and I know Dany have worked with him for a decade, knowing very well we shared the same agents when we played.
Is that he was always on the list.
Greatest player to never win a championship, that was Damn ma Reno because he could throw the ball like no one else, that quick release, I mean five thousand passing yards, forty eight touchdown in an era when everybody ran the football and you could hold, you could punish the quarterback. You could hit him everywhere, the top of his head, even the bottom of his feet when he.
Laid down, you could hit him there too.
So but I just think the thing is is what happened is that we knew used to never have these argument because we didn't have social media.
See now, but.
Everybody's a coach, everybody's a GM, everybody's a former player, And no matter how much you say I don't pay attention to it, we're trained.
We do. We see the negative.
No matter how much money Elon Musk has he worth four hundred billions.
He took a drug test to say, you know what, I ain't on drugs.
You see, why would somebody saying you're a drug you worth four hundred billion? What did you care? And and that's what happens when you know a good friend of mine, Dizney Raster. He's a recording artist in London, and on one of his songs he said, you don't care about my rich man problems. I don't care about your bitch ass problem. You know what I'm saying. And that's the reality. It's not that Lebron doesn't necessarily have a valid argument.
I think there's the lenity into his argument. Of course, you know what I'm saying. But at the same time, you're Lebron James. You know what I'm saying. You've a come to me. These type of arguments almost belittle what you've done. It's almost to the point of, well, yeah, I mean I want to couple of chips, right, which is something to celebrate. But I didn't win it as many chips as someone else, which other.
People would look down.
Okay, and what does that really Just like you said, like everybody's watching everything, we answer to the experts. Then we answer to the amateurs, and then we answer to the observers.
You know what I'm saying.
It's one thing to not watch ESPN, right, but it's another thing, and it's another thing to put the phone down.
But even if people around.
You will see what's being said, you're gonna get that information back.
You know what I'm saying. You just gotta you just gotta be able to eat.
I feel like at this point, you just gotta eat all of that stuff, you know what I'm saying. But is this is he Is he saying that I don't need that to be considered great? So is he saying but he wanted it great? And that's my thing? Is he trying to say? Am I one of the great? And that my lack of chips don't matter?
No? Because the people coming up behind you?
But you look like you holding a a hot hand right now, right in the scopeland things, right in the full scope of everything.
I think the thing is a bun. Is that? Bro? You got more regular season points, more playoff points.
You're the only guy, I mean, you're the only guy that's that's topping in points, rebounds and assists. I mean, no guy that has as many assists points as you got is even in the top ten. You're in the top five. And assists, I mean you you got forty eleven and eleven, forty thousand points, eleven thousand rebounds, eleven thousand assists. I think the only guy that maybe even can approach that is Lucas, and I don't think Lucas's body is gonna allow him to play that long.
I just think the thing and he this is what he said.
Lebron compared the way greatness is measured in other sports, noting athletes like Damn Marino, Barry Bonds are still celebrated regardless of their championship total. Yes, we still celebrate Barry and some people might and even though some people might say Barry is the greatest running back they ever saw.
But it's hard.
When you got Tim Duncan with all these rings, if he got these MVPs, he got finals MVPs, and to put somebody that doesn't have any in front.
Of him, true, and.
He's right, he said, added that a championship with the team accomplishment and shouldn't overshadow personal impact or skill, while asking for people to appreciate what these athletes have done but like trying to nitpick an individual because he was not able to win a team game or a team match, or whatever the case may be.
I don't know where it started.
It's just as long as it's a conversation, especially when it comes like you know me individually.
It's just weird.
You just got to be careful when you're somebody like Lebron and you make statements like that, you know what I'm saying. People can construe that like it's almost like you're talking to yourself, right right. That's how some people could take that statement, like you talking to yourself. Like, look, man, I don't have to be considered You don't have to have what everybody else had to be considered one of the greats, because I would imagine what he's alluding to.
I don't have what they all have, and I'm considered one of the greats. I'm always in the conversation with Yes, that's he got the fak of most finals MVPs. He's been more First Team All NBA selections, he's gotten more NBA All All NBA selections.
He's been the more All Star games.
He's one MVP behind Kobe for the most MVP All Star Games. When you look at his total body of work, they are very very few people now when he talks about Barry Bonds, Barry Bonds got the most home runs, He's got the most walks, he's got the most intentional walks. He's got five hundred home runs. Nobody, nobody's even close. I mean, you just just take away. If you take away Barry Bonds when he went to San Francisco, he's
still a Hall of Famer. He had three MVPs and he had almost five hundred home runs before he even stepped but.
Col gloves because he was legitimate five tool player.
He could hit for average, he could hit for power, he could run the base pass, he was a tremendous defensive player. And I because what people don't realize unless you're old enough to remember, Barry came up as a leadoff hitter. So you know the type of eyes that you got, because the most important thing for a leadoff hitter is to get his ass on.
Baby.
It doesn't matter he can hit for single, he can hit for a double, hited over the fence, But I need you on base because now I got my guys to push the other the second, the other second hitter. He gives you the second you steal third. Now my guy, get a sack, file, get a Ribby, drive you in, whatever the case may be.
So Barry always had that eye. Now he can hit for true power. I get what he said. I get what he's.
Saying, like Barry Bonds, but those guys like he's looking at Barkley. Barkley didn't have the most points Marino. When Marino tired, Marino had the most touchdowns, He had the most yardy So it was easy for you to make that comparison. Now, I don't think we were talking about Kareem because big men don't get credit anyway. Because Kareem got six MVPs, and people forgetting that Kareem got six, he got more than anybody.
I kill the all time leaves scor and people.
I remember in nineteen eighty four, Thomas and Matt because but I don't know if people used to do they used to because nobody really would follow the NBA like that. They would go different places like Boston would play in Hartford trying to get fan support. The Hawks would play in New Orleans trying to drum up fan support. The Lakers traveled to Las Vegas to get fan support.
That's where he broke it at in nineteen eighty four Thomas and Matt.
My thing is when when like who's validation is like, that's a that's not a general stadium to me, when someone like Lebron James, who is probably one of the most covered athletes on the planet right has has dealt with more people in the media space than than anyone else possibly in sports, from from his teen years all the way up to now.
His children are older than he was. Some of his children are older than he was when.
He entered this media world, right, Yes, who's validation?
Does that statement? Parken to?
I wonder when you say some would say, someone would say, I feel like, you know, it's it's almost like this someone who keeps invalidating his contributions that he's trying to prove wrong. And that's why I say, I don't know if he's talking to them on himself, you know, is that something that that he keeps in his mind right to remind himself you're great? You know, it's almost like tough,
motivational speaking type of thing. You know what I'm saying because I don't want it to look like he's trying to downplay.
People's opinions of what he does. So I don't even I'm not gonna please everybody though, Bud.
But you know, but that's always been the thing about Lebron, Like he really wants to be seeing a certain way by people he like. You know what I'm saying with Kobe and Madge, Kobe and Mike with like kids my butt, Lebron. I think Lebron has bun me and the little bit that I've been around in he's genuine little nice guy. He really wants to be like he's I mean, like
I said, I don't know him. I mean, you know, some people might say whatever whatever, but I just know in the little bit that I've been around him, he's he's a he's a likable guy, and some guys like to be like some guys don't care if you like Mike does not does not care if you liked him or I shouldn't say ed like l I l I k E or l I k E ed like or liked Kobe rest his soul was the exact same way.
So I think I think Lebron and I think what you're speaking to is the fact that Lebron, because of all this media training that he's had all of these years. Lebron feels like he's always done the right thing, yet the right thing played the right way. So I don't understand why everybody is not on the same accord when it comes to what I've done, you know what I'm saying.
But it's because we've had people who have had you know, Lebron jain't was born to play basketball, yes, you know what I'm saying, Like physically, like he was born to play the game. Everybody wasn't like that. Mike had to work to get there, Kobe had to work to get there. They weren't inherently born with these physical traits that Lebron was given, that body, that height, that speed, that size, and the thing. You know what, sometimes familiar that familiarity
breeds resentment. Because Lebron is cool, cool with everybody else, they feel like they can take shots at it and they know you're not gonna shoot back in that way.
You know what I'm saying That.
I've been the nice guy, right, I've been the guy you know our because my brother was a little rough, so I had to try to come here and smooth everything out. But in every situation, sooner or later they can't get smooved out. So we you know, all that trying to keep everybody cool and calm. At some point you can be all of that and all and it still get punched in the mouth exactly because you know the Bible telling the Bible teachers and metaphorically like, hey,
turn the other cheek. But you people, sometimes you gotta get You get tired of people just you know, uh, keep saying and do it and do it and do it and say it and saying, hey, I ain't gonna turn that. You'mna put something on you. Well, people play with you because they know you you will turn the other cheek. Yes, they anticipate you really not wanting to go there right every now and then you gotta pull on to the side and be like, hey man, I want a dog walk keep bro like I will dog
don't don't. Don't play with me like that. Just because I don't don't mean I won't. That's always been my motter, Just because I don't don't mean I won't. Especially you're in somewhere like in your position or my position, because the more public you are, the less likely you're going to retaliate.
And they take kindness for weakness.
Oh, he's on television or X, Y and Z, he's the he got a business, he's this and that. So why would you why would you even try to get me out of character? First of all, you know that, So why not just just keep it moving. I understand I'm not everybody's cup of tea. Everybody. As a matter of fact, I don't really care for tea. So I understand everybody's not gonna care for shatter shark. Everybody gonna care for Bun or whomever the case may be. But
I just think sometimes that's a losing battle. Well, I sometimes you just got to say, you know what it is, what it is. You don't like me, But I know there's enough people out there that do. There's a term that's used now for people that I don't want to run across, and that's crash out. I don't I don't want to be in a position to deal with nobody. Ain't got nothing to lose. I got too much to lose. I can't play with people like that.
I got to just gone by my business right.
So, and and looking, I keep looking at my dog because I'm waiting for somebody to knock on it with a shape bar Lapoitier package. Okay, because you didn't have a burger, and I ain't had no liquor.
I supposed to be sipping on something right now.
You supposa be sipping on something right now, Bun. But you know what, We're gonna get your address. I'm gonna get you taken care of. I appreciate, I appreciate that'd be a nice little way to make the evening go by it Right now, Doc Rivers is pushing back against the trade speculation and involving Gianni's It's so ridiculous, and I've heard all these reports.
You're all the stuff, but you don't like when you hear it.
You're like, you know it's not true, but still your players hear it, and everybody else hears it. I don't know how many times Jannie had said he wants to be a Buck and he wants to win a title with the Bucks. And it's so cool to me because it's not the way. It's not the way it's done anymore. But with certain guys, I don't think Steph Curry would ever leave Golden State ever.
I'm always hoping. Obviously Yannis feel the same way.
That's the way it's been for so so far, and it's been great, it's been awesome.
Yeah. But the one thing that.
Steph knew is that he knew Bob Myers and now Mike done Levy and the ownership of the Warriors would do everything humanly possible, even if it means being in the luxury tax and even being in that separate apron,
second apron, year after year after year. Does Johannis feel that same way that the Bucks can put a team around him given the assets that deliverited, assets that they're have that can put them in contention to win or to compete year after year, Bun, there's a totally different situation because every organization isn't like the Warriors, and Doc knows that. I think the reason we're still in limbo with this whole thing is because Gianna's is not the
one to show that, you know what I'm saying. His nature is not to buck the system. You can see that he really wants this to work. I believe, I believe he wants to win on that team in that city. I believe that he doesn't look like the kind of person that's like, oh well, let's go to lall, let's go here.
He doesn't.
I feel like that's the perfect city for a person like him and his nature, you know what I'm saying. Yeah, that being said, something's got to give. I don't believe this organization will leave him behind. I believe they'll give him. If there was somebody he said we need this guy, they give him that guy if humanly possible. I don't see him wanting to leave that city and that team. But I don't think he feels like he's in a
position where he has to right now. I do believe there's gonna be some pieces that are going to be available in this off season that if they could go and get one or two pieces that make him a little more comfortable.
I don't think he wants to leave.
I don't think he wants to start over in a new city with a new team, with new ownership. That doesn't seem like John's just ready to I just want to go where I can win.
He doesn't have that.
You see that in other players that are willing to go and leave a team or leave an organization. I just want to go why I feel I can win. That's primarily the reason why most guys say they want to leave is either money or the competitive nature of an organization. You know what I'm saying, I don't think he really wants to leave. I'm a Rockets fan, so I'm all for it. Big his handsOn down there. You
know what I'm saying. I would love for him to lead because well, there's those are two different types of players for two different reasons. Kd' is a when Now like, if you bring KD in to your organization, you diad you one piece away.
Yeah, hell you bring you think you want piece of weight.
Yeah, But if you bring Yannison, you want piece of way that can work for you for another.
Five potentially sub but for sure, for sure, you know what I'm saying, You've got it.
That's why I say, Kevin Durant is, if we bring him in, we got a two year window. You think you think that's it. No, I think that's what teams think. Okay, okay, that's my thing. I think I think the age and the salary is gonna put people in a position where we just can't do it.
And you but you see where he's looking.
He's looking for teams with tax breaks, yep, right, But I think with Johnny's. I think Johnny's is a very wholesome, very family kind of guy. Haven't heard anything about them being wild or whatever. Because if he wanted a lifestyle, he wouldn't say where he's at. I think that's that city and that community is just enough for him, right, Yeah, because go to La.
If he leaves it to go to.
La or Team or or major major market, they're gonna demand a lot more of him.
You know.
I feel like Jis could go to the bakery, could go to the dry Leaders, and that lends us up to his lifestyle, you know what I'm saying. But certain other cities would demand the more out of him because they're a lot more media driven, there are a lot more sponsor driven, you know what I'm saying, And I think that would. I think that's a reason that keeps him with the Bucks because he's the biggest fish in
¶ Doc Rivers pushing back on Giannis trade rumors
that pond by fall. Yeah, but and I mean not on the team even in the city, you know what I'm saying. And he's one of the biggest deals there, a comfortable place to be if they can get in those pieces. And he's a guy that will not to cut you option. He's a guy that will let some bread go to yep. I believe that. But let me ask you this. Jannis has had success. He's won a championship. Once you start having success, you crave it. It's like success is a drug. I don't care what anybody tells you.
You know this, Bud, I know this. Success is a drug and you crave it. And the more you have it, the more you want it. And the last thing that you want is that you have a taste of it. And it's almost like they let you sample it. You sample you like you buy. Okay, he sampled that success a championship. Now that's all that matters. He's got MVPs, he's got Defensive Player of the Years. The only thing that matters is Jiannis. Now, how many more will he stat?
I don't think Giannis leaves for the in this next season. I don't think he leaves that quickly. You okay, and you know, but I do think this may be the last shot. I believe he's trying to be as patient as possible, But like you said, he's tasted it, and I think he's got enough. He's got enough basketball wisdom, and I to see if I was here, this would be over. If I played for this team, this wouldn't have even been a question because this guy plays that
position much better than my guy. This guy coaches these situations better than my guy. You know what I'm saying. But Giannis is not a he's not a rock the boat kind of guy. It just don't seem like that to me. I feel like that's the kind of dude. You got to really mess over him or for him to really feel unappreciated. And I don't think he hit that wall yet in Milwaukee, but I do think they got They might have one more season on the clock though, Yeah, absolutely,
they got one more season. We're gonna see what you're doing the off season. We're gonna see what you're doing all Star Break. And if this time ain't shifted, something got to get. Something's got to get. South Carolina quarterback Leonora Sellers turned down an eight million dollar NIL to transfer to a different school. Lenoris's father told his son, you're nineteen, you don't need eight million dollars.
You're in a great spot.
Let me ask you this, bun, Do you think NIL is ruining college players because some are prioritizing the bag over a great situation? I think it's a blessing and a curse, right, you know, like I know, a lot of these young, young, young players predominantly from communities of color. This has always been a pathway to success, to change the scope of how your family dynamic exists, to change things from check to check.
The generational wealth.
And the draw to go and play in the NFL was what drove people for the most part, through high school through college to try to get to that big payoff. Well with nil being inserted, now, it's a blessing because kids don't have to wait that long and you know, like I know, that's it's a very small number that gets into the NFL, and even smaller they get that
big deal out the door and gets that money. And so the opportunity to take care of your family and to set those things straight earlier is obviously a great thing for people to have. But you know, like I know, when some people get that check, they stop giving a ding. It really can stop the drive for people because be like, oh, man, I just signed this big check for five years and you know, one hundred and eighty million dollars and all that that. Yeah, but now if you're the face of
the organization. Now you're the biggest cultural export from the city that you play for the a whole. The dynamic for all this shit starts changing when that money comes.
You know what I'm saying for college players that potentially might not make it into the NFL, and there's a substantial number of those people even if they get nil saying, and we know it's only going to be four or five people that get real money exactly, there's only and I think that's something that we don't talk about enough when it comes to nil college athlete gameplay, is that, Yeah, there's a lot of money that gets inflicted into these universities,
and there's a lot of money that's available, but that's gonna go to skill player, right, you know that's gonna go to skill play, quarterback, running back, wide receiver. Absolutely, people that put numbers on the board, that's who. Or the sack master, right, something like that, you know, a pass rusher, guy like that. So if you can get that money, get that's fine. Everybody gets money doesn't stop
being driven. But if money's the deciding factor, determining factor, then yeah, that could be something that would stop somebody from wanting to.
Go further and.
Yeah, if you can get the money and you don't have to go in the NFL and risk your body and risk that pain, and you got a plan to do something with that money, I think it can work for you. I think it works to your benefit. But if you think happening through the porter from school to school is going to increase your value, you've got another thing coming that's not gonna for everybody. Like, if you've got a situation where you know, you know there's money
waiting for you, that's fine. But and if you think you're taking that money now and it doesn't help you, that's the other side.
And let me be clear about that. If you think the organization wants.
University wants to pay you to come and play for that school, but you don't think they're contenders, and you don't think it's gonna, you know, look good on you on your record to play for a school that doesn't really have a good chance at winning anything, then I don't see how you get to the next check. If that's all you worried about, is that check right?
You know? So it's a lot for families to navigate.
I've seen players whose parents are you know they right now, like the high school parents are like, no, my boys friend to go to this tou It don't matter what college you go to, they gonna cut them a check. That like parents are actually saying that. Yeah, they're saying that right now. So you know, I wish the brother the best, but I don't. I think the portal. I think the portal works for a probably ten I think
ten percent of people. The portal actually puts you in it like you have a skill set that can work almost anywhere, but this, this school will nurture your talent.
They will put the right type of talent next.
To you and you will learn and play and look like you want you to go to that next club. But I just think that's a very small group of people.
¶ Univ of SC's Sellers turns down 8m NIL
And I think a lot of people are being told that there's a lot of money, and let's be real, they can't A lot of university can't even pay you with this. They gonna pay you exactly, we're not even talking about that. How many college students are sitting there on campus with no money because the coach went over
and told you from your mom and your grandmother. Than when they don't give you and then you get there and and boosters is somebody else like No, that money is advocated for the ball we got coming from over here. The volume