#126 - Iman Shumpert

It just depends. What's your record at Like if you had to put a number on the record for many times you've jerked off on one day one day, what's your record? Maybe when I was I don't know, like three or four, that's it. Oh, that's terrible. I've done at least eight eight Yeah, at least eight once. Yeah, probably when I was like nineteen, yeah, or maybe sixteen.

Oh yeah. Just you know, you have the whole house to yourself when you fresh internet porn, when you barely first got those bang bros hacked passwords, you're just stroking all day until someone comes home and catches Yeah. Really anyway, Hey, we got a great podcast today with an NBA superstar. I love Imon Schumpert. I've been a fan of his game for a very long time. He's currently working on his music. He just went Dancing with the Stars season thirty and by the way, he killed it like this guy.

I don't think anyone's ever had a better performance on Dancing with the Stars, So shout out to Imman. He's working on a project that's coming out called This Carrent Stolen. I happened to be a hardcore twenty sixteen Cavaliers advocate, a big, big Lebron James fan. That's kind of where I stand on the side of the all Time debate and me and in Man talk about this debate. It was actually a master debate him and I had, and it was a good one. So shout out to him

on man, this is if you're a basketball fan. I mean, we really dived in here. Did he break the record? Steph Currige just broke the three point record? No one gives a fuck. Steph Curree's a bitch anyway. So I sat here and I sat with these with my producer Cook, who's also a fucking Warriors fan while we talked to Aman Schumpert. Shout out to Odd socks. Go to. This intro is all over the place. Yeah, shout out to odd Socks. You know, a nice, a nice sock to

come in when jerking off an odds sock. I mean serious, you know, if you're gonna come into a sock, you might as well be an odd sock. Listen, go to odd socksoficial dot com. I'm listening all bullshit aside. We're definitely fucking around because we're delirious. We've been here all day. Odd Socks is the most comfortable socks I've ever worn. Odd Socks has also got the fly at socks in the game, all the designs you could want if you're

into the license thing. They got Nickelodeon, they got WWE, they got Breaking Bad, they got whatever you're looking for. Plus they got the odd Socks basics, and they got the odd Socks underwear. So go to odd socksofficial dot com use the promo code bootleg keV to save twenty percent off of checkout. Sorry for the random intro. Let's talk to Alman Shumpert. Hopefully he doesn't hear this intro because he's gonna be like, who the fuck did I just sit down? With Yo. It's the bootleg keV show Man.

We got a special guest in here, NBA legend dancing legend now also a pretty solid MC. We got Iman Shepherd in the building. Man, welcome, what's going on both? First of all, congratulations on Dancing with the Stars. I assumed when you got on there, just knowing your background, knowing who your wife is, you had a pretty easy path to victory. I just assumed you were the betting favorite.

When I saw that you were a part of the cast, I was like, Yo, there's like a mon's got to come with it because your girl, low Key's one of the hardest dancers of all time. You know what I'm saying. I mean, I'll take it if that's what you felt. But how like, like, oh I wish it was smooth like that? What was that like? I mean, obviously I didn't even know there was thirty seasons. I saw it was a thirty season. That's crazy. It's it's a competition show.

It's not a I went it with the assumption that I was gonna go in here and have a ball and it was gonna be fun. Yeah, dancing for a couple of hours, you know what I'm saying whatever, and it's uh pretty hectic after a while. I don't know. It was like I damn it, didn't want to do it, you know what I mean? Like you get like this is more work than I thought. You just get exhausted with doing every dance that you don't know, you know what I'm saying, Like it's one thing to you know,

be a kid and learn how to walk once. Man, But it's like if somebody tried to teach you how to walk ten different ways as a thirty year old, You're looking at them like, hey, bro, this looks better. It feels better, So I'm gonna do this, like you know what I mean, Like that's what your mind wants to say. And it was just like all the small technicalities, it was just like to get my habits to break. It was so difficult. I didn't think it was that difficult.

And I'm lucky that Danny State stayed in the practice i mean rehearsal space with me for as long as she did, because we did get a lot of practice in. But by the time we did get the trophy though, it was worth it. So it was definitely it was definitely worth it. Man, was it like a different type of challenge for you, obviously being an athlete, coming from you know, being one of the however many people are

in the NBA. Was it three hundred and seventy people in the NBA something like that, one of the three hundred and seventy best athletes in the in the world when it comes to basketball to go into the dancing world, Like, how how much of a different challenge was it for you? It was a it's a big adjustment. It's uh, I say, basketball is already kind of like poetry in motion, so to speak, like you have to make smooth movements, uh,

with your athleticism. And I think that was like my biggest advantage when when the weeks progressed, it was like Danny started leaning on you know what I was good at. You know, we started doing lifts, We start, uh, just doing things every week that we start calling them moments. But it was like we would have these moments that you you feel something you don't really you're not really

just watching the show, just like the US thing. It was like people felt that shit, like they felt like we was really in the movie, like we was really trying to remind them of the movements and play on the tether version of ourselves. And it was like doing that I think really boosted us. But the the the adjustment from basketball to dancing, I think basketball is already pretty much like we gotta do. It's kind of like dancing, like I'm doing the wrong but like or something like that.

Ain't nothing but a finish over the right right right, you know what I'm saying. That's a finish, So that's a that's a reverse. That footwork is me getting around the screen, you know what I'm saying, Like it's similar, It's just I gotta make it fun. So I'm like running around the rehearsal space like okay, euro step here five six, seven, eight, Okay, that's you know what I mean. Like that's how I was remembering here telling myself basketball terminologies.

As the footwork, I also feel like like just as a person, like you've always been like naturally evolved into like the space of like art in some way, whether it's being an artist or fashion. And I feel like the dancing shit, you know, like I said, it kind of goes hand in hand with all that shit, especially considering like again, Gianna is the goat, you know what, I'm saying, like, so it doesn't hurt, right, I mean,

it's that's what I've been doing my whole life. If I wouldn't have went to the league, I wasn't gonna sit on my ass like I wasn't gonna be you know what I mean, if something ever went wrong with me in my life. Like you see people checking out early. It's like, if I ever checked out early, how dare I not try? You know what I'm saying, everything as far as every competition, I'm offered to be in every opportunity, you know what I'm saying, available to take on, Like

why wouldn't I take it on? Like when I got the Dancing with the Stars call, It's like, yeah, normally and then you see it. I mean, by the way Jerry Rice was on Dancing with the Stars and some of the greatest smith Yeah, Floyd was on there. That's what really threw me off. I'm like, Floyd was on there. I don't even remember that. That's crazy. Exactly thirty seasons. When I saw that, I was like, there was thirty

How old am I? And it's like you go there, you're watching it, and I'm they're like, yeah, the football players usually do way better than you guys. I'm just like what other basketball players had participated in. I feel like there was Rick Fox, Lamar Oldham, Clyde Drex the Okay, I just saw Rick Fox in a movie that I didn't know he was in recently. I remember which one. I was watching, some movie from two thousands. I was like,

Rick Fox, and I have to tell you this. I'm a Phoenix Suns fan, but I am also you know, the Sons have been in a dumpster fire or until you know recently, so from like uh nine until recently, just whatever team Lebron's been on has been my team, you know, outside of the Suns. You see, I got Charles Barkley up there. But uh, I haven't had more passionate, screaming conversations with other grown men about I've had more of those arguments about your Cavaliers teams with than anything

else in my life. I'm talking. I've had screaming matches with grown men about the Cavaliers. Oh it's serious, Like like I'm I'm saying, like, obviously you got traded in what twenty fifteen in the middle of the season, right, or was that the Calves from the Knicks. Was that the trade that when you and gr came over. Yep, yeah, that season, right, and so I just I just want

to go over that that time period, man. Now, that first year was one of the biggest what if year's ever And every time I argue with the Warriors fan, like this fucker right here, my producer, I always just think about, like that team, and we always see the meme of like what the Warriors had as their starting five and who the Cavaliers had as they're starting five because Kevin Love got injured, Kyrie was out but still took it to six games. I think it was Matthew

Deladova was starting at point guard. I think were you starting at the three or the four? I think you

were starting at the three. Tristan Thompson mos Golf. What do you remember about that series that you know a lot of people had said Lebron probably should have still won the finals MVP obviously Iggy ended appointing it, But that was such a hard fought series, man, Like, what was that like kind of coming from the Knicks from like, you know, a team that probably fell short of a lot of people's expectations and then just going straight to the finals that first year? What was that? What was

that experience? Like, man, what do you mean, Like, what do you mean instead of going I mean, like you you get traded and then that first year you're in the finals. Oh well, make no mistake. Field traded us and wasn't supposed to trade us. Joe, we'd a big cool over there New York, Joe, like we're still with the war some ship. After while, we just wasn't together long enough. They broke us up. Phil, I don't know what you was doing, feel but that was incorrect. But

we did, Phil Jackson kind of for a few years. Yeah, shout out to you for that, bro. But uh, when we got over there, like it took us. It took us just a quick second to like be able to really like go to war with each other and practice. I feel like right when we first got over there were still banged up. I was still coming off with

shoulder injury. I dislocated my shoulder, hadn't been playing. So when we got traded, Uh, just jy'all was playing, but he was like nursing something as well, Like we were

just coming over. Everything was just sort of random. I don't think he like did much his first game and then once we got into them practices, we had some special practices that team, Like I don't know, like before we got when we first showed up, like before I started practicing, I just remember coming in practice and being like, bro, this is too smooth, Like y'all have no beef, Like there's no hectic, there's nothing like, there's nothing to push

y'all at all. And that's what me Jr. And Mazi that's what we was like, that's what we owned now because y'all got Kyrie kd lebron K Love and Bron So it's like it ain't like it's gonna be many basketballs being passed around, you know what I'm saying, too crazy, So we just sort of brought like a toughness and a swag and a fun you know what I'm saying, Like I feel like, damn near they were scared to celebrate a three pointer, you know what I'm saying, Like

if you watch them, they were just like regular like yeah, yeah, goot y'all. Yeah, it was just like great guys like yeah, no good like good play like and then when we got there, we was just like we don't do some swag. We just so like, yeah, we coming from New York, we just you know what I'm saying, Like we used to giving that Showman like our crowd like that shit. Like we like we we point at the crowd and

start talking shit. New York loved that shit. I'm like, y'all just gonna have to get with it over here, Like I don't know what y'all got going on, but we're not doing this quietly like that's what we brought to the team. But it was like marching through that and seeing Bron Like once we lost Kay and he halfed his knee because quiet as kept Bro when that

misshot came off in Game one. If I throw that mob back in, it's a different series because kle never has his knee, you know what I'm saying, Man, Like Kyrie plays that one in the overtime. No, he did play that series, you know what I'm saying. But if he plays that full series, that's what I'm saying, he plays the full series. I think you guys went. If I hit that over and then basketball is different forever because y'all wouldn't be running around head shooting all these threes.

My man wouldn't be over here shaking his head all confidently with this Golden State s. Kat probably come over there and play with us as opposed to them, because we won. You know what I'm saying. What I did, Katie would have been like they won over there, the go over here and shake with them. Me and Bron finda played together, and y'all finna be mad. But that would have ruined basketball too, So I can either way ruined. No, he didn't. It wasn't Katie. It was Broun first going

to Miami. Bron knows her basketball. Let me ask you this, do you think that was I always look at the front I ruined basketball? He thought he was. He thought he was making it better. I get him. So you think Lebron ruined it for everything? He ruined the dis me personally, I love the NBA for the little tea that I thought was there. He basically knocked the fourth wall down. Like man, the owners, they ship, they bullshit

and we're doing what we want. Great business move, for sure, But when you think about it outside looking in, like I got people tweeting me right now, they like literally talking about owners and trays and it's like, bro, y'all not supposed to be talking about none of them. Actually, y'all really supposed to be going super crazy if you're a businessman and you're sitting outside looking at you like damn. The fans are supposed to be worried about the game.

They supposed to be talking shit like they used to be. We used to just sit there and talk shit like of course, I don't care. You're not finn I was a Bulls fan. You're not allowed to talk shit about Jude Butler. Shout out to Jedd Butchler also a great volleyball player. Everyone knows that. Like, you're not allowed to talk about Jason Caffey, none of my guys or or what was the other guy's name of Randy Brown? Randy Brown, you know, you know Randy Brown. Shout out to him.

We could go down to random book Bill Whitnington. But I'm just yeah, I'm not playing about the Bulls. And it's like I feel like now because everybody's teaming up and shit, like you'll hear people like no hen Man, but they suck. You know what I'm saying. He needs

to go over here, he needs to get traded. I'll be listening to this shit, like, bro, I'm like, do y'all realize that the players that y'all just willing to just if they don't win this year, Like y'all, he get traded there and he can't win this year, and now y'all just done. I'm like, bro, these two, these two playing styles, is gonna take at least three years to figure each other out before y'all even got a shot. Y'all big and y'all small gonna have to play together

for a little while. Become like an arms race though, right, it's like very much like you gotta happen fast. It has to happen immediately or else it's like everybody under the Yeah, everybody's tweaking, and it'll be like, Bro, they lost three games, like Bro, chill out eighty two games. Somebody lose three, they start caring about what the man wearing is he come in like it's just all type of frantic And I feel like all the franticness happened

when bron went to Miami. That's when every thing became so critical. I guess I agree with you in that aspect that things changed as far as people. Oh no, no, I'm not talking about the development of the game. If you watch people how they score in the day. That I just mean, like the way the fans perceived the game. Yeah, they look at it like it don't mean much, because I always look at the first super team from that era being when Ray Allen and KG went to the

Celtics and won that first year. But that's not that's not Lebron James. It's still not Lebron James or Dwayne Wade for that matter, like y'all got to do because that was even like kind of end of KG peak, still peak KG, but kind of towards the end, you know, Peak, d Wade, Peak, Lebron, Pete, Chris Bosh. I mean, I guess I get it, but no, you don't get it. Nobody gets it. I hear Richard's I think that it changed. I think when Lebron went to the Heat, it definitely

changed supposed to do that. The way fans looked at the way, they really start looking at it like it just don't mean nothing, Like loyal c means nothing. So when you talked about the Knicks earlier and how Phil because everyone's ruined it. Phil was as great of a coach as he was, was probably one of the worst basketball people. But it's because basketball is in this hot

seat mode. So if we're not winning and he on the hot seat, he thinking, oh I gotta shift it and I gotta do this, and it's like, goofy, No, you wasn't you. You ain't Like you got drafted in twenty eleven, which was a crazy draft. That was Kyrie Kawhi, a lot of players in the War, Jimmy Butler, Kimba Twins, Kimball, Yeah, the Mores. Yeah, Burks is a great player. Uh was in that draft? What else? That's a hell of a draft.

Jimmer shout out to jimmer Man he should have. Yeah, but no, when you go to the Knicks, mellows there you got a great young nucleus yourself, j R. Smith, he just took too long. Took to long win Man. Amari had signed in what twenty ten, So by the time you got it, because a Mari that first year with the Knicks really had like an MVP type season. But then I think after that the injuries kind of caught up to him. But do you think that that's

what happened with the Knicks? Like, had you guys stuck around and jailed a little bit longer, Like I felt like when we after we went to this to the second round and lost to Indy, which we shouldn't have lost it, I feel like I'll keep my commence with myself on that. But that's that's what. That's the Paul George, Roy, Herbert Land Stevenson team. Yeah, keep my comments myself, don't keep it. Get should have won, We should have won. Okay, how many games? How many games of that series? Got six?

Should have won. And coming off of that, I'll never forget working out doing all this other stuff and were getting ready to report back. Novak gets traded, and I'm like, what the fuck? Once Novak got traded, it was just like what are we doing? Like why do y'all continue to it was like it just seemed like we're just doing stuff to our team to just just to do it. Yeah, because Novak was like id role player. But it was perfect for our ball club, right, like a perfect fit. Yeah.

I could drive right whenever I want because nobody's gonna help off. No back, right, I'm gonna dunk this. Anybody got an issue with it, bring your man over here. No back that counts for three? Need a count by two, a count by three. If that's how I picks, but

we all knew each other. We had a vibe of energy together and then it was like, yeah, no, bag's gone, meet Andre Bignani and it was like now we and we got Drea just in an uncomfortable position because he like, if he don't jail, now it's like what we trade for you, you know what I'm saying. So now it's like a weird energy on him, but it's really because we just miss our adults. Also to Bianni was like in a weird position too, because that was like if he did if it didn't work for him, there he's

definitely a bust, like you know what I mean. And then he was you know what I'm saying, nervous with the injury stuff. Its just it was just a lot happening that It was just like, Bro, we had a nice thing going and I understand why I got tampered with, But who am I? Bro? How I'm trying to you?

You were there during the insanity shit? Right? What was because I feel like that was like a really one of the more awesome random things that have happened like in basketball in a long time, where you like, think of this guy who just he went to Harvard, Right, he went to like like an ivy league school. I think he went to Harvard. He went to one of those Harbor or yeah, he went to Harvard Man and Tarbor or is it hot Shaman went to Harvard to No, no, no,

Landry Fields. Oh Landry Fields. Huh? Which Dall State? She said, Landry Fields. No he didn't. I don't know. Yeah, but obviously Mellow's out when the insanity thing, you know, gets crazy, he comes back. Was there like a weird dynamic within the team when Mellow came back, like with the insanity shit just kind of starting to tail off? What you mean?

Was it a weird way because obviously when that when that started, like Mellow was out with was out with an injury, right, yeah, he pulled his growing though it was like a week. It was a week, Okay, Okay, I just remember that, like like if you watch the sports shows. But that's what I'm saying about the sports show. It's like you got the media now doing all that. It's like, I guess that's what I'm asking. Was there

a weird energy when Mellow came back? Or was it Mellow as happy as hell and he was super happy that he like, Bro, I can finally rest y'all win it. Mellow wasn't even healthy when he first came because it was a lockout year. So it's like when Mellow got hurt, it was like he putting this on his back stat in and out the lineup. Mello really got us on his back playing forty minutes in November, you know what I'm saying to where it's like I didn't understand it

back then. But it's like, Bro, the Vets ain't supposed to be that heavy on they knees right now. We're supposed to wait till we get to the meat and potatoes of the season. But you think that's that's what everyone would always get on the bron about that, Like in the beginning of the season he might take some

possessions off or he might you know what I mean. Like, but it's like, yo, it's the end of the season is what matters, right, especially if you're a Shmello was dealing with that type stuff and then he set out and he was happy because he actually got some rests. He actually had some real like when he came back. The issue is never with uh jay Len. He was

bumping hands with Dan Tony. The style that Jaylen needed was basically putting Mellow in a messed up spot because he's like, I'm kind of you're putting us in something that I'm sort of like ruining his possessions at time because you know what I'm saying, We're playing two totally different games, but you're trying to put us on the court at the same time. Like's not it's not working out.

Like Mello's thing was when that man come in when we need him to for a stretch to do X, Y and Z, let's run that offense this way right and then give me a break right here, and then you know what I'm saying, And it was like they

just weren't. I don't know if Mello seemed to controller because Mellow usually don't say much to a coach, you know what I'm saying, But Yeahda and Tony from what I understand, like you know again, I'm a Suns fan, so seven seconds or less era, you know exactly, which is why it was like Mello understood, like this is what you like, like Jaylen come in quick decisions happen in wooh wooh. But he's like, gee, I'm just not

You're not that nugget. Yeah, I'm not Carmelo from the Nuggets that's trying to one foot on the breakaway all day long. Like he's like just a lockout year. You know what I'm saying, Let me pick my spots, getting my rhythm so that when we do into the playoffs, I'm ready to go. Like he like I gotta be in my bag and he like we're not playing at this tempo during the playoffs. You know what I'm saying,

Like that's how you felt. That makes like when they when they start bumping heads, it was like, yeah, media is going crazy. Everybody's tweaking all we need to make all these changes and shit, and it's like in all actuality, Bro, were playing a game like every other day. Me and jay Len don't know shit. We just winging it. You know what I'm saying. I'm like, Bro, I had a good rookie season strictly based off me loving basketball and

just being like fuck the other side. You know what I'm saying, Like, that's the only reason because you finished like I think top five and Rookie of the Year voting, right, I just tore my knee up. If I would have tore my knee up and had I wouldn't have toren my knee up and had a good playoff stint, Like, yeah, I would have felt way better going in my second year. But it was like literally every year in the summer, I had to get some sort of surgery. We always

think I took. I think I took. I had two years in the league where I didn't get a surgery and something. Yeah, you had a lot of I feel like injuries were always kind of like a thing that plagued you throughout your you know your you know, they ain't play me. That's just that's just basketball, right, Well, it ain't basketball because they don't do it. That's like how I got paid, because it's like for some reason they act like they can't run through a screen and

deal with whatever come with it. And it was like I never really cared. I'm like, charge it to the game, bro, that's war, you know what I'm saying. Like that's how I be feeling about it, Like yeah, I'm limping the next day and shit, but it's just like charge it, bro, you know what I'm saying. I'll just be looking around the league and seeing like when guys die on screens

or they chasing the guy down. It's like, Bro, you know you're supposed to dive on that, but they just don't want to do it, just in case they was to get hurt, because they can in the game they could. I done seen minds that in the game they could remember, like I don't do that, you can get hurt. Got to finish with fifteen points, and I'm like, Bro, I can't remember that in the game. I have no clue

how many points I have. No, I don't care. Like the ball laying there, I'm not trying to I'm diving on it, and I'd love for us to run into each other. So you're seeing that's like a conscious thing that players will. It's a lot of recognize, Hey, look, we don't go after these kind of balls because it can suck up the bag. I've had guys tell me, emon, stop doing that. Why are you going? Why are you doing that? Like what are you doing? I'm like, Bro, it's a loose ball. They like, damn, you have no

chance at that rock. I'm like, Bro. In the middle of the game though, like you know, like in the championship, you're gonna go for it too, you know what. I'm saying it's like, gee, I think I could get to that, Like that's how I be feeling. I think I could get to it. Like so I'm gonna try. You know what I'm saying, I'm a fuck it And I think a lot of times like yeah, I would get hurt and they'll literally be like, Bro, just shit your ass down, like you ain't even have to do that, like you

ran through that screen. Now you sitting out for two games, Like why do you keep doing that? And I'm just like gee, Like sometimes I be feeling like this is the three that's gonna decide the game. Like I don't know why I'm like that, but I just am like, Bro, he can't have it. I don't want him to have it,

or it'd be some ship. Whereas like like when I messed my wrist up literally just getting ready for the season and I'm dunking too hard, but it's like, Bro, I want it bad, like I want it real bad. I can't. I don't have that presence of mind to be like, all lay this up because you could mess your wrists up on the rim. It's like, Bro, doundunked this a million times as hard as I could and never messed up my wrist today, I messed up my wrists.

Like that's crazy, man, Little stuff like that. But that's you got to charge it to the game. Man. Life ain't so. But I feel like you had a great career though. I mean, obviously, I feel like when we look back at, you know, at least my favorite memories in basketball the last decade, you're a part of those. You know, I'm part of a lot of history now, yeah, man, a lot of history. Whether they let me back in

or not, I'm part of what was there? Was there like any sort of serious like, I mean, obviously it's basketball, so I'm using the word hatred sports hatred, But was it like what was like the disdain you guys had for the Warriors during those years? Yeah, we ain't fuck with them. I ain't like them. I'm a huge fan and of all of them. Now though it's crazy, even even like down to Draymond, Like we had this thing.

It's like you hate to play against Draymond, but like it's really hard not to like dude speak with his chest, say what he feel, passionate about the game, he come on the court, not to like you, like he's the kind of guy who you hate, but you would love if he was. If he was that team, we're gonna be the best of friends. But it's like he want to go to war. He don't want to play. Like he's one of the guys that's like helping basketball. He's doing what I like. Like he one of those guys.

He's a blend guy, a glue guy. Like you need him around, you know what I'm saying, You need his voice around his whatever. Like Clay another guy keep his head down, he gonna shoot it. I loved playing against Clay because Clay is one of the only people like I done got in my battles with Kyle kor JJ Reddick, all of them push off, get mad. I'm all over roughing them up, talking shit to him. You know what

I'm saying. Klay Thompson does not complain the refs like he's not gonna do the oh ref look at him. He God, man, you gravitate Klay Thompson. You holding him? That man goes chop your wrists down so fast. And I was like, bro, I love this young light skiing brother. Man. This dude don't care. Man, he willing to fight me. Like That's how I felt about Clay. I'm like, Clay is willing to fight me, bro, just to get off

this screen. He doesn't care. He looked dead at the ref and pushed me off, like hands to my neck push, I'm gonna fall back like this they call the offensive foul and Clay just ran down the court like he didn't give a fuck, like and I was like, I love these dudes. I just hate him for now. I hate them. Yeah, it felt like cause you got to keep seeing them, and it felt like a serious like, I mean, one of the more I feel like the probably the most serious basketball beef, beef that we've seen

since the nineties. It was two different styles, and we kind of knew. We all knew, like, whoever wins the most of this this little war we got going on, whoever wins the most chips? Basketball is headed in that style. That's what was scary about. Like we knew it meant more because we like, bro, like the kids are gonna either continue to go to the post and want to shoot fadeaways or they gonna think this shit, Okay just

shooting this ship from half court. Ship like we was talking, No, we've been talking about this ship, Like I remember me and Switch like, man, you want to shoot that ship from forty, Let him shoot that ship from forty. Fuck him? Like that's the conversation me. And so I'm gonna come, hey, switchman, fucking you wanna shoot that ship from forty. Let him

shoot that ship from forty. Dogs shoot that all night, nigga, Like that's what we That's how I'm feeling when I'm really on the court, like a let him, bro, I wish you would pull pull pull that, bro, please for we go. It is down y'all throat, like, please shoot that. That's how we felt about it till this little motherfucker started making it. Yeah, but it's like once he started making it now t Lou looking at us at the drawing board like, hey, y'all gonna get out there, show

what we gonna do. You shocked you shocked him making it now like it got to that point, It's like, Bro, when I think about it now, I'm just like, Bro, I don't I keep saying basketball changed, like they ruined it type of thing, But I'm like, you ruined the version that I like. I just feel like it's just it's just a version. I like when you really when you really think about it, pound for pound, how basketball it is today. It's scary how good they are. This

is true. I feel like there's more good players now than ever as far as like skilled, skilled or just like skilled. Basically literally weeded out the other stuff, like the blended stuff. If you think about some of the guys that used to make All Star teams, there was guys that used to make All Star teams in the nineties that you like, you would like look back at some of the All Star rosters in like the early nineties, and you'd be like, yo, he made an All Star team.

Like now it's like the people who are wait, what are you talking about? I mean like sometimes you like like like like I'm not talking about I'm some about like early nineties, like I think I saw Terry Cummings is on an All Star team. There's there's just players that you think, like, now you can make an All Star team out of like the top fifteen guys that

didn't make the All Star team. And I feel like you understand what I'm saying, copy copy copy, Like now it's like the the the guys who aren't making All Star teams would have been like you can put a team, Yeah, it's like insane. Like basketball has changed from like it's not so much that chessboard anymore. It's checkers. It's not Great Popovich anymore. It's not chess, it's checkers. It's checkers. It's king me. This is the most arms race. It's kingsme like, but it's it's the reason why I say

that is because there's literally no thought involved. Like Damian Lillard is gonna come down here full speed and jump and just shoot. Yeah, he's gonna shoot a forty foot If you step up, that means he's going to the basket all the way to the basket. But this is not a foot race. Immediately if he can't get it, it's to CJ. And it's the same thing, immediate action. Like I think that the if you go look at

older games. You go watch the game in the eighties, they sprint the ball up the sideline, they throw the ball to the corner of the flatt and the defense, they throw it back up and then they throw it into the post. You go to the nineties, they took that same formula, except they threw a shooter into the corner and then tossed it straight down to the post and the post. Didn't have to be a big man. But it's all to fuck up the rotations of the defense. Now the fuck up is they bringing a ball screen.

They're not even going to the corner of the flat and the defense or throw it in. They're keeping you way out. So it's like when the game changing dynamic like that, when you're watching this shit, I don't know how other people process it, but like I didn't have to sit there and like watch you know, I played. I gotta play to whoever the best player is. So I get a lot of this watching how they coming

down and being like, bro, their point of attack. Yeah, you were kind of the guy who defended the best player on the other kind to deal with that, right, that was what you So I'm looking at every scheme like I'm like, bro, like I've literally made it to Like you got to think my first year in the league, I had to guard all those in game possessions, so I'm used to at the end of the game, I'm about to have to go to the posts and deal with so much contact and drops and back doors and

shit that I got to deal with in this mold. And it was like also when you got drafted that wasn't the best, Like, you're probably the best defensive life at least one of the best defensive players on that next team, like not don lot of yourself. I was the best defensive player. I mean, listen, I don't want to Tamates. No, you could do it. They were, They were great on I mean, you know you can do it if you want to. Nobody at the end of the game when it go down, you had to pick

up a lot of slack, is what I'm saying. I mean I had to pick up slack. It just it's one of them moves, like when you get to the NBA you start realizing he's grown ass men. This ain't oh man Melo doesn't know how to guard people? Is nah, fan Emon, you guard him? I'm finished score forty. Yeah, that's this grown man ship. This is JR. Literally all come out there and be like tape, I don't look handle that. I'm not chasing him. I don't care what the I don't care what the the plays is, you

know the assignments, and I don't care. You tired, look guard him. I'm tired. I don't feel like guarding. That's what JR say and the like all right, cool, that was my job, Like what you tired? But Stat died on the screen and I had to guard the four man. That's when they first realized I started doing the strip. He was down a lot of screens. But that's when they As a Suns fan, one of the more frustrating guys to love is But that's why a T shirt

right now, That's why I come in. That's what I'm saying. I come That's why they like flaying with me though, because it was like how he didn't average more rebounds. It was just the most frustrating shit ever as a fan. What all time with the Sons? Yeah, I'm like, bro, you should have had twelve twelve games, you gotta miss eight nine. Y'all wasn't missing much so he ain't got no offensive rebounds, all defensive rebounds. Let me ask you

about this. It's crazy. People really don't be thinking it through, Like, think about it. Stat would have had fifteen to twenty rebounds a game, but Steve Nash had them winning and scoring. That bitch that was offensively. The defensively, yeah, he go corral some rebounds offensively, ain't no tapping it back in nothing, It's water all the other said, wait, hold on, time to stop the interview, because we got to talk about our good folks socks. Man, listen. If you go to

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support us, go support them, Was it like always? You know, I feel like Kyrie cooke Steph in the most important moment in those series, did you guys look at him as like a like like, Yo, this is a target we gotta get Kyrie switched on to Steph? Like was Kyrie like always, Like wasn't a secret because I remember when Kyrie got like that last shot that in twenty sixteen, Like when Kyrie had step switched on to him, he had that look in his eyes like this is oh

we was talking shit. Uh those was one of that time that we had for that was Uh, I can't remember what game it was. Kyle came off a screen and Steph didn't even try and Kyle, I believe he came he rescreened it because it was like a dummy screen and he re screened it, which Steph's supposed to

immediately fight to switch back. And I'll never forget Steph going with the roller like he like made it his business that he was not guarding ky and we all kind of like looked around like you know what I'm saying, like what is what scheme is that? What are they doing? So broun Bron never lets you off the hook. If he sees something, he's gonna exploit it. I want to say. We did the same play the next time. They switched again, and then bron called the next time out and basically

told t Lou all bets off. He has to guard him, he don't want to guard him. Well, by the end of that game, you could watch stuff on the screen like like like it was I have never seen that. I have never seen. Yeah, he didn't. He didn't draw the line until like game six. Game six, he drew the line. He was like, y'all not finna. Yeah, he started like slapping the floor type ship like nah, fuck that come on, Like now, y'all just disrespected me, like y'all not finna pick on me like a little kid.

But for a second though, it was like because I had never seen somebody do that unless it's like you got five foules and you can't touch somebody, Like that's one thing. Yeah, that's one thing. You're protecting yourself. So they had like two fouls and he's just like the fourth quarter and he like, yo, somebody come get you know what I'm saying, Like you could tell he just was like, man, bro, I don't know what to do with him and we need to stop right now. So

he just wanted somebody else on him. But then when we start picking on him, like you, he starts seeing like every thing is for like either your guarding Kyrie or you're guarding Lebron this play, but you're gonna play defense. You're not. You're not gonna have no legs for the rest of this series. That's what we was on. And then with Clay, it was just like I was just trying to beat him up as best I could. Yeah, Clay, get you gotta do what you can do, right man.

It was like we just gonna keep on pressing at Clay and keep on doing as much sprinting sidelines as we can to keep him dealing with back doors and happen to stay disciplined. And then with Steph Curry, You're now gonna guard Lebron like you're gonna use your turbo every possession on defense. What do you think is the biggest misconception about Lebron James For someone who's been in the trenches with him, he's my favorite player ever, so, like you know, I kind of feel like he gets

a lot of He lost in the finals. That's that's why people have that stigma of him. He is undeniably like when you on paper, this is the best athlete. I don't think we've seen a better one that can speak in public. Uh, be great with his family, give us a great you know what I'm saying. Like performance every night in a bullshit. He's not gonna get drunk to night before and have a terrible game or something. He's not gonna give us a some like dirty plays.

Like the worst thing we had against Lebron was like, Bro, why are you flopping? And literally he started flopping because he's like, Bro, I gotta get these free throws. If these people getting free throws. Like he's like, bro, I'm really getting hit. So he like, I'll sell it for you since they can't see it. Because I'm so strong, y'all can't see me getting foul, So I gotta go like this to show y'all he just raked my arm. But it's like, besides that, bro Bron has gone out

here every night and played hard. Of course he gonna have his times. He take off a day or two whatever, I get it. You get tired. But I don't know who's been more faithful to their just being disciplined into the game, like Ron knows every scheme, knows every coach, knows every player, he knows players in college. You know what I'm saying, Like, when we're talking about shit like this,

He's put together an amazing body of work. I'd say the misconception with him is that them losses came from a lack of what he's capable of, and it's not. It's I think his losses is just his style. That's just how it goes because Bron plays it the right way. At the end of the game, when Mike says, I don't give a fuck what happens, I'm shooting this shot, Bron says, I'm gonna get to this spot and shoot.

But if I get here and any one of them is flinching off of their man, I'm beaming it to that man and he'll be And to be fair, I mean, look, Mike, also John Paxton and Steve Kerr, and you know, there's

there was times where he did the same thing. So I thought he was gonna say, did you know what I'm saying that there was no. No, there was times where he also, you know, at the end of very important games, found the open man talking about Steve Kurr, John Paxson, you know, those those But I think I also I think of the luck of the draw to like if you just think of like what Lebron had to go through all those years, because I always hear people say, well, the East was like a cakewalk, right like,

and I disagree as far as you know, your guys's passed to the finals those years, it was just we was just a We was a juggernaut team. So it's like, yeah, it looked like the East was like that because we was running through it. The East wasn't easier. But I just think like just the Warriors before the Warriors became the LIT team, It's not even I think like the Warriors had to go get Kevin Durant to fuck with y'all for sure, period because well no, they didn't have to.

They didn't have to because they needed it to like to feel superior. Yes, And to me, that is like, yo, like you you know, I think the twenty sixteen Ring is probably the hardest ring I've ever seen one. It's probably the most meaningful championship at least in my lifetime. Yeah, yeah, I'm being honest. I mean, you guys beat the seventy three and nine Warriors don't and no one ever even gives like that regular season it means shit because they

didn't win the ring. This is true, and I almost feel like the two rings after that, like what did you want? Like, I mean that was four All Stars starting on the other side of that. I mean, but you I remember at one point people were saying Steph was gonna be out the league, like he had bad ankles. I remember early on, Yeah, they was talking about this man when he was winning all this shit. He was MVP.

That man was on a forty million dollar contract. Bro, it's crazy they was done with him and this is the ship that be, Like this is why I got over them all playing together because I'm like, bro, no bullshit. I remember when they used to talk shit about Steph Curry and Glay Thompson. Well, those guys, the core group they all drafted, which is the one thing I can never take away from the words I'm saying. It's hard to say they got four All Stars. They just it's

just the KD shit. Man. They was just whooping ass like and became all start like Draymond Green was one of them guys that people quote unquote say isn't an All Star, but it's like, bro, he mean that much to them. Like we knew in game five when that man didn't play, we saw how different they was. I'm like, bro, no it wasn't game five, game six. If he plays game six, do you guys think you still win the ring? It'd be tough. They're a different ball club. When they

were there, was like it was like no bulls. It was like coming up to the park and beating up on some kids and they big brother just ain't there right now. That's what it felt like. It felt like we just came up to the park and bust y'all last, and y'all big homie wasn't here, and we beat y'all last, Like we just beat y'all lass. Y'all ain't doing shit about it, y'all. Now y'all calling dude, he got to

come back up to the park this next game. We just hated the war bro that I haven't and then we were game six, Like you saw the like concern in their face. They was like, man, we do not want to go back to go to state dealing with these people, because now they were just looking like they was just defeated and now they look like blood thirsty for a win, like they kind of felt the energy. But the cool thing about that whole ship, like I don't think we would have known that, Like Draymond, what

do you do? Hit bron and the ball? Yeah, he kept flinging his leg like it's crazy. Everything happen for a reason because it's like Bro, we would have never picked out how important Draymond was. Well. Also, if we that if we do the what if game, Kyrie is healthy in twenty fourteen, twenty fifteen, you guys probably have that ring as well if we're playing the what if game? And then KD would have came to the cast. Oh, shout out to Kevin Durant. I met him with I

got listen. I got a shout out to Katie because I have been a KD at a certain point in time. Was I really liked the Thunder when they were young, and then I was as a fan his fan hate. I definitely had a lot of fan hate for him when he went to the Warriors and me and Freddy Gibbs went over to his crib last year and he was the nicest dude ever. And I had a Rex Chapman throwback Sun's jersey and we talked about my d

He was just the nicest dude. So I had to call my homies and be like, Yo, Mank's not sensitive? Are we sure he's got the burner? He might be sensitive to the general public and ship? Right, you know what I'm saying, I ain't got nothing to do with that. I'm not general Pop. You feel I'm not Jim Pop. I ain't got nothing to do with that. Like, if you want to be awkward over Twitter and you got fence to, you know, I just found out what fence to is, Joe. I thought it was a different app.

Is you having a fake Instagram? It's what Katie had. It's a burner account, but it's on Instagram. I know that. But it's like a whole world of people that got this ship. I bet I'm thinking that it's a whole what's the thing. Yeah, this is like a real society people have instance like it's a real secret society that whatever. But it's like if you if you do that whatever. I mean, when I'm when I'm around Kto, like well, like I said, I met him, I kicked it with

him as crabby as super nice dude. But but he's an open dude, Like you can say true, well, we can have a basketball conversation and we'd be like, hey man, fuck you. And he's also like yeah, me and him had like great, Like I feel like I had conversation with him, like and he was super open and talking about hoops, put his guard down to the person. It's when you when you cast him into what he got to be and all the other that's when all of

us get uncomfortable. Well, I just think of the Thunder being up three to one and against the Warriors and the Western I was going to join him after he lost. Why, I don't get it hurt my soul? Now, you guys are I feel like a gang? The Cavaliers were like you guys, for the most part, the crew was together through that whole time, right, obviously certain pieces coming and going. But when you guys got the news that Katie was joining the Warriors, what was that group chat like this

snake That's how it was. Bro. It was just like, because you know you're gonna have to see them in the finals. I'm like, for what, that's what That's how we all looking like? Huh. They were like, well, we're Russ got to save That's what we are. Why Rus's been to save out that shit. That ship is crazy. But you know it was a wild that lasted all up until like half the season. Once we had already saw them one time, it was like all right, bro, you you made your decision, like you got to stay

over there, a let's beat them. Like now it's like bumped at, I'm glady over there. Let's deal with this. Like what year did you get traded from the Cabs? Was it twenty eighteen? Twenty nineteen? Oh no, bro, did you got it from the Cabs? You went to the Kings. Y'all gonna have to google that is eighteen been eighteen? What trade was that? A part of I don't even know, bro. They were just trying to get me out of their kid. At that point you had to give me up out

of there. I had to go. It wasn't you know what I'm saying, Like it was at some point it wasn't gonna work out with all of us. It just wasn't enough basketballs because you gotta think we don't one now we're going into the next transition year. I was already in their ear, like, hey, bro, it's time for me to get the ball back in my hands, like you know what I mean, Like I'm twenty five, I don't know you know what I mean? Like we got our ring and shit, I'm like, it's time to groom

me back into my point guard ship. Like I played y'all game, I ran around in the three and d. Shit, I was never a three and D guy. It's like I played, you were a two way player like a motherfucker. Man, I feel it. I'm a basketball player. Everybody in the league should be a two way player like a motherfucker. You know what I'm saying. That should be standard, but it's not, which is weird. But they was trying to hype me up, like you're a three and D guy,

like you can guard people. Yeah, everybody should be able to do that. That's pride, that ain't you know what I'm saying, Like that's being a grown up. I don't know what to fucking tell you, Like, yeah, I'll curry over here play defense for free, bro, Like I don't I don't really care, Like whatever did you part of the game. But I felt like it's time for your min to go back to playing point guard. And when I became that and I became bullheaded and that it was like he got to get out of here. Well,

because you were a certain point in time. I don't remember what I got traded. I was gonna say a certain point in time you were like the you were running point for the Cavs, like a bit here and there. Yeah, here and there. Yeah, I remember that. That was the That was the issue. It was like, bro, it can't be a tease me type of thing. I'm like, Kyrie like to shoot that mog anyway. I don't know why y'all forcing him to play. Did you see the Kyrie

thing festering? Because the most surprising thing to me was when he asked to leave. Did you see that coming at all? I don't really, but I've like we all meant like I think people read into it a little too hard sometimes, like as a man, how you wake up today ain't gonna be the same as tomorrow, you know what I'm saying. It's like it's stuff that he didn't dealing with talking directly to ownership that you know, a little past our pay grade if you're not the

guy on the team. What I mean. So it's like all the stuff that was happening behind the scenes. We didn't know Kyrie had been there longer than anybody, you know what I'm saying. Uh, that's a deeper rooted conversation for him, Like we didn't. It didn't really I ain't see it coming. It wasn't a shock though. I say that way. I knew Kyrie wanted some things to change just based upon him being him and being there that long. And it's hard to do that when we don't know

whose Batman is. Kyrie is like y'all going back and forth with when I'm Batman and I don't like it. That's fair, you know what I'm saying. And that's what was tough. It's just like you got so many people here. It's like even when JR. Has these moments, that's one of the best heat checked players ever. Yeah, but it's like you got the moments. You gotta have the moments where it's like, hey, bro, I guess I played with mellow I play you know what I'm saying, Like I

get it. Also when he like the young guy that shoots the wild shots and y'all want to talk about my shot selection and shit, but he like, at some point it's end of the game. That's a ten year vet. Throw that bitch in there and let him play with his back to the basket. Like at some point we got to activate him to see if he turns into what he's supposed to. But that's the issue, Like they don't do that. They'll just leave you in that role and you got to play it for twenty years, you

know what I'm saying. Like that's where players become unhappy, where they're like, I'm sitting here, like when you watch your favorite players, you'd like I watched the development of them. Like you watch a guy come into the league and then he can't do this or he can't do that, and they put this, put this, put this, and then it's like now year five, they like, all right, let's see what he is. You know what I'm saying, let's

really go for this title. And it's like you look at it now, and it's like, can he do it right now? What can you do for us right now? If they don't have it, trade him some real shit talk about you know what's crazy is I remember the first time I saw you rapping, I knew you were like making music, but I saw that Cipher was los and Travis Thompson, and I forget who else was a part of that cipher? Oh? Cash, Yeah, it was a it was a BT. And what's my boy? Who else is?

Who is it? You already said, lo, it was King Los, it was Travis Thompson, it was you, it was you, say Cash all, I'm forgetting somebody I'll come back to. But it was I remember seeing it and being like, oh shit, you always got mistake for designer, but you were a better rapper than designer. But nah, but like you actually, like obviously, this is not something that you just picked up, you know, because you were bored, Like, this is something you have been doing for a long time.

Kind of take us back, how long have you been making music or at least playing with the thought of like rapping or writing rhymes? Are just developing that writing rhymes? Probably since like sixth grade, making music and developing what that was? That was it till my freshman year of high school that I started recording my homie And I wasn't even like going to a studio. My homie had the Yeah, he had the new Mac, the new Mac computer. And with that new Mac computer, they had that built

in mic ah. Yeah, how the garage, throw the headphones in and then uh he would put the little blanket up to cancel the noise. And I mean, this is just still sound all the way great, but uh, we were selling mixtapes like in high school, selling mixtapes well, along with other things. But I would package everything together and get it out to you and it was, yeah, it was. It was a vibe, man. But that's that's

when I eighth of weed and a mixtape. But it's like, I know you're gonna listen to it now, but it's like I was doing mixed CDs, so I was bootlegging everybody else. Ship Bro me too. That's how I got my name. But le keV. Literally I was just burning CDs and I had taken Yeah, I had the two cdss and everything, the Southern Smokes, everything, all the radios. I had a folder with the each mixtape cup. I just took a little online printed out and then put all them ships in like this binder and ship I

would go. I would go to and I have like eight versions of the CD stacked on top of each other, right behind that album. And I was taking I literally wasn't even like you wouldn't even get the CDK. Sometimes you just get the CD a piece of paper. I used to go to the office man with all this all like put that in right now. You ain't got no case, put it right now. That's so crazy. I

used to. I used to like go on the message boards and download all the mixtapes and ship and albums and then uh, I'd hit office max and by the slim jewel cases. I had a little boot like I used to go shoplift the ink. Did you get the color the color coordinated cases? Yeah, but like you know, I had I had like like I used to print

all the all the covers off. Yeah, my little cheap ass printer, and I would go steal the ink because the ink was fun expensive, so I would I'd steal the ink cartridges out of the demo printers at the store, and then and then I printed print print the covers and then I'd be a to swap meet every weekend slanging mixtapes, man and DVDs to man, you remember what the best seller was? What's the best seller? Like? Do

you remember which artists which drop out? College? Dropout? Wow, I've never sold so many of one project for me, it was Uh. I used to I probably I've sold hundreds of Game the documentary album. The documentary did well too. The documentary was moving boy. But I was. I was big on mixed CDs. I always had at least like twenty five requests why I should do that too, or somebody would would give you a list and I'd be like, cool, twenty bucks, I'm gonna make the CD for you. Exactly

see you was charging way more. I should have charged that much. My kids. I would charge five bucks per mixtape at the SI meet five bucks. But if you wanted a custom mix, it was a dub. So if like, let's say, say I should have did that my custom my custom mix was like it was like tim but I'd be like, yo, you could get this because I was really running them. I was really running them. You could get this new DJ Drama mixtape or Whoever's mixtape. But if you want me to put some shit together

for you, twenty dollars. Yeah. But the twenty was really for the you know what I'm saying, for your time party, your party favor like it was it, oh I see, I see I. The twenty was for the eighths, That's what I was all that and then it was like, now it's twenty five balls, thirty balls coming each time we're dealing with a customer. You know what I'm saying, We killed two birds one stone. But I'm getting my project out there. That's how I felt about it, Like

I'm getting my music out there. But what was crazy was people really was rocking with it, and at this time, you're obviously a star athlete at score them assuming, which is why they took it away from me. They made me stop because I wasn't back then. I didn't know nobody made it out where I was from. Just I'm not where are you from? So I went to well that's my school, Oh, par Reforce is my high school. But I'm from o Park, which is we bought a kid.

So if you got Chicago, we the town inside the city. That literally says, if you cross this street, you're not out of Chicago, but it's Chicago, like a motherfucker. You see what I'm saying. But that's the cool thing about it because I get like people that be like thinking, I'm going to be like this suburb kid, like I look great on paper, you know, I a old paper.

I'm a great city. I'm an outstairs the guy, and I think that it's cool to sell when you talk about the dynamic of selling these CDs and getting shit like that off, because it's like I got protected in the sense that I got like the suburb kids, the city kids, I got everybody in one because I was a border kid, so nobody really knew where I lived at. People were trying to figure it out, like he all the way downhill, he go to Old Parl, his grandma stay right here, like it was like that. But it

was like my clientele was just going crazy. And then I'm rapping and I'm freestyle and I'm doing all this and I started realizing, like people are really giving me a chance to do this, but I'm super flagrant and my raps you were seeing some more ship, Oh yeah, because I'm but I'm talking about stuff you're doing. Yeah, I'm talking it like you're talking about the ship you're doing in the streets. I'm like, bro, I can't you

know what I mean? And they was like my coaching and heard it, and they like, you want like just they might use this against you if you're getting recruited fair enough immediately, yeah, like you have to stop. So I basically was like telling everybody like, yo, just please like don't don't upload this ship. Yeah, like just try and keep it as low as part, like we just like doing like just what is that pr damage ship? Like that's what we try to do that it was we try to do the we try to do the

damage control. But I was just saying like, if you go back and listen to it, you'll be like, damn, like he really thought he wasn't going to the NBA on the logan, the way he was talking on these rats you're talking, Yeah, it's like the way you talking, it don't sound like dude ever played basketball in his life or give a fuck played basketball. And it was like after that, I had to sort of start tailoring shit.

That's why if you go really listen to my earlier stuff that I released when I played for the Knicks, like I listen to it now and I like cringe and get mad because I'm like, bro, none of these songs was like this, this is a bunch of take this out, take that out. I can't say this, can't say that essentially, like like you'd have to almost record a song and then comb through it afterwards and be like, you know what I played for the Knicks. I can't say this and then have a record that I'm like, man,

this shit just just the one. And then I'm like, I can't do nothing with that one though, because you can't say this, And then it's like I can't release it because I would have had to release it during this time. But we play tomorrow and now everybody's gonna think I'm not Focused's just so much shit drop music during the season. People going to look at you crazy. Yeah, exactly. And then it was like, because I was able to stay on beat and everybody else that is like playing defense.

Hey listen, some of the worst rappers ever came out of them. It's because Test was horrible. God bless him. I went to a Ron Art Test music video shoot with Mike Jones and like when I was like in high school and it was it was rough True Warrior. I remember his label, True Warrior. I was at the video shoot Shout Shout out the True Warrio record. You remember that song. Ron Ard Test and Mike Jones. Oh my god, it was bad. But I was at the video shoot. It was in Phoenix. I was a kid

in high school. They're like, Ron Art Test is shooting the video on the South Side. Mike Jones were like, we in there? What I swear to god, Bro, why was he in Arizona? Dude, I have no fucking mic No, he's from Texas. That's and this is peak Mike Jones. This is like switch a house. Yes, I'm like, we're going. It was at this record store called in the Groove

Records and we were hanging out. Mike Jones got he shot the video inside of the the inside of the store, there was a barber chair and he's like getting this like fade while he's doing the video and it's around our test. So I just looked it up on YouTube recently to see if it was still there. It's still there. Terrible. Oh, it's so that's so bad. See that's how I feel. Like when I go back and I listen to it, I'm like, Bro, I could tell I'm like reading raps,

not feeling I'm not. You know. That's the thing about music is my homies ain't in the studio. Yeah right now, Like I could tell what these songs are, and it's like I get it. Like even when like I used to be like getting mad when Mons used to be doing the whole they like man out of the NBA rappers, you know, I just feel like, you know, it's Dame and A doing all this other shit. And I used to just be like I used to look keep me getting annoyed, like because I'm like, damn, bro, I should

have just saved all my music until now. Yeah. Even when I see stuff like when people bring up the best NBA rappers, they'll like play a song that I did when I was like it was like twenty ten, twenty eleven type shit, and they'll play that song and like who's the best NBA rapper? And I'll be like, bro, that's A that's old. Yeah, Like I'd be like, you know what I mean? Is this too? Is this to piss me off? I'm like, y'all trying to piss me off?

Y'all steady starting threads. And I still think it. I still I still think I'm gonna play Dame new ship. I still think I still think of Shack Shaq Sack We're platinum and he had NAS and jay Z on a song together. Shaq was playing what's the song? I don't know? But you But this is what I mean by about the rapping ship, Like I feel like we all took an l until somebody's singing our lyrics. That's real. Like you can't stop the ring by shack Man, you still don't know it, you can't stop doing Come on

that ship was I mean that wasn't his part. It was a great hook though. No, that's fair. I think Damien has I think you tell me about a sample the hook? Do you think he starts sinking? Do you think his part? Do you think Dame has at least done the best job of like juggling both? No, I think Dame is a superstar athlete with the money to put behind it. I don't think that. I think the NBA is way more lenient with Dame doing stuff like letting him perform for All Star, doing all this, which

I'm happy for him. I'm not hating. I'm just saying if I was a rock star, like if I if I never played under Mellow and stat and when I went to New York it was just my ship and we just was I was the rookie that get to shoot it thirty times and do whatever the fuck I want my music? Would it it went different because it was like NBA can't say nothing. You might have been Kevin knock slow key. No, I'm just talking. That's the thing. I was guaranteed no shirit like I had New York cracking.

It's like if we if we're gonna, if we're gonna, uh, let him shoot thirty shots a game to where it's like pressure or not. I'm shooting until I get in the mix. Like like in high school, it's like, bro, whether I'm having a good stint a bad stint. I got the ball so much I could sort of get in rhythm, you can get into groove, you know what I mean. It was like if I if I had that, then it's like they would have never hit me with the Oh he's not focused. Then it's like if I

say a curse word or two, who cares? Moneg, I'm signed for a hundred million. Like also, you're a human being, people cuss. That's what I'm up in, which I started to realize once I'm like twenty seven, I'm like, bro, fuck y'all, I got a daughter, Like yeah, just because I graduated from listening to you, motherfucker. That's crazy. That's why I got to that point where I'm just like, Bro, you think you like a better parent because you lie to your kid all day, Like they don't close the

door until talk about the real you. Like, kids know exactly what you're doing, Bro, it's just whenever you're gonna let them in on it. So it was like with me, I'm like, once I got to that point where I got daughters, it was just like I'm gonna say what I want and sort of do what I want. That

control is kind of gone. But I feel like it's helping my music, Like it helped people to connect with me if they know, like Dude a lot like me, Like I thought he was like this superhero that never makes a mistake and ship, but it's like, honestly, bro, who's rooting for him? Nobody wants to root for Dude like goodie too shoe ass, Like I'm not rooting for him.

I don't like him. Do you feel like now your music is in a place to be, you know, kind of like the forefront of your focus as far as like you know, obviously yeah you got you got pasted. Uh yeah, I think uh at this point, it's got to be just the only thing that it's literally the only thing that can never be taken. Father time ain't gonna take this from me. It's gonna live on forever. Yeah, like this, father Time just can't take my voice, you know what I'm saying, Well, father Time can, I just

I ain't gonna hit that for a longer time. It's gonna be a while before that happened, exactly. Basketball athletically, I can still Yeah, I could still go out there and do everything I need to do and play the game. But it's like at some point that was gonna stop. So it's like I knew at some point I was gonna tap more into the art side of who I am. You know what I'm saying. It was just a matter

of everything lining up. And I feel like right now, entertainment wise, music, it just it's people want to hear me tell my story. That's that's my favorite way to do it. What are the MC's artists that are kind of, you know, currently doing their thing right now that you're that you're actually like a fan of so much dope hip hop that's out right now. I'm a my newest, my newest I'll say flowers, and now my Flowers is

joining Lucas Joiners Fire. Best videos, it's the videos in decades, it's the video he he reminds me of you know, when we grew up, we were watching Bust of Rhymes and Missy Elliott and and it's like we knows, remember know what we're going for them for videos are They're so well thought out, They're just amazing. Got a great team and he couldrap his ass, for sure, you got a great team. But I love that he doesn't hang his hat on if he has a club hit, It's like,

I'm going to give you content. I'm gonna give you build this organic fan base. Conceptually it is dominant, and I I fuck with that. Him. Dirk is just he's gotten to a point that I truly feel like everything he says is just Chicago. Like if I want to go home, I'm putting on dirt. You know what I'm saying, I'm putting on her. It's just they've gotten to the point where I no longer feel like they rap. They just sort of talking talking for us. Like I don't

know how to explain it. Just like everything they say it sounds like they in a chicken spot with me. It don't sound like they rap it and trying to make a hit song. It's like, gee, whatever they say is law right now? Outside of them. J I D Jed's incredible, big ji D fan, that's my boy too, shout the dream. But now j I D is a quite as kept, like technically one of the illness. Like it's just it's a lot to digest. Oh, it's a lot, man,

He's technically just a Jedi. I'll never forget here and it never been and she had never had, she never knew, she had, never out, never do, never gave two shits like his Uh yeah, his cadence is unbelievable. And then besides that is I'm a little baby guy. Yeah, a little baby's protecting him at all costs, a little baby.

And Dirk's like the album cold well No, just the way that each of them have evolved in front of our eyes as artists and just as like you know, I think of Dirk like Dirk really and his stride until like two three years ago, but he's been in the game for so long as far as like people like looking at him as like one of them. One. I think it went it went from Dirk. Uh. At some point Dirk kind of figured it out. Yeah, I

want to say it was signed to the streets. There was a certain point where you just feel like, oh, Dirk figured this shut out because he had always been, you know, doing this thing. It was like doing his thing, and he had the streets and then he like started

trying to like figure out the mass. And at some point it was like he got on a record and he started talking like he was older than everybody, and I was like, now you in yeah, before he was like it was like, real, young boy, let me show you my world to me, That's how I took it. And then at some point on sign to the Streets, it was like he graduated himself, like no, no, no, I graduated and now I'm trying to like tell me y'all.

I think, And then I think with Little Baby, I think Little Baby might be probably the most improved MC I've seen in a long time, because if we think about like early Little Baby, we would think like Little Baby would openly talk about how Gunna would like give him tips on how to rap, and like he hasn't been rapping that long, you know, And if you just think of like the last two years, he's like a superior.

He's like one of the top notch. Like MC's not just guys who make records that you could hear in the club or on the radio, like this motherfucker can rap circles around nine the population. I think it's uh one is a little bit of this little baby's energy, like little babies like, uh, well, I can't think of it. I don't watch you watch like cartoons and shit. I mean I watched a cartoon that is somebody that like like takes in energy and shit and then they have

like a big power. I was finna say Dragon ball Z Mega Man, Mega Man. That's that's a video game, video game. But it's like little Baby reminds me of that, and I feel like he like it too, like everyone's powers that he was around. And then just it's type it's not even that, it's the energy of what he's dealing with. So it's like with little Baby, you know how people like get to this point where it's like you hot, you just drop these two songs like let's chill,

let's work these records and do this right. And it's like little Baby has this gift that is just like no, let's go again, like no, here's another project, here's a even on his even on his his his his uh, his features, it's like it sounds like like when Calid like keep going like I'm like, it's the energy, Like how he just gonna keep that Kalid record. I'd be like this the whole time in the car. My wife be like, bro, oh my god, y'all gonna play this

little baby. This boyfriend lose his man like that song that's so crazy. But it's like he talking low like anybody that's gonna talk it and say like it's just like I don't know, like my shit is that that I ain't got a hundred million. I can't chill you, but don't get its screw I get rid. He just put he just put forty two. Dug fell asleep in the studio and he feels him. He's like, how do you fall asleep? You don't have one hundred million. But it's like stuff like that, it's just the work ethic,

the the forefront of what he's saying. Watching him force capital onto his people. Yeah, like he's forcing them to have to figure it out with money, Like i'mna, I'm gonna bring in so much money, so much money has to come around every time I show up, that y'all gotta make money, figure it out. And I love that energy, like anybody that could push that, Like I used to go to meet for that energy, you know what I'm saying. Like not to say meat fell off of some ship.

It's just every energy is different around every couple of years. But I mean me's getting older, Well I gonna say that happens meat bossing up to Like like I said, they graduate themselves. It's been around for ten years now. I mean, you know, but that's what Meek was when

I first stream Chasers dream Man. He's showing up with a hoodie, a hundre of niggas and they rapping, and the energy it's just like you know what I'm saying, Like I feel like that's what little Baby is, but little babies like the meat energy that Meek had with the hoodies. But it's like everybody got on chains, everybody got watches, everybody, and they all behind him like with

this energy. That's just like I've never seen an energy like that in a studio, Like you know what I'm saying, Like I've been around a lot of artists like him, And another person that impressed me in the studio was young Thug. I've never seen two people work like that, Like, yeah, I think thugs are alien from all accounts. I've heard no bullshit. Yeah, I heard he's like just no bullshit, and I think I'm talking about I've had people say in the studio, nobody can hear what he's doing, like

the engineer has headphones on. He's in the booth and you're just gonna hear it when he wants you to hear it. Yeah, but he's but he's in the other rooms in the fut also meticulous, like he's gonna go in there, he's gonna do his thing, y'all gonna record whatever. Then he gonna come out and he gonna grab the mouse and he gonna do some stuff himself. And we've seen the meme like it's, oh yeah, people think it's joke, greate, Like people be thinking it's like for food for fun.

Like it's like he knows exactly what he's doing. He really in control, He really trying to do something right now. And it was crazy because it was like before that. A lot of times when I go, you know, he does the high pitch stuff with the auto tune. A lot of times I couldn't understand some of the stuff he said. And I look, he had a knock against Doug for that, but being in there and seeing it and then hearing Yeah, it's like he's like going for a certain pitch. This is not a this is not

a he just went in there. I thought he just went in there high and it was just like yeah, it's just like he didn't really care that much. Stop behind it. No, Yeah, he's really like. No. If I get you to that frequency and I you know, I say it like that, you'll never forget what I said, because it's so unique. It's so left, it's so random that it sticks out. It's a sore thumb, and it doesn't seem beautiful all the time at first, but it's like over and over it might be the only thing

you were remember from the song. Yeah, I think two people like anytime someone is so different and so unique. Man young Thug made dropping Jews. That's one of the coldest. What I'm saying is like thugs like the kind of artists who comes into the game and it's so unique that like people are supposed to be like what the fuck is this? For sure? I mean he just threw everybody off with the dresses, and I think that's it. I think that's any I mean even even think about

Little Baby. Like when Little Baby first came out, people are like, what the fuck is this guy saying, like, you know what I mean, It's just like anything that's great is initially gonna come. You gotta get used to anything new, you know what I mean. Like if everyone was just feeding you the status call that everyone would still sound like fucking run DMC, you know what I mean. So so he said, shot, what music wise, what do you have on the on on the uh on the

slate right now? We just dropped outside. So outside was one of them records that happened should have been came out, but I just started doing too much. I took on the Dancing with the Star Ship. Yeah, ye had film that show like every more timing, Yeah, I definitely will. But uh, yeah, I dropped outside. I got the video coming next. We shot the video in Chicago. It was nuts. Yeah, you know, we probably came out of Honeystrom, went out, fuck the city up a little bit. It was. It

was a good time. But yeah, we're gonna drop that video. And uh, I guess going into the new year, I mean I gotta, you know, I gotta clear with Giants storm to make sure. But I believe. I believe we dropping just to kick the year off. So this car Ain't stolen. That's the album called My It's My My first album that I'm putting out. Everything else has been like EP yeah, little little stuff, but that's literally just

to remind people that I still car aren't stolen. So I'm assuming that something that's happened to you before, being a millionaire who was African Americans, probably driving some of the nicest cars and yeah, yeah, that's like it's like it's like a dick hard moment though when you do it, like you're pulling me over and you want this car to be stolen so bad, but it's not. It's so clean. It's so clean. You want this firearm to be off, you want you just want so much to be going

wrong right now, but nothing's wrong. It's so fair and square. I just like, I love that moment of looking at the cop like, what's up, Bro? Oh you mom? Yeah that's me, Bro, that's me. Yeah, I played with Bro all that same dumb shit, but you pulled me over for some bullshit skate. Yeah, let me out. I gotta go. I really need to leave, Sir, I do sir can I have my ID back. My father's an insurance agent.

I know my ship together. Give me my ship back, Clock League, because you ain't pull me over for nothing. But it's like playing on that. I've been slammed on the hood of cause I've been padded down for no reason. I've had to deal with all the same similar things as everybody else. Being an African American man that stands over six feet, I'm automatically a threat. If you're a cop that's not way bigger than me. I would see myself as a threat too, you know what I'm saying.

I'm not saying this like it's a bad thing, but it's like I've had to deal with that. So for me in life, I don't take things as all. This is unfair. I'm sad. Everything to me is competition. So it's like, Okay, this is a game. This is now monopoly. I win. That's what this album is. It's like, bro y'all gave me shit. I was a border kid. Y'all didn't really like the suburb kids said I was broke. The city kids said I was a suburb kid, and I was soft. You know what I'm saying, y'all said,

no body go to the league from Old Park. Like, I'm like, far as I'm concerned, I won this game Monopoly. Like that's how I feel. As far as I'm concerned, I won, Officer. You know what I'm saying, Like, Officer, you just got to get better at the game of Monopoly. Bro. But I didn't tell you to be an officer. You know what I'm saying. You could drive this same car if you work really hard and put that bitch in the hoop. You know what I'm saying, If you put it in a hoop, I swear to God, you could

be here too. You could do this too, Bro, Probably five eighth to do with me, because there's some people that's five league, yeah that they't got nothing to do with it. Not many people that are. It's a couple of girls, it's a couple of guys. Man. But Isaiah's in the G League. Who else? Who else is five ft eight? I mean, I hate that G League. See, I hate that the G League made it possible for people to say that about Isaiah. I know, because God bless him, he's in it. Bro, I cannot believe the

violation that the G League will allow. Bro. We can't do that. That big who who that was All Star candidate? Dog gave us fifty After he got terrible news in the playoffs, he took a shot, just taking shots in the hip so that he could figure it out. I know, I was so mad when these people got this man beg and to play basketball. Well not big, but it's crazy. He should not be knocking on nobody door, Like, yeah, man, I got more in the tank, Like, come on, bro,

like that type of stuff that hurts. Do you still do you still feel like I'm knock on door? Do you still feel like you have some some of the tank? I got more feel something I'm saying, do you have the like do you still want a lot of people playing basketball right now in the league over me? That I feel like they should not be playing ball in the league over me? You know what I'm saying, I'm sure willing to violate. I'm not gonna get y'all specifics and try and violate people. I mean, I could go

through an ultimate I'm an ultimate competitor. Everybody didn't know me in the league. No, bro, I want to compete. I want war, I want conflict, like I love that energy of basketball. I tell you who I would rather have on the Sun's I would rather have you instead of Admiral nat There's a guy on the Sun's name. Every time he gets every time, every time Monsie Williams puts Admiral Nader in the fucking game, I want to

stab myself. But you know what's crazy. That's what I'm gonna tell you about basketball though, Like I'm able to talk about it because I'd have played in the league. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm talking. But the thing that's crazy is you'll put dude on the court in the right system and he'll bust people in for sure. I mean everyone in the NBA is good, right, very good, Yes, very good. It's just crazy that you can That's what I'm saying. Before bron went to Miami, Bro, do you realize I feel

like it was not disrespected. I feel like it was only hardcore. I feel like there was no disrespect going. I don't know mans like this when I was When I was a kid, I hated Karl Malone so much. I just I would John Stocked. I just thought John Stock was the corny is short short wearing I'm like,

look at this corny ass motherfucker. Like that was what made the basketball great because like you gotta come to Utah and God, these short, short motherfuckers that say, yeah, y'all have this slag, we go bust y'all last week, y'all get here, you know. I mean that's I feel like hardcore basketball fans are always talking shit. Oh no, for sure, you got to that's what make the game great.

Let me ask you this, do you guys pay attention to the Skip Bayless's of the world, the First Takes of the world, the Steven A. Smith's of the world. Part of it, They're part of it. It annoys you, but I don't think we take it. We don't take it that. Some guys do have moments where they take it pretty personal, though, but it's just annoying. Like you you wake up from your pregame map and you got a million text messages about what Skip Bayless said about

you before a game. Because some of that stuff to me is like borderline, like take it personal types, especially like when we're talking about, like you know, the Skip and Lebron dynamic or some of the stuff Stephen A. Smith has said about certain people. I'm glad at times, I'm glad they don't do that to me. You know what I'm saying. You're not sure how you would take it. I'm sure. I'm not sure how I would, but I'm big on I'll take it fine publicly like I can.

I can media coach myself. Right. You could be in the press contrad ask me a question. I get the Marshawn Lynch. I'm just here so I will get fine. Like whatever. It's when I have to see you again, that's when things can get interesting. Yeah, Like stephen A is a you shooting around before the game. He come out there? What's up? Man? Just start talking to you.

It's like, bro, if you ever went on national television and created a whirl win with my my life before a basketball game and I didn't perform how I wanted in that basketball game, if you walked up to me before, I don't know what will happen. Yeah, just because I will react, you know what I'm saying, Like it would be literally grown man react and the same way you say when you play basketball, you react to go get the loose ball. You don't think about that like you

when you talk about something like that. It's like, bro, I did everything right with my pregame. My pregame routine. I was in a vibe, we had a great practice, We're doing all this stuff, and now randomly you bringing this up, and you and Skip argued about it for an hour, and now everything that everybody is talking about is just negative stuff for my name, and I can't do anything now. I can't go on Instagram if I wanted to look at something that was posted by my wife.

I can't go on Instagram now because as soon as I open it, everybody's talking about what you Skip was talking about. You know what I'm saying. So it's like, if I had to deal with that dynamic every day, I probably would have an issue with it. I can only a mater. I'm glad I didn't I had to. You know, I think after a while, everybody sort of realize, like, hey, bro, let's just lead dude out of it. Would you would you? Would you try to get would you trying to get

back on a roster? Or do you like the Big three thing at all? Or oh? I don't know. I ain't never gonna say no. I love basketball, bro, like I just like playing basketball, So I wouldn't rule the Big three out. Big three. It's always I love watching the Big Three I just like playing basket. I like to see Iso Joe out there. You know what I'm saying. It's just love. It's like, bro, we're gonna play anyway. Yeah. I try and explain to people all the time. They're like, man,

I wish you just it's not like you stopped playing. Yeah, it's like, bro, I don't not love basket. Still play like the owners of that ball club and the GM is going a different direction that has nothing to do with eman, like you're not finna Like bro, if y'all want to come to the gym that I be at, like, you gotta know somebody, right, But it's like we be in the gym, like we're getting it in. It's just whether or not the opportunity is there because I'm like

though though, it's like I'm working my ass off. They can't just be like, oh yeah, man, come in. They gotta make sense. Like they got young guys they drafted, they got it right. They got G League guys that are already there that are twenty two years old and healthy right now and under their wing. It's like me, it's hit a miss, bro. It honestly is if you bringing in a ten year veteran. I'm thirty years old. I don't come with you're not that old. I'm thirty one.

I'm just saying. What I'm saying is if you got a twenty two year old and you wasn't gonna give me the ball twenty times a play anyway, I mean twenty times a game anyway, why wouldn't you pay the twenty two year old? Do you think? Because I think I think of like a team like the Lakers that have lost a lot of their defensive credibility this year. That's what I'm saying. That's on bron Man, Bron Bro, you know what time it is? Man? That's old you. S What do you think you know what time it is?

That's old you, bro. You know you You could call Shy Mellow too. It ain't just on Braun, I lie Mellow. That's on YouTube. Man. If y'all want to hear nothing about y'all little defensive issues and leadership veteran issues and all, I don't want to hear that out of them too. I was gonna ask you, like, as just from someone who's closer to you know, Bron and Mellow like you know, and also as a basketball guy, what do you think is wrong with the Lakers this year? Shit something doing

an interview with you right now, that's their issue. She should be with them. No, uh no, for real, for real, I was playing, but I'm kind of serious, Like I really do feel like it's something that's I haven't been around the team to know exactly what it is, right, but to me, they don't get down together like I

feel like they feel like they're hanging out. Well, I feel like they traded away a lot of that, right because if you think of like for sure, but I mean, there was a time that during that Calf season that Bron literally it stretched stressed the importance of us all hanging out together. Like I remember, was it the Halloween party with Steph always do stuff like it? Was it steph Cree tombstone? Was that what it was? I forget

what it was. It was something like that. It was like a Warriors tombstone or something that one of Lebron's Halloween parties. Yeah, I don't remember that. That's that's fucking good. But so you you think it's just the fact that they don't really get down together like it just I don't think they got to a dance they haven't had

a chance yet. You know what I'm saying, Like maybe COVID all this other stuff, like it just doesn't look like a bunch of guys that been hanging out and playing pick up against each other enough, you know what I'm saying. It's like they don't know how to all the way get each other vibing. And that's you know, once you add Russell Westbrook, it changes a huge dame. Do you think that that was Do you think that that was the right decision? Think that was the right

decision at all. I think that they would have rather have had Buddy Hill than kept Alex Caruso, because that's why I think it's better if it works better for Broun. Right, But you're also talking about nineteen years in Broun. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. So it's like, m there.

I saw today that they were saying that the Lakers are it's okay to bring Russ if you got a nineteen year in Broun, because it's like Russell pushed that pace and if Lebron has to sit out two weeks, there's someone who is hold post, who can hold the Ford down. Let me ask you this, there there's a rumor going around that the Lakers are looking into Ben Simmons. If you're the Lakers GM, hypothetically Imon Schumper, you're the GM. We've seen it happen. James Jones is the Son's GM.

He was in the league not long too long ago. If you could trade Russell Westbrook for Ben Simmons, would you make that swap? If I'm the Lakers, If you're the Lakers, you're making the swaps. That's fair for sure. But that's just me. That's my preference of basketball. It's it helps you a lot on on the defensive liability that's happening. You got the best perimeterive defensive guy in the league. It becomes great on defense. It ruins a

lot offensively. It does scares them, which scares them, but it only ruins a lot offensively if you're not willing to take the challenge of what the challenge is when taking on Ben Simmons. The challenge of taking on Ben Simmons is he doesn't shoot threes. But it's not the we need him to. He just doesn't shoot threes. And it's okay. The moment everybody gets that ship out of their mind, he's gonna be fine. Who gives a fuck,

DeMar don't shoot threes? The more we don't give as putting it in work right now, But listen to Simmons been putting in You're right right. I just think that Ben Simmons been putting in work. You don't fool y'all, So listen, don't fool y'all all self. For what Ben Simmons been out here now, I think he's been the best defensive player of the last three or four years. Fuck the defense, bro. Offensively is a bit of a liability though, no, he's not. He just doesn't shoot the three.

He was if he was six foot two, y'all would not care that he can't shoot if he was six two. Because he's six 's eight and he lights skin. Y'all got an issue with this man not shooting. Are you saying he looks like a tall Steph Curry? Yes, that's precisely what I'm saying. That's literally what I'm telling y'all. Bro. Literally, if this dude was just dark skin, I don't think we would care. But he is supposed to technically, he's

supposed to be able to shoot the three. And if I was a coach, I would not give a fuck if this boy shooting three. I can't believe he got this far without shooting three. I wish I could have got that far without shooting the three. Bro, I wish to death that coaches never turned me to three and D. I hate shooting threes. I've always hated it, never liked it. Felt like it was soft, made me look soft, made me feel soft. I didn't feel tough when I had to shoot hell of three's and people was like, why

you you got to go back to that mode. I'm like, bro, they took the ball from me. I stand in the corner. I feel light skinned. I feel like the sun is not hitting me at all. Like that's how I felt, you know what I'm saying. I feel like I'm losing my superpowers standing over here. It's just not the same. And I feel like if the Lakers take on being Simmons, it's like, shuddy, if you let that man run point

he pushing that tempo all game. Now you got him and Braun going back and forth, both of them point forwards. You changing the game. That's twin Towers at the PG. We've never seen that. Yeah. I just think I think AD's gotta I don't know, and then you got a d. Yeah, give me two shooters and let's go hoop. Yeah, what the fuck is? What the fuck is the other side gonna do? I just need the question, But yeah, I would pull the trigger on that. No disrespect and then

you'd sign yourself to be no disrespect. God, you know how you down which you sure go to war with you against you or whatever. Man, there's no disrespect to you. But if I'm being a GM boy, I'm getting that ring kid a couple of quick ones. The most frustrating player you ever had to guard, James Harden. He learned how to bend that rule book loophole. God, the best I've ever seen it done. The best I've ever seen it done. He's like an old white man for taxes. Yeah,

he's gonna get the both out of it. He's gonna get you heres return. You're gonna think you have to spend one hundred grand in taxes out the window. He's gonna get your back. That's hell right there. But he, James Is, he figured out a way to like and for everything that you got on him, he figures out the loophole by next year, like that one foot shot

just became from people. You just start picking up his footwork too good, and he came with a one foot three yeah, And people thought it was the joke during the summer, and it was not a joke. He started shooting it in the game. It's unbelievable somebody got the balls to shoot a one foot float or three. Yeah, No,

it's crazy. Off a step back, what about someone who you feel like you had your biggest personal rival on the court, somebody who you know, maybe there was a little personal tension where you know, maybe you guys went to war so much that it kind of felt like, you know, there was there was like some serious energy at a certain point in your career whenever you would step on the court with someone. Hmmm. I ain't never really had nobody go like really bad blood with me.

I feel like there was a time. Wasn't there a time you got in trouble for trying to go into the locker room to fight somebody after the game. Oh, Nurkics, Nurkics, Yeah, that's he was doing the NBA talk And I wasn't. I wasn't trying to get the on the court tech. But it was like it was just we end up having a conversation afterwards. I believe I forgot who who set it up for us, but I ended up talking to him. But I think the next time we played or some shit squashed it. But it was a I

felt like some of the shit he was doing. And one of the things he said it was like, Bro, there's a slow mode replay, like you realize my daughter, somebody on the street might really think this is how this go, like they might think they really, Finnah get this off. And I'm letting you know, bro, we don't get that off. Like I told him when I was coming to the locker room. I told him on the court, and I think everybody thought because we won, I just was like gonna let it go. And I took off

and went through the back. And you know what's crazy is they made it a big thing. Like I walked over there and people was like holding me back and all this other bullshit and it wasn't, bro, Like I knew how to get there through this. I went through the back, locker room everything to where I just popped up and I'm at his locker room, gee, and I'm like come out, come out here and have a conversation with me. G Really, I don't even know if I

was gonna fight him or not. Yeah, we gotta have a talk, bro, cause y'all just this NBA shit is to y'all going too far, bro. And I don't know. I don't know where we at, Like you can't tell me it's on deck like that, and then I get out the uber and you're right there, bro, because once it's on deck, it's on deck. So it's like, I'm not you know what I'm saying, Like I don't know how to do that. Every time somebody told me it's on sight, it was really on site. That's real shit.

And I'm fighting for you know what I'm saying, I'm not really just it ain't no the teacher gonna break it up, fight, you know what I'm saying. It's like I donet been in a fight that took two minutes long like you have been to fight. Take two minutes, bro, It's the longest shit in the world. Two minutes is a long fight, a long street. You fighting. If you're fighting for twenty seconds, it feels but ain't nobody helping? It's like if ain't nobody help, ain't nobody here? To

break you two minutes a very long fight. So that's what I'm thinking of. I'm thinking more like that, Like, bro, if we pop out in a club, what I'm supposed to just act like we're cool now, Like after you say some shit like that, like you do some shit like that. Like he's he was just like too, I don't know, it was too, like whatever, deal with it.

I'm like, bro, ain't no, deal with it? Like, ain't no. And then he's like saying a different language and through a couple of you know, through a couple of American curse words at me. I'm sweaty. I ain't going for that. I don't like it. That's all I ran back there. But I ain't never had nobody that I'm like looking for in the league, Like I've never had nothing like that. I just think he just took it a little too

far when he shouldered me. Who do you think is the most underrated player that you ever share the court within the NBA? Just someone who doesn't get enough love, enough flowers for how good they are or what they bring to the game. J Smith Jr. Jr. Smith, I think uh. At one point I even told j he was like he was talking to me like, I'm like, bro, I don't know who you think I am. Bro, but I used to play with you in the video games, Oh for sure on two K with with the Nuggets

and with the Hornets like he was. At one point though, it was like, but that's what I mean about the league. Like I remember when he was on the Nuggets he was having like like I think he had a fifty point game. Yeah, like he he's like I said, he when Jerr is hot, it's automatic. But it was like, because so many people put him into that category of like he's got to be hot, he's streaky, he's he's

got behavior problem. It's like, Bro, he was eighteen, y'all put him in the league and gave him some money. He's gonna make like he had to grow up in front of everybody. I'm like, Bro, that sucks, and now y'all putting him in a weird role. Y'all talking about my dog. Like at one point, jay'all was talking to me, I'm like, Bro, you are j R. Smith. I don't know what the fuck you're talking about right now? You're JR. Smith. Don't forget that. Yeah, Like, I don't know what you

want right now. I used to play video games with you, fam like not shoulder to shoulder, motherfucker. Like I'm going on the fantasy draft to make sure I got JR. Smith on my roster. Like, you not gonna talk to me like that, Bro, you gonna talk to me like you JR. Smith. I think you're gonna teach me shit that JR. Smith should be teaching me, and you gonna walk first, like you know what I'm saying. Like that's how I felt about Jr. Because it's like bro y'all.

Like even when on that team, it was like people didn't understand I'm still twenty twenty one year old. That was like I went from being at Druig Detect, lockout hitting, I'm at Chicago. I'm really I mean in Chicago just kicking it. I got the homies, we I got ready for the for the league. Shit literally just playing with my homies every day. We just playing ball in the gym. We're doing our own sprint drills. Yeah. I wasn't paying a train or nothing. It was just going for blood,

playing ball every day with them talking shit. So it was like, Bro, I went from that to Mello's my teammate. Amari's my teammate, Tyson, Baron Davis, Mike Bibbie. I'm looking around, like, motherfucker, my baby was on that team. Treon Smith, you just came from China to play on my team. Like, I'm like this, they don't bro, I'm throwing them. I'm like, I th I throw this ship to Jay All today. So he caught that backwards. I just I think Jr. Like is underappreciated, But I also think like, oh no,

he's still everybody's favorite. I just think people love him, yeah, for sure, but underappreciated and undervalued as a player. He should have never touched in a hundred million dollar contract. That's what I mean. Like, we're not gonna sit here and like it's just other players that got paid just because they were a good guy. And I didn't like that. There were some players that got guys. What was that one weird year where everyone got paid that shouldn't have

got paid. It's just timing of the negotiation. It was the year, the lockout year. The lockout year happened. We had to put that new uh CBA in place. The name of that dude that got paid that when it was on the Lakers llewell. Dan got paid, but he actually was solid. But there was the white dude that got super paid who ended up It wasn't Mons, it wasn't Yeah, it was moscof He didn't get super paid for no reason. Though Mai was serving chips. He had

a great finals. They didn't use him after that. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. So it did make him the next year. It probably did look like he wasn't ship. Yeah, but he had a great finals. If not used properly, everybody in the league looks like ship. Okay, what about this? What would you Is there anything that you would say you like your biggest regret about your career, biggest regret?

That was one point that uh. They was bringing me into office with the Knicks and Mike Woodson was basically telling me, I need you to play two guard, like I need you to for what this team needs to be and no disrespect to Raymond Felton, who at the time was running the ball club. For me to grow into what I felt like I was gonna become, Like I always felt like like I wanted to be Jason Kidd,

but I always felt like I was Penny. I'm like, I'm Penny Hardaway like I'm the big point guard that is gonna do funck shit that looks like a two guard at times. But I just don't want to play two guard. I'd much rather play point and y'all go get me somebody that wants to shoot it every time. But I don't want like somebody that's like trying to figure it out like I wanted an asshole. I want

a complete dickhead at too. Like right, like, people didn't understand why I loved Buddy Hill so much and why he played so well when I was there, Buddy healed. Is what I'm talking about when I say a complete asshole, and not an asshole with how he takes direction or anything like that, but an asshole in a regard that I could look you in the eye, Buddy and say, do not shoot this shot. I don't care how open it is. Don't shoot this shot. When I throw it

to him. If a motherfucker ain't in his face all over him, he's shooting it because no amount of pressure, no side bet, it ain't nothing that could go on in his mind that make him feel like he's about to miss this shot. He is completely invested in saying I've never missed a shot in my life, and I

love it because you need a motherfucker like that. That's a superpower to be able to shoot an airball, shoot it off the glass, and then come down to shoot all unbelievable while everybody figure out what they gonna do and they see, oh, why are you shooting that? Everybody got everything to say, you come down and get that. He's shooting four out of four every time I throw it to him. It was like I wanted that, and I wanted to be Penny, and I had that moment

in that locker room with Woody. I could have just I feel like I should have just tore up the locker room when I got traded. I watched Mellow tear up the locker room, just throw chair and do all the fun shit, and I was like, that's what I should have did, and I should have said, trade me, wow, trade me, because I'm not playing too. I play point. This is how I play. This is how you get the most out of me, Like if you take me out of that, and I never did this other shit

before I become something else. And in my mind I was trying to hope, like I was just gonna growing too this player that you know what I'm saying, Like, maybe I play point guard at the end of the game now, but I start off playing two guard and then I'm averaging more like maybe it could work out. I'm trying to like dive into it. And it just felt like, all right, Bro, y'all just switched me to a three and D guy and now I just got

less responsibility. But you had a great career. I mean, listen, you had a great career for sure, but you asked me what I will regret now. I regret doing that because I felt a different path. I just wanted to play point guard, Bro, Like, even though we won a championship, that's what I wanted to do. That's not how I wanted to do it. Last thing Jordan of Lebron, who's the goat? Jordan? Yeah, okay, like brou you by doll. You know this though? Bro argue this about this? Though

he take that just he like is he conscientious about that? Show? Laughs? Is that ship? Bro? Because I feel like he is getting the conversation. Why the fuck? I mean, I feel like he is the conversations getting compared to Michael Jordan though we having real life arguments in barbershops about who's better between him and Mike. Let me ask you, this go get bad for he don't get mad Bron. That's

what I'm saying about Broun. That's raw as fuck to me because me personally, I would be like, Mike gotta play me one on one, funk all that we're streaming this ship right because because for real, for real, I low key think Mike so competitive, Bro, Mike could come out of retirement right now to play and do it one hell yeah and take an L. Calm down, they take a serious L. You gotta call you. You ain't seen Mike who for the while, I don't need to see it right now Lebron versus right now? Do you

know how Mike Jordan? You ain't never seen it? Though you've never seen Mike. Just you seen Michael Jordan person. No, you've never seen him just sitting down and just get up in his street clothes. No, I've heard about it though he does it all the time, bro, And every time you think like this thig can't dunk no one. But don't you think Lebron has had the level of competition has been a lot more insane for Lebron. Are you being serious right now? Very much? So, you're being

dead serious. Bro. Okay, you're being dead serious right now. Do you know what Michael Jordan had to deal with? Bro? We can go over his finals opponents and go over Lebron's finals opponents, and you tell me who had the tougher teams. You tell me who lost. Okay, that's fair. But he also played the Trailblazers. He played what was wrong with the Trailblazer I mean they have they have a super team. Lebron had to play. It's a dick

sucking statement. Lebron had to Jesus Christ, this is only a statement that will retired to Emon Shuffer could make love this saying we're talking ball. So listen. So Lebron had to go through and and O five. He had to play peak or was it O seven? Rather was seven five? He went to the finals against the Spurs. He's been quite a few times. Well, the first time he went against the Spurs. That was the first kind of incarnation of the Spurs dynasty before Kawhi. Right, So

that's like peak, Manu. So you think Mike and Scotty wasn't gonna blow that out? We'd have beat the Spurs for zero and send them the fuck home. I don't know, man, We just shook pop hand like a great guy. Pop. The Jazz took the Bulls. I think I think y'all the Cavaliers would have swept the Jazz for we're not talking about the Cavaliers. The Bulls didn't sweep the Jazz. It was it was. It was a serious series. We got Lebron James. We could match up with the Jazz.

I could get over a screen. We could deal with Johns. He that he played a Thunder team with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden in the finals. We could have matched up with that with the Bulls. Maam, think about it. I got Ron Harp of six six. Who was gonna guard Mike on that Thunder team? It wasn't gonna be KD. He don't want to do it. Who was gonna guard Mike? What I'm saying, who was gonna

guard him? So you think that because Scotty p was gonna guard you think they Scotty Pe was gonna guard KD. Mike was defensive team. He was gonna take Russ, who we gotta deal with James Carden off the bench. Six men. Okay, see what I'm saying, Who's gonna deal with who coach? When he come off the bench at six eleven? We coming to Partygebaca. So you mean to tell me you so cute? You think that's so cute? You think so you think the Bulls had tougher competition in the finals.

I'm saying, don't violate the Bulls. Bro. Not compare these new teams. None of them bulls Bro. I don't think y'all remember how them Bulls played. Listen, I don't think y'all remember I watched I. I don't think I got to the NBA. I got to the NBA watching these niggas. They wasn't playing with these people. They're not finna play none of these games, none of them. You don't remember when Gary Payton was giving us a hard time? What Phiel do? Hey, Scottie? Deal with this man ninety four feet?

I like how he speaks as as a wei perspective with the Bulls. What you mean were not going. We never went. We're not having it. Yeah, it's gotta be dope to see the Bulls will be good again? Right? Yeah? We wrong? We we cold the Seal right now. And speaking of we, the Cavaliers are cold again. Mobley's doing a great job. Mobley's but that's not we. Oh so okay, So once you're not a Cavalier for life, you watch the Cavaliers within the sixteen team. I don't know these

new guys. I feel like I don't go to war with them, okay, because I feel like Cleveland will always look at you as like when it like, I like Cleveland. You said the Calves though, so no, they traded something. They traded them. Yeah, twenty sixteen Calves love them. Everybody else? Bullshit there it is man, big top bulls guy. Oh man, Hey, do you think my sons have a shot out of chip this year? The Suns? Yeah? I don't know, man. Last year was y'all, y'all it was our chance, right,

It's gonna be tough this year. I mean, we've been doing all right. It's not even about y'all doing all right. It's about if who's your pick off the top of your head right now, who's your pick to be in the finals? Two teams la Lakers and Clippers. Gotta ask? Obviously it's the Lakers, right, or is it the Clippers. Kawhi comes back. Maybe they make something happen. Yeah, the Lakes show. And every time people do that to me, when they say the Lakers are Clippers, it always throws

me off. It throws me off too. I just have to when you said that, I had to think about the Clippers roster for a second just to make sure I wasn't completely leaving them out. But no, they're not gonna I don't feel like they got It'll be either the Lakers and the Bulls or m hm. Maybe I just wanted to be the Lakers and the Bulls, but it's gonna be. I don't really like a lot of teams in the East right now. It ain't that they're not good. I just don't like them. Yeah, I don't

like I mean, I hear. I just don't like you to even say that to foreshadow, because everyone, we all thought the Nets would have been the team, but it's not. That's not the Nests yet. Kyrie Shilling, y'all gotta remember that man. Ain't there, Mama, that go that man? That man at home? Right now? They always say Kyrie, and I think Kyrie to me is like as far as like handles and just skill wise is probably top five ever. But but sure would you would you put him up there? Yeah?

I mean who else is up there? It ain't a lot of motherfuckers up there. I think he's got the best handles I've ever seen. But we got who we got him, Jamal Crawford. Uh I think. I think when I watched when I watched Kyrie play, and it's in slow motion and it looks like art. Like when you see Kyrie in slow motion in his bag, it's like watching art. Dude, it's the craziest show. But it's only like a couple of put in there putting that many guys.

It ain't that many guys with a nasty handle. Like everybody just got a handle for what they need to score, Like Kyrie got a handle that It's like if you need him to dribble out the clock, ain't nobody touching that ball. Uh So your project coming out top of your hopefully? Yeah, man, this car ain't stolen? Is wife he going to be on the project. She's not on the project. You know, she's done with music. She's just done.

She's done with features, done with it all. I can't speak for you know what I'm saying, I'm hoping that the energy is stays positive and she continues because I don't want her to stop, you know what I'm saying, But I feel like she's so talented and like somehow still hasn't even met her peak yet. But that's the issue. That's why she wanted to stop, because it's like whatever that wall is, she doesn't understand the wall. And it's like, now, if it's going to like hurt her mentally, it's not

worth dealing with, you know what I'm saying. She's like, I've been doing that for so long and it hasn't brought me to happiness I need. And before it becomes a point where she doesn't love music or to affect like you said, if it affects your happiness, and it's like a piece some of that is like I want to continue to love music, and it becomes now I think of music and it's like it becomes work, like I got to figure out how to do this or

how she wants it to be. Like she goes to the studio and it just be care free again and just making music and singing with a hard and it ain't all this thought like you don't want to come out in the label already, like yeah, well could you think you could say this? And it's like all that. After a while, it's like I can't imagine fifteen years of somebody keeping me in a box and trying to Oh this is hot right now you should follow behind

this girl. And it's like, dog, like, I just want to do my thing and turn my album in y'all, put the money behind it, go out to that, let me shoot my videos, let me go do my show. That's how. And it's like once it's done, once it's not that harmony, Like I can understand that for her doing it for so long, it's like it got to be a headache. So I get it. But I just hope that it's so point she comes back because she's incredible.

You know what I'm saying, Like I spend that album before I go to sleep, you know what I'm saying. I'm still a fan, even though I my husband, you know what I'm saying. So it's like I still want her to come back. So I don't, you know what I'm saying, put too much pressure on anything. We just sort of let it happen, let the energy happen. Hope she comes back. We'll listen to the album. Hopefully we get it soon, y'all can get that. Get that hey,

hopefully we see you on a basketball court again. Yeah, it's very possible. I feel like the Lakers is a very very serious candidate to bring him on Trumper back to the league. It would make sense. You have so many friends on the team. You bring a set of

skills that they need. I crazy sometimes I'd be feeling like I'll be like, man, after a while, they just gonna have me sit there and they gonna want me to be an announcer of some ship, bro because I'm like, motherfucker want to talk about it with me so much? I'm like, can I put one thing into the world. I'd like to see in the next five years. I want to see you and j R. Smith do a podcast together. Oh that was gonna happen eventually anyway, not an actual like you mean like is Yeah, that'd be

musty TV. I fel like if you guys were living in the same city and you guys could do a podcast once a week, once a month, switch, I ain't doing shit that is. I'm telling you that is a bag that on the Swish. I ain't doing ship. Boy, you guys been go tapping with Bill Simmons at the Ring or somebody, and they would that is That is the podcast, the Emon and the Swish podcast. Will you guys just talk ship? What I'm actually doing the podcast?

My podcast is uh is coming, So that's coming. Yeah, it's with me and my brother though, okay, but me and my brother is probably uh, that's probably gonna be all best look at barbershop talk because my brother is like, he's like you, he plays the fan the fan card, but he like it's like serious. Oh yeah, it's like, no, fuck you. I am extremely invested in sports. I gamble every fucking day. I love having the league, but I

love I do. I gotta say that too, because I talked about fans that go out of their way and say a lot of ship. But it's like, without these fans talking ship and creating the energy, a lot of the basketball that we play ain't the same. You need heckless, you need it, like it's all part of it. It all adds to the energy. It's all good. Like for forty eight minutes, hate me, bro, Yeah, for forty eight minutes, y'all can hate me say anything. I almost got into

it last year. I almost fought one of Patrick Beverley's friends in Phoenix because I was like down in the that's not smart. Well no, I was fucking shit faced and this was this was the game. This is the game when when Patrick Beverly like cheap shot of the ship out of Chris Paul you remember, ohh And I was like, fuck Pa Beverly. Oh and I'm fucking like blackout. You know, my son's having me good in eleven years.

So I'm just like excited to be at a Western Conference final game and the guy turns right and say, hey, that's my bro. Watch your mouth. And I was like, mind you. This guy's by himself. I'm in Arizona with a bunch of my essay homies. I say, hey, bro, you know where the fuck you're out. You're in fucking Phoenix. This isn't fucking La or Sugar, wherever the fuck you're from. That I was drunk. I was drunk. Thanks God, Dicey, you know what I'm saying. But hey, hey, I appreciate you.

I know I was. I was feeling myself, said I was. I went for it. You want a freestyle? Are we doing a freestyle, they usually wrap, let's fucking go. Man, Hey, I did not know we were doing Yo. This is a treat. This is a treat. Let's do this. What beat you any beat you want, we'll get. You're talking about naz and Easy Essence? Which ence? Are you talking about? A whiz kid? Which kid? Okay, well listen, there is a nas and Easy record called Essence that was nominated. Yeah.

Actually I'm gonna go get this two waters before you wrap, perfectly, all right,