The Draymond Green Show - CJ McCollum

Colin and download the fan Duel app today. Start making every moment more During Super Bowl fifty seven, what's up, everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Next guest as a guy who I actually had the opportunity to play against in college before the majority of you, um, we're basketball smart enough to even know its name because the name on the front of the jersey didn't quite match the talent in the name with the back of the jersey, and

so because you can't look and see talent. It needs to be at Duke, it needs to be at Kentucky, it needs to be at Michigan State. You you miss out on the talent like this. However, like I said, I had the opportunity to play against him and I saw firsthand how good he was from cand Ohio. Um, just a guy who I've gotten to know, Mr President himself, the Players Association, Soon to be an all star. C J. Mccull and, welcome to the show, my brother. Appreciate you

had me on the show Man. It's a pleasure absolutely. I mean, let's let's get right into it. Um. You know, coming from cand Ohio your freshman year, you five too, But I know at that point you had to wiggle because it's just it's just in you, like, that's how you play, that's how your older brother to play, which a lot of people don't know. Uh. CJ's older brother, Eric McCullum is has played in EuroLeague for ten years

bucket getter. So that's just seating. But at five to going into your freshman year where or or your freshman year, were there any worries that your future of basketball wouldn't be quite what is shaped out to be just because you were smaller. Did you think I'm gonna hit my gros fur? There was times where I thought that my gross fur might come too late. You know, once high school starts, you know, everybody's taller than you. Girls is taller than you. It's hard to create separation in the games.

The finishing around the basket is nearly impossible. You gotta have a crazy floater just because of the way they closed space. And I've seen that my dad, my dad Actuld graduated high school five eight and my dad is six three now, and I thought to myself, like, I hope that it doesn't take that long, you know what I mean for me to grow, because five eight might be too late my senior year, like it'll be hard

for me to get scholarship. So that was the the only concern was that my grosberg would take too long, and I was worried about that. I started school early and I graduated high school seventeen, so I knew my talent was there. I knew I had the skill set. I worked, you know, harder than most, and I just kind of refined my skills. But I was just hoping that I would get tall early so that I could get a scholarship. And then kind of settled into the hype and at what at what point did you actually

hit the grosper. So I was five to and I played three quarters jv too quarters varsity because that was when you're gonna play five quarters in Ohio and my brother you talked about he was the starting point guard, so I wasn't better than him, and I wasn't gonna play over him, so I kinda watched and played at

the end of the game. My sophomore year, I was five six eight pounds and yeah, like eight pounds and I was taller, so like that was cool, right, like being a little bit taller, like I didn't have to create as much space. But that's when I was really worried. Like I was like, damn only five six, I ain't got no scholarship offer. Nobody's really recruiting me. I'm coming off the bench on my varsity team, even though I

probably should have been a starter. I'm coming off the bench, not really contribute hitting threes every now and then, like certified like high school role player, Like I think, like I'm better than Skip Bayliss, but like, but the point but the points per game wasn't like where it should be right for my skill set. So like that's where

I was at. And then my junior year, I really dedicated myself to like shooting right because I could always shoot a little bit, but I was like, this is this is gonna be the separator for me is you know, I'm a good pastor, but I'm not a great pastor. Right. I could play defense, but I'm not a great defender. I got some athleticism, but it's not elite. So I was like, what can I do well to like get noticed.

It's like, I gotta be able to shoot, and I gotta be able to drill, and I gotta be able to create shots off the bounce because that was my like superpower, so to speaker, it's like, I can do this better than everything else. So I really worked on that one, and the sum of my brother and I grew to five eleven. And when I got to five eleven, it was like the game was easy. At five eleven, it was very easy because I had been so small for so long. I got used to haffing to do

everything harder. You know, creating space harder, you know, step backs got to be harder. Flow, there's gotta be more crips. You only get so many shot attests because you're so short. And I got taller. That made the game better. And actually my first career start, I broke the school record. I hit eight threes and I had thirty four points and I got a letter from Lee I the next day, and that's what I knew. It was like, Okay, I'm good enough to go to school at this size, but

hope that can get bigger. And so you end up getting a letter from Lea High. But why, like ultimately, did you have more offers widely High in the end? Yeah, I mean I went through this bolda Green was the first ohiwer school to offer me. Um, they all offered me first after I played that year out. So I go from averaging six points a game to twenty five. I five like basically five and five as a junior at five elevens and I go play for King James

shottle Brun. I go play for his AU team that year, and that was my first time like really on the scene because I sat the bench for all the h red Like at five seven, I didn't really play, like I was like the third string point guard, well you know, second stream point guard don't really play because the start and played the whole game. So I would come in and pick up full court and run the offense and

then go sit down. So I played like seven to ten minutes a night, like not really impacted the game. And that was my first year and I started playing really well. I played against John john Wall at a tournament at Williams, and I played well. I think I had twenty five and five, and obviously John was killing us. But everybody's watching because it's John. And I started getting letters,

start getting recruited, and I actually lied. Um, you know, after the games, you get interviewed, and I lied and said I had an offer from Boise State and I didn't. They has just recruited me, and um, I got a few offers after that. I got a few offers out that I said, like the University of Ferment offered me and Boise State, and then I got like I had,

Like at one point I had eleven offers. There's all small schools, so Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Bowling Green, um Lehigh offered, University Affirment ended up offering St. Francis, p a um a bunch mid majors. But I was getting recruited by like St. Louis, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Penn State.

And it's funny because I really wanted to go to like I called it like a bigger conference, but like a more academic based school to where like I'm playing against these good schools, but like I can still play and still get playing time. Right, Like this is when Notre Dame wasn't that good. This is when Penn State. This is like Taylor Battle Days, like they was kind of becoming better, but they wasn't really like known for football, you know what I'm saying. So they ended up not

offering me. I wanted to go to Akron University, right because it was down the street from the Creators, a small school like that. I can play them back and crib my cousin play football there, shock and train me since I was a kid. And this is when Schocker was on staff and Dan Brod looked me um in my face and said, I don't have any more scholarship offers. Zeke Marshall was our only scholarship for your class. Zeke was a seven ft seven ft blue chip center. I said, look, man,

you can get me a scholarship. I'll come, but I can't read shot. I won't make it through school like I love basketball, and if I can't loop, I won't be able to be as locked in and engage and I can't do a year without it. I gave him two days. They didn't offer me. Took a visit to le High and at that point, like I started with eleven offers, guys start committing. You know how it goes. I go for the level offers to eight to six to five. I got three offers left, like guys just committing.

I'm going in my senior season and Lee High was the school I was with me from the beginning. They was They was authentic, they was genuine. They kind of told me what my role would be. I knew I was gonna be in the Patrio League, so it was a good education. It was a six hour drive from home, and I didn't want to be too close to home, so I was like, bad, I can still drive home, but you gotta really want to see me to come see me type of thing. And it ended up working out.

And I always say that's the best decision I ever made in my life. Was was going to Lehigh and my wife there. Um, I got to play the game I love. I got a degree. I majored in journalism.

I won a couple of championships and that kind of that propelled me to learn how to carry a load differently, right like the academic load of course, LOA was crazy to be able to work out to how to lead a team to go through like being a freshman to being a man, and like what comes with that, what comes with empower and being a leader, How to lead by example? How to curse people out when I need to, Like I gave me the perfect balance on like what I felt like I was gonna need when this game

is over. So I'm thankful for it. That's amazing, That's incredible. So you you finished out at Lee, how you win Patriot League Player of the Year twice? Um, then you go on to be the tenth overall pick by the Shrail Blazers at the time, the Trail Blazers had just drafted Dame with the six picker a year before. What was your mindset going in, Like, I'm sure you were here and you were too small to be a two card at that time, because when we came in the league,

the league was really big. The league is smaller today. League was really big. Two centers essentially playing power for the center. You got power force planting three spots. So I'm sure you were hearing you were too small to play the two. But what was your mindset coming in knowing that they had just drafted Day with the sixth pick, and now they're dropping you with the tip. Yeah, my mindset was to just go be a hooper um Damon.

I had talked. We actually got connected by a mutual friend after I broke my foot my senior year, So we had just been talking just I was asking about his rehab. What was it like in the league, Like you came from a small school. What should I be working on? Like can I still play in the league out of this broken foot? You know what I'm saying. This is the point in time where like you get hurt and you just start thinking like damn, maybe this

is it. Maybe I don't have to go Overseas. My brother was already over there, so I was just kind of coming to terms with if I got to go over to Europe, like I know what that looked like, I can go do that. And thing was like you're gonna be in the league, You're gonna be a lottery pick. And I'm like, bro, I just broke my foot, Like my senior season is over, Like I'm not playing and my body at work was there obviously, But you know,

when we was coming out. It was like a crime to be in school that long, like they wanted to They wanted you to get in and out. And they even though I was younger than a lot of the the sophomores and freshmens, basically because I was one, it just felt like I stayed too long and I missed my window. And he was like, you're gonna be a lot of your pick. And then fast forward, He's like,

if you're there, we're gonna take you. And I was like, okay, like this is the franchise saying that they're gonna draft me from there. And we we got similar games, you know what I'm saying, Like I played to two because Marquees Hall, you know who works at Nankee. He was the point guard right when I was there. So I just slid at the two because it made sense, and I played a lot of one. And I was just like, look, man,

I don't all in my hands. Will not in my hands like I just want to who I'll figure it out. I can be the man. I can play off the man like I'm not tripping. And I told I said that in my interviews when I did the draft process, and they like my demeanor. They like that Dame has solidified himself as a guy went to school for a long time. I was like, you play alongside Steph that mattered.

And there was just a body of work from guys Eric Maynard, guys who have been in the league for a while, um George hill Right who went to school for a long time, so they knew they were mentally ready for different roles. And I just thought to myself, like, I gotta get to it, and then I'll never forgetting the league. It's crazy, dog. So I get drafted. My phone dies and I don't get to talk for a

while to like nobody because my phone is dead. Be fast forward to rookie orientation and I'm sitting there, I'm thinking to myself, I'm adding up the minutes in my head, like, all right, let's say I don't start. I back up Wesley managed too, so that that's let's call it twelve fifteen minutes. And now back up day, let's call it another twelve minutes. I'm I'm gonna play about twenty two to twenty seven minutes a night in two different positions, right,

because it's forty eight minutes. Didn't play thirty six, that's twelve If West Place thirty four. That's fourteen. Like, I'll take those twenty six minutes. I'm cool. We we trade for Moe Williams while I'm a rookie transition and I love Mo. But I was just like, damn toy, go my minutes, Like that's what I thought right away, Like

twenty six minutes gonna look the same. And then I end up breaking my foot to last day of training camp again and the rest is kind of history, but it's a blessing the way that like kind of happened, right The mental anguish that I went through, the injury that I got my senior year kind of shifted my mentality of what's important, how to work and how to

do stuff outside of basketball. And that's kind of how I fell into the stuff that I do today, is because I couldn't hoop during the most pivotal time of my life and I had to. I started meditating, I started going to yoga. I started really becoming more in tune with myself, with nature and with my mental side of things, because I was always focusing love then, but I didn't really have a plan, like to keep it

a buck like it was it was hooping. I mazing journalism because I watched Stewart Scott and I was like, I want to work on TV one day and I want to talk about sports. Then I started figuring out, like how do I use this degree? Like how do I leverage this? And the injury really is shifted my mentality. So you you've you just led me to speaking of you about media. Um And what I've tried to learn in these interviews is like you allowed the person that

your interview and you allowed him to guide the interview. However, because you've done so much in media, I'm just going to acknowledge for the listeners and for you who's who's an expert that that's been doing this way longer than I had, I'm going to acknowledge that I'm not gonna follow you right now because your media catalog is so deep that we gotta we gotta, we gotta speak about

that and depth. And I really want to get to your your time with the Blazers in your NBA careers, I think it's been incredible, and quite frankly, the fact that you haven't been an All star's baffling to me. Um to like to average twenty points in this league year after year after year, and you'all team was having success. It wasn't like you were average with twenty points and y'all were eleven see Twilve c. Thirteen. See y'all was

in success. Y'alls having success, and quite frankly, probably be the reason y'all didn't have more success, just because y'all kept meeting nuts Like I think we met you what

two or three times in the playoffs? Yeah, like two straight years and year off and then another year basically yeah, And so I want to I want to continue to talk a little bit about you and Damon, but also going to that but and se and all of that um that you said that that year was a blessing for you once you got hurt, and I'm assuming you it was a blessing because more Williams ended up playing a lot that year and then he end up moving on, So there was once you got healthy, there was a

role for you to to slide right into. It. Is that why you feel like it was a blessing. I think it was a combination of things, like right, because that next year we traded for Aaron to follow and we signed Steve Blake, So I played a little bit more, but not as much as I felt like I should have.

Watching my peers. You know that, watching my guy Michael Carter Williams, when working the year, watching my friends get five minutes a night, you had this envy and this jealousy in your heart, not not at them, but at the fact that they got a role that you felt like you you deserved on your own merit, you didn't have it. And I think it taught me to slow down. It taught me to be patient. It I I read more.

I joke all the time I said I went to I went to a school major journalism, and I read more now and I did when I was in college. And when I got hurt, I started reading. I started really slowing things down because I couldn't think about you hurt, you can't really move, couldn't walk right, I'm on crutches. Everything had to be slower and more methodical. And then my my appreciation of life shifted more, not just sport,

but life. Like the things I took for granted, I stopped taking them for granted right away, and it shifted that part of me and the game was my game, right like I got like when I could get back to it, I got to it. I tightened my diet up, I started beating nutrition is. I started figuring out, like, all right, man, if you're gonna do this, you gotta be all the way in your career is only this long. If you're gonna get hurt, it's gonna be some stuff

that you can't control. Everything else is gonna be how it's supposed to be. And I think that's what I did. But I was still piste off because the next year I only played like fifteen minutes a night, and I was bind Steve Blake leaning up, signing Aaron to follow, and the errand ends up Wesley Matthew, these terrorists Achilles Aaron and followed her to the shoulder and and they had to play and have a choice. And then I always said, I'll be ready when I get a chance.

You know what I'm saying. I want blow a chance by not playing. I'll blow a chance by not being ready to play. So I just got ready. And when when the opportunity came, I said, I'm never gonna look back. And speaking of not looking back, you and Dame go on and have an incredible partnership. Make the playoffs, y'all. First playoff when we had Dame on the show and he talked about that first playoff series win that y'all want versus the Clippers and how much that did for

yall partnership. What did you feel like in that moment that or even looking back on it, that winning that series against the Clippers, what did that do for you and Dame's partnership and moving forward to Blazers, it did a lot for our partnership, And I think it's solidified the fact got to get play together as two small guards, right, two guards who are ball dominant to guards who you know, control a lot of the offense, control a lot of

the usage, have similar similar styles in terms of running pick and roll and running ice sole can catch you shoot. We kind of I'm gonna say we rever Luis games. That's too big of an adjecude. But I would say that we made it more popular and more common for two guards to be able to play together and be more accepted. I would say, for sure because of the success.

Because if you don't have team success, none of this matters, right, And I probably don't get an extension, I probably don't get to stay there, and so on and so forth. But I will say that Dame always seen the vision. I didn't always see it. There was times where he would be like, we're gonna be starting together one day, and I'm like, bro, I don't play at all, Like

I am watching. My game starts at three o'clock, Like I work out before the game, I run the stairs, Me and Will Barton play one on one, and I take a shower and that's basically my day. Like I come at seven o'clock like I already showered, like I'm just watching being a good teammate. He's like, we're gonna play one day. I'm like, bro, I don't see it.

I don't see it. And then he always seen it, and sure enough it ended up happening, and that series was just, you know, for me, it was more about taking advantage of the opportunity being the like I love big moments. I love big games, and I think it brings out the best of me because I went to a school where we didn't have a lot of fans of games. Right, So when I got a chance to play out of Michigan State at ioua State when Royce O'Neil was there, not really so Neil, what's his name,

Royce White, Royce White, Royce White. When he was there, Like that was just my moments where it was like, Okay, people may never ever be able to see play again. They're only gonna judge you on this one moment if I get a chance playing front the ten thousand and twenty thousand. Whenever it was, I was like, this is this is what I was built for, this is what

I trained for. And being in the playoffs is when everybody's watching your games, right, It's not like you get the late T and T slide or you know, you got a random Wednesday night in Portland, Like it's everybody that loves basketball is watching basketball. And I wanted to make sure that I rose to the occasion. And you know, after a slow start, I did for for a couple of years there what you still being with the Blazers?

Um your name or not necessarily your name, but they kept coming up that like they gotta break it up, they gotta break it up, they gotta break them and c JF. It's not gonna work. It's not gonna work. And I think those may you started three years before you eventually got traded. Yeah, when when when those things first first started coming out that they needed to break

it up and you retradeed. Was there ever a point in that like before it was inevitable, Like I think that last year was inevitable where you're like, yo, I think I may spoke to you before and you're like, yeah, I'm just waiting, like I know what's happening. But was there ever a point like during those years where hey, y'all were still playing well in competing, but everybody said it's not gonna work, they need to break it up.

Was there ever a point for you during that where you felt like this is the year I'm gonna get traded and it still didn't happen, or did you always know that, no, it's not happening and then that's just noise on the outside. Um, I was in trade owners for about six straight years. I'd say, um, Bill simmon juice always. I joke about Bill all the time. He used to put me in trades all the time. He had me going to the cast. He hadn't going to Detroit,

he hadn't going to Boston. Um, he had some trades that I thought, like, you know, I'm realized, I look at that be like that could work, or like it makes sense financially or if they're trying to do this like auld work. And I don't really read into too much besides the fact that I think there's only a few players in LEAD that are untradable. The rest of us are just ponds in this game and we're just a number and they got to figure out how to

make the numbers work. But I felt like it was good to be wanted by more than one team because at some point, you know, the only person left in my draft classes on the same thing that was drafted by is be honest. It was me and your honest and now it's just yournest, Like that's the way it works. So I always looked and I thought to myself, first, she used to be mad, like you're mad at the fan base. You're angry, You're like, why don't they want me? And you kind of feel that way right when you're

younger as you get older. I went through that for about a week, like dain't that's messed up? Like I worked so hard for him, like whateverever. And then I thought about and I was like, you're realistic, c J. Like every team's goals is to winning championship, right, fans are irrational at times. I'm an irrational Browns fan first of all, so I get it, that's just I'm an irrational Browns and I feel like we're supposed to compete

for a championship even when we're not. And I think our fans and the fans that were there at the time, they were like thinking about it. They were like, we're paying these guys too much money, and we keep being honestly, kept running to the Warriors, right, we kept runningto y'all, And it was like, our team and our roster wasn't built to beat you guys, who we're be able to compete, but we weren't built to beat you guys. And how else were we going to be built to compete or

beat you guys? Then to get get rid of the guy who makes the second most money in the team. So it's like financially, I started thinking about and I was like, well, if they if they're if they're planning, is they try to find more assets and they're not gonna trade Damed and like it's obviously going to be me. And I think for me, it was just more so, all right, just keep working in your game, do things the right way to be a leader and set the example and understand that this is the way the cards

may fall for you. And I think that's the approach that I kind of had going forward. And I just always told my agent, like, be honest, we be transparent, let me know what's going on. And before Neil was let go um, I always had conversation with him and like, you know, just be honest with me, Like that's all I ever wanted honestly, Then I can take I can

take honesty. I don't want to be lied to. I don't want to be betrayed, and at the very least, I don't want to find out things on Twitter, like just keep it a buck with me when I'm playing well, keep it a buck when I'm not keeping a buck. And Neil was always like that. He was always very quite frank, like things weren't going well, he would tell me, and things were going well, he would tell me. And when Joe was in that position, and I told Joe the same thing, and keep it keeping a buck with me,

like I'm a professional. The whispers allowed than they've ever been before. I can feel the tension, I feel the vibe shifting. I feel it like that's what I think I told you. I was like, yeah, this is this is inevitable, like it's about to happen. I just don't know where, and I don't know when. I kind of got my family ready, I got everything kind of lined up, and I took my agent. It's like it's time, Like my time here is up, Like start having like not

just inquiring conversations, but productive conversations. We're like we're not asking what kind of tell him like this is what it's looking like for us? And uh And thankfully Portland was great about the dialogue, the back and forth, and they handled everything first class. And I'm thankful that we were able to put something together where it was usually beneficial right to get off my money there to go pay and able to go pay NERD pay some other

guys to get Josh hard. They get some great, you know assets, and then I think because of my trade, they're able to sign Grant, which was a huge pickup for them as well. And I always say, like, divorces don't always have to be messy, right, Like my parents got divorced and they get along better now and they didn't his married, Like divorces can end well and cordial if you handled it properly. I think we handled that

divorce really well. Gus, it's great. Did you have any say so or know that it was going to be New Orleans? Yeah? I knew, Um, I knew. I knew I was going to New Orleans. Um. We had a lot of conversations about teams behind closed with the countil my agent. UM. What I felt like was the best fit for me, my career where I wanted to go, um, for my wife, my son who had just been born.

He was I left after this four week appointment and I just felt like with the young talent, obviously you got to planet in Zion, and in Zion you got b I was a mega mega star. You've got great pieces, young players. Got Willie who you know Willie really well, great god, little human motivator. You got Griff, You've got trading. You gotta swin. So I'm talking and I'm having all these conversations, and I'm like, this is perfect. We've got a young up and comming team. You need a player

like me who can play different roles. I can score, I can lead, I can get off the ball and chill and like watch you go to work like I'm not I'm not going to force my way into stuff Like I know how to play whatever way we need to play. And most importantly, I gotta winner's DNA to where like I won at every level. I ain't win a championship, but I wanted high school, I wanted college, and I've consistently got into the playoffs nine years in

a row. This will be tense straight so it's like I know what to do to kind of to kind of figure it out and thankfully and pull the trigger. And I'm thankful to being the worlds. I love it. I think we're changing the culture, fan base is shifting what we want to accomplish the shifting, and um, I'm a big part of that and this team is a big part of that. Well, when you when you went to New Orleans, did you spect to be full time

point guard? Because that's something different for you and your career and you had ever done those first what nine years? That was a part of the reason why I wanted to be there is because I wanted to play a different role. I wanted to really tap into all my tools, on my resources, on my work, and I think it was like I was in training, right, you know in Portland's right, I got to train alongside one of the greatest players ever, right, top seventy five, just had sixty

the other night, like a certified killer. I got to see what that was like. Right, what is the mentality, what is the work ethic? What time is he working out? Like? How does he get ready for every game every night? Like I got to see I got to work alongside and we work out together, vacation together, but still my

homiet to this day. And then I got to go play a certified score role like just score, go, get buckets, catching, shoot, running, pick from up when he goes out of the game, run the offense, and like, I got to see what that was like, and I was like, Okay, that was a really cool experience for me. It changed my outlook

on basketball. It helped me grow. This is a role where somebody's got to score somebody as I don't, So somebody take the inter shot in the game somebody's I might not, but I've been prepared for this role in nurture for this role. Incapable of being the full time point guard. I'm capable of being a full time shooting gun.

I'm capable of playing both I think my skill set compliments on the ball, off the ball, and the ability to shooting have a basketball i Q makes the game so much easier when you play alongside guys who know lot of space properly. Had think the game is just really easy coming in as a leader of this team, Um, when you're traded to the team Zion, I think at that time, it's hurt missing the entire season last year and struggling with Wait, you know, the reports are coming

out that they struggling a way. You know they can somebody catch a picture every now and then. They looked a little heavier, and you know he's having knee injuries, foot injuries, which I'm not necessarily gonna say being overweight at that time was what did it, but it definitely

didn't help it. And you know, coming in there and understanding that number one is number one, pick number two generational talent, but could possibly struggle with way these shoes did you take on that challenge and coming in there and say, I have to do what I need to do to teach this second year guy who was a superstar making hundreds of millions of dollars already, but I need to teach him about diet. I need to teach

him about taking care of his body. I need to teach him these things so that he can't be available on the floor. Was that something that you had to take on? And going to New Orleans with such a young team, especially with a young guy like Zion, that was something that I was surely going to take on. But I didn't force it right, Like I didn't want to be the old head that preaches, because I know

what that looks like, right. You know how it's like when every time you see somebody telling you about what it was like back in the day, and it's like, I didn't want to be that guy. I was more like show first than I tell. So it's like I ain't gonna say nothing. I'm gonna read the room. I don't really know these guys like that. I know I'm from Afar, but I'm gonna just work how I work, do what I do, eat what I eat. I show up at the same time I work out at these times.

I get my body working at these times, and they're gonna see what what a what a real professional looks like. And then once they see that, like, Okay, this is howth c J is he is very blunt. He just very honest. Jay's he's himself yesterday, today, tomorrow. He sees something he don't like, he speaks on it. Sometimes he don't say nothing. Sometimes I say too much. It's like they was gonna be able to get to know me better.

We're gonna go out to eat first. We did all that stuff before I started trying to preach, just like no. I came here and I said it from day when I said, look, man, i've been in the playoffs eight straight years. It's gonna be nine and we're not in no position to make the playoff at this point, right Like I said, Look, I work a certain type of way. I love this game, give everything I got to this game, and then I'm gonna walk away from it. I want you to challenge me. I want you to coach me.

I don't care if you start or if you're last. Get on the bench. If you see I'm not doing something right, you tell me I'm not running the play right because I don't run into the place. Tell me you help me. And that's kind of how I get down. I'm gonna challenge y'all. I want you to challenge me. And I sat out and I think that changed the the perception of what they thought about me, because I'm sure they had this idea what I was like as

the president, all of that stuff. And then it's like, okay, like c J, he's first of all, he got real game, but second of all, like he talks when he needs to talk. Yeah, he keep it one hundred with me. He's not gonna sugarcoat nothing. If I see something I don't like, I'm gonna tell him. I'm changing stuff with in the organization that I may not like or may not think is what we should have. And I'm saying

stuff and then I'm delivering. It's not like I don't just make up stuff like he's going to record saying like CJ got somebody for everything I do, and I'm not. I don't just make it up, like I really look out for people and make sure they're smooth and in this case, um our lockers right beside each other. Besides

selling the bus. He comes back to the team. We start talking and I'm just getting a normal, like a surface level, right like I broke my foot three times with certain did you use like just general stuff like how's your rehab going, what you're doing what phades you in? Now? Did you do this? Did you do that? It's like I can relate, Ma, I did it three times? Like I know what you're going through mentally. Do you've got a therapist? Like how's your day to day? Are you

structuring your days now that you're not playing? Like do you have a routine? So I'm just hitting with just like generals, I'm not I'm not I'm not telling them what to do. I'm seeing what you're doing. And then as I progresses, then I get more comfortable. We get more comfortable. Now I'm like, this is why I think you should be doing. It's your life, like I always tell them, like I don't need nothing for none of all. I'm not bragging and sign three deals like I make

good money. I make good money off the court, Like I don't. I do this because I want to, not because I have to. I want to get the best out of you. I want to get the best out of you. I want all you are to make as much money as you're supposed to. I'm maximizing what he did. My column is supposed to be in all phases of life. I want you to maximize what you're supposed to be and you're still thing. It's a lot of higher than a lot of ours. So I just want you to

get there, It's all I'm saying. And I don't need no bread from you. I don't need nothing. I just want you to be available and I want to see you be able to say that when you when you're done, see you come to the buck with me. He gave me a lot of gyms. I took him with me, and I took my talent and I ran with it. And I think now he's doing it. Obviously he's got a little injury right now, but they're all They all work, and that's what I love to see, Like lay or

lose whatever, do you work? Do you care? Do you apply to yourself? Are you maximizing your days? And this is one of the best organizations in terms of fun, Like they made the game fun like and that's what I love to be around. The locker room is fun, the flights is fun, Like you really really get down with these guys and we're not really faking the fun,

like we really mess with each other. Turn every Thursday into pay Day with TNT Thursdays on FanDuel Sports book doesn't matter if you win or lose Fan Duels given all customers ten dollars in bonus bets every Thursday, just better ten dollar bill or more same game parlay on any NBA t NT game. Same game parlays are the perfect way to combine your bets two or three or

four for a chance of a bigger pay day. You build your own or choose from one of the popular s gps pre built for you and Fan Duels operated sports book app Win or Lose, You're guaranteed to get ten dollars out of your account, get ten dollars back every Thursday Winter Lose with TNT Thursdays exclusively on FanDuel Sports Book, an official sports betting partner of the NBA. And speaking of Zai and your team with the Pelicans in your row, Uh, guy's got on to an incredible start.

Uh what three weeks ago, three three or four weeks ago was number one, number two in the West and now currently in the midst of a losing street. How How how is the mood around the team and what has to be done? Obviously health is important and you guys have been deemed up. We kind of went through our injury injury spot as well. And you guys been deemed up. Finally gotta be out back after missing thirty

three games. But how is how is the mood around the team now with such a young team you're riding now? How your number one, number two in the West. Everybody's feeling good, and now you've lost six in a row. I think maybe one or two games about five hundred. What's the move like now, especially with trying to push young guys who hasn't been there and get them to understand what it needs to be. I think the move definitely shifted when we start losing games because we're not

used to that. Right, Like we was winning. Things are going well, you know, we number one, number two in the West like Roland. Then we start getting some injuries. We started dropping some closed games. Guys that ain't normally used to playing thirty minutes is playing thirty minutes. Guys that ain't used to play in twenty is playing twenty And I think it changed the rotation and the body

started to kind of feel the season right. Forty something games and eleven day road trip, come back, lose more games than you think you're supposed to drop a game in Orlando, like it starts to Domino, and I think it was mentally exhausting but also physically exhausting from the season. But we had conversations, and I think that the message is the same, Like when everything is going well, I

don't judge people on that. I judge't know how they act when everything is going wrong, like when everything is hitting the fan. That's true, true testimony, that's the true character, that's the true, true character, traits of what you really what you really made of. And I think this is great for us. I was like, we was winning games. They was like, oh, this is this, you know, championship contenders. And I was like, six months ago, y'all said, we're

barely gonna finish over five hundred. You know what I'm saying. So it's like, y'all victims at the moment. I said, we can't be victims at the moment. This is a season. This season as ebbs and flows, good days, bad days, losing streets, winning streaks, just as quick as we win seven lose seven. So you gotta stay locked in on the goal, stay locked on the task of each day, just getting better, stacking you good days. Some days you gotta rest, some days you gotta chill. Some days. We

gotta celebrate our victories. Right privately, I think we at that stage now where you didn't dropped a couple of games, but now we understand, like alright, b Eyes back, Nazis bag Z is getting closer. Like we just lost our rook Dice into an injury, but it'll be back soon. It's like we're gonna be whold, and we need to be whole right now. We just stay afloat, stay afloat, get a home seed and we will figure it out.

Were healthy and we got we got one out there, we got fourteen out there, we got three out there. I like our chances, you know what I'm saying. So it's just like, let's let's just learn from this season, right. Everybody adjusted new roles. He used to playing outside your role, and then you get back used to playing your role. And when we come together collectively, we're gonna be fine. But you gotta remember what this felt like because losing, losing can continue to see ban and you start to

have a loser's mentality and we can't have that. Like it's hard to win an NBA. And when you start falling in the winds, like you think it's normal. It's not. It's really hard, Like it's hard to close the team out. It's hard to be up for the entire game and close them out down to stretch, like it takes real talent and execution and focus. And now I think we're getting to that point where it's all coming together. Even though we lost that game the other night against the

Nuggets by one point, I think I missed game. When I miss the game, when it miss the heat. And then we come back, you know, we're up against Minnesota. They go on like a sevent team to two run in a quarter and we end up coming back and losing. My four or five agets shown him. It's like it looks like that that that line of error is very thin, Like you got that margin in victory is very thin.

You gotta lock in. And that's a fact. I think that's something that we've been figuring out this season as well. It's like, you know, every year it's a different team, man. You know, yes, we still have that first five six guys that won a championship last year, that's won several championships or seven guys, but then we got a bunch of guys who haven't really played much um who we haven't really played much together. And also youth and the mistakes that you make as a young team. It takes

a while to grow through those. And I feel like right now y'all are starting to see a little bit of that. Is that accurate? Yeah, I think we're starting to see it for sure. And I wouldn't even compare it to the We don't got the championship DNA, right, but we got a little taste of success, and not on that level of small taste turning the table, went into playing games taking the son so I think should

have been seven games. We should have win seven games and had to play seven seven game series on their core.

But we got a taste of success, right, And then we got to see, like, start the season off, we beat Brooklyn in Brooklyn by like, and we start playing well as a whole, and we're looking like we can really play with some of the best teams in the league, like, and you start to get a taste of like what success it looks like, and then you get humble and it's like, Okay, we got a chance to be really good, but we gotta do these things consistently, and like you

said before, we can't have small mistakes linger right, Like, if you're supposed to be low man, you've got to be the low man when Anthony Edwards coming down the lane, because if you get there too late, you getting punched on right. And if you don't meet a good passing role man early, he's gonna pick you apart like Joker, you got a meeting earlier. Hes gonna hit the lib to Aaron Gordon or he gonna throw it right to

the corner. Is a three like And if you get putting a series against these teams, the whole point of a series is to figure out the weakness and exploit it. And it's like if you if you're not gonna lock in the way you're supposed to lock in a regular season where you're just playing a team on the random Tuesday, then how I'm gonna trust you to lock in, you know, in the playoff series when you know we might have to go back to Phoenix and we got nights off

in Scottsdale, you know what I'm saying. So it's like, y'all gotta have this level of focus and be willing to sacrifice at a different level. And that doesn't just mean going out or not going out, because that's not even what I'm talking about. You gotta be willing to sacrifice and say today, I'm not gonna work out because I'm playing more minutes than I ever played before in my career and I don't want my body to be

hurt tomorrow. So I'm just gonna shoot three throws. Or I'm really focusing on film and I'm gonna get better at film today. And I think that's the next step that we gotta take from a growth standpoint, and I think we're getting there absolutely respect that. Um. Speaking of basketball. Uh, you recently, well that's what year, year and a half now, you became the president of Players Association. Number one, how has it been sitting in that role? Uh? And number two?

How long do you plan on staying in that role? It's the two first. I don't know how long I plan on standing in this role. Um, I'm unsure. Obviously. I like to molde whoever is going to be next to kind of spend some time with them and allow them to kind of understand how it works, similar to how the NBA has done things with a deputy commissioner. I think that's important that your change your hands should

be smooth and they should be well equipped. I think I want to get to that point first before I do that, So I don't know what the timeline is on that. But the first part of your question is it's been an honor to serve, you know, on behalf of the players. There's been some great moments. It's not so great moments. Obviously, when you're in a position of power,

I have to make decisions. Your decisions are for the betterment of the group, but the group isn't always going to be happy, right and having to deal with COVID, having to deal with a lot of different situations that we've had to deal with hasn't been ideal. But it's been a lot of tough learning moments that I've enjoyed going through. UM I've enjoyed the dialogue, the conversation that I have to have on behalf of the players and

alongside the NBA. UM I think we're working on developing more of a partnership, more of a collaboration that's group decision making. UM. I think the dialogue has improved from endous league since my rookie year or two now ten years ago. And UM, I think obviously we're in CBA talks going through negotiations now, but we're in a much better state then I would say a lot of other major sports in terms of how we speak to each other,

in terms of relationships. A lot of players have with Adam, a lot of relationships the players have with Mark Tatum. I think we're in a much much better space. And I think Tonik has done a fantastic job of organization and allowing us to continue to make strides, and the great work that Michelle has done. I think, um, Michelle was incredible by the way. I thought she did an

amazing job. And you know, and and stepping in that role, like I think CP did a really good job in the row a president for I think, man, what was he the president for like eight years or something like that. He didn't he didn't two bids, and I thought he thought he did a really good job. But there's a topic that never comes up in discussion, and I quite

frankly don't understand that. So I want to ask you about it, which is the players not being able to participate in ownership with these scenes like you see, the evaluation is that these teams and you can look at the Warriors for us, take the Warriors for example, seven billion dollar evaluation. When when the when the ownership group bought this team in uh two thousand eleven, which was a year before I was drafted, plays first year, steps third year, so five million dollar team, it's now seven

billion dollars. Players are to participate at all, not say not now you can't structure something to be part owner after or anything. What do you make of that conversation and players not being able to participate in ownership and it also never really coming up. Yeah, I will say that it's coming up the conversations. I've been a carry out. I was elected in this role in and COVID maybe August three, so I'm I'm going on two years. I think.

So these are things that I think about constantly as a person who believes in equity and empowerment and ownership and ways to create generational wealth. But also the fact that a lot of these teams are owned by funds or a portion of it is owned by funds. I think where it's indirectly ownership. I think those are all

discussions that were currently having. I think it's more so like you talked about, how do you structure it like, for instance, the Steph Curry situation, right, I don't like the valuation of what it was compared to what it is now based on him being there and all that stuff is crazy. And I think you know, you guys, your your owner would argue that you know, he's paid well, and he has paid well, he's paid extremely well, and

he performs and he does his job. But a lot of that success off the court for the Warriors is due to him. UM merchandise sales, those restaurants that you got around that arena um the I think you'll have your own media now, I'm not mistaken where they basically chronicling this season for y'all behind closed doors, I think like it might be the owner of the media company.

I'm like, there's a lot of ways in which the generating income that you guys aren't able to take part in and we're not able to take part in as any And I think for us, it's about she teaches be trying to figure out what that looks like, and it's not we're not trying to take advantage of anybody. We're just trying to be able to figure out what's

considered a fair share. UM and how does that share paid out In the event that Steph Curry does have enough money right to potentially partaken in in an ownership play, what does that look like for him? And can he do it? And like you talked about before, can you do it down the road? Like what does that look like strategically if you structure it? And I think I don't have the answer obviously if I didn't, it would

be done already. But just the dialogue is what's important, because you need to understand both sides issues and why both sides feel like change is necessary. And I think for us as players, um, that's the next step for us, like Michael Jordan's being the only player to own a team and arguely the greatest player of all time if

not egre it is. It's kind of a problem because there's plenty of other athletes from other sports, plenty of other African Americans minorities who have money, but they don't have the access. They might have the power, mainly because many of these organizations and franchises our own and their passed down from generation of generations. So if we don't get one person of color in one of these positions, how do we get the next person of color in

the position. You know what I mean, I think not to just bring race into a general but for us as as black athletes over of the league, like it's important. We make a lot of money and we want to figure out ways to make money for our kids in the generations that come after us, especially if we're helping boost these franchises the way Steph Curry is boosting the franchise. Yeah, No, definitely, And like you said, I think Joe has He's paid a lot of money, like as ownership group, they paid

and so you respect that. But then I'll look I'll look at it and say, yes, they half faid, but they're also able to cover that. They're also able to cover those expenses from revenue. They're not covering those expenses by going to take a loan out against that seven billion dollar evaluation as if it's no, that's still just sitting there and you're able to cover salaries and X, Y and z the revenue and so there's still that long term play that you're just not able to participate

in it. And I'll take it even a step further if an owner, if an owner is in an investment and you know, they're either leading the investment order high up on the cap table, we can't invest in that same investment. And so that right there already essentially limits the great investments that you can take partner because they're going to get access to the best investments. Why were Number one? A lot of them these days come from

tech backgrounds, venture backgrounds, et cetera. But also number two, if I am a CEO of a company, and if I'm a CEO of a company and I want to do something with the Warriors or I wanted something I'm gonna make, I'm gonna open my round up to Joe let Up, I'm gonna open my round up to Peter Goober why for the relationship? And so then that limits what players can do as well. And so are we

making any progress as far as that were? Like, I think that's an old route that was put in way back in the day, and it's like one of those things where it's just lazy to leave it there because the times have changed and players are making more money to where you can sit on those same cap tables that owners. So is that something that we're making progress in because I think that's something that definitely needs to go. Yeah, definitely of the business mindset, as you can attest to that.

I think it's important that we have the right exposure, right. You know. One of the things we've seen historically is that you know, athletes and people who have money, but not necessarily the right education behind it, investing the wrong things. And I think for us, it's not just about deal vetting. It's about making sure that you have the right deal flow, um, constructive, productive deal flow, and but potentially being able to invest

alongside owners. It gives you another layer of due diligence that we may not always have or may not always use. And I think that's important and important part of the structure that you know we're working towards is it's not just about investing alongside your owner, it's about them kind of explaining deals to you. Why this is a good deal, why this is not a good deal, the stage of the deal, capital calls. What's a capital call? How often they're gonna come back? What serious is this? Is? This?

Is this a safe round? Do I get a discount? What's my discount? You know what I mean? I think being able to explain the lingo similar to how we would explain a play. One of the things I think is most fascinating about other sports is when I watch a football player breakdown and play. I played football, but I can't speak to football the way that a professional athlete can when they break down a play. I think

that's so great. But I think we have that same mindset when it comes to finance and be able to speak to lingo with somebody else who can empower us and encourage us and teach us. And I think we're working towards a lot of stuff that I you know, I can't really speak to because you know, president of the p A, but the conversation and dialogue is going strong.

It's it's definitely business focused. You know. I knew about the the Basketball Africa League, you know, when it was coming out, and I tried to invest in the Obviously I wasn't allowed and that's not even the NBA, and I couldn't invest in that and part take in the upside of that and the potential upside. So it's like there's a lot of issues that I have personally as a as a as a player, and personally on behalf

of all the players that we're trying to resolve. And I think we will be able to resolve because, like you said before, it just makes sense, right, It just makes sense for us to be able to partake in some of the upside, be able to invest in things that are have a higher likelihood of being successful, like we should want our players too, and the owners obviously and the governors, they definitely want their players to be a part of it. They're just trying to figure out,

um structurally, what that would look like going forward. Absolutely, And like I said, I think you're doing an incredible job as the president. Um, I appreciate so you know, as a player, UM, I thank you because it's it's a very unforgiving job, Like it's a thankless job, and I all the time this is a very thankless job. And I'm thankful for your eight years and service because now I know what you went through. I didn't understand it before. Now I truly know. And another note, who's

your team rep. Make sure Cavan is at Utah for at least to tell me this at least a day. Need them for a day. Okay, yeah, we need we need a rep from the Warriors there. Please tell him the whole fight, hotel, whatever he needs there on me the once to dinner in Park City. I don't care about I need them there. I'll definitely let him know. Uh. And like I said, a man who were a many has something gets you out of here. I know a little man probably getting up in a minute and you

gotta eat you on the Central Central Times. So appreciate you coming on. But before you get out of here, I just wanted to ask you about media, Like I remember when you first started doing media and you came to the NBA Finals. We actually had a conversation, remember absolutely, and we were we were covering the NBA Finals and I was like, hey, c J, Like that's cool, that's dope, But it's a respecting that you gotta give to you

sitting here talking to players about the finals. You ain't You haven't quite gotten to the level that you need to get to to have those conversations. And he was like, Oh, this is something I want to do. And then you kind of stepped back a little bit, became c J McCullough respected around the league where everybody respected. Then got back into it. What's in your mindset um from there to where you are now in the media aspects of things. Yeah,

I think my understanding of media has definitely shifted. Have been involved, like you said before, And it's funny because you know, I broke my foot in my rookie year and I got pitched a lot of stuff and I had to decline a lot of it because I was becoming more known as a journalist and I was as an NBA player. I thought it was like just a bad look, and the fact that I had to debate that is crazy, right in society in which I'm doing

things that better myself, I'm actually using my degree. I enjoy this craft, I get paid for it, and it gives fans a different side. I mean, I had to question whether or not I should be doing it because I was hurt. I couldn't play my sport, and I thought the perception would be that I'm not taking my craft seriously, even though I take my craft more seriously

than this league as I do all these other things. Right, So I took a step back, like you said before, and even when I was doing the finals and stuff that I was only covering certain stuff that I felt like I wanted to be a part of from an exposure standpoint, but also to be honest, I want to know what it was like to be in the finals.

I had never played in it, I never watched it as a kid, and I wanted to see what it was like to like to divide the aura, like what goes into it, and obviously playing and covering it is different. But I mean it's a shame to say that I've covered more finals than i've been in right, Like I've been covering finals for years through ESP and other different partnerships.

But I think what I've learned most is that it's okay to to not know everything about the sport that you play, and it's okay to have an opinion on things and to be quite frank in your judgment and your and the way you assess the game. But what I've tried to do as a player is I never attacked players right like you'll see me on the first take, Like I stand up for whoever, I'm standing up for Katie,

I'm staying for kai whatever, because I know them. I know them personally, I know how they work, I know how they think about the game of basketball and know what it means to them. And I could be I could be critical, right of let's I'm gonna tell them, For example, because I know Jason, right, Jason has to turnovers in the finals. I can say like, look, Jason

had a lot of turnovers and like what whatever. But I'm not going to say he played poorly or that he wasn't ready to play, because I know him, I know how he prepares, I know how much this means to him. And I think far too often one of the things I don't like about sports is how players will play this game. They're retired, and they'll go talk about it, and they'll talk about it in a way that's the more lizing to the player, and I don't like to do that. I hate that. I hate to

make it more than what it is. I like to be quite frank, like if he if he can't shoot, he know he can't shoot right, Like we know who can shooting, leg who can't shoot. I'll talk about the percentages, allow whatever whatever, Like I'll say in a way that's like, motherfucker can't shoot right. But I'm not gonna go out and say that. But I think when you do it that way, you're handling it as a professional. These are my peers, right, I still got to see these guys

in the day. They basis I know what the game means to them. But we all know what our weaknesses are, right like, we all know what they are. And I think there's a way to criticize the game and critique a player in a way in which your educ getting the fan. You're pointing out facts, but you're not bashing. You're talking about facts of the matter. Like I said it on my podcast in the season, like I was shooting the ball very poorly, the worst I shot the

ball in my entire career. I didn't talk about how, you know, I had, you know, messed up my finger on my index finger and on my middle my middle finger on my shooting hand. But I didn't make excuses. I just said, I'm shooting the ball the worst I've ever shot in my career. And if the smide wanta talk about me on TV, they would be able to say that, frankly, but it wouldn't because I wasn't prepared, I wasn't working hardly, because ship just wasn't going in,

you know what I'm saying. So I think that's one of the things I've learned about the sport, one of the approaches I've tried to take it. I know there's no right answer for everything that I do, and some people might not be mad like I had the balls and tell this beating y'all and I know you personally, but what I wasn't gonna do is talk about you behind your back and I tell you to your face.

So if I'm gonna go on TV and talk about how I think the word's gonna lose and why, I'm gonna tell you when I see you like I did say that, I think I think you'all gonna lose. And when you when you're supposed to say like what you said to me, like that's what you're supposed to it. Because as you know, I always keep it real. And I love sports. I love talking about sports. I love the way it's playing. I love the way guys prepare.

I think it's art. And for me to be able to get compensated to do stuff I would do for free anyway, I think it's a blessing. And to be able to use my degree right to go to school major journalism minor mask com to cover lee high sports like I covered field hockey, I cover tennis championships. I cover a track and field football name of sport that's not men's basketball I covered it to be able to do it now. It's like it's a it's a blessing, honor and privilege, and I just want people to know

because they don't understand. Like they see me work for ESPN, they see me doing this stuff and then like, oh, he's just doing this because he loop. It's like, No, I did this to get a degree, like I got my credited hours. I did an internship unpaid, just like a lot of these journalists. I just got to the top a little bit faster because I'm an expert and I play. But I think it's cool that I'm in this spot, and I think it's cool to other players

like yourself are doing it because it's fun. But I think the fan appreciates our knowledge of the game and the way we can time reiterate that to them. No, I definitely agree with you, you know, in a sense as you know what you're saying, Like how like it's baffling to me how former players get up there at

times to talk about players. It's almost like like, bro, you are one of us, and you get up there and talk like you weren't that same player in the locker room that hated when someone was talking about you like that, that talked about those very people that were talking about you or us like that when when you were sitting in the locker room and now you go

on TV and do that same thing. Like to me, it says a couple of things when when when people analyze or lack thereof one, you're just lazy, Like you're taking the easy way out, and it's very easy to just go bash somebody like because you just say reckless ship and you get you know, nowadays people are chasing clicks and you know, they're chasing the online traffic, and so I think number one, it's just lazy. But number two, I don't think people are like these people are very

capable of analyzing the game of basketball. Like you know some of these guys that go up there and they were players. Wasn't you're a smart player, like it wasn't like you you benefited off really knowing the game of basketball.

And so you go up there and like do lazy to me, lazy analyzing because you can't break down the exits and those you can't break down c J's mindset or why c J would rather you bring this guy into the pick and roll and not that guy though in your mind that guys are better defending though, but I like the way he guards this pick and roll, and so I'm trying to get to this. You know, I don't think they're capable of doing that. And to me, I never want to see anyone lose their job, like

or lose their livelihood. But a part but but one of my goals in this is to make that type of ship is stink and if that means you lose your if that means you're gonna lose your job, but then you better get to learn and how to analyze and study and and building relationships because I think like that stuff is getting tired in our game. Man, Like nobody want to hear you just go bash somebody and

you really can't even break down a why. And so I think that's important for us moving forward in this craft. And like, like I said, that's one of my motivations in this is to make that style of reporting, analyze and um journalism. Is to make it extinct, because there is a way, like you said, there's a way of being very critical and not bashing someone like these people start these people have started bashing like people as human beings, like because of how you play the game at basketball.

That's insane to me, Like it never used to be that way, or was it. I don't think so. I think now it's gotten worse because we see it everywhere, Like you got the Twitter and you got the Instagram, Like it's instantly in our phones, right, it's instantly accessible. And now we see it more often. And it's just like the Russell Westbrook situation, that stuff he used to piss me off because you don't like Russ the way he plays, just say you don't like the way he plays.

But to talk about him as a person is just disrespectful because I know Russ. Russ is a good dude. Russell, you could beat his team and he'll take a picture with your grandma after the game. And there's not a lot of guys that I do that, not a lot of guys that have stopped taking picture after a loss, whatever the case may be, Like take a picture of my little cousin. That's a good human being, does things the right way off the court, good father, good husband,

all those things. So when people attack the character, like if you don't like the way he played, just say that, Just say that you don't like the way they play and say why you don't like the way they play and throw some stats out there. But when they start challenging people's character and say they're not a good teammate or whatever, it's like, how do you know what a good teammate looks like if you're not in that locker room? Did you ask his teammates? Did his teammates say he

wasn't a good teammate? Do you gotta source? That's like out there, that's the stuff that I didn't I didn't like that I've seen historically, But outside of that, like, I respect the crap, but I think you know the same way I approach your basketball, right, like you're gonna go on TV, like you need to be prepared, like do your work, do your work and understand what you're breaking down. And I think that's what was cool about covering the finals is because, like I had played against y'all,

I guarded stuff. I'm chasing Clay, I'm getting hit by screens from you, like I know what it's like. So when they say, like, I don't understand how he's getting open, it's like, no, these are some of the best players in the world. They're trying to stop this. It's just hard to because there's so many reads, there's so many ways in which the game flows. Hit this, hit the pitch posts, and they're like, oh, why is he Why is he on the top side, And it's like, well,

maybe that's the coverage. Maybe he's supposed to be on the top side. Maybe you're supposed to for uhim. Now, maybe you don't want step shooting three and you would rather him finished around the basket. It's like, why are they switching. It's like, well, you can sit in and drop if you want to. Oh, you're gonna hard heage with the seven pointer and think that they're gonna not turn the corner. It's like people don't really think the game.

And it's like that's why I was like, look, if I'm gonna do this, like I'm gonna go on TV and talk about it, but I only want to talk about the stuff that I know. And it's like I don't want to talk about rumors. I don't want to talk about like I want to break down the game and get out of there. Absolutely, that's my approach. Man, Before we get out of here, Like I said, I know, you gotta go my teammate, your teammate just named Allstar starters. Uh, Steph,

it's an obvious one. Zion just named and Allstar start How does that make you feel? Like? How big is that for him? How big is that for New Orleans? How big is that for your organization? It's really really dope, man. I'm excited about it. I'm happy for him. I know the work that he put in to overcome what he went through last year. And I'm not just talking about the physical aspects of it. I'm talking about the mental aspects of the injury and the way people kind of

critiqued him and scrutinized him. Um. Happy for the progress our team is making in this city, and I think it'll be great for him. Hopefully he's healthy, you know, asap and back out here with us. But I'm happy he's gonna be representing us in New Orleans for sure. Man. It's a blessing to be his teammate. And Uh, this is a gamer, man, He's a gamer. Shows up any hoops gamer. That's dope, man. C J, my brother. I

appreciate you for coming on Mr President himself. Looking forward to coming back on your pot whenever we got time to do it. Bro, but thank you so much to

coming on the Draymond Green. You show an incredible interview, your insight on the Players Association being a president, your insight on media, and then also just sharing your story like for me as an under your underdog man and for me as an underdog myself, I can always respect and appreciate hearing that journey, So thank you for coming on and sharing it with myself with our listeners and subscribers. See you soon, bro, Thanks for everything. My dog yes, sir,

appreciate you having me on. I'll tapped in about my pot too,