The Draymond Green Show w/Baron Davis - Thunder-Pacers NBA Finals, Knicks future & top 5 defenders

We need to give you some opinions, So instead of doing like a preview because BD can't be here, I'm just gonna hop on answer some fan questions, and then b D and I will go live after Game one of the NBA Finals, also creating a fresh episode breaking down in the finals matchup, but also everything else going around the soap opera, I mean going on around the NBA. So make sure y'all lock in for that. But I'll get right into these questions. Number one comes from Zen Lollipop.

L He said, I think last year, when you were talking to a Knicks fan podcast host, you argue that the Knicks more or less overachieved and going to the second round, Lady, you maintained that the Michael Bridges trade

would not get them to the finals. Presumably you saw them eventually fall into the Celtics, but they actually ended up eliminating in the Celtics and falling too the Pacers again given how everything ended up shaking out, do you still feel vindicated in your initial prediction and with the extra information from this season's stats and results, where do you project the Knicks going forward? But Number one, I don't feel vindicated about a prediction because it's just a prediction.

It's just an opinion. So no, I don't my basketball. Now. I know a lot of people out there talk about the game these days, and they do it in quite a way that's not indicative of true knowledge of the game. Or they say hot things or boat takes because they need like people to look because what they're saying is like doesn't have much fabric to it to its core, just not much fabric to some of these basketball predictions

and analysis. So I said all of that to say, I think people like live and die on like, oh man, like my prediction. It's a prediction for a reason, But then you actually have to go play the game. So those things actually don't really matter. And saying that, I think for my and just looking at I said that that move doesn't get you to the NBA Finals, and it did it even in beating the Boston Celtics, who everyone thought would be the team. That's coming out of

the East. You still didn't get to the NBA Finals. So but there's reasons for that, right, Like you trade for Mikeel Brizards, you give up a lot that you don't quite have the depth. Now there's something that say teams may not use the depth, but whether use it or not, they didn't quite have the depth that you need to compete at that level get to the NBA Finals.

Winning the NBA Championship, I think one of the things that ultimately hurt them when you look at the series that they didn't lose against the Pacers, one of the things that ultimately hurt them was that they didn't have a depth when when kat will get in foul trouble or Jaylen Brunts will get in foul trouble. They went on runs at some of those points, for sure, but ultimately you do need your best players on the floor.

If your best players aren't best on the floor together, then that's an issue and it's going to be hard

to get to the NBA Finals anyway. So didn't quite happen with them falling to the Celtics for multiple reasons, not going to even get into those those multiple reasons, but nonetheless no, they did not make it to the NBA Finals, and quite if you want me to be quite honest with you, I personally think making it to the NBA Finals is one of the worst seasons you can have, and the reason being because if you don't win the NBA Finals, you're kind of like going to

the NBA Finals and winning an NBA championship. Those two things are so far apart, Like you can get to the NBA Finals and not be close to winning an NBA championship. And I know that may sound hard for people to leave, but those that have won championships would definitely understand what I'm saying, and those that have been there and didn't quite win would definitely understand what I'm saying.

It's those two things are so drastically far apart, like making it to a conference finals, like you're so far away from winning a championship, and it looks like it's close because you're one series away. The NBA Finals look like you close because you lost in the actual NBA Finals. But the difference in between winning and lose it and losing the NBA Finals for a lot of teams, every now and then you have that twenty sixteen Warriors versus Cavs Game seven down to the wire. It takes Kyrie

irv and they had a crazy shot. Take to get a crazy block. Every now and then you have that and like you're right there. But like sometimes you see teams like losing an NBA Finals for the two like they the record is self doesn't tell the answer. But they could have won two games in the NFA Finals and really not been close to winning an NBA championship. That's how hard it is to win four games in

an NBA champion in an NBA Finals. Even if the Knicks made it to the NBA Finals and didn't win it, that's not some accomplishment to me, Like, you get nothing from making the NBA finals. This set a couple of ten thousand more dollars than the conference final loser, than what you would have got for making the conference finals, and you get another three weeks shorter summer of the

conference final loser. And if you're of and if you're not, if you've you know, compared to a team that played in or didn't make the playoffs, you're an entire nine weeks off your summer. And for a team that made the second round, or you know, made it to the

first round, you're probably seven weeks. The numbers are what they are, they're not exact point being you walk with nothing like the team go on and celebrate and have this incredible summer, and like you're kind of left stuck there trying to figure out, like, where were you really close? Do we need to run it back with this team? What's the tweak we need to make because we were

right there or we weren't really right there. Only some gms are smart enough to figure out like, yeah we were there, but we really weren't there, like the CLO. But you're kind of left in this position of like, ah, maybe we're one tweak away, but what you should understand about this thing? One tweet could actually like it's like jinga sometimes like one tweak of a roster could make the whole thing fall. So it's not just always like it's not like a simple fix, but you may think

it is. And while you think it is, and you were made it to the NBA Finals and lost, there are other teams that like felt like they needed to a make a big change or two or three and like are coming for you, and you're kind of left in the same spot thinking you close and you may not be that close, or that one tweet could like really put you far further away than you were. So it's not like, oh, you just do it again, or

you had some like huge level of success. Like, yeah, making it to the finals is great, but if you don't win it, it's almost worse, like you might as well have lost in the first round. So that's kind of how I feel about that. And as far as the Knicks going forward, yeah, I think going forward, in order to win, it ain't there yet. I just don't foresee it. I think in order to win, the Knicks need to bring in a great player. I can't talk specific names because I'm not gonna give my money away

for that. But if the Knicks want if the Knicks want to win, to compete for a championship, I think they need a great player and I'll just leave it at that. So what does that look like going for you decide, But if you're talking about championships, I'm just going to tell you, as a champion and I know exactly what it looked like, they need a great player to come on that roster. They need to add a great player to that roster. How do you do that?

That ain't for me to get into, but they need to add a great player if you think they're going to compete for an actual NBA championship. John emailed the question in who has the best defense in the finals and why? I think that's an easy answer. The best defense in the finals, I think is the no question. Oklahoma City Thunder. I think a they have multiple incredible individual defenders. They're very well coached, which makes the team

defense great. But they have multiple incredible individual defenders. Like when you think about Tyrese Halliburton, he could face Loudor he could face Adams Caruso, he could face Caseon Wallace, he could face j Dunn, who's an All defensive team member. That's a lot of guys to be able to throw out one guy. They have that, and like I said, they're well coached and they load up boxes and elbows, they swarm to the ball. I think, so that goes

without saying. I think where Indiana could cause them trouble is if the offense isn't clicking. Because I don't think okayc run like a super complicated offense. So if the offense isn't clicking and Indiana's getting off to the races. I don't know that oka Se transition offense is that defense. Transition defense is that great, and that's where Indiana could cause them some issues if the transition defense isn't I don't think their transition defense isn't that great. Great, But

who has the best defense? They have to be defense by Launch in his NBA Finals in the NBA they have the best defense at baller twenty two to twenty three. You talked about Okay see seriousness earlier in the season. Now that they're in the finals, when did you notice they flipped the switch? I think as the season went on, you saw the interviews change, like the messaging in the interviews changed. But in saying that, I do think they still go about their business the same way. Like it's

not like, oh man, they made some huge change. Like they go about their business, how they go about their business. What works for you works for you. I personally still think it'd be incredible to see Shae in interviews by himself. I think it'll still do more for Chay's brand to see Shape in interviews by himself. But what works for you, the demeanor of your team works for you. When we were win a championships. If you came into one our practice,

the beginning of practice to like a circus. You got Steff throwing four course shots from one end, another guy throwing football passes to the complete opposite Kitty cornered across two courts to the opposite end of the floor, guys kicking balls from half court, kicking the ball trying to make it into the rim. If you came into those practices like you looking, you'd be like, there's no chance that's a championship team. Look how they look. Once we

get our business going, we locked in. But then you might like, we's had this little bench or not bench. It was kind of a table like a training table on the side of the court. We could go sit over there on the training table during practice. If you went on the court, they moved the training table one day, like one like one year or one day we came in to practice and the training table was gone. You would have thought, like, whatever, the wildest thing you can

think of happened. You would have thought that happened. Everybody in there going crazy like yo, where the tables at the next day to the table was back like it almost come off as a joke, Like I said, well, we're about our business. We're about our business, and we're locked in and we dialed in, we're getting our work done. But anything outside that music blast like it's joke. And so I said all that to say, what works for

you works for you. There are some things that they do that I don't like that as the as the leader of a team at this point in my career, I don't think i'd want our team doing that. But I also don't know the culture of that locker room, you know, I also don't know their culture, and so what works for you works for you, and you got to go with that. I do think they have a grey young leader in Shae who has built the culture. Like Shae has taken part in building that culture back there.

Obviously Sam Presty, they got a great culture, but Shae has built that culture there from the beginning. Him and Ludor they've built that culture. And so as the guys who who built that culture, you know how to lead it. And I respect Shae, especially as a leader. Lou Dorton and how you go about his business, but Shae is the clear cut leader and I respect him as a leader.

He's doing a great job, and so there are still some things that I see that I'm like, ah, but what works for you works for you, and nobody can argue what works for them is working for them. Moving on to the next question number four at Unbiased Dubs Fan, in your personal opinion, who are the top five Defenders of all time in order? And where are you on that list? What you should understand by me is I think I'm number one on that list. However, I think

top five to go in order. I'm really not a fan of those, But who I would regard as my top five defenders of all time? I definitely put myself in that list. Ben Wallace's on that list in my opinion. On that list, Tim Duncan is on that list, and the last one on that list. Also understand like, I'm not including Will, I'm not including Bill Russell. I didn't see them play. I have the utmost respect for those guys,

the pioneers, the utmost respect. But I'd be lying to you if I'm like Bill Russell, Will Chamberlain, like, I'm just going off stacks, And I don't love when people do that, because there's an eye test and I haven't seen enough of their games to say that, So understand I'm not excluding them. I was born in nineteen ninety and that's my only reason for not including them. But I'm not excluding them or you know, saying they're not it. They very much so could be that's a little before

my time. I you know, I've seen some of their games and watched stuff here, but to say top five of all time, like you have to see more games than I've seen theirs. And so I'm not going to be a hypocrite and be like, oh, those guys like that will be fake of me. So understand that and saying all of that, and my fifth would go to, well, I actually did have the opportunity to see very young in my life, but more film around him. How came

a Lodger one that would be my top five. So my top five in no particular order, myself, Tim Duncan, Ben Wallace, I came, and TONI All.

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in angles. In physicality, athleticism can only be used and taken advantage of with space. If you close distance, close space it's harder for that athleticism to be used to their advantage, you know. So those are a couple of the things that I try to do. As far as people will hype. My grandma used to have a stand, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. No, it's not necessarily that, but when I see a guy that's had, you know, has me in height. There's also a disadvantage

to have a height. Most bigger guys can't get low. And there's this old saying low man wins. When I play football growing up, they will always say low man wins. And so for me, I'm always looking to get lower than the guys who taller than me because now I have leverage, which can then persuade you to get into your spot. And if you can stop somebody by even an ish, from getting to the spot that they want to,

that changes the shot. And ultimately, if I can be lord, then you I can stop you from getting to the exact spot you want to get to to take the shot that you want to take. That possession goes in my favorite Whether you make a miss the shot, you can still make a mister shot. But I'm going to make the bet that over the course of time, over the course of a forty eight minute game, per se, if I make you take the shot that I want more often than you give the opportunity to take the

shot that you want to take, I'm gonna win. Over the course of forty eight you take twenty shots, and I can make you take thirteen of them. You didn't really want to take those, as opposed to you being seven for thirteen. Maybe you're four for thirteen and vanish me. You know what. So that's kind of how I like to approach it. I always think low man wins, and I try to make sure I'm lower than those guys

and then use my ankles. Question six at Q will five, If you could add or change the rule in the NBA, what would it be and why? I don't know that it's necessarily a rule that I care most about. I was shortened the season. I just think it's too many games and at the speed that the game is played at today. I know people always talk about, oh man, guys always did that them guys like no disrespect to the guys that came before me, but they used to walk the ball up the court. Like the speed that

the game has played at today. The amount of ground that's being covered today as opposed to before in the NBA sdrastic, and so I think I just think the seasons is a little long, and you don't always end up seeing the best of the best from the best, So if that's necessarily a rule, but I do think it's a problem. Why no'bron talked about a month there being a month off before the playoffs. I don't know

that that's possible. A you kind of get a you know, guys could get a bit out of shape, and it could have adverse an adverse effect, you know, guys getting back in all of a sudden, you pull something that's been a month. So I don't know if it's necessary, if a month is the right answer. But two weeks ain't no basketball, ain't no NBA player getting out of shape in two weeks, But you do. You can't get

a lot healthier in two weeks. You know, you look at that Steph Curry pulling a hamstring, and and and to your point, Aaron Gordon saying two days in between games, I agree, you look at because here's the thing. If you end up with a series like Houston and it's a day in between games. That's a four hour flight, four and a half hour flight from San Francisco to Houston on the day in between the game. That's your resident. So by the time you land in Houston, it's eight

o'clock at night. If you just try to get the guys a little sleep and not leave at ten or leave at twelve, all of a sudden, you getting into Houston. By the time you make it to the hotel, it's dark, eight o'clock at night. You're trying to get dinner, and everything is quick, like you're getting ready for band. So the recovery process ain't great. Is it about bunching in games or is it about the best man winning, the best team winning, putting your best product out there on

the floor for the fans. And I think that's where you run into the issue, And so I agree with AG. Like, there's two games we played Boston in the NBA Final, Robert Williams was dealing with a knee injury. When he was out in the court, they were really good when we had a day in between games. Brother man could not move. That second game when there was two days in between games, Oh man, that game he played after them two days with stellar That could possibly change the

outcome of the series. I still think we beat them, but that could change something. Well, there's one day. Does it help absolutely?

to hot tub souna. When you have a routine that you do for recovery and then you go on to roll for two weeks and you can't hit that because of the seven games that you play, one team you had access to a cold to one team you had access to a sauna. It doesn't allow the product to be as great as it can possibly be. So in turn, it affects the fans. Right, it's something that fans don't see, but I'm telling you it's something that affects fans because

you're not getting the best product. Another standard that should be that ultimately help players, which helps fans. You go to some of these arenas, some of the chairs are low as hell. You sit, you're like hips are the chairs on a bench amongst across the NBA should be standards should have to be a certain height hip position. It makes all the difference from him. But guess what else that affects. It affects backs, which ultimately can affect casts,

which utimately play effect. Hamstrings can affect achilles, It can affect nees. Right, like all the stuff is a trickle down effect. There should be a certain standard for stuff like that, because again, those things allow for the product to stay in the best possible shape as it can stay for the fan that paid their hard earned money. There's no standard. So from arena arena, locker room shit benches, low as hell, trash. I think those things need to

be changed. It's twenty twenty five. You mean to tell me there's not a standard. Hey, ownership, You've made all this money. There's a certain standard that your visiting locker room should be. It should have these things. It don't have to be the most expensive world pool, hot tub, cold tup, Ryan Smith Utah out of Kota, Hota. It don't look like it's something that is crazy expensive, but it makes a difference. Go State Warriors, I think they got a very expensive one, a whole situation going over

there in the visitor's locker room. But it don't have to be expensive. It's just the access which ultimately gives the players better recovery, which allows the players to be out there on the floor more, which is the big gripe around the NBA. Huh So how about you start correcting these things that can help correct the issue, because guess what, I don't think the amount of games is changing, So what can you change? You can change those things.

Those are the rule changes, if you might ask that I think need to happen because it affects the overall product. At love the game twenty Who are the top five players in the NBA without a ring? You gotta go talk to somebody else without a ring. I don't have without ring talks. I'll take that a step further. There are some guys that have rings because you need luck, like and they just didn't catch the break. You need luck on your side. The wear rings health right like.

It ain't always apples to apples and just because you don't have a ring doesn't necessarily make you not a winner, because I see people throw that type of salt all the time, like Chris Paul not a winner. Chris Paul is a winner, hasn't had the luxury of winning the ring, but due the winner, no question, is a winner. It's been proven, you know. So I don't. I don't get off into all of that. It's very hard to do, don't get me wrong, Like there's a certain respect that

comes with doing it as it should. But I'm not. I'm not the one tall that ain't me or like that. At and moving on at math bell K five, can you talk more about players slash teams that actually want to win a championship versus players slash teams who are not really in it to win a championship? Absolutely, you figure on a giving year in the NBA, there's maybe if you're lucky for the five teams really trying to

win a championship, like doing all that they can. The only thing matters the most of the first, second, and third most important things is winning a championship. You got really three to five teams a year that that's really the case. Everybody say they trying to win a championship. All the players are going to be like, oh, yeah, you know we fighting start to see, well, we just want to, you know, prepare to try to win a champion know you not, because winning a championship don't happen

on your terms. So you see these teams and these players like, oh, win a championship don't happen on your terms. Winning a championship happens on the terms that need to be met to win a championship. And everybody ain't willing to sacrifice for that, not organizationally, not from a player perspective. They wanted to look a certain way, I want to win a championship, but that don't work. But don't work. That little butt will kill your chances. And that's most people,

that's most organizations. So anytime you hear people saying, we want to win a championship, but axit, that's it. They don't really want to win. And there's a lot of that around the NBA. There's far more of that than people who actually want to win a championship. So yeah, no, they're all in your face every day, all day at Dean Chambers eighty six thirteen, How do you work on mental toughness as a young team, and keep up the hunger to win as an older team. I think keeping

up the hunger to win as an older team. Like you you've experienced success and you want that, you know, like if you're a winner, you just don't you just don't stop and be like, all right, that gene is gone now, like I don't care to win anymore. No, you always want to win. That's the type of person. That's that's how you keep that up. It's the type of people you have as far as a younger team

mental toughness. You got to go through it, and you got to be willing to go through it, and you got to be willing to go through it with the people you're going through with. And it's a certain way to go through it. When you lose, you lose a certain way. You go back to what I was saying about the Houston Rockets the last month ago. What now when they lost, you lose a certain way you run on. If the cord you duck your head, you ain't ready to win because you ain't know how to lose. You

ain't ready to win. If you don't know how to lose, does not mean you have to lose in order to win. But if you don't know how to lose, you ain't ready to win. And so for a young team, you gotta be willing to go through that. And when you take them lumps, you gotta take them lumps. You don't start pointing a finger. Only way the fingers should be pointing is here, how can I help better this so that we can do this. That's how you build mental

toughness as a young team. You gotta go through it, and you gotta stantento's and when you go through it, you look. You stand as men or women depending on the young team we're talking about, obviously we're talking NBA. You stand, You take your lumps, you take it on the chain, You go back to the drawing board, You work a little harder to try to do it again. You know what that's you know what that look like,

you know what that felt like. You hold on to that experience, Channel that experience, remember that experience and learn from it. That's how you move forward. That's how a young team gains mental toughness. You go through it, stay ten toes, don't start pointing a finger. Ah your homeboys going on one of oh Man and stay nowad ain't it was us. It was me. I did this because that attitude carries into everything that you do and then

you can win. And that's how you build that mental toughness as a young team at the AJA the AJA media. What lessons have you learned from setbacks or injuries? What is your philosophy on building team chemistry and camaraderie. My lessons from injuries that I've learned. I've been fortunate enough to not have a ton of bad injuries. I think my worst one I've had was my back injury. And the lessons I've learned is just how lift weights, be strong,

lift weights, how strongcore lift weights. They tell you it's gonna mess up your jump shot. Go lift some more weights, lift weights, lift properly lyft weights. That would be what I learned from setbacks and injuries, team chemistry and camaraderie. I gotta start at the top in order to build that, and must start at the top. But don't start at the top. It can't start in the middle. That never works. Can't be a couple here, a couple there. Must start

at the top and then trickle down to everyone. You can start there. That's the beginning. Of the end. If you cannot build team chemistry and camaraderie starting at the top, that is the beginning of the end and last, but not least, at any underscore. What is your favorite moment that you can remember in your career in the NBA and college. NBA winning a championship, no question. College, I would say my eye too, playing in the Final four

in Detroit. Just the whole lead up to that game of pep Riley like it was incredible playing in the Final four in Detroit. We lost in the national championship game, but that experience was one of my favorites in college. My freshman year and then also my senior year playing on an aircraft carrier in San Diego on the USS Carl Vincent aircraft carrier where President Obama in attendance. It was like a dream come true. And it wasn't a dream that I had because I didn't even know its possible.

We had the best a athletic director ever in Mark Hollis who just created this thing out of the n air and it was one of the most incredible evins. It wasn't one of the best games to play in. The win was a factor to Cory get a little slippery, had those dcal slippery, but forget the game. We still had a great year and that was one of the most incredible experiences. So I would say that one those will be my couple from college. One A one B. I love those. So yeah, appreciate y'all tuning in. Like

I said before, sorry BD couldn't be here. Hope my dog feel better. If BD you hear this, you feel better my dog. Thank you all. Remember b D and I will be back after Game one of the NBA Finals with a new episode breaking down the Finals and everything else going on around the league. Check that out. Look forward to that. Until next time. That's a right peace.