Mikal Bridges on Nets future, being a leader & NBA Finals, LA, Celtics, Jokic, Butler

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST: MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcast INSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivot TWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivot TIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivot FACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcast FOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydad FIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/find A new bridge in Brooklyn, NBA star Mikal Bridges landed with the Nets after a blockbuster trade and finished season with most points of his career and being named to the 2023 All Defense 1st team..the newest New Yorker is sitting down with Ryan, Channing and Fred to talk about his future in the NBA, leadership qualities he’s learned, the NBA finals and who he sees winning it all as well as what makes some of basketball’s best players so tough to shut down! The NBA Finals are heating up and playing in both conferences, Mikal shares his thoughts on what teams he thinks has the edge and who will be left standing at the end. He dives into what makes Jokic so hard to contain and how Jimmy Butler evolved into a new role and it’s working for him and he’s just flat out going off! But despite those two dynamic players, Mikal is leaning towards Boston to finish it out (if they can stop bullshitting and letting teams stick around) or it could end up the Lakers despite being down 2 games heading back home. Breaking down the trade that sent him to Brooklyn, Mikal has adapted a positive mentality of making the most of every opportunity and although was disappointed at first to leave behind what they were building with his Suns’ teammates, he’s wholeheartedly welcomed the NY spotlight and looking to next season to build upon what he was able to get a taste of the last couple months with the Nets. Becoming a better leader and working at his game everyday, Mikal says he took parts of what he’s learned playing with all the talent he’s been surrounded with and from afar, watching Stef Curry’s leadership capabilities and how he works with his teammates and earns their respect is something he continues to strive for. Growing up outside of Philadelphia, Mikal was a hometown favorite with a stand out run at Villanova before being drafted by Sixers and immediately traded to Phoenix. He credits his humble mentality and living each day with gratitude to his mother who he says “does not play around” and has always kept him on the straight and narrow path! Ryan talks about Ja Morant’s current situation and how Mikal has worked to be on a different path and how vital your surroundings are and you are only as strong as the company you keep! Tap in every Tuesday at noon Eastern for our premiere episode of the Pivot. Special NFL seasonal drops on Friday afternoons at 3:30 pm. We are your one-stop platform for all your sports and entertainment content. Stay tuned for updates on an upcoming Pivot special episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:09Speaker 01

  My boss asked for results, so I opened my dashboard for the only positive sounding metric I had. Impressions.

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• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  Mikel sitting over there. Legs down. All the way on the ground. Hey, I gotta dang this sit off the joint in order to get my feet on the ground, dawg.

• 0:37Channing Crowder?

  Do a Calisthenic.

• 0:40Speaker 04

  New York is wild, bro. Miami wild, too. Yeah, Miami stayed up late. We played and we stayed the night. That was a spot where like you look outside and it's just bright. You're like, oh, God. You're like, damn, I didn't even know it was this late.

• 0:53Fred Taylor?

  You can make up for it. We used to see AI in the club 3 a.m. Like, walking through the club now. When the game's at seven.

• 1:02Ryan Clark?

  Noon game, right?

• 1:02Fred Taylor?

  Right. You gotta shoot around or whatever.

• 1:05Channing Crowder?

  When the Heat, Big 3, they had a whole section in every club with banners up and shit.

• 1:09Fred Taylor?

  Oh, yeah.

• 1:09Channing Crowder?

  You could sit there, one of Big Talk, walk in, you gotta move.

• 1:12Speaker 04

  Yeah, oh, yeah. Especially because they were OGs, so you know, they they can know how to get ready for a game like that. Yeah, they're there.

• 1:19Fred Taylor?

  Even before that, when Shaq was there.

• 1:21Channing Crowder?

  That's back then, because I got there in 05. So that was a little diamond on the highway.

• 1:25Fred Taylor?

  The 06 season, they won a championship, yeah.

• 1:27Ryan Clark?

  Bro, that's amazing to me. Like, I couldn't imagine, I know you can because you play football like that. But, dawg, being in the streets and then trying to play a game?

• 1:37Channing Crowder?

  You gotta tighten up.

• 1:39Speaker 04

  Oh, you was good at that?

• 1:40Channing Crowder?

  Not now, buddy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 1:42Speaker 04

  I'm the hell no.

• 1:44Channing Crowder?

  What you gotta do, you gotta drink about four Red Bulls, a Red Line, cup of coffee. You just psych yourself out, a couple of Vic in it.

• 1:50Speaker 04

  Nah, I can do anything else, but that night before, I need to be in bed. I might see you at dinner. Wherever y'all go, stop by, but I'm gone.

• 1:58Channing Crowder?

  The crazy thing with football is like the pain of it. Y'all, you know, saying y'all don't have all that banging like we do. So you, man, you not gonna Vic it down? Feel a level to get in.

• 2:08Ryan Clark?

  But they gotta go, like, you gotta run.

• 2:10Channing Crowder?

  I ran.

• 2:11Ryan Clark?

  No, you didn't.

• 2:12Channing Crowder?

  What?

• 2:12Ryan Clark?

  You just, you just a meathead.

• 2:15Channing Crowder?

  I ran, you can go to hell. I ran a 4-6-1.

• 2:18Fred Taylor?

  Nah, not that type of running.

• 2:19Channing Crowder?

  250.

• 2:20Ryan Clark?

  I'm talking about, but them, though, they up and down the court. This man ran a marathon this year.

• 2:23Channing Crowder?

  Really?

• 2:24Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 2:24Channing Crowder?

  He's standing on the rail.

• 2:26Fred Taylor?

  You got some good lungs, huh?

• 2:28Speaker 04

  I don't want to compare our scores at all.

• 2:31Fred Taylor?

  You got them good lungs, you got the AC. I'm like, why they don't sweat like that?

• 2:35Speaker 04

  Man, the dogs.

• 3:02Ryan Clark?

  Shout out to our partners at Happy Dad. We're here at Bounce. Welcome to the Pivot. Freaky Freddie, Chan, I'm RC. Here with Mikael Bridges, two-time NCAA champion, second in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2022. First-team All-Defense. You averaged 26 points per game after the trade to the Brooklyn Nets. Truly become the guy. Go for 45 and 15 straight against these guys, Miami Heat.

• 3:30Speaker 04

  He did us wrong.

• 3:31Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, he did y'all bad. You're on a good spot now.

• 3:35Ryan Clark?

  You know, man, truly getting an opportunity to show what type of talent you are and the things that you can do on the basketball court. So first of all, we appreciate you taking some time to sit down with us. To our partners, Happy Dad, thank you, guys. DraftKings, our sponsors. I mean, I kind of want to get to this. Me and you had an opportunity to chop it up a little bit before we sat down. And I was just saying, shoot, you know, like, all football players want to be hoopers. You know, you actually told me something different than what I know. Like, I used to love just to go outside in front of the house and play basketball. Pick it up, you know, make sure I wasn't the last person picked, right? Pick it up and shoot it. But you said, man, it's just natural to go out and throw. You know, you're Philly-born, man, Philly-bred.

• 4:17Ryan Clark?

  You watched your mama grind and instill that work ethic in you. But if you look at where you are now, this wasn't one of those things that were destined. You know, there's a lot written about your first year at Villanova. You hitting the weight room, the fact that you had to go to practice and get banged on and get that toughness. Explain to me a little bit of how you were prepared for that and how much that prepared you for who you became at Villanova and are now in the league.

• 4:45Speaker 04

  Like I always said before my freshman year started about the idea of redshirting. Like, my mom... Once I figured out she was okay with it and understood, because you know, you play, you know, you play your sport every year and the only reason why you're not playing is probably like if you're hurt or something, right? But like to actually play it and actually have to like sit out a year just because like, basically saying like you're not good enough right now. So like, that's kind of weird just playing all my life in a one year, like especially when you finally get to this level you always wanted to, now it's just like, oh, you have to sit out. So that was tough for me to even think about. My mom was so just like, understanding the future, which you know, she's smart and she knew all that, but I'm so like, I want to play, like, I'm a freshman, like this whole

• 5:29Speaker 04

  like, kind of like embarrassed thing, like, you know, you coming in, you got freshman friends and all they want to talk about is like, are you ready for the season? And me knowing like, well, I'm not going to play. So she kind of helped me for that. But there was really nothing to honestly prepare myself for that freshman year, that rest year, just because of like the workouts and just like how exhausted I was every day. Like it was, like, I get the summer, like the summer I first there was tough. And then, you know how it goes, like the summer workout, actually football a little different, because y'all, y'all crazy, because y'all lift hard in season. And I realized that when I got to college, because like my close friends on the football team, like, you know, our off season, that's where we lift.

• 6:11Speaker 04

  Because when season comes, we run around so much, like, we just do like dynamic lifts, we lift a little bit, but like, it's not crazy. But all my friends like that play football, like, they got a game on Saturday and it's like Tuesday, Wednesday, they're getting up at like five, to get these like crazy lifts. And I'm like, what? Like you, you in season, they're like, man, what else are we going to do? We got to stay like this throughout. So I'm like, alright. But that was something, just going through that whole year, my teammates that are playing, like, they're practicing and they'll lift a little bit, but like, I'm fully lifting like summer, so like my body is like, I'm in it for hour and a half, like going through heavy lifts, and then I got to go into court, my body's super, super sore, and I got to give it all I got, because that's like my game days, every practice is like my game day.

• 6:55Speaker 04

  And then like also have extra work in where I'm like getting pushed to like, the limit, like to like the, where I can't go no more. So like mentally that was tough, and I always said that's like probably like my toughest year, you know, you don't, you don't know, people went through rest of your years and didn't end up playing and doing all that stuff, like you just don't know. Like, my mom just prepared me just mentally, just to, just know like everything's going to work out, but. Going through that year was really tough, man. But it's like, it built me to where I'm at right now, where the adversity and I just learned so much through that whole year.

• 7:27Fred Taylor?

  Take us back a little further, dive a little bit deeper. Twenty-five miles west of Philly, Malvern, PA. You and the Goose, I guess you call you guys legends from there, a population thirty-four hundred. Your passion, the journey, what are the things that triggered that passion? And also the support system, like what did they do? Your family, your mom that you're speaking about, your friends, how did they help you along the way?

• 7:54Speaker 04

  I just think, because it always goes back to my mom. I think it's just signing me up for like every camp possible. Always was doing something, you know, playing a sport, like signing me up, you know, finding teams, driving me to practice, you know, all things like that, finding ways if she couldn't drive me to go with somebody else.

• 8:13Fred Taylor?

  Would that be back and forth to Philly?

• 8:15Speaker 04

  Like travel teams and stuff like that. I just love the game of basketball. I love, I mean, I love all sports, but uh, just basketball was just so much fun and it's crazy. I, I, obviously I wanted to be in a league and that was like the biggest thing, but I don't know, I was a kid. Like I wasn't, that wasn't like my soul thing. Like I'm just taking each step. Like when I was a freshman, I went to a Catholic, so I went, I went a little weird, but I went to Catholic school my freshman year. And you know, that route, you know, you think like you see guys that play in college, like they go like to Catholic schools. And you know, they play varsity and you're going to get looks. I went there freshman year, grew up public school my whole life, hated it, hated every second of it. Left, went back to public and now it's just like, I'm trying to play on varsity. So there's each year, just like my sophomore year, I played.

• 9:00Speaker 04

  Then my senior year, my, my junior year is like, all right, I'm trying to be even better, but you know, be that next guy. Senior year, then it's like, I think I already committed to Nova. So then it's like, just getting ready for, you know, I'm not, never jumping the gun, never thinking about the leagues, but just every year is just trying to, trying to be the best person I can be. And I just took it steps by steps. You see it now on social media, like. I mean, I'm not a parent, so I don't know, but like, you know, people posting their kids and seven-year-old, eight-year-olds, I see it really for football, a lot, like, all these drills, like, just league, like, just league. I'm like, damn, like, let them, like, I don't know, like, it works for, it works out sometimes, but sometimes, like, let them, let them beat them. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, they don't have to work out, like, professional athletes at the end of the day.

• 9:45Speaker 04

  But, like, everybody's different, but I think my mom made it easier for me, where she just let me be a kid. And just let me be me, like, she knew I loved basketball, and just, when it comes down to it, when I get to high school, you're gonna keep your passion, and you're gonna go with it. Like, I love football, and I was gonna, I stopped when I got to high school. And I wanted to play, like, my junior year, because my senior on my team was, like, the quarterback. And he was nice, and he went to walk-on at Penn State. And one of the coaches was a teacher, you know, I'm skinny long, but I'm like, good on, I'm really good on the basketball team. And they're like, listen, we do whatever you want, you don't have to practice like that. You know, the whole thing, they look at me, like, he's frail, gonna get contact, but like, you know, like, I love football, I'll go up.

• 10:30Speaker 04

  Show you some face. And, yeah, exactly, like, listen, you could, you could just run shriek routes, we put you goal line, like, just whatever you want. And I was so close, because I'm like, that's all I want, like, I don't want no damn slant, like, I'll tell you that now, like. I don't want to go to college to play football, I just want to have fun and be in the atmosphere, you know. That's like, that's what I love, like, about football, you put that helmet on, and like, Friday night, got the crowd, like, I'd be in the crowd, and I'd be jealous, like, watching my friends out there, like, damn, like, I want to be like that. I don't know, I think just my mom let me be a kid, just kind of got me to where I'm at right now.

• 11:03Ryan Clark?

  Hey, Chan, this joker is fixing the tongue of his shoe, sitting straight up.

• 11:08Channing Crowder?

  He long enough. He long enough.

• 11:11Ryan Clark?

  For a reason, dog, fix the tongue of his shoe, sitting in a, a high chair.

• 11:16Fred Taylor?

  It's safe to say he chose the right profession, right?

• 11:19Ryan Clark?

  Man, his profession chose him.

• 11:21Channing Crowder?

  He came over here on the power line. No, hey man, as you talk about development and then just hearing your high school to college transition, my understanding is you weren't big enough to take the pounding, so they had to put some weight on you and teach you this new game. That transition to the league, you've seen it with everybody, yourself, with your numbers, your points per game, assists per game, all that stuff goes up, even the Jordans and LeBron and all the dudes, they come in, you can see their talent, but then you see them develop. What, why do people struggle, the best players in the world, once they get to the NBA? What's the difference there, that transition?

• 11:54Speaker 04

  I think just maybe it's a lot of things. It could be the people around them and like just being not used to kind of like that fame-ish and, you know, I feel like when people get entitled, especially when you're in the league, like you feel like you don't have to listen to nobody and, and people be scared to tell you some things, to push you, so you kind of, you could get away with a lot of things. That's what sometimes come down to, and I think just a lot of work and hard work kind of, it loses people sometimes. Like, say you don't make the playoffs, the season ends mid-April, you don't got to come back until, well, after Labor Day, like in September, you know what I'm saying? So you have that long period of time and you could like, you got all the money in the world, you could do whatever you want, you could travel, you could have fun, and I think sometimes the

• 12:38Speaker 04

  work kind of shies away. Like, you work out though, like you work out, but like, how hard are you working out? You know what I'm saying? Like, in college, yeah, it's gonna get pushed. You know, where the coaches, you're there every day, they're, and you're there in the summer or whatever it's at, they're gonna push you, that's their job. But like, in the league, you're not, you're not, you don't have to be with your teams. So if you get a trainer or something, like, you, you hired them and they want to be with you, so it's like, what they call, like, yes men, like, a lot of yes men just be there to help you. They're not gonna, some guy, like, some guys just not gonna push them. So it's just like, development where people just don't go hard enough and, and everybody will ask me like, well, like, what's the secret? How do you get better? I'm like, you just work out? I just work out every day. I just work out, I mean, I don't kill myself,

• 13:21Speaker 04

  but like, I work out and I just get better. Like, I think there's no secret to it. Like, I just... Just work out and work on my game and try to get stronger and just keep trying to go up. And I think that's, that's, it's like the easiest thing.

• 13:34Ryan Clark?

  We talked a little bit before we sat down about Jay Wright. And you saying you didn't necessarily appreciate him when you had him at Villanova or when you were in school because at the time you're going through it. You mentioned your foundation. Fred asked about your mom and your support system. Something that you said struck me and I'm not even going to ask you to talk about this specific situation. But I'm going to ask you a question that kind of puts me in the realm of understanding what basketball is like. You mentioned having yes men around. You know, now we're seeing Ja Morant for the second time in a couple of months, go through an incident where having the right people around you is important.

• 14:16Ryan Clark?

  Having the correct circle to support you is a huge deal. How did you go about making sure you had people around you who would not only support you when you are doing the right things, but that would also hold you accountable for the person that Mikal Bridges is? Not necessarily just the player?

• 14:36Speaker 04

  My mom don't play none of that. Yeah, even if I bring somebody around, my mom, nah. That's just how it is. Like, people are scared of my mom. Like, she don't play none of that. And like, as I got older now, like, it's funny because like, I feel like, I'll tell her all the time, like, I'm really becoming you, like, because she's human resources. Like, she has to fire people all the time and she has to be like that boss lady. And I'll just hit her up and talk to her, like, "Mom, like, I'm really becoming like you. Like, I'm starting to be like, like, I don't play that shit. Like, I'm starting to be like you for real." And she's laughing because like, I was never like that growing up because I was always like, even with just my friends, I was a nice person. Like, they had nothing, like, I would just, I'll buy them, I'll help them buy this. Like, it was like food, like little stuff. Like, my friends had money, like, I'll buy them food.

• 15:20Speaker 04

  And my mom's just like, "Like, I gave you money for you, for you to go get food. Like, where's the rest of the money?" Or like, this now, I'm just, "Well, he didn't have food. He had money for food, so I was like, I bought him some." And she's just like, she gets it and she's just like, "I get it, Kel, but you got to understand, like, sometimes, like, for you, this, that, da, da, da." I'm like, "I got you." But now, like, I learned so much from her, I just like, I don't play none of that shit no more. So, I'm in the league for a while now, so I just understand when people try to either like... Not use me or like try to just be there just because like the fame and stuff like I've been in and I know now and I'm just like, I'm cool, bro. Like I'm all right. Like I'm not on none of that.

• 15:57Ryan Clark?

  You mentioned your mother being in human resources. She was actually working for the Sixers when you were drafted by the Sixers and traded 15 minutes later to the Phoenix Suns. Kind of take me through that range of emotion. It's like, oh, I'm going to the Sixers. I'm right at the crib. My mom's there. And now I'm shipped way to the West Coast. And you actually thanked the Phoenix Suns and said, I appreciate you taking in the kid who was pissed off that he had got traded from his hometown team.

• 16:29Speaker 04

  Yeah, no, it was wild. Just because being at Nova and Coach Wright, you know, they all, everybody knows Coach Wright on the Philly staff. Coach Wright's close to everybody and my mom was VP HR there. We were nice when I won the championship here, but like, the whole thing was basically like halfway through the season where they were saying I was going to go lottery. The whole thing was like, okay, Mikelle Bridges is like, it's just like Jay Bill's, if you ever go see Jay Bill's stuff, it's so funny because he's literally just like, it doesn't make sense. Like it doesn't make sense for Philly not to take the hometown kid at number 10. You need a 3 and D type of guy. Like it's right there. Like you see the kid every day. Our gym

• 17:10Speaker 04

  on campus was getting renovated my senior year. So basically all our home games was at Wells Fargo where the Sixers played. So like, the kid is in your gym every day. Like they play there all the time. Like you're seeing him. Like it's not like you're just watching him on tape or like he's there every time. They go to practices 20 minutes of the road. Like you see him all the time. It just makes the most sense. And when draft day happened, like I thought I might've go to New York at nine. I was kind of thinking that, but I also thought like I was really ready to go to Philly at 10. And when it happened, I was all geeked up. But then when I got traded, I'll tell people all this day, like, I was pissed off. Like, I was really pissed off. Like, it messed my whole night up. And it's crazy, because you dream of getting drafted. I never dreamed of being like a lot. I never said like, I want to go lottery. Like, I want to get drafted.

• 17:55Speaker 04

  That's just how it is. For me to go lottery, go top 10, honestly, it's like something I couldn't even imagine. And I was pissed off. I didn't go out that night. I was in the hotel room. When I got to Phoenix later, like, I was so upset at myself, just like pissed off, like, Akel, like, who the fuck you think you are? Like, you can't, you're being, you're being like ungrateful. Like, you were in a league, people would die to be in your position. You know what I'm saying? I'm just like, I got over that kind of quick. But at the moment, it's tough to, with the emotions. And I was going through all the media, and I kid you not, like, every single media after that, like, I really wanted to just be like, like, I don't care. Like, whatever, I really went to, but I just knew, like, this is a start of something. And even if you don't like it, you got to put on this and that.

• 18:38Speaker 04

  And I remember I talked to Coach Wright after, and he knew the whole situation, and he's just like, the biggest thing that I'm proud about is that you just kept a great face and talked about everything, like, you were fine. And we know, especially, he's like, I know what you're going through, but you just staying just so mellow and staying who you are, just shows like, type of person you are, just like, that's, that's not easy. And I was just, like, I appreciate him for that, but, man, was I, was I ticked off. I was...

• 19:06Channing Crowder?

  As you look back at it, I would say it might have been a blessing in disguise. Because you hear about guys going back home, then you're in the same circle of people, you're around everybody, thousand ticket requests. Like, as you look back, and Phoenix, the development, I said, made you who you are, but that's how I know your name, before you go to Brooklyn. Was that a blessing in disguise?

• 19:23Speaker 04

  For sure, 100%. I say this today, like, the people I met, the coaches that have been there, like, Coach Monty was in Philly, but he ended up getting a head coaching job at Phoenix, and that just helped me so much. The guys, the coaches at Phoenix that helped me and developed me to the player I am, and the players I was with in Phoenix, all my teammates who helped me just... Just me being there and being around them and learning from a lot of guys made me who the person I am. And like you say, even with the ticket request things, like I was all the way in Arizona. So like, I had no worries, but just basketball. And all the people that, you know, all the people like, oh, I'm gonna come out there, I'm coming out this and that. Like, yeah, you're gonna have to buy a flight, you're gonna fly away.

• 20:07Speaker 04

  Let's see who really comes out here. Yeah, it was only, I bet you, it wasn't that many. It was my close friends and like, my close family members. So that made it real easier. But definitely best of the skies. Like, I would never, I would never go back and change that day. And I also think if I did stay in Philly, I think I probably would have been in that Jimmy Butler trade that would have sent me to Minnesota. So, you know, you never know. So.

• 20:33Fred Taylor?

  And your development, you, you're extremely versatile. I, I love watching you play. I love the way you get at it, get after it on the defensive side. 2022 defensive all NBA team.

• 20:45Speaker 00

  Are your ad campaigns lighting up the dashboard? But not the pipeline. That's bull spend. And marketers are calling it out in. Dashboard Confessions.

• 20:54Speaker 01

  My boss asked for results, so I opened my dashboard for the only positive sounding metric I had: impressions.

• 21:02Speaker 00

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• 21:15Fred Taylor?

  My question is this, because all of the guys get the roses, like, I'm a running back. We score a touchdown, people, ah, they give us all the credit. But in the NBA, guys can go and score. Anybody should be able to score, right? But do guys get more excited about the defensive awards, or really being a lockdown defender, or scoring?

• 21:38Speaker 04

  Definitely scoring. I mean. Even me, like, I love defense too. Like, I love getting a stop and stuff too, but like, damn, like, you wanna score that, you wanna score that ball too?

• 21:49Fred Taylor?

  I mean, you do both well, right? But, you know, but in recor-, you know, you, you, you being recognized as a all-defender, part of that team, and a lot of guys aren't gonna get there.

• 21:59Speaker 04

  For sure.

• 21:59Fred Taylor?

  Okay, so, having that versatility, what does it take to make the all-defensive team? Like, I know it's effort, you gotta hustle, you know, you gotta wanna play defense, and that's part of the grind, but also, the study part, right? Like, what does it make to really separate yourself from the other players?

• 22:17Speaker 04

  Like you said, though, like, a lot of guys don't wanna, because defense takes a little, you know, you know how that goes, like, defense, you know, like, defenses, it ain't pretty, like, it's not pretty, like, offense is pretty.

• 22:28Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 22:29Speaker 04

  And, it just takes a lot of heart, takes a lot of, all that little stuff, but also, the other side of really studying and understanding guys you're guarding, cuz, like, you're not, like, if I go out there and guard somebody like Kawhi, PG, KD, any of them, like, and I don't have, like, no scout, like, they're gonna cook me, like, easily, like, if I have no scout and know what they're gonna do, you're gonna get cooked, and that's kinda like a lot of guys where they're going like-

• 22:52Ryan Clark?

  That's straight up though, like, bro, dudes like that actually don't get stopped.

• 22:57Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 22:57Ryan Clark?

  You know what I mean? Like, you gotta figure out a way just to make it difficult.

• 23:00Speaker 04

  For sure.

• 23:01Ryan Clark?

  So, I know what he said.

• 23:01Speaker 04

  Man, and, that's what, but it takes, like, a lot to look into that and, and wanna be that guy, wanna lock in and look at film of, of other players tendencies, besides just looking at, how can I get a bucket, and, um, it's not pretty, and a lot of people just don't have that will, and, you know, you also gotta be smart, you gotta do all that stuff, and, you know, it's tough, but, uh, I think the biggest thing about me is also learning, like, you be a lockdown, but you also gotta live with, like, some of the things, like, these guys are Hall of Famers, All-Stars, like, as much as I work on my defense, that's how much they put in their offense, so, like, they have, gonna have counters for everything, and they gonna hit some tough ass shots, you just gotta

• 23:42Speaker 04

  be able to live with, like, making them shoot stuff that they're kinda uncomfortable with, but that was also, that was mental, that's very mental.

• 23:49Fred Taylor?

  Well, you're talking about being uncomfortable in, in certain shots. Steph Curry.

• 23:55Fred Taylor?

  Prior to a matchup with Steph, like, do you get sleep one? And is there anything you could do to stop him? Because he's shooting from behind the bar.

• 24:05Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 24:05Fred Taylor?

  Anywhere.

• 24:06Speaker 04

  I always say about guys who are that talented, like, it's tough to shut them down. It's just like, you just gotta make it difficult. That's like how I say things like.

• 24:17Fred Taylor?

  How do you do that?

• 24:18Speaker 04

  It's just, you gotta know how he plays and contest everything and don't let him go out open looks and sometimes pray that he misses. It's a lot of things. Even when you play, even, I mean, there's a lot of clips I could think of guarding Steph. Where like, I know I'm there and I'm on his moves and he stepped back and I'm still there and I have a contest. A contest, I just turn around and be like, he better not make that. Like, I just like, it's not even just like a fact where I sat there, he shot, I'm like, hell yeah, no. The other thought's like, that shit could still go in. So I'm like, like, please don't go in there. I turn around, be like, thank God, or the ones they do go in, I'd be like, I was looking at my coach.

• 24:58Fred Taylor?

  I did everything I could do.

• 25:00Channing Crowder?

  I wanted to ask about the coaches because like when I was playing, Randy Moss was playing.

• 25:04Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 25:05Channing Crowder?

  And they would treat Randy like, coaches talk about like he's a normal receiver.

• 25:08Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 25:09Channing Crowder?

  Hey, coach, if he gets inside, he's on me. Okay, stay inside out, use your leverage. Coach, that's Randy Moss. That motherfucker made me, that's terrible. Do they like, when you draw LeBron, you're a defensive dude, you're gonna draw the best dude.

• 25:20Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 25:21Channing Crowder?

  When you draw them dogs, you brought up KD. Like, do coaches act like, oh, that's just 35? Or do they be like, hey, just do your best, bro?

• 25:28Speaker 04

  No, like, they know we go to matchup, and even like teammates too, like, they know like, I'm a guard and make it really tough. I mean, they don't just think, oh, get 35, but they know like, you gotta think about the office, think about the coaches on the other side. Like, I always think the biggest thing about when we played Dallas and when we lost in that series is like, Luca's like one of them guys are hella tough to guard. And like, personally, me is just tough to guard. So if I think he's tough for me, I know he's tough for a lot of other dudes too. So the thing about what Jay Kidd and them did was especially playoffs is schemes. And the scheme is, well, don't let this motherfucker guard him. Like, do whatever, take, set all these screens and get me off and be weak side. And that was like the biggest thing.

• 26:11Speaker 04

  And I always talk shit, you know, Dimwitty, he on my team, but I always talk shit to him because when Luca was out and he was playing and I think he gave us 30. And so he was being Luca and he was like cooking us. But every single time I'll guard him, I see him like look and he breaks somebody. And he knows our defense, so we switch, so we switch. And I remember I just walked up to him at the free throw line and I was just like, you that scared? I'm like, are you that scared?

• 26:39Speaker 04

  He didn't, well, this is me, he just looked, this is before we teammates. I was like, are you that scared? Cause I'm hot, cause I'm literally wanna guard, he's scoring. And I was like, on the free throw line, he's shooting, I'm like, are you that scared? He literally goes, I'm not, I'm not hearing all this, this mind game shit, all this goddamn. And I'm sitting there like, fuck. Trying to fuck with him, like, you know what, fuck it, let me go at him. He's just like, I'm not hearing none of that, all that reverse, he's like, I'm not hearing all that reverse psychology shit. And I'm just like, in my mind, I'm like, whatever, in my head, I'm like, fuck. He gonna keep getting this switch.

• 27:08Ryan Clark?

  He finna get this clean 30.

• 27:10Speaker 04

  Yeah, every time.

• 27:11Ryan Clark?

  So basketball is way different than football. We've discussed it as like the physical toll, but for you and the trade, we've seen guys get traded during the game. You know, DB let you know that you were a part of this blockbuster trade. It's you, it's Cam Johnson, four first round picks go to the Brooklyn Nets, they get KD. When something like that happens and you're a big part of that, I think Monty Williams says what? Like, we ain't getting sent off to war.

• 27:38Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 27:38Ryan Clark?

  Or something like that, was that your mentality? Or how did you look at this opportunity now that you had in Brooklyn?

• 27:44Speaker 04

  100%, I mean, that's so funny, cause I said that, I said that when I got traded. Cause he was upset when me and Cam left, cause you know, we're all so close. That's the first thing I said to him, I literally just like, this coach like, like at least I ain't getting, you know, I ain't getting sent off to war. Like this is just another opportunity and you know, he's upset, he's just like, he's just like, he's just like, life is unfair. It's like, it's just unfair, you know, like, just like the type of person I am and the character and the joy I bring in every day in practice. He's just like, it's just unfair and I'm just like, that's how life is. I'm like, but I'm not going to war. Like, that's like the little joke I always have, like, well shit, I ain't going to war. And I just, I had that mindset and I know a lot of guys and a lot of people don't. So I was always appreciate like, at least it was me, cause like, I could handle that.

• 28:28Speaker 04

  Like, I could, I could be, I could, I'd be fine enough to get sent over there and stuff like that. Like, I was perfectly fine with that, like, just to be able to deal with it and um. But yeah, that just gets off the war. I learned like I live by that and it's just, it's so funny because I geek at it, but like it's real life. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, all my friends were upset that we're like not on the team that were there. Just like, damn, like, I'm like, I can see you all the time, this and that. I'm like, listen, bro, like, I know it's tough, but like, like, I ain't go, I'm just going over here. Like, I'll come back. I'll come back and visit, but like, you're acting like I'm about to be gone for life. Like, I just died. Like, I'll see you again. It's just, you're not gonna see me all the time as frequently as you always did, but like, I'll see you again. Don't you worry.

• 29:12Speaker 04

  They playing that dang, where's Khalifa song from Fast and the Furious?

• 29:15Fred Taylor?

  I know, right? Paul Walker, the Paul Walker. And with the trade, coming over to New York, the, the, the sport fans can be crazy. I know the football fans can be, as well as the Knicks fans. I don't know so much about the Nets, but the media is crazy here too. What was the reception like once you arrived to Brooklyn? And have you embraced the moniker, Brooklyn Bridges, the play on the Brooklyn Bridge? I think it's a dope nickname. Have you accepted it? Yeah?

• 29:45Speaker 04

  Yeah, for sure. Um, you know, sports media out here is crazy, but like I, I lived, other than, other than Philly, Philly sports, all that stuff, I know how it is. Like, I know Philly is crazy as hell too. So I just know how that whole media type situation, fans, like I know, like I was, I was a kid, I was one of them fans. I was a Sixers fan growing up and I was one of them crazy ass kids in the stands yelling at anything. Like, when Sixers fans, when they get booed after L and stuff, like, I can't really say nothing. Like, you know, I'm, I'm in a league now. You know, you know, people, people got mixed. People be like, that's some bullshit. Like, people on the team, like, that's some BS. But other teammates know and be like, they just want us to do great.

• 30:28Speaker 04

  And I can't ever be on the side of like, that's some BS because I was one of them. I was one of them when I was 12, 13, like, he sucks. But the next day, hoops. I'm like, I love him to death. So I understand all that, but I think Brooklyn itself had a lot going on with like, you know, they had Kyrie Harden and KD.

• 30:47Fred Taylor?

  Correct.

• 30:47Speaker 04

  And then all that happening and. Kyrie and all that stuff, I think they were just ready for like refresh and like I'm like the total opposite of all them dudes. I'm just like just quietest, just chillist. I ain't really tripping off nothing like so I just just happy all the time. So I was just like, I knew I was gonna be fine for sure. I'm just like, wow, I'm not no, I don't do anything that's you ain't ever gonna catch me off camera doing some crazy shit like I'm, I'm really calm and chill. I ain't be nothing.

• 31:17Channing Crowder?

  Well, you, you probably took that trade well because then you went on to average the most points per game you've averaged in your career more minutes per game. So you, you, did you know that was about to happen when you were just cool with everything going on?

• 31:30Speaker 04

  Yeah, well, I always tell people I got traded at the right time because for about months, Book, C, Cam Johnson, Cam Payne, we still had no Jay Crowder. We was hurt and I was, I had to change my whole workout thing I do like pre-practice, all this stuff. I had to change it because all I did was like catch and shoot, like you know what I'm saying? Like it was like catch and shoot drill that we did like after shoot around, like before the game in the morning and I had to change it because I'm like, I'm not, I'm not that guy right now. Like I have to do what Book and him do. So I have to like come off ball screens and get a lot of reps of that. So I had to change my whole workout scheme

• 32:10Speaker 04

  to get ready to be that. And I struggled for a while. Like I struggled for a good amount, but I had coaches that talked to me and just you know, one guy, Corey Vinson.

• 32:20Speaker 04

  He was, he was one guy that was, I watched film with all the time. And he would just sit there and we would just watch our clips and he's just like, I'll play bad. We will lose and stuff. And he literally just like it's okay. Like this is part of process. Like we're gonna have to go through this, you know? You know, when you play bad and you're just like, like fuck, I just went six for 16, six for 18. He's like, it's okay. Look at the shots. These are new. This is new for you. So as time went on, I've become more efficient and starting to really understand the game more and be in that position of handling the ball more and making reads and doing all the little things. Where like it was just became natural. So then Book and him came back and everybody was just like, just like for us to be where we want to be at when I was on the Suns, like

• 33:05Speaker 04

  just stay that aggression. Like don't lose it. And I was, I was ready for it, but then I got fucking traded. And I was like, I was like, damn, like we was, you know, that was, that was the whole thing for years about us losing. I'm saying us, act like I'm still in the Suns, I'm just gonna keep saying us, like, well, I'm still on the team. Was that, you know, Book and C were doing all the work and need guys like me, when Jay was there, when Cam Johnson, like, other guys gotta step up, you know what I'm saying? Cause we were like just spot up guys. I'm like, well damn, Book and C got the whole time, like, that's how we are. But like, we need other guys to step up. That was the whole thing. Then I finally, and Cam too, we finally like stepped up.

• 33:44Speaker 04

  And we get shipped. I'm like, damn, like this was the year that we, that as a team where shit, they take Book and C away. Shit, me and Cam gonna go play over here and we gonna cook where the fuck is in front of us. Like, we was ready for it. And they ass just shipped us away to the Nets. The day Book came back, I think Cam been back, I think a game before that. And we was in Brooklyn, we was in Brooklyn. And we played Brooklyn, we won, and like the vibes were high. It was like, here we go. Cause everybody was saying, everybody was telling me like, don't lose that shit, Kell. I know you was playing like Book, like being that guy, but since, just cause he's back, don't take that step down like you was before, like keep that shit up. And I was, I was so locked at that point. I'm like, listen, bro, it's been fucking two months playing like this. You think I wanna take this, you know what I'm saying? Like about that defense.

• 34:29Speaker 04

  Everybody wanna fucking score and I wanted to score. I'm like, you think I'm gonna let this go? I'm like, no, no, no. I like this. And I got traded and it just, I still had that. And then now it's like, what they traded me for and, you know, not having Katie and knowing like now, like I have more of a license to be, that you know, that guy. But I was already super confident and I know I'm gonna keep working. It was like the perfect timing, perfect everything. So it definitely worked out great.

• 34:54Ryan Clark?

  Jacque Vaughn, your coach in Brooklyn, said you were actually, much like you said, you were preparing for this before you got traded. You just didn't know that this would be the situation. You averaged 26 a game when you head over to the Nets, lead the team in scoring, get to the playoffs, play your hometown team, your mother's favorite team when she was younger. And she says now, she was a Phoenix fan then, obviously, a Brooklyn fan.

• 35:19Speaker 04

  Yep.

• 35:20Ryan Clark?

  You took the heat for how your team finished the season in the playoffs. As a leader should do. I, I don't recall you, you know, maybe after losing a game six and a game seven saying, you know what, me and James can't do it alone. And, you know, it takes five people.

• 35:37Speaker 04

  No, I'm just saying, that's what I heard. That's how I heard MVPs take the fall after they lose. They say, hey, like Gisele said, Tom can't throw it and catch it.

• 35:49Channing Crowder?

  Speaking of Joel, I don't know if we're speaking in, what are we talking about?

• 35:53Speaker 04

  No, I was just talking about some teams have that happen sometimes.

• 35:55Channing Crowder?

  Hypothetically.

• 35:56Speaker 04

  Hypothetically, that can happen.

• 35:58Ryan Clark?

  For you and what you learned about yourself this season, not only in Brooklyn, but what you became to be in Phoenix, the way that you guys finished, the leadership you showed at the end of the season, what can you take from this season to build up on next year in Brooklyn? And how excited are you for what this team and who you can be individually as a player going forward?

• 36:21Speaker 04

  I just think coming into the preseason to the team we're gonna have, obviously it might be a little bit different when, you know, Tom comes, you never know. It's to, you know, we've got free agents and stuff like that. I don't know, just be the leader and come in and just know like, all I care about is winning, you know what I'm saying? Like if I'm still, if I'm one of the main guys to do, like trying to do everything, like it ain't about me, you know? And I think sometimes that's how it gets with a lot of guys. Or, you know, where they just, you know, and it's funny, because like I was just a role player, you know? So like coming in and being like the star, you feel that star treatment, you know what I'm saying? I kind of like it because I'm like, hold up, hold up. I was just down there with them guys a couple of months ago, okay? Like I don't like all this, like all this shit.

• 37:05Speaker 04

  But it's just like, just winning and be so just selfless, like not trying to just make everything about me. Like you were saying about end of the season with the whole media thing. There was a play that happened with me and my boy Royce O'Neal. And I was trying to get open for a three and he threw the ball and it was like a turnover. And I knew what he was thinking about, but I was trying to do something else. And like shit, like I knew Royce just threw a turnover, so everybody's gonna probably bash him about it in a crucial moment. But I'm just like, that's my dog, you know what I'm saying? And like, it's never one person's fault, like I should have been there for him. And like that's like, and that's like taking accountability, like. Like, why would I want him to go through some shit like that?

• 37:48Speaker 04

  Like, that's my man's like, I'm gonna take responsibility as well with him. Like, we both fucked up. Like, shit, if he wanted to go that way, I went the other way. Like, I should have been there for him. Like, time was getting low, and it's, I've been that guy inbound a ball before. When you got a five-second call, and you hear the ref counting by ear, and at four, you better get rid of it, or it's a live ball turnover, and it's their ball out of bounds. So, you just, you get a little antsy, and it's just like, you want your teammates to be happy. You don't want your teammates to ever feel like you're just gonna stab them in the back. It's just something about me, just wanna be a leader like that, where like, I wanna lead in a positive way. Where like, so if I do get on one of my teammates, they know it's coming from the right place. And I think I learned from like, that I see a lot as a guy like Steph. I could tell when he gets pissed off, and he don't get mad crazy like that.

• 38:32Speaker 04

  But like, when he starts getting pissed off, and he's on his teammates, his teammates will respect him. Like, okay, like, he wants us to be better, like, it's about us, it's not about him. And so, they respect it. And that's how I feel like as a leader-wise, like, I'm, I'll be, I'll take all the blame, I'll do whatever. I'll try to help us win all the time, but like, if somebody fucks up, and I'm hot, you know, I'm not just hot just to fucking, you know, some people just yell to yell. Like, that's not who I am. I'm yelling, cuz I'm sometimes frustrated, but it's like, for the best of the team. So, I think coming into this year, or next year, is just like, be that leader, and from the jump, just show like, how we should win, and all this shit about this year is winning. And, you know, everybody wants to get paid, everybody wants to hoop. I'm like, shit, when you win, everybody, it's just simple.

• 39:15Speaker 04

  I came from an organization in college where you win, everybody eats. Look, all of us is in the damn league, pretty much now, cuz at Nova, just playing the right way and winning. Like, that shit just, everybody, you know what I'm saying? Like, when you think about LeBron, all them guys, like, what are they thinking about? When they talking about the greatest on shit, what are they talking about? They ain't talking about nothing about, he's number one in every goddamn category, in every category. And all they're talking about is rings, it's about winning. And so, when you win, everybody, even if you're the main guy, like, you get boosted, but everybody else you're with gets boosted with you as well, and they get paid. They get money. Like, PJ, PJ been on winning teams. Like, I love PJ to death, and, you know, he don't, obviously, he don't shoot the ball everybody wants to do,

• 39:59Speaker 04

  but he does all the little things, but like, he's a winning player. And when you win, if PJ was like a losing player, and wasn't, and was doing what he was doing on losing teams, he won't get paid. But he does all the little shit, doesn't give a fuck about shooting, does all the dirty shit. And gets paid because their team is winning and he's doing whatever it takes. So I just, I feel like people don't understand that. And maybe you just don't if you've never been through it, but.

• 40:24Channing Crowder?

  And speaking of PJ Tucker, it seems like him, Jay, Jay did it. They choose the right situations to put themselves in too. And you have to be talented enough to be wanted by those teams. But like strategically, you had no option. Obviously you got traded. But the, the strategy behind careers, do you think a lot of guys really play it right? Or do a lot of guys make decisions because I would chase money? How much you got 10, 12, 13? If we go in the highest bid, I don't give a damn where I am. I'll go play in Taiwan if the money was right. But do you, do you think a lot of guys are business savvy, I guess, with their career?

• 40:57Speaker 04

  For sure, for sure. And there's a lot of guys that do the same way as you, like that you want to do like shit. I don't give a fuck about that. I, I, I want to win too, but like.

• 41:06Channing Crowder?

  We win tomorrow.

• 41:07Speaker 04

  Shit, I, I, I still win over here, you know what I'm saying?

• 41:09Channing Crowder?

  What does that ring taste like? Because my baby can't eat that ring. My baby need food.

• 41:15Speaker 04

  And I'm not going to come up here and sit down like winning is everything and I'll just take $0. Like no, like there's that, that fine line of that both is. And PJ, as you get older and vet like, I feel like young, no, like you do, do anything. But as you get older and you know what your purpose is and what you want. And you know, if the money fits as well, you want to go to a great spot to win. Cause you know, like everything that comes with it. So, but no, PJ, I mean, the thing is, it's not just him because teams want him. You know what I'm saying? Like they want him and knows what type of player he is for a winning team. Once you're known as a winning player, oh, you're good. Yeah, you're good. They gonna, they gonna like, they gonna get, do whatever it takes. Cause they don't feel like trusting some young kid that's gonna come around, fuck around, fuck some shit up. Like no, I know he's stamped. I know he's gonna do everything I need him to do.

• 42:00Speaker 04

  We're gonna pay him some good money for it. He ain't gonna bitch complain about it. So let's bring them guys. So PJ, he definitely doing it the right way.

• 42:07Fred Taylor?

  What players have influenced your career? And are there any guys that continue to provide you guidance, you know, here in your young career?

• 42:14Speaker 04

  I think just watching a lot of players just help. But I think the, honestly, the guys that helped me the most.

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• 42:51Speaker 04

  Just without them even thinking about it, as much as probably Book and C. I think just offensively and how I read the game and how I play and know the game a little bit more is honestly because of them. It's not like I'm going up to them. I'm best friends with them. I'm not going up to them like, "Yo, this and that, this and that." Nah, that's my guys. We fuck around, joke around, do dumb stuff. But I think it's just being around them every single day. And I was a 3-and-D, so I'm in a corner a lot. So you're in that corner, you watch a lot of shit. You just naturally watch, like, "God damn, he's just doing all this stuff." You're just watching it. And I think just watching them and even just like, C will talk about it a lot, and then booking them with the middies and stuff.

• 43:36Speaker 04

  I like middies and there's this old joke about them adding me to the midi committee years ago because I like shooting pull-ups. But I think it's just watching them just naturally and just being out there every single day, being around them and just seeing how they talk and figure stuff out in the court kind of just helped me just how I play right now.

• 43:54Ryan Clark?

  Hey, man, when you come on this show, and I get it, listen, I work with JJ Reddick, right? He's always talking his basketball lingo. 3-and-D, yeah, I know that means you're gonna spot up, right? And you're gonna play defense. We get that. And I understand that a midi means, "All right, we gonna shoot the mid-range." Hey, man, everybody that watches this show don't know that?

• 44:12Speaker 04

  Right, so in case you go, in case you go get in the TV. I'm on a damn football podcast. Yeah, in case you go get in the TV, dog. You gotta explain some of this stuff. Yeah, you know, I'm a three and D. Hey, man, don't nobody know what that is?

• 44:25Fred Taylor?

  Cause I'm gonna tell somebody to do a 360 jump cut, get back lateral. You know, bump my head on the goalpost.

• 44:31Channing Crowder?

  Y'all can use y'all context clues.

• 44:34Speaker 04

  Three and D. I just told you, I knew what it was. But dang, like everybody was like, yeah, I'm in the midi committee. That damn is all like the strip club you'll go to.

• 44:45Channing Crowder?

  It's around here? Oh, you talking about the, no, my. Hey, man, talking about the transition, I know you're from Philly, but then you go to Phoenix. No, no problem with Phoenix. We travel a lot. I've been to Phoenix. It's nice. But then you come to Brooklyn. What was that different lifestyle change? Because I know the, um, I know the dibbles and dabbles are a little better walking around these streets in Phoenix.

• 45:06Speaker 04

  For sure. I mean, I always loved New York, so when even, when the whole situation happened in the summer with Katie asking for a trade, he wanted to come here. Me and Cam Johnson knew like, well, obviously we're gonna be a part of that. Like, we just knew Katie wants to come here, we're going. So we just make jokes like, oh, we're going to Brooklyn, but like, I love New York. I thought I was gonna get drafted nine by the Knicks and I was prepared to like, not live in the city, but I was prepared to be in the city. I was very excited about living in New York. So, once I got the opportunity to get, and I got traded here, I was just like, shit, like, think, you think all the negatives about missing your people's stuff, but then you start adding all the positives, like,

• 45:47Speaker 04

  me personally, all the positives, like, okay, you get more touches, you get more opportunities, whatever. You know, a bigger market, things like that. Another thing for me is like, I'm in New York City. Like, I'm in New York City. That's, I mean, like, that was like another part that I love. And most people, you know, Arizona's so open and I love, I love Phoenix. I'm like, I just had to sell my damn crib. You know how fucking nice that house is? And how much I got it for and to where I'm paying, where I'm at in a little ass condo? Yeah, like, there's, Phoenix's got a lot of plus and I love it there, you know, the people there and everything. But just New York is just different. It's another spot that I always wanted to live in. And now I have the opportunity to, and I just think things just come back full circle sometimes.

• 46:30Speaker 04

  Cause you know, it never left me. You never, I mean, we go play in the Knicks and we play Brooklyn every year. Like we come back to the city every year. Like every time we come back, I'm always just like, damn, it must be nice to live in the city. And then we go back. We just leave. I go back home, home and I'm like, okay, I love my crib. Then we come back next year. I'm like, damn, I really love this city, man. I always wanted to live here. Then go back home and shit, but uh, nah, it's just everything happened, but no, it's definitely different, but definitely the type of guy.

• 46:58Channing Crowder?

  Kev, Kev, you got money. I know your sink in your bathroom, the sink in your kitchen ain't the same sink. Like you, you got two sinks in your house, man. You talking about this little bitty ass apartment. You got money?

• 47:09Speaker 04

  Yeah, but I'm just talking about the square feet. Just, listen, man, like I, I pay a lot of money. And it's just, I'm pretty, I'm pretty, I'm pretty high up and everybody and everything about it's like, well, is this expensive because of the damn view? I don't give a damn about the view. I'm not paying, I'm not, you think I just stare out the window every day? I'm not living by the view. I'm, I'm in my, I'm talking about space and in Phoenix, I don't.

• 47:34Channing Crowder?

  Well, we tell, give us a square feet, man. You know, there ain't no problem. What you got, 10,000?

• 47:38Speaker 04

  What is?

• 47:39Channing Crowder?

  Phoenix.

• 47:39Speaker 04

  Well, how much was that?

• 47:41Ryan Clark?

  Sonny has somewhere to walk around.

• 47:44Speaker 04

  Sonny had yards everywhere, but look, he love it though. I give him all the walks and I want him to be in a damn, in a damn apartment. So he gets all the walks out here now. So he actually is probably, he probably love to transition a lot. So uh, but no, it's just like, I was just making jokes, like living in a, and it's like the, just the, the, the paying, it's like paying like all this money. So, cause I'm just thinking about when I used to live in an apartment in Phoenix, like nice as hell, bigger than where I'm at now. I might pay like six, seven Gs, like times in that by three and my spot's not even bigger than my spot was in Phoenix. So I'm like, and all that logistics in there. I'm like, I was just living in an apartment a couple of years ago. And it's bigger, it's like, only thing nice about New York is the view and all that shit. But like I said, like I appreciate it because the view is dope. But like, when it comes down to it.

• 48:29Speaker 04

  I care about my space more than a goddamn view. You could put me in the damn basement, but if that shit goddamn five bedrooms, I'll love it. Then two bedrooms on the sixtieth floor, because there's a damn view. I promise I'd be in a basement. I don't care. I don't care.

• 48:44Fred Taylor?

  I think I saw something that said for every hundred thousand dollars you make in New York is equivalent to the rest of the nation, about thirty thousand dollars. Which is ridiculous, right? The cost of living here is insane.

• 48:56Speaker 04

  I hate that y'all bringing this up, because like, this always randomly comes up when I talk to people.

• 49:00Fred Taylor?

  But just forget about that part. You gotta deal with it. You're here, you gotta deal with it.

• 49:04Speaker 04

  I'm not gonna forget now.

• 49:05Fred Taylor?

  I know, much like you have to deal with, you know, managing expectations.

• 49:10Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 49:10Fred Taylor?

  As well as distractions that come with being in this big market. You know, some nights you're gonna go off, like you did when you arrived here. And some days you're just gonna be off.

• 49:20Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 49:20Fred Taylor?

  You know? How do you manage the distractions that Channing is throwing at your face?

• 49:26Speaker 04

  That's called fun.

• 49:28Fred Taylor?

  See, he just didn't care. This guy didn't work out. He hasn't worked out since he retired.

• 49:32Speaker 04

  You think he walking his dog around and not talking to no women? You the most eligible bachelor in Brooklyn, right? Maybe New York.

• 49:38Fred Taylor?

  Listen, just forget about him, but no.

• 49:40Speaker 04

  You don't walk my dog, I tell you that. Yeah. How you doing, Miss Lady? He a cute dog. He attracts some. He attracts some. Sonny? It's Sonny. How you doing? Hey, me Tish.

• 49:48Fred Taylor?

  This guy crazy.

• 49:50Speaker 04

  You think like me.

• 49:51Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, you think like me. On a serious note, how do you, how do you manage those distractions? Do you kinda envision your mom leaning over your shoulder, like, we ain't come here for that?

• 50:01Speaker 04

  Yeah, I think, and also like just the timing of getting traded, it's like, I'm about to be on my sixth year. It might have been a little different, you know, my first couple of years. Where like just the distractions of like maybe struggling and being so mental about struggling a couple of games or whatever. Because now it's like, it's just like life, you know, shit happens. Like you just struggle sometimes and you go through slumps or you have a bad game. Like it's not the end of the world, like you just miss shots. Like you just gonna watch film and be like, damn, like I usually make them hoes. Or if you watch a film, like it might be, you know, just for the... The football people watching this. Bro, we got just a football show. In and out, in and out, when a ball go in and out the rim where it goes halfway and come back

• 50:45Speaker 04

  out, you might do it like five times, but those are five misses. So it's like, you watch it, it's like, damn, like the ball literally went in but came back out, like I could live with the shots that I'm shooting. I think it's just the timing aspect of being older and like already being criticized. And the thing is, I got nothing wrong with being criticized ever, it's just like, people criticizing, like I don't care, like people that criticize me, just especially in the media world and all that stuff, like check it up. That's how I think about it, they're like, well, do what I do. Come check, come play me one on one, and if it's, if you feel that though, like you know, Stephen A. and them, like I love them though, like I don't really care, but like I'm talking about that crap, I just, one day I want somebody that like, who's getting

• 51:28Speaker 04

  like hard or somebody that's just maybe getting like crucified a little bit on social media, just be like, check up. I just want them just one times by check up.

• 51:36Ryan Clark?

  We can't check, we can't check none of y'all. I have a, I have a question that's gonna take you a little bit outside of you. Just sitting here, listening to your knowledge and knowing that you've been in both conferences, and we're now sitting in the conference finals. When you look at the four teams that are left, they're the bubble teams that were in the conference finals, we saw the Heat and the Lakers meet in the bubble, obviously the Lakers end up winning the championship. How do you see these things playing out? And in the end, who's your pick to win it all?

• 52:06Speaker 04

  On the east side, I like the, I like the, uh, just the whole, the battles have been for years with Boston and Miami, like just the years of, I think in the bubble, yeah, Miami beat them, and I think last year, Boston beat them, and just like this whole thing, so it's just gonna be just like a big dogfight, so I'm excited for that. On the other side, it gets tricky, it really does, and the thing is, I ain't like, like being, being on Phoenix, you don't like the Lakers, you really don't, like you don't like them, but being off them, I really don't give a damn no more, because I'm not playing them four times and all that, so I really don't care. There's still, there's still some, you know, there's still some hate back there, always, always there, you just, when you battle against somebody, you always not gonna like them. But like sometimes you just gotta...

• 52:52Speaker 04

  You can't just be biased or let your hate take over sometimes. Just gotta be honest and I think like Lakers, they got way better. You know what I'm saying, like the pieces they added going on with Bron AD like they're nice. But the thing is Denver like Denver ain't sweet and everybody talks about this whole thing about, you know, Denver never made it. They always get to this, blah, blah, blah. I'm like, I think it's just a little bit different this year. Like they got guys that's they've been there a little bit longer and they've been together and been through a lot of up and downs, been through injuries. And I think the biggest thing is really Jokic because you know, when we, when I played Phoenix, when I was in Phoenix and we swept them and it was just Jokic. A lot of our game plan was like, let Jokic score because you know, he wants to pass.

• 53:36Speaker 04

  You know what I'm saying? And that was at a time of his life where like he really like might take up an open shot for like a corner three. So we're just like show and just make him shoot because he doesn't, he, he, he's like the, the guy you want to have your team. Cause he's such a great team player. He just doesn't feel right scoring every time or he wants everybody to feel involved. But now he's like, you know what? Fuck that. If you want, if you're gonna play me one on one, I will score this bitch every single time. And I ain't gonna miss because I get around the rim, I might shoot 14 for 16. So that dynamic right there of him like, okay, like you want me to go score? I'm gonna score every time. So I think his mindset, because that had to happen with Jamal and then went out and they were a little bit, they didn't have enough.

• 54:18Speaker 04

  He had to do that. So that helped. And you know, Jamal is always nice. And so him coming back and him being healthy and how he is, he's, he can go like, he's, he can go crazy whenever. And they got everybody else with all the pieces around him. So it's gonna be, it's gonna be wild. I'm excited. I'm excited to see.

• 54:38Ryan Clark?

  Who would win it all, man? You didn't give us a pick.

• 54:41Speaker 04

  I want to say Boston. Boston just been bullshitting from too much for my liking just Cause that Philly series never went to seven like I think like even the Atlanta series never went to six. Atlanta supposed to get one game and I was supposed to be Trey Young going crazy in Atlanta. He's supposed to get 40 and you know Ice Trey all the shiver and shit. He's supposed to do that at home. Get he's supposed to get one win and then he's supposed to he get the game three win. Or the game four win and you come back home, beat them in five. And then Sixers, you're supposed to beat them in five or six. Like you're supposed to realize from that Atlanta series like, okay, let's stop fucking around because Atlanta almost. You know, he's supposed to be like that, but then they fucked around again and they really should have lost game six. Like they really could have lost game six and been out of this, but they found their way.

• 55:27Speaker 04

  And I'm high as I think it might have clicked, but if it did click, I got Boston. If it did click. If it did click. If it didn't click, maybe LA, maybe LA.

• 55:39Channing Crowder?

  Nah, real quick, bruh, on the way out, who the coldest thing still playing? You talked about Jokic, which his game is efficiently ugly as hell. Cause I don't even like because they just them little ugly, ugly ass little throw downs. I just, I don't enjoy watching it, man. But you got Tatum in Boston. You got Jimmy down there balling right now. And you still got Bron and AD out there in LA. Who's the coldest thing still playing?

• 56:04Speaker 04

  I gotta say Jokic. I just got to. I got to. There's nothing you can do. You cannot like AD is going to guard him. I just don't, you can't, I don't know. You really can't guard him. Like it's just, he's crafty as hell. And if you over help, he's going to dime. He's going like, is him, obviously like AD and but I don't know, Tatum's had 52, so.

• 56:25Channing Crowder?

  I see. I'll leave, I'll leave, I'll leave my Heat man. Jimmy dropped 56.

• 56:30Speaker 04

  I like, no, Jimmy too. Jimmy, Jimmy just get me tight sometimes, just. Because once he starts feeling, he starts shooting the threes, I just miss Jimmy in Philly. When Jimmy was in Philly, that man took all these threes and I loved his game so much. He played fake like, kinda like a big man right now. Which is, I mean, which is, nobody can stop that shit, so I don't give a fuck, but like, for my personal.

• 56:51Ryan Clark?

  Jimmy played like, like, like an old dude. The one thing that I was really interested in though, man, is like, you seem like a really good dude. Who I know is a good dude, because I'm from New Orleans, is Monty Williams.

• 57:00Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 57:01Ryan Clark?

  You leave that team, when you get KD, everybody expects, "Ay, this is it."

• 57:05Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 57:06Ryan Clark?

  Like, this is a wrap. We got KD and Booker, two of the greatest scorers of our era. It's just gonna happen. That team doesn't get it, Monty gets fired. When you look back at what type of man he is, what type of coach he is, what's kinda your feeling on that whole situation? And do you expect him to land somewhere in this coaching cycle with all these teams open?

• 57:25Speaker 04

  Kinda like I always said with me about being traded and being like, like, I'm happy it was me that I could be able to go through it. I feel like Monty's one of them guys that just like, I know he'll be okay. Obviously, he's gonna hurt, like, I'm not no damn robot, like, obviously that shit hurt, but like, I'll be okay, and I think Monty's the same guy that's just like, a lot of adversity, a lot of things he's been through, like, this is another part of it, and he's just, he gonna get through it, and he knows he's a hell of a coach. He probably knows about the situation and shit, because I'm, me personally, I would say Monty ain't the problem, but, who the fuck am I? I just say Monty ain't the problem, but he's gonna be great somewhere else. He's gonna get another chance and he's gonna be alright, but.

• 58:02Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, man.

• 58:03Speaker 04

  He gonna be good.

• 58:04Ryan Clark?

  When all that stuff happened with his wife, man, and, and then, you know, dude really showed who he was, man. But nah, we appreciate you, bro, that was awesome, dawg.

• 58:11Speaker 04

  Thank you for me on the football podcast, man.

• 58:13Fred Taylor?

  I know, no, but, no, seriously, I know we, we rap, right?

• 58:16Speaker 04

  We had the Rock Tuesday.

• 58:17Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, we just had to rock.

• 58:54Speaker 06

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