Bob Myers | Ep 161 | ALL THE SMOKE Full Episode | SHOWTIME Basketball

00:00:05
Speaker 1: M hm m h. Welcome back All the Smoke Takeover Golden State Warriors Edition. Man, we're right here in the beautiful Bay area for me and Jack. If the streets could talk out here, we might not be sitting here at all. Man. We want to welcome to the show and really think, Um Bob Myers and obviously a guy behind the camera, Raymond Ritter, for making this happen and allowing us to come to the facility. Um, Bob, let's get to it. Man, about ten years doing what you're doing here, four rings in the last eight years. Tell me what this experience has been like for you. That's a big, big question. First of all, thank you guys wanted to be on All the Smoke. Yeah, you know from Afar. I never knew if it would happen. Um yeah, man, I mean you played here. You both played here. Uh so you know more than the people listening or watching. No, it was not Um, it just was not looked upon as a great brand. And I grew up. I grew up seeing some good things with with Molly and Timmy and uh Mitch, but that didn't last long. And then what you guys did you know seven oh eight and even the years leading up, like you saw did people still talk about that, but we believe. I remember watching that. I was in l A. And my wife's not a big basketball person. So I turned on that game and it was game one or game whenever. It was the first home game three, and said, I could feel through the TV the energy and building. I've never seen that before and I've never seen it since. And I was kind of like, come, come look at this, and She's like what And I said, this is not normal, these fans standing up and like what an hour before the game, and so what I you know, I represented players, and I knew it was I'm biased towards the Warriors growing up here. And I was like, damn, if if we could ever or if they could ever, I wasn't saying we then if they could ever get something sustainable, the place can explode. Because what that team went to the second round had some clothes could have been taught maybe a couple of moments like the playoffs give you. And so when when Joe called me, when I met Joe through Danny Ainge, he um, I met Joe and I said, hey, I grew up a Warriors fan. Joe Lake up and I said, if there's ever a job for me here, I'd love to work here. And he's like, what can you do? I said, well, I'm an attorney. I don't know. I said, I've been around the league a long time represent I had Durrell right on the team at the time, and I said, I just want to see this team succeed. We left and I got in the car and my dad said, how did that go? And I go, he we didn't. Really, He's not gonna hire me because he has a lot of other people. And so then three months later he called me and when I he said, you want a job here? And we talked like two days. We figured out. I came in as an assistant gym and a lot of people when I took the job, much like when you might have signed with the Warriors or you did, a lot of people were like, why would you go there? Like I don't know how you felt when you got traded from Indiana, Like I don't know if you were, like he wasn't happy at first. I let him lie to you, right, but but it was because you were like, I'm going there. So that's who the Warriors were and they hadn't earned anything better than that, and you guys helped make it better. But I always thought maybe if we made the playoffs, we could become a team that was respected, and that team with Mark, we got there in twelve thirteen and beat Denver and then and then lost the Spurs. You could see what might be. With Stephen Clay and Draymond starting to show up, and with Harrison and Bogan was helped helping out and a lot of good things going. And Mark Mark came along and made us believe in ourselves, you know, when you're just beating down. And even with Stephan Clay, he was the first one to say, this is the best backcourt shooting back. And if you guys heard that, I heard that, and I was in the building and I was like, come on, dude, Mark, slow down. But I don't know if you might have heard the same thing. And then like, dude, come on, best backcourt ever. He was the first one to say that. And if you're a player and your coach, especially Mark says that about you, that that gave those guys confidence. So fast forward, we lose and then Jermaine O'Neil, who you guys know who I represented for a while we had him my year where we brought in Nigod Dollar, we lost the Clippers. You were not that we were. We lost the Clippers in fourteen and Jermaine called me afterwards the next day after we lost Game seven and l a. He said, man, don't break up this team. And I was like, we just lost in the first round, Like, what's so special about this? And he said, and you played with him? He said, UM, I've been in a lot of locker rooms when you're losing the playoffs. I know what it's supposed to look like. And that's what it's supposed to look like. And I was like, look, I didn't play in the NBA, so if you say so, and I you know, he had sixteen years in the league then, so he kept the team. Let go Mark Steve came in and Livingston came and so when Sean showed up. We always wanted Sean, but we couldn't get him. And I didn't think we're gonna win the championship that year. Um, and we had a great year and it happened, and we can Cleveland and Brown was game six, six games. He took him six games, and they were banged up. But the point of the whole thing is like, as you know, in your career, you didn't just show up a really good player, like each day when no one was watching, you were doing ship to make it better. So that's the story of this and obviously steps the biggest reason, Um Clay Draymond. You want to argue, who's the next biggest reason Mark coming in? Um? And then all the people that came along the way have all made it what it is. It's the players like and curries different. He's just so makes my job so easy because just who the guy is. He's been on both sides. And I don't know if you guys played with guys that when your dad played in the NBA, you just look at it a little differently, Like it doesn't take on this meaning that it shouldn't. Like you guys know what playing means. It doesn't mean what people watch and thinking it's different. You look at it because you did it. If your kids did it, they're gonna look at it differently than you did. They're gonna be like my dad played. It doesn't mean they don't want it or need it, but they're gonna have a different kind of balance because they'll have been around it, like I don't know if you guys grew up around the NBA, but like Curry was growing up, he was meeting Vince's, meeting all these people, Michael Jordan's, So when he got here, he was like, this is my job. I got my life. But a lot of players that show up they don't have that, so they lose their mind, which I understand, like the money, the fames, and and who's to blame a twenty two year old who gets everything and and then doesn't make the right choices. So it's Curry. Curry stability has been the main reason. So where do I fit in? He you guys could I mean, if if you were the GM and you had him, it's almost like a cheap code, and your responsibility is to not screw it up, do not screw his career up. Now you could say that's easy, It's not easy. Nothing's easy. But the best thing I feel is like to watch him succeed, Not that I don't want anybody else to succeed, but to see someone that deserves so much success get it. And this last year UM was the best for him. It answered all the questions the people were putting on this guy. And that's why. I think you saw him feel the way he felt right because he was kind of like, can you leave me? A lott like is this enough? Have I done enough? You guys have a rare team construction with superstar vets, great young core. Um, Like you said, it's not easy, um, talk are the fans through the process of what is Like you said, like you said, you have Steph and then you have Clay, you have Dre but you have to continue to I think when you guys struggle a bit, obviously I had to do with injuries, but you were grooming the next You didn't just go out and I mean outside of Wiggins. You went out and grab Wiggins, but it was you guys developed your talent, and a lot of teams aren't patient enough to do that anymore. Talk to us about that process of kind of being able to construct what you have and then being able to develop the young guys. Yeah. I mean, look, you guys, I think you've got kids to play. You do, right, Okay, So let's what advantage does your sons or daughters have by having you around? Like they've got an advantage, right, whatever it is, Like it's more advantage than the other guy walking down the street. So when you take a player in here, we like to think we're gonna we got the best shot of making them. Like with Wiggins, it's like he's you know, he was labeled a certain things like Okay, let's see what we can do. It's somebody said that's arrogant. It Sometimes we can't fix whatever is going on, but we we will know if he hint. If we don't think we can get him there, whether development wise or his a vet, then we feel like we put him in the best spot for it to make to probably happen. Or maybe it's just like your kid if they don't make it, what's their excuse? Like they got they got coaching, they know the life, they got somebody that can tell them, like, don't worry about that. If your kids don't make it, it's almost like, well you weren't going to make it, Like it's not don't look at me. So we feel like that about who shows up here. We're like, listen, we can give you the way to do it, you still got to do it. So is that special? I mean, you guys played. It's it's especially important when you're young and you show up because if I dropped YouTube. I don't know where you both started. You have to bounce around a lot. You did kind of too, I think so like if you you could tell me if I had started there, it might have been a smoother pack. Like everybody blames the players when things don't go well, and it's like, I know, I know the team side, like like we have as much to blame in many situations that as a player, like a player to to make it. Everyone says that player is no good, but they don't say that team messed up their chance at making this players something. And so that's you know what that is though, That that I think is because of continuity, like steps still here, Steve still here, Draymond still play, still here. So when there's so much change in an organization, it's hard to sustain anything. And I would say that part of keeping those guys in the full and it ain't easy. You played, you were here, you're here. Yeah, it's tough now in the NBA, like keeping a team together is hard. That's refreshing to hear, though, ain't me to cut you off. That's refreshing to hear that management is thinking about developing the players because we talk about how important it is to have vets on the squad now, but when you got management thinking that's that's better, you know. With the Wiggins situation in particular, I mean, he was the first round pick and it had been very solid but just maybe didn't live up to the hype that people thought. But I know, getting a chance to be here two different times, and how management was the second time around, And similar thing I thought with Boogie too, being able to give guys with labels of stereotypes thrown into a system like this or from top to bottom, it's ran a certain way and the energy is different. Us to tell people like off days people are in here with the music blast and people just couldn't wait to come like that's rare. You know. Sometimes in the offside you won't see anybody, you know what I mean. So I like, I think Bobby, you hit on the head perfect being able to be put into this situation. You're gonna give everyone that showed them the path they need to succeed. And I think Wiggins has been a perfect example of just really taking advantage of that. And I think it's funny like you bring up to Marcus, he was here just for a year. De Marcus called me a month ago and he said, uh, he said, why am I not in the NBA. I said, you want you want that answer? He's like yeah, I said, because people are afraid of how you're gonna act. And he's like why. I said, well, whatever the reason is, it's here now. And I like to Marcus, like you guys may know him or not, like he's just I can't blame him for him because of all he's been through, like like you said, the stability, yet what each life life like, who's the same he is? What? He is? Fine? And I said, but here's the issue. I said, you have to be better than everyone, Like you have to act better, like to get back. You can't just be average, like you got to convince people. And that's not really fair, But that's that's just what it is. Like I could say, like maybe you two went through like like you had that you couldn't just act like a normal player. Now now you're swimming upstream and you're like, I'm not doing any worse than the like, but you did that, but you did that and now you got to overcome that and you're like, okay, it's hard enough, but then you did But that I remember that night Jermaine, we had Jail and it was it was a Friday night, I think it was a Friday night, and he called that we aren't and and I remember that whole thing and being like here in his side, and I know he did a great show on it, right, he did. He did a really nice job Netflix. But you guys, like I don't ever think the players part gets told right because people can't comprehend, Like even now, players, do you really feel safe like out there something you can it can It's it's hard to feel safe when the people are right there in an environment like that, anything can happen, you know, and how to judge how people act, you know, and I know you probably would go back and do it different. But in a situation like that, Jermaine was like because he he had that was a long process illegal or everything. Yeah, yeah, I had n't prepared. I which I had n't prepared when we went and sat down with the league to get our games and dudes, because me and I had no idea. Yeah, oh it was saying I hate out my child, but they reduced his games Jermaine, it was, yes, but that's j jail though, Like you played with him. You probably came a little more wrong. I don't know, it was way wrong, but you can see he had better representation to this here. Ron just in there like I just sweat. I looked at my daughter and it was they looked at that. It was called different color jacket boy. And that's good. I didn't hear that part. That's that's a good one. That's that's a good one. There's always been a saying because we all came in in a similar age. You know, you live by the three, you die by the three. You guys were able to not necessarily be the first one to do small ball, but be the first team to win with small ball and shooting. Talk to us about that. So shooting has become what it is now. It wasn't like when you guys played three shot shot at but we did not like right now you'd probably be shooting tan I was shooting four games, so now that'd be eight. You'd be shooting eight game, which is kind of crazy like that, which is great, but we would be telling you don't shoot that pull up and transition, do not do that, and you'd be like, first of all, you might be like why and we tell you why, and then we'd be like, get to the rim, get behind the line. And there's a lot of reasons why. You guys know that. That's just what the league is and it's smart. It's kind of what you see in baseball like home run, strikeout, Like we don't care if you strikeout. It's just different fans. You have to ask them what they think. I think sometimes people don't like it. Um, we happen to have two of the best in the world to do it, so it'd be dumb not to do it. But I you know, it was interesting because the league. I'd be being um, I wouldn't being truthful to say, like we knew it was going that way, but we had to play that way. Like we didn't have a post up. We never had a post up guy. Never like you guys probably played with guys that throw the ball up. Germaine was like that throw them on the block, let him go to work. That's who does that. Now, you guys, I would tell you, like you gout like that style of play. But then the interesting thing is it went away. But you guys now like you could play five, like you'd be playing four. But that would be the value of YouTube, Like specifically you're sitting here like I tell you, like your value. When we draft a Draymond, it was like what does he do? What position does he And we struggled with that. We were kind of like, he's at three, I mean he's he had he had a triple double incology, he could pass. We put him to pick a roll. No, he have four nice small taller than him. He's really like six six long. Um. If you guys were in the draft, now, all that would be to your advantage would be like he can play two, three, four, and you guys got I mean now you would have been paid more beyond we've been going that. We was doing that, you were doing it, you Nelly had you doing it. But like he was looked upon, it was like it was a gimmick and it was smart. And so then you saw what d' antoni did a little bit with Stodomer at the five and he had they had that team with d out the four, and you saw how hard that team was to defend. The difference that we figured out, not me, the players was they could do that and defend, Like I think that's what made your team. You could defend like Baron could defend three four positions so strong. You didn't have a guy to pick on, really, and if you don't have you can I think you can have one guy to pick on. You can't have to. You can't have to. So you guys, now, if we threw in the scrimmages going on right now, like you'd switch everything and and and that's really valuable, like but who the Clippers haven't playing the five? It's just and so didn't we fell into that if we're being honest, like when when Daily got hurt in Denver and then Draymond's are playing some four and then we saw what drama could do at the five when we played Harrison for Nicko dollar like a doll and Harrison. Were you guys like that's three four or for three doesn't matter? Um? And then play and stuff for the one too. But then it became something that just worked. And history has always written like in hindsight, you know people a lot people go I noon in and really like, did you guys, you guys even now when you guys were doing what you're doing, I'm not sure you even knew what it was. You just knew like this is fun, let's just play. I can get your guy. You know, I can score from here, I can dribble, a pass, shoot. And if you play basketball and you guys are picking a pickup team, you would pick all those guys. You're not picking the big dude that can't do anything, and you'd be shooting threes and getting to the rim and you'd be you probably win. So it looks easier now, but it's hard to get out of that mode of you're a three and we sudden you were putting in a three man and you can't play like I'm telling you. You guys would play like you play five, which is which is dope, I love it, which would be you know what, it doesn't even matter. You wouldn't walk around like I'm a center. Right. So it's worked, and everybody wants to do that. It's just it's hard to find a team to do it. Pieces question real quick je where you get to what you get speaking a small book? Can you speak because again, just being someone of the game, playing against this your team that's here you know so much, and then getting a chance to join him. Speak to the importance of Draymond because I think he's one guy where the numbers are so deceiving to me, he's going to be a Hall of Famer, maybe five time, possibly six time chant before he's done. Who knows um, But speak to his importance on the court, off the court, his leadership, how he walks that fine line that he crosses sometimes, but that's also what makes him him. But just to his importance to this team and the success. I mean, I could say this about YouTube as well. You have to have someone with an edge to win. You have to have it, like I'd love to have all perfect Saints. Makes my life easier, but we probably wouldn't win, you know. So what he does is yeah, I mean he he lives on the line. If you live on the line, you're gonna cross. You guys lived on the line, So no, I don't know if you need to be on it now on your own. You're not trying to like buddy, but he will be too though, you guys, are you likee he is? So So I would say this for the people. I would throw that back at YouTube because I can't ever explain appropriately the value of a guy like that because I don't play. So when you're on a team, this is the only way I can look at the answer your question simply if I'm if we're going into a playoff game. We've had a lot of playoff games, and I look into the locker room and I look around the room, your eyes will stop at him and go, I'm glad he's on our team. And if you're his teammate, you'll be sitting there I'm glad. And I bet you guys got that too. I bet you may not have known it. They might have told you, but they're like, I'm glad Matt with us and Glad Stevens with us. So I would ask you, like, you tell me you played with him. What you say is more important than me, Like it's more important what you say about the people you played with, because I could sit here and say all these things while Draymond is great, And if you're sitting there going like I played with this guy, like that's crap and it wouldn't mean anything. But if you know what the value of it is more than me, that's all that matters. Because you guys are the ones winning and losing. So I can pretend like I put together this great team and we gotta figure it out, and you hate him, and this guy's a loser and he's never want anything, and he doesn't care because wants his money. We're gonna lose and you're not gonna respect each other. So the thing about Draymond is, and you know when you played Matt you never probably got paid what you were worth. And I don't you know you got more than he did, but you never. And it's interesting because I bet and I know you're doing your career now. I bet if there was a survey of NBA players and you ranked who was respected at the top, you're at the top. That's why you're doing this. That's why people watch this. You might have made. There's players that have made. They can't do this. You know why, because people respect what you say? People respect? So what's the value of that. You know, it doesn't matter if you're the NBA does your your your peers do. So when you talk about Draymond like there's a reason he's guy's own podcast, there's a reason why when he says something, everybody why is that? So what's the value of that? So the value that in a team is huge. Um, But you've got to understand, like that person, you know, rest in peace, Kobe, but he lived on that like age to like he didn't. He wasn't an easy team. He made you show up a certain way, and if you didn't, you didn't feel he didn't make he didn't make it easy. He did not and he by the way, he did everything he asked you to do. He did. That's why it was so easy, so easy. He did it more. He did it more than you could. He's like, I'm asking you to do just come close to what I'm doing. Not like talent wise, but played. He played hard, didn't skip games, didn't did that. I don't know that he ever read, did he ever rest the game? I mean at the very end, it's like you couldn't have sat him down if you tried. So people like that, Um, usually you're successful because most people aren't as competitive as him. But people like that sometimes in life because of that competitiveness, test the edge, right, it could be a gift den But in professional sports, this this isn't easy out there like you think winning is. You guys want like it is. I don't think people understand hard it just to get to the finals. Like you see people, You see players break, You see it fold and then and then people blame you in the media kills him and you're like, you don't know the pressure and you don't understand. That's why the team. That's why when you win, the team celebrates like they do because it is so And I don't think anybody watching this and I don't even understand. I only understand because I'm kind of close to it. But to see the experience that a player gets from winning the championship is the best thing ever. But nobody gets to feel it but you, guys, But that's yours because you went through it. You talk about the statue with Dre, what I see for me is he's leading the league and by far he's the top of league and passion for the game, and that's what I love about him. You see so many guys that's going through the motions. I really don't care if they win, but used to to see a guy like Dre who has the passion we had as willing to fight to win games. You don't see that no more in the game. So that's why he's different. That's why he's a Hall of Famer. That's why that's one reason why he's so successful on his team, because he would do anything to win, and there's very few guys in the game is willing to do that? How do you so? So that's lost? That's the winning part. So you guys got kids, How is that not being taught to kids? Why is the step back in the ninth night? What about did you win the game? And like you see my YouTube and it's like, well we lost, yeah, but do you see the step back? Yeah? I saw the score. But where do you teach that? How do you guys tell your kids? Like I don't I don't have I even think too. I mean, there was a clip that went viral this summer of him at U c l A. And it was after the workout and everyone, you know when Rico Rico Hans make everyone run and Dre said, there's probably thirty motherfucker's in here, and like six people took the run like the springting that it makes you do after after you're done serious and it's just like you know, you know, I saw a handful of you guys doing it, but like when the cameras aren't on, when people aren't in the gym, like do you really want it? Steps at the head of a lot of those I'm saying, just like to have that, like you said, that passion for everything you do. And and that's why, like when people use the mamba mentality, you guys don't do that, you're not hit, Like I don't say that. I don't even say that. Nobody should be allowed to say that. I'm sorry, like you knew that there's nobody, like there's nobody, there's no your mamma, No you're not. This guy was one of them. Listen, we were on the crack before the sun came up, and you in the weight room listing weight so hard that I felt like I couldn't even shoot the cup, like what's time to go shoot? I was like, mother funk, I can't even lift my arms right now. But it's like you said, it's an every day like his like when people say that it bothered and I'm like, look, I don't pretend like I do that, but I'm like, you don't to say that, like don't you throw that's a throwaway line like this guy was like with him, I'm sorry, but that went with him, Like and you can you can say, come up with something else. In my opinion, like leave that one, like that's not whatever music that's like it's over maybe like like that, I like that Gardner Snake mentor, like you're not him and you like kids saying that, like and I'm like what I want to be? Like you can't any idea, that's the thing. Do you have any you ever had a guy came to where you wanting up? What's up? Man? I ain't doing your family? Everybody good, come jump ball here when you're shaking hand. That's Kobe like know you yea to kill you and then kill you again and then tell you about it later, exactly, he not many guys want to take your will you want to take you. Guys want to beat you. Not only guys want to take your like make it so you like, you know, never to try that again, Like how dare you try to beat me? How dare you think you're gonna come out here and be but nobody leaves, Like that's what I'm saying, Like that is not normally you know, so I feel like for that for him and you guys knew like that doesn't get said and not like that part of him, great point and that part of him like people, you played best player. You can rank guys however you want. And and maybe Jordan was that way, maybe Michael's that way. That's what he get it from. But but but that's it. I mean, I don't. It's not a knock on anybody else play. But that's a different kind of thing. It's a different kind of thing. Since four championships, four championships, anyone of your favorite? Yeah, I mean the first one because it was like the world I thought. I told my wife when I got the job, like, if we could make the playoffs, then maybe we did something that was the bar at the bar, you know, we had a wall of all stars because yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, But but but you can't understand, like playing you guys played here, I felt like those championships for other teams, that's not how you guys felt in your play. But just because I grew up, you get beaten down sometimes and you're kind of like, that's the Lakers, that's the Celtics, that's the Bowls. So when we started doing that and getting closer, it was almost like the momentum of that team. And then and we just didn't know any better, Like that was so so new and a new coach, and Curry was becoming himself and Clay they were young, young team, they were young. We we hadn't really been to the final. We hadn't been to the Western Conference, so that one was overwhelming. The last one though, like the kick, but the Kevin one was like that was dominance, Like you were there sixteen and one in the playoffs, Like is that like I will tell you, like as a player, that would have been unbelievable, Like we are kicking everybody's ass, like everybody we're kid, We're not like there's no chance, Like you've had teams like you're like that says it is not. So that was still fun, but it was almost like when you have like the best fighter in the fight, you're like, we're gonna win. This last one was more gratifying knowing that we were buried and came back and watching guys like Wiggins and pool Clay come back from the injury and stuff kind of answer some questions that people I wanted to answer. You know too, I suppose, but it was almost like the first it's like if it's a movie, it was a nice I hope it's not over, but it was some closure to some things, like you were in a dynasty or that was only because of Durant or Stephan never finals m v P or you guys, these guys were heard. Yeah, it's that's the it mattered. It was kind of and not that you will say this like the media. You guys are in the media like it's powerful. So for the people say, I don't care anybody said. We all care what somebody says. If we walk out of here and your camera goes you suck today, why you know your person? First of all, we get in. So the last one, um, they're all great. You know they're not They're not never bad. But the last one, um kind of came out of nowhere, and uh, that was a good one. If you could send a message to the Warriors fans and what would it be, thank you? Because I don't think they left us. That's the best part about our fans, Like they care. They get piste when we're not good or telling me we need a big guy, and you know, but you know they're I don't have any problem with passion, right, no problem with passion. Um. So I would tell him like, thanks for thanks for hanging with us. We didn't talk about smoking at all. We're gonna is that offline stuff. There's a lot I can learn. I don't can we do it several you use l a guy. We can tell you whatever you need to know. You know, you got the expert on it, so you're not experts experts, but right, come in real quick, come on, this is someone who's been here how many years? Stude is absolutely this is the gold standard right here for just being a good person, you know what I mean. Like obviously the title, you know it's important. But Ray is just some of the guys that just even even when you're here, obviously, but even when you leave, Ray is someone that still treat you like family. And that's something I always remember. Man, this guy is great. Many We really appreciate you, bro. Yeah, I want to say that too. I appreciate you and also the honest you know, make even though we played oh seven, y'all still make us feel like family, bring us back. That's and that's something you know, a lot of guys are not attached to NBA teams. They didn't win the championship there, right, I want a championship to San Antonio, but I get more love here and and you made me feel like family here, So I want to do mad but I appreciate it and thank you absolutely absolutely. Man, If you're to get these guys out of troubles, talking about here we have it's just a documentary. Let's bring out with housing in here for Houston host for sure. We appreciate you again. Thank you guys for allowing us to come in and take some time with us. The hospitality is always appreciated. And uh, we're looking forward to coming back and doing some commentating for you guys. The players only stuff right was talking to it. I mean that's a wrap. Go to State Warriors take over. All the smoke is in the building, man. We appreciate you. Bob Ray. You can catch us on Showtime Basketball, YouTube and the I Heart platform Black Effects. We'll see you all next week.