Behind the Scenes of NBA Cup with Rachel Nichols ft. SGA, D-Wade, Blake Griffin and More

00:00:05
Speaker 1: Welcome back to Open Run.

00:00:06
Speaker 2: We're here in Las Vegas for the NBA Cup, and before we get into the video, we want to shout out our partner, DraftKings for sponsoring this episode. DraftKings has a new fantasy game, Pick six, and it's the perfect companion while you're watching the NBA Cup. It's legal in most states and you can use my promo code open Run when you sign up. Now let's get into the episode. We're being joined by Hall of Famers Dwayne Wade and Tony Parker from the NBA Champion thunder Shake, Gilsters, Alexander and Jaylen Williams, Spurs All Star Guard, the erin Fox comes Through, and the Magic Band Desmond Bane and the secret ingredient in the knicks new starting lineup, Josh Hart. That's a lot to get to, so let's go check it all out. First up, Dwayne Wade. All in all, how do you feel like the NBA Cup has been for the NBA.

00:00:54
Speaker 1: It's been a few years now.

00:00:56
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I'm one of the people who like it.

00:00:58
Speaker 4: Yeah, And I think we about to twenty five games into the season, and I think it's so many reasons why it's good. You know, as an organization, you get to evaluate where you are right before you get to the trade deadline, before you get to all the things that as we got.

00:01:14
Speaker 3: This squeaky thinking about.

00:01:16
Speaker 2: You, you're TV person, Yeah, you never would have been able to be like, oh that's we.

00:01:19
Speaker 5: Should cut, that's cut that.

00:01:21
Speaker 3: But I love it.

00:01:22
Speaker 6: I think I love this.

00:01:24
Speaker 4: It gives teams also an opportunity, an opportunity to compete, Like you may start off the season slow, but in a cup play, you may have an opportunity to come to Vegas and you can save your season too, right because it builds that commidents.

00:01:35
Speaker 3: If you're able to come out here, you're able to compete.

00:01:37
Speaker 4: And so I just think it's so many good things about it, and I feel like this goes on as it grows. I feel like more should be put on this part of the season.

00:01:44
Speaker 2: And it's fun too, because like younger teams get experienced in those crucible situations.

00:01:49
Speaker 1: It's funny.

00:01:49
Speaker 2: The youngest team here, of course, has already won a title, so okay, see, it doesn't need that much more extra experience. There's people who think, oh, we could see Nicks. Okay, see in the NBA Cup.

00:01:59
Speaker 1: Do you see next. Okay, see as an NBA Finals possibility.

00:02:04
Speaker 4: When you talk about, you know, who's coming out of the Eastern Conference. You know, obviously they went to East Conference finals last year, so you know, you know, they bringing their core back, even though it's a change in that first that seat, but they're bringing the core of their players back, and so yeah, you can definitely see them get there.

00:02:20
Speaker 3: You know, it's so many things that have to go right.

00:02:22
Speaker 4: But I believe I just saw Josh Hard just ran into them and the talker to him in the confident group, you know, even though they know that they're not where they want to be, but they know that they're getting there, and you have.

00:02:32
Speaker 3: A change, you know, of a voice.

00:02:34
Speaker 4: It takes a little time, it takes a little while, but they're doing very good, very early.

00:02:38
Speaker 2: All right, So next kind of maybe coming out of the East. Who's your other big pick for coming out of the East.

00:02:43
Speaker 4: Coming out of the East, Well, I mean, if if I had to look, I mean, unfortunately, you know, Boston was the team that everyone was like, they're going to be there for a while, and then injury to Tatum and so it kind of changed everything. But when I look at the team that you know, has the experience. You know, obviously I look at the Knicks because of the multi years that they've been building this, you know, that's.

00:03:01
Speaker 3: What I look at. I look at what did they do three years ago? What do they do four years ago? So they've been building Mimi Heat is always gonna be a team that can come out even if they're in twelfth place coming into the game.

00:03:12
Speaker 5: Coming out of nowhere, they could still.

00:03:13
Speaker 3: Come out of the East.

00:03:15
Speaker 4: But it's I think what I love about the East is is it's unpredictable right now and it's early in the season. You wanted to be that way, Like the success that Toronto was having earlier in the year. It's kind of a little unpredictable that they're having it. So the East is gonna take a little time to see who rises to the top. But you know the teams that's at the top, you know they're they're obviously really good.

00:03:33
Speaker 2: Is it strange for you you grew up in Chicago. You love the Michael Jordan Bulls. That was an Eastern Conference team.

00:03:37
Speaker 1: Right when you.

00:03:38
Speaker 2: Played in the league, you played in the East, and the East was very dominant. Y'all won titles right down three I believe there are many titles three if someone was running around in Arena three three like that. I can't remember who that was anyway. But you're now looking at an NBA where the East is falling off so much.

00:03:57
Speaker 1: Is that weird for you? Because your whole life the East was tough, man.

00:04:02
Speaker 4: I mean, even when I was in the NBA, they would talk, you know, trash about the East because the West is so competitive from top to bottom, right, and in the East to be competitive maybe the first four and then it kind of falls off. So they talked a lot of trash about the East when I was in there. But I always say that it doesn't need to be you need you'll need the whole East to be competitive. Loans the top guys are built to be able to compete and win, and so I think the East normally has that. But I mean the West is what it is. I mean, it's some special teams, some special guys our West. They just got to beat on each other.

00:04:33
Speaker 7: Though.

00:04:33
Speaker 4: That's what we used to say. We said, just let them beat up each other. By the time we get there, we'll be good. And so I mean, obviously there's one team right now that everyone is chasing, and it's okay, see everyone's chasing. Okay, See they're obviously a class above when it comes to this time of the year. But I think it's great for the East right now that it is open. I mean, you know, you want young guys to to take their you know, take this opportunity that's in the East, and you want them to look at and say, all right, how do I take this next step? Right in Orlando, how do they take that next step? They're here, this is great for them to be here, but how do they go to that next step?

00:05:06
Speaker 7: Right?

00:05:06
Speaker 3: And so East is building foundation while the West is being each other up.

00:05:10
Speaker 2: For Oklahoma City, it almost is starting to feel and we'll just have to see if they can win a couple more.

00:05:15
Speaker 1: But like that time with the World Championships, I.

00:05:18
Speaker 2: Was going to say, just with like it's almost starting to feel like when the Warriors kind of had Katie where it's just sort of, yeah, everyone in the West is very good. But and someone else says nicolajokicch but also like that team is just going to keep getting better.

00:05:31
Speaker 1: I mean they've got what three or four picks in the first round of the draft this year. It's crazy.

00:05:35
Speaker 4: It's scary. It's actually pretty scary. I mean, they're going to be the foundation is late. The Dominis is going to be here for a while. And that doesn't mean they're going to win every year, but they're going to be up there every year, obviously knocking on wood that they stay healthy. If they stay healthy, the thing is with them, and man, they everybody they bring into that that plays on their basketball floor for them, they understand what needs to be done. And one thing I love about them they make shots, they don't celebrate, They get right to defense.

00:06:01
Speaker 1: They barely celebrated the tail.

00:06:02
Speaker 4: They don't celebrate, and I love that. It's like it's like watching your favorite college team play.

00:06:06
Speaker 7: You know.

00:06:06
Speaker 4: It's like when back in the day when Duke we hit the ground. That's all they did was just smacked the ground outside of that and did nothing else. But you know that's the way that you I grew up, you know, loving the game and approaching the game.

00:06:16
Speaker 3: So I love their approach. It's real old school like in their approach.

00:06:19
Speaker 4: And so they're going to be here to stay for a while. They're going to have to get fatigued with winning. And right now they're so locked in. There's no mental fatigue coming into this next season. And that's the thing that you have to fight against, is that fatigue of this is easy. Oh I got to do this again. It's those you know, those reps. You got to put it in every day and they seem like they like it.

00:06:37
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean with us.

00:06:38
Speaker 2: The point with some of these teams, after they repeat a little bit of saying, oh, I got to go through the regular season again, why can't we just go straight to.

00:06:44
Speaker 4: Assimilate the season. Let's get right to it. But you could assimilate a couple of games this year.

00:06:49
Speaker 1: It's not nice, it's not kind.

00:06:51
Speaker 4: With the forty fifty point wins was a similation, you know what I mean. But that's kind of how you feel. And so looking at their approach, I'm just really press and I can't wait to obviously get a chance to talk to their head coach about that approach, because that is the most impressive thing when you're someone who I've been there before. I know how hardy is attorney right back around, not getting a long summer at all, not getting really a break at all, You got injuries coming in to j Dubb and you still come and you start a season this way, just the most professional, you know, way to approach the season.

00:07:21
Speaker 3: They have done it.

00:07:22
Speaker 2: It was really funny after they won the title last year because you know, the media gets into the locker room. I have been in so many championship locker rooms, not just NBA World Series, you know, for Super Bowl, all of those, and people are going crazy, right these guys were like a couple of them were sipping a beer a couple. There were three bottles of champagne on the floor.

00:07:41
Speaker 1: Three and then there was just rows and rose of alcohol, including bottles of champagne. No one touched. Can you explain?

00:07:47
Speaker 2: Can you tell the people your first title, the title with you and Shaq and pat Riley coaching the team. What was the locker room like after that title?

00:07:55
Speaker 4: Well, I was I got a little tipsy because at that time I did not drink myself and that was one of the first time I had anything to drink. And that was and I actually was like, if we want a championship, be the first time I drink. So I had champagne in the locker room.

00:08:07
Speaker 7: I was.

00:08:08
Speaker 4: I was a little loose, but we were just jumping around like little kids. It's like little like when you take loose.

00:08:13
Speaker 2: You guys were bunkers. I have never seen a locker room like that. You breathed in and you breathed in champagne. Riley himself was just listen.

00:08:22
Speaker 4: You ever go to like one of them jumping places with the kids, Yeah, that's what our locker room was like. We were just in there like big kids. But you know, SoC was.

00:08:29
Speaker 1: Just like, don't have a beer? Maybe maybe I won't.

00:08:31
Speaker 2: Alex Cruco said he had to teach guys how to open a bottle champagn.

00:08:34
Speaker 3: Yeah, I heard that.

00:08:34
Speaker 4: But you know, I feel like as they go on, especially as you're trying to really accomplish something more than just winning one championship, it gets harder and harder and harder, and then more appreciation will come a little later as they're on this journey of trying to dominate full well.

00:08:48
Speaker 2: I like it, all right, I have one more question for you, my co host here, Dane Wade with the West, who do you see is sort of the biggest challenger for Oklahoma City.

00:08:55
Speaker 1: Who's going to be in the Western Conference finals at the bracket works?

00:08:59
Speaker 3: I mean, I think you got to look at a team like Houston.

00:09:01
Speaker 4: Of course, you know, obviously with the you know, acquisition, bringing in kad it gives them, you know, kind of what they were missing last year when it comes to having that guy.

00:09:10
Speaker 3: You know, we know what KD is, we know who he is. You know.

00:09:13
Speaker 4: You obviously you're always gonna look at the Lakers and with the firepower that they have from an offensive standpoint, you know that they can compete with anybody on the offensive end. The question with them is the other side, of course, and so it's still things and still time. Those are you know, kind of two of the teams, and Denver is always gonna be there. They got that guy over there, they got Joke over there, and so the way that they play washing them play. Okay see, last year in the playoffs, it could have went either way. At times you thought that okay, you thought that Denver could have beaten okay see, and then you haven't seen many teams that could have that could beat them. So you got those three teams.

00:09:45
Speaker 2: One last word, give me the name of the team essential to KOOPO will play for at the end of the season.

00:09:51
Speaker 4: I hope it's the Bucks. I went to school to Marquette. Everybody in Milwaukee.

00:09:58
Speaker 6: Right there and.

00:09:59
Speaker 1: Now shake guilder Alexander.

00:10:00
Speaker 2: I just heard from one of your teammates that he feels like you guys could go for the record, Not that that's your goal, but he said, you guys have that kind of team, and I guess I just wanted to know sort of do you have confidence in yourselves that you can win every game?

00:10:14
Speaker 8: Absolutely? I don't know say that, but whoever said that is correct. Yeah, we have a group that does the right things and the necessary things like prior to the game, during the game, and after the game to go out there and give ourselves a chance to win every night. Now, whether we do so every night, it's it's gonna be up to us. But yeah, we definitely have the makeup for it for sure.

00:10:38
Speaker 2: How did you guys come into the season as hungry as you did when so many other teams before you get the title and like for the first couple of months they're like, I can't even pay attention right now, man.

00:10:46
Speaker 8: Yeah, we have guys that are like self driven. We have guys that want more for themselves and for the whole team. I think we have guys that like, at the end of the day, just loved the game of basketball. And play for that because of that. The scoreboard or what we just accomplished doesn't matter to us. It's about us getting better and honestly just playing because we love it and playing for each other.

00:11:08
Speaker 1: Is there anything less than another title that you're looking at this season?

00:11:11
Speaker 8: No, man, just another title? I'm sorry, Nope, just another title?

00:11:18
Speaker 1: What are we doing there?

00:11:19
Speaker 2: All?

00:11:19
Speaker 6: Right?

00:11:19
Speaker 2: Well, last year I got to tell you I was little. I loved the team, I loved hanging with you guys. I was a little disappointed in the locker room celebration. I'm not gonna lie. Do you feel that if you guys win again, we can get like, I don't know, six bottles of champagne going instead of five? I mean it was kind of.

00:11:33
Speaker 1: Dead in there.

00:11:34
Speaker 8: Yeah, hopefully, I mean me personally, I still haven't popped a bottle of champagne, so I'm going to be just as rusty as I was before.

00:11:40
Speaker 7: But hopefully my teammates got better at it.

00:11:42
Speaker 1: I know Alex Cruso had to show you guys how to open champagne bottle.

00:11:45
Speaker 8: I'll have to show me again. But yeah, if we got there, we should be a little bit better.

00:11:48
Speaker 1: Did you do anything to celebrate this summer being an NBA champion.

00:11:53
Speaker 8: Yeah, I definitely had fun with my family, my friends, my teammates. The champagne just wasn't popped by me.

00:12:00
Speaker 7: Sit away from you, all right.

00:12:01
Speaker 1: Did you buy yourself anything any fancy clothes?

00:12:03
Speaker 2: Uh?

00:12:05
Speaker 7: I got myself a few gifts here and there.

00:12:10
Speaker 8: I took care of some people that helped me get to this point.

00:12:14
Speaker 7: So yeah, it was. It was a good summer.

00:12:15
Speaker 2: As you look, now, you're kind of about a third of the way through this season. Who in the West is kind of shaping up to be your biggest challenge as a team.

00:12:22
Speaker 1: M hm.

00:12:24
Speaker 7: The West is so deep it's hard to say this earlier.

00:12:27
Speaker 8: Dem is obviously really good, The Spurs are really good, Houston's really good.

00:12:34
Speaker 7: Who else is there? I mean Dallas when they get healthy? Uh? Who else is at the top?

00:12:43
Speaker 8: Yeah, the West is so deep, Memphis that they get healthy, you're just going to name every team?

00:12:47
Speaker 7: Yep, exactly.

00:12:50
Speaker 1: See now he's now he's an interview problem.

00:12:52
Speaker 8: The West is the West is just very deep, and if you don't bring her again, you can lose anything any night, no matter who it is.

00:12:59
Speaker 1: So yeah, last, why you're gonna help me? Nate who is the sonogram?

00:13:02
Speaker 2: Who is the two athletes you said with the sonogram with Sam Presty, gonna go visit.

00:13:06
Speaker 1: The oh Asia ol Bam Bam.

00:13:09
Speaker 2: So because Asia was named Time Magazine's Athlete of the Year and she's doing a bunch of interviews and talking about her and Bam and their relationship.

00:13:17
Speaker 1: She's like, we want to have kids together.

00:13:19
Speaker 2: And someone joked that Sam Presty would be at the sonogram if they had kids together.

00:13:24
Speaker 1: Is he that much of a scout?

00:13:27
Speaker 8: Sam takes his job very serious and whatever it takes to be great, he will do.

00:13:30
Speaker 7: So that's what it takes.

00:13:31
Speaker 6: That's what it takes, all right.

00:13:32
Speaker 2: So vam Adebayo and Asia Wilson watch out. If you guys ever decide to have kids. Sam Preste's going to knock on your door.

00:13:38
Speaker 1: Here's Shalen Williams.

00:13:39
Speaker 2: I know you get this question everywhere you go now, but I gotta ask it. The record for seventy four is totally on the table. I know that's not your goal, but could you guys.

00:13:48
Speaker 6: Go that far? Yeah?

00:13:51
Speaker 9: I've been saying it like, there's a lot of things I think this team can do.

00:13:56
Speaker 6: It's more about and.

00:13:58
Speaker 9: I feel like that's that's the same way with a lot of NBA teams. Everybody feels that they can do something as a matter of if you actually do it, and that starts with just playing these games one at a time, like you can't. You don't win anything in what is it December except obviously this maybe, But you.

00:14:14
Speaker 1: Got to win these games to do it. But do you have a team that could do it?

00:14:18
Speaker 10: For sure?

00:14:19
Speaker 9: I never want to limit our team. We have the talent to do it. You guys are seeing it. We wouldn't be having this conversation if everybody else didn't think so too. So that's how I look at it. But I also don't like looking that far ahead because there's a lot of games left.

00:14:29
Speaker 1: All right.

00:14:29
Speaker 2: We're all happy to see you back. You've been integrating back to the team so well. I need to ask, because I'm petty, How sour are you that the NBA has a sixty five game rule and that you miss out on almost fifty million dollars because you can't make all MBA now and it affects your contract.

00:14:46
Speaker 9: I'll make it back somewhere else, so I'm not too worried about it.

00:14:48
Speaker 10: But I mean, I think.

00:14:51
Speaker 9: Honestly, the way I was thinking about it was if I come back and I play hurt, right, then I risk do you want to do that? Yeah, I risk remssing my hand up and kind of wasting.

00:15:02
Speaker 6: A lot of the work that my team and our.

00:15:05
Speaker 9: Trainings to have it I put into the summer. So if it wasn't time for me to play, it wasn't time for me to play. That's that's more of like a god's plan thing, and I'm just kind of rolling with it. I'll never be salty over the Over the money, we obviously will be able to use that elsewhere, which will be even nicer to keep our team together.

00:15:22
Speaker 1: It's very generous.

00:15:22
Speaker 9: Yeah, I mean I mean a lot of money over the summer too, So I'm never gonna be too greedy.

00:15:29
Speaker 6: Again.

00:15:29
Speaker 9: It's one of those things where like coming from like a small school, I never thought I would make the amount of money that I'm making now anyway, So I'm not too concerned over it. It's about the goal for me is about winning before it is about money.

00:15:40
Speaker 7: I'll play the sport for free.

00:15:41
Speaker 1: Well, first of all, don't let Sam press to hear you say that.

00:15:44
Speaker 2: Second of all, I was going to say you can win back half a million by winning the NBA Cup, So good luck, Yeah, thank you.

00:15:49
Speaker 9: Yeah, yeah, there's a lot of money. There's a lot of money out here. That's what I said. I'll make it back somewhere.

00:15:53
Speaker 2: And now, Desmond Baine, for you, it seemed like it was a little bit of a justment period in Orlando, but now it feels like, I mean, this is your team.

00:16:01
Speaker 1: You pit so well with those guys.

00:16:02
Speaker 11: Yeah, I love it, you know, I mean, off the court's been great for me and my family. On the court, Like you said, there was a time when when I was trying to find myself and.

00:16:13
Speaker 3: How I fit into this team.

00:16:15
Speaker 11: But you know, twenty five games in, I feel pretty comfortable and excited with with what we've done up to this point.

00:16:21
Speaker 2: So there was a lot of ideas in the summer of like, man, they could this East is pretty open.

00:16:26
Speaker 1: This is a team.

00:16:26
Speaker 2: That's kind of ready to make that next step. Do you feel that's actually now true? Like is that are you Are you on course to maybe being an Eastern Conference finals or even more?

00:16:35
Speaker 10: I think so.

00:16:36
Speaker 11: I mean, we haven't seen everybody in the East yet, so it's hard to say that and it's so early. There's so many, you know, games left to play, and so much that can happen.

00:16:46
Speaker 10: But the scary part, or the good part for us.

00:16:50
Speaker 11: I think because that we haven't been fully healthy once yet, you know, so I think that that there's still a lot more room for us to grow and a lot more room for us to get better. Missing Fronds right now, Who's been fantastic, you know, throughout this this whole entire season.

00:17:06
Speaker 7: So whenever he's back, we'll welcome.

00:17:09
Speaker 10: With open arms, but until then we'll hold it down for him.

00:17:11
Speaker 2: Well, we had a little bit of a new kind of look at you in Orlando, Still the same Desmond Bane who will not back down from a challenge. You got smoke with a couple of different guys in this league recently, and then the NBA Cup you got the Knicks. I mean, what's the sort of deal with you guys and sort of the energy.

00:17:27
Speaker 1: Between you and OG and and and ob especially.

00:17:29
Speaker 10: I mean, it's all love between me and O G.

00:17:31
Speaker 1: But is it really Yeah, yeah it is.

00:17:35
Speaker 11: We laughed about it shortly after, but yeah, we definitely you know, their competition, you know, they're they're in the way of what we're trying to do so we're we're not taking them lightly.

00:17:48
Speaker 7: That's for sure.

00:17:49
Speaker 2: That toughness that you bring to a locker room, I know that in addition to all the things you do on the court.

00:17:53
Speaker 1: That was one of the reasons they wanted you in there. They wanted a guy.

00:17:55
Speaker 2: Who was vet enough to like know the score of what goes on around the league and so just you know, give a little bit of flare to that locker room because you got somewhat quiet guys in there.

00:18:04
Speaker 1: Otherwise, how has that been? Has been fun for you because they really want you to be yourself?

00:18:08
Speaker 10: Yeah, nah, for sure.

00:18:09
Speaker 11: I mean when they told me to be myself, I was like, are you are you sure you know what I'm saying? And they were like, yeah, like be yourself. So but it's cool, like all the guys we got such good relationships, and you know, everybody's so selfless, hungry care about winning. So it's it's kind of been fun to to integrate with them.

00:18:29
Speaker 7: Guys.

00:18:30
Speaker 1: I hope you know that.

00:18:31
Speaker 2: When people are talking about possible Janis sent to Kompo Trades, one of the sentences that keeps gets saying is like, well, come on, no one's going to get as much these days as they got for Desmond Bane. The days of all those first round picks and the deal are over. So I just want you know, be honest, you y honest you.

00:18:44
Speaker 11: I'm just saying, yeah, to know what I went for is it's crazy, for sure, it's crazy.

00:18:49
Speaker 1: Does it make you play in your feeling any different or just same?

00:18:53
Speaker 10: Over the summer?

00:18:53
Speaker 11: It was like just like validation, you know, the kind of like your contract and all those things.

00:18:59
Speaker 7: That happen throughout the course of the NBA.

00:19:01
Speaker 11: It's just validation that you're on the right path and contributing the winning more than anything.

00:19:07
Speaker 2: One of those Desmond Vein deals and don't come along that often. Thank you, sir, Thank you.

00:19:10
Speaker 1: And now let's hear from Tony Parker.

00:19:12
Speaker 2: You said that you got inspired to play basketball watching the Dream Team. Victor Webenyama says he got inspired to play basketball watching you seeing the success of this Spurs team and what Victor has been able to do.

00:19:25
Speaker 1: We knew it was only a matter of time. But he's doing it. He's already right there with the elite players.

00:19:30
Speaker 12: He's doing it. And I was so you know, when he played for my team in France. You know, we want a French championship, you know, with Victor And when he got drafted by the Spurs. The whole time he was with my team in France, he never told me that he had a picture with my jersey.

00:19:45
Speaker 6: And when he got drafted by the Spurs, they showed the photo, showed the photo, and I was like, this guy is amazing.

00:19:50
Speaker 12: He never told me, you never never said anything, never showed me the picture.

00:19:54
Speaker 6: It's amazing.

00:19:55
Speaker 12: And so now I feel like it was destiny, you know, for him to play with the Spurs and to play at that level. He's amazing. I think he's going to be the face of the league. And maybe two years to three years.

00:20:07
Speaker 1: Is going to take that long.

00:20:08
Speaker 6: I'm just trying to be nice.

00:20:10
Speaker 12: I think it's going to happen a lot faster and he's going to be the best player in the NBA. And so we're going to as Spurs fans, you know, we're very lucky and I'm so happy, you know, to have him with the Spurs and hopefully is going to bring a lot of championships.

00:20:23
Speaker 2: Now I think he will be one of the elite players of all time because he has the work ethic, he has the curiosity to expand his game, and he obviously has all those physical skills. Where do you see him ending up long term without you know, borrowing injury?

00:20:36
Speaker 1: Knock on all.

00:20:36
Speaker 12: What's a great question I was going to I was going to say, let's take a side injury, because I think that's the only thing that can stop him, you know, his injury, because we have no example a guy that's all you know, play that long, you know, so, But at the end of the day, I think he's going to finish, you know, with the MJS, Lebron, Tim Duncan you know. I think it's going to be the only thing for him is to win championships now because talent wise, he's already compared to that level. Now you have to bring the championships. That's good, that's how you get compared, you know, in this league. You know, you got to you gotta win rings.

00:21:06
Speaker 1: What do you think of the team they're building around him?

00:21:08
Speaker 6: I like it a lot. I like it a lot.

00:21:10
Speaker 12: I love those quick guards, you know, with Castle and Harper is unbelievable too, is fearless. I like that Fox is clutch too. So now we have a lot of great pieces, you know. So now it will take time, you know, get some experience, and tomorrow is a great test, you know, against the unbelievable OKAC team, So it's a great opportunity to try to try to beat them.

00:21:31
Speaker 2: Nineteen French players in the league this year, that's a record, never been that many, and tim Usa almost lost, almost dethroned by Team Frands in the Olympics.

00:21:41
Speaker 9: Thank you to you think?

00:21:42
Speaker 6: Thank you Steph.

00:21:43
Speaker 1: Yeah, what did you have to say to him after?

00:21:45
Speaker 3: No?

00:21:45
Speaker 6: I was happy. It made me happy. When you have big plays like that, you can only respect that, you can only respect that.

00:21:51
Speaker 1: Well, do you think the next Olympics do you think that's the year for your team?

00:21:54
Speaker 6: I think so.

00:21:54
Speaker 12: I think twenty twenty eight can be a good one for us. You know, it'd be no more Lebron, no more stuff, no more KD you know.

00:22:00
Speaker 6: So we're going to.

00:22:01
Speaker 1: Have to wait them out.

00:22:02
Speaker 12: Yeah, we we'll see, because the Uys they going to come with a lot of talent too. So but France, you know, nineteen players, like you said, as a record, and we're on a great wave right now. Everything is going positive for the French team. So if all those guys you know they can have a role in their team and play well and Victor being healthy. Yeah, I like all chances in twenty twenty.

00:22:24
Speaker 2: Eight and all inspired by Tony Parker congratulating.

00:22:28
Speaker 6: Honor, Thank you, thank you, thank you.

00:22:30
Speaker 2: Up next, Blake Griffin. The adjustment to the job you have now with Amazon. It's tough because you have to know when you're telling the truth that some times guys don't want to hear out of your mouth, your friends, and you know you got to do your job too. You had a moment earlier this season when you're talking about John Moran and you just laid it out there.

00:22:49
Speaker 1: How hard is that for you to balance in your head?

00:22:52
Speaker 7: Yeah?

00:22:52
Speaker 13: I think early on I sort of made a conscious effort to really like look at it from like a true basketball perspective. We understand that people are going to misshots. We understand that you're going to have bad days or bad games. Lack of effort is always like one that I think needs to be talked about. And I said it, but I love watching Job Morant play, So it's almost like selfishly you're saying like, come on, I want you to this is what I want you to do, because you can do things that nobody else can do, and most importantly, I don't want to see guys waste it, you know, Like I think, I think when I look back at my career, I look back and I'm like, man, I'm at least proud that, like I when I was out there, like I gave as much as I possibly could. You know, injuries or whatever, you know, things that are out of your control happened, but you know, you try to try to try to represent yourself in the best manner.

00:23:48
Speaker 2: A lot of attention also, of course, on what you said about Chris Paul when you were sitting there thinking about Okay, I know I got to go on TV tonight.

00:23:55
Speaker 1: I know I got to say something. What went through your mind?

00:23:58
Speaker 13: Or did you just speak from the I mean I truly did just speak from the herd. I talked to Chris and I said that I talked to people in the Clippers organization too, But I think for me, you know, you do have to separate your personal bias, and I think for me, I said, it was just kind of disappointed, you know, because Chris and I and even DeAndre like we look at the Clippers as like an organization that like that's sort of it's home, you know what I mean.

00:24:27
Speaker 7: We spent the huge chunk.

00:24:28
Speaker 13: Of our careers there and we are proud of you know, I don't want to speak for them, but I'm very proud of what we did, even though we weren't able to, you know, win a championship. So you never want to see a place that you consider sort of home. And you know, I walk around l A and people come up to me and they say they're Clipper fans, Like it means a lot to me, you know, I feel like I feel I feel a closen sort of connection to Clipper fans. So it's disappointing, you know. I felt like a I felt like a.

00:24:55
Speaker 6: Parent, you know, like, hey, I'm not so much mad, just disappointed.

00:25:00
Speaker 1: I said, he hit him with you.

00:25:01
Speaker 6: I'm not bad.

00:25:02
Speaker 1: I'm disappointed.

00:25:02
Speaker 13: It's literally how I felt. It was like, yeah, it was just disappointed.

00:25:07
Speaker 2: Well, the fact that you're able to speak your mind, I think has has gotten a lot of people excited about your Amazon Prime stints.

00:25:13
Speaker 1: So congratulations.

00:25:14
Speaker 2: Up next Spurs All Star guard dearon Fox, your team.

00:25:18
Speaker 1: Hasn't been your team yet. I think injuries. If this guy's gone out, this guy's gone out. You were out for a while, But how do you feel like the chemistry is shaping up for this year?

00:25:25
Speaker 7: I mean, I think it's going well.

00:25:26
Speaker 14: I think the past you know, week or so, since we've gotten Stepp back, it's continuing to build. And you know, we want some games.

00:25:33
Speaker 7: So it's always easy.

00:25:34
Speaker 1: You want some game, I want we want some game.

00:25:36
Speaker 14: It's easy to build chemistry, especially when you winning games. But obviously we're going to be excited to have back.

00:25:40
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, there is a feeling of like, oh, this team has to take baby steps. You know, they haven't want to play round at the playoffs yet they haven't all that.

00:25:48
Speaker 1: It feels like y'all are fast forwarding past that.

00:25:50
Speaker 2: You guys are being named as, oh, this is a team that could be in the conference finals or who knows what else.

00:25:54
Speaker 14: I mean, we have we have so much talent in that locker room. Yeah, we have a lot of guys who are young. But you have a talented group, you kind of it's easier to go through those growing pains when you're still winning some games.

00:26:05
Speaker 7: So obviously we don't.

00:26:06
Speaker 14: Feel like like we're just gonna, you know, go into every game and just cake walk and win. But we know that we have the talent to do so. And whenever we're executing and we're you know, sticking to whatever our game plan is, and we go out there and we play to the best of our abilities as individuals and as a team, we know that we always give ourselves a chance to win.

00:26:26
Speaker 2: I think, I mean, I'm around basketball for multiple decades and I have never seen anyone like Victor. For you, you see him in so many more situations than we do in the general public. What's the craziest thing you've seen him do in a practice or just that no one else has seen?

00:26:40
Speaker 14: Just one practice, he like jumps out of pump, fake turns around, still blocks it, gets it comes down.

00:26:45
Speaker 5: Shoot to pull up through like it's and it doesn't.

00:26:49
Speaker 7: Obviously we see it.

00:26:50
Speaker 14: A lot of a lot, a lot of days, a lot of practices, but it's it'll never be normal to see the things that he does. And like just the god giving gifts that he was given, he takes advantage of it. But he works so hard, Like he doesn't just wake up every day and like I can do this and I just do it. Like he wakes up every day and he still works on his craft he wants to be as perfect as possible.

00:27:11
Speaker 2: No, I mean he's like on monk wellness retreats, he's playing chess in the park.

00:27:15
Speaker 14: I like came in Facillity in the summer and he was like, yeah, I'm about to go to China. I'm like, we're going to China for its like we're gonna work with He's gonna work out.

00:27:23
Speaker 8: With some monks.

00:27:24
Speaker 1: I'm like, did you think he was serious?

00:27:27
Speaker 7: Yes?

00:27:27
Speaker 14: I thought he was serious because it came from him.

00:27:29
Speaker 7: Yeah, I knew he was serious.

00:27:31
Speaker 14: But and then you start seeing like the pick because he didn't send us pictures, but you start seeing pictures onlines, Like I thought he was serious. But like even even when you see it, it's like, wow, he really did go do that, So I actually, yeah, it's it's wild. But like you, like, he takes every even like obviously with the blood clots last year, like he he takes obviously basketball seriously. But he really appreciates life. And I think that more so was the reason that he did it outside of like just.

00:27:57
Speaker 7: For a basketball reason.

00:27:58
Speaker 14: I think he just he really Appreh's life, and I think that's why he wants to go through you know, the journeys that he did.

00:28:03
Speaker 2: You so pointedly wanted to go to this team. This was the team that you wanted to be in. Was it because you envisioned kind of what started unfolding here?

00:28:10
Speaker 14: Yeah, I mean obviously playing against that the team last year and it's kind of seeing how things.

00:28:16
Speaker 7: Could play out.

00:28:16
Speaker 14: I felt like I could come here and help this team kind of, you.

00:28:19
Speaker 2: Know, I mean I was saying, I was like, if I was a guard for I would be like I'd like to be there.

00:28:23
Speaker 1: I'd like to be there. I'd like to be with that guy.

00:28:25
Speaker 14: Yeah, definitely, Like and that's what it was. I saw what they were building. I felt like I could help push that forward. So you know, things got done.

00:28:32
Speaker 2: And leadership wise, I mean, you've such a great voice in the locker room. Everyone is talking of just about how you've because you're the right age, right, You're they understand someone your age is supposed to someone really old like myself.

00:28:43
Speaker 14: I'm not like super UK or anything, and like I'm still at the point where I have the ability to.

00:28:48
Speaker 7: Do these things.

00:28:49
Speaker 1: So but you but you've been there, You've been Yeah.

00:28:52
Speaker 14: Yeah, definitely, and and and that's that's I think the great thing about our group. Like, like I said, we have so much talent, we have youth, but guys are willing to listen, guys are willing to learn, and I think that's what makes us such a special group.

00:29:01
Speaker 2: All right, well, thanks uncle to be Darren Fox, thank you super coming up, Josh Hart.

00:29:08
Speaker 1: Before we get into any basketball.

00:29:09
Speaker 2: Questions, I have to ask something way more important. Does Mitchell Robinson have permission to babysit your children?

00:29:16
Speaker 1: Because it certainly looked like that on the bench the other day.

00:29:19
Speaker 5: Yeah, no, hell no, that was out of a dire necessity. You know, obviously if you could probably figure out, I didn't think I was going into the game, but nineteen seconds stuft, we were, we were I think up six Uh you know they they started coming back.

00:29:34
Speaker 1: So just shove that kid into his lap.

00:29:37
Speaker 10: Yeah.

00:29:37
Speaker 5: I felt bad when I saw it. It was kind of you know, it's funny. I saw Mitch's reaction, my little man probably flying around. Yeah, man, mate, all player in the next year, I don't bring bring them to the bench and tell y'all like twenty or something.

00:29:50
Speaker 2: I mean, you had more trustworthy teammates with young children. I'm just saying older guys.

00:29:54
Speaker 5: Yeah, but no of them, none.

00:29:56
Speaker 1: Of them get none of them get those.

00:29:58
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's tough.

00:30:00
Speaker 5: I don't maybe one or two, maybe maybe the ogs, but not.

00:30:04
Speaker 2: Og is really how I would say it, exactly all right, tell me about how the team is rounding in the shape. Obviously a little bit of adjustment getting used to a new head coach. But it feels like by this point you're getting into that second third of the season that you'all are really hitting your strength.

00:30:16
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, obviously it takes you.

00:30:18
Speaker 7: You know, it takes you a while.

00:30:19
Speaker 5: And you know, the thing I learned about being in this league obviously is my ninth year. You know, it takes a minute. And you know, sometimes the first ten to fifteen games isn't I would say, it doesn't fully give you the scope up what a team is or what they're going to be. So, you know, we knew we had to make sure we stayed the course. You know, believe in each other. And I'll just go out there and hoop.

00:30:47
Speaker 2: You guys are on fire as a starting five with you in the lineup, I believe you guys are eight and one best net rating in the league as that's starting five.

00:30:54
Speaker 1: What's working so well? Right now.

00:30:56
Speaker 5: I just think we have guys that can do a little bit of everything. Guys that can knockdown shots, facilitate, get the room, obviously defend, but think we've been defending at a really high level and being able to push it and get out of transition. So, you know, much love to all those guys, and you know you got to keep building, all right.

00:31:15
Speaker 2: Michael Bridge is playing the way we always knew that he could. How would you describe him? Since you know him so well, is he still a little bit iffy in your mind?

00:31:22
Speaker 10: Ers?

00:31:22
Speaker 2: He's done?

00:31:23
Speaker 6: No, he's all Star.

00:31:24
Speaker 7: That's how I described it.

00:31:26
Speaker 1: You're gonna give me a fun little no.

00:31:27
Speaker 6: No, No, he's an all Star.

00:31:29
Speaker 5: He's playing at the level both sides of the ball. Obviously offensively knocking out shots, shooting a good percentage, defensively taking the challenge being our point of a tech defender.

00:31:39
Speaker 7: Yeah.

00:31:39
Speaker 5: So the only thing I could really say to describe him as all Star.

00:31:44
Speaker 6: Yeah, appreciate all right.

00:31:45
Speaker 1: Thanks, sayin's one of the most plugged in men in the universe. To what is going on in the NBA.

00:31:50
Speaker 2: You've been on top of so many stories lately, But I want to ask you a little bit about the hottest one.

00:31:55
Speaker 1: Do you think Janna sent to Koopo will still be with the Bucks after the trade deadline?

00:31:59
Speaker 15: That's really tough, tough question, so being the fact that he's out for up to a month, right, So, I want to see how the Bucks are going to handle that period without him. Right had a nice win yesterday against the Boston Celtics. Can they sustain that? Because ultimately, if they falter throughout this period, I can see a situation, you know, when Giannis comes back where it might be best for both sides to move on in part ways. But with that being said, I think the best way that I can answer that right now is that it would be very telling on how the Bucks fare during this portion without them.

00:32:35
Speaker 2: You've reported that you know he had an interest in New York at one point. Do you think that he still has that strong interest in the Knicks if he decides to.

00:32:43
Speaker 1: Go somewhere else.

00:32:44
Speaker 15: I think the Knicks have interests in the honest I think I asked.

00:32:51
Speaker 10: I'm gonna get to it. I'm gonna get to it. I think the Nicks has strong interest.

00:32:55
Speaker 1: I don't you know, I know all the tricks.

00:32:58
Speaker 15: Yeah, I think the buying meat. I mean, he have interests in Jannis, the Golden State. Wards have had interests for Janni's for a long time, San Antonio Spurs. The list will go on on Minnesota Timberwolves, and so ultimately I think for Giannis, wherever he lands, I think preferably it will you know, I think he would like to have some son. He'll like to be probably in a in a big market. Outside of that, he just wants to be on a team where he could compete for a content, for a championship. He's been very adamant about that being a main priority for him the duration.

00:33:30
Speaker 7: Of his career.

00:33:31
Speaker 2: Do you think though he is going to say my first choice is to go to the next or you're not hearing that he's going to be that vocal about things.

00:33:38
Speaker 15: It's hard to say that now because like if you would ask me this this summer, I wouldn't say yeah.

00:33:41
Speaker 10: I think he would have said the Knicks will probably be his first option.

00:33:44
Speaker 15: But as of right now, you can't really dictate to the next you know, in season right now, so that makes it more complicated. But you know, I think when it gets to that point, because he still has not officially asked for a trade. There's been numerous conversations that they've had or his representatis I've had, and they've been talking about Okay, now, what if such, if this keeps playing out this way, what's gonna happen?

00:34:06
Speaker 10: What are you going to do?

00:34:07
Speaker 15: So, you know, I talked to him last week and he told me, he said, I can't control what the front office is doing. My main focus is to get back on the court. That if I'm with the Bucks, I'm.

00:34:16
Speaker 10: With the Bucks.

00:34:17
Speaker 7: He said.

00:34:17
Speaker 15: If the front office decides to do something else, I'll worry about then.

00:34:21
Speaker 2: All Right, you're also been super plugged in on Chris Paul. You spoke to Chris Paul. I think you're the only one I've heard of who had a real conversation with him about what was going on. How sort of just still dazed is he? And what do you think his next move.

00:34:35
Speaker 1: Is going to be?

00:34:35
Speaker 15: Yeah, your first question. You know, he's still shocked about how everything went down. You know, he felt like there were people in the organization that he called friends, and at the end of the day, he doesn't felt like they lived up to that label. Towards the end of his tenure there with the Clippers so very much. Still is shocking all but he's working out every day. He's working out every day. You know, when I call him, he's in the weight room or he's you know, he's at his court on playing with his son, and so he's you know, they have been payingful of teams that have reached out and want to see what he's trying to do.

00:35:13
Speaker 10: So he'll have some options. He'll have some options.

00:35:15
Speaker 15: Now the last question was the last question he said, you know, at the end of the day, when it comes to Chris Paul, I don't see him ending it like that.

00:35:25
Speaker 10: I don't see him going out like that.

00:35:26
Speaker 15: I do expect him to return at some point during the season and finish out his NBA career the right way.

00:35:32
Speaker 1: Where would you like to see him?

00:35:34
Speaker 15: I personally like to see him Okay, see I personally like to see him in New Orleans.

00:35:40
Speaker 10: You know, those are teams he's had ties with.

00:35:41
Speaker 2: At least there would be some emotional ties still for that last.

00:35:44
Speaker 10: Year's tour of emotional ties.

00:35:46
Speaker 15: And you know, some people say the Phoenix Sons, but I looked at the Sun's schedule.

00:35:51
Speaker 10: They don't go back to the Clippers.

00:35:53
Speaker 1: You need a team to play the Clippers.

00:35:54
Speaker 15: Again, that's what you need at their place, you know, to it though, So I think New Orleans passes that test.

00:36:01
Speaker 10: Okay, see passes that test.

00:36:03
Speaker 15: So again it's going to be up to him, you know, and win too, you know, so he'll he'll he'll have a shot.

00:36:10
Speaker 6: All right.

00:36:10
Speaker 2: There are some media hoops games that goes on at events like the NBA Cup, like the NBA Finals, you always seem to farewell.

00:36:17
Speaker 1: I want to know who your NBA media.

00:36:19
Speaker 2: Is starting five is. We've got Tim McMahon over there. I know he plays a lot. What do you got who's your starting five?

00:36:24
Speaker 10: Why did you mention Tim as if I'm going to mention him in.

00:36:26
Speaker 1: My starting I know that he's usually in those games.

00:36:29
Speaker 2: There's some pretty serious media games that I do not play in because I am a smart person.

00:36:34
Speaker 1: But I want to know who you're starting five is. The media members. They don't have to be here in this.

00:36:38
Speaker 15: Book, okay, all right, we're talking about currently or in their prime whenever you know when they were able to go in the prime. In the prime, okay, myself first and foremost, Mark Spears in their prime.

00:36:50
Speaker 10: I didn't get to see Chris Bussar, but they said, Chris, you could do it.

00:36:54
Speaker 15: Yeah, Casey out there in Chicago, I heard the hoop again.

00:36:58
Speaker 10: That's a different eraror that's not my era.

00:37:00
Speaker 1: Kcy Johnson covers the Chicago Bulls.

00:37:02
Speaker 10: Yeah, that's four in my fifth. I'm gonna exclude a lot of people.

00:37:06
Speaker 15: People probably gonna be pissed at me, but I need a shootter he I'm gonna penetrator.

00:37:09
Speaker 10: I like the fine guys open. I'm gonna go with Damon menimom oh.

00:37:13
Speaker 1: Okay, well that's good. Give him a loaf to tape. I like that. All right, your old running mate, all.

00:37:18
Speaker 10: Right, and Rachel six six man, six women.

00:37:22
Speaker 1: Equipment manager, something like that. I'm five foot four.

00:37:26
Speaker 10: It don't matter.

00:37:27
Speaker 1: It does matter. I promise you I have tried to doesn't It doesn't matter.

00:37:31
Speaker 10: Dave's not posting you up. I guarantee you that is true.

00:37:34
Speaker 1: But some of the other folks you mentioned, thank you, Kritain.

00:37:37
Speaker 10: It's all Rachel