Best of NBA News Part 1: LeBron JOINS the SIXERS! + NBA INVESTIGATING the Bucks + Giannis ALREADY praising Erik Spoelstra

24:29because at the end of the day, if Embiid ain't healthy, they don't look like no championship team. You know what I mean? But the question – oh, go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead, Smoot. I'm saying, like, with all that firepower, does it give him ammunition to be able to kind of chill into, like, the back end of the season to be able to have a playoff push? Because he actually – he knocked Boston out by itself for real, for real. Yeah, I know. You know you can't stop and be, bro. No, true. So, yeah, when healthy. Bron play his role. He going to facilitate. He going to make, you know, Maxie, Edgecombe, Brown.

25:11Them guys are going to score. I don't think Bron going to come in there. He ain't trying to come in there with no 25. He'll probably settle for about 18 or 20 at night with about 8 or 9 assists. But I think it's more of the control that he'll be able to have with this young running and gunning team. It's like putting him back there as a quarterback, bro. Like you, Maxie, he going to be out there like a baby AI. You can do like kind of how New York done with Cat and Brunson. They took the ball out of Brunson's hand, played through Cat. He just, Brunson just kind of came off picks, came off screens, and was a score.

25:43I can see Maxie in there. I can see Edge come trying to be a lockdown defender. How mad would you be if you Edge come, though? You just came off an average and damn near 17. Now they telling you 3 and D. I don't, hey, listen, listen. Listen, but hold up, though. But hold up, hold up, hold up, smooth and teak. I ain't necessarily, if I'm Edgecombe, I ain't necessarily mad. You know what I mean? At worst case, we're going to have him for two years. Now, this is a learning tool list that I can go. He can take me on this wing. I can learn from all these great players that I'm surrounded by. Because, hell, I still got another 13, 14, 15 years to play in the league.

26:20It ain't like he ain't going to get his money when it's time for him. He's going to get his money. I just think they have a window. and everybody talking about LeBron ring chasing. I think he's found an opportunity to where he can continue his legacy. You think back, I thought he was going to go back to Miami, fellas. I ain't going to lie. But then once I started thinking about it, hell, LeBron trying to make history, bro. He want to be the one player to win a championship for four different franchises. Nobody has done that. Hell, probably nobody will ever do it. You know what I mean? Considering the fact that every night, bro, every point he scored goes down in the books, in history books, because he's the leading scorer.

26:56So he finna put this thing so far to reach. It probably won't even be in our lifetime, fellas, for somebody to catch him. I'm just going to keep it real. Nah, it's over with. I don't think nobody ever catch him. They had to make, like, somebody had to hit 600 threes in a season or something crazy. Like, they got to be doing something like we ain't never seen that we ever thought would happen. But I'm just, if I'm Vijay, because I played on y 'all team. And when I came and I wouldn't get no shots, no touches, because I was hot. So if I'm him, I average 16 as a rookie. I'm looking to be like a 22-point scorer as a second-year player.

27:31Like, I'm looking to, like, move up. And now Bron and JB come? That'd be my shots go to dang near half. I'm going to eight shots a game. I'm hot, bro. And you got Anthony Simons on the bench. And you bring KCP in for another 3 and D guy. So if I'm not playing well, I know them two dudes. They seasoned veterans. They ready to lock in. They trying to win a chip. I'm hot if I'm him. I ain't going to lie. Oh, yeah. You're going to. But how hard do you think LeBron going to play during the regular season with that salary base? Or smooth. I think he's going to compete because, like I said, man, his legacy is still going to be great regardless of the situation, but I think he wants to add to it.

28:15You know what I mean? Everybody talking about how he's chasing Bron and this, that, and third. I don't think it's that. I think he has another way he's going to put his stamp on the game. I mean, he's already a first ballot legend, arguably the best player to ever play. Check this out. It's one assistant coach has had some doubts about how LeBron and Joel Embiid will fit together on the Sixers. He said, it's scary. It can be unstoppable or it can be hard to watch. The unnamed coach told Mark Medina, I think that's his name. He said, they're both slow and old. and when you get tired and drain the clock and you're methodical and isolating, you know, every time down court and everybody's just standing around and watching, you say you're going to end up falling down behind because they're so old.

29:05I don't agree with that because they have some youth on that Sixers team that can obviously, even if Bruin and Embiid miss a couple games, them boys can carry them, man. They got JB, one of them. JB top 10 in the league. Tyrese Maxey arguably could be top 10 in the league. So they got two guys over there that's capable to take over, to beat a guy. So I ain't worried about them scoring. But to win a championship, you got to have Bron and a B playing at a high level. You do, bro. You do. You do. And you look at JB, he's going to be looking to put his stamp on the game. He's going to be looking to prove guys wrong because of how the Celtics got rid of him.

29:48So I think when you got guys who come into the season determined and determined to make a case and show people up, like this veteran team that they have, I think the sky's the limit, bro. You can't rule out Philly, bro. They going to be there. How y 'all feel about Miami? I know you running the show, Joe. My fault. No, no, no. Go ahead. Go ahead. My fault, man. What do you think about Miami? Oh, man. I think they need more shooting for sure. I'm trying to figure out how that Bam and Giannis situation works. And, you know, I want to, you know, when you've been in a situation like how Giannis has been, where you've been a man that you had 100 % of control of everything, pretty much like how you want to move and stuff.

30:37And, you know, Miami is a little different. Yeah. So it's going to be interesting to see how all that works down there. Yeah, I think Miami going to be pretty good. Obviously, they're not done. I think they're going to add a few more pieces. They definitely need some shooting. Everything. What do they have at point guard? They got the little Davion Mitchell kid. Yeah. They going to be able to guard. Oh, yeah. They going to be able to guard. They going to be a good defensive team. They going to be able to – people going to be running two, three zone on them? Nah, they ain't going to be running zone, but they're going to be trapping boxing elbows on Giannis.

31:20It's going to be different, bro. I ain't going to lie to y 'all, though, but that's where I thought Brown was going to end up going so he could kind of really facilitate and play that point guard role. But hell, with no shooting, Giannis and Bam, I know Bam can shoot and he can score, but it's just hard when you don't really know who's going to take care of the ball handling duties in Miami if you bring LeBron in with Giannis, like, that's a lot. Plus, you ain't got the shooting that you need. You know what they're going to do? They're going to go back to how they was playing when Bron and D-Wade first got there.

31:53Remember they was hedging ball screens? Yeah. They're going to start hedging ball screens, trapping ball screens. They was doing all that crazy stuff. They're going to be doing that again with Bam and Giannis at the 4-5. What? Giannis is going to be motivated to do that, though. Yeah. Oh, yeah. New senior. Yeah. Look, man, y 'all know Pat run a tight ship over there. If you don't know, I'm here to tell you. He run a tight ship, weight and body fat every Friday. So don't you think you're going to be out there eating them Zuzuz and Wham-Whams and come in and compete? He ain't having that. The one thing you ain't got to worry about is Giannis, because, hell, he stay in elite shape.

32:27You just got to hope he stay healthy throughout the season. And this is what I always tell Kaz, bro. You know, during the regular season, y 'all know this. You can coast through the regular season. But, boy, when you get in the postseason and the game and they game planning for you and you got to exert all this energy, every possession, it's a huge difference, bro. It is not the same. It is not the same.

32:56I know we talked a bit about MV. My thing is, do y 'all think he'll hold them back? Like, considering the fact, I mean, think about this. Last year when he didn't play, I thought Maxie and Edgecombe was at their best. I ain't going to lie to you. The way they got up and down the floor, the way they played together, the way it looked like they were having fun, that's the only problem that I have with Bron going to Philly because everything revolves around Joel Embiid. Because think about it. If he's not playing, hell, that's going to hurt you. But if he ain't healthy and he's laboring up and down the court, I mean, what good is it going to be?

33:35Can you really depend on him in an 82-game season? and then hell, we know how everything revs up in the postseason. Like, can you really count on him to be healthy and be there for this sixer team? Tell me what you're giving y 'all thoughts, bro. Do y 'all think Embiid really going to, is he going to be that factor that they need him to be to be able to compete for a title? You got it, Smooth. I mean, if he's healthy. But I don't like, I think that they building this team to kind of like have pieces missing during the regular season. So I think this is a playoff-built team. I don't think that they're going to do a lot of wear and tear with Joel Embiid.

34:22Whatever they know about his knees, they know it. So I think they're going to take more precaution. I think when he rests and plays, he's a better player. and like so I'm trying to figure out like do you really play him a lot in the regular season? You mean make him play limited minutes? Like limited minutes, sometimes miss games, you know what I'm saying? Maybe play half the season. Dang. What you thinking, T? Because I'm just thinking about the rhythm though. Yeah, yeah. I'm with you on that too, though. I'm with you on that too. And like Joe said, it takes, like you said, you got to throw the ball to him.

35:12Like you got to post him. You have to post him. You got to have him at the top of the key with the ball. So I think those other guys can move the ball well, but LeBron wants the ball in his hands too. So how does that work? Like he wants the ball. He wants to be able to dictate the offense and facilitate to him as well. So how does that work as far as like, and I'm not saying, like you said, I don't think LeBron is tripping about scoring because it's a lot of young guys on the team. He's working out with Tyrese Maxey right now. They've been in the gym together. Yeah. I don't think he's necessarily concerned with that type of burden on his hands, but I definitely think he does want to play kind of like a Magic Johnson role with his team.

35:58So you're saying, excuse me, Brown want to play more of a Magic Johnson role, and he don't want to have to toe the weight of that trying to score 25, 24 a night. You know, he just want to be able to magic that thing, get him 10, 12 assists, 18 points. Yeah, what do you think of 10? Maybe he wants to get up and down a little more too. with this team. Yeah, I keep thinking, like, we keep forgetting about, like, now we're not forgetting about him, but Jalen Brown, he coming from almost averaging, what, 28, 29 points a game? One of the best players in the league last year. Yeah, we got to factor in, he still got to be Jalen Brown.

36:39Like, he can't be taking a backseat to nobody. Tyrese Maxey, he had his best when he's scoring. So I'm trying to figure out, we know Joel Embiid going to miss time. Who's the backup center? They lost Drummond. They got Boner. Boner, that hard playing, high energy cat. Yeah, but like, y 'all living with y 'all rolling? I mean, look, when you got JB, him and Maxie probably top five in the NBA in fast break points. For sure. Here's my thing. That's my only problem. It's like, I don't want to see Philly get bogged down trying to throw at the NBA every other damn play. And you get them guys out of sync to where they're not even, you know, engaged in the game.

37:23You know, they ain't really getting no easy looks. I think these young guys, Edgecombe, Maxie, and even JB, they going to thrive off defense, steals, and transition. If they ain't able to do that, bro, it's going to be hard for them to win. You know, we walking the ball over the court every day. I think we just going to have to rely on that for sure. What's that? Steals and transition. I think JB going to get some plays in the half court. like because you got BJ was playing super well until Paul George got back and then he had to take a backseat to Paul George a little bit so I'm just like he is a he is a he is a piece a valuable piece but like like T said one of them one of them guys are gonna are gonna get they're gonna get the sharp end of the sword and it's probably gonna be him and you know what you probably right to a degree but I feel like they all, to some extent, T, they all going to have to sacrifice.

38:23Yeah, of course. And JB ain't going to average no damn 28. Maxie ain't going to average no 28. I know what you said about Edgecombe. If you're averaging 16, 17, you want to build on that, especially as a young player. Maybe you stay there but take your efficiency up. Yeah. I just don't think Bron going to be a problem. My only concern, I'm telling y 'all, my only was MB, bro. I just want to know where his mindset is, what type of shape he's going to come into. And with JB and Bron really taking care of themselves so much, like on as far as health-wise and playing in games, I hope Joel Embiid follows suit.

39:00I hope he rubs off on him to where he gets back to being that dominant center. He ain't got an average no damn 25, 30. But you want him to be efficient, and you want him to be assertive. You want him to be the mismatch. I'm telling you. I don't know if y 'all seen the reports where he said him and Bron had a real, they met up, had a one-on-one. Because think about it, if you Bron, bro, you got to know what this man thought process is. Is he even trying to get up out of here? Does he want to even be here? I know he's making a lot of money. I think it's money kicking in this year, so it's going to be hard to trade him.

39:32So I think they're going to be able to figure this thing out. I think all those guys are going to really have to take somewhat of a backseat if they want to be a great team. And I can just tell y 'all this, bro. I remember playing in Phoenix, and the year before we got Nash and Quentin Richardson. We wasn't no damn playoff team. We were trapped, but I was out there getting money, Teague and Smooth. I was out there getting money. You hear me? So when they said that they were bringing in Nash and Quentin Richardson, I didn't really know what to expect. You know what I mean? I probably averaged, I think I averaged 18 points in the regular season and 20 in the postseason.

40:11Now, I'm your fourth or fifth option. Hell, you ain't got that in the NBA no more. Ain't no fourth or fifth option in the NBA averaging no 18 or 20 points a game. I'm playing with the MVP. I'm playing with three bona fide all-stars in Steve Nash, Amari Stoudemire, and Sean Marion. You have to find a way to be effective, meaning be more efficient. I probably shot 50-something from the field. I was second. Well, I was number one in the NBA in three-point percentages that year. and Quentin Richardson led the NBA in three-point makes. So it's like you got to really lock in. I'm like, damn, we got a pass first point guard and Steve Nash who probably could have averaged it.

40:51If you just want to beat 100, he could have averaged 22, 24 a game. That man settled for 16 a night and 13 assists. You see what I'm saying? Like if you get you a situation like that to where you get a guy who really comes in and make everybody around him better, and I think that's what LeBron does, man, the sky's the limit for that team, bro, because they not lacking nothing. But y 'all ain't had Joel Embiid, though. We had Amari, though. We had him like, hey, Amari was a dog team. No disrespect to Amari, but he a pick-and-roll player. And this is the thing. So if you got two guys like Amari and Steve Nash running pick-and-roll, and then you got the top three-point shooter, Make, and Quinn Richardson, and the top three-point percentage in me, you have to give up something.

41:42It's like, okay, boom, we going to stay home. Hell, Mario got 50 points with 10 dunks. You see what I'm saying? Yeah, but they don't got that. But what I'm saying is, if Embiid is right, bro, he can fill that void. That can be his role. I ain't saying he going to score 30 a night. But when he out there, y 'all know that man hard to stop, bro. Yeah, for sure. But you got to throw the ball to Embiid at the top of the key. And he can get two to play him. He can get a double team. He can kick it out. Guys going to have open shots. But that's not JB game. JB ain't a catch and shoot player. He can make threes.

42:22He's not a catch and shoot player. Maxie can make threes. But I like the ball of Maxie's hand creating. I do too. DJ Eskimo, he can make a three. But he a slasher. He can hit a three. Bron, he shot 31 % last year. He can make a three. you know what's gonna have to happen they gonna have to be a dog defensively bro i'm keeping real because think about this offensive scores i know i know but you got you got to you got jb who a two-way guy i think eskimo can eventually be a two-way guy i don't think maxi bad at defending i just think hell he loves going to ball that's just what it is you know what i mean i think mb can still go to a degree yeah i don't think you know you switch him out there on one of these little point guards or something.

43:09You know, he can slide his puppy for a step or two, but at some point, he probably but I just think Bron play from the shoulders up. You know what I mean? Like mentally, he's so far ahead of all these young dudes. Y 'all got to think, man, a lot of these cats wasn't even born here who he finna be playing against. You know what I'm saying? So, I always think Bron gonna have a mental edge and I just think Philly, if staying healthy, everything comes down to health. man, they got a great chance to do something special. Y 'all know how them fans are in Philly. I don't know. It ain't too many more bananas.

43:41Huh? Who the top eight in the East? Top eight in the East? Yeah, who the top eight? Like if you had to say preseason. I'm going to probably go. Not ranked from one to eight. Okay, I'm going to go. I'm going to go. Who you going to? Detroit. I got some names for y 'all. We just did this the other day. We got Miami. Yeah. We got Sixers. Yeah. You got Celtics. You got Detroit. You got Hawks. You got Cleveland. You got Cleveland. Now, I was going to ask you about Cleveland. Who said Knicks? You got Knicks. Knicks, the best team in the East. You got like a solid nine teams. Because Charlotte. There's seven right there.

44:18Yeah, you still got Charlotte. You still got Washington. Two teams there. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. What about Orlando? What about Orlando? You still got Orlando. You think Charlotte going to make some noise, T? I like Charlotte, bro. They got a good team. I know LaMelo was the star, but for some reason, I like what they built in Knutpo. I think Brandon Miller going to have a really, really good year. Kobe White was solid for them this year. He's going to enter the starting row. I just think they got a good group. Don't be surprised, man. Don't be surprised. No, I like him. They got some hardworking guys over there too.

44:53Diabate, that's his name. I like him. He play hard. He play hard as shit. I just think Kobe White was so great in coming over from their trade from Chicago. That's why they were able to get rid of LaMelo. I thought LaMelo created value for himself. And if y 'all want me to be honest, I don't really think they were that high on LaMelo. You know what I mean? Which is why. They was gentrifying the team. They were gentrifying the team. That's all it was. There's a little justification going on. It's all good. Yeah, yeah. This episode sponsored by Lettuce Financial. Self-employed? Congrats. You fired your boss and hired five new ones.

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47:12We've all been there. We've had seasons that have shaken everything. The question is, what remains when the shaking stops? Hi, I'm Gary Valenciano, and on my podcast, Unshaken with Gary V, I sit down with amazing personalities and we talk about the seasons that nearly broke them, the lows that carried them to their highs. Listen to Unshaken with Gary V on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Michael Rappaport and my podcast, the I Am Rappaport Stereo Podcast, is unlike anyone you've ever heard. We're a variety show and if you're looking for strong opinions, funny opinions about sports, entertainment, politics, pop culture, and whatever else catches my attention, then subscribe now.

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49:36Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

49:50Pat Riley also joked about Bam punching Tyler Hero saying this. And I don't want to get knocked out. Bam was one of those guys who came in here too.

50:07Bam was in 2019, came in here, and he's been basically the foundation of this organization. Hey, what thing about... That's what got everybody upset, Joe. What's got everybody upset? You heard what he said? Yeah. Bam came in here in 2019, and he's been basically the foundation. Yeah. What do reporters say? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Everybody's upset by how they treat Bale. What did Pat Riley just get out of his mouth, Ocho? Yeah. Yeah. Hey, Riles and Spoh, bro, they like that old school style. You know, hey, hey, you say something, I'm going to hit you in your damn mouth. You know what I'm saying?

50:46When I see you. You know what I mean? I ain't saying they condoning it, but at the same time, they don't mind it neither. You feel me? Yeah, yeah. Hey, you see how hard Spoh, you see how hard Spoh never will smile? when Riles said that. Yeah, he glad he did. But you got to realize what Riles brought to the Knicks, what he brought to the Heat, he brought that physicality because there were not a whole lot of teams playing that style of basketball. You had the bad boy Pistons. Yeah. And you had the bad boy Pistons. And people, believe it or not, the Boston Celtics was a physical-ass team. Yeah, yeah.

51:24Yeah. They just wasn't doing stuff like Rodman and Sal and Mahorn and Lambert. But they were a physical-ass team. Now, if it required that, oh, Chiefs swung on Bill Lambert all the time. Byrd swung on him all the time because they say, you know what, you're getting out of pocket here. Yeah, yeah. He'll take it with you. Bop! And punch him dead in his face. Hey, there he is. Hey, hey, hey. You see what Bill Lambert did to Larry Byrd? Yeah. Man, he pump faking it. man, Lambirah laying all his weight on that man. Bird just rolled over and just started punching that man in his face. Yeah, the game was different back then, Ocho.

52:02I'm talking about, hey, you look at somebody wrong. It was a scrap, homie. You hear me? Them boys were throwing blows back then. They said, Bill Lambirah laying on the ground. I'm talking about, did he get ejected? Damn.

52:24Hey, Peter Paul said try it all, boy. Yeah. But Pat, you know, he told you what he thought of Bam, what they think of Bam. He said basically since Bam has been here, he's been the foundational piece. That's what he said. And you, first of all, Ocho, you done played this game enough. Joe, you played this game enough. You know when the coaches and the organization, what they think of certain players. they don't never tell you this, but you see the way they treat this man.

53:02Ain't nothing you could do. Hey, look. There's levels. They can say what they want, but Bam is an elite talent, Uncle Ocho, in the NBA. Considering the fact that 6 '9", 6 '10", can handle the rock, can score the ball, the intangibles, defense, rebound it, he does a lot for your team, bro. So when you surround him with great talent like Spoh and Pat Riley is doing right now, I think you're going to get the best out of that young boy, man. I think you're going to get the best out of him. And plus, you know what they love most? What's that? He come to work every day. Hello. He come to work every day.

53:43Lunch, babe. Ain't no excuses because they don't tolerate excuses. I'm not going to give you an excuse because you might use it. Yeah, there you go. Get the job done. It's really that simple. It's really that matter of fact. And you can appreciate that. Yeah. You can appreciate that.

54:03Y 'all just spoke about Eric Spolster today saying, I just want to be coached hard. I'd rather you tell me the ugly truth than a beautiful lie. I don't want to be sugar-coated. I have a lot of people like that in my life that try to make me feel good. I don't need that. I need the truth. I can apply that to life and the game of basketball. Joe, do you believe Giannis want to be told the truth? Yeah, I do. I think he wants to be coached hard. I think he wants to be told the truth. And if there's holes in his game, where you think he needs to improve and get better, please tell me. I think that's the approach that he's taking.

54:44He understands, man, this is like, you know, rejuvenation for him. Second part of the NBA for him, a whole nother chance. So he's getting an opportunity to create a whole nother legacy from scratch. And I think he wants to get off to a great start. Yeah, I think he is absolutely right. Hey, listen, one thing about Giannis, we ain't got to – that's why it was so puzzling to me to hear those reports coming from Milwaukee, you know, saying how he was laid. He just don't strike me for that type of guy. He looks like the hardest working dude on your team. You know what I mean? And that's what you can respect the most, bro.

55:19and that's why it caught everybody off guard because more people than not thought like you thought. But somebody that was inside, you see, when you get inside information, you're like, God be damned. He had us all food. That's what insider trading do, Ocho. But it's too good to be true. I didn't think this stock was going to do this. I didn't think somebody was going to get this contract. I didn't think they were in merger talks. I be damn. And see, that's when you knew it was over. He had to go. He could never go back in there. Not with Miles Turner. Put it like this here. I'm not saying Giannis had to go, but one of them had to go.

56:02Yeah. You're right. You're right. Because you already know you can't ever do nothing. Joe, if I can't be myself at work, where can I be myself at? Because I'm there all the time. You're on the road. Think about it. 82 games a year. So I'm either coming to the arena or we're on a plane or we're on a bus ride heading to an arena. So I'm around you as much, if not more, than I'm around my own family. If I can't be me, if I can't let my hair down around y 'all, where can I let my hair down at, Ocho? Because I'm guarded everywhere else I go. I go to Target. I'm guarded. I go to the grocery store. I'm guarded.

56:39I'm out in public. I'm guarded. The one place that guys let themselves go is the locker room. On the bus, on the plane, at the arena. That's why you see guys joking, laughing, having fun. If I can't do that, Joe, what am I? What are we doing, Ocho? Hey, it's tough because that's our sanctuary, Ocho. You know, to where we go. Yeah, we talk about different things. We talk about things that we feel like will never get out of this locker room. So for the fact that those reports came out, yeah, if I'm Giannis, hell yeah, I feel a way. You know what I mean? And you're right. You can't bring that back together because I'm side-eyeing buddy the whole time.

57:19Don't say nothing around Ocho because, you know, he talk too much. Matter of fact, it's not only not Giannis being there, the rest of his teammates, now they looking at him funny. I can't trust him. I got to watch what I say around him. I mean, listen, it's messy. I'm not sure at what point where everybody became a chatty patty, especially when it comes to NBA players or NFL players telling some of the things that go on in the locker room, telling, you know, intimate stories that are really for us, only us, you know, outside of that, the quote that Yana said, I think it makes sense, especially for the heat culture and what they're known for, what they've always been known for, how Spoh is, how Pat Riley is.

57:59He's in the right, in the right environment. as far as hearing the ugly truth as opposed to a sweet lie, he going to get exactly what he want. He going to get exactly what he want. Oh, yeah. But here's the problem that he's going to run into. It's a lot easier to hear the truth when you've been told the truth before. When all you've been told is pretty lies, it's tough. When you grow up on the Barney Porter roof, when you get coached by Bill Davis, you get coached by Dan Reeves, somebody tell you it don't even bother you. Barney Porter would make you – I mean, my brother, you heard him told you.

58:40You're talking about a kid, and he made you feel small. He tells us all the time, he said, I'm not going to give you an excuse, because if I give you an excuse, you will use it. Yeah. People think it's easy. When you've done something, the better part of your life, when you've heard something the better part of your life, it's not as easy as you think. People are like, oh, I can just, okay. It sounds good. It really does. But when you messed up and they blamed it on others, because I've been there. Somebody made a mistake and he blamed me. Man, you know damn well. You're right. You're right. You know what I'm saying, Joe and Joe?

59:24You're right. You're right. I'm wrong. I'm wrong. I'm wrong. I'm wrong. My bad.

59:31first of all I wasn't even in the read I wasn't even in the progression but I take that you saw the man throw the ball skip the ball to me now you talking about I'm deep I'm 10 yards he skipped it at 8 I'm 10 the rock calls 10 to 12 but he skipped it at 8 you're right you're right I take that one somebody else made a mistake well you remember hey you go all the way back 10 plays 84 what are you doing here what I got to do with him making a mistake over there I eat it that's on me cause I know what you're trying to do you're coaching them through me knowing that I can take it you got it you right you got it you know what they say they say, well, if coach ain't saying nothing to you, he really don't mess with you, bro.

1:00:31Yeah, man. Well, Dan Reeves must have loved me. He must have thought I was his long, long son because that man mofo'd me and SOB'd me. That man stayed on my head, Joe. Hey, damn, coach. Hey, think about it, though. When you get that type of old school coaching, you see how much of a stain it put on your brain, bro, because you never forget that because coming up, like even though you got to the pros guys was talking to you like that but when I got to college bro I ain't really never heard a coach talk to us the way coach Richardson used to talk to us you know what I mean so when I got to the pros it didn't bother me what coaches got on me you know what I'm saying it didn't bother me if you know I was a rookie and he said oh we gonna sit you for a few games unless some of these other rookies play man I hadn't been through the wars already bro I hadn't been through it already Hey, hey, hey, one thing about it, I was never going to let it waver my love and passion for the game.

1:01:27Okay, Ocho, when I was a rookie, bro, when I was a rookie, it was a moment right before I got traded. I went like 10, 15 straight games, DMPs, not even touching the floor. Like not even, I went from starting, coach was like, look, we're going to get, because I had two other rookies with me, Keedrick Brown, Joe Forte, they both were first round. They had three first round pre-so, it lets you know how good the Celtics were the year before. They wasn't that damn good. Right. So I had created value for myself, but I didn't understand this as a kid, bro. You know what I mean? So they set me. They probably already was working out the trade.

1:02:00They set me for the last 10, 15 games, DMP. And, man, I'll never forget that, bro, like, because it stuck with me. Because when you get traded as a youngster, you don't really get a reason why. You know what I mean? Like, man, pack your shit and get on up out of here. You know what I mean? For real. Yeah. Yep. You right. Right? But the thing is, Joe, like you said, when you're young, and even though Coach Davis had coached me hard my first year, after that I had like, I was the best player. So for my last three years there, I was the best player at Savannah State. Obviously he didn't yell and scream at me.

1:02:33But I go to Denver and Coach Reese, and I remember having this conversation when I went to speak at his home going service, and his wife, Ms. Pam, said, Shannon, Dan thought the world of you. I was like, Ms. Pam, I couldn't tell. I'm glad you filled the blanks here. Man, that man stayed on me, man. Damn. That man stayed on me, stayed on me. Now, there are some, like, as a head coach, now, obviously position coaches, they're probably the hardest on the players, you know, because, I mean, some of those position coaches, man, I'd have had to fight them. Oh, yeah, K.A. Man. Because position coaches, hell, if you don't reach your potential, they kind of probably feel like it's their damn fault.

1:03:19Absolutely. Absolutely. We had a position coach man to do. He told the guy, he was supposed to like, he told him, don't go underneath because this guy's mobile and he'll skate. Yeah. What do you do? Go underneath. Inside, quarterback go outside. Yep, he go underneath, quarterback scrabble, go outside, first down. He did that twice. He's supposed to be on field goal block. Guess what? No, a PAT block. Guess what? He ain't out there. We got 10 men. Down, up, good. Next morning, he say, you know what? He said, I don't really know what's going to happen. But in the coaches meeting this morning, I recommended that we cut you.

1:04:02Damn. Told him just like that. He said, I don't know what's going to happen. but in the coaches meeting I recommended that we cut you oh man back then because they would say things now that you can't say you can't say because you don't own your I mean you might have got some of that in college but they would say hey like lord hey you got to be more PC now you can't say some of the stuff I was like oh my god they're like man I wonder what y 'all be nah you can't put no Man, they bleeped everything out because everything was a curse word. Yeah, yeah. Everything was a curse word. So there was nothing.

1:04:45There was nothing. But you understood it. You understood it. It was a part of the game. They yelled. They screamed. They cursed. They tried to make you better. And that was the only way they knew. Because those old coaches, that's how they coached. That's how they coached. It wasn't no sugar coach. It wouldn't work the day, I think, though. It wouldn't work the day. but one, the first thing the player is doing is No, no, no, no, no, no. The players today, obviously the ones that are really good, they're going to shut down on you and the ones that's not good are going to go snitch. Oh, no, they gone.

1:05:17They leaving. They ain't dealing with that now. Hold on, Joe. Now you got to be one of them ones to be able to get up and go now. Yeah, but what I'm saying is, if you're not in a position and you're not good enough to go, you know, it ain't like you're going to start or play anywhere else either. You got to But my thing is, Ocho, you got a lot of these kids out here, and I'm speaking high school, collegiate. Like, they don't do good with criticism, bro. You know what I'm saying? Like, probably ain't never been criticized. That's tough love. Yeah, yeah. So, look, now when you run into that and you in college and you feel like you're supposed to be better than – like, bro, and it's easier now because I can hit this portal with, you know, and go play for another team right away.

1:06:04They ain't dealing with that. You have to build up to that because early on, I didn't know how to handle it. Because my grandfather could look at me and I'd start crying because it hurt me so bad to disappoint him. My grandma looked at me and they would yell. And I remember my grandma told my grandfather one day he had yelled at me. And she said, Barney, don't yell at me. He's just a little fella. And he looked at a deadpan. He said, Mary, when I tell him something, I need him to understand the seriousness of it because I might not get a second chance. I said, Mary, this boy on a farm with these animals, he's around his equipment, and he might lose an arm, he might lose a leg, and these animals could kill him.

1:06:50So I need him to understand just how important what I'm telling him is. Joe, I'm five. I'm six. I don't know that I'm not supposed to be around a PTO. As I got older, I understood after I saw a man lose his foot. After he got caught in a PTO, Mr. Joe used to tell us, he'd always tell us, Pee Wee, Sundown, don't come up to the back of the machine like this here. Because if you got jeans or something, sure enough, he had some fragile jeans, he came up, the PTO is the power takeoff operator. And so what it does, it powers the entire equipment. He has some fragile jeans. They caught it. He's like, Joe, help me.

1:07:33Joe, help me. After a while, you hear him. He got his foot in his hand, just like this, hopping around. I take off to the barn to go get him. I said, man, Fred just. He's like, Pee-wee, what'd you say? I said, Fred just lost his foot. I said, he came up to talk to Mr. Joe. They got him. They couldn't see him. So that's what he was saying. He said, Mary, I might only get one chance to tell him something. but you know how women are but then when my grandfather died I think my grandmother might especially that first year or so she might have been harder than Papa boy she didn't plan boy at first she would warn you then it came to boy she warned you and she shutting down on you like damn you used to tell us we go hey alright boy sit down now didn't I tell you to sit your black?

1:08:31They talking on every hit. I remember them days, boy. Yeah! You know how it go? Yes. I remember that, boy. You get a lick for every word. And then they beat you for something to happen two weeks ago, Joe. I should have cut your ass two weeks ago. Huh? Joe, what are you talking about? Bang. Bang. Hey. That's trauma, man. That's trauma we all got, boy, from a kid. You hear me? Yeah. Man. And then tell everybody, yeah, you know how to tell that boy ass up until they joke. Huh? Great. Ain't nobody ask you, did you beat me? Ain't nobody ask you that. Yeah. I don't even know why you brought that up.

1:09:17Yeah. Your uncle did that? Yeah, that boy been married. I tore his ass up. Oh, God. We be all in church, Joe. Yeah, you know that boy. Uh-huh. Yeah. He started to smell himself. I had to tell that I tore his ass up. See? Now I want to fight you, Granny, when I get home. Oh, yeah. She going to tell it now. You know she going to tell it. I'm like, Finesse, you know, I want to fight you. But if you start to fight me back and you hit me and I go, oh, oh.

1:09:52And I said, oh, oh. by the old people that play back there, Joe, they hit you with anything. Whatever they can grab. Whatever they can grab. I remember my senior had to go get a switch. You know, trying to be slick. You go get the smallest switch you can find that you think not going to hurt. Oh, yeah. Oh, and you bring it back in there. Oh, so you want to play. Oh, you think it's a game. Don't worry about it. I go get a switch. Come on in here. You sit right there. Man Bell anything Man my aunt My aunt hit my cousin Under the eye with a neck bone Neck bone You see that neck bone Yeah You see that neck bone He said something Yeah

1:10:46Hey listen man That joke had a piece of rice hanging right there Hey I seen it all My auntie My auntie hit her son in the head with a pistol Yeah split him He come cause we used to live across the street We used to live across the street This my aunt Sherry I tell y 'all she was a military lady But she ain't play no game though She put feet hands all on you She don't play But listen he done caught himself catching That's what my oldest uncle was He done caught himself catching fly with her Boy she hit him across the head with that pistol He ran over my house so fast he was hollin' and cryin'. I'm like, damn, what's wrong?

1:11:24And my momma hit me with a pistol. I said. Hey, don't break that heat over here. Get your ass back over there. Hey, that folks done play back then, bro. Oh, man. Hey, it's like a, like what you call them? Like a, on the wash, when they was runnin' down the street. He said, hey, don't break that heat to my house. There you go, yeah. I'm out.

1:11:52I got some news I want to run by y 'all real quick. What did it do? It says LeBron James and ESPN are reportedly nearing the deal on a behind-the-scenes documentary series similar to Michael Jordan's Last Dance. Y 'all think this is last year, even though he signed that two-year deal, bruh? You think he can go four more? Yeah, you said... I'm saying... Who's finalizing the deal? ESPN. ESPN and who else? ESPN is nearing the deal to do a behind-the-scenes documentary on LeBron James, bro, similar to The Last Dance of Michael Jordan. Here's what I'm saying. He signed that two-year deal with Philly.

1:12:32I think he probably only going to play one. Hopefully they win a chip. He out. He done. He win. He done. I'm telling you all that now. He win. He done. That boy ain't going nowhere. I'm going to come on. I think so, too. I think so, too. Think about the effect that The Last Dance had. it was during COVID when it came out. I don't know if y 'all really watched it, boy, but I done watched it through and through. You hear me? I watched it. And it changed how you view Michael Jordan as a competitor, as a Hooper, as our GOAT. You know, everybody got their different GOATs, but LeBron Jordan teaches on.

1:13:06Yes, sir. Man, that man finna do this one. He finna do this documentary. I'm telling y 'all, bro. Philly finna be on fire, man. That's the only thing. I ain't gonna lie. He finna be on fire. And you know what, bro? LeBron's so good, bro. Like, I think we just hold him up to a standard where it's like, bro, okay, he, what, 19 years, almost 20 years in the game. You expect him to do 40, 50 points. But if he's still giving you 25, 30, and you want your young guys to do this, he still got another four years left in him. Even if he just give you 13, 14 in his last two. DC, that man on his 24th season, bro.

1:13:4520 what? 20, he came in at 03. 24? What you were doing at 03, bro? Man, I was graduating from elementary.

1:13:57What? Smooth. Smooth. You know, I'm telling people, DC, check this out. I've been telling Arke Ocho, I'm like, bro, you know, a lot of people who hate on Brian, bro, you're going to regret it because I'm telling you when he gone, he going to be missed, bro. I'm telling you. You're going to miss it. You're going to miss it. 24 years, bro. I'm talking about AAA two decades, over two decades playing at the level that he's playing at DC, we ain't never seen it before I ain't never seen that, and plus watch your son grow up and then you play with your son it's just unfathomable how you do that? how you do that?

1:14:35yeah that's hard still ticking too now you see AAA you see you boy big guy you see how Dakota State still ticking Hey, DC, hey, DC, everybody, they were a little pissed off at Al behind that Magic City night. Ooh, I was mad as hell. Him and that, look, the white boy throwing all kind of wood in his little celebration. He talking about a real little magic. You saw the celebration you were doing when you were throwing them hips in the, and you were throwing all kind of wood. You throwing all kind of wood, but you mad at the Magic City girl. Come on, man. Come on. Stay out of our business, man. Come on, man.

1:15:13Stay out of our business, sir. That's all. Yeah, stay out of here, sir. I have to do with y 'all. Who the hell tell y 'all to speak about a private party? Yeah, me while you're throwing all kind of hips and stuff. Try the wings out first, man. Come on, man. We couldn't even get out. Try the wings out, man. Hey, I ain't going to lie to you. It was still a good time, bro. T.I. performed. You know what I mean? It was, it was, man. I still got the hoodie. The hoodie is dope. Everybody still got the magic suit. You hear me? You hear me? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Hey, DC, man. Hey, hey, we appreciate you for stopping by, bro.

1:15:48Hey. Man, it's always love, OG. Love y 'all, man. Hey, hey, real talk. Me and Smooth gonna pull up on you, boy, man. See what y 'all talking about. Hey, what y 'all got? Y 'all got Indica, Sativa. What y 'all got? Hybrid. What y 'all? He got whatever you looking for. What Carlo's got over there? Tell him I'm pulling up. Hey, he got the old school. Listen, man, we're gonna have to smoke, man. I'm telling y 'all. Yes, sir. Yes, man. So I know both y 'all. Y 'all. All right, all right. Appreciate it, my boy. I love OGs. I appreciate y 'all. Yes, sir. All right, Nick.

1:16:21Hey, that boy a whole fool, ain't it, man? He funny as hell, boy. That was a good one. Yes, move.

1:16:30I don't know, man. I think Bron, I think Bron really, he want to win this first year. I think he want to win. Yeah, that's why. Yeah, so you can go and get it over with. And I think they're going to have an opportunity to win it this year, too. Like I said, if they know how to figure out their rotation and kind of finagle the regular season where they don't have to play too many impactful minutes, the ones that they're going to really count on in the postseason, I think they're going to be all right. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. They kind of let JB and Tyrese Maxey kind of, you know, run the forefront of the regular season.

1:17:08and then let Joel Embiid and LBJ come in, you know what I mean, towards the end and kind of go ahead and finish it all. Oh, yeah, he going to get right to it, bro. I think they going to have a hell of a training camp. They all going to be on one accord. They going to try to gel quickly, even though it's going to pose some challenges. But I think if anybody can do it, bro, I think Bron Bron going to be able to get it done. I think Bron Bron going to get it done. I think this will probably be the best we've ever seen Joel Embiid in a long time. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? You're absolutely right.

1:17:43When you got that pressure of having to play beside a person like LeBron, one of the best players to ever do it in the history of the game, you know what I'm saying? That pressure is going to be on him to not do all that baby, you know, playing like a baby and be taking nights off him when you really can play. You know what I'm saying? Amen. You're going to get challenged on a different type of level. I think he would pose some challenges, too, of playing with LeBron too smooth. Like, everybody can't, you know what I mean? And he going to open his eyes up a little bit. He going to have, you know, some people, like, you know how many steps ahead he probably can think the game when he's on the court.

1:18:19You know what I'm saying? Probably Joel Embiid doesn't know because he's still bad in traps. You know what I'm saying? When you trap his ass on the block, he'll turn it off. He'll throw it in the standstill. Oh, yeah. But, you know, now I got a guy like LeBron, who's done seen tilts, everything in basketball can throw at you as far as on defensive end, and he's still succeeding, he can help him open his eyes up to where he can be making those blind passes like LeBron does when he's double teamed or something like that. He done told somebody to be in this certain spot because he knew the double team was going to come five seconds before it came.

1:18:59You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what it is, bro? It's like Joel Embiid, he be so thirsty to score at times if we just keeping it real. You know what I mean? And then you look at when you watch Jokic play, he's a willing passer. He's a pass first big. It's hard to trap him. You know what I'm saying? So I think for – He plays at the top before he plays at the bottom. You know what I'm saying? That's what's good about Nikola. I'm going to start off – he plays a game like chess. You know what I'm saying? I'm going to start off top of the key. I'm going to make my right reads. And then, you know, when we need a bucket or two, I'm going to go down there and get us a bucket.

1:19:36You know what I'm saying? Other than that, I'm going to try to play off my teammates first, give them life. You know what I'm saying? Like I'll be telling my AAU team, like the basketball, you got to look at it as like a ball of energy. You know what I'm saying? If I keep the energy to myself, I'm draining the life out of everybody else. I got to pass the ball. Even if your teammate doesn't score, just him touching the ball. You know what I'm saying? It gives him life, and he feels like he's a part of the mission. Hello, hello. You know what I'm saying? Hello. So I think with Embiid, him being a willing passer, you know what I mean?

1:20:10Not trying to get 30 at night, just keeping it at being. Him being a willing passer, loosening up the defense, making it easy for those guys around him, being able to get edge come on them backdoor cuts to where he yimmy am and that thing, you hear me? You know, kicking it out after double-team fast, you know, we get that quick swing-swing with the three in the corner. I just feel like they got so many ways that they'll be able to beat you, bro, if everybody clicking on the same page. Bro, they going to be scared, Smooth. They going to be scared, bro. I think so. I think so, man. But they going to have to knock that momentum off from what the Knicks done believed in, man.

1:20:46Them folks got to knock that tidal wave off because it's a different type of confidence that they coming into the season with. Now that they done won and they done knocked that. They feel like they done knocked Goliath off and Wimby. You know, everybody didn't give them a chance. You know what I'm saying? Oh, for sure. They come with a different type of demeanor. And you know what they got? They already got that niche, that chemistry and continuity that we talk about that Philly is going to be trying to build. They already, they done had it. They done been through the lows of the NBA, the shortcomings.

1:21:16Now they didn't want a title. Yeah, you're right, bro. They coming back fighting to keep what's theirs. You know what I mean? It's going to be, hey, man, we're going to be in for a hell of a season. This episode sponsored by Lettuce Financial. Self-employed? Congrats! You fired your boss and hired five new ones. Taxes, bookkeeping, payroll, healthcare, and retirement. That's why I use Lettuce Financial. Leave a W-2 job and suddenly every back office task is your job. Lettuce Financial helps solo business owners organize spending, savings, and taxes in one place so your money finally makes sense.

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1:22:29And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guest stars, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Kreisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more. Kyle is going for it here. You fully improvised not just words, but a song. Well, I thought you were all going to write a song. I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia, A-O, Rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

1:23:25sports on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jake Brennan, and on the Disgraceland podcast, I explore the wild lives of rock stars and unbelievable true crime stories from music history. These are the stories you haven't heard, the kind you'll end up telling someone else. Like the time Paul McCartney spent in a notorious prison, or the bizarre crime Lady Gaga is accused of, or that time Blondie's Debbie Harry escaped Listen to Disgraceland on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

1:24:24with Yamanika on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.