Club 520 Podcast - Club 520 - Evan Turner on guarding Derrick Rose, playing with Isaiah Thomas, Jayson Tatum’s Paris Olympics

Episode Date: September 5, 2024

We’re back with Season 2, Episode 98 of Club 520 where Jeff Teague and the guys are joined by Evan Turner. Turner talks about winning the Wooden Award as the best player in the country in college basketball, getting drafted No. 2 by the Philadelphia 76ers, having to struggle for a second contract, guarding Derrick Rose, playing alongside Isaiah Thomas on the Boston Celtics, and much more! #Volume #ClubSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. The Volume. Alright, we back, man. Another episode of Club 520 Podcast. This ain't even a guest. We got family in the building, man. We've been waiting for this episode for a minute, man. Introduce my man's last.

To my far left, my dog, Bishop B. Henn out the Prileys. How you doing, Nasty? Cool. And Phoenix, baby. Let's get to it. For sure. To my right, my dog, Bishop B. Henn out the Prileys. How you doing, Nasty? Cool. And Phoenix, baby. Let's get to it. For sure. To my right, my dog, young Nacho, young Tig.

How you doing? I'm chilling, bro. You already know it. I'm hype right here. This is my dog. What's up, by the door? I ain't going to hold you. He's one by the door.

This one by the door. Shout out to JR. Yeah, JR got the special, you know, special pack from JR. My boy, Dane, hooked us up, man. We in Formula Zero. We out here chilling. Love it. It is, man know, special pack from JR. My boy Dane hooked us up, man. We in Formula Zero. We out here chilling. It is, man. Tell my left, man.

We got a Big Ten legend, Ohio State legend, long time NBA vet, and the man of the.4 podcast. We got ET, Evan Turner in the building. Big dog. Appreciate you sliding on this, brother. I appreciate y'all, man. When y'all invited me, like I said, I was touched. But I took so long to pull up because I didn't want to like give y'all stinker interview hold on bro that's how you started to start to pull up

that's why it took so long to pull up I was like man I don't know if I can really they pies be popping I don't know if I dull it down or not nah bro we follow you on twitter yeah that's my best work that's my best work

sometimes I be like bro are people watching when I'm posting cause I'm going crazy hey when you say if we lose to Serbia

I'm like my son Nicola I'll be if you think about it bro that'd be the next wave of back

niggas wouldn't be hooping no more we would've lost to Serbia it would've been over G and I'm like bro they could be some niggas wouldn't be hooping no more we would've lost to Serbia it would've been over G and I'm like bruh

they could be some niggas named LeBron like like Niccolo just beat some nigga named LeBron it's over for us G

y'all don't think so cause I'm being dead serious it was deeper than that G let's start off with the origin man my dog this story go way back for me because i remember meeting et when i was like sophomore in high school freshman in high school he played

for the illinois wolves bro they had nice jerseys uniform team was all put together and here i come with these nappy braids, reversible jerseys, our own shorts, and we playing against Evan and Dimitri. And they used to beat our ass. They were organized to it. They had plays and shit. Yeah, we used to practice. They had plays. We used to just come to the tournament.

No, but I knew ET since back then, man. It's dope to see where you came from there to now. It's crazy as hell to see. Yeah, it's funny because, you know even back in that tournament uh you know back in the day like if you like an unsigned uh senior you could play aau so we were playing 17 and under but we were 16 and i remember like just seeing the jerseys not really knowing like who he was but i'm like oh he he picking our pockets like buddy dunking shit buddy you know i mean like just giving us pure health on my head i'm like he got to be an unsigned senior

so like while we playing i'm kind of like hey bro like if you want you can play over here like we got jerseys like everything like no bullshit he said that to me to build a game bro like yeah you can play with us bro we. I said, man, what's wrong with this nigga? You want to go to Reebok camp? I'll go to Reebok camp. I'm like, everything. I don't know.

So, once that game's over, we like, bro, buddy's so cold. So, we talked to our AAU coach. I'm like,

well, where is he supposed to go? He's like, bro, that kid is your age. I'm like, that kid is my age? So,

like, when we're sitting, I'm like, bro, that's, no cap G, we all said you was better than D Rose at the time.

Yeah, I think it's true. Bro, that's how good you was playing at the end, right? I had some moments, but shit. No, we must have been lending to you because you was killing us. And I just remember sitting there and always just remembering, find out you were my age and just being like, man, it's going to be a tough climb up if I got to battle versus him. And we go to AAU, we go to au uh we go to uh abcd camp and like our whole team was just like

every tournament you were in we were just paying attention to you and be like what the t kid do what the t kid do i remember my au turn uh coach telling skip prostor like you might want dimitri yeah this is the one no yeah i remember like literally like dimitri, but this is the one. Nah, yeah, I remember you telling me that. Like, literally, like, Dimitri's the coldest dude I've ever seen, and we were like, like, why is Kev, like, that dude over there that only liked to play every other game? It's the truth.

Then he was DMP back in the day. He would just show up to, like, ABCD camp and not look interesting. Like, you know we trying to change our lives, right? But you know It's just my look, bro. That ain't how I really feel. I just look like that.

Man, the homeless killer. That sad when a nigga your age ask you, hey man, what you doing? I got some water over there. I need some sauce. You know I went to a U tournament. We still unsigned. So I'm expecting every tournament to look like some shit on TV. Yeah.

So I want to go change my life. So when I'm showing up, they got reversible jerseys. I'm like, bro, this ain't it. So you was on South Sudan? Yeah. I'm like, what? I can't get jiggy with this shit. You're real like Mike.

You're fucking up my 30 for 30, bro. Cali Cambridge. Look at that. Like, little I know. mike and that was literally jeff t and no funny shit i had been a fan ever since then. We were like 16 years old. I was in Louisville, Kentucky. Was you already that guy around that time too though? Yeah. He was? Yeah. He was that. He was that hype.

Don't be humble talk. We talking, bro. He was that hype. I was. He could handle the ball. So we like, damn, this nigga 6'7 with handles. He always had that right to left. Or that left to right.

That mug was mean. Yeah, I've been doing it since I was 14. I'm like, damn, he tall as shit. Drip on the ball. When he was coming in the game, we thought he was going to be the power forward. He handling the rock. The little white dudes were just running around shooting threes. Him and Demetri got the ball.

We're like, we ain't got nobody to guard him. He used to kill us. I'll never forget. Demetri Cole. Feel like, nah, he the Cole. Look how tall he is. so he used to kill us and I'll never forget I used to be like Dimitri Cole and you know feel like nah he the Cole look how tall he is

and that's how we became fans and we was like damn I just kept up with him and when I see him go to Old State I'm like ah damn he going there

cause we thought Mike was staying so I'm like damn he going there with Mike and them that's crazy but I'll let you keep going DJ

you end up dipping and that was that was pretty much it bro I just remember going back to those days and like how loaded pause that class was

yeah even then what I'm saying like we thought you was better than D Rose but they had like Chris Wright they had

you know what I mean Jay Lucas's so they had damn near everybody it was tough to make an all American game for Mark oh yeah

yeah OJ like you said y'all was strapped but growing up to make an all-American game. Oh, yeah. B's. Yeah. OJ. Like you said. Y'all was strapped. But growing up in Indianapolis around that time was probably pure hell. Shit.

Probably the same for you in Chicago. Oh, yeah. D-Rose is a problem. Yeah. What's that like, though? In high school, competing against D-Rose?

Man, it was... You got to think. He was D was d rose back then so i remember uh the first time i ever really seen him uh we had like an eighth grade all-star game and um it was like west suburbs versus west side south suburbs for south side i think like north first down state so i was playing on the west side team so i was playing in a different game but i remember like being in the back and i see like a trophy and it's like player of the year derrick rose i'm like well who the player of the year derrick rose who the hell is derrick rose type stuff like why why would he get a whole trophy and i'm here type shit like that's not my head

yeah man like before you know it buddy just pulled up and was dunking everything. He goes to Simeon. He wasn't allowed to play his freshman year. But then once his sophomore year hit, he was God and everybody else was just dumb. You know what I mean? So I was a distant second when we grew up playing. But to grow up and play in the city of Chicago,

it's just crazy. You know. Came across Pat Bev, too. Yeah, Pat Bev. People don don't man pat bev to me you could say d rose is up there g but pat bev was throwing up 40 yeah probably taking out everybody so yeah i thought it's pretty dope um we had like a lot of dope talent during that time and when you see what they're doing now you look at john shire during that time he was by far head over heels better than everybody until D. Rose took him out.

He's the coach at Duke. He's Ryan Collins' left ear. He's a Kansas legend. All-time winningest player at Kansas. You look at Jake Pullen. People forget Jake Pullen. He's a state legend. All-time leading scorer from there.

What was that high school, my fault? That he went to? Jake Pullen went to Provison. What was that big man from there? Brian Carwell. Brian Carwell that he went to? Jay Pullen went to Proviso. What was that big man from there? Brian Carwell. Brian Carwell. He went to St. Joe.

Yes, bro. My bad, I just had a moment. No, because he came to Indiana and did some work to Greg Oden and Mike Conley

and that was like a big deal. You know, around that time growing up in Chicago, I think like there's like 20 players in the top 20

from the state that went D1. So, you know what I mean? So, I was playing versus a bunch of kids in the Big Ten

and I grew up playing versus since I was 10 years old. That's awesome. And it was so crazy in the city, especially on that time period at 05, 06, 07.

Yeah. Because you go from Josh McRoberts to Mike and Greg and then EJ. Yeah, we had a rough time. And I remember

talking to Bradad stevens he was just saying like i would go recruit like from butler not trying to go get them but i will wait to go see a guy play versus them and be like if they do decent i know they're pretty good because these dudes are gonna be nba hall of famers you know i mean it's crazy what was it like you had to battle what was it like coming up in that time Did that kind of Kill your confidence That you weren't Mike Nah You know what I mean Cause like

You was cold bro Nah cause like Mike Mike that is the reason I gained confidence Cause I used to have Good games against Mike But I was like a hood Hooper

Like I did and one moves And shit like that So like When I played against him I just wanted to cross him Cause I knew everybody Was going to talk about it

Like I'm just going to cross him But then I started Getting competitive to talk about it. Like, I'm just going to cross him. But then I started getting competitive and I was scoring and stuff. But, I ain't never look at it like that. They was just Greg and Mike to me. Like, I ain't really know they was like

a big, big deal until I went to Vegas and I seen how people was treating them. I'm like, oh, they the shit.

Like, you don't be here. We like, oh, that's great. Oh, and they can't go outside though i can go outside like yeah i mean with my friend we go in at the party we in the streets

they can't do that so it didn't look fun to me to be them but then when i seen kind of love they was getting everywhere else like they got rebuke deals and i'm like oh yeah they getting the real love i'm getting the booties it's getting twerked on at the club they get the real stuff so it wasn't it ain't mean nothing till i got to there and i'm like i gotta figure it out then coach kindly kind of put a battery in my back like you just as good as him and it's his son you like damn you think i'm good as him he's like yeah you should have all these offers too and i'm like oh shit he gassed me and he gassed me to a whole nother level to be honest wow that's hard bro yeah that's definitely hard shout out to coach conley man for sure but like you said man going crazy in chicago how'd

you end up at ohio state um i said uh my dad's from ohio okay so um every summer i was like nine to ten i would go visit him in Columbus. So I would go to like Ohio State sports camps, and I'd go to like Clark Kellogg camp. And he was like a big deal at the time. For sure. Yeah, so in the summertime, I kind of, when I first went there, like I kind of knew like how big of a deal like people mess with the Buckeyes.

So you fast forward like 16 years like six years later we're playing at the King James tournament and I'm playing versus some white pigeon-toed dude and he's like this state he just scored 77 points his name is John Diebler yep so we're playing versus each other and um I'm looking at stands there's a bunch of like scouts and coaches there so apparently dad motto is there so knowing you young they telling you like hey you about to play where it's the best dude ever he did it so you know you go out you like this white dude like man i'm finna put on for the hood so buddy come out he gave me like five straight threes and then like that they even had a burner yeah burner like volleyball i

had never seen somebody just like dribbling down a court and like pull out. He wasn't looking at a line. He was just pulling out of nowhere. And I was like, bro, this dude is different.

And luckily, I played well. That was like a Saturday. By that Thursday, I was on Ohio State campus and, shit, I got offered.

I went to an NBA camp in June. I was like, bro, I got to go somewhere. It was a dumbass decision. I should have just went to Wisconsin or Illinois June. I was like, bro, I got to go somewhere. It was a dumbass decision. I should have just went to Wisconsin or Illinois, but I'm like, okay, Daquan Cook, Mike Conley, all of them at Allstate, I got to get ready and go there.

But it was just like, them boys' paws was loaded, but at the same time, you think about my trajectory, if Daquan Cook would have never left that first year, I might have been sitting for a year and a half, years but i just thought when i was a kid that the thought of competition and being from chicago i thought like a top recruiting class was somewhere big i would be able to perform at and that shit just worked out for sure the fire incoming class though yeah damn sure worked out they definitely worked out yeah that was nice What was 33's name I hate I forgot his name No no it was John Deebler

23 is David 23 Yeah we had Will Buford Yeah Will 08 Yeah Will ended up Like the second time All-leading scored

Yeah Deebler ended up Breaking the conference Three point record And Dave was like The all-time winner Or whatever He was cold

And you was player of the year Yeah And you know player of the year. Yeah. And, you know, we finished. And then we finished for Mick Sullinger. Mick Sullinger was the best to ever do it, man. He was so cool. I didn't play with him, but the next year, he really killed it.

But, you know, during that time, I just felt like the Big Ten was something I was really familiar with. And, you know, just going close to home was a big deal. And that was really it but when i look back on that acc ball might have been more fun bro where would you definitely fun i was trying to go to nc state to be honest with you and then uh you actually fit though that's great that's what i'm saying i saw julius hodge yeah and then they had oh yeah they had to do brandon

cosley straight but chris right had committed and syndek had eventually ended up dipping. Sydney Lowe. Yeah, and then I was either that or Wake Forest, which was Coach Prosser and what's the Italian coach? Gaudio. Yeah, Gaudio. We were on there, but we pulled up to Wake Forest and our coach asked about the black population

and they were like, I think the guys go across the street to Whitson-Salem State. We did. And my coach was like, nah, bro, you ain't supposed to lead campus if all black people. and they're like I think the guys go across the street to what some say on state we did we did and my coach was like nah bro you ain't supposed to

leave campus to find black people and we were like okay he's like as a white man I'm offended I remember

when I didn't y'all recruit baby I remember I remember when I committed to Wake Forest he said they was like

there ain't no black people on there and he was like y'all gotta sit at the front of the classroom I was like damn I went to the Wake Forest

we had legit sit at the front of the classroom damn bro you just had to tighten up yeah I used to go to one single state every other day

so there was a lot of black people at home state with you that's a decent amount I mean you can count on everybody being from Cleveland you know what I mean so they you could count on everybody being from Cleveland.

You know what I mean? So they got the Old State. They was from Cleveland. And there's some niggas in Cleveland. Yeah, but it was a decent vibe. I think college was cool for what it was. I learned a lot. And, you know, but the real gig was just trying to get to the league.

Yeah, bro. For sure. I mean, to get off the subject, but, you know what I'm saying, NIL money and shit going on. Especially how you played in college. What you did. Yeah, you might have said that shit going on, especially how you played in college. You might have sat extra for a little checky check. I probably would have

flamed out way quicker because I wouldn't have been able to handle everything that came at me. You'd have crashed out. I would have crashed on Johnny Manziel. I would have crashed

on Johnny Manziel. All right, Marcus Jordan. I would have done my bravo. All right, Marcus Jordan. All right. One of the girls said he got game. I can already read and write. I don't really need school. I'm just joking. Hey, bro, there's something wrong with you, bro.

He's not right. Oh, shit. Obviously, you know what i'm saying you know so you go on draft night how was that process for you because you know i'm saying you number two pick yeah that was um it was a cool you know process when i hear everybody else's horror story you know but i was blessed it was cool i did one workout and um we when the balls dropped pause, we were, we knew that I would go to Philly because John Wall was legit. So John Wall was a consensus. And I just knew like when number two dropped, it's like, Oh, I guess I'll be a Philadelphian or whatever. So luckily that was the case.

And we went and did a workout and you know, everything worked well until the first game and then you know life changed what happened the first day bro no just like shit was real

like shit I was like I was supposed to come in and be Brian right like so we saw what happened

the first day I lied like shit I had to go talk to my sponsors. So when people are like, yo, I got partners. Like,

bro, I don't have, like, I didn't have them by the second year. So why did you think you was going to be the man on Philly? Cause I was cold. You, you was raw.

You was sad, clearly, but that was Iggy and them team. You got drafted to a tough team. To be honest with you, I'm just joking. I got drafted to a really good team in, bro. And to be honest with you, I'm just joking. I got drafted to a really good team in a really good situation. And when I thought of Philly, I was like, no, I want to go to Golden State at number seven.

Because I wanted to play with Steph. Like, Paul's really, really bad. And I just knew the fit. And I knew Dre wasn't no slouch. But back in the day, people forget. We just started going into this team ball. Like, before it was like a couple years before that like the trailblazers didn't draft kd because anything b roar and kd like it had to be

one alpha guard one alpha big type situation so when it came down to it like i really just showed up and it was like it was uh you know it's dre's team and you kind of got like really fit in getting where you fit in so that development of what you saw John Wall get, I'm not saying I've been John Wall or even Wesley Johnson. He was in Minnesota cracking and, you know, getting crazy opportunity. But it was a cool, you know, experience. And that was probably one of my favorite teams. Who grabbed, like, not grabbed you.

That's crazy. But what vet really took you under their wings to engage the game? Right away? Yeah, right away. Right away, Lou Williams. Shout out to Lou. Shout out to Lou. I think he just took a liking to me because I just thought he was like,

bro, what's to this, man? You know? But I remember like the first, one of the first couple days, he picked me up and we went to the gun range and they just took me around the city and um you know that's the first real time i ever got drunk was with lou williams and uh damn lou no but it's but it's some real stuff so i i was chopping it up i was going through like some rough rookie stuff and i'm talking about like i'm in a dump so uh we lose in philly you know doug collins is you know he's definitely uh you know being tough on me in a sense we lose in Philly. You know, Doug Collins is definitely being tough on me in a sense.

We lose in Philly, we land in Detroit. So he's like, meet me in a lobby in 20 minutes. It's not an option. So I meet him in a lobby. We go next door at a bar. And he's just like, you got like eight shots lined up type shit. And he's just starting to talk. He's like, look, bro, this game of basketball is supposed to be fun.

It shouldn't be up and down. Like, if you bring this shit home with you, you're going to be mad every single goddamn day. He's like, you ain't had fun since you've been here. He's like, just let that shit go. Be who you're going to be. But, like, you can't bring this shit home with you. Like, you're going to literally let your head explode. And he's like, that's it.

Just go out there try hoop and finesse from there but like you can really hoop and that's like all right bet and he's like okay now make sure you finish these shots so like so i had so that like i took like two or three shots like off the bat but i remember like lou was somebody i could always like rely on relate to because he had went through everything as a player like when i would trip and practice and be like man you got me you got me running your plays but i ain't running them in the game he'd be like motherfucker like when i was your age they would take me out of practice and a coach would practice you understand what i'm saying so like so when it came down to it

it's like i got real game from him eldon brand was super cool and then obviously iguodala we had uh but it has to start, but eventually towards the end of, uh, my first year we became like brothers, like by the fourth year, um, you know, we didn't even play on the same team, but I was the best man in his wedding. And then, you know, when he had his daughter, you know, he named her Evan. And it was like, I felt it. So like when we got to that level of like friendship and like connecting I just felt like we had like a relationship

that was just bigger than basketball and that was what I really took from those vets because even my ups and down times I could always

count on them and depend on them even if I felt like I didn't have a friend alright so after them shots of E&J the urgent joke

yeah shit nah what was them shots though E&J. The Irving joke. Yeah, shit. What was them shots though? It was Henny. It was Henny? Shout out to the Sparks. It's Patron. It's Patron.

No, that was Henny. Yeah, that was Henny. That shit was Henny. It was only lighting, but that was Henny. That's what I'm saying. And then I had a shot of cranberry. And that was it. So when did you start getting comfortable in the league though what i think uh it's different levels of comfort not even so much playing but so much is just like

saying forget it and accepting my role you know i think one thing that occurred was i came in super early you speak when you listen to your ages and stuff you're trying to carry a brand so i could have been like a prima donna type shit and i was but i think one thing when i started getting comfortable it's just really buying into like the team atmosphere and really accepting my role and not really worried about like what people think and just trying to go from worry about being great to just getting good each day but also just swimming you know uh when you get selected high like you look at Anthony Bennett they cut you know Anthony Bennett could still be good but like they undercut him quick.

I'm like, bro, you sad. Like you needed like two thorough years. He was done within like 20 games and shit. So I was just on some like sink or swim and like try to figure out how to be the best player I could. And that's one thing that they don't speak about a lot

is like when you come in the league, especially when you have expectations, there's no time for you to fuck up. You have to be blessed to be in a good organization or to have good vets if you don't have either one of them or if you don't have both shit can get real spooky and then like you said you bring work home with you you all in your head trying to play basketball you forget how good you are with that shit i'm playing in philly bro

that told you i'm the worst fans ever yeah and playing in philly is definitely different so i felt as though like being in philly for that little bit of time really uh kind of not saying like made us sick on a sense of how i like viewed a game of basketball i was just like you know kind of like fuck it i'm gonna have fun with it but once i left philly there was nothing ever that serious that was like that bad or tough because all that pressure there was od i was supposed to be the number two pick and do whatever. I went complete opposite. And I had to, like, continue to swim. You know what I'm saying? After my fourth year in the league, dudes were signing for 30-something million. And I'm, you know, all for 250,000.

You know what I mean? Like, when dudes are signing, like, I'm trying to. It was damn near, like, September. I damn near didn't have a place to go. Damn. I'm 25 years old. Like, people are hitting the streets asking me you staying in league or going overseas it's like when you're sitting down you're like damn just four years ago i had shit popping you know what i mean so like i just felt like i had to really

you know lock in buckle in but like almost on like some uh shit entourage shit when it came to vinnie chase like bro i'm not I'm not getting to lead roles no more. You know what I'm saying? And that was just like the real thing. Where was you off to next? Portland? I ended up going to Boston. And that's when... That's when you turned up.

That's when he found his foot in the shop. That's when the bad came. E-T-I-T. That's when the bad came. The motherfuckingucking teams came together boys we had we definitely

had two years in Boston it was definitely fun and you know it had obviously reignited a feeling for me to enjoy

playing basketball and also had a had a great foundation for a landing point when I was done I still go to Boston

you know you get mad love, but at the same time, have opportunities to still, you know, extend my position in the game of basketball just to help. For sure, man. We got, I mean, we're going to fast forward too far.

We got to talk about y'all linking up in Boston, man. Man, to be honest with you, G, like, I thought it was cool. I knew Jeff was cool, but I used to always be like, bro, if you're this funny, why do you not show that?

And like, like literally show people that. Like, I thought he's the funniest dude on earth. And I thought he was nice. And, uh, the funniest thing about Boston,

I was waiting around to, uh, it was either I was going to retire or I was waiting for Boston. Like I ain't have no chances. And Brad was kind of like, maybe I'll throw you a bone. So like when it came down between me and Jeff, I'm talking like Pooh Allen's like,

man, it's between you and Jeff. I'm like, well, y'all should just take Jeff. Cause I'm not better than Jeff. Like if y'all trying to win a championship, I'm like,

bro, that's just, that's OD. So then we show up and like, they take Jeff and like, I'm just like, all right, I guess I'll go into coaching.

Pretty much. Jeff was just like, we ended up being like, one of the guys. I look over and Jeff, like, like having shoelaces on top. We just be,

what was that nigga number out there? 55. At one point, I'm like, bro, I'm right, bro. What was that nigga number out there? 55. Boston J. Will. J. Will. At one point, I'm like, bro, this is how you know it's different. I'm like, bro, everywhere you go, you would be able to keep your initials. Your name's F.T. You know what I mean?

So when we go on the board, I'm looking at Brad, and Brad like, J.B., K.W., M. MS, Jet, JT. I'm like, who the fuck is Jet? I'm like, who is Jet? Yeah. And he's like, Jeff Teague. I'm like, my nigga, you can't. He's older than Jason Tatum. He can't get his initials.

You remember? Nah, I remember. And I'm like, I'm curious. You know what's fucked up about it? He wrote the play. He was like, JT, said somebody else, so I'm thinking,

I got the ball. I'm like, all right. So I was like, hold on, hold on. When he go here, I go here. He's like, no, no, no, no. You here. Jack. What the fuck?

Kimba. Kimba. Rolling. Kimba in tears. And I'm in the back, G. I'm like, bro, I know they ain't just call you Jack. Kimba in tears And I'm in the back G I'm like bro I know they ain't just call you Jet Kimba is crying Kimba call me Jet The rest of the fucking year bro

Shout out to my dog The name of the Kenny Smith is crazy My knees was like Kenny That's true God you ain't walking like that Lord please But that time in Boston I ain't walking like this man lure please no but that that time in boston i mean i don't know how jet felt like a what the hell are we doing moment because it was covid

yeah and then like i'm trying to tell dudes that were better than me how to play basketball that's when i knew coaching was full of shit because i was like bro i'm like the audacity of you to try to tell them what to do i'm like bro this man's a problem in that yeah yeah that's funny they had me be jason tatum position to shit i say like you know what i mean i I'm like, bro, I'm not going to tell him nothing. Like, I'll work with him with this. Like, no,

he is perfectly fine. But we were able to, we got, we made bonds with playing one-on-ones, bro. Yeah. For sure.

We got a classic group chat, man. Midwest, it's called the Midwest group chat, man. We all became really cool in that experience in Boston, bro.

It's funny as hell. What did you, I wanted to always ask because even in that experience in Bostonoston bro it's funny as hell what did you i wanted to always ask because even in that experience in boston i still thought you had like two or three more years to play like what did you did boston kind of stop we saw each other in atlanta and i told you before like bro it's almost over for me yeah you know what i mean you told me not that you shouldn't be here i said you shouldn't be so you shouldn't be in atlanta they're gonna give you 11.2 minutes per game you told me that and they i didn't sign they offered me a year another year after that but I

didn't sign I should have signed it I don't know what I was thinking but I hated it so much because I was like damn I love Atlanta but I you they told me I had a cap like you can only play 19 minutes you know I mean it was just like damn i was just averaging 14 off the bench in minnesota well i come here all i can get is 19 minutes bro i was damn near being a running for six man 14 and 22 minutes or something i was hoping then i was like nah and i thought covid happened i should have went to the next yeah tibs like come on to the Knicks You're going to probably start But then Brad called me He was like

Kimba's out You're going to start Kimba's out You remember Kimba was hurt And then you woke up He was like You're going to start Kimba's out

And I'm like Damn the Celtics Are cold Like I was like The Knicks I don't know too much About the Knicks They ain't got nobody

So I'm going to go to Boston I was like That's going to really Get me back And I got there He was like We're goingicks? I don't know too much about the Knicks. They ain't got nobody. So I was like, I'm going to go to Boston. I was like, that's going to really get me back. And I got there. He was like, we're going to start Marcus at the point. I said, what the fuck? He's like, you're going to be the sixth man, though. You're going to be the sixth man. I'm like, in the first game, I hooped.

I had like two years. You missed three layups, but you had 19. I'm like, man. I'm in a bench, bro. They just can't get right But like he on breakaways Missing layups I could've hit a layup

To save my life It got to the point I didn't miss a three The whole preseason No time out G You was missing so many layups We had played three on three And when you had made a layup

One of them shorties Was like he usually Miss those Like they talking crazy He miss those He with us he's like he usually miss those he miss those he with us he's like little kids telling Jeff he with us

I was so scared to shoot a layup at that time I would rather shoot a three I was making so many threes I was like fuck that I ain't running to fast breaks

I was running to the corner damn I was scared to shoot a layup damn I don't know why but then I had a game at the end where like

we started playing again my my layups came back but i couldn't shoot no more my three was broke as hell but that was did you ever tell man you said something that was this one i like jeff a lot paul's because he was uh his opinion was super different and like to somebody like be saying some off the wall stuff i'm like yeah that's my man and I remember we were in a gym and you were like bro

it's an unpopular opinion but I think James Harden is a better shooting guard than Kobe Bryant listen don't say that I've been waiting

to say this bro so we were gonna talk about this like this is gonna go viral so why did you think that? Cause bro I've been getting killed for so long

The Kobe fans One dude Three of them killed me Y'all can't hear me We already on the Kobe roll already Seriously? Man what? We on the Kobe roll right now

He said the KD was better than Kobe Last episode He was ill You can call me They gonna ask for you. I'm going to pull up. That's my dog. That's my dog.

At that time, we can talk about that off camera. I did not say that. I'm strapping. I be lying, too. He ain't say none of that shit. I ain't going down that Kobe road. Bro, but you had great. The dude that said it had great arguments that day.

Y'all fight him, I see that. And then I see that. I mean, you. I'm not going to say that. Never mind. It was a good, it was a good. That was Jet. It was, uh, Jayler and Aga was battling.

We and him were just having a conversation at ET and Jason was there. It was. I think you said it and then yeah Jason and Jay they went crazy they went nuts they definitely went nuts

but I to be honest with you you kind of persuaded me a bit no don't ET I'm telling you so

let's play this shit that's the first time we fought yeah you was at me on that one and then uh i just remember we would be in the back of the bench we always have these crazy debates so i was the first person to really told him how cold luca was that's a fact i give you

that so like when we sit him behind the bench like luca kind of going through like his first half like things like bro i don't know gee this man kind of it's a fire ass story but he's like man this man kind of like lazy. Like he's just not doing enough for me. He whining. I'm like, bro, that's like, you don't run off the court. I'm like, bro, look at him. He the man.

I'm like, look at him. He not worried about no regular season game. So then we keep going. I said, bro, are you sure he good? I said, bro, he going to turn it on. He's really him. So like, where were we? We're up like 10 or 12.

He's in Dallas. So we in Dallas he's like bro JB and JT getting rid of this man I said bro I'm telling you like it might not look good now but in clutch

if they get close we not gonna win I said bro I said I'm just saying if the game get close we not gonna win so like the game

start creeping down so the more and more he's like he's looking at me and I'm like he now like hey Mayu he at me And I'm like Hey Mayu He's a coach I'm a player

I'm a coach And they weren't Listening to me They weren't Listening to me That's how crazy That season was I'm sitting in the crowd

With him Like I'm not on the Like down with the players Yeah It's COVID So I'm sitting by him We up there just

Kicking the shit, bro. Like, everything. So I'm sitting there. I said, bro, if it get close, G, like, we not going to win. Like, I'm telling you, he's like that, bro. Like, he's just like that. Like, he's just it. So it get closer.

They call a timeout. And, like, I think they down, like, two. So, like, Jeff, like, get up, like get up like bro i ain't no way i'm like bro i'm telling you and he like he did did i call out that step back and he gonna hit the game winner and literally bro and like while we watching it jeff watch i'm back there like dick eating like watch watch watch it like that and literally he learned about luca donchus he hit the shot looked at him he said i told you we're we worked for the celtics i told you i told you i'm like damn we're gonna fucking call we celebrate the shit then i look that's oh shit

i was like jt that's some bullshit man I'm like, man, we're going to be up. I quit after this year anyway. We kind of knew. I'm like, man, just be worried about him. But I thought that was a dope day because at the end of it, that was the first time anybody ever listened to me. Yeah, I swear to April. I was like, damn, he is cold. What made it so funny, JT, that's a shout out to my guy. That's why I love E.T.

We go to him. He was like, Luca, better than me? E.T. was like, damn go and he was like luca better than me et was like damn near i was like what i was like nah hell nah i'm going with jc he was like bro he's my favorite player that's what yo et crazy bro my favorite play i'm like man like harvey you got to meet luca now if you go to the store she's like i saw uncle jason on but you got to meet Lincoln But no funny shit Like Jason

That's one of my favorite players No facts bro I gotta ask How does it feel To see them You know what I'm saying Be victorious Y'all know what I'm saying

Y'all saw them early on Putting in the hard work For them to win And y'all didn't know them For real for real How did that feel To see them cross the line man I thought it was

I thought it was dope man You know with Tatum bro He's such a good dude So when you sit there like Like when you talk to him, he listens. When I was young, bro, I wasn't listening to shit for real. So, like, when you talk to him, he really take advice. Like, bro, you a good kid.

You know what I'm saying? When he taps back in and, like, you know, you talk to him, you really want people like that to win. You know what I'm saying? Even when you sit there and you build brotherhood. Like, Jeff Jet my fault Jeff won the championship Jeff won the championship

and he FaceTimed us from the locker room so when you sit down it's like even when you look at club 520 and everything like bro

I'd be turnt up for y'all because he'd be like bro it's dope to see you know good people winning appreciate that that's how we feel about you that's why our group chat when we be talking

I be just having a ball bro I be telling him some of the stuff we talk about just not everything but some of the stuff that we'd be like laughing and joking about but like jt like you said see him win and know how much he like how bad he wanted to win we was like yeah but me and etv like hey man what he doing man like we was watching the finals like man he better stop playing you know me i'm betting like yeah JT for real, man. Is he going to make me?

He need to break some free throws, man. You know how serious it is. When we FaceTime, you know it's serious. I'm like, bro, you see this? When they give my man a trophy away, I'm like, how we feel? Like, how FaceTime, how we feel? You going out there? Like, what you think?

Like, literally. He saying he not MVP? Yeah. What we doing, man? I was. Could I call? That's in my fault if you with your wifey.? Like, literally. He said, he not MVP? Yeah. What we doing, man? I was. I called, I said, my fault if you with your wifey. I called, man, late. But, like, you see this, right?

I was about to say. I'm like, man, this nigga, I got to talk to somebody. He said, he not MVP? What we doing? I said, I don't know. I said, Jalen played good. He said, I'm not hearing that. I said, so what that

mean for our legacy this is our year nah damn near though because when you

think about that run which is crazy we talked about like you look at Jordan 92 he had that crazy run of

a championship MVP whoop the bam maybe Brian did it once or whatever but like when

you thought about it how many times is it perfectly set up for somebody to win a championship go to Olympics and when it's coming to the changing

of like the Titan yeah it was it was really set and primed even if you think about like the Sports Illustrated

like article or like shit he dropped his Jordan 3 during the Olympics yeah you know what I mean and like shit it just seemed like that's why I was so mad about the olympics yeah you know what i mean i'm like shit

it just seemed like that's why i was so mad about the olympics yeah it was like supposed to be a changing of the guard yeah and i just felt like it was supposed to be him because it was all set up even though it might be an ae i don't know who it was really but yeah but it never but like this what made me so like mad that never happened to anybody else you understand i don't give a damn what you talking talking about. Like, if I'm a star player, I know humility, but like, Derek White, Drew,

y'all better say y'all ain't playing. Until I get into this, my fuck luck. Because it's something really, the world ain't right. Nah, that's a fact. The world already fucked up. Yeah, bro, it's like

they tried to dim his light on purpose, and they're just like, oh, he's taking it in stride, he's such a good player. Nah, he should've crashed out. Yeah, bro. That was the first time I felt like, like they went crazy on the light skin, G.

I felt like it was targeted, bro. If you think about it, I felt like there was something deeper pausing, just like rotation. How do you say I can't hoop? Like, give me 11 minutes. Yeah, he was supposed to be in the rotation. But like bro said, Jeff made a great point. Like, maybe he come back. Ah, he going to come back. You know. But like bro said, Jeff made a great point.

Maybe he come back. He going to come back. You know what I mean? He on that. Full story. Steve, he quit before they fired him. They said this was his last. Oh, he knew? We decided to last something.

I was mad when he showed up to the league. He's like, nigga, I saw what you did last summer with this team. You out of pocket. They was like, you got to go, bro. We need JT for it. Yeah, he knew. Gray Hill on his way out, too. He keep trolling.

They gonna holler at Gray Hill, too. Yeah, because the fact... Y'all know this nigga, man. Halliburton. Y'all know Halliburton. Oh, DJ. Yeah, DJ.

Like, the fact, like, for instance, they didn't have, like, Dame. Mm-hmm. On Team USA. Shout out to Halliburton, but, like, they didn't have like Dame on Team USA shout out to Halliburton but like they didn't have Kyrie

like come on my G like two little cold dudes and then let the killers be the like I don't know G like

that was crazy bro hey when he said we might consider Jalen Brown for 2020 I said oh he's out of pocket he's OD out of pocket that's disrespectful he's true he's definitely true and then it, the out of pocket. He's true.

He's definitely true. And then I'm just like 31. Like by the time I get to that age, it's going to be super rich. I'm like, bro, I'm going to start my own country. How about that? I told y'all. New plan to hop it up.

I mean, new country. Hop it up. I'm playing for Sudan. They get 28. Who are you? I'm taking you to the man you dressed as. Reversible. Lou, how loud be, bro? 28 Lou holla at me bro holla at me bro holla at me Lou

who was the best player you ever played with bro it's a it's so different I think pound for pound damn name was cold, but Isaiah Thomas, because when you break it down,

bruh, niggas, you would be like in practice and you see Brad talking to him and he'd be looking up and you'd be like, bro, this is our best player.

You know what I mean? Like, he's the shortest dude on the huddle. Like, 5'8". This is the lead, dog.

But like, literally, bruh, the stuff I saw him do night in and night night out like how talented he was but um one thing that occurred that uh i think that i always say like like that little fucker always worked like i'm talking about like work work work like show up at the gym seven eight like even now like still working and i always thought like uh how you hoop but like the

fire in his eyes or something I had never really seen. I thought PG was pretty cold to be, like, when we were young. Like, he was, like, he's still cold. Don't get it twisted. But the stuff he did with Indy when I played with him for a couple months, pause. He was 22 years old, dropping 40 in an old school playoffs. Yeah. Yeah.

Like, while they scored, they were still 100 type shit. And then, shit, man, Drew Holiday was cold. Cold. yeah like like while they scored they were still a hundred type shit yeah and then shit man Drew Holiday was cold cold Drew Holiday was like to be honest

with you because everybody just mentioned like head to head Drew did they like I think Drew was probably

like the best I ever played with yeah yeah man you talk you talk about your cup of coffee with the Pacers, man. What happened?

What was that team like? I killed them. You was coach. You was coach. You want to know what happened? This is what people be forgetting, too. I don't know. I just got there late.

So, like, this is wild. But I think one thing that happened you got to understand too like and Jeff correct me if I'm wrong before all-star dudes go super hard pause once all-stars over and dudes kind of get their accolades they kind of turn off a bit so like when we were sitting there we were already kind of taking L's we were taking adjustments but then i think what came down to is like with team and competitiveness uh i just said when i you bring me in like of course ears are going to perk up like you got two dudes trying to uh sign contracts lance stevenson was ahead of me you had paul george george hill like arguably you could sit there and be like george would be like damn he might take my

spot and this might be like he might take my spot and such and such and who have to bend i come in you know my personality like talking shit ornery like you know i mean like joking like poking the bear like i just you know i'm saying just know what's you know know what's going on but having fun with it and um i think aside from that i think the chemistry is one thing but like bro we weren't good enough to beat that heat nigga like when people are asking that dumbass question and we cut rotations so like y'all gotta shout out roy hibbert because i think he was unbelievable and george hill too dope dudes roy was averaging 6 and 6, bro. And shout out to Frank Vogel, because I wasn't mad

by my yo, roll with your killers, but he's killing us. Like, true shit. And this is not Roy Hibbert slander, because Roy Hibbert don't get enough credit for what he's done. His defensive abilities are special. Yeah, bro, that verticality. Bro, he's a real all-star,

bro. So when he tried to clown him, like, it wasn't, like, nothing. You know, George Hill, I think, he has, like, when we were playing our main go-to guys,

I don't think we had enough firepower when we cut the rotation down to seven. You're, like, come on, bro. You had me, like,

you had me on the bench. Like, not me now. Like, in 2014, y'all, I was like, all right. So, like, it was nice. No, no, now. Like, in 2014, y'all, I was like, all right. So, like, we didn't. It was nice. No, no, no.

CJ Watson, like, you had Luis Scola that was still, like. Fraser Ramon. Yeah, he was cutting, like, rotations. I just think you're not taking out Braun and all of them without, you know, having a new scheme. But, bro, we weren't being the heaters, bro. And I just, I thought that was like a great starting five, but everybody has to perform and play at a high level. And we only had like three people playing at a high level.

And you can't, and there are three with who. Yeah. And then when you break it down, like after that, you know, me and Lance, y'all probably, we had talked about this. Me and Lance had gotten into it. And what was so funny with that was me and Lance hung out every day. We sat next to each other on the plane like me and him would go out together like together and um i remember we were going through like a walkthrough and um just like young dudes you can instigate some shit andrew bynum is sitting on the sideline.

Andrew Bynum was a patient. I forgot. Yes, Andrew Bynum is sitting on the sideline. And I guess we like going through walkthroughs. So me and Lance are kind of like playing around. And like I think something happened where he's trying to go for real. And like I think I might have stopped him. And like I think Coach yelled.

It's something weird. It's, like, a weird moment. So then, like, Andrew's like, ooh, he stopped that. Like, and Lance's like, man, come on, bro. This nigga ain't got the type of heart I got. Like, little, but Lance, if you know his personality, that's just how he talks. So, you know what I'm saying?

And, like, you know, I didn't really kind of take it, like, OD. Because, like, at the same time, I was like, come on, bro. This nigga's bugging. This is Lance. Like, you know what I mean really kind of take it like od because like at the same time i was like come on bro this thing is bugging this is lame but you know i mean like you're bugging so like we go through it again and uh i think i did the same thing again kind of like slapped it stopped or whatever and um we kind of like a little tussling a little bit and um i think i kind of like slapped something again so when i turn around he's like don't do that shit no more so like when he put his finger in my face swipe swipe we grab each other's throat scratch me i got like duper scratch not like little scratch like duper scratch i remember that yeah so then we get off the court and then uh it got broken up or whatever and then uh shit that

was it that literally was like the whole moment of the playoffs and was used and so like that's what ruined us it's like now we was as prior and lance was like really like that was my man's like you know as little kids when you're younger you fight over a box of cereal yeah like off the principality of it and um i thought that was pretty much it and just like a little bit of shout out to ind, but like a fan base that wasn't realistic. Lord Jesus. Delusion. Am I wrong for saying that?

No. Is that the answer? I was mad at the fans right at that time because Larry kept drafting white people. So I didn't really care. When we needed to retool, he got Plumlee. I was like, all right, I'm calling these niggas right now. But as like local fans, how hard, Paul,

how hard did we jag that? Considering, because y'all probably really thought we had a chance to win. Y'all were supposed to lose to us. We was up. Y'all was in Atlanta game six down, 3-2. Oh, you are right. Bro, who got hot that game? David West, hitting shit off the backboard.

Yeah, but the one big foreign dude. Oh, Perro. Yeah. That's the reason. He's like the Serbian version of Ivan Johnson. Yeah. Man, he's Serbian Ivan Johnson. That's why Perro couldn't play.

I mean, Hibber couldn't play no more. He put Perro out there. He was shooting all them threes. Shooting and shooting. But what did y'all think? Y'all thought he was going to win the chip that year? No. Or what did y'all think?

I didn't. Keep it real. What y'all like, man? Having thought we was going to win the chip that year? No. Or what did y'all think? I didn't. Keep it real with y'all. Like, man, having no bitch ass and came out here and fucked up the team. Because literally, that's all I ever heard

after that. I'm like, bro, I literally shot four times a game and averaged seven. What made it so funny, it was being around and knowing some of the team. No, you weren't.

There was problems with you fucking. And I knew that. But they just blamed you because they traded Danny. That's the only thing. You just got slack because they traded Danny. And Danny averaged like six.

I averaged seven. You want to know what made me so mad? I shot 50% from the three with the Pacers. I ain't never done that in my life. So when I'm sitting here, I'm like, ain't this bottom. You know what I mean? I'm sitting there like, use his high hand and this is going to win. Use his ball.

Use his ball. Use his move. Fuck it to me, fuck off. Like, shit, that's the only thing I'm making. I'm shooting 50% of that guy. So after that, I never shot a three again.

You was just a bad fit, E.T. Not just a bad fit, but like that time it hit me with a doozy. Like I said, I was supposed to have an $8.7 million signing bonus. Damn.

My dumb ass trying to be prideful. I'm like, man, fuck this team. Y'all keep the playoff money. So I gave up a quarter million. Damn. My dumb ass trying to be prideful. I'm like, man, fuck this team. Y'all keep the playoff money. So I gave up a quarter million. Woo. Man, hey, find me a new team. Like, all right.

It's a qualifying bonus. Marcus Jordan. Bought a Ferrari that same week. You know what I mean? That was wild. That was wild. I was like, so my dumb ass bought a Ferrari. I guess I didn't comprehend how serious it was. Yeah.

So then that free agency comes out and like July 1st, like my phone ain't ring. And then we get all the way to like, like shit, like August and this cup check call me. And he's like, what do you do? I guess I dribble,

I attack, I shoot. Like, you know, that's what Kobe do. So I'm kind of like, don't call me and ask me what I do. And I'm like,

with all due respect, Mitch, like I'm not saying I'm the best, but like y'all didn't lost. Y'all like Owen forever the past three years and I averaged like 25 like to offer me a quarter

I'd get it off the block and type shit like so that was it fuck it off bro but like to be honest and honestly I was

I'm never like that so don't get but at the same time for a quarter million I'm like bro like fuck it off the block like seriously like might as, I'm like, bro, get off the bike. Seriously. Like might as well throw my life away and get it off the block.

That's not being like, that's ignorantly speaking, but that's how I thought at the time. And, um, luckily shout out to Brad Stevens. He was like, bro,

I can't let people treat you like that. I don't know what change he found, but he gave me a little bit of money and helped me. Help me. And like, no joke. Help me get my career back. Cause even when I left that situation what change he found, but he gave me a little bit of money and helped me. No joke, helped me get my career back. Because even when I left that situation with the Pacers, you got to think, I went from, like, the Sixers of, like, I was supposed to be, like, a megastar. And then I wasn't. And then shit just hit the ground.

And, you know, you go to a real point where, Jeff, are you going overseas or are you going to play and stay and fight so that was uh that's real ass shit like we laugh about it but you know i joke about it but it was some real stuff and um you know obviously it didn't stay dark forever plays y'all in the playoffs when you was in boston y'all have a squad but y'all talk the most shit i said they put Jay Crowder, all these motherfuckers on the same team. Oh my God. We talk the most shit. We is all mid

except for one dude. Bro, you know what I'm saying? Like, bro, if like one person get hot, like every five,

IT average 30, I get my little 10, and then every blue moon I go get 17 and you gonna hear about it. Jeff, give me like 20 every game I have 17.

Yeah, little nigga. Yeah, they had Avery Bradley talk. He never even talked. Yeah, but like that was like, if you think about it, that's like the real first time. He'll tell you I really jumped out my shell for real. Because like around that time, I was kind of like, I was still on the porch in regards to like marketing wise.

Like Brandon. So like, you know, that was the real time. I was like, man, in regards to like marketing wise like Brandon so like you know that was the real time I was like man I'm just gonna be who I'm gonna be forget like trying to be perfect

it's like that shit ain't worked and legit shit we I really jumped off the porch Sundays man Sundays

Tuesdays Wednesdays before or after basketball was a hobby you know what I mean but like not jump off the porch on the weird stuff but it's like that camaraderie and that team shit it's like it's before or after, basketball is a hobby. You know what I mean? But like not jump off the porch on no weird stuff, but it's like that camaraderie

and that team shit. It was like, bro, I realized it took more and not saying like partying, but it took more to really like build relationships and what really makes a great team and atmosphere.

Like, shit, we were seventh in the East, bro, but you couldn't tell us like Tom Brady is walking the city and we swore we had the streets on watch. You know what I mean? Like, we go to clubs, I would be on the microphone. Shining out

niggas that was getting 10 minutes of gas. I'm not making Jordan Mickey in the building. You know what I mean? Niggas went to the Super Bowl. We really... We had it, bro. We had it cracking. And we won every game. Niggas win Super Bowl by weed, really? Jeff,

to credit, bro, we had it cracking. Y'all did. And we won every game y'all didn't want to play. So Thanksgiving, the night before Thanksgiving, All-Star, second night,

so back to back. That's the only reason why we got the 45 wins. We was like a 20-win talent. We just tried. They used to hoop, though. I ain't gonna lie, y'all did.

It's like damn these niggas is good bro. IT was so different bro. Different bro. When you think he was a back like where you rank him?

Where do you rank like? At that time he was the toughest cover for me. Like. With Brad Stevens offense

way buck bro. He was the toughest bro. Everything ran through him but he didn't had a ball the whole time. Like, y'all used to run that little four,

whatever y'all call it, four snap, I think. Yeah, and Kelly Olenek had to be the shit. Bro, Kelly Olenek was throwing that motherfucking ball. I'm like, yo, this shit is wild. He was nice. I mean, IT was cold, bro. I ain't gonna lie, he was a tough cover. And he got fouled so much.

Hell yeah. Yeah, like. He went to the line like a motherfucker was he what about with d rose shit oh no d rose like i'm talking about that time it was a tough cover all the time it's d rose bro seriously nothing you could do bro you could bag all the way up in the paint you could sit sit on the dots, bro. He will run at you, just jump over you. You're like, what the fuck? So then if you get close, he run right by you. You get medium, he cross you. I'm like, bro,

I can't guard this fool, man. That's why I tell you, every highlight, if you go look, when he run that MVP here, I'm probably on 50% of them, bro. Hell of a different color jerseys with that motherfucking old cap.

Yo, what was it like playing with Joe Johnson, G? Cold, man. He probably, I tell everybody, probably the most skilled player I played with. Because his handle, he could shoot, float,

or post up. He didn't really have no L in his game. He could play defense. Only thing he couldn't do, he wasn't that athletic, but he could score with float or post up. He didn't really have no L in his game. He could play defense. The only thing he couldn't do, he wasn't that athletic. But he could score with the best of them. He was really like that. And what was your favorite era of Teague? Overall.

I don't get this nigga's story. Which one? No, because it's dope to hear as friends that went on a journey with him growing up. It's like, shit, y'all met. How long y'all known each other? I've niggas high school yeah that's what i'm saying what this nigga probably went right before he made the all-star and threw on like right that year before that's when i really started going to the a heavily yeah he was he was a different player for sure to me to me for sure

I'll probably say them first two years in Minnesota for sure so then when did y'all start hitting the streets of Indy

and going back to the locals and being like yo my nigga my nigga Jeff better than Mike Conley because I know that was

because that had to be like y'all did y'all ever go back and be like yo let's talk about it. It was really EJ or nothing. Like, even as good as Mike was, EJ was got him. Even at their heyday.

And what he did to Derrick Rose in high school was crazy. He did to Jordan Kids, bro. That's why Marcus is on there, bro. EJ's the origin story for that. Nah, he bogus. They bogus because he wasn't supposed to be up in there and they knew that. That was our, like, bro, Loyola was like the 19th best team on earth, G. And they got an ESPN game, bro.

But that was just, it was, y'all would have been cool, but he already played ranked players. Yeah. Like the Jordan coming to the building. They got Eric Gordon. It was bigger than what you're thinking, bro. You think so? It was a whole production. I've never seen it on TV.

They had the air, Gordon. He didn't. Nah. He put on, but like, bro. 18, you wasn't Tom. That's a new job. Shout out to your lineage. It was bigger than that.

Shout out to your lineage. I'm not mad at that. That was some real talk. I appreciate that. It was bigger real talk. I appreciate that. It was bigger than Raps. No, for sure. That was bigger because we knew Jordan's kids was cool, but I forgot his name, the other Jordan, not the Fry one, the oldest one.

He had an offer from Illinois. Jeff Jordan. Jeff, my guy. But they was both Illinois' kids at the time. Yeah. So that was a dual matchup. So what's so funny is and I'll get up

higher for that. Eric Gordon was he was committed to Illinois. Yeah. So during that time I was supposed to commit and D Rose

was supposed to commit. Yeah. So I remember sitting there and being like alright bro we might have Paul's have a three-headed monster

but D Rose want to commit. And I'm telling them, like, yo, I'll wait until Derek commits. But it just never happened. And I feel like that was like one of the real reasons that pushed me to Ohio State too.

Damn. E Gordon started, he decommitted, took his ass home to Indiana, which was very, very smart because that made no goddamn sense. Yeah. And then,

shit, that was it, man. Y'all hold me a hoop there, Devin Dumas because that made no goddamn sense. Yeah. And then, shit, that was it, man. Y'all hold me a hoop there, Devin Dumas. Shout out to Dumo. Yeah. Y'all would have been cool, though. Get him on a pod. Y'all would have been cool at Illinois. Yeah, that's my guy.

Yeah. That's Illinois. Like that happened for sure. Yeah, you already know. Damn, that would have been crazy. You, D. Rose, Eric Gordon. That would have been hard, bro. Yeah, I probably wouldn't have made it. You think y'all would have been better than Luther Head, Darren Williams, and what's my boy?

Yeah, I discriminate against people under 60. D-Bro? So I'd be like, bro, don't ask me. Don't ask me if I'm... I'll eat one of those. No, I'm saying I'm 6'7". So when you sit there, I think... I'm talking about a career, though.

Like a college career. Oh, they don't bring Illinois up. I mean, they rose into the final four like the championship game is damn self Eric Gordon

averaged 27 in the fight they was I probably would have been on a bench for

a you would have played bro you 6-7 bro I thought you had the four bro

it's college that kills my confidence if I didn't get the ball it killed my confidence if you want a star play him like a star you want to play him like a bum you're going Nah It's college bro That kills my confidence It's a big 10 If I didn't get the ball It killed my confidence You could have been

The first stretch forward bro If you want a star Playing like a star You want to play like a bum You're going to get that When I'm listening to you I'm like six shots Hey bro stop talking to me

I'm like I got six shots Man my homie started The game shooting six shots Man it's something wrong With you too bro Jeff am I lying to him Nah you ain't lying But something wrong with you

Tim man what's wrong with you I know we got to get out of here soon, but you get the big deal from Portland. After your good years in Boston, you do your thing. You come back. You bounce back. Now you get the big deal from Portland. What's that like, bro? You know what it's like to get some money bro that's the first time i really like damn you know what i mean like so i remember

going to sleep because you remember i just told you two years before they did me dirty so i'm like no i just know my my free agency finna be how it's gonna be. And, so I remember I'm like waking, I talked to my agent the night before it starts, pause, and, I legit, he said,

we should be straight, we'll have some dope stuff going. Like, we gonna start at like 50. I'm like, oh, that's perfect. Like,

shit, I'll do 50. And I just remember like, going to sleep and waking up in the middle of the night and being like, bro, if they give me $50 million,

I'm gonna be mad than a motherfucker but you know what i mean like in my head because like i had to make up for the last one yeah but i also say no just be grateful so then like when i wake up my agent calls me and say yo i got a deal for you and i'm like what is it he's like from portland i'm like okay like i talked toane right before that it's like I'm like well what is it he's like um it's a four-year deal for like 70 so I'm like 17 and he's like no like 70 and I'm like oh my god like you know so then I call my mom and I'm like yo man I'm gonna sign a Portland and I'm gonna get like I'm gonna sign a Portland for four years 70 million she's like 17 I'm like no like seven and a D and my mom was like that's crazy she's like that was the crazy

she's like oh my god and I'm like yeah so like, yeah. So, like, I'm next. I was supposed to go to Portland, like, the 5th. So, like, I felt like a lottery ticket. Like, I was trying not to die. I was like, I'm going to get you up here and do a press conference. I'm like, wait, like, today? They're like, no. I'm like, the 5th.

I'm like, no, I can come. Like, we don't need to do no. I was like, bro, I don't need none of that shit. Like, let's get this deal and no, but I was like, bro, I don't need none of that shit. Like, just, like, go get it. Like, let's get this deal and, like, call it a day. But I think, like, you know, one thing that occurred that was, like, pretty cool

besides, like, the money factor, which was cool, was going to the West. I had so much respect for the teams in the West because I'd been in the East for so long. I just remember being like,

damn, like, this is definitely going to be tougher. But, you know, as a team, like, going, you know, I was able to go to Western Conference Finals for the first time. We had two 50-win seasons. And I thought, like, shit, like, we were able to adapt and do some dope stuff. Granted, I mean, Dame did it his damn self.

But, I mean, I was still enjoying myself and having fun. But I think that part was just a unique time to try to you know and figure out you know new ways to play the game and open up your role but at the same time we had like you know the second best back corner nba and uh it was facts that was you know that's a fun time to watch fun time to be around but uh you know i think personally i kind of saw the writing on the wall um i don't know about you jeff but like sometimes you just get tired of like like always adjusting bro you know what i mean like and sometimes it wasn't bad but at one point i was like nah like i keep adjusting my role adjusting my role to the point where it was like

kind of like null and void which wasn't like, but it was also at the same time, like, how else can I make an impact here unless, you know what I mean? Unless I'm able to play heavier, you know, get to that, you know, be able to be in those final minutes. And that was kind of where I knew to myself, uh, moving on from there, I always just said like, yo, I'm not going to go overseas. The second contrast stopped coming. I'll chalk it up like a man and just be like yo it's over you know i'm saying and uh the same way i was able to take like a 30 year old spot when i was 22 i'm like that's just a game and um i just knew like shit that's a sign and once i'm trading me like three times in a year i'm like man that shit dead ain't gonna keep playing with me or that 10 daysday shit, I'm like,

you mean like go somewhere for 10 days? And then not play so they even show you how you do it. I was like, ah! I'm like,

nah, bro, y'all can kiss my ass. You know what I mean? Like, besides that, and one thing, you know, I'm grateful for like

the league and everything, but I was definitely ready to start the new chapter and comprehend like, yo, it had been a hell of a run. But, you know, Portland was cool a hell of a run. But, you know,

Portland was cool. Portland was a fun time and it was some great runs and great battles. And, but, you know,

it was damn good. People say I played 10. I'm like, bro, I played eight. Like, you know what I'm saying? It wasn't in a sense

like nothing bad, but, you know, just the time, time had changed. For sure, man. But you stuck around.

But listen, man, AT, we got to do this again, man. You failing me at a show. You ain't even a guest, but if you want to check my mans out, The time The time has changed Yeah For sure man But you stuck around But listen man ET We gotta do this again man You failing me at a show You ain't even a guest But if you wanna check my mans out I gotta hide the.4 pog man

Tell the people What they need to tap into bro You already know man First off Follow me At Evan Turner On Instagram and LinkedIn Or wherever you get

You know Your fly shit out It's crazy Yeah You know You know I get that And then on Twitter It's the kid et

the only one and then and shit if you listen to point forward it's a normal way you spell it p-o-i-n-t-f-o-r-w-a-r-d because niggas can't spell and then the last but not least y'all like this pause y'all be kicking it like it's dope it's dope it's dope like subscribe because that's how you can help me out, dude. Dead ass, all right? Or else I'm going to have to go back to work. He told y'all how he go get that quarter meal. Oh, that's it.

Nah, but for real, bro, I appreciate y'all having me on and what y'all is doing is dope and like, Jeff, you're the coolest dude I ever met. Nah, I'm a dope, man. I'm just glad you found your lane and like people can really see how uh bright of a personality how special you know dudes you are in a nine crazy way but like shit you know i thought you was like cold at hooping but like bro you

funny as fuck so i appreciate what you're able to do and like with your your homies are able to really jump on pause. I appreciate what y'all niggas doing. Love, gang. We appreciate it, bro. Be here and tell

people they can grab some merch at shopclub520.com, baby. We out. The Volume. This is an iHeart Podcast.