Club Shay Shay - Matt Barnes

Episode Date: October 10, 2022

Former NBA Champion and co-host of "All the Smoke," Matt Barnes joins Shannon this week for a conversation on the latest headlines out of the NBA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. So I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolf. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Michael Rapoport, and I have been professionally podcasting for 10 years. The podcast game has changed so much, and if you're looking for the most disruptive podcast in the world,

then subscribe to the I Am Rapaport Stereo Podcast today. We're talking sports, politics, pop culture, entertainment, and anything that catches my attention. Listen to the I Am Rappaport Stereo Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Damn. And this is going to go viral, too. Yep. Damn. And this is gonna go viral too. Yup. Giannis, KD, Steph, Embiid.

I'm gonna take heat for this last pick. All my life, been grinding all my life. Sacrifice, hustle, pay the price. Want a slice, got the roll of dice. That's why all my life, I be grinding all my life. All my life, been grinding all my life. Sacrifice, hustle, pay the price. Want a slice, got the roll of dice. That's why all my life, I be grinding all my life. Hello, welcome to another edition of Club Shay Shay. I am your host, that's why, all my life, I've been grinding all my life. Hello, welcome to another edition of Club Che Che. I am your host, Shannon Sharp. I'm also the proprietor of Club Che Che. And the guy that's stopping by for conversation on the drink today is a 14-year NBA vet.

He's an NBA champion, and he might be the last of a dying breed, the last of the bad boys of the NBA, Matt Barnes. MB, what's up, bruh? It's good to be here, man. Thanks for coming on. How you been?? It's good to be here, man. Thanks for coming on. How you been? I've been good. Busy, man.

Busy summer, you know, outside of work, you know, coaching my kids' AAU team, you know, traveling around the country with the kids was a blessing. But it was fun. How did the boys do in AAU this year? So we finished third nationally. So I think we could have been one. We hit some injuries and had one of our center quit

literally two days before we hit nationals. But I mean, with everything said, as a team, we did really well. Like I said, we finished third. Ranked number three in the country for 13U. Not too bad. Congratulations on that, bro. Look, I know on your podcast, up all the smoke, you guys smoke here at Club

Shea Shea. We take a drink of the portier. Congratulations on what you and Stacks are doing. Appreciate that. Appreciate that. You gave us the blueprint. I said, I smell this. It smells like money right here. Smells like money.

Congratulations with the success on this as well. Appreciate it, brother. Thank you. The hot button issue was I made Dka being suspended for the entire season. And initially when the news broke, you're like you were in very much in support of I made. The question would I have for you, were you support of how the Celtics like, damn, they suspend a man for the whole year or how they handle the situation in suspending it? I think it started before that was we got the Robert Sarver information. Right.

And I've been saying he's a known racist since I left there in 2010. So we had that information for a couple days. And then following the E-Mays situation loosely, and then once they dropped the suspension, that's where I was just like. Because at first when they reported it, they said he's going to be suspended for the entire season, but he's not going to be fired. You're like, okay, what is he going to be suspended for? Right.

So now all of a sudden the information starts to seep out. He had a consensual relationship with a staffer. Right. And so that was basically all the information everybody had. Right. But obviously you received some information that the media, the public, the broad media, the public doesn't have. Yeah. So, I mean, with that, so, again, initially, like you said, I went out there in defense from a standpoint of, you know, being in the league as long as I've been in and being in corporations now.

Stuff like that happens a lot. You know, so for me to hear he was suspended the same amount of time as someone who has sexually harassed and thrown racial slurs around an organization, it didn't make sense to me. The way Boston handled it could have been handled better. The way I came about it, maybe I could have handled it better. You know what I mean? So when I made the post in his defense, as soon as I made the post, I'm going to tell you, maybe two minutes later, I got a phone call. And this person is telling me what happened. And I'm like, oh, OK, well, maybe I should take down my post.

So I did it. But next morning I woke up and it still it hit the blog. So instead of being, you know, I feel like so often in this space where if you're wrong, you just let it slide or the apology is really small. Right. I mean, so I came out and publicly said, hey, you know, I misspoke before having all the information. Right. I'm apologized. It's a lot deeper than we know. And, you know, I wish everybody the best.

And, you know, some people respected the fact that I came out and said that. And other people are like, oh, man, you're hating on this dude. You're doing this. Well, if you're in the media, tell us what you heard. And I'm not someone that takes pride in dumping on our people right i mean i think there's such a double-edged sword and such a double standard for us to even climb in the ranks we climb that you know when i found out some the news i'm just like man you know if this comes out it's going to be ugly but i'm not going to be the one to have it come out

right you know so right people started running with both sides of that so it has been a whirlwind man and you know hopefully everyone can you know find some solace and some peace in it and work yourself out. I think a lot of it had to do, especially coming from us, is that who he's dating. And you're like, man, how are you going to do her like that? And it's deeper than that, Matt, because, you know, look, being a professional athlete, we think we're an invincible. And then we've all done some things that we threw caution to the wind. It wasn't the fact that we're making millions. It wasn't the fact that if this came out, it's going to be really bad for us.

And that moment at that time, that was the most important thing. Damn the millions. Damn who finds out about it. No, I completely agree. And the one thing I definitely didn't touch on was the family dynamic because I've done too many too many things to really even have a voice in that space you know I'm the last one that's gonna tell anyone on relationship advice or this isn't that because you know how public and messy you know my divorce was so again you

know the fact that she is a you know an icon in the space as far as acting and has such an amazing reputation, that was something that everyone else was harping on. But that's what I didn't touch because I had already messed up in that space. So I wasn't going to be the one to criticize, oh, you shouldn't have did this or you shouldn't have did that. That wasn't me. Like I said, I came to his defense initially because I thought

from what the information we had, that's a common thing that happens, not only in the NBA but across the board. Right. I think the thing is that maybe if they had said that, maybe they could have addressed it like, I'm going to take a year off to deal with some personal issues. And then that would have gave him an opportunity to cover. But when they leave it so broad and everybody started to speculate

and then a day later it comes out, well, there's no covering for that. There ain't no he taking time off. We're suspending him because the policy. And I understand both sides. I understand your point, what you're saying, that this happens more times, more often than not. But I understand the corporation side of this. Because when this thing hit the fan,

the corporation is the one that potentially could be out of millions and millions. So they try to cover it like, bro, let's just, there are 20 million people, there are 5 million people in Boston. Go find you one of them. Leave what's here. But it's a lot. But you're around this person all the time.

You see these people all the time. Hey, how you doing? You know, what's going on? You become, you know, you develop a relationship with these people. But my whole thing is, Uncan, you know, when you've been in professional sports and you're in the corporate business world now like this is not the first situation and i don't recall anyone else ever having to have it put on front street to begin with right you know what i mean like normally like internal businesses internal business where they want to suspend them for a personal leave or personal reasons

that's fine but i think again the way it it came out somebody had to leave that information i'm just just like, damn, like I said, I didn't been in the league for a long time and I haven't seen some stuff. And although people came, it may have been found out it was never brought right to the public. Right. You know what I mean? So I definitely think it was a smear campaign. And that's why initially I had jumped to his defense. You mentioned your public situation, your situation, the way, you know, you was going through a divorce and situation. What did you learn from that? What, when you look back on it, what do you wish you could have handled differently? I just think that, you know, I had to come to terms with a long time ago is obviously, you know, being a public figure, there's not much privacy to our lives to begin with.

We gave that up a long time ago. But then the fact that we jumped on a reality show as well, we completely gave all of our privacy and private moments away. You know what I mean? So that's what I really learned was obviously being an athlete, and I'm not even, I was a role player. I have no qualms about who I was. I know exactly who I was, but I was always on big teams

and played with big guys. But then, like I said, when I opened the door to my family situation via reality TV, I knew there was no such thing as privacy anymore. And that carried on through my relationship with my ex-wife, who we've been separated now, damn near seven years, or excuse me, divorced for almost seven years, to my current situation. So it's just the ability to think back and wish that we could have kept some things private private but you know you live and learn you wish you hadn't done that show oh absolutely not and and and and i you know like i said i'm not speaking for my ex but i'm pretty sure she wished she did you know she didn't jump in in the show either but again you live and you learn you're young you have an opportunity when i you know give her an opportunity to kind of you know

build out her her her stuff what she was doing outside of our family stuff. Because when you look at it, you say, well, there's some good, but it seems to me more bad than good. Now, we get the Kardashians and we see how they made it. We get Paris Hilton and how she took off,

but more times than not, breakup, divorce, ugly situation. It's really too, I mean, the two people you mentioned, you know, they're not black. You know what I mean? And I say that with all due respect because, you know, when it comes to black reality TV, it's such an untrue tale of who we are and what we're about. You know what I mean? When you say basketball wives and, you know, wives or girlfriends

or whatever the situation may be, people don't act like that on a day to day basis. And they realize early on that they don't want to see a happy family with kids and they want to figure out that they will see a big room back and forth. That sales, the drama sales. So, you know, just understanding again, knowing what we got into before we got into it and we didn't and we learned from it. But now we kind of sit back and watch again that was 2011 well, you know what I mean and and and the reality world is is you know

They say stuff comes in waves and it's gonna fade the reality TV has been here to stay but every time I you know I jump and this is not all but I say a majority of time you see black reality television It's just such a negative portrayal of who we are. It's just it's disheartening. The situation where you and a former teammate of yours get into it. Do you wish you'd have that situation differently? No, no, I wish I just wish that. I mean, I was hoping for a little pause. No, no. I mean, you are the real. I mean, I mean, to keep it real. I mean, people die for shit like that. You know, and the fact that I was an athlete, it didn't even come to my mind.

I wasn't worried about it. I just felt like it was the ultimate disrespect. And it wasn't so much that, yeah, I divorced my girl. And we both decided, actually, even though I'm the one that divorced, we were both done. Right. It was a mutual thing. I just decided to file first.

So we both go our separate ways. So you just think if and to even give them a little, you know, you can't help who you fall in love with. I just wish from a standpoint knowing that there was kids involved. Okay, I don't really like the way you move on, ex-wife. I'm not really tripping off that. But the fact that you're going to be around my

kids and don't tell me is where I have... So if she had broke it to you, say, look here, man. You know, hey, you and I, we divorced. You know, we got the kids. But I'm digging on someone else. And you know who it is. So she comes to you and she tells you, you know, he was an ex-teammate of yours. I think the hair on the back of your neck going to stand up. You go like, who?

Who this mofo? I mean. And I would say that. But at the standpoint, you know, again, after we were both, you know, we were out of love. So I would have respected that. I may not have liked it. standpoint, you know, again, after we were both, you know, we were out of love, you know, so I would have respected that. I may not have liked it, but I can't do, if you're going to be a woman or be a man and come tell me the situation, like I can't do nothing but respect that. Again, you may not agree, you may not like it, but again, I'm no longer in charge of, I never was really in

charge, but you know, she's a grown ass woman. So what she decides to move and do, it's fine. But again, I think the fact that there were kids involved right is is is where it really bothered me that you know that that it wasn't brought to me first right back to the I may it says okay consensual really they were involved in a consensual relationship but at a later date in time it was unwanted advances so that I think that's what threw a lot of people out. They're like, hold on. How, if we're involved in a consensual relationship, I'm saying something that's inappropriate.

I mean, you think like, okay, somebody want to end it, and it kept going, and they didn't want it to go. I mean, it's like... Or someone trying to save face after the fact. Right, right. You know what I mean? So again, this is, this may be one of those things, like I said, if details come out and, you know, it's a crazy situation, you know what I mean? But until

we really get or someone breaks that news, I mean, it's going to really going to be a lot of speculation about, you know, who's involved, what's going on, what happened, who happened. Like, it's a lot of different things. So the person I talked to was very close to the situation, and I got the information I got. But again, like I said, I'm not one that wants to break negative news like that. Like I said, my whole purpose from the beginning

was to come in his defense. Right. Duke, I think you and I both agree on this. I think they're gearing this thing up. I don't see how he gets that job back. It's going to be tough, man. It's going to be really tough. And I know what they were hoping.

They were hoping that normally in a situation like this, the guy says, you know, I'm resigning, I'm stepping down, and then they can just wipe their hands of it. But he didn't do that. Right. But to say that, okay, he's going to be away for a year and they're going to reevaluate the situation. What is there to reevaluate?

The situation happened. He's away. It's not like he can do something that can convince you this is not going to happen again. All he can do is give you his word. Yeah, all he can do. But when I look at it, now I kind of look at it from a different standpoint of what a job he did as a coach. Oh, he was unbelievable. You know what I mean?

To the NBA Finals? And I feel like, you know, when we mess up, it's not an individual mess up. Right. It's a blanket mess up. Right. You know what I mean? Because black head coaches all the time. Every black coach is going to get lumped into that.

That's just how we are as people. And that's how it happens. You know what I mean? So, to me, it's an unfortunate situation. One, because he was groomed under, you know, arguably one of the greatest coaches of all time, Greg Pakovich. You know, he paid his dues. And that team started off bad last year. They turned the corner in January, and then they went on a run

that was amazing and made the final. So I'm thinking, like, man, they got a young black coach, young talent. Boston is here for that. You know, they're going to be a team to wreck them with for a while. So now you look at it, you know, five months later where, you know, the coach is no longer in place. Who's, you know, who's going to be the leader of this team? This is a young, talented team. Like what happens to the team? Because like I said, there's so much, you know, there's families

that, you know, at limbo now, but the Celtics themselves are at limbo because again, this is one of the best teams in the league with one of the best young leaders in the game and coach Udoka. And now you sit back and think like the domino effect of of of the action is going to leave a lot of people kind of scrambling like what's happening you know when we're in our space as former athletes you do a lot of stuff on espn you have your own podcast i do stuff here at fs1 with skip uh have my own podcast we get people are always asking us to comment on certain situations. And Shaq was asking, Shaq says, well, I'm not going to comment for the simple fact I've been a serial cheater.

But I think those things are two different things. I can see, and Shaq is that he has corporations. I mean, Shaq is a tremendous businessman. But I think it's different than you being a serial cheater and you being in a position of authority and doing something outside of the scope of what the organization says. Like you own a corporation and you say, well, there's no fraternizer. There's no relationship going on with someone, a subordinate or someone within that corporation. That's one thing. I mean, obviously, we've all done things.

I mean, let's not sit here and say we were perfect. But I don't look at it like, well, Shannon, you probably cheated on somebody as that. I can't comment on that because I think cheating when I'm just a 23-, 25-year-old man and I'm not in a position of authority is different than kind of what I'm going through. Well, I mean, like you said, I think you hit it on the head. We're always asked to comment on everything, whether it's sports related or not and this happened to be sports related so again you know again I jumped out on a limb in defense because although cheating is not right I'm not judging that no far from perfect you know what I mean but like I said I didn't think the consequence off the information we had before match that

because again if you look at the Phoenix situation, this man is a serial racist and has done all kinds of things and they got the same type of suspension. Right. So that's, it wasn't, I think if the Robert Sarver shit hadn't broke a few days before, I would have never commented on that. My whole thing was how are these two things relatable? Right. There's no way these are the same type of issues.

It seems like one was an isolated incident and and the other you had an 18-year body of work. And 200 people coming to talk about that, man. So, like I said, my whole situation was to try to let him know we're supporting him because I know it's the bigger picture here. Like I said, it's an unfortunate situation, but a great young black coach in the NBA is we've know, we got to take care of those type of situations. And when something like that happens, it's not just him, it's us. You know, so that's kind of the way I was looking at it.

You spoke to that you played in Phoenix. So you have very firsthand knowledge of the type of person that Robert Sarver is, not was, is. And so you felt very strongly that when you spoke out against him you had firsthand you had intimate knowledge of the type of person that you were dealing with that they that the report had come out and what it has laid out you're like yep yep yeah yeah yeah i mean it was it was it i never ran into a racial situation with him per se like face to face because it probably wouldn't have ended well for him.

But, you know, former teammate Earl Watson, who was the head coach there, you know, told me what happened with him and it was eye opening. I had seen him interact with people. And as soon as people, players walk away, I'd hear him say a snide remark, but just his arrogance and the way he carried himself, that he was the smartest and the richest

and the best person in the room, kind of always rubbed me the wrong way. And then few years after that i went back to phoenix and there was a situation where we were playing them and i was i was someone in my career who didn't mind talking to fans whether we're talking or we're just talking having a good time but i think that makes the experience better for our fans so i'm talking to this 13 year old kid and his dad and we're back and forth laughing and there's a free throw being shot and and and i hear someone say don't talk to my fans like just like that and i'm just like huh no way he's talking to me and i turn around and it's him in the corner sitting with his wife and i said i'll

come in there smack the out of you right in front of your wife and then ran back down the court because the free throw was shot he told on me i ended up getting fined for 25 000 for inappropriate language to i don't know they said the crowd or to him but i'm thinking like this guy is an owner and he was the one that said don't talk to my fucking fan i'm not just gonna say something to him i don't even like the guy so i wasn't gonna say nothing to him but the fact that he came at me first and i responded how do i get fined 25 000 for it you know so that was kind of my last straw i really didn't like him but it wasn't something i was going to talk about at the time because i really didn't care but the fact that you know he cost me money i'm just man like fuck this guy i think it was earl watson that said the

story that about how he was asking how can draymond say the n-word and he can't say it and he kept asking well where draymond says it why can't i I say it? And my question always is, why is it the way people in a certain group talk to each other that people outside of that group want to know why? I hear women call each other the B word. I've never asked. Why can't I say that? I hear people in the LBGT community say things to each other, and I've never asked. Why can't I say that?

Because I know why. I'm not a member of that community. We talk to each other a certain way. In the black community, we'll call each other, hey. But I ain't going to let somebody else say that. No. It's one of those things, like you said, you've got to be along. It's almost a secret society.

If you know, you know. You know what I mean? And I think you made a perfect example with the other communities. It's like we know why we can't say that. Yes, but it's not right publicly. But again, if you're amongst your people, your friends, your family, you know, people you mess with and the world goes back and forth it to me, there's a different energy

behind it when we say it to each other than when someone else is trying to implement it or say it. Well, damn it, you seem to be at the wrong place at the wrong time or the right place at the wrong place at the wrong time or the right place at the right wrong time because the Donald Sterling situation. You were on that team. Yeah.

So when you hear the – now, did you know that he was the way he was? So I heard about it, obviously. You know what I mean? But, again, you know, because you play – we don't play for the owners. Right. Rarely do you even interact unless you're a superstar. So I wasn't really interacting with any of the owners I play for it. You know what I mean? So when that hit, rewind a little bit. When I was in high school, my senior year of high school, you know,

three months away from going to UCLA, one white kid kept messing with my sister, who was a sophomore at the time, calling her nigger this, nigger that. And I told her, you know, go tell the principal. And she did, and nothing happened. So one particular day, this kid calls her nigger again and spits on her. And she just lost her mind, starts crying. And her and her friends come find me. Kid happens to walk by.

And I do what a big brother's supposed to do. You know what I mean? I handle my business. Yeah, you suppose the market's low with it. So I get them to suspend. We go in there and tell them, you know, my sister's complained a handful to do. You know what I mean? Yeah, you suppose the market's low with it. So I get in there and get suspended. We go in there and tell him, you know, my sister's complained a handful of times. You guys didn't do nothing. He spit in her hair, called her a nigger again,

and you didn't do nothing. So I took it into my own hands. Well, you can't do that, and there's no proof he did this, this, and that. I'm just like, so you think my sister's crying? Making that up. She's going to lie about it. So fast forward, I get suspended for a week. The KKK comes and vandalized my school, burns down a classroom, swastikas, die nigger, hung

a mannequin from the football, from a tree with my jersey on it, die nigger, put a green light on me, said they were trying to kill me, had to move to a different part of town in Sacramento. So I say all that to say, when I heard the Donald Sterling stuff, I'm just like, yeah, he's probably racist, but this is not a big deal deal because he's not the only person that thinks like this. He's just the only one dumb enough to get caught. Right. You know what I mean? So like I've seen so much real racism and been in the midst of, you know, literally burning down buildings and people trying to kill me to think that what he said was wrong. But I'm not going to lose no sleep over

again because he's not the only one that there's a lot of people not just in wrong, but I'm not going to lose no sleep over again, because he's not the only one that there's a lot of people, not just in sports, but across the board that are in positions of power who look at black and brown people as less, you know, so when we heard that, obviously it was, it was a huge situation and, and, and all of our team, you know, my, all my teammates took it a different way, but I think in the midst of what was going on, we felt like we had a good team. You know, we had won the Pacific Division, you know, it was that year or the year before, we felt like we had a championship contender

and we wanted to play basketball. But this is on the urge of social media where athletes are starting to kind of speak about more than sports and all this other stuff starts going on. So we're Uncle Tom's and you're playing for a racist dude, you're doing this. So the world was trying to tell us what to do and what not to do. So it was just it was a tough situation.

I think that cloud hanging over us ultimately didn't make us lose but kind of helped just the energy, you know of our team to end up losing in the next round. How did you guys come to the conclusion that you were all going to throw your warm-ups top in the center? It was my idea because, again, we were talking about not playing and looking back, guys, I hear guys left and right saying, you know, we shouldn't have played. But we didn't know, you know, how long do we not play?

Right. Is it one game? What happens? That automatic loss? Is it two games? It was so new. You know, do we not play until he's fired? Is he going to get fired?

So there was so much unknown. Again, and we felt like we had a good enough team to win it that we decided to play. So we wanted to do something in solidarity that let people know, like, we're not okay with it, but, again, we're not playing for this guy. Like, we don't care about Donald Sterling. We care about who's in this locker room and our family. So, you know, we tried to come up with a bunch of different ideas on just like,

look, the most important thing right now, if we're going to play, is we got to beat this young, hungry Warriors team, because if people remember, we beat them in game seven, but the next year they went on their dynasty run. So we knew we had a young, hungry team that we had to take care of and it needed all of our attention. So if we're going to do something, let's do something. Let's get it done early on and then try to focus on the game. So, you know, I came up with the throw the shit in the middle. Let's try to go focus.

And I think we got beat by like 30 that game. It was a mess, but we're actually making. So I just was brought on as a consultant for Sterling Affairs. So FX is actually making a six part series about that show. They're supposed to drop either later this year or early next year. Wow. Well, congrats on that. Appreciate it.

John Wall, the guy, unbelievable talent, an all star. that show that's supposed to drop either later this year or early next year about that season. Well, congrats on that. Appreciate it. John Wall, the guy, unbelievable talent, an all-star, tears his Achilles, then I think he re-tears it. He dealt with the death of his mom. And he's talking about, you know, at one point in time, basketball was an afterthought because of what he was going through, and he contemplated suicide. And we heard Paul George speaking about this a couple years ago about in the bubble and what he was going through and he contemplated suicide. And we heard Paul George speaking about this a couple years ago about in the bubble and what he was going through

and Matt you old school. I'm a lot older than you but you old school and we like an athletes are supposed to be invincible. We don't have we can't show weakness. No, because if you weak get your week, you know, what up out of here, but to hear guys that have reached the top and to hear said man. I was at my breaking point John Wallace Pacific

I don't know what Paul George, but he just said he was dealing with some things but to hear John Wall So man, I was at I was at my breaking point man I just had to reach out and say man Hey, I need some help over here to deal with this. Well, I mean, I mean take away the athlete first our community in general It's a sign of weakness. Yes. We don't talk about it as no see as a man It's get your weak ass up or you're going to be all right. Or if it's crazy, get your crazy ass out of here. Mental was never a reason for anything for us.

So to me, I think it's refreshing that people can speak on this and they're taken serious. But at the same time, you still see a lot of people with that kind of that old mentality, like man, you make all this money, what the fuck are you talking about? You ain't got no real issues. But again, that mental thing is heavy. Right. I mean, I never went to the bubble and never had a significant injury, you know, that John Wall had.

But, you know, when people think, you know, money fixes everything, money fixes a lot of things, but not everything. You know what I mean? And sometimes you could be alone in a room full of people. That's the lonely space to be is in your own thoughts. So, you know, again, I commend these guys to have the bravery to say it because it's not as many people who are going to receive it warmly and understand it.

That is the cool thing to say. Yeah. A lot of people are going to be like, man, look at these weak ass, you know what I mean, which is crazy. So, I mean, I commend them. And also Kevin Love, DeMar DeRozan. A lot of guys have come out and spoke on it because I think it's important, man. Right.

Ben Simmons. Right. Another perfect example of just mentally is a lot of guys have come out and spoke on it because I think it's important, man. Right. Ben Simmons. Right. Another perfect example of just mentally is a lot. And, again, I've been through so much growing up that I think I was made for the critiques and the disrespect and all that stuff. But sometimes it really gets to you. So, again, I commend those guys, and I commend anybody who's brave enough to come out and talk about something like that. You mentioned Ben Simmons and what he was going through.

Here's a guy that's immensely talented, 6'10", 6'11", can handle the ball. He was rookie of the year. He's been an all defensive NBA player twice. He's been a three-time all-star, but for whatever reason, he does, he, I'm not saying he can't shoot, Matt, but he's a guy that's afraid to shoot. You see, black people, we don't, you know, it's not that we can't swim, we're afraid of the water. Well, if you're afraid of the water, I can't teach you how to swim because I can't teach you how to swim if you don't want to get in the water.

You're not going to take a chance, right? Ben is afraid to shoot because I, you watch him in warm-ups, he got a nice stroke. Great form. I've seen him play open gyms where he's coming off picking rolls and pulling up, coming down to transition, hitting full-up threes. And I'm just like, so to me it makes me like it's 100% mental with him. Yes. And I think he has to understand that it's okay to miss.

Steph misses, MJ misses, Kobe misses. So it's okay to miss. So I think once he gets over that mental hurdle, he's going to be fine. But like you said, all the other attributes he has to the game makes him one of the best players in the world. So I think if he can get out of his own head, and we just talked about this earlier on ESPN today where Steve Nash came out and said, I don't need Ben to shoot. You can stop saying that. To me, that's the wrong approach.

I just don't think Steve Nash wants any smoke right now, considering all the other shit. Steve don't want no smoke. So Steve's going to take the path of resistance. But to me, it's Ben keeping a tight circle and his teammates continuing to hype him up. Like I said, if I was on Ben's team, I would be in his ear constantly just about, bro, we got you. You know, whatever you need, we got. We believe in you. We love you.

One of the best. But sometimes people just need that positive reinforcement by the people around them. And he felt like, you know, in Philly, he didn't get that. And Bede came out and said something. But I said, at that time, Matt, I think you might have came on the show. I said, it's over. I said, you can't have the best player say what you said. And they asked Doc after the game.

And Doc might have meant anything by it. I don't know if he's a point guard. But you cannot say, I don't know if I can win a championship with him in my starting point guard. I said, it's over. And it was over him in my starting point guard. That's it. It's over. And it was over. I think I did come home when that happened. And like I said, when you get your road dog, the best player on the team,

with you and your head coach saying that, I knew that situation was over. It was unresolvable. Oh, he's weak. He's this. He's that. But at the same time, like, I get it, man. This generation is different, first and foremost. But, you know, if you've got your coach and the guy that's supposed to be your right-hand man

saying things, and I don't think they meant it in a disrespectful way. I just think that they were hurt and frustrated and caught up in the moment. Right. But what came out, came out. Yeah, because the way it be is like, well, when did you think you lost momentum in the game? Well, when we had an opportunity for a dunk and we passed it up and we make one free throw.

Right. Bro, you went to that specific and say that was the reason. Not that you had a 3-1. That was at the end of the game too, wasn't it? Yes. Yeah. And again, like I said, you know, Shannon, it's tough because I commend anyone who's always cool, calm, and elegant under pressure because winning,

losing, all that, we're full of so much emotion. You know what I mean? And to have to take a deep breath and calm down and articulately get across your point, you know, even though there may be some still have some emotions in the way, it's hard to do. It is. And like I said, I don't think Joel or those guys meant to disrespect him

at the time, but they were caught in the moment, and they took that one play when you know it's not one play that ever loses you a game or a series. It's a whole combination of things. And it came out publicly, and then everyone started jumping and taking sides. And I knew right then, just like you do, that shit was over. Yeah, because that's the thing. I mean, there have been times like, oh, this dude, he cost us the game.

He played terrible. That's what happened. But you're just like, you know, we win as a team, we lose as a team. But, hey, you weren't playing team ball today, bro. You look at John Wall going to the Clippers, and he says he's in a better headspace now. He hadn't played. It's been so long since John Wall.

We've seen John Wall on the court. So I don't really know. I know what he was before he got injured. I don't know what he will be. Kawhi has been away for a year. Paul George came back. They have the makings of something good because I love Ty Lue. Ty Lue get them. Great coach.

Man, Ty Lue getting them all to play hard all the time. But they're going to be in different roles now. All those guys that were getting those free shots and Reggie Jack just coming out and getting 15, 20 shots a night. And Mars and all these guys. Now Kawhi got to get his 18 shots.

PG got to get his 16 shots. John Wall's going to be coming up to pick and roll, getting his 11-12 shots. So now you're in a different role. One plus one plus one doesn't always equal three. And then when you throw plus two, you don't necessarily get five. If Ty Lue wasn't a coach, I would be worried about that. But Ty Lue, having him as a coach and Noman as a person, he doesn't hold his tongue for nobody.

So he's going to let everyone know who has the issue with Kawhi getting his 18 shots, PG getting his 18 shots, and John getting all the shots. I don't give a fuck what you think. This is how it's going to go. And I want to commend him, because if you think about it, the way he's been able to keep that team afloat without their star, you know what I mean?

I think they said something today, since they've been together, that they've only played 150 games together, PG and Kawhi, out of almost 300 games. He's kept that team respectable and kept them afloat and made role players up their games and guys from the bottom of the bench get quality minutes. So now, to me, when you reinsert two of the best two-way players in the game, and then to me, John Wall, who was one of the most explosive point guards we've seen in the game, and although he's been removed the one season he did play in Houston, although he was coming off,

I think, two, two and a half years of not playing three years of not playing. He was 19 and nine. I mean, so I don't even think they need him to be that now. And I think why this is a great situation for John, because he's always been called to be the savior. Right. Now you can just come in and be one of the guys and contribute the way you can contribute now. Obviously, you're not the same player you were when you were an all-star,

but you still have a lot of basketball to give, and I think he has a lot to prove not only to himself, but the rest of the world. But how do you, when you've always been that, how do you tell yourself, I'm no longer needed, that's no longer needed for me? And we're going to talk about Russ, but Russ has been the guy. Right.

And he came in again. He still wanted to be, show that I'm still Russ. So how does a guy that's been the guy at the stops that he was at, all of a sudden say, no, I'm good. I can be third fielder. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps,

and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game, every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claibon, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Rodrigue from the athletic. And of course, Colleen Wolf. This is their window right now.

This is their Superbowl window. Why would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Superbowl. I don't know why Colleen. Catch the podcast, the NFL daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that?

Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You got to ask guys like that because that's what I mean. You know what I mean? But I think, again, with him, you know, if you're a student of the game, like I know John is a very intelligent person. He watches the game. He saw intelligent person. He watches the game. He saw the game. He knows the game. He knows he's older.

Although he hasn't played a lot in the last three or four seasons, he knows he's a little bit older now. And then you also know that this is not every team he's been on pretty much has been his team. Right. This is Kawhi's team and Paul's team. You know what I mean? And then maybe even T. Lou's team. Right. You know what I mean?

So I think he's smart enough to understand that where he comes in and is picking and choosing his spots and being effective on both ends of the floor is what's going to be a small piece of something big instead of a big piece of nothing. When you look at PG and Kawhi, they've been together almost four years now, and they don't really have anything to show for it. No. And what is it? PG is so what?

Kawhi is two. So 2-1-3 area code was supposed to deliver some jewelry. But I think, and this is not to make an excuse, but to me the only reason why they haven't had anything to show for it is because of injuries. And, you know, that's something that, you know, the Lakers could possibly say with AD, what Milwaukee could say last year when they lost Middleton,

is injuries are such a big part of the game. But what they do have is they went to the, with Milwaukee, you could say last year when they lost Middleton, is injuries are such a big part of the game. But what they do have is they went to the Western Finals for the first time in the history of the franchise. And although that's not going to do anything, like I said, it shows them that they do have the pieces. And I think now arguably they have the deepest team in the game. So on paper, this team looks good. But like you said, we have to see it in real life

over the course of a season. At least 60 to 65 games for PG and Kawhi each to really understand what this team is going to be like. Man, you know good well Kawhi ain't going to play no 65 games. Man, that man ain't played that many games since he left San Antonio. Maybe 55 to 60 then. We'll lower it. But just like I said, understanding that it's a marathon, not a sprint,

and we need both these guys. We need everybody healthy going into the playoffs. You like the Clippers in the West? Who do you like in the West? Golden State and the Clippers. Damn. He said damn. Damn.

Lakers brought on Pat Bell. Love it. Love it. Beside Dennis Schroeder. I don't know what he was thinking. I don't know his age. I hope he fired his agent. Because if you turn down $84 million and now you come back for.

He got $82 million less than he should have got. Yeah. That's tough. First of all, how do you come back from that? Okay, man, I got this contract for you. Here, here's $84 million. You're like, no, I want $100 million. No, I got $84.

No, I want $100. You're like, okay, well, I'm going to test it. I'm going to go out here and pre-agency. And you don't get that. Do you fire your agent or are you kicking yourself like, what the hell was I thinking? You've got to slap yourself, first and foremost, because I don't give a fuck what my agent said. If I wanted

that 84, I'm going to get it. So there's no agent that's going to say, let me hold out for 16 more million. So I think that was probably more him than anything. And I'm not mad for people betting on themselves, but this, I think, is a perfect him than anything. And I'm not mad for people betting on themselves. But this, I think, is a perfect example of when betting on yourself goes wrong because you think he goes to Boston next year, some shit happens, he doesn't really play there, and then he's out of the NBA.

And then clearly in this summer basketball overseas, he showed he still has what it takes. So I thought it was a great pickup for the Lakers, just unfortunate that he didn't get his money. And if you think about the historical significance of the Lakers franchise and the fact that so many great players that have played to that uniform and hung championships never got that offer. Right. And he turned it down. So I think it's something he's aware of and he's probably going to hear jokes about it for a long time. But jokes aside,

I think Pat Bev and Schroeder were great pickups for them. What is your expectation for the Lakers? It seems to me, Russ doesn't want to be there. They don't want Russ there, but they can't find a taker. And if the takers, I believe any taker that takes on Russ is looking to buy him out. And they don't necessarily want Russ. They want to extract those two first-round picks that's unprotected in 27 and 29.

That's what they want. They don't want Russ. They want those picks. They want the Lakers. You ain't got no first-round picks until 2030. It's 2022 now. So LeBron is going to be gone then. There's a possibility AD is going to be gone then. We got no possibility AD is going to be gone then.

We got no picks. They got to win somehow. Period. With what they got. You know, to me, there's so much unknown. Like I said, we're all guessing as far as does Russ want to be here? Do they want him there? Do the players, do they collide?

Do this? All I know is he's on the team right now. Yes. and they're going to have to figure it out but I think they can figure it out I think the key to this team obviously outside LeBron greatness is Anthony Davis's availability but I think second is and and normally when you go to a team with a superstar such as LeBron everyone else has to kind of change their game to make it fit him I think this may be the one rare occasion where LeBron might have to sacrifice a little bit to get the most out of Russ,

because I think what LeBron did the past two years is LeBron showed us that he can get it from anywhere now. We've never seen LeBron post up as much as he's post up, and he's a monster on the block. Whether it's pinch post or post, we've never seen him be a screener and be a dynamic roller and dunk on people, and he showed he can do that. We also showed that he can pick and pop now and get the ball to the second side and make action come.

So with LeBron showing us that he has more, which I didn't think there could be any more to his fucking package, but there is more, LeBron showed us he can get the ball and get it whenever he wants. So I think with that said, I think Le braun may have to take a small step back to allow rust to be rust because you think you know you get older you're gonna your game is gonna change a little bit you're gonna find a way i think rust is gonna be rust and i think what makes him great sometimes is his downfall but one thing i do know is you can't put russell westbrook in the corner he's

always had the ball in his hands so we we all know the Lakers are at their best with Braun as the ball in his hands. But I think that what could happen is allow Russ to have the ball in his hands the first two and a half quarters to really get a feel. You know, obviously, Braun's going to have it sometimes there. AD will have it sometimes there. But allowing Russ to get his rhythm.

So by the time LeBron takes over at the middle of the third quarter and the fourth quarter, when he has the ball in his hand the majority of the time, Russ is already in rhythm. So by the time LeBron takes over at the middle of the third quarter and the fourth quarter, when he has the ball in his hand, the majority of the time, Russ is already in rhythm. Most of the time, like I said, they put Russ in the corner and make him crash the glass. You're not utilizing him to the best of his ability. So I'm a firm believer in as great as LeBron is, if LeBron can take a small step back to allow Russ to take a step forward,

I think that's something they'll figure out. But I also think that great players always find a way to make it work, and they just haven't had enough time together. We broke it down last year. Like, when they both didn't play, I think Russ averaged like 25-9-9. You know, and when it was just him and AD, he averaged in the 20s. And then when LeBron was in there, it was only down to 16. So I say all that to say, like, obviously we know how great LeBron is.

At the end of this year will be the number one score all time and he's top 10 and assist. So we know his greatness, but I think Bron is also smart enough to know that, you know, for us to win. First of all, we need 80s ass on the court, but we're going to need something out of Russ. So let me figure out a way. I can get Russ more involved and get Russ feeling comfortable enough to be himself because we're going to need him.

What does Pat Beverly bring to the Lakers? Energy, dog, a toughness that they lacked. I love Pat Bev. You know, a similar player to me. You know what I mean? Someone that, you know, doesn't always get appreciated what they should, but normally is a key part to winning. So I think the Pat Bev pickup was huge. I think he's gonna challenge those guys

He he has no filter. So, you know, anybody can get it was something I love And I just think he's gonna help hold those guys accountable because I think I've seen you know in the past couple years and this Is no not to anyone It just seemed like you know to wear that likeakers uniform and be okay with losing should never be okay. Right. It just seemed like those guys were okay. So I think when you have someone like Pat Bev, who was always on 100, he's not going to let that stuff, obviously, along with LeBron and AD

and the rest of the leaders go, you know, unaddressed anymore. So I love the Pat Bev pickup. You had some issues. I mean, his first time out on television, he was just beating everybody over the head. He was like, bro, slow down now. I mean, you acting like you Magic Johnson.

You talking like you Magic. Got like six chips up under your belt and a couple of MVPs. Dame chimed in and said, bro, T-Mac, like it's word law. Speaking on private conversations, the prayer of mofo's downfall, it's weird. What did you take issue with? Because I just praise the shit out of him,

and I love him as a player. Don't really necessarily know him as a person, but respect him as a man, obviously. But everything I just said in that locker room is okay. If you want to go off and yell, and no one is safe, I'm good with that, because that's the locker room,

and people do that. You know you don't always have to be the best player to be a leader. Right. So I know that he's a leader, and I'm good with that because that's the locker room and people do that. You know, you don't always have to be the best player to be a leader. So I know that he's a leader and I'm good with that. But when you bring that energy and emotion on TV and attack someone like CP, it's just like off some personal shit that happened, I guess, back from a high school camp is where it started at.

I'm just like, to me, I just think in media so often, it's just like, it's not about, you know, to me, we have a tough job because we have to critique. And as former players, you never really want to shit on nobody because we know how hard it is. You know what I mean? But I think there's a way to critique and still be respectful. Without making it personal.

Right, to still be respectful. And I think of late now, it's just so disrespectful that it's just like, come on, bro, like you played. You know how tough this game is. You know how lucky we are to even be in these seats seats. Like I just didn't like the energy he brought, but it's, it's a double-edged sword because as much as I said something to him, uh, you see, he's on TV the next seven days because they like, just like reality, like reality TV. They like controversy, controversy is clicks and views and viralnessness and that's what they want. So again,

I'll have no problem with Pat Bev. I'm a big fan of his game and I think he's going to be a great commentator because he's a thinker and he speaks his mind and there's always going to be room for that when he's done playing. But I just took offense to the way he came at CP and it was crazy because when I said that, I got calls from league officials, an old referee I ran into a grocery store, players, like a lot of people like, man, we're glad you said that because, you know, a lot of people would have just let that slide. And I just feel like, you know, if we're going to be in this space, especially as players, I think there's a way we have to conduct ourself and hold ourself and give the fans a real unique

look because with all due respect to people like Skip or Steve Manet, we're never in that locker room. They never shot that free throw, never had to score that game winning touchdown. So they're great at what they do because they're giving their perspective as someone who's done a lot of research and is a big fan of the game. Covered the game for numerous years. But we played the game. So to me, it's different. It's different, and I feel like we have a responsibility to carry ourselves

and give that back to the fans. What about, like, when you say something, have players – because a lot of times with me, you know, I'll say things that what I see and players get upset. Players get upset with me like, bro, you're trying to bring a black man down. Bro, I say you didn't play good. How am I trying to bring you down by saying you didn't play good?

The people at home see you didn't play good. So me, I'm supposed to turn a blind eye. Now I'm going to lose credibility because they say, oh, you covering for your boy. You know, man, you saw that man drop four passes in one of them with a touchdown. And you were talking about he played good. No, I mean, like I said, we have a tough job. But I mean, it's

what we signed up for. So there's a way to tell you that you play like shit, but I still love you. But I shouldn't have to tell you that I still love you even though I tell you you play like shit. You know, just know that that's where it's at. Know that there's a respect level there. But I think it hurts players more when it comes from us because we play. They know they can't bull job buster.

And this is, again, this is not a blanket statement, but they're not like us. They're not. And I don't even mean it from a talent standpoint. I just mean like the thick skin. They're a lot more sensitive. And because they've had so much given to them so early. You know what I mean? And I love it.

Like get all the money, get all the fame, get all the accolades. But you've got to remember you've got to come out here and perform every single night. You know what I mean? So I think it's a double-edged sword for what we do because we do have to critique. And sometimes players are going to take it the wrong way. And luckily I haven't had no one have an issue with what we said. But I'm always willing to talk to someone if I said anything they felt was over the line

or disrespectful, because I really try to pride myself on, again, I have to critique you because that's my job, but I'm not going to disrespect you as a man. Right. You see Shaq. Shaq and Barkley, they go, hey. They don't give a shit.

And I love it. Man, Charles is crazy. Shaq, they already know Shaq gonna stay where he want. Shaq and Shaq, 350 pounds, ain't nobody gonna ever with Shaq. But I'm like, I ain't really trying to go. I ain't trying to go there. I'm gonna say, bro, you should've caught the ball. Or you should've got out of bounds.

Or you should've made this play. And guys get upset. But sometimes they get mad not to cut you off because they know they should've did it. And like you said, with us, you can't fool us. You may be able to fool the fans, but we know, bro. And you know no better. So that's why I think they be getting mad sometimes because they know and then damn, Shannon said what I fucking knew and I should have did it. And a lot of times I do try to hold back because Dion Prime told me, he's like, you have to understand. Coming from you, you do understand

you got a gold jacket. I'm 267. Yeah, you big. By number, I was a 267 member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I got Super Bowls. And when I left the game, man, I had all the records. So, a lot of times when they talk about, okay, what did you do? You tell us what we should do and how we should.

But what did you do? They can't come at me like that because I won. I played at a high level. I got a gold jacket. And they can't whoop you. So it's like, damn, what do I say now, play? So I'm like, bro, all I did was say you should have caught the ball or you should have done this.

And somehow you turned that into I'm trying to bring a black man down It's unfortunate man. Like I said, it's a tough and it's almost like you always have to pick sides You know now which is unfortunate like you have like me giving respect to someone else doesn't discredit anyone else Right. I mean, it's almost like you have to it's just such a crate because everyone has voices now Right before when athletes didn't have what you got social you got social media. So now you got, how many of you got like a billion? You got a billion analysts. You got a billion former NFL players, MLB, basketball. Like, hold on, bro.

Referees. People that can't chew gum and dribble a ball. People who couldn't catch a ball to save their life. People who couldn't swing a baseball bat without hurting themselves. But everyone is an expert. You know what I mean? So we live in that kind of world. So we have to take it with a grain of salt.

But at the same time, sometimes people just don't want to hear it. Help. Have you ever played with someone that you had a beef with and then you guys later became teammates because you look at Russ and Pat Bell. I mean, they tried to downplay it, but look. Pat Bell tried to steal the ball from Russ when he was calling

timeout and he clipped it and ever since for whatever reason, they've been going at it. Now, I believe you can set it aside, but you do realize, man, you know, my knee ain't been the same since you did that bull job. Because he tore something, right? Yeah. Yeah, he tore something. I mean, you can forgive, but you don't forget. Right.

You know what I mean? So, again, I think being a grown man and kind of understanding that you're on the same page for the same common goal might be different. But I personally never had a real beef. You know what I mean? People thought me and Kobe didn't like each other, but we really fucked with each other. Right. You know what I mean?

So much that we almost fought and he had me come to his team. So there was never really no beef there. So I can't really speak to if I had beef with someone, I had to play with them. But I can speak to understanding that, OK, I remember what you did to me, but now we're on the same team, so let's go get it together. Right. What do you expect from Russ this year? I expect a big year from Russ.

I think that Russ has been one of the most mentally strong players we've ever seen because if you look at his resume, it's first about Hall of Fame, but he's taking criticism the entire time. And he's always had a way of just, you know, saying, forget the noise, I'm gonna go out here and play. But I always tell people coming to LA is so much more than dribbling that ball, boy, like particularly being a Laker. It's, you know, you're constantly under magnifying glass. There's no safety for you or your family. No. You know what I mean? So sometimes it's unwarranted, but it just comes with having that Lakers across your family. No. You know what I mean? So sometimes it's unwarranted,

but it just comes with having that Lakers across your chest. So I just think he realized that I'm back home. Shit ain't as sweet as I thought it was, but I got to come out here and play because I'm a firm believer, like I said, that the numbers don't lie. When he was playing by himself, and obviously he's not going to be, he could still produce. So I think his numbers were like 18-7-6 last overall that's still good you know what I mean so I just think

again you know he had to look at himself in the mirror because there are some adjustments he has to make right this is not everyone else's fault there are times where he just didn't play good he didn't shoot the ball good and he knows that but I think again he's smart enough to know that and I'm thinking he's coming in hopefully with a clear head and an understanding of, you know, how can I be the best me while helping this team not how can I just be the best me but how can I be the best me while helping this team achieve our goal? I think the biggest thing and this is what I tell

me when I talk to him. I say without expectation, there will be no disappointment. You get disappointed in your kids because you have expectation. You get disappointed in your kids because you have expectations for them. Yep. You get disappointed in the Laker Nation. They got 17 championships. They've seen great basketball. Magic, Kareem, Will, Jerry West, Shaq, Kobe, this one, that one. So you can't BS them.

You can't use the guys, I'm LA kid, I used to go to the parade and watch you. They don't care. They don't care. Did you see what they – look at LeBron. to go to the parade and watch you. They don't care. They don't care. Did you see what they... Look at LeBron. LeBron came here as a four-time MVP,

a three-time champion. All these NBA teams, all these all-stars. You ain't do none of that for us. So why we care? Don't you put another Merrill up with LeBron because if you do, we're going to take it down. They are. People, you know, he was out here.

People really did, after everything he's accomplished, and to think he wants to come here and help you guys win more but he still had to win people over you know what i mean they don't care really we live in a society so much that we don't you know what have you done for me lately yeah not your your your credentials don't travel with you no more like you've got to come shut up right so i mean that's the only thing they're on so i Amy, obviously, Brown was able to win. But still, I mean, if we're talking about LeBron, he's been probably the most criticized athlete in the history of the game of sports and arguably the greatest athlete we've ever seen, you know what I mean?

So again, it comes with the territory. He's done a great job of handling itself, but it just kind of seems like, you know, the they found a hole to get to rest and you would see it last year where he would let the outside know he's bothering, which is unfortunate, but we're human. Like you said early on, like they pay us a bunch of money. We're not supposed to feel anything. You still can hear. You still can see.

And if you don't hear it, guess what? You got homeboy. You got family here. I work out with his little brother Ray every morning. Ray is my dog. We work out every morning over at Boss' place. And I can see when, like, stuff is heavy on Russ, Ray comes in with the, like, you know, they all, you know, and we'll talk, like, bro, you know, you're going to be all right.

So I try to encourage his brother just because I know how much as Russ is going through. So just to me as a fan of the game, a fan of the Lakers, a Bruin brother, I want to see Russ have a great season because, again, if AD is healthy, we know what Bron has given us. If Russ can be Russ, a Russ that helps this team, there's no telling what that team can do. Dardenham was brought on as first-year coach,

and first-year coach, you coaching the Lakers. You got LeBron, and you got AD, and you know what the expectation. There is no Pacific Division championship. There is no winning 50 games. It's championship or nothing. That's all that matters for the Lakers. And this is what's been bestowed upon him. This is what is asked

of him. How do you think the hands gonna do? I hope he does. Well, the hand is my guy. We talked a lot. I just talked to him the other night night before training camp. But he knows and we've talked. I mean, you know, I remember my ex-wife's mom told me when you pick a mate you're just picking someone to argue with for the rest of your life so when you take this

laker front seat you're taking it to get yelled at yeah period yeah good or bad you win it's not enough you know you make to the playoffs it's not enough you get to the western finals it's not enough so d ham i think understands what he's going into, but he's paid his dues. You know, he's learned from some of the best minds in the game, and I wish him the best. You know, I think one thing that, again, I wasn't in that locker room, but it looked like Frank Bogle lost that locker room. They didn't give a shit what he said, and that's the worst thing amongst men. If you don't have the control of the locker room, you might as well not even coach. And I felt like without being in that locker room from the outside looking in that Frank Bogle lost that locker room. I think D. Hamm is

coming with a different energy and a different presence and I feel like he's going to have that locker room, but he's still going to have to prove himself. You know what I mean? You're still going to have to make calls. You're still going to have to make great in-game adjustments. You're still going to have to sub. Are you bringing Russ off the bench or are you not? Like there's decisions. He's going to have to make these tough decisions.

So although, you know, there's a lot of respect for him now. He has to show and prove just like the players do. So I mean, I wish him the best but that's a tough head job. You think the head coach of the Lakers, but this is a this is the Laker team. That's kind of in turmoil right now. So do you believe that he would be willing to sit rust bring Russ off the bench or sit Russ in the fourth quarter?

You think he'll be willing to do that? Because Frank Vogel did it, and then he saw Russ get upset and he inserted him back into the starting lineup. And as a head coach, you've got to make tough decisions. And everybody's not going to like the decisions you make. But you've got to be willing to say, hey, I believe this is the best for the team. Damn what you think.

Damn your feelings. Right. Well, again, I'm from the understanding that I hope it doesn't have to get to that because, again, it starts off with, you know, AD being healthy and Russ buying into what's best for the team. But if it comes down – And they got four point guards.

Man, you can't have – But if it comes down to that, he has to. You know, whether he's going to be able to or not, I think he knows that. And that's not just Russ. That's – you know, I'm going with – people always trip who starts who. It's not about who starts. It's about who finishes games. Yeah. You know what I mean? So, to me, obviously, you know, I'm going with people always trip who starts who. It's not about who starts. It's about who finishes games. Yeah.

So, to me, obviously, you know Bron is going to be a fixture. But to me, everyone else, you got to show me. You got to play the entire game well to show me who's going to get them crunch time minutes. Right. You know, to me, I feel like D-Ham has to go there and do it his way because he's going to get shit no matter what. Right. So, go in there. I'm going to do it my way, and this is going to be my way.

So, I'm going to go in there and handle my business, and I think that's what he's going to do. What if they bring you on like a Jared Dudley? You know, keep the locker room tight. I'd be cool with that. Yeah. I just, you know, I get it. Keep the locker room tight.

Yeah, the guy's getting out of hand, like you don't see guys hustling. Like, hey. It's funny. So we were caught on camera at Summer League talking about that. Somehow, I think it got erased, but someone posted that shit about, you know, I need you to come to the locker room you know i mean we were having that

kind of conversation but again like you do need it it's people to understand how important chemistry is and i think the lakers you know to be able to build a team and win a championship which they did in the bubble is the hardest thing in sports to do chemistry matters a lot because so many teams look good on paper right until you get to those hard moments where you lose two or three games in a row or someone gets hurt and how do you handle adversity? Chemistry solves a lot of that shit. So when you don't have chemistry, you really don't have

much. Again, so they found lightning in the bottle in that bubble season to be able to not have chemistry, have a completely new team and win. But that's the norm. So I'm hoping that these guys, again, have had some time under the belt, can get more time together as a trio, and to really see what we have. If everyone plays, if Bron plays 60 games, and AD plays 55 to 60 games, and Russ plays 65, 70 games, and they don't do anything,

then you know that this is not going to work. But until I see that or until the world sees that, you really don't know what this trio can do. Well, Russ only got one year. Russ ain't coming back. They're going to look to move Russ at the deadline. That's safe to say. That's safe to say.

But what – I'm a huge Laker fan, but you're a huge LeBron fan, which means you're a Laker fan now. What if Russ comes out and comes out the gates averaging 24, 9, and 7 and is playing great basketball? And what if he's doing that through the all-star break? Well, if he does that, they're going to move him. So regardless, he's going to

be able to get more? I think the thing is, because how does he get those numbers with AD and LeBron? Because that means if he's getting 24, LeBron's going to be 20, AD's going to be 24, 25. It's hard to believe that you're going to have three 25-point games. Well, slide Russ down to 20 a game. What if Russ is that 29 and 9?

How efficient is he going to be at getting that 29? 47% from the field and 38 from the three. Now, you know damn well Russ ain't about to shoot no 38% from the three. That's some good Hennessy though. That's LeBron. Yeah, that's better. That's the that's top notch right there. Yeah, but let me ask you about LeBron. Are you surprised that LeBron, this is unprecedented, what he's doing at this stage of his career.

Incredible. How surprised are you? Because we've never seen another historically great player play this well this late into their career. As great as Jordan was, Jordan only made it 15 years. Now, yeah, he took a year and a half off and then he took three years off.

And Kobe body, he had to run his body into the ground from training and giving it everything he had on the court and his body just, it just left him. Incredible, incredible. And I wish people took more time to understand what we're witnessing instead of critiquing all the time. Oh, he didn't do this, he didn't do that the fact that this man is going to be 38 this year in year 20 but last year 39 years 38 and 6 37 years old year 19 and he's averaging probably could have

won the scoring title if he had a few more games on his belt like to see what he's doing is just unbelievable and with me being a student of the game and a fan of the game and a fan of him, I just wish people would appreciate what he's doing more because it's not going to happen that much longer. And and I think too often we were so caught up in disrespecting or being negative towards people instead of appreciate greatest. And that goes across the board for staff. And a lot of these people that are out here displaying greatness on a daily basis and people still find a way to

say negative things about them because if you look at it LeBron will score 50 and the first thing they say well Corey would have gave you 65 joy would have gave you 70 it's never good the guy had 56 against Golden State and somebody still well, he still missed five threes. He still did this. It's always like it's never good enough. Do you realize the man, for 18 straight seasons, has averaged at least 25? He's been in his prime since he got here.

We've never seen someone step in the game at 18 years old, and here we are. He'll be 38 in December and this you've seen nothing but him getting better and him being great the entire time which is which is unbelievable I mean you look at LeBron LeBron is 678 days out of the NBA 679 days in the NBA half his life has been entertaining us and we take it for granted I feel like you but you did question LeBron's leadership because you said you think he should be tougher on his teammates because Kobe or Jordan would have not allowed the team to slip like he allowed it.

Do you think he's too – what is it – because you were around Kobe and we've heard the stories about Mike. Mike was firing on teammates. That's not who LeBron is. No. It was me too, and after I said it, I'm like, damn, why did I say that? Not from a standpoint that I might be wrong, but I don't

really know. You know what I mean? So, to me, it seems like he's just such a cool everyone leads different. And there's no rule book on how to lead. Like, I remember Phil Jackson said, you can't talk, or Magic Johnson said, as a lady, you can't talk to everyone the same. You have to know how to push different buttons. Some guys, you got to pat on the back. Some guys, you can kick in the butt. Some lady, you can't talk to everyone the same. You have to know how to push different buttons.

Some guys you got to pat on the back. Some guys you can kick in the butt. Some guys you can make jokes with. Yeah, so I misspoke on that from a standpoint of I don't really know. Again, I was guessing like everyone seems to always do. But it just seems like from the outside looking in that they were okay with the shit they were putting out there. Right. You know, and that wasn't okay from a standpoint of just being a Laker fan, being a LeBron fan.

Like, you would think, like, I wish LeBron would get on these guys' ass, but who's to say he didn't get on their ass in the locker room or in practice? So that was a situation where I misspoke. But, again, I think what makes LeBron great is he does things his way. where I misspoke, but again, I think what makes LeBron great is he does things his way. There's no rhyme or reason on leadership or ways to do it and ways not to do it. He's found a way to do it his entire career,

and that's just what it is. He says his goal now is to play with a son. I'm assuming Bronny. He got two coming down the pipeline. Yeah, he got two coming down the pipeline. And they're about to change the rule where, you know, I don't know if it's going to go into effect this year, so it's probably not going to be applicable to Bronny.

But he wants to play with one of his sons, or who knows, maybe even both of his sons. Do you wish you could have played with your sons? If they were older, yeah. But, I mean, who wouldn't want to? You know what I mean? And if anyone should be allowed to do that, why not him? Why not change the rules and allow that to try to happen?

I think, again, for his body of work and what he's been able to give us as fans, the way he's carried himself on and off the court his entire career, like why not allow that to happen? Do you wish you'd had – I mean, because, I mean, to have that happen, like Griffey Jr. got this opportunity to play with his dad, so clearly you're going to have to have kids at a fairly young age. Do you wish – how much of your career did your kids witness? They were young, but they got – so my kids were born in 2008,

and they obviously – so they started kind of getting it when I came to the Lakers. So when they were three, from three years old until I retired when they were nine. So about five or six years of being in the locker room with Kobe and Powell, being in the locker room with Chris and Blake, being in the locker room with KD, Steph, Clay, they got to soak the game up. So I couldn't imagine what it would be like if they actually got to get on the court. They were teenagers.

Right, get on the court and have a chance to play with them or play with me. As a father, your whole mindset changes as a dad. And you always just want the best. And you want to give your kids the best experience. So I gave my kids the best experience I could because obviously they were too young. But wouldn't it be a great thing?

You don't see that in basketball. You've seen it in baseball. But to be able to see, you know, arguably the greatest player of all time get a chance to play with one of his sons, I think it would be dope. Dude, what do you expect from LeBron this year? What do you expect? I mean, obviously, he was 38-6, but they didn't have a whole lot to show for it.

They won, what, 33, 34 games last year. Didn't win a whole lot of games. And if any, the simulation doesn't have them winning a whole lot of games this year either. What is your expectation for LeBron and this Lakers team? I think for him to pick and choose the spots because we know that, you know, obviously the goal is to for them is to get to the playoffs and possibly compete for a title, but more of the same. You know, I hope it's an injury-free season for him. I hope that, you know, AD is able to bounce back and have a special season that we know he's capable of, stay away from the nagging injuries. You know, I hope that Russ comes out

and is able to contribute. Because I feel like, you know, with Kobe, Kobe rode the ship until it sank. And, you know, he could have jumped ship and went somewhere else and possibly won a sixth title because that's all that was on his mind is being able to sit at the table with Jordan. Kobe ran the ship until it sank. You know, I hope that LeBron doesn't have to go out that way.

I hope that, you know, they're still competitive and there's a chance for them to win. And on paper, they have the personnel. Do they have the best roster? No. You know, does it need some tinkering? Yes. But what they have now is Anthony Davis, LeBron James,

and Russell Westbrook, and then, you know, some nice pieces. So how do you get that to perform at the maximum level while allowing LeBron to kind of pick and choose his spots? Because, again, he'll be 38 this year, man, and what he's doing is incredible. But he is obviously older, so you just have to be careful with that. LeVar Ball, he said, all my boys are going to play in the NBA. LiAngelo just signed a non-gay contract with the Charlotte Hornets.

How is your style, your coaching style, because he coached all of his kids, how is your style as a parent, as a coach, similar or different than that with LeVar and his boys? Well, I think before, I think there's a misconception that people don't think I like him or appreciate what he did. And I, come on, man, a black father to get his kids to where he even got them, to even have a chance, I commend him for it. When I started critiquing him, it was because I felt like he let these lights get to him. Right. You know what I mean? He became the star instead of his sons that were the actual up and coming star. So that was I never critiqued his fathering or anything like that. I think, you know, what he did was a hell of a job. Where are we different? Probably not much. I mean, I really don't know a ton about him from what I see. He yells. I yell.

He had three very talented boys. And, you know, and now all three of them had a chance to play in the NBA, which is great. But to me, the most important thing was he was there. Right. And to me, that is the most important thing. Like my whole thing is I'm always like, I had my fun in the sun, you know, I have my run and my whole thing is, is, is to play the background on this journey for my kids. You know, obviously I have two 13 year old boys now, and then I have my run and my whole thing is to play the background on this journey for my kids. You know, obviously I have two 13-year-old boys now and then I have a three-year-old who's a monster coming down the pipeline. So, you know, my whole thing is, oh, he's a monster. He might be a football player though, man.

And I'm good. Be a DM. I'm not tripping. I'm okay with that. But my whole thing is, like I said, I got my chance to see what these lights are like and made the most of my situation. So my whole thing is, you know, hopefully I can be just like him from a standpoint if I'm able to help my kids get there. But I would just be doing it more from a, you know, push them in front and put me in the back. Are you going to allow – do they want to play football?

Do they want to do anything other than play basketball? So me and their mom used to go at it because I'm a football player first. I was was a better football player than I was basketball player. So I always wanted the boys to play. And then we started watching all these, you know, about the concussion and all that. And so, you know, obviously it scared her and she was from the understanding they're not playing tackle. So with her and I pick and choose my battles that I'm going to argue for. And that wasn't one of them. So but I was also someone that didn't play tackle until high school, right? I played flag up through eighth grade. So, you know, the boys were playing before the pandemic hit and then they never got back into it. But this is more for kind

of my three-year-old will just have to kind of see when it crosses, you know, when we cross that bridge when he gets here because I love football is my favorite sport. I'm a Sunday ticket fanatic red zone. i'm on my little love sack with my joint and my drink and no one bothered me so i love football i'm a huge fan of it so um this will probably be more for my three-year-old when the time comes and we're just gonna have to see wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast nfl daily with greg rosenthal five a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed

by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game, every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claiborne, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why

would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen. Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What do you think? I mean, Trey Young, as he said, Trey Young's dad said, stop comparing my son to other guards in the NBA.

At this point, he's an all-NBA player, two-time All-Star starter, two games from playing in the NBA Finals. There's barely more than a handful of guards that in the NBA. At this point, he's an all-NBA player, two-time All-Star starter, two games from playing the NBA Finals. There's barely more than a handful of guards that has his resume. It's levels to this. What do you think of Trey? He's a small... First of all, normally small guards, there's only been two.

Steph and Isaiah that can say, we led teams to NBA championship. Now, I'll count magic magic of the garbage magic 69 magic was the size of sinners and power forward. So magic and I think magic is kind of a standalone. Yeah, but when you talk about small guards 6263 of below

I was obviously was spectacular. He led him but he wasn't able to get past Shaq and Kobe. What do you think of trade? What do you think of trades game? I love Trey's game. I think he's almost a 2K version of what Steph is doing. You know, obviously not the accolades or not even really comparing them as players, but just similar styles from the ability to shoot once you pass half court, ball handling, genius, make other people better on your team.

And he normally has a high assist total. He's always right. Eight or nine assists a game. Yeah, so to me, it's just been, you know, who Atlanta is able to put around him. You know, if you think about it, he was traded for Luka. And I think both teams really feel like, you know, there wasn't, you can pick or choose.

But, I mean, it's been a solid trade. You look at their numbers, very solid and keep it real. Like, they both made it to the Eastern and Western Finals, know what i mean so i love what trey young does um i'm really interested to see if him and dejonte can work together because on paper again the names look great but getting to see them play um will be something different you know john collins and they're able to add pieces but i think you know they're just going to need to add more pieces to make that team competitive i think i really really feel like they possibly need another star, whether that's trading someone and helping bring that person in.

But I just don't think they have enough as heavy as the East is to really make that next jump. But as far as just being a player, big fan of Trey, his heart. He's built for the moment that, you know, drives New York people crazy. I always loved that. So I'm a big fan of him and his movement. Give me your top players under the age of 25. You got Luka, JT, Jason Tatum, John Morant, Trey, Mello, B.I., Zion.

Luka's one. Okay. Jason Tatum is two. Okay. Ja is three. Okay. I don't know where to put Zion because he could be one if he was healthy, but he hasn't been healthy. So Luca, Jason Tatum, Ja, Luca, Jason Tatum, Ja, Trey, LaMelo, and I would have to put Zion Six because we just haven't seen enough of him. Right. But Zion could very easily be going if he comes out. I mean, people forget how quickly and what kind of numbers he was putting up as a young player,

breaking field goal percentage records left and right. And to me, he doesn't really even know how to play NBA basketball. He's doing all that off of playing athleticism and strength. So once he figures out this game, if he can stay healthy, Zion is going to be a problem. Build a franchise. I'm going to give you Luka, Giannis, or Jason. Shit. I'm going to take Giannis because he can do it on both sides of the ball

are you surprised how good Luke is because when you look at him he ain't got no business whatsoever with that body doing what he does in the NBA no reason whatsoever he's a gamer he's a special he's a unicorn he's going to go down with all due respect to Dirk and D draws in and some of these

other guys. If not, you know, a keen. Our best form greatest foreign born player in the history of the game. And I think that, you know, he was playing against grown man at a young age. You know, I think today is crazy because I coach you. These parents are holding their kids back. We played a 15 year old seventh grader this summer what like i was a sophomore at 15. you know what i mean so people always are trying to protect their

kids and and do they want their kids to be the best that bad but i say all that to say that that lucas parents threw him in the fire early right now he's playing against men that are smoking cigarettes at halftime at like 12 or 13 years old so he's been in the wars wars, in the battles. He knows how to play against people. So when he got to the NBA, there was nothing new to him. To me, I think he was the most NBA-ready offensive player we've ever seen. When Steph, I said if Steph win the title, he's a top-10 player. Agreed. He has four rings, a finals MVP, two MVPs, one of them unanimous.

How would that resume, how do you keep him out? You can't. I don't have no rebuttal. He's a top 10 player. He's definitely a top 10 player, and I think he has room to climb. You know what I mean? Whether he wins more or not, I don't think we'll ever see another Steph Curry. No.

The ability, and if you think about it, you know, there's very few people that have changed the game during the course of their career. But who has changed it more than Steph? I understand with Kareem there was no Duncan because this isn't that. But, again, me coaching AAU kids now and seeing the kids. Y'all jacket up threes. Kids put their shoes on and start shooting from the sideline or half court, like they don't even go in the paint and get warm now. And that's the Steph Curry effect. And I've

never seen anyone change the game from the grassroots to the to the top. I mean, you know, it's you know, the old ad, you know, when I first came in the league, it was inside out basketball. You live by the three. You're going to die by the three. And Steph and Clay and the Warriors completely changed that. So I have so much love and admiration for Steph and always, you're going to die by the three. And Steph and Clay and the Warriors completely changed that. So, I have so much love and admiration for Steph and always competing against them and getting a chance to play with them and see his work ethic and really see he's just

a really good, like, I don't see how you can't like him. You might like him because he keeps busting your ass, but outside of that, he's a great person, a hard worker, and one of the greatest players we've ever seen. You went to Draymond's wedding. All the guys showed up.

What is Draymond? Because I think Draymond is the heartbeat of that team. Obviously, he's not their best player. We know Steph is their best player. Klay might be the second best player. Hopefully, he rounds back and become that two-way player that he once was prior to that knee injury. I think a year removed from those serious injuries that he had in the Achilles tear ACL tear.

He'll be even better. What does Draymond do for the Warriors? He's the heart and soul of that organization of that city. And I knew it from the outside looking in but once I got there it's it's you can clearly see it. I mean this team again. He's not the best player on the team, but this team wins. No championships without Draymond Green and that's not a far-fetched. he's not the best player on the team, but this team wins no championships without Draymond Green.

And that's not a far-fetched, that's not a hot take, that's just facts. And I think if you ask Steph and Clay that, they would tell you the same thing. He does so many things, whether it be offensively, getting guys the ball in their right spots and getting guys organized like a quarterback out there, or being a 6'6", if you're lucky, on a good day, defensive player of the year that can cover for everyone else's mistakes. I mean, and then just his energy.

And, you know, he walks that fine line, and sometimes he crosses it, but that's what makes him Draymond. So I think he takes a lot of heat because you look at the stat sheet, and it's not going to tell the whole story. Right. So when he goes in the Hall of Fame, people are going to be talking 20, 25 years from now, that motherfucker averaged eight points and eight rebounds and eight assists.

Like, how is he in the Hall of Fame? He had a bunch of triple-sacers. You know what I mean? But at the same time, you know, he's a winner. Yes. It's four championships. It's gold medal now. It's all-stars.

It's an Olympic gold. It's a – Defensive player of the year. A ton of money. Yeah. It's a defensive player of the year. And it's a chance to really, he gave a lot of people, like how Steph gave smaller guards an opportunity, he gave a lot of Swiss Army

Knights an opportunity to even get a look in the NBA now, because you don't have to be able to shoot like Steph or jump like LeBron to play. You know what I mean? This guy is a really intelligent, one of the smartest people in general, but probably one of the highest basketball IQs I've ever got a chance to be around. So this guy thinks the game, sleeps the game, and is 100% the heartbeat of that team. Thoughts on Kevin Durant.

We know he is an immensely talented player. Seven foot tall, can shoot mid-range, shoot the three, great free throw percentage. But, but. The but. how is it birthday today to happy birthday, bro. Happy birthday, Katie. But no rings without Steph. And there's no way you can get around it. You can't you can't get around it. You can't and step what this ring right here

with step one this ring means more than the two that he won with KD. Yeah, no question. Not by himself, but he did it on his own, got final MVP. My question to you before I answer what KD is, does Steph have two rings or four rings if KD never goes to Golden State? I believe he has two. I do not believe they're going to be. And they knew that.

The way Kyrie and LeBron had just tracked them down from 3-1. They had gotten confidence. They're not beating them. They're never going to beat them again. And they knew that. There you go. Okay. KD. One of the most efficient players we've ever seen in the game.

Another unicorn. A 6'11 guy that can handle the ball like a guard, shoot like a guard. But like you said, I think he will get his respect when he, if he's able to get that ring, you know what I mean? And people criticize, you know, oh, you lost to them and went and joined them. I'm all for player empowerment. Like, if you want to go somewhere and you're going to be happy there, go play there. I don't knock anyone on that. But, again, I think the criticism is, like, you won with Steph.

You know, can you win by yourself? And it's not even by itself. I mean, I can't speak to if it bothers him, but if enough people are saying anything and you feel like it's not true, it's going to bother you. Yeah. You know what I mean? So I can't speak to it. When he go back with enough people on social media and you feel like it's not true, it's going to bother you. Yeah. You know what I mean? So I can't speak for him.

When he go back with enough people on social media, something bothered him. Yeah. But see, I like that too because, again, like Kevin Durant just cussed me out. Like how many people are you going to, if you're a regular person, how many people are you telling that to? You're telling everybody. Right. You know what I mean? So people, why does he interact?

Because he wants to. He has a lot of free time on his hands. It's a good battle. You know, he's got time to do it, so I don't knock that. But I think he has to win, I think, to get the respect he deserves. He's got two rings.

Two finals MVP. He's won an MVP. Dominating finals MVPs. Like I said, I think the only thing people question or want to see is, you know, can he do it without Steph? You talked about some of LeBron's leadership skills, and I think that's one of the things that come into KD is his leadership skills.

He's made it abundantly clear he just wants to hoop. I don't want the leadership. I don't want the responsibility of being a leader. But I think he has to bear that because when you go to Brooklyn, you're trying to establish a culture. And so you need to be the voice that says, okay guys, we need to do this. We need to do that. It's just not good enough to let your place speak for itself. That's a tough one because we both know the best player is not

always the leader. No, and that's that's not just basketball that's across the board. But again, when you're trying to establish something in a new place, your voice outside of your play does have to speak. And I think that's what that team has been lacking. You know what I mean? You can't all of a sudden just become a leader. Right.

You know what I mean? Like, that's either in you or it isn't in you. So I mean, there's no knock on him. You know, like I said, he wants to come out here, hoop, and play basketball. So like, him being the rah-rah yelling type. That's not necessarily him. He's going to speak his mind when he when it needs to be spoke. But you know, I think

when if people are looking for him to lead and that's not necessarily a quality that he wants or has, you know, I think he does enough other things to obviously get the stamp of approval. So to me who steps up into that leader? Is it Steve Nash? Is it Kyrie committed that leader? Is it Steve Nash? Is it committed Kyrie? Is it someone else? How are you Kyrie going to lead? You can't lead when people don't know if you're going to show up to play or not.

Again, I think like Harden, I think Kyrie is going to have a monster season too because I've been critical of him because I really felt like, obviously you're supposed to put yourself first, but we're also in a team sport. Yeah. You know what I mean? And to think that, you know, Kev left Golden State to come fuck with you because he felt like you too.

And we all – you remember the excitement. There weren't too many people saying, oh, this team's not going to be good. Right. Like, we all thought that, man, KD, Kyrie, oh, man, they just got James too. This is arguably the greatest trio. Like, what is this going to happen? So, I think a lot of – and I'm never going to knock a man on, you know, that COVID situation was a monster.

And whether you decided to get vaccinated. A lot of people lost their lives, lost their jobs, lost their livelihoods. To each their own as far as whether you want to get vaccinated or not. But I just think that, you know, along his road and his path, he forgot that he was an integral part of a of a team that that that he was the the driving force behind kevin coming to brooklyn right and i say this just from a stance that i just want to see because i know how good he is oh yeah the world knows how talented kyrie irving is we know how talented kevin durant is and i just want to see them

hitting on all cylinders i think from a fan's perspective. Are you surprised that KD asked for a trade? In the manner in which he asked, because it became public that, hey, either these mofos go or I go. That was bold. I think if he would have just asked for one, it might have worked. He can't ask for both, KD. He can't ask for the coach and the G.

If he would have just said, get that motherfucker out of here, they might have did it. But am I surprised? Yeah, no. Because it came from nowhere. Yeah, no. You know, I just think there's just a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes in organizations that we just have no idea,

whether it's, you know, some sneakiness or some backdooring, and some other stuff like there's just so much stuff we don't know that could have prompted that or just him just tired of uh of the bs but i think no matter where kevin durant plays there's always going to be a circus around him because of what's happened in the past and just how good he is so you know he asked for a trade you know new jersey stood on their own and said like we're not just going to give you away. Right. I think he said the other day, he was like, I know they're not just – I'm Kevin Durant. So, you know, they tried to do it.

I think what happened with that is if the Rudy Gobert trade messed up the whole pipeline this summer. I don't know. I don't know. Who did that trade in Minnesota? If you can get swaps and four first-round picks for Rudy Gobert, I mean, that makes me think as an organization, I want eight to ten first-round picks for Kevin Durant

because they're not even in the same – But, yeah. Youbert. I mean that makes me think as an organization. I want eight to ten first round pitch. Yeah, that went because they're not even in the same. But yeah, but he was like just because just because they made that hard. But yeah, we're not doing that. Yeah, we're not. Yeah, we're not doing that dumbness. Yeah, you know what I mean? So I think you know with all due respect because I'm I like Rudy Gobert, you know defensive player of the year. I think he's going to help Minnesota, but I think that Rudy Gobert trade messed up a lot of movement in the NBA

this year, right? I think there would have been a lot of movement in the NBA this year, but I think there would have been a lot more movement. If that Kings ransom wasn't paid for him. But what about the possibility? They say hold on. Wait a minute. Now. Kevin Durant was in Golden State. Ideal culture. You're not going to win any more than what he won there. And he did he wasn't he good went somewhere else. Okay. He's in Brooklyn with his homeboy, best friend,

and he wasn't happy there. So what's to say we give up a Jason Tatum, we give up a Jalen Brown, we give up two first-round picks, and a year later he comes up and says, hey, I need to move. Now we done gave up a 25- or 26-year-old, two first-round picks, and Kevin Durant wants to move again. Ain't no telling. You really just don't know, Shannon.

You don't know. You just, you really just don't know, Shannon. You don't know, you know what I mean? You gotta hope to build a surrounding around that he's comfortable in and that he can go out and ride in. But now Brooklyn did that. They gave him everything except the Brooklyn Bridge. They don't own that.

Yeah, I'm not saying they didn't. You know what I'm saying? And it's still, he still wanted to leave. Yes. You know what I mean? Like to me, there's no rhyme or reason. The one thing I just know about KD is, despite what he says and what he wants to do, every time he steps on the court, you know what he's gonna give you. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, to me, there's no rhyme or reason. The one thing I just know about KD is despite what he says

and what he wants to do, every time he steps on the court, you know what he's going to give you. Yeah. You know what I mean? And that's the one thing that I'm always going to respect about him. You could say, oh, he fights on Twitter or he wants to be traded or he can't do this or he can't do that. Every time he steps on the floor, he's giving it his all,

and I got to respect that. James Harden, are you surprised that he went back at the price that he went back at? Because obviously he could have gotten more money, but James Harden was not the James Harden that last year. I don't know what happened. He said he lost 100 pounds. I think he was just joking. But he looked like he lost some weight.

He lost at least 30, though. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, he might have lost some weight. But another player, again, I mean, I think that he's on a – it's funny, too, because to me it's Kyrie, Russ, and James, I think all are going to have big seasons. And I think that James, you know, there was always so much to make, you know, during his career while he was killing that, you know,

what he was doing off the court, what he was doing. We're always talking about what he's doing off the court. But to me it never mattered because on the court he was killing. You know what I mean? But I saw him one or two times with Lil Baby this offseason. Like I said, but – I saw him running heels. I saw him in the weight room.

I saw him doing the runs. Yeah, exactly. But, again, once the play is not up here and it drops a little bit, then they're going to start questioning what he's always been doing. Right. You know what I mean? So, to me, I think he heard the noise. He recommitted himself.

And he's still a great – I mean, you say what he wanted. What was he, 20 and 10 last year? Yeah. He was still a 20 and 10 guy. So I think a recommitted James is going to be scary. Body in shape, mind in shape. And even if he's not giving you 30 to 35. And by the way, they changed the rule because of James Harden.

Realize that. All that shit that he invented and learned how to. He's shooting 20 for 20. You know what I mean? They changed the rules because he had mastered. That's how good he had got. So I think James is going to have a really big year. And I respect him for, you know, taking that contract cut to try to build a championship situation.

Because he knew, you know, as you get older, you just start putting different things in priority. And he knew that they needed to add some shooting and then add some toughness. So him taking that less money allowed them to fill out the roster. And now they have one of the deepest rosters in the league. And I don't think they're getting enough consideration for, you know, a real championship contender because I feel like, you know, if he's hitting on all cylinders and beat has been incredible the last handful of years, they've been able to fill out that roster. They stay healthy. Yeah, that's the key health is the key. So again, I think

that if this team can stay healthy with the recommitted James Harden, tell me a team that's better than that. Give me a top five players in NBA right now top five. Damn, and this is going to go viral too. Yep. now, top five. Damn. This is going to go viral too. Yep. In order or just five of them? Go order. Fuck.

Well, I'm happy. My first one, number one, is Giannis. I'm taking Giannis. Giannis, KD, Steph, Embiid, I'm gonna take heat for this last pick. Am I missing? Oh, shoot, let me back up. I forgot. Yeah, hold on. KD, Steph, LeBron, and Embiid.

And LeBron has only slid down that just because he's older. Not his body of work. Still the best player in the world. Paul Yoka. Excuse me. One of the greatest players to ever play the game. But, yeah, that's hard. I leave Yoka off.

I leave Luka off. I'm leaving the two-time MVP off the game. But yeah, that's hard. I leave the Oka-Soph, I leave Luka off. I'm leaving the two-time MVP off the list. I'm leaving the odds on favor. Luka is odds on favor this year. But I mean, Giannis is incredible. Giannis is the one superstar you see, Shannon, that every single year he comes back better on a different aspect.

You know, asset. That's the thing that I said about Ben Simmons that's upsetting because I saw how Giannis shot the ball when he got in the thing that I said about Ben Simmons that's upsetting. Because I saw how Giannis shot the ball when he got in the NBA and I see how he shoots it now. Right. You see John Morant. You see the improvement that he's made. You see the improvement Lonzo Ball.

I don't care what you do. I don't care. I can start something today. And if you give me six years, I might not master it, but I'll be better than when I started. And I don't even think he's a bad shooter. I think it's mentally he's afraid to miss. He's afraid to shoot an air ball at a big moment.

He's afraid to hit the backboard on the jumper. I think it's more that because, like I said, I've seen him work out, and I've seen him play pickup games, and you'd be like, oh, shit, this is in your bag? But, yeah, Giannis, KD, Steph um Steph LeBron and Embiid what was uh KD was upset it was 2k ratings they gave him 96 instead of 99 right who do you think right now the best player in the world right now. I mean,

to me, it's between Katie and Yannis. And the only reason why I give Yannis the edge is because of the defensive side of the game. I mean, if you look at Katie's efficiency and how amazing is on the offensive end, Yannis still putting up may not be as efficient, but he's still putting up monster numbers on the offensive end. But then also he's a defensive monster, too. So, KD is someone that I think his defense gets overlooked because he

is out there blocking shots and guarding people. I just think Giannis is a better defender. So, I have to give Giannis that nod. And Giannis is younger, too. Right. You mentioned earlier about the situation that happened with your sister. You got into an altercation.

The KKK showed up to your school. I don't't know did he show up to your house or just to school we moved we moved yeah there was a green light so we had to bounce okay what did that situation what did it teach you what did it do to you it showed me although i'm very proud to be african-american and italian that the world looked at me as a black man. Right. Like at 17, I realized, because what are you? I'm Italian and black. At that moment, like, nah. They forgot that Italian part. You're a nigger.

Like, yeah. Yeah, they look at you as a nigger. That's how they look at you. And that's what it taught me. It's just like, man, I'm very proud of my heritage and my upbringing, but it showed me that the outside world looked at me as a black person. I'm looking at your story. You stayed all four years at UCLA.

You got drafted in the second round. You go to the D League, played in the ABA with Dennis Rodman, the Long Beach Jam. What was Dennis Rodman like? You got a crazy Dennis Rodman story. I didn't get too much time with him. I wish I had more time because literally, like, he came, and two weeks later I got called up to the Clippers.

I wish we would have got time. But I tell you, he used to come with the whole entourage, barefooted with his bulldog. And just it was just a dope experience because you got to think this is, you know, early 2000. So he's just coming off, you know, a great run and he's trying to get back. So just to be around him for a little bit and chop it up with him, it was like literally a week and a half, two weeks before I got a chance to leave. But I don't really have no crazy Rodman stories. We talked about going out, but we never got to. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast,

NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game, every single week, but I can't do it alone, so

I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL Media. That's Patrick Claiborne, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade him away?

Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen. Catch the podcast at NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You mentioned football is your favorite. What's your favorite sport?

Still is. It's your favorite sport that you love to watch. What position did you play? And do you think if you say, you know what? The way I devoted my time my energy my effort to basketball if you had devoted that to football you believe you could have made it to the nfl so i never like to disrespect because it's you know it's it's one in a million to make these professional ranks yeah and um i have so much respect for football

but i i honestly feel like you know at six seven i'7", I ran a 4'3", 9". I had a 39-inch vert, and I can really catch the football. Like, I was a football player first. Like, no one could stop me. Like, my senior year, I had a – it started off as a turf toe, but it turned into a broken toe. But I had, like, 52 catches and 28 – like, every other time I caught the ball, I scored.

And it wasn't just deep routes. I was going across the middle, stops. I was running whatever route was needed to ran, I was ran. So I was just, I think a little bit before my time outside of like, you know, obviously Harold Carmichael with the Eagles and him being 6'7", but there was no 6'7", 6'8", guys at the time playing that. And I just felt that I would have more longevity if I played basketball if I was able to make basketball But to me basketball was the harder route for me because I was a better football player, right?

Yeah, and you know, there's more football. There are more football players There are 50 46 53 players on the team as opposed to 12 Yeah, but then also, you know Shannon there was a big like there was a big kind of I Don't know what the word is But there was a but at a time where there was a bunch kind of, I don't know what the word is, but there was a time where there was a bunch of guys that were playing college basketball and couldn't go to the league that were jumping into the NFL. Yeah.

You mean Gates, Jimmy Graham. There was a handful of guys that these big athletic basketball players. Tony Gonzalez played Pope. Yeah, but he knew, like he was a football player too. Yeah, he was a football player. He was a hatchet guy. Some of these guys were literally jumping off the basketball court and finding space on the football field, but I was really a football player first, so that's

why I said, obviously. So you could have been a tight end. You could have put on like 20, 30, been a tight end. Could have. Jimmy's like six, seven and a half. Yeah, could have. Could have. Again, it was just a little early, and basketball just seemed like the way to go.

I'm looking at you. You were a partner in a lot of stuff. Hop, ride share app, using drivers based off interest, making documentaries. The way to go. I'm looking at you you you you a partner a lot of stuff hop Rideshare app user of users drivers based off interest making documentaries on the cannabis swish Founded athletes versus cancer. What are some of your most what is Matt Barnes most proud of now being a father? Hands-down, I think being a father is the greatest Whether you want to call it job opportunity Greatest thing that I've ever done is is being a father. It's what I take the most pride in

but I just think you know really Shannon my my way to just Thug my way and heart my way through the NBA Okay, I mean second round pick that bounced around played on a handful of teams But if you look at every stop I made I was either a starter or the first or second guy coming off the bench. So I was always a contributor in the NBA. So I think just to be able to have the career I had in the NBA, the longevity I had, but then to be able to flip it post-career. Right. I mean, normally, like I said earlier, I was a role player. Normally, role players fade off into obscurity. Right. You know, for to to be sitting here with you right now

5 years removed with my name being bigger and stronger than it's ever been. In the half of TV makes you makes you a bigger name to what you did with you as a place you know what I mean, but just even have the opportunity again like there's so many stars are former stars that want to have the seats that you I have that they're doing it but they're not yet they're not cut out of the likelihood but what you can do is that you can talk have that they're just everybody can't do what you do, but they're not. Yeah, they're not cut out the likelihood. But

what you can do is that you can talk on camera just because you play great doesn't mean you'll be great on camera, right? And that's what I tell people everybody like, oh man, but when that red dot go on different. Can you hold them? It's different. Can you carry on a conversation? Can you explain it to the lay person at home what they're trying to do what they're what's going on? Yeah, and everybody can't do that can't and and and like I said, so I just think

my run through the league and and to be able to have success after basketball. So I would say being a father and then just kind of the path I've built for myself because I'm more common than a Steph Curry, you know that or LeBron James, right? You know, I was a blue-collar hard-working role player. So if I can show these guys whether whether you make it to the league or not, like if Matt can do it, like why can't I? Like that's what I want people to think.

Right. So I'm hoping I'm showing people that too. You played on nine teams in 14 years. If you construct a starting lineup with your former teammates. Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Point guard. I'm going to have to go with. You got to think.

I got to. It's going to go viral. You're going to leave some people off. You got to think. I played with. I didn't get a chance to really play in Philly, but Allen Iverson was my point guard. Yep.

Steve Nash was my point guard. Yep. Steph Curry was my point guard. Chris Paul was my point guard. Yep. A healthy Baron Davis was my point guard. Yep. Steve Nash was my point guard. Yep. Steph Curry was my point guard. Chris Paul was my point guard. A healthy Baron Davis was my point guard. Yep. So that's five right there. But so we're going to start at the point position.

Let's go. Start at the point position. The only reason why I'm taking CP over Steph is because I only played a half a season with Steph. So I'm taking CP as my point. I'm taking Kobe as my two. Okay. I'm taking Grant Hill as my three.

Okay. I'm taking... Damn. Chris Webber as my four and Shaq as my five. Okay. Man, I'm sorry, Steph, Dwight. Oh, I forgot. Yeah, see, I don't... Oh, Dwight. And I played with K... K...

KD? Yeah, but see, I... No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, them because I only, I didn't get to play with them that like, and I didn't get to play with Katie at all. Yeah, but I didn't. So the situation was I came in when Katie got hurt and the first game, Katie came back. I nearly broke my ankle. So I didn't really get a chance to play with Katie because I was out pretty much the rest of the year.

Like the time I felt healthy was the Western finals and we were eight. No, already. Right. So, so I didn't get a chance to play with Dre and, and Steph and Clay and KD long enough to have them qualify for this list. You played Kobe was eight. Played against Kobe that was eight.

You played with him when he was 24. If you had to choose, which one was the best? I think the numbers are identical. I would pick 24 just because I just think off the court he was more open as a person and had been through so much, and we just got such a unique chance to bond. You've got to think we went from nearly fighting to him calling me from a number I didn't even have saved to asking me if I wanted to be a Laker. I was literally about to go to Miami.

So I'm talking- Hold up, hold up. You rejected the GOAT? Yeah. GOAT game? And D Wade and Bosh? Yeah, man, I'm a Laker fan, bro. So I was in, so I was supposed to re-up in Orlando

when Stan Van Gunney was acting funny. So I was literally talking to Pat Riley and D Wade and they're talking about like, we're about to build something over here. You know, there's words of him coming and there's words of Bosh coming and it's right up the freeway for me. And I'm literally having conversation with Pat Mafia, Pat Riley. And one day I get a phone call. I'm still out in Orlando chilling and I get a call from a number I don't know. And I never pick up my phone and I just happened to pick up the phone and it was him. It's like, it's Cole. I'm likein', and I get a call from a number I don't know, and I never pick up my phone, and I just happened to pick up the phone, and it was him. It's like, it's Cole.

I'm like, what bullshit? Who is this? He's like, nah, it's me, and we kinda start going back and forth, and he asked me what I'm doing, and I literally tell him, like, I'm kinda up in the air, man, I'm talking to Miami right now, and I'm like, fuck Miami.

You wanna be a Laker? I'm like, hell yeah. Like, four days later, I was a Laker. You see, the new craze now, Matt, is these celebrity boxing matches. Man, you see, you see. Nate, man, Nate told me he was going to represent for the culture, Matt.

And dude got floorboarded. We saw, uh, uh, uh, uh, who else? Swaggy P got knocked out the ring. Ah, man, they got us looking bad out here. They're bad. Well, my whole thing is like, even when I even talk to Nate, like I box to stay in shape. So I know how serious boxing is.

And I think a lot of these guys, oh, it's one of the toughest workouts. Just go outside and just try to throw punches for a minute. Because if you think, I mean, we've all been in our little skirmish fights. Fights ask like 20 to 45 seconds. Yeah. These are three-minute rounds with people. And to me, I think we're athletes underestimate. You saw Adrian Peterson just get knocked out.

Yeah. But athletes underestimate. Tyron Woodley got knocked out, and he fought for a liberty. Different style of fighting than UFC. But how do you react when your cage gets rattled? You know, you hit me with a straight right or an uppercut or something. How am I going to react, and how am I going to protect myself after I've just been rocked?

And I don't think enough athletes have been rocked to understand that that's a serious part of the game. I think, I mean, anyone can look good hitting pads and doing all these one, two, three, one, two, three, four, one, two, three. You know what I mean? They make it look so easy. They make it look so easy, you know what I mean?

But that sparring and getting hit is so important. It's so, it's the biggest part. That bag ain't hitting back. Man, like I said, you could look like Ali on them gloves, but you ain't never been hit. How do you react when you get hit? You got you. Yeah, they got us looking bad out there, though. Somebody came to you and said, Matt,

we got two million for you. We make it five, yeah. But hold on, hold on. Who are you going to be in a celebrity match with? That's the point now. Yeah, I don't really have no beefs out there of anyone I want to put in the ring. Like, I don't, you know what I mean? Like, I don't really have no smoke with nobody. So, I mean, for five million, outside of Mike Tyson or any, like, real fighters,

if you really box, I'm not gonna box you, but for five million, I'll box someone who's not a boxer or an MMA fighter. Or somebody that's on your level. Okay, you know, you do this for fun, I do this for fun. We getting there, we go what, five rounds, five two-minute rounds. Yeah, I'm gonna have to stop smoking for a little while.

You're gonna have to stop a lot of things for a little while. I need my lungs to be right. But that's the one, yeah, that boxing is no joke, man. I like, my hats off are always to these MMA fighters, these boxers, because it's a different world, man. They practice their entire life to be there. And sometimes athletes think because we succeeded in one thing, we can jump in. That ring of the cage is one thing, and the booth.

The ring, the cage, and the rap booth, that's something we just can't jump in because we had success in a certain space. Go out there and jog. Go out there and run for like 10 minutes and then try to throw some punches for three rounds. Come on, man. Come on, man.

Who is your favorite football team? Niners. Favorite player? In football? Yep. Right now my favorite player is who, who, who, who, who? Man, I just go my all-time favorite player is... Who, who, who, who, who? Man, I just go my all-time favorite players, Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders.

Okay. Who you got winning the Super Bowl this year? Man, Tom ain't looking the same. Tom is not looking the same. I want to believe that I think Mahomes, to me, I think Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL, and I think they'll find a way to be there. So either Buffalo or Kansas City.

Okay. I want to talk about the 414. Man, how do you give away $420,000? Oh, man, because I can't shut up. Fines, fines. You have that money420,000? Oh, man, because I can't shut up. Fines, fines. You had that money right now, huh? Yeah.

And another thing, I took less money to win, too. I wish I had that money right now, too. See, you could have went to Miami. They ain't got no state tax. Instead of coming out here. And they would have won. They won two rings. See?

But I wouldn't give that up for the opportunity. You got an opportunity to play with Kobe. Play with Kobe and even further. Play for the Lakers. Become brothers and share and go to his daughter's games, him come to my boys' games, boys calling him Uncle Kobe. I wouldn't change that for money or a ring. Bruh, I appreciate it.

Yes, cheers. Thanks for having me. And I didn't mean to call this in earlier. This is, how do you say it? Laportier. Laportier. Laportier. Congratulations, man. Shaved by Laportier. Yes. Cheers. Thanks for having me. And I didn't mean to call this in earlier. This is the, how you say it? La Portier. La Portier. Congratulations, man. This is dope. This is dope.

We got you a bottle. We still drink that brown over here. Oh, yeah, we do. Man, appreciate it, bro. Thanks for having me. All my life, been grinding all my life. Sacrifice, hustle, pay the price. Want a slice, got the roll of dice. That's why all my life I've been grinding all my life.

All my life, been grinding all my life. Sacrifice, hustle, pay the price. Want a slice, got the roll of dice. That's why all my life I've been grinding all my life. I've been grinding all my life. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. So I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolfe. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter

and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.