The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Postgame Show: George Karl

Episode Date: September 4, 2024

Hall of Fame head coach and old friend of the show, George Karl, joins the show to discuss the event he is holding tonight called "Hoopers for Harris" and why he has decided to get involved with creating change in politics. Plus, he is ready to bury the hatchet with Carmelo Anthony in the name of unity, which players would make the Small Things Hall of Fame, how in the world is Sean Kemp not in the Hall of Fame and a whole lot more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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details. George Carl is an old time friend of this show. And I will tell you before we start this, that he has fought and won against throat cancer and continues to fight through whatever the difficulties of speech are caused by that throat cancer but george carl is tonight doing a hoopers for harris event where he's getting involved with politics and i want to welcome in are old friend back into the fold to talk about what he's doing tonight

george george george george george George, we're happy to see you, George. It's always nice to see you. One of the most outspoken coaches in the history of the NBA. Sixth on the all-time NBA wins list. Hall of Fame coach, always willing to speak his mind. And on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. Eastern, he's hosting a Zoom event, a big one. He's calling it Hoopers for Harris. George, you are following the Steve Kerr trend,

the Popovich trend of all of a sudden getting into politics with your big mouth. What are you doing? I've always been a fairly progressive mind and figure. I haven't been as vocal as Steve. I'm like a lot of people. There's something about this election that seems to be different, seems to be more important. And I'm a lot like the world right now. I'm kind of fed up with politicians. But I think

right now we've got to make the right choice and uh... going back to trump is not my answer uh... my answer is to move on and evolve and uh... try to get some new ideas in there well what are you doing with this though why are you doing it explain to me the uh... movement as you feel it yeah i think my family feels it i just think some of the policies have to be changed.

Abortion, civil rights, whatever you want to talk about. We have a lot of struggles going on that needs more clarity and more leadership. I don't want to go back to the Trump leadership of bullying and lying and fibbing and spinning. And I think why we're doing it is, I think we all know that it's probably the race to money along the way.

But I think it's more to arouse the middle class, the middle, you know, moving towards the middle from a standpoint of political makes a lot of sense to me. We got the crazies and we got the conservatives. I don't think those two should be leading us. I think the middle should lead us a little more. The call is Wednesday night at 8 p.m. Eastern and you can RSVP at hoopersforharris.org,

hoopersforharris.org. It seems to me, George, that every time I see you aggregated or anyone quoting you these days on anything basketball related it's because you and mellow are still feuding in public i want you to stop george i want both of you to come together i i i guess it's a time of great division

george and i believe that if you were to announce that who prefers for harris dot org would be a place where you will finally announced that you and Carmelo have come together for the rest of time and you will stop criticizing him publicly in any way, can we do that as a political movement? Yes, I'll agree to that. Okay, so what do we have to do to get you to, like to actively make sure that it doesn't happen again

because I don't trust you. I think you're gonna agree to it and then somebody's gonna ask you a question about Mello and you're going to fall into the trap. You can't resist. How do we make this official that you're not going to feud with Mello anymore publicly? Tell the people not to ask the question. Well no, but that's not you stuck.

They're going to ask it, George. That's not you taking the high road because you know how much people love this stuff. Carmelo was a polarizing star. You your six on the all-time win list you always say what you think and so therefore it becomes about what? a selfish player Carmelo was Okay, so that'll be a part of hoopers for Harris org and our audience needs to go there to make sure to hold George to His word that he announced it that he remembers to announce during this okay i'm done i'm gonna take the high road because we need to be unified at a time of division what a great message for the rest of the

country because it was large if george could bury the hatchet if carmelo could bury the hatchet we all could bury the hatchet that is correct right uh... george when you look at being uh... six on the all-time win list do you have one victory that for you and this is a difficult question obviously but do you have one victory that stands out above any of the others and all of the others uh... and the west

finals it was an incredible The games Kevin and the West Coast Conference finals we did a NBA finals against Utah. It was an incredible game. It was a very, very defensive minded game. We stopped in the middle of the long board against Kevin Payton and it came down to making free throws in the last minute. Sean May through, Barbara Malone missed through. It was one of the best series I've ever coached in.

I love, I love that game and that series the one opportunity to get the nba finals that was probably the game i'd call on my my past on the opposite end is there one that's any worse than you losing as a one seed with kemp and uh and payton in a five game series and you wouldn't have lost i don't think if it had been a seven game series uh yeah i think that's the one the most miserable loss i've have lost i don't think if it had been a seven-game series uh... i guess the one the most visible on the river and i had trouble getting over it

all summer long and uh... i can't deny that endeavors for a couple of all five george have a hellish shaw and not in the hall of fame after the question uh... i've i've had a couple of players in the alvaro shaw i mean that was a great player and i think they're a lot of acc in Seattle, not only Sean, but I mean, Douglas Crump was a great player, and then they did a lot of accolades. I always thought that Seattle kind of was on the West Coast, and we didn't get a lot more,

we didn't get the East Coast attention that we probably deserved, but he's a dino that Sean deserves then, and he's better in a lot of players that are into Hall of Fame. I don't know, maybe towards the end of his career, where his fate is quickly might be the reason, but I agree with you.

I think he should be in Hall of Fame. Does George Carl ever dare to say publicly, that guy doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame? What the hell's he doing in there? Or even privately, do you hear a Hall of Fame announcement and are like, come on, the college and pro basketball Hall of Fame has to be more discerning than that uh... probably not i think it's probably i

i would like to speak on the some guys like this because you know it all and i think some role players like robert should involve a big shop up i mean the intangibles of the game of basketball are really, really important, but they don't get the spotlight very much. And the little things win championships. There are guys like Bruce Bowen, Nate McMillan, guys who are blue guys that help you win a

championship. A hall of fame of little things. I like that. I do too. Seriously. Put it on the poll please at Levitard Show. Should assistant coaches be in the Hall of Fame at Lebatard show. What is the littlest thing that you would put in this little things Hall of Fame

that is needed for basketball success? Carl you can only put one of the characteristics that you regard as a little thing in the Hall of Fame. What is your first ballot little thing Hall of Famer? I would say locker room leadership. And who would you regard as the one in your career who exemplified it the most? He's given me the Hall of Fame this year, Chauncey Billups. Chauncey Billups.

Mr. Big Shot. As a player, thank you, Stugats. I appreciate you being there for us on all fronts. Chauncey Billups. We need a guy who wasn't the best player but was a locker room leader because that guy would get into the small thing Hall of Fame, you know what I'm saying?

That does make sense. Everything you guys are saying makes perfect sense. With the sport today, George, when I honestly can't believe, like I'm stupefied as we talk here, that Carmelo and Dwyane Wade are now on podcasts talking about what their career was while LeBron still plays and while LeBron still scores 25 points a game. If you would answer for us the question that Stugatz is always

dying to ask anybody and then yell at them when they give the wrong answer, when you put LeBron James and Michael Jordan next to each other, would George Carl ever dare to say that LeBron is better? I have dared to say it's better, but I can never get there. But I mean, what, what, what LeBron is doing today, it's amazing. And I kind of come back as playing that LeBron might be the best, the most talented player ever to play in the NBA, but I still think Michael's the best player ever to play in the NBA.

George, what does that look like, you trying to get there? He's daring to and then he backs off, like he wants to do it and then he keeps getting scared and backing away from the club he's a brave man but then he gets scared and he he he he that's it right now is that how you dare to do it but then never do it to the first generation of basketball abroad is there is the first best there might be a little bit more sense but michael deserves history

that's where i want to go that who is your favorite player to watch right now george genre uh... that was quick and he didn't play all of last year did you find the celtics uh... championship run satisfying to you what did you think of them dominating the sport from beginning to end anybody close to him there are a lot about that you can get a lot of religious felt

but i i want to tell i i really thought that the other or just have to check they had the most talented people all year long and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and now the other day as a as many as you know bosses are going to go away

and uh... They know who they got to shoot at. Boston's not going to go away. And I mean, there's going to be a hell of a year coming up. Are you of the belief that Wemba Nyama is going to be winning all the championships in three years? I am not. I still like my man Jokic here in Denver more than like Wemba Nyama, but I think he'll win his championship. Are you of the belief that Jokic has no precedent as a player and that you would be willing to already put him top five all time as a basketball player? I think he's top ten.

I don't know about top five. Give him time. Right. George, I have the perfect small things guy for the Hall of Fame. Okay? You coached him. Nate McMillan. That is a guy.

That is the epitome of doing all the small things, right? That's a great example of it. I think Boston kind of had a, Boston kind of had a Hall of Famer and a holiday. Yes! You are so strange, Stugatz. Stugatz is here celebrating. I like the little things, Dan.

He's connecting with George Carle over the little things. The call is Wednesday night at 8 p.m. Eastern it's always good talking to him I will tell you to RSVP at Hoopers for Harris dot org and I will also ask you to hold George Carl George we're not gonna let you forget you have promised our audience that you are publicly going to put down the sword in your feud with Carmelo Anthony in the name of being unified so we're gonna hold you to it all right i'm not going to have to work with you right now i'm not going to have a lot of our

more on policy thank you george good seeing you sir or as the luck