The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Draymond Green Show - Nick Nurse

Episode Date: June 20, 2024

Current Philadelphia 76ers head coach, and former head coach of the Toronto Raptors, Nick Nurse joins Draymond Green to discuss his road to the NBA, the Toronto Raptors trying to get over the hump against LeBron James years ago, what it was like coaching Kawhi Leonard and then watching him leave Toronto after winning the NBA Finals in 2019, why Kyle Lowry is the GOAT Raptor, how the Raptors defended Steph Curry five years ago to win a title, what it’s like coaching Joel Embiid these days, if the NBA should shorten the season, and much more. 00:00 - Start 02:40 - Coaching Journey 15:00 - Kawhi Leonard 26:00 - GOAT Toronto Raptor 30:00 - Facing Steph & Warriors in Finals 34:00 - Coaching Joel Embiid 41:00 - Shorten the NBA season? Produced by: Jackson Safon #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The volume. We're this close to crowning an NBA champion. I like the Celtics, by the way, in six. Jalen Brown's going to be my MVP, and I love the Celtics in game one. But sign up 90 seconds. Put in the code, Collins, C-O-L-I-N, Draft King Sports Book, an official sports betting partner of the NBA. If you're a new customer, bet five bucks, that's it.

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21 and over. Age varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. See dkng.com slash B-Ball for eligibility and deposit restrictions, terms, and responsible gaming resources. What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show.

It's an honor to have this next guest, an NBA champion. And so I've been hiding this hand because I have my 22 championship ring on. And the reason I have my 2022 championship ring on is because the only thing that I have over this guy that I could kind of throw on his face is I won a championship more recently than he did. However, he was just so kind to throw in my face. He and Jackson, you know, Jackson's riding a high. He's a Boston Celtics fan. Not sure if he told you that, but he's riding a high as a Celtics fan right now. And so he wants to throw that in my face.

It's good. well, he can take this, but also Coach Nurse, who I'm honored to have, Coach Nurse, NBA champion, he beat me in an NBA final. So I'm going to just get rid of this because it's embarrassing and kind of ruin my final slate. However, like I said, it's an honor to have this next guest, NBA champion, two-time D-League champion.

Coach Nick Nurse, what's going on, my friend? Hey, thanks for having me on, man. I've been looking forward to it. I listen to you and watch you a lot. So it's an honor to be on. So thanks for having me. Oh, man. Thank you.

I appreciate it. First off, I mean, let's just get right into it. I think, you know, I've watched some coaches come through the G League, and specific through our G-League program. You've had Seth Cooper. You've had Aaron Miles come through and move on. Nick Kerr right now is doing a great job. There are Chris Weems on our staff.

And I know your journey went through the D-League, starting with championships in the D League. Can you talk to me about that process and getting the reps in the D League and then obviously getting your opportunity and becoming a head coach of Toronto Raptors first? Yeah, so listen, you know, I've spent a lot of years. I spent about 20 years coaching before I got to the NBA.

I was small college. I went to England of all places for about 10, 11 years. Then finally landed in the D league. league. And, you know, when anybody ever asked me about getting into coaching, I always say get head coaching experience as fast as you can because that is, that is like you said, the reps of getting in front of people, showing film, making substitutions, calling timeouts. You know, that's the real deal. No matter really whatever level you're at, you're having to make a lot of decisions. Absolutely. And just tracing back a little bit. Can you talk to me about the easiest

head coaching job that you had where you was assistant for four. days and cashed out on 175 grand. You talk to me. I'm looking for a gig like that, by the way. Best job I ever had. So I was coaching at the Iowa Energy in the D-League. Guy I played college basketball with at Northern Iowa, Greg McDermott was then the coach at Iowa State. He offered me a job to be his associate head coach. I went up there on a Thursday. I literally got on a plane on Friday and went to Europe to recruit. And on Sunday, he called me.

I was in London getting ready to go to Greece. He called me, said, hey, I'm going to Creighton. And he said, you want to come with me to Creighton? And I was like, well, whoa, what just happened here? We just moved up, you know, we just started this job. And I said, let me come home and think about that for a minute. And I ended up going, thank goodness, you know, all things happened for a reason. I end up going back to the Iowa energy after four days in Iowa State.

And that was when we won our first D-League championship. And then we went rolling from there a little bit. That's incredible. When you were in the Iowa Energy, I've been trying to trace your path to the Raptors. When you were with the Iowa Energy, were they the affiliate of the Raptors at that time? Like, what was your, how did you,

what was your path to the Raptors? No, so the path to the, so I coached the Iowa Energy. Then I went to Rio Grande Valley as the head G. League coach, which was the Rockets team. And literally they just, they just kind of called me

up out of nowhere. I think they'd seen the team play. We had we had a couple, I think we had Glenn Rice, Jr., who was in the draft. He was one of the first guys in the D-League that was in the draft, and a lot of people were coming to watch him. And it was actually Brian Colangelo, who saw the team play and just said, let's talk to this guy. And then they hired me as an assistant. After a lot of changeover in turmoil, it was, it was Maasai came in and Dwayne Casey hired me and all that stuff. But We made it through that little change of management to get the start in Toronto. What was it like as an assistant coach during those years where you guys were having absolutely incredible seasons in Toronto?

And then you kind of just run into a bus saw LeBron James in the East. Like what were those years like kind of ultimately hoping to get over that hope? Did you, I mean, hoping to get over that hump? Did you guys like not, I mean, I don't want to say not believe. because I think anytime we're in a locker room you want to believe. But did you guys really believe that that team could have gotten over the hump? And like what was it with that squad? Yeah.

So in general, it was awesome. It was awesome because we kind of, I think, don't quote me on the exact numbers, but I think the year before we started in Toronto was like a 32 win season. So the first year we went to 48 and got into playoffs, which they hadn't been in and, I don't know, again, 10 years, maybe 11, 12 years. And so the buzz was like, oh, my God, they're a playoff team. And then we kind of 155, maybe 158. And like you said, we'd run into everybody was getting chopped down by LeBron and the Cavs then, right?

So it was super exciting. And then it was always that frustration of how can we figure out how to beat this guy. And then the last time around, I think we had the home court advantage and we had a higher seed. And they hadn't really played that well that year. We thought we really did think we could get over the hump And it was just like one of those one of those I think game one daymond It was like we had we had to lay up and it missed and we had a tip in and like if we would have just one of those bounce in We win game one and maybe the whole series and that was like a crushing like last second defeat and and

And that was that was it and then just never could get I mean you know how how tough it is to get any of his teams Absolutely. I mean, obviously we played against those guys for, what, four straight year, five straight years? 15, probably. Yeah, five straight years. And it's crazy because I was watching the NBA finals. I was watching NBA finals a few days ago with Brian. And we were actually sitting there talking about, like, the different things when you watched the last couple finals that teams kind of get away with. Like, it was tougher to get away with then.

And I don't want to sound like one of those old-ass dudes who, like, in my day, he couldn't. But, like, I feel like when we were, like, in the finals against you guys, against LeBron, like, there was some guys that just couldn't get on the floor. Like, if you were just a shooter, right, and you couldn't put the ball on the floor, you didn't have sides could escape. Like, you couldn't get on the floor. And it's like, now all of a sudden, teams aren't capable of necessary.

like taking a guy out. You know, like the guys that you knew you had to take out who's like, he's a shooter. We did it to Kyle Corver when he was with the cat. It's like you take those guys out. Now, you don't see that as much. Do you think that's actually a byproduct of the new NBA bylaws or salary cap

where you can't quite build out the teams how you would? Because I've been seeing that. And when I look at it, I'm just like, man, Like, that stuff never would have flew in the NBA finals even four years ago. Yeah. I don't know. I think things change so fast. And even it seems to me they change more rapidly, sometimes during the season and everything.

I just think that you're always adjusting to the style of play or the physicality that's being allowed or not being allowed. It seems to be, you know, like all over the place at times. So I think, I think, you know, and again, I think some series. guys look great. Those kind of guys you're talking about. Then some series they don't do. And all of a sudden, you're like, what happened? You know, those guys were, those guys were playing great last series. You know, what happened to them?

And you're right, I think scouting different schemes, different personnel. Some matchups are just bad for certain players, right? That is, that is 100% correct. I think when you get further and further into these playoffs, playoffs, matchups are everything. Like, I think this year in the playoffs showed that more than ever, right? Like the Lakers and the Nuggets. Lakers probably could have won the series.

Like, the series easily could have been flipped, but a tough matchup for the Lakers. Denver moves on to Minnesota. They lose to Minnesota, whereas the Lakers probably were a better matchup than Minnesota, right? And I think we're starting to see that even more now. Where matchups, who you match up with, is more important than never. Do you feel that way?

I think it's really important in the playoffs. And here's the thing. Here's the thing I dislike about how I feel today. It's 3-0. It's 3-0, right? And it feels like they've all been 40-point blouse, but that isn't true. I mean, it was a two-point game with a minute to go last night.

Game two should have been a three-point game with a minute to go. If we get that layup or circumstances around that lay-up are a little different. So those, like, that's where Dallas has gotten everybody to and then figured out a way to beat them. Absolutely. And all of a sudden it's 3-0 and you're like, well, it's over now. Nobody's come back from 3-0, but I hope they do. I'm just like you and everybody else.

We want to see more games, right? We don't want to be over quite yet. Absolutely. Definitely looking forward, I would love to watch more basketball. And before we get deeper into the basketball talk, because it is an honor to have an NBA head coach, an NBA champion on the Draymond Green Show, very thankful. But before we get further to the basketball talk,

can you join us to celebrate the grand opening, Carol National, golf and music? Can you talk to me more about that, August 15 to 16? Yeah, yeah, man. Can you talk to me more about your golfing? I appreciate that. You let me the shout-out. So I'm from a little small town in Iowa, about 10,000 people called Carol. Golf course I grew up on a little bit as a kid, and it was kind of at its end, and we're just trying to save it. So we're, me and some guys are turning around putting it together, grand opening coming up in August 15th and 16th. But mainly it's to raise money for the foundation as well, Draymond.

I've been, once we won that championship, I thought I was given an amazing platform to go out and raise money. Did a bunch in Toronto. Now we're doing some here in Philly, doing some in Iowa, and just trying to pump that money back to kids in the areas of sports, music, and literacy. I'm a big pseudo-mus. I love music. I'm a music appreciator, that's for sure. And I like helping kids, buy them instruments, buy them lessons, get them up on stage, anything we can do in music and in sports

and try to build their self-esteem, people that wouldn't normally get such good chances, you know? That's absolutely incredible. I respect that. I think anytime, especially as a music fan, I too love music, appreciate music. And I think anytime you get the opportunity to combine those two is always great. Like they're so synonymous. They live, you know, music and sport. It's one and the same. I always say every musician want to be a basketball player. Every basketball player want to be a rapper or musician. And that's just kind of the way the cookie crumbles, you know. I was about ready to ask you that. I was wondering if you go through that too. Like I got a lot of musician friends and they all want to talk. I'm trying to stop them from asking me basketball

questions and it just keeps on coming. It's really funny. Absolutely. It's like the interest rate this through the roof, you know, which is always good. No, I think that's great. And for you all out there, check that out. I actually would love to check it out, but I'll be in France at that time. But I would love to make a donation if I could for all of you out there. If you can make a donation, continue to push this forward. And also, we got to get Drew Yoder out there, who's our head trainer.

I always get his guy crap, coach. He's from Iowa, and he always give me crap because I'm from Saginaw, Michigan. And so we got to get him back there. Let's do it, man. Let's do it. Anybody's welcome, especially anybody. Can he play golf a little bit? He actually can.

And, you know, another thing, which I absolutely love about it, and he walks around the facility talking shit to everybody. That's all he does. So, absolutely. That translates to the golf course, too. We all know that, right? That's a fact. That is a fact.

But moving forward, you guys start the off. season and all of a sudden, you know, going 2018, 2019 season, get the opportunity to get Kawhi Leonard. How big was that? What was that like coaching him? Obviously, didn't get to coach him for sure as long as you would have, but what was it like getting Kawhi, him coming in and kind of taking the franchise up a level? Yeah.

I mean, you know, Kauai. First of all, he's awesome. I loved his just competitiveness, his drive, his smarts, everything. But, you know, what he did probably more than anything, Raymond was he just kind of rose the level of everything, right? He just, everybody played a little bit better. Everybody believed a little bit more, all those kind of things with his presence. And he was awesome to coach.

I think that my most fascinating things, with him were, you know, when I'd be in the fourth quarter and things, and I'd be like, you know, like nine minutes to go. And I'd be like, let's go. You got to get back in there. And he'd be like, I'm not quite ready yet. I'd be like, well, we better hustle because there may not be anything to wait for. But, you know, he knew about the six minute mark, six and a half.

He'd go back in, but he knew and he just dominate. He just made every play at both ends, every tough rebound. Like, he really knew what he kind of had in the tank. and what he could provide. And I kind of, I just admired that about him because he really would go make, you know, plays at both ends that were just, you know, that's what I love guys making plays at both ends. And they were just huge plays, you know?

Absolutely, absolutely. I think it's incredible. Obviously, we were on the wrong side of it. I must say, I was absolutely shocked. And, you know, I know he's an L.A. guy or San Diego, Southern California guy, wanted to get back closer home. But that may be the only player in the NBA that can win a championship with a team,

probably get offered the entire country of Canada, and leave and go back to the clippers. Like, I can't think of any other guy in the NBA that would turn that down. I can't think of it ever happening either. I'm not totally, totally shocked Draymond because the very first meeting I had with him, like he got traded to Toronto,

I'm not sure he was like, well, what happened here? How'd I end up here? And I'm meeting with him. And it was super cool. We were kind of going through some stuff on the board and just getting to, you know, listen to him feel about I like this. I'll move here, these kind of things. And it was a great conversation.

And he kind of said to me, listen, all right, all right, I'm going to play to win. I'm going to play to win. I'm going to play to win. I'm going to play to win at all. And he said, he said, I'm going to do it for one year. After that, he goes, I'm not sure what's going to happen. right but for one year I'm going to play 100% and I'm going to play to win the title and I was kind of like that's a pretty good deal let's let's start with that right so I wasn't totally shocked but I thought

after we've kind of done it all and did you know all that stuff like you just said kind of rolled out I was sure hoping he was going to stay because that was a really really good team it really was you know in the end it was a really really well put together team and really had great chemistry as you know you've been a part of them those things are special 1,000 percent special I think I think for me and watching that team come. Like even when I look back on that team, and I know a lot of people said, like, oh, it's going to wild energy,

just carrying these guys to the championship. But when I look back on that team, obviously, Fred Van Vleet was not an all-star yet, became an all-star there. Pascal Seaccombe hadn't really become an all-star yet, became a two-time all-star. I'm not mistaken. I think Pascal made first team all-N-Bia at one point.

point this year a second team. I mean, throughout those years. Kyle Lari, Danny Green, Sergei Baca, Mark Gassau, like, I feel like those are the championship teams that I remember, right? Like, you go down the list and it's boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Like, what was it like coaching that team? I think you, if I'm not mistaken, I think you guys had, was Garrett Temple on your bench at that point? No, we had Norman Powell. We had Norman Powell. We had Norman Powell. Yeah, we had OG was was got hurt right before the playoffs. So he was on that team. That was, yeah, you're right.

I mean, what was it like coaching him? It was awesome. I mean, I think we knew we had a chance from day one. You know, you go to training camp and you're looking around and you're going, holy shit, this is like, we're good, man. Like they were really good. Like, and kind of the cool thing about it was we didn't really, nobody else really was talking too much about us.

You know what I mean? Like we kind of stayed under the radar. and it wasn't like even when the playoffs started, I think I went back, I went back one time and looked, and I think one out of like 16 reporters picked the raptors, you know, like nobody was talking about it. So, and the unique thing that I thought,

and you've probably been through this, maybe not, but I just couldn't believe how much better we got from playoff game number one, you know, and against Orlando in the first round to two months later by the time, by the time, you know, we saw you guys, I just can't believe we just kept improving and improving and proven. And that's also really special and really fun to be a part of. Absolutely.

You know, obviously our teams before were a little different. Maybe 2015, but we kind of got good early in that year. But 2022, I know exactly what you're talking about. Because that year, I'll kid you not, I'll be honest. So, 2022 is the first year of Miami Grand Prix F1, Formula One. And my friend and his family, they own the race. And so they have laid it out. All my friends were going.

And I think it was maybe May 5th, which obviously, as you know, is like right at the end of the first round of the playoff. And he's like, are you coming to F1? Are you coming to F1? I'm like, yeah, we fucking suck. Like, I'll be there. We'll lose in the first round for sure. Like, that's what I thought of, like, the team we had. And I'm like, yeah, we'll lose in the first round.

I want, like, leave me locked in, I'll be there. And we start the, we play the first game of the playoffs. And I caught him after the game. And I, he was, actually, he had text me. He's like, you're full of shit. Like, you guys are great. I'm like, yeah, we actually just look better than I thought we did. But, like, hold off.

I'll still be there for F1, right? And we start playing and we going through and we got better, better, and better, and better. Then we get to Dallas Mavericks in the conference finals. And it's like, we didn't even feel like they had a chance. Like, oh, this is money. And then we get to the finals.

And like you guys, everybody thought we'd lose to the Celtics. We weren't big enough. The Celtsos were way too big. They were younger. They were more athletic. They were all of these things. However, and where you guys, were different, they had guys that knew how.

Like they had, I mean, they didn't have guys that knew how. And we had guys that knew how. Where you guys different in 2019 is Kauai knew how. Danny Green knew how, right? Like, when you have those guys that know how, like, do you feel that as a coach? Like, it makes a big difference. I felt like that was the edge for us

in that finals against the Celtics in the year where we got better and better and better like you just explained. 100%. I think a big part of that, I don't think guys that haven't gone through it, have any understanding, hey, absolutely how long it is.

This, two full months. And it was like, and then I don't think they understand a lot of the intensity of it. Like, like, I, man, when we were playing you guys, I can't tell you how many times I'd be like, God damn, these guys are fucking fast. Like, damn, they just fucking keep on, right? You know, like, and they don't have.

never get tired. And I kept telling my team, they're fast, but you run, you, you be fast, too. You keep running fast too, right? So, so again, just the, the, you can't get tired, man. You can't, you can't, you can't succumb to the, the two-month grind or the, or the, or the, how physical it is, or the pressure of it all. Like, you just got to keep staying locked in and keep, man, it's, it's, that's the thing. I think the guys that have been through it can impart on everybody else and help them get through some of that. One hundred percent. It's crazy because I was in a, I was in a meeting yesterday and I was talking to someone and he was just speaking about like, man,

get to the NBA finals and if you lose, like those guys just look so crushed. And I was telling him, I said, you know, you get into the NBA finals and losing I've done twice. It's actually the worst thing in the world because you play two extra months of basketball and you have absolutely nothing to show for it. You're expected to, like you have the same summer that the champions had, but they get to party and get a pass and get a little longer to get in shape because you know they're coming off championship.

Whereas if you lose in the finals, no one remembers everybody like, oh, you should come into the next season and tip top shape, all these things. Like, it's a totally different mindset. But what I was telling him is, I said, as much as you are, as much as you are, like, disappointed and hurt that you lost, what really happens is you go through the, the NBA finals, to your point. And by the time you get to the end of it, your mind doesn't allow you to

process how tired you you are. Your mind doesn't allow you to process the exhaustion. But the moment it is, it's just like everything's just wiped out of you. Like, it is a grind like no other. To your point, I don't think anyone really understands that.

Yeah. The biggest difference is this, though, right? Like, when you hit, your phone rings a lot. When you don't, the phone stops ringing. The whole, the whole pace of everything comes to a screeching halt, right? That's what I always find interesting. After a season that you don't win, it is things get quite really quick, right? But, yeah, I think it's, and you're like, I couldn't believe it was over, and I swear to

God, I just got home and I was back and, you know, like, man, that was like two weeks, you know, three weeks later, you're back and getting ready for next season, you know, as a coach. And I know you'll be just trying to recover. Recover like crazy if you're a player, right? Get your body right and just try to heal up, right? Absolutely. Because you come out of those things beat up.

It's crazy. Coach, I got to ask you, who's the greatest raptor of all time? Kyle Lowry. I agree. I agree. It's unbelievable what Kyle was able to do going to Toronto, kind of finding his foot. And I think what Kyle got to Toronto in like year 7 or 8.

or something like that, had never been an all-star, finds his footing. Can you talk to me about Love, by the way, as you know, had an opportunity to win a gold medal with him. Appreciate that, by the way. Thank you for that. Absolutely. Like, can you talk to me about just what Kyle Lurie brought to the Raptors organization? Yeah, listen, I think I got there right at that kind of start of that.

He was just kind of a part-time starter. This would have been 2013, I think, so a while ago. Man, I don't know. He just, his competitive fire, he's one of those guys. You know, I throw him in the same bucket as you that they just can't help themselves. When it's time to compete, like there's no way they're not competing. You know, like something's going to turn on and it's going to happen. It's just so deeply ingrained in him.

I think he brought that. I've never seen, I mean, again, comparisons to you, right? Like, I've never seen a guy like in a flurry of four minutes, like, do so much, you know, like, bang a shot, you know. Come down, take a charge, come down, you know, knock somebody over, lay it in, come steal one. Like, it's just like this whirlwind of winning, you know, like a whirlwind of winning. in like 90 seconds or something, right? And I just, you just can't help but love that. It's like, you know, he's number one.

Who you ever seen play the hardest in your life? And for me, it's him, you know, like that I've coached, right? So that's it. He brought that. I think he brought, once he started, you know, getting better, progressing, the team started winning the success. He just kept expanding on all that. and just kept riding that wave,

and I think he continues to do it. I mean, I think six all-stars and two gold medals. I mean, that's unbelievable, I think, for him, right? And it's just he continues to just do a lot of it. I mean, he's like six-foot tall, right? He does it all with a lot of heart and toughness. Absolutely. And let's not forget NBA champions.

That's a big one. Yeah, man. That's right. New gold medal, six all-stars NBA champion. Yeah. I'm kidding. I can forget that. And speaking to Kyle Lari,

Coach, I got to ask, you've changed something. And speaking of that NBA finals run, I think you changed something in the NBA with a move that you made during that NBA finals. It's like something we didn't normally see in NBA games. And I just got to ask the question because I need to know who I need to be upset at because it absolutely crush this.

You guys decided to go boxing one on us. Obviously, Katie was out. And you guys go boxing one on Steph. And it threw the entire rhythm of our offense off. And I just want to know, whose fucking call was that? Because no one does boxing one in the NBA. And out of nowhere, you come with a boxing one in the NBA finals. Whose call was that?

Well, like all that stuff, Draymond, since we were just talking about Kyle, I'm going to pull him into this. Like, listen, I coached in a lot of funky places, right? I coach in Brighton, England, Austin, Belgium, Birmingham, England, you know, you name it. Des Moines, Iowa, Enid, Oklahoma, McCallon, Texas. And sometimes when you're in some of these places, you're just like, you know, this guy's all, this is, this thing, we got a top. Let's try this box in one. So it isn't like I hadn't used it before.

But in saying that, I kind of grabbed Kyle and I drew up the, I said, you're going to. to go here and I put Fred on. I'm going boxing on. I'm put Fred nose to nose on Draymond, 94 feet, and you're going to be in the top of this two-to-zone, and he goes, let's do it. So he kind of gave me that, and he took it to the time out and said,

we're doing this, man, watch this, you know? So, you know how that goes. You need to buy in from the guys. And so 50-50, me and Kyle, maybe. I don't know. That's great, man. I'm telling you, when we saw that box, it's like you couldn't hit a shot. Like, no one was accustomed to it.

I think people have gotten a little more accustomed to it now. Like, I know we have things now to attack the boxing one, which, I mean, you kind of got to have something to attack the boxing one after it costs you a championship. Like, the nightmare of seeing the boxing one. You guys are using it now. Now, you guys are using it now. We most definitely use it now. It costs you a championship. You better start using it.

Like, I just cannot believe. And it's like we forgot how to shoot. We forgot how to dribble. We forgot how to pass. It was unbelievable the timing of it. And I don't know. To make that call, I don't think you get enough credit for it. To make that call, and quite frankly, most people that will be talking about basketball

probably don't even remember you did that because they don't have a fucking clue. But to make that call in the NBA finals to go boxing one, man, that took some balls. and I tip my hat to you. By the way, you used to wear your Nick Nurse hat. I'm happy to see you with your 76 hat because when you wore your Nick Nurse hat, I just used to try to find shit to piss me off. And I'm like, that coach got on the hat that says his name.

Like, let me just find something to piss me off. You ain't the only one. I just want to let you make you feel better. All that stuff from that Nick Nurse hat went to the foundation. So the money was channels in a good place, all right? It's funny, man. I absolutely love it. Switching gears.

You now have the opportunity to coach one of the best players, best big man in our league, best players overall. Just what's it been like now on the other side of it where, A, I would also love to know if you throw the shot in his face that Kauai hit. But what's it been like to coach Joel and B? as opposed to being on the other side of? Well, both those guys, both him and Tyrese, Draymond were, I thought coaching against him

was extremely difficult. And Joelle's been on the end to some of that stuff we just talked about. Like, we used to throw, we had so many coverages for him and schemes for him because we just didn't have anybody to guard him. But you're not just going to say, well, we can't guard him. Like, we can somehow with four or five guys,

figure out how to stop them and see if we can live with the rest. but they were both great going against them. Now that I've been here, they're even better. I'm, I'm, I'm, I thought they were really, really great when I was coaching against them, and I still think they're really, really great. Juel was having the season of his life until, until he got that injury. He was, he was really playing great and better and all that stuff. And he's awesome.

Absolutely. And speaking of that, speaking of an injury, brings me to my next question. I agree, Joel was playing absolutely incredible. But my question is, what do you think of the 65-game rule? Because, for instance, Joel in the midst of having the best season of his career,

MVP season right off coming off an MVP season, and the 65-game rule doesn't even allow him to qualify, to compete for the MVP. I just wanted to know what's your thoughts on that rule. Do you agree with it? Like, what's your thoughts on it? I think it's in place to not let somebody play like half the season and still win one of the major awards, right?

I think that's why it's in place. I don't think that would ever happen anyway. I don't know. You probably know more of the finance ramifications of it because I know some of that stuff ties into max contracts, all NBA team certainly does, et cetera. But I think it's on people's minds, right? And I think it's hard.

What are you trying to accomplish, right? Are you, is it super important for you to win one of those words? I mean, I don't know. I want a coach of the year award, and I certainly would much rather have a championship. But it's still pretty cool to have that coach of the year award, man. I ain't going to lie, right? You know what I mean? Absolutely.

If I had to coach 80 of 82,000. games to, you know, I'd probably find a way to do it or whatever, you know, so I could be in line for that if I was lucky enough. I don't know. I don't know if I love it or not. It's there for now and let's see how it goes. Yeah, I think, I mean, I personally, I think it sucks. I get it. I get the intentions of it. But I think just like anything else, the unintended consequences of it, I think is wrong. You know, you got, you got a guy, like I remember Joe, Well, getting hurt. He got hurt against us, actually.

And I also remember the games leading up to that. Like, we didn't know if he was going to play. Like, what was, like, because he had missed a couple games leading up to it. He didn't play in Denver. And we didn't know if he was going to play. But I also remember that he was creeping up on his game limit. And so it's like, oh, let's get out there to boom, he gets hurt. And my thing is, like, you just said, what are we trying to accomplish, right?

Like, we can all say, like, oh, like, you shouldn't chase. you shouldn't chase individual awards, but the individual awards is what gets you in the Hall of Fame. Like, the individual awards is what gets you to max contracts, like you said. The individual awards is what gets you the sneaker deal. So you can't just say, oh, you shouldn't be chasing after that.

You should only be chasing after championship. We all want the championship, right? Like, I think that's the goal. But I'm not sure, like the goal is to not have people low, managing to not have people sitting out games that they could be. But like, there is a reality of you play a ball, all the 82 games, you do get hurt sometimes. And to have to rush back out there, Tyrese Halliburton earlier this year, I thought he rushed

back trying to get, and he was not the same Tyrese Halliburton for the rest of the season. And so, I don't know, man. I disagree. And then also, it's hard to add a rule like 65 games. games to all NBA teams, all defense teams, the MVP awards. When that hasn't been the rule all this time, and you got people who've won awards that didn't meet that. So are you going back in the history books and saying,

oh, but this award really didn't meet it. Are we snatching that out, you know? Yeah, man. Yeah, that's always tough, man, and the history part of the game when you change those things and looking back at all that stuff. I think, I think, Draymond, it's like, has been such a tough, I would say, it seems like there's been way too many bodies missing too many games, not just superstars.

Superstars are the ones everybody notices, but the amount of times, I would say, in the last three or four years that we've had like six, seven guys out. Like, that's what's got to get, that's what's got to get done better. Yeah, I agree. I agree. I agree. I don't know how you six that, but we need to get healthier in general, I think. Absolutely. And a couple more questions. I want to take too much of your time. But kind of just staying along this topic, do you think there's some truth to, you know, the 82 game season, but the game being way faster now, right? Like, you're probably getting up and down the court now, double the amount of times that teams were, call it 20 years ago.

And that making a difference. What's your thoughts on the 82 game season? Like, should maybe that be shortened a bit with the speed of the game? Like, when talking about player health, player safety, and all these things, obviously we want to see Joelle and B'd on the court. Like, I didn't buy tickets to the 76ers to see Joel and be hurt because he was forced to play a game and not necessarily forced, but come on, he's trying to win back-to-back-n VPs.

do you think there could be a possible adjustment in the 82 game season? I think I would be in favor of that, Raymond. I don't know, again, how it all works out, gistically, monetarily, all that kind of stuff. But I certainly agree with your point. Like, here's what I would say is you go back and say, oh, man, back in the early 90s, these guys all played 82 games. But it was like, it dribbled down, they throw it in a block, and two guys stand on.

And, you know, there was a lot of standing around. Like the pace was not anywhere near what it is now. Everybody kind of can do everything now, right? Everybody has to guard everybody. Everybody's got a guard on the perimeter. Everybody's got to guard to three. There's a lot more transition. So I think the activity level and just in general, like if the pace is twice as fast,

it means we're doing twice as much probably, right? So the chances for injury and all this stuff should be twice as great as well, right? Yeah, I agree 100%. I, you know, sometimes, and I get it, right? Like, everyone say, oh, you play less games, that's less money. There's ways around that. Like, there's just like there's ways around anything else. We got the smartest people in the world working in the NBA.

We got the best attorneys in the NBA office. Like, there's ways for people to put their heads together and figure out, how you keep the money the same, but maybe lessens the games a little bit, because the reality is, I think a few less games equals a much better product. Like a few less games, you're talking about you take off five or six games,

that pulls back, three back to backs for a team, right? And you start pulling back all of those things when you're looking at risk of injury and all of that, I think that can make a big difference. So I don't know. But in switching gears a little bit, Adam Silver said yesterday that he doesn't know if the NBA is in a place

where we'll ever see a competitive All-Star game anymore. And I just kind of wanted to know your thoughts on that. Do you think the All-Star game should kind of go away, maybe mix it in, like, do some other things? What's your thoughts on that? Or should players be like, you know what? it's an honor and I need to get that out there taking serious. When you being a coach and sitting on one side of it,

you want your players to return healthy, how do you look at the All-Star game? I have really fond memories of the All-Star game, Drey Bowen. First of all, the 2021, I was lucky enough to be the coach of in Chicago. And I think it was the first Elam ending one they did. I don't know if you remember that or not, but that one that lasts like 50.

minutes of basketball. It was like, it was Kyle and Pascal. And they had LeBron, A.D., Westbrook, James Hart. I mean, it was, it was unbelievable. We had Joel and Janus. Oh, man, it was, and they were really playing. I don't know how we can recreate that, but I'll never forget that 15 minutes of basketball. But ever since then, it has been a little rough. It's hard to watch.

I don't know. The NFL one's kind of gone away. Yeah. Major League baseball, they still put a little a little bit of incentive on there for the playoffs. They tie it to the home team in the World Series and stuff like that. I don't know. There's just a lot of thought process going on there.

No, I agree 100%. And, you know, I kind of sat and, like, toy with the idea of, like, do you go away with it? It's such a historical thing. And, like, I don't know, man. I just don't know. It's so bad. Like, I actually was there this past year.

It's one of the worst games I've ever seen. I've seen like some Little League games. It's one of the worst basketball games I've ever seen. I couldn't believe it. I know. And there was an emphasis on it, right? Like everyone was talking about it. There was an emphasis.

I know our commissioner, Adam, met with the team. I heard Larry Bird met with the team. Like, everybody's coming in and talking about it. It's just like, oh, like, nope, left hand shots. I don't know what you do with. It always starts and you're like, okay, let's see if they're going to play or not. And it lasts about three possessions and somebody makes a full court pass. And then it's bank off the backboard and we're like, oh, yes not.

All-Star game time. Just before we get out of here, you with two all-stars, Joelle, Maxi. I love Tyrese Maxie's game. It's been incredibly fun to see his growth. And I think what most people don't know about Maxy is, as good of a player as he is, he's probably 10 times better person. He's in the vibe he brings to the team.

And I've never been on a team with him, but I can see it. Like the vibe he brings to a room, like he just brings great energy all the time. And it's been great to see his growth. What do you guys have to do in order to take that next step? I know Joe hasn't been out of the second round. in his career, like, what do you guys got to do to get over that hump and take that next step?

Well, first of all, you're 100% right about Tyrese. He, like, he makes every room he goes into better. I still think he's got a ceiling that hasn't been hit yet. I think he's got to, he doesn't understand how good he's going to be yet. I think I can't wait to see him keep growing. And listen, I think that, as you know, man, we need, we got a whole bunch of roster spots. We got a whole bunch of money to spend. And we got to, we got to piece it together around those.

two guys. Like who complements them, who's got some toughness, who's got some winning spirit, who's got some winning experience, you know, who's not afraid, who can accept some roles, you know, all that kind of stuff that you need to build a team. But we're certainly trying. I believe in my front office and Daryl and Elton and ownership and all that stuff. And I certainly believe in those two players. Absolutely. No, and I think, you know, I think we're also starting to see that shift in the NBA of where you remember back in the day where you had a great point guard or great guard a great one or two and you had a great big man and y'all got that right like and i'm starting to see the NBA shift back you know we kind of went through the small ball phase

everybody was trying to copy our style of play right like and i think we're starting to see the league flip back now to size and great guard great big and you guys have those foundational pieces already. So just filling the pieces in, I think, you know, it's obviously important. But my last question, before we get out of here, coach, as a coach of the year candidate, or not, excuse me, a coach of the year winner in yourself.

I just wanted to know, what do you make the voting process for these awards? You won coach of the year. I've won a defensive player of the year myself. but the voting process for a guy like Eric Spolster who's never won an NBA coach of the year award. Like what do you make of the voting process when it comes to coach of your MVP defensive player at you? What do you make of the whole voting process?

I just always want to make sure that these people that are voting are watching the games, right? They really are investing the time. And I think, you know who the good journalists are and good people in the media that are really knee deep into it. I mean, there's a lot of games to watch. Those people got a lot of work to do and all that kind of stuff. That's all.

I just think that's what I would say about anything. Like you talk about being on this show as a champion. Like, you got to make sure when you're talking about stuff after the game that you've studied and you've actually watched it. You're not just kind of, hey, what's going on and taking somebody else's opinion and twisting it in your own little flavor and all that stuff? That's it. Absolutely.

No, I think it's great. I think the one complaint that I will have about it is like, to your point, it's hard to get 100, like to think that all 100 of these people are watching all of these games. Right now, if you dedicated, and by the way, maybe it flips every year because it's so like, like, there should be some laws in place to like, hey, we need to have proof. Like, maybe you're sending in notes after the game or something. Like, we need to have proof that you've been watching these. games. And so maybe it's like a 25

person committee where, you know, you're voting on awards and they got that strenuous job this year. And then someone else take on, another 25 take on that strenuous job next year. But I think like, there's no way, come on. There's no way

a lot of these journalists that are on the East Coast are watching us play on the West Coast when our game started at 7.30 p.m. And it's 10.30 and they're watching the game the whole way through. I would say this. I do have some of the people that are on there. I do have some of them reach out to me and call me.

And they always, you know, they'll tell me you're talking about all defensive team or something. And I'll always say, well, give me what you're talking. You know, who are you comparing with who first? You know, like, and they do do a good job of like, here's where I got it right now. What do you think? And then I'll say, man, no way. Yes way.

You're right. You know, whatever. So I think that's doing some homework and doing some research asking. asking some coaches or assistant coaches, guys that are watching the film every day, right, that can give them some positive feedback and hopefully they take it. 100%. Coach, man, I can't thank you enough. I'm still upset.

You kicked our ass. You make the call of the NBA finals and go boxing one and stif for our offense. Nonetheless, I am absolutely honored and appreciated of you coming on the show. It's an honor to have you on. good luck with your journey with the 76s. I know you'll do great things. And then also I want to connect with you about the golf, Carol National, help get some donations out.

And like I said, to all of y'all out there, get your donations in. Coach is doing a great thing, music, sports, literacy for children. Don't have to spend his time doing that yet he is. And we know we do better for our kids, our world, become a better place. Check that out. Get your donations in. But coach, man, I thank you so much. Hey, Drayman.

I appreciate it, man. And it's an honor to be on the show, but it's even more of an honor to compete against your great teams and against you sometimes. I know we have a couple of sides down once in a while, me and you, but we're both competitors, right? Absolutely.

And that is what happens. Don't kick my butt, man. I'm not going, you know, you want to jaw at me. I'm going, you want to jaw at me. I'm going. We're good, right? We're good right there, baby. I would never cross that line, coach.

All right, man. Be good, man. Take care. Have a great summer. Thank you, coach. You too. The volume.