The Ringer NBA Show - Greg Monroe on Getting Back Into the NBA During a Pandemic. Plus: JJ Redick Complains About Being Traded to the Mavericks | Real Ones

Episode Date: April 1, 2021

Logan and Raja first get into JJ Redick’s complaints about the Pelicans front office trading him to the Dallas Mavericks instead of the Brooklyn Nets (0:25), and the power that the media has in shaping narratives around players and shaping young players’ careers (7:40). Then Greg Monroe joins Logan and Raja from a practice facility in Miami as he tries to make his way back to the NBA during a global pandemic (19:25). He talks about growing up in New Orleans, going to Georgetown (26:35), playing with Giannis in Milwaukee (43:18), and a whole lot more! Hosts: Logan Murdock and Raja Bell Guest: Greg Monroe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Emmy Award-winning producer, actor and comedian Larry Wilmore is back on the air, hosting a podcast where he weighs in on the issues of the week and interviews guests in the world of politics, entertainment, culture, sports, and beyond. Check out Larry Wilmore, Black on the Air on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. We got Greg Monroe in the building a little later, but let's get a quick topper in, Raj. Let's fucking, let's talk. Oh, you want to top it? yeah let's do it so um before we get to the pod there's some things that happened before and we just like we just want to touch on just talk around the league we haven't really i don't feel like we've talked around the league it doesn't it got in our talk around the league bag in a minute so let's just let's get into it this is called a topper

i just said that right okay anyway you just mess up the whole flow like you always do but first thing i do want to get to big thing out of the news is j j j reddick talking about how he was told one thing about his trade. He was told he was going to be traded to a place that he desired and he wanted to go to, which is Brooklyn, was one of the places to be close to his family. And he said he had a conversation with David Griffin, who is, you know,

I know someone that you are close with. And that David Griffin said that, yeah, we will, you know, abide by that and try to send you to a place that is suitable for where you want to go. He winds up going to Dallas far away from Brooklyn. And he said on his podcast that he was pissed and that no agents would trust that front office going forward.

I don't necessarily believe that. We've both been in this business a long time to know that there's really no loyalty, even for star players. There's no loyalty for that. I'm not surprised that they took the best deal over the best interest of a player. What do you think, Raj? I would like, first of all, there's a lot to unpack there, a whole lot to unpack. I'm definitely not going to do a good job of touching on all that I'd like to touch on. So let me just start by saying, I've not spoken to David Griffin or trade and Langdon about trade.

But to echo what you just said and to double down, organization's first order of business is to do what's best for the organization. The president and the general manager, their job is to do what's best for that New Orleans Pelicans franchise and the owner. JJ, by all accounts, is a good dude. I only know him to say what's up. He seems like a really intelligent cat. He's obviously a great player.

I don't, I want to be fair, but I think it does speak to a level of entitlement to think that you were owed anything by anyone when you took a substantial bag not too long ago to go play in New Orleans. And I don't have any beef. Bags in general. And also get your money. Get your bread. I have no beef with that. But you could have chosen to stay in Philadelphia at the time, which was right. And what people are going to say, and I get it. No one could foresee the global pandemic and that he was going to be that far away from his family. But that affected everyone, Logan. that's not it's not just j j reddick affected by that and you made a choice to go play and when you do that and you take the bread do you know how you can get back to your family if you really really want to be

with your family buy out buy out retire any number of ways but when it gets put in the franchise's hand they don't owe you anything now i can't tell you that griff um was honest and forthright with him or not i was not behind the scenes i'm not privy to those conversations i do know at the end of the day that you can't trust anything that most front offices say. And I don't think any, any, any, any agent would be scared to do business with them because they weren't trusting them in the first place. Yeah. I mean, like front offices from a player standpoint, you probably can't trust. From a media standpoint, you can't necessarily trust it either. They, they're trying to just throw like trade rumors, for instance. You don't believe trade rumors because they just throw stuff out there all

the time. And what I say that to say is, run offices and this business can't be trusted just because of the system that is in place. It is just a product of that system in place. It's no shade on anybody that's involved. It's just what we are in this business. You can't always be forthright and tell the truth. And I know that's a weird thing to say. But it is what it is. There's a lot of backward doing this stuff. It's not a weird thing to say. Every business is like that. Okay. I'm just saying somebody just saying somebody, just saying somebody, outright lies. It's a part of the business. It just is what it is. If you did get lied to,

it just, that's what it is. You take it with a grain of salt. I don't have any problem with, with JJ feeling the way he feels about it. I really don't. Because most players, the first time you come to the realization that you are like just a piece in the in the overall puzzle and not like the piece, it's, it sucks. Like everyone kind of feels some kind of way. I just didn't appreciate the way he kind of put it on the pot as if they were doing bad business. I think that was taking it a step far. You can feel the way you feel. And, you know, in one regard, like, I have to feel good for JJ that it took him however many odd years. I don't know. What is he? 15 years in now before you ever felt that way. That means you played and you've been important

enough in different places to not. I remember being slapped in the face by, oh, you're just going do me like that? Like, they don't owe you anything. And most players come to that realization at some point in their career. I think I would make the case that JJ's been lucky. It took him 15 years to really figure out that it can be a dirty business sometimes. Yeah, man. And that's cool, man. He's still on the way to feeling that pain, he got to the baggage claim for out

throughout his whole career. So I think that pro. What? And you're playing with, you didn't get shipped off to Minnesota. You're in. You went from Zion to Luca. To Luca.

You know what I mean? I mean, day. Damn, dog. Yeah, I think this is a wake-up call that everybody needs. It's like, one, my coach, Alonzo Carter always to tell me, get your feelings out to shit. That's, it was, he told me that the young age, that is what, that is advice I will always take. Get your feelings out of it. Because once you put your feelings into it, you're going to get hurt, especially in this business.

Once you put trust and feelings into all these things, this is never going to work. It's a great lesson for kids. I should take that line and use it because I typically say to the kids and the practices. You got to say it with the accent. You got to say it with the accent.

I will try. I'll work on that. I ask them, like, you know, if they, hey, are you tired? Or they'll be like, yeah. Or like, hey, are you upset that you can do that? They'd be like, yeah, I'd be like, guess what? Nobody cares.

Nobody cares. It's the same. The league's not going to stop because you don't feel away. You feel away. Correct. I think it's a good lesson. And again, I'm not mad at JJ for feeling pissed about a trade. It is.

I have felt that. Like, it's just that league doesn't owe anyone anything other than their bosses. And their bosses are more interested in protecting assets and having trade good picks and stuff like that than they are sending you to a destination that you'd like to be in. Yeah. We're going to foreshadow my role in of the week real quick. with our next segment. Nina Westbrook has some smoke for Stephen A. Smith on behalf of her boo-boo, on behalf of her husband, on behalf of her king, who balled out at 30-something points,

20-20 rebounds. It's had like a crazy stat line. And historic stat line kind of saw the – it was like the Russ of old. And Stephen A says he was not impressed by it. said that he just, you know, he just went in on it on the, on the performance. And Nina has some things to say. And she put it on her Instagram,

ruin. But Stephen A came back and said, and I thought this was a interesting point. He said that for everything bad that I say, you can think of 20 things that I've said good about Russell Westbrook. And that's interesting because that's something that, and I'm not taking sides on this one necessarily, I guess I already brought Nina as a real one.

But what I'm saying is it's interesting to hear that because that is true in life in a lot of ways of we polarize all the negative stuff that is talked about about us. Never mind all the great things I've always said about you. Never mind that I've always said that I respect your game and things like that. How do you maneuver as a player when you feed off the negativity? You feed off of people saying bad stuff about you. I don't think it would be good if everybody said something good about you. Where would the chip come from, Roger? I don't know.

The best in the world always figure out a way to find a chip on their shoulder. So even if it wasn't there organically, I'm going to find a reason and fabricated in my own mind to come up with the chip. I do think there is something to a player like Russ who always, you know, wears it so visibly on his shoulder. if you will, having people like Stephen A, or maybe not Stephen A, because Stephen A does say some, and even yesterday when his rebuttal, was really complimentary for most of it until he decided,

until he went back in on Russ not winning a championship. I do think it helps Russ to have people like that ultimately. I'm down with his wife holding her, holding her man down though like that, or just, you know, anybody, I'd be down with a man holding his wife down or, or anyone holding their significant other down because, like, that's what you're supposed to do when you ride or die for somebody, You know, like you're supposed to hold them down. So I really appreciated that. What I think it's, I think there's just a kind of a misunderstanding between them.

Russell Westbrook, I hear him saying, championships don't define me. And I live my life and I'm a champion just because I'm in the NBA. I co-signed on that 1,000%. Championships are dope. But it ain't the end all, be all in life, right? When you're coming from some of the places people have come from, you know, and you've exceeded all expectations and overcome all odds, and now you get to play in these games.

And I would just say that Stephen A. Smith, I understand you saying all that's dope, but he has to win a championship when you're putting him in the pantheon of grades. Like that's how we measure them. I'm cool with that, you know? I would say, though, that non-impressive, to say it's not impressive, that's ridiculous.

You know how goddamn hard it is to go out there and put those numbers up? Even in a losing effort. even in a losing effort, Logan, do you know how hard it is to accumulate that kind of stat line? So anybody out there saying it's not impressive, I cannot co-sign on that. I had a beef with Stephen A. Smith saying,

like, ownership at a company wouldn't appreciate you saying that championships don't define you, because that is suggesting that Russell Westbrook does not care at all about winning championships, and he's just purely out there to get stats. and I don't believe that to be the case. I think what he's saying is I play to try to win. But if I don't, that doesn't define me.

And I'm okay with that. Yeah, I think that, let's be real, the organization argument, organizations, I'm not going to say they don't care about championships, but they care about money more. Yes. So if you putting people in the seats, Russell Westbrook is one of those people that put people in the seats.

If you do that, the championship is a bonus in the eyes of a business. I'm right to say that, right? It doesn't matter if you win titles year and a year out. If you are getting them gate receipts and you are a relevant team in the league for a long stretch of time and don't win a title, I mean, the bottom line is fine, the business bottom line, you have done your job. I agree with you 100%.

Now, now, usually those two things go hand in hand, right? Like if you are that successful, you would be a team that's on the cusp of winning a championship and therefore after two or three years probably become frustrated with the with the lack of championship so but i do under like but like okay c right okay see their bottom line they was eating good absolutely and and and and russell westbrook was there and james hardin was there did they win a title no but did they are they are they good yes i'm with you on that and those fans had a magical ride like that was a magical time to be an oklahoma city thunder fan like you know a young Logan being a Laker fan when they were when they were stars studded and whether they

won a championship or not, man, you were a proud Laker fan in the building if you could get their type of fan. And a loyal customer throughout that time. Yeah, man. Yeah. And so that's just my beef with the whole thing. And I think, you know, to some degree, they're saying similar things. They just, they're not understanding where each other's coming from.

Russell Westbrook is out there pouring his heart and soul on the court. game after game to win those games, the way he can impact those games. What he's telling you is if I don't win a championship, giving you everything I got, that's not going to define me. I'm not losing sleep over that. And that's okay. And to tell him, man, he got to be a better three-point shooter. I mean, come on, dog.

That's a recycled argument. Like, come on, dog, what are we doing? Yeah. He's never going to be Steph when it comes to three-point line. But that's not who he is. I think I do struggle with this, though, because it's like, Russell Westbrook is a type of guy that needs that. So in a perfect world,

if everyone's saying, oh, you're good, you're great, you're good, we love you, we're doing all this. I'm trying to figure out where is Russ's chip going to lie, right? If someone's, and I think that's a conundrum that all players have to face, right? Because you guys internalize all this, this bad stuff that we say about you for good. You guys do it constructively. The great ones do it constructively.

What do you do when there is no criticism? Because that's unrealistic. You guys feed off of that, and that's what makes you guys better players for better or worse. Well, I think to some degree, you're overestimating how much all players care about what media members say. My chip didn't have anything to do with anybody writing anything about me. My chip came because I got disrespected when I was 12 and 13 years old by local AAU coaches and my middle school coach. and nobody ever thought I was good enough in terms of the talent that was surrounding me.

And so that chip was organic. It was early and I kept it. And that's the way Russ comes across to me. I mean, you know, Kevin Durant may be in all the media and maybe Russ is too, but I think the chip has less to do with what you guys write or what we write and more to do with like who people are. Now, I did think Russ had something interesting.

I know we have time, but he said something about in his report, to Stephen A. Smith about a broadcaster on the UCLA broadcast, creating a narrative about him that he wouldn't be good at the next level and people needing to respect their platform a little bit more because you're dealing with people's future, right? You're already at the apex of your career. You are sitting on someone's TV broadcasting and talking about young men, tearing them down and maybe jeopardizing their opportunity at playing in the pros. I do think you have more responsibility. And I'm going to share a story. I was at a camp, top 100 camp, MBA.

Should I say his name? Say his name. His name is Paul B and Cardi. Okay. He is a he is a recruiting guru for ESPN right like and I was coaching with him. I heard him tell a young man that if this young man didn't pay better attention or something like that, that he could affect his ability to get recruited with his power. I was so appalled at that. And I just at that time when Russ said what he said, I reflected to that moment. You know what I mean?

And you do like that. Some people feel that way about the power that they hold over young men and their position and ability to affect them moving forward. And you have a responsibility when you're in that position. For sure. I think especially when you're in a commentating role, especially when I have two thoughts about this. You do have a responsibility when you're in a commentating role similar to like the UCLA guy because he's the UCLA guys.

Like, why would you, why would you do that? Stephen A has a platform. And with those platforms, you have to be really responsible. Even on the real ones, you have to be really responsible with how you talk because the voice really matters and it carries. I will say the other point to that is, if you're a journalist, you do have to be fair, though. You know, if the dude is just messing up and you have to write what you see. Now, you have to be responsible with what you're writing. write what you write with what you see.

But nonetheless, you still have to be, you have to write everything you see. So if a kid, if Raj's messing up, I got to write it. I can agree with that. That's not on me. That's not on me. But when you are in a commentator and wrong, you're just saying blanket indictments on people and things like that, that's where it gets, that's where it gets tricky and dicey. Yeah.

Is that fair? Yeah. Yes. If you are accurately reporting what's happening as a journalist, no one can be at you for that. Like they're, you know, but if, if you, if you, if you haven't done your homework, or if you're just going to do something off the hip out of, out of, uh, you know, out of, uh, you know, out of emotion. Like, you know what I mean? Or if you are irresponsibly doing it, I agree with you, Logan. Like, that's, that's not fair. But I'm not going to say,

there's also people in our business, like journalists that do that, that will just go out of their way and say, well, I'm going to fucking ruin this person. And I'm going to do this. And that's where it's not cool. It's, it's not journalism. It's, that's acting on vendettas and that's acting on out of spite for people and that's not cool. That's not cool

and that's what I took away from my interaction it said camp, right? That's what I took away from that and that's when I was, you know, I started to, I was still a player at the time and my eyes were starting to be open

to what happened behind closed doors in terms of the, of the politics of, you know, basketball at the grassroots level going up through college and then the NBA. And I got even a wider eye opening when I got to Cleveland.

So it's just interesting though. So I can co-sign on a lot of what Russ said. Yeah. Well, man, this was a great topic, but we got to get to Greg. Yeah, Greg was dope. Greg was dope, man. We talked about a lot of stuff, him trying to get back in the league, early experiences with Janus, and a lot more, man.

So check it out. Real ones, Greg Monroe. What's popping? Real ones, Logan Murdoch here with Roger Bell. We have a special guest in the building, Roger. Who we got in the building, Roger? Yeah, we got the one and only, Georgetown alum. I'm Greg Monroe in the building.

Hey, Greg, first of all, bro, thanks for carving out some time to pop on with us today. I know because I'm down in the Miami area that you're in this area. Tell me where you're at right now because we usually get people sitting in their crib like in front of their, you know, a glass of wine and shit like that. Tell me where you're at right now. Well, I appreciate it. First, I want to thank you guys for having me on here.

Appreciate the opportunity. But right now, I'm in Miami. I'm at the Miami perimeter. working out with my guys, Stanley, Rennie. I've been here for a couple of months now. Just grinding, man, standing in shape, you know, working on my game, trying to get better every day. You know, being great.

It's been a great effort to get here. So I really enjoy being here. What's it been like to try to get back into the league during COVID times? Because there's one thing to do it, you know, that way. And then now you put the extra level of the pandemic on there. Right. I mean, you know, obviously it's been a little tough with everything going on. There's so much going on.

so many guys that are trying to get in. So I just been focusing on the work. You know, I did start the season off overseas in Russia. But end up coming back just having some difficulties over there as far as on the business side. And so just been back here

just trying to sharpen up my game and also stay in shape, staying ready in case the opportunity presented itself. See, most people don't know, Greg, like what it takes and what the runs are like. My son trains with Remy down there in their youth groups, right?

So the funny story, though, Austin hit me like three weeks ago. Like, hey, man, we might need you to come down and hop in a run. I'm like, yeah, no, dog, that's not. No, that can't happen. But, you know, you guys had a really good group of guys that come down through there. Like Trevor Areza was working out down there yourself. You know, I know, I know, I know what Dion Waiters has been in town a bit and a Mario pop into the gym, B-night.

those runs are really high quality, stay in shape, keep you sharp runs. My question for you is, like, these teams down the stretch that are looking to fill these select spots on their roster, like what is Greg Monroe bringing to the table for them? Like, go ahead and plug yourself, dog. Like, what do you bring?

You know, well, obviously, I was about game and changed a little bit, adapting to the new game. But definitely just, you know, stuff is obviously a rebounder, a communicator. I try to be as best leader as I can. You know, just someone, a lot of experience, you know,

in the playoffs, also, you know, a lot of good teams. So I'm ready to come in and whatever role is prepared for me. I'm ready to accept it. I know what I bring to a team. I know the skills, the versatility that I bring, just about getting an opportunity to showcase that, show that my game has evolved. And, you know, I've been working on my game and change it to create more of the style now.

So, you know, I'll bring some of the stuff I've brought before always, certain things I always bring, but I've also changed my games. I've always adapted to the new style. How has it been to be at this level? Because you're a guy that's always played in the playoffs and played during the stretch run. What's it like for you to be working and seeing the playoffs happen, but not being able to be a part of it right now? I mean, it's been different. I mean, I've been the last couple years. I've been playing overseas.

So, I mean, it's, you know, I've been watching the playoffs and not been to playoff. part of it, but, you know, right now I definitely am focused on trying to get on a team and make a run. And so, you know, it's tough, but I've been focusing on the work. You know, that's what I can control. And so that's always what I would like to focus on. Like I said, it's been great here. The runs have been great. The guys we named, but also, you know, just shout out the guys who are here, the pros, the college players are the coming through. Everybody comes in and competes. A guy try to play the right way within these runs. So it's definitely been good to be here standing in shape of working on my game.

I can hear people in the background. Is Stan in the building right now? Yes, Stan. Remi. Watch this, Logan. I got something for Stan. I got, yeah. Okay.

I might put my head. I might be giving one. I might be giving one. Remittie. Remedy. Remedy. What's up, Doc? What's up, Mr. Bell?

How are you, brother? Hey, man, first of all, you're doing great work down there, man. Congrats on all the success and all of that stuff. For those of them who don't know, Logan, I don't know if you know, Remi is one of the foremost trainers. like working with NBA dudes, college dudes, youth dudes.

He does a great job down in this Miami area. I got one question for you, homie. How dope is my young fella Ty Bell? I'm just playing, dog. Can I say a little bit about him? Obviously, just knowing your history and your swag throughout the NBA, it's like he literally just took that from him. He literally just took that from him.

He literally just took that from you. Like, he's one of the toughest competitive dudes I've ever been around for his age. And that's something you cannot teach. So if you have that, everything else comes. You know what I mean? You don't have to worry about instilling dog in him. He's got it. Yeah, he got all the good and the bad.

I appreciate that. Logan, I'm going to let you open it up. But I do want to ask Dan one quick question because the hardest thing I felt in the summertime was recreating, like, the actual tenor of an NBA, game, the tenor of an NBA practice. What's your approach to that with these guys like, Greg? Because, you know, it's one thing to keep them training. It's another thing to keep them really sharp.

So when that opportunity comes, they could hop in seamlessly and be productive. Yeah, absolutely. To me, you know, even in my training philosophy, I feel like training and playing is equivalent, right? You put in all this work, you work on all those skills, working on those things. You have to put it together so that it can be implemented in the game, right? So my whole idea, shout out to my brother Rico Hines, right? You know, in UCLA, he used to create these runs. And when I was, you know, coming up in a training business, I was like, wow, that's sick.

Like the way guys can train with him in the morning and go play in the afternoon or, you know, and they can implement everything they did be working on. I said, I got to do that. And I said, I have to be able to do that. And just from the city of Miami, everybody stops through here. They say, Stan, we can train with you, but they ain't no runs. You ain't got no runs here, man. So I got to go get the playing somewhere else.

So when I saw that and guys were asking for that, I said, no, this has to come hand in hand. It's just one of the biggest reason I'm here. You know what I mean? So the fact that in the pandemic, with that happening and everything shunned down and you have a private facility, you're able to,

you're able to put it together under my circumstances, you know what I mean? So a lot of guys are reaching out that were even active or inactive. They were like, listen, we got to play. You know what I mean? So it was something that was a priority team. Definitely put that together. All right.

That's what so, man. No doubt. So, Greg, a question for you, man. You were a, you are from, you know, Louisiana and New Orleans area. We always know that that area is a football hotbed. Oh, yeah. What was the basketball scene like that growing up? And how did you make that transition to being a hooper?

You know, did you play football? How did you get to playing basketball? to stay like Louisiana. So you definitely start off as kids playing football. Everybody played football. You know, like you said, just football is definitely king of Louisiana. So you start off playing, but I've been taught my whole life. So, you know, I kind of didn't have a choice, you know.

But especially at the time when I was in high school, Katrina hit when I was a sophomore. I went out of a sophomore in college. And so that definitely changed the landscape of basketball. At the time, I was a pretty highly rated recruit, and we had a lot of talent. We had a lot of talent in the city. But when Katrina hit, a lot of players had to, you know, migrate to other schools, a lot of schools were closed.

And I think that changed the basketball landscape a little bit just because of how guys had to play with different players. A lot of times you were playing with better players than you normally did. But, I mean, I love basketball. So as I started playing. You know, it's one of those things where it's. as soon as I touch the ball. So as my dad, with the ball of my hands, I know I love with it.

And so I just been, you know, sticking with it at around 13 is where I really took it seriously. I met an AAU coach. He just asked me one day, you know, how far do you want to take this? You know, obviously he's older at that time. You don't really know. You just playing a game. But, you know, just one conversation he had, it's like, man, you know, you can be really good.

Like, how far do you want to take this? And from that conversation on, I kind of just took it really seriously and just tried to become the best player I can't. How did you get, I mean, you're a lot younger to me when I was coming up, like, as a young, you know, black athlete playing basketball. Like, there were a few schools that you identified with, right? Georgetown being first and foremost, at least on my list, like, was that a team that you always dreamed of playing for? Or how did you wind up getting pulled up out of Louisiana? A lot of, I mean, no, Louisiana keeps a lot of his talent, bro. like they're good at that.

For sure. So it's funny. Georgetown, like the last school, they recruited me. But they do have a long pipeline of Louisiana to Georgetown players dating back to rest of peace to Big John, John Thompson, Jr.

I mean, he would come down there and get guys from Louisiana constantly. I mean, it's a long history. If you, you know, if you pay attention to Georgetown history, that's a long history as far as the basketball that had been from Louisiana. So it wasn't uncommon,

but, you know, You know, JTD was just straight with me. You know, I remember he came into it for the home visit. And, you know, he didn't have no crazy presentation. Came in. He opened a laptop. And he just showed me clips of Jeff Green. Shout out by guy, Jeff.

Royce here, too. Brice out here, too, in the offseason. Shout out, Jeff, my brother, mad. But he just showed me clips of him playing in the office, you know. And he looked at me and he said, can you do this? And I was like, I could do this in my sleep, you know? And then when I went on the visit, It was me and my mom.

I went on my official visit, and I knew before I left that I wanted to play basketball there. You know, it was a quick guy at the end of the week. And my mom was just like, how you feel? And I said, Mom, I want to come to college here. And she said good. And that was the conversation we had. I told J-T3 I was going to commit there on my visit.

I canceled the rest of my visit to other colleges that I was visiting. And, you know, it's been history from there. And I don't regret that decision at all. Wow. I mean, it seems like there's an old. It seems like there's an aura when you touch campus on Georgetown. What was that like when they're busy? Yeah, it's different, man.

It is. Especially, you know, they, you know, they kind of laid it out for me. I was there during midnight madness. Okay. The whole weekend, you know, so it was. Oh, you were that recruit. You were that guy. You got the midnight madness experience.

I was. I was. I was. You know, it's crazy, though, because I could have went anywhere, but they, you know, they made sure I was there for that weekend because I could have chose a different college for that. I wanted to be there for that. And, you know, it was just great.

Man, and laid it out, obviously, I don't think people realize how much big job was still, you know, a figure on campus. You know, he watched us practice every day, like, set on the side, watched us practice every day. And so that was a big part of it, too, having that resource there on a daily basis. You just talk to to the bounce stuff off of it.

That was definitely huge for me. And I know it's huge for a lot of players. I mean, you saw it when he passed away. I mean, guys that came to that college 20 years after he was coaching, talked about him like they played for him. That's the kind of person he was. That's the kind of influence he had. And he shared any knowledge he could with us.

So it was just so many reasons why I was happy to go there. And to this day, I don't regret it. Yeah, he was, I mean, I didn't get to know him, but he looked like a great man. Like I said, I always wanted to play. My story with them is they came to see me in an open gym, right? Like, I don't know how the hell I got him to come down. Like, my dad was on his grind because my high school coach didn't do shit. But they came down.

They watched me, Logan. Like, they watched me. And they were like, yeah, not bad. Thought you were bigger. Bye. And I'm like, oh, shit. He was like, thought she was Greg Monroe. Bye.

Thought you were 16. Sorry. One thing, one thing he won't do you and bullshit. That's what you are. Hey. No, he did not. They were like, he was straight up. That's not him and I know.

I still, like, he was my favorite coach all the time. Like, I would have still loved to have had a chance to play there. I want to ask you as you transition, though. And now you're out of Georgetown, you're dropped into Detroit. And I believe you were second team all rookie that first year, right? Like, what was that transition like for you, making the move from a spot like Georgetown where you have that father figure in a way? And then when you're on the NBA, it's all by yourself, baby.

I mean, some people are blessed to have coaches, but sometimes you get dropped off. You do, you do. But I was lucky. So the year before, I went to college for two years. After my freshman year, one of my teammates was drafted to the Pistons. So when I got there, I had a college teammate already on the team. And that was a huge help for me.

Charlotte to Doran Summers, my big brother, he was already on a team. So that was a huge help for me as far as my transition into the NBA, you know, having somebody that had that one year under their belt, somebody already knew you could talk to. But also, you know, shout out to my vet. You know, we all have our vet, our one person. that really, really took care of us and Ben Wallace. Definitely did that for me.

Body. Without a doubt, man. He, you know, took none of them under his wing. You know, he shared as much nice as he could with me. I mean. Hey, Greg, real quick, real quick. I'm going to interject. I don't like doing this.

Logan tells me it's bad journalism. But I do want you to dig in a little bit because I like to ask people that. I didn't want to ask you because I do it to all the guests and it comes off a little. But what is that relationship like with that vet? Like East Snow took me under his wing in Philadelphia. And then Michael Finley took me under his wing in Dallas. Like off the court. Like share for me what Ben Wallace was to you.

Like how that helps a young fella. It was so crazy, man. It was like as much as he helped me on the court, he helped me off the court. You saw how a real professional should move, how he handled his business, how he interacted with his family. and he was one of those guys that was an open book. You know, he didn't perceive

and stuff to be perfect. He would teach you just as much from his mistakes as he did from his success. And that's one thing that I liked about it. And like, he would like, I mean, it's not like I was against it, but he would force me to understand that off the court means just as much as on the court.

You know, like he would make me go to dinner with him. Like, no choice like we want to dinner. We'll get to a hotel, be down, after 10 minutes. We're going to dinner, you know, spending time with your teammates, understanding, like, you put in a work,

but you also get to know these guys, you know what I'm saying? You know how this, man. You played a league for a long time, man. As big as this world, it's only a select few amount of people that can get to play in this lead. When you think about the grand scheme of things,

so it's not that many people you have this in common with. And I think he understood that. He wanted me to understand that he was great for me. I appreciate everything he's done for me. He did for me. And, you know, shout out to him. I think he should be in Hall of Fame.

I know he's on the ballot. So I think he definitely should be in for sure. Yeah. I mean, the numbers don't lie. What he did because of Ben is shout out to Big Ben for sure. He was the big help for me. What was the biggest lesson you learned from Ben? What was something that, you know, he brought you out and he was like,

Greg, don't do this. What are you doing? What's going on? I mean, I don't know. I know. That's the time. Ah, dog. Hey, listen, bro.

You know, I know you can't say everything, man. You know you can't say everything, man. That's a good lesson, though. Yeah, I mean, yeah, that's tough. But I just remember it was one incident. This is one thing I definitely learned, man, from him. How you handle people that you're around, you know, and you love. But they might do something that disrespects you what happens in,

in life, you know, someone you might think you have a certain relationship with and they might do something that disrespects you. I won't get it to specific, but this is one thing that something happened with him. Somebody did something that he felt was out of line. And knowing Ben Wallace, knowing what he wanted to do and what he ended up doing, you know,

I just, you know, at a young age, I was 20 when I came into the league. And so to understand, like, you have to control your emotions despite, you know, what you may be feeling is very vital and important. And so I'll leave that that because he was,

and I understand the whole situation. You know, I understand everything that went on. So he was definitely, you know, he definitely had to really, from his more than his beliefs, how he grew up and how he probably thought he should react that he didn't. And I respect that for him.

What's it like in the league? You just said you got in a league when you were 20. What is it like in the league when there's some expectations on you so fast and people want you to be a finished product by 20, 21 years old? Do you think that there should be a bit more leeway for a young player to grow up or do you think it's good the way it is right now? It should be maybe, but it won't be.

You know, this is a big business, you know, and it's the business, you know, it's just the business of winning. And so people are going to want you to be ready to win immediately. I mean, that's just how it is. That's just the way it goes. You know, guys, you know, you can't duplicate the NBA. You just can't. You know, so unless guys get that experience

and actually play in the league practice with actual NBA players every day, you won't be ready. You know, it's an adjustment. I don't care how good you are. Some people who obviously turn the curve earlier, but it's going to be adjusted for anyone. I think it's just about the people that are around

and you're focused, your mental toughness, being able to endure, you know, and roll with the punches as you grow as a player. For sure. What was your NBA, welcome to NBA moment like, oh, man, it ain't like Georgetown.

I'm here now. I won, welcome to the NBA moment. I had a few. Well, listen, this is what I'll say. So it came pretty quick and we're here right now. So when I got drafted, that was the year the Big Three formed in Miami.

And that was my first preseason game. ever in the NBA. So it didn't take long for me to get that okay, you're the NBA. I mean, those guys, and you know how fast those guys played, those guys were moving so fast

and like immediately I understood like, okay, like the NBA is different, the speed of the game. I mean, LeBronty way to Chris Bosch, all those guys, just the whole heat culture, those guys were moving at a totally different pace than everybody else. Could you see

LeBron had a little red in his eyes during that time. Like, you weighed and all them? They had a little bit of a chip that time. Could you tell in the preseason? Yeah, like the first, like, obviously, that was the first showing for them, like the first action for them. So they definitely came out and they were locked in,

trying to, you know, kind of set the tone for the rest of the season, for the rest of the teams. Like, they were definitely ready to go. They were locked in, you know, being in the league for years now, knowing that people aren't really that locked in for the preseason. They were definitely locked in for that game. And they didn't know they were setting tone for the rest of the season, obviously. You know, what was so unique about them,

even though they were preparing for the league, they were trying to prove to each other. Yeah. Like, they were trying to show each other like, hey, I'm the shit. Right. I know you're here and you're here and you put each other together, but it's my team or this is my team. Well, they didn't know whose team it was at the time.

Right. So they were trying to prove to each other, how to be leaked each other were. So they were not only battling with the other teams, they were battling amongst themselves as well. Let me just ask one more question, because I know you got a dip. About this process with Greg, you know,

I saw Justin Anderson at one of my son's flag football games the other day. Like he had a nephew playing in it, so I know he's in town working with y'all. Like, what it from, from, do you got teams coming around? Like, our teams calling? Like, what is the process? Because I was out of the, you know, as I got older, I spent a year, like, trying to get back into the league.

You know, and the process was what it was at that time. But during this COVID protocol, what's that process look like from a trainer's perspective, trying to sell some of these dudes to teams to let them know that they're still valuable pieces to NBA franchises? Well, absolutely, man. I've been doing this for a while. So my rapport and credibility around the NBA is pretty good, right?

So I have a lot of relationships with GMs, owners, coaches, different people in front office. And then also I just wanted to create the brugs here in Miami. I wanted to change the narrative, right? Social media is so big now. It wasn't so big when you were playing. So, like, you create the buzz and everyone sees what's going on here, right? So a lot of jams are like, hey, well, you got a lot of good free agency.

What's going on? How do they look? Can you send me some exclusive videos unlike the ones that you have on social media? Let me see some, and they ask for specific clips. And then from there, the clips ignites them. They sent it to their coaching staffs, the GMs. And they're like, you know what? We're going to make a private trip here.

We want to see him in the person. Or we want to fly them out to see him. So it's been a lot of success stories that came out of here. You know, like Trevor being the last one, Scholar was so excited or how great a shape he was in for somebody who hasn't played one NBA game. He was worried that he wouldn't have his rhythm, his timing, his conditioning. Obviously, like I said, it's almost. was impossible to mimic a real NBA game,

but he was as ready if they come. He started within two games. You know, he played two games, and boom, he became a starter now. So that's kudos to everything that we have going on here, making sure guys are ready. Same thing with Andre Drummond, who played last night in his first game, who hasn't played, you know, in over a month and a half, two months,

and he starts right away. And I'll talk to the Lakers staff. They were intrigued how shaping it was. So we just continue to, you know, push guys as hard as we can and assimilated as much as we can and just have guys ready. What's what's up? All right. Hey, go do your thing, bro.

I appreciate it. And real talk, I mean, when I come down to watch Ty and them train, like, grab a couple videos of me shooting some J's and my flip-flops. Send them bad boys out, bro. So he can send it in the group chats. No, right, right. Go ahead, Remy. We appreciate it, bro.

Thank you. Thank you, man. I appreciate it, though. All right, bro. Michelle, man. All right, let's take a quick break. Greg, there was one time when, you know, we talked about you being in the league and things like that, but you were one of the top bigs in the league at a point in time,

and you were one of the first guys in Free Agency where it was like, you know, it seemed like from the outside looking at it was a foregone conclusion. You were going to go to the Knicks in 2015, right? And we were like, okay, he's going, and then he goes to the Bucks. What went into that decision? and what is the process of being a free agent that has many suitors? How did that go about?

One of my main things going to my pre-agency was I definitely wanted to be on a team where I knew for sure we had a shot at making the playoffs. You know, I had been in Detroit for five years. We didn't get a chance to make it while I was there. So when I entered free agency, one of the main things I was looking at was, you know, if the team was, you know, ready or on that,

cuss of being a playoff team and at the time Milwaukee had just played in the playoff. And so, you know, they had that going for him. Obviously, Jason Kidd was the coach. And so, you know, and, you know, when I met with them, the owners, those owners are awesome owners. You know, if you follow the bus, you can see that they, you know, take, they do a great job in front of the organization. So just meeting them, talking to their kid, then knowing, you know, what they had did

the year before. And then also me and Chris Minneton are really close. We played together in Detroit. So just all that, you know, coming together. I knew Janice was good, but he kind of really just took up. You know, I actually was there when I watched him just work his way to be in a two-time MVP now. And so, you know, with all that culminating, I just thought at that point that was the best place for him to go. I wasn't caught up in...

city markets. Markets. I mean, I ain't on no commercial. You know, you have to be real with yourself sometimes. I'm not by to be in any commercials or anything like that. So, you know, it was purely a basketball decision for me. And, you know, that's what I went into it. You know, just thinking purely about basketball.

That was interesting because I was going to ask you that. Rob Hackett was your strength coach back then, right? I just missed Hack. You just miss Hack. All right. So at the time, like, because I'm, Hack, I guess, was there a year before I had run into him when I was working for. for Cleveland and Janus was not Janus yet, you know?

Like, but Hack said to me, he said, bro, he is going to be dope. Like he really is a tireless worker. Like head down, don't say shit, just works. That you guys saw that young or keep it a buck though? Was it like, ah man, I don't know about that. Or could you see the seeds of it? I definitely saw the seeds of it. You know, when I speak to people about Yon's, I tell them all the time.

I said, you know, he's a, a great player. That's no question about that. But the amount of our respect I have for him from seeing how he became a great player, you know, it's a different level for me, you know, and he is a tire of his work, but that's completely 100% true. I mean, every night

he would come back to the gym, you know, get an extra lift and work on his game. I mean, I'm talking about every night, you know, bring his brothers in there, you know, at the time his brothers were in high school, bring his little brothers in there with them, work out with them every night, you know, lift with them.

And so it's real. Like his growth and, you know, where he's ascended to is definitely from working. You know, it's not like it was, he just had this. He has God-given talent and obviously God-giving gifts physically, but he definitely has worked his way to where he is right now for sure. What was a play in practice where you were like, this dude different? Every day. Listen, the stuff y'all see in games, on,

TV is nothing. Nothing. When you're working out with him on a daily basis, practicing with him on a daily basis, competing because we practice hard on Milwaukee. You know, I've been on different teams, you know,

Jason Kiel, you came in the gym, you're working. You know what I'm saying? Everybody understood that. Everybody pushed each other. And so, like, I mean,

the stuff he would be doing, man, just unbelievable. Just, I mean, I can name plays, but, I mean,

it's the same thing. No, go ahead, go ahead. What was the move that he did that was crazy. I don't know, man. I mean, a guy with Euro from the three-point line and just take off from the dots and duck it, you know,

and not even think about it, though. You know, it would be things like that, like on a break, you know, stuff he's doing. He picks up the ball at the three-point line, Euro in some kind of way. He's still at the rim, you know. And that would be just moves like that

on a daily basis, you know, spin moves and just two people in the lane and he's just up over top of him. I mean, it was crazy. I saw one where he was playing against the Knicks, and he literally jumped from the, he jumped from the free throw line backwards to get space for a jumper, a fade away,

and hit the game winner. Like, he dribbled at, did a step back, but his step back was so far, got damn there to the three-point line, and it was a game. I was on the team for that game. Yeah, I was on the team for that game. I was on the team for that game.

I know exactly what you talk about, right at the free throw line. Yeah. Yeah, he's a great player, man. I love him to death. man. You know, just a great human being also.

As good as a player he is, he's even better human being, for sure. Were you, was it on brand that he stayed for you, that he stayed in Milwaukee? Did you know that he, did you know he was going to stay in Milwaukee for his? I didn't know.

I'm not, I'm not privy to that information. But when people would ask me, I would be like, I don't see him leaving. Just knowing how he is. Loyalty means a lot to yon. I know that for sure.

And so, and like, people don't realize, like, you know, it's more than just he's been there. It's certain things that's happened in his life that these people have supported him through. You know, he lost his father. I was on a team when he lost his father unexpectedly, you know. I would see that man every day. It's things that the team did off the court that supported him also that would make any, you know, and I'm pretty sure they do that for a lot of players. But knowing Janice and how he feels about loyalty and that family, you know, the family morals,

and values that he has. You know, I'm not surprised at all that he stayed. I was, if I had to gamble and bet, if I was a gambling man, I would have to bet that he was staying. But, you know, I'm definitely not surprised. That's who he is. You know, that's the kind of person he is. He's serious about trying to bring a championship there.

And so, you know, I'm happy he did it. I'm happy for him and the organization. I know the relationship they have. So I think it's a great decision. I think, you know, they'll figure it out. Like I said, those owners are great. They're right there. not like they're so far, you know,

their player or two away maybe, you know, so it's just to be interested to see how to continue, but I'm not surprised you state that all. That's a good point he made, Logan, and people, like, I tend to think if they would do that for Janus and really support him in his time of need, that that's the type of franchise that would do that for any of the people in their building in their time of need

because that's their DNA, their culture. But there are organizations, and I know you notice, Greg, this isn't even a question. That don't, don't. don't see the human being and the vulnerability at times and stuff like that. And it's just a business. And that's, you know, that can become frustrating as a player. Greg, I want to ask you about like your transition from, from, you know, like focal offensive point.

Like, do you know what I mean? Like a cat that is going to be counted on for these buckets to more of a complimentary piece. I never really had to do it just because I was never really a real offensive piece. But talk to me about that transition for you, right? And even the transition from like, all right, man, maybe, you know, maybe that opportunity is not going to be there this year in the league. And I'm going to have to, I still got tread on the tire. I got to go play in Europe. You know what I mean?

Like, how difficult was that, you know, did you come to grips with it right away? Or was it something that you had to soul search for? So as far as being a vocal point and except when that's a role, I think that was pretty easy for me. You know, I just wanted to win. and, you know, just being on a team, you kind of see which role fits the best for us to win. So, you know, and then Milwaukee, you know, obviously I was making that transition to being a complimentary player

and I didn't have any problem with that. I recognized that that was the best for the team. And so, you know, I went about it the same way I did, you know, anything else. You know, I know I would still be playing. I know when I'm on the court, that's all it really matters, you know, just being effective and playing the right way and doing whatever I can to help the team win. So that wasn't really a transition for me. Now, obviously, you know, going from the NBA to overseas, you know, you're starting to NBA, you obviously want to finish there, want to play your whole career there. So it was tough, you know.

I'm being honest, you know, you just don't feel like I belong there. You know, I feel like I belong in the NBA. I still feel like that. And so it was tough, but it's still basketball, you know, and it's still, you know, you still play at a very high level. Obviously, there's more than 450 NBA level players. So when you, when you're overseas, you know, you just got to make sure you compete, make sure you're playing, you know, the best you can.

And, you know, it's a different game, totally different games. So it was more of an adjustment playing basketball-wise than it was, you know, mentally for me. Let me ask one more because I, I too had to go. After my first second year in Philly, like I went to Spain, you know, there weren't opportunities. I had to make a call. So I decided I was going to go. I wanted to keep playing.

What did you find the hardest adjustment to be? I'm just, I'll tell you mine after you tell me yours, I guess. Like, what was the hardest adjustment for you? So one, I would say the NBA obviously is a player first league. you know, they kind of, you know, it's a business for sure, but they kind of cater to the players. You know, they make sure that they exhaust all resources for the player. I feel like it's a little bit different in Europe when it comes to that. I think they are kind of a team first, you know, brand name first kind of, you know,

that's how they run things in Europe. So that was definitely an adjustment. I mean, it's just the NBA. I mean, if you do anything for nine years, you're just used to. And so I was just used to the NBA routine, the NBA, you know, lifestyle as far as when you're with the team, how you travel, there's certain things. You're accustomed to doing how you can do it with your free time and things like that. And it was just different, you know, they kind of a little bit more strict with the time, especially when you're on the road. Traveling is a little bit different for a lot of teams.

You know, it's commercial. So that was a big adjustment for me. You know, I mean, you know, a seven-foot guy, six 11, 16-10 guy that's a emergency rowing enough. Exactly. Especially when the other two or three guys are the six-six-nine or you share in a row with them. So, you know, you brought shoulders. You know, you got a leg space, but you're all scratched up.

But, I mean, you know, you get used to it. But the travel and just, you know, like I said, just how the operation as far as the business side and how they interacted with players was much different. That was definitely the thing that me personally I had to adjust to. That's what's up. Yeah, all of that was really, really hard. Like you could obviously, like, but on the court from me, like, and I thought it was

really counterintuitive, that shit was really physical. And they don't call the same amount of shit as they call in the NBA. Like, it's like a war out there. It definitely is. For me, you know, I'm a bigger guy. So, you know, I mean, if you know, I mean, the physicality, I do understand the difference. I agree with you on that for sure.

But, you know, that was kind of my game. So I didn't really have that problem. But they definitely different over there, man. The fans are lit overseas, right? Aren't the fans like that did next level? What? Hey, man, like, for real, like, that's probably the best fans. You go to some of these places, man, watch some of these teams.

Like, you play against some of these teams, man, these fans are definitely a little bit more fanatic than American fans. by far. They care because it's pride, it's their region. It's pride. It's mine.

It's their city. You know, they are fanatics for sure. It's different. You go to some of these Athens, you know, some of these, you know,

definitely in Greece, their fans are into the game. That's serious about the game. Tel Aviv, man. Maccadi, I mean, it's definitely some time bases. You're going to some arenas.

They are better than some of these college atmospheres. playing. So their fans are definitely different. I heard that, man. Get out of here. What was it like? You talked a little bit about how the adjustment to your role, and you said you were good with the role, but you know, you hear people that are like, oh, man, he went to the bucks, he signed this type of deal, he spurred this team.

He's supposed to be the guy. What's wrong with Greg? What's going on? You know, and you can't control that. You're doing what you're supposed to do for your team, but you have to hear that other side of this for people that aren't necessarily in the building. What's that like? Well, for me, one thing I always understood was I'm not the first person that's doing any of this or that any of this is happening

to. And so once you get past that, like I say, it was about winning for me. I mean, you know, I would say at this point now you can see that. Yonis was and is an unstoppable force. And so you know, you

got to, you know, when you know, I was saying the team, you know, says, listen, we're going to build around him. This happens all the time. And so, you know, and I see it, you know, I'm a real, I'm a realist when to come to basketball. You know, I have an ego. I have confidence.

But, you know, obviously, you got to be real yourself. You know, you want to be successful. So you can see his growth. You can see the direction they were going. And, you know, we honestly were winning with the role I was playing. Like, you know, I was coming off the bench. And the people of the group I was playing, when we were playing really well,

We were one of the top inches in the league. And so, you know, with all that, it's like, I'm not a toughest guy. I'd never be a toughest guy. And so, you know, we're winning. I'm happy with my role. It's fun playing here. The team was really close. We had a lot of guys that were around the same age.

So the team was really close. You know, we had Jason Terry who was a great bet. And so everything, you know, it was just easy for me to accept my role. Because I was still playing. I was still doing what I do. You know, I just didn't start. And I had no problem with that. Yeah, that's what's up.

So, man, it was great having before we let you go, man. We have this little segment that we call Real One of the Week, where we shout out of the entity, a person, an organization that won the week in your eyes. I will go first. Roger will go second. You will go last. I have, it's a tie for me for Real One of the Week. I have Paige Buckets from Yukon out here bawling.

She beat Iowa last weekend. beat Caitlin and the Iowa Hawkeyes with a triple double. She's been bawling. She's been bawling so much that she's making me root for Yukon, and I don't know how I feel about that right now. Page Buckets is one of my real ones of the week. The other real one of the week is none other than Nina Westbrook, who went in on Instagram, went all the way in.

If you know, you know, we'll just leave it at that. But shout out to Nina Westbrook for being a real one. Chris. Yeah, no doubt. Yeah. I want that from my wife. She's right to die for real. All right.

All right. Real one of the week from me, I'll keep it college basketball. I wanted to go Ohio State Justin Fields, but I always do football, Greg, full disclosure. So I'll go UCLA men's basketball.

They were, what, first four in or playing game, final four bound, Mick Cronin, Johnny Zhu Zhang, what's the boy, Jaime Hakez Jr. Just,

holding it down, beating Michigan. I felt for my man Joanne because I was pulling for him and Big Blue. But it's a pretty damn cool story and those dudes have exceeded all expectations in the tournament. So real one, UCLA men's basketball.

Okay. So I'm going to stick with college basketball also. Also, I'm going to go with the John Jiro from the University of Houston. I actually know him personally. He actually with my AAU team. I don't know if you guys saw the video. He actually lost a real close friend.

The past couple of days, they had a brain answer. he risen after going to the hospital. So for him, you know, not only play, lead his team to the Final Four, but to, you know, to talk after the game and interview while, you know, the world is watching and to speak so candidly about his friend, knowing what he was going through, like I said, knowing him personally, you know, I definitely would like to give it to him a shout to Brian Gresham off,

also his teammate, both of them playing in a hospital together at front of the wall at every year. And I'm definitely happy to see those guys, you know, happy success they're having and reaching to the final. the four. Shout out real one. That's what's up. Yeah. Yes, sir. Yeah, man, thank you again for coming on. Welcome to me, man. This was a lot of fun, man. Greg Monroe, real one. Thank you, Gary. Thank you, Gary.