The Ringer NBA Show - Kevin Durant and Draymond Green’s Relationship and the Brooklyn Nets’ Chances at a Championship with Eddie Gonzalez | Real Ones

Episode Date: April 12, 2021

Eddie Gonzalez (@bansky) from ‘The ETCs’ podcast with Kevin Durant joins Logan and Raja to talk about his recent interview with Draymond Green and KD (2:10), working with KD (10:00), Brooklyn’s chances at winning the NBA championship this season (27:43), and much more! Hosts: Logan Murdock and Raja Bell Guest: Eddie Gonzalez Associate Producer: Sasha Ashall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NBA season is heating up, and Kevin O'Connor and Chris Vernon have got you covered on the mismatch. They discuss all the news, the trends, and transactions happening around the league. They also offer their on-court analysis and occasionally get into heated debates. Check out the mismatch on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. We have the Mad Hooper here. His name is Eddie Gonzalez. I can't understand why he's so mad.

He has a podcast, the etc. is with Kevin Durant. he has a nice little place in New York. I don't get why he's so mad. He has everything he could possibly want right now. But Eddie, why are you so mad? I'm going to tell him why I'm mad, son. Logan, you know I'm from Sacramento. So I have this weird relationship with the Sacramento Kings,

which happened to be the worst franchise in the NBA. They still have the record right now for the longest playoff drought in the league, 14 years. They should be thanking the Seattle Mariners, because had it not been for the Seattle Mariners, they'd have the worst playoff drought in the three major sports. This is an awful organization.

They make my city look bad. They hired Vladi D. Vak with no front office experience, and he went on record and said, I kind of didn't know how the salary cap worked. Thanks, Vladi. They trade all their best players, let them leave town. They drafted a rookie of the year. They said, we're not giving you the max,

and he went and got some big money from New Orleans. They could have drafted, Luca Donutsz, Damien Lillard, and Clay Thompson. Instead, they drafted, Terrence Robinson, Jimmer Ferdet, Marvin Bagley. Bagley's good. Let me not make it sound bad. But imagine that team today.

I'm mad that the Sacramento Kings exist. They make my city look bad. Could you imagine all the bars my God Mazzie could be getting off on every track if the Kings mattered? Yeah. So that's why I'm mad because the Sacramento Kings, they exist. And they're from the same city as me. Ruins up next.

Madden. Real ones. Logan Murdoch here. Raja Bell over there. Got a special guest in the building, Rajah. We have a writer, a podcaster, podcaster on the Exeteris podcast with Kevin Durant. Somehow has an East Coast accent, but being from the West Coast, we have Eddie Gonzalez in the building.

What's up, Eddie? How you doing, bro? Now don't you start that, man. You got a barrier twang to what you say, man. Come on now. Leave me alone here. I'm just saying. You see how he proved my point there, Roger, where he just came back to, with the rebuttal with a New York accent. You've seen how that works out?

That's kind of crazy. I do hear the accent, bro. Got the fresh lineup like you straight out of NYC, too, but he's ready to go. Hey, man, come on now. I knew I was on camera. I said, I beg Logan, can I just be the black box? Can I just do that? He said, no, no, no.

We're using this. So here I am, man. I brought a beanie and all that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's time. Yo, so we're talking to you on the heels of your interview with Kevin Durant and Draymond Green on the et cetera. And they talked, you had a wide range of discussion.

You guys should go check that out. Wide range of discussion. But you guys, it was the first time both players, at least publicly, talked about the incident in Los Angeles on the sidelines where words were exchanged. And from the outside looking in, threatened to derail the whole warrior. season in 2019. Why was it appropriate to have that conversation right now? It's not even necessarily a timing thing.

It's just something I knew had happened. So it's like, let's show the world this. And there's a delicate balance with the pod, right? Like, we want to give Kevin to the audience as authentically as possible, but we also don't want to intrude on his private life. So that was one of those things. I knew that those two guys had reconciled of sorts. And they said it on the pod.

They did it right after. But the outside road didn't think they were even on speaking herbs. So it was like, yeah, let's show the people this. And it's a good time. And I think a lot of people were interested in that. Whether you want to believe what they said or not, like I don't know why you wouldn't believe first person directly from the source. But I saw a lot of that this weekend.

But, you know, I felt like they were comfortable. They were honest. And it's the same stories I heard in private. It's usually not as bad as it looks from the outside. I wanted the world to see that finally. Yeah. Why was, what was it like for you being on someone that knows Kevin? And you know Kevin on that level and know at least, you know, that he's saying that,

oh, me and Dre are good, me and Dre are good. And then the rest of the outside world is like, nah, it's not, it's, I don't believe that. I don't think that that's true. What is that like for you to see it on a day-to-day basis? And then the outside world, you're like, no, they're not cool. I know they're not cool because I know them. Well, that's the Katie experience, right? And y'all know I'm like completely willing to defend him,

even if humorously on Twitter or whatever, because it's funny to me. It's funny to me how much people think they know what happens and literally have no idea. They do that with like relationships and stuff too, right? It'd be couples' goals, and then you find out that relationship wasn't nothing like it looked on Instagram or whatever.

And, Raza, you've been part of some dramatic teams, and I'm sure you know on the day-to-day, like, look, we might have a blow-up today. Tuesday, but by the time we played Thursday, we might have had two dinners by now and locked in and, you know, I might have seen his son and it's all love. And so, like, I knew

that and I know that with most of the things that happened around Kevin. So it's like funny. It wasn't irritating that first. Like, you want to defend your guy, right? If somebody was talking crazy about Logan on the internet, I'd want to go, nah, like, Logan's cool. He's a real one. But, like, you kind of get over, especially with it's Kevin and there's

something new every other day. So it's like it just amuses you at some point. How much, well, you guys use that platform of the, of the, of the, of the, of the, of the, of the, of the, of the, of the, of the, of the, season or how much of it is just going to be an exploration of, like, topics that you guys are, like, really interested in and Kevin's kind of, you know, you know, another venture for him into the media space or is it something that you guys kind of strategically planned to like, you know, dead, like athletes have a platform now. I talk about it a lot. We did not. So to your point, you know, those teams where we knew behind closed doors we were straight but couldn't control the narrative

out there because we didn't have the platform it exists now. So is it a strategic thing in that regard? Will it be employed as such at times or is it more going to be just, you know, things that you guys have interest in and kind of broadening horizons around, you know, around Kevin? We kind of just want to stick to our interests. There are times when that comes up. There are times when, depending on the way things are, like when he was injured, we were the only source to speak to Kevin for a month. But we didn't talk really any basketball. And we kind of want to reach outside of that. We know Kevin's interesting for basketball. And I know the Dremont episode is big because of basketball, but it's not really the, I don't view it as the platform for him to come

dispel rumors. You know, there was the one, there was the stuff going on during the same week as the Dremont episode with the mailman from next Friday. And it was like, there's no reason to discuss this, you know, fuck him, basically. But there are times we're like, you kind of had to address it. We spoke on COVID and his frustration with the league protocols and things like that. He spoke on watching his teammates and joining James Hardin, what he's doing and on and on. But like I always joke, you know, when y'all get off work, you don't really want to talk about work too much, right? It's like, let's talk about what I'm watching on Netflix or whatever.

So that's kind of how I approach it. And if he got something he wants to address, obviously would do that. But usually we just leave it be, let people believe whatever they want. and kind of just carry on. He got other stuff going on. And you get with your friends, you'd rather talk about music. You'd rather talk about this than the bullshit going on, right? Right.

Why, I know in covering him for Kevin for a couple years, that he is a guy with many interests, that he doesn't necessarily get to get out. Is that one of the biggest things for this podcast was to get out those other interests that he is into, like music and culture? Because that's something he talks about all the time. He's not afraid to talk about that.

in a private setting? Was the etc. is a podcast where you can kind of bring that out of him where he can kind of give his takes on stuff that has nothing to do with who? Absolutely. Like that's always my approach

in working with Kevin in general. Like anything that we project outward that's going to feature him. To me, my goal is to show the real, like the guy that I became cool with. You know what I mean? And we know he's an incredible basketball player and we kind of know how you become that, right?

You work really hard. you're blessed in certain ways and then you become, like that story is told. But I'm intrigued that he knows who Bodie James is. You know what I'm saying? I'm intrigued that he was the guy on the Texas team that would download the music and burn the CDs and play him in the car with his voice.

Like, not like some lackey that's around him and it was Kevin on some desktop with his big ass seven-foot frame figuring out where to get the songs and stuff. So like that kind of stuff is interesting to me and I want people to see it. And I want people to, you know, whatever his reputation is, I know he doesn't care,

but I'd rather people see this side of him and go, oh, no, I get it. He's actually cool. He can laugh with Cashdoll on Twitter, you know what I'm saying? He's not, he's not whatever he's painted as. And I know he doesn't care, but to me, I look at that kind of like it's my responsibility. Like, let's get that out there. So what is it like, you know, we see all the takes of Kevin shouldn't be on Twitter.

Why is Kevin engaging and why is he doing all of this? Why is he so sensitive? Why is he feeling this sort of way about this thing? What's Kevin's problem? What is wrong with Kevin Durant? How do you... What do you feel about that take? And is it warranted?

Well, that's not warranted. I don't think in my experience... Well, I get why people say that, but just knowing his perspective, I know that that's not necessarily, you know, the truth. One of the first things we clicked on, you know, when we met, was like, yo, you know, don't take this Twitter shit that serious, right?

And it's like, nah, like, I'm just here to kind of laugh and get my jokes off and be witty, you know, and I'll clap at people when I want because I'm wittier than them, and I know, like, what I say is going to make people laugh. And I was like, oh, okay, and that click for me, because that's how I approach that too. People think I get all up in arms. And I always laugh, like, just because I respond, it doesn't mean, one, I care or I'm sensitive. Like, no, I just kind of wanted to put you on stage, have all my followers. it's laugh at you and then go on about my dad.

He approaches it the same way. So, like, it's not like he's at the crib bog down. Like, man, this dude on Twitter, every time I tweet, he goes, win a real ring. It's not like that's, like, disturbing him, you know what I mean? Like, I've seen the trophies. They're real. They look nice. So I don't think he gives a shit.

And, you know, it cracks me up that that's the idea. And I'm like, nah, that's, I mean, that's not the Kevin I see. So, I mean, I guess, if. That makes you feel better, like Draymond said. If that makes more sense for you, then run with it. Yeah. Raj, I have a question for you real quick. And it deals with Kevin.

All right. Why, why, and it deals with athletes in general. Why do athletes, why can they talk shit about somebody on their team and, like, go at them and then be cool with them a day later? What is it about athletes specifically that can do this? Why are you guys weird like this? If you could say the most out-of-pocket thing and then the next time you see that person, y'all are good. Why is that

a thing with athletes? Well, first of all, some athletes are better at it than others because some of us do hold grudges, right? Like, we might not get over that shit as quickly as other ones. But I think there are two, like, there are two components of that. Like, the first being, like, to be an athlete, you have to have a short term,

like a real short memory. Like, a real talk. Just by the essence of playing a sport, like, if you miss a bucket, you can't be lingering on the bucket. Like, you've got to come down the next play and try to execute and shoot it again. Same with football. or any other sport, right? So you got to be willing to let stuff go and, and keep it moving forward. The second is you pour so much into the quest for, like, whatever your team goal is, and you're all

competitors. So you know that there are lines that you personally will cross at times that in the quest of, like, achieving, because I'm overcompetitive, and I might cross that line. But that don't mean I really, like truly genuinely feel like that. I was out of pocket for a minute, right? So if that happens, you know, and Eddie loses his shit on me because we were in a hyper competitive situation. Like, I know that's where it comes from. I know that's not like personal. That's just, you know, it manifested itself, you know, in the situation. I can get past that because it happens to me. You know what I'm saying? So like there's, there are two parts, short term memory. And we all understand that competitors lose their shit every once in a while and might say some, some craziness.

But we're coming back tomorrow because we're still on this quest together. We still got to get it right. And if I'm holding that grudge, we can't like, we cannot. it right? Yeah. Eddie, have you seen that manifest with Kevin and Dremont during your time with both of them? That exactly what Raj has said, where it's, there's just, they're two competitive dudes that happen to just argue sometimes, or is it, are they just, was that like a isolated incident? No, I mean, Draymond said that, you know, the only guy who was cussing him out on that team, like, constantly bickering at him was Kevin. And so there was a little bit of that mutual understanding between the two of them, like, we could get at each other. And that wasn't,

the only time they went viral going at it either. I remember a couple times on that bench, you know, they're, they're frustratingly going through whatever's going on in the game and they got caught. I mean, the cameras are everywhere, right? But, Lowe, you know, because you covered them, you were close to that team, like, those guys are close. They, you know, they were beyond, like, work friends.

And you could have a work friend on a team, and that's fine. That's a job, you know, and everybody has their own groups of friends and everybody got their boy from when they were 14 that is always around. But Kevin and Dre, they clicked. They linked and they were cool like that. So I get why they said it was kind of like not a big deal to them. In the moment, yeah. And maybe it crossed the line, yeah.

But there was, it seemed to be an understanding at the words. Like, look, we're competitors. We want to win. Dremont's passionate. Like, Dremont has to be passionate to be Dremont. He's a second round pick. He's a tweener, like he said. He's all these things that he should not have been successful,

and he's a multiple-time all-star defense player the year. He's anchored championship defenses. He has to have that. So you've got to kind of understand that coming in. Like, this is who I'm dealing with on the day-to-day. And I think Kevin understood, and I think Draymond, you know, understood it, you know, maybe he fucked up a little bit. But that was just how they were.

That was another good component, though. Like, at the end of the day, your brothers, man. Like, you know what I mean? Like, this isn't, it really isn't, like, a work environment. That becomes a family when you're in that locker room, right? And, you know,

like I got three boys here. They fight like cats and dogs. But at the end of the day, like, they're brothers. And, you know, that typically outweighs whatever little bullshit you got going on, you know?

Look, man, when Logan puts on one of them wild-ass outfits and I got to go, yo, like, you're making me look crazy on TV, dog. He knows, he knows

it's all love later. You know what I'm saying? He knows I get that his pants are going to be caprice. That's cool. That's his thing. I don't know. I only see Logan. Listen, I only see Logan full disclosure.

I've never seen Logan in person. We've never really mad in person. This has all been over Zoom. So I only get the top half with the hoodie and whatever he's got on his head. Bro, okay, let me find out, bro. He's that guy. Oh, I don't give a shit what I wear. We all right.

I'll send you some picks. I think it's a lot. I would say I wore some orange glasses. I wore some orange glasses over the weekend. I don't care. as long as I like it is straight, we're here. Now, a question I have for you, Eddie, is if you have all those, if you have all those components, right, that they are cool this whole time,

one would ask, and they see all the optics of an argument with Kevin Durant and Draymond Green on the sideline during Kevin's free agency year where he's about to go be a free agent in the summertime. One would ask if they were so cool, then why didn't Kevin stay? Why did he leave? I'm going to call a little bit of cat. I'm going to call a little bit of cap on being that cool the whole time. I think, you know, they got to a point of understanding.

And I think since then, they got to a point of being back cool. I'm going to say that. I don't know. I don't know. I'm going off with it. But, I mean, I watched the same interviews as everybody else, and I watched them say all the things they said. But, I mean, I'll take Kevin at his word about him leaving and all that.

Like, you know, he said later it kind of just happened. And there's a lot of components into that. And I think he feels like, I hate speaking for him, but I think he feels like he completed what he went to Golden State for. And he'll look back on, what is that, the 18 finals? No, that's 19 finals. He'll look back on the 19 finals and say, you know what? It is what it is.

It happened. I gave it my shot as a competitor. And we all know what happened there. And I think he just looks back and there's like a finality to it to him. And now he's on his next mission. one thing I learned about Kevin when we talk we talk about life and stuff like he wants to do so many things like he's kind of like an experienced junkie like he wants to experience so many different facets of life we'll talk about him wanting to like he'll want to do a movie and

he want to go skydiving and he want to do like all these random like experiences you can have in your life he wants to do them and he has the capability to do that so I kind of understand like he got to the point of that where it did everything he wanted it to do and let's see what the next step in life is. I don't know where this is going to take me. I don't know where this is going to take me. And I hope that it doesn't come back to bite me in the ass, but I will say this on the Real Ones podcast.

If I have the opportunity to see Kevin's big ass fucking skydiving, I might do it. I might do it with just a chance to see his big ass. We might have a person on top of you. We might have to film that at a boardroom. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Go ahead, Roger.

Yeah, I wanted to ask, like, you know, because we had Steve Kerr on not too long ago and one of his clips taking it. But yeah, no, no, I mean, yeah. So, like, look, I don't know exactly what Steve was trying to say. I just was sitting here in the interview like everybody else. He said what he said. But being close to Kevin, like, there are situations,

and so I've heard, I haven't been on teams that have played for multiple championships. But even the heat, like when I talked to James Jones and Mike Miller and those guys when I got to Cleveland, they said it started, the pressure started to mount. The dynamic change from year to year. It became more of a job than fun when it first started. So I could imagine that being the case. As close as you are to Kevin and dealing with him kind of like, you know, in the new venture you guys have, do you see a different guy from the end of the time in Golden State?

Like, because my family will tell you they know when I'm happy or happiest. And they could tell when like things are weighing on me just from the guy that I am. Do you see that at all with him in Brooklyn versus the end there in Golden State? refreshing? So I met Kevin, as he's recovering from his Achilles, and it is something I asked about because one of the things I always say, like, there's a certain tier of player in the league, and their team is wholly dependent on their success on both ends. And I felt like he was one of those players.

And they could talk all the super team stuff and all that we want. But he's been locked in a series. It's like, yo, if you're not the best player in the series, we probably won't have a chance. And I asked him about that, that kind of championship or bus. pressure and stuff like that. And he views it as fun. You know, like that's kind of the point of plan. You want to win.

And Kevin, he seemed to be chasing this level of excellence on the court. And that's what he wanted and going to stay. And I think that's what he wants now in Brooklyn is he wants to reach this higher nirvana of sorts of basketball. And so to me, that seems to be what he's chasing. Pressure, I mean, Kevin's been dealing with pressure since he was the tall nine-year-old, right? and it's always like go be the best

and he's been the best for a long time. One of the things he said that cracked me up was like he's been the best player on everything he's ever played for. Or he said that about somebody else. Let me not make headlines or whatever. He said that about another player and it was like,

that guy's been the best players ever played for. I'm like, damn, that's kind of a dope, like tag to have on your vest. Like, whenever we walk in the gym, I'm the guy. And so there's a lot of pressure

that comes with that. I think Kerr, I think that's kind of the same thing he was going for. like the pressure level is different and does strip away some of the fun. But Draymond and Kevin said it when we talked to him, you know, winning is fun. At the end of the day, winning is fun. So whatever pressure it was, if we won, kind of didn't matter.

So, yeah, I mean, I don't know. Kevin said it himself. He didn't see what Kerr was talking about. I thought that whole moment was funny. I did think it kind of got twisted into a Kerr and Kevin thing, which is unfair to Steve Kerr. But I do think like the questions of, yo, you'd rather. lose 50 games, then win 60? Like, I understood the complaints.

So, yeah, that's kind of where I stood with it all. We know what happened on our vantage point, right? I'll be full transparent. We didn't think it was, we didn't think that clip was going to go that big. We didn't think it was going to be that big of a deal. Honestly, we were, like, what's going on? What was it like from your, y'all point of view, from y'all side of you guys get the clip, Kevin sees the tweet and then respond.

to it. I wasn't around. So what was on your side? We know what happened on ours. What happened on your side? Oh, we was definitely cussing out Logan Murdoch. Like, yo, what did Logan do? What's your deal? Oh, Logan. Come on, bro. But, I mean, most of these things,

we laugh off. You know, we did Twitter spaces last week, and we were saying on there, like, if you've made a good Kevin meme, a good Kevin joke, we've seen it and laughed about it. You know, most of this stuff we can laugh off. It's a little it's a little bit personal for Kevin because that's something he actually

dealt with. But I think he mostly laughed it off. He let his tweet go and, you know, every time he tweets it matters. So it's like a thing. But, you know, his sentiments were essentially what he said on the podcast. Like, he didn't agree and doesn't understand how you could value

a season where, you know, you're teaching or whatever more than a season where you made a title run. And it could have won. Like, that you know, that margin of error was very slim. A lot of things had to go wrong for those guys to lose. And even then, you know, Steph makes that shot. They're playing in a game seven and who knows, right?

So I think he was just, he kind of laughed it off, even though he clearly didn't disagree with the sentiment. Do you think that he would have tweeted it if the initial tweet didn't go through? Do you think he would even knew anything about it? Do you think he would have, like, because that's my thing. I don't think that it would have been a thing unless bro tweeted it. Do you think that it would have just still been a thing? Kevin is hyper aware of things that go on,

but Twitter is a major source of that. So probably not. Probably not. As an avid listener of this podcast, I would have sent him the clip eventually, though. Hey, listen to our message. Hey, Eddie, you said you, you said you met him during a rehab, you said?

I did. I did. All right, I've only had one major injury, right? I tore my wrist up. I got traded to Golden State in the process. And my rehab wasn't a smooth one. Like there were times during that rehab. And this is a risk, not a damn Achilles.

I'm interested in where there are times during that rehab where that shit wasn't smooth? Because there was very little insight into the rehab and stuff. Like, you know what I mean? So were there times where, you know, he was frustrated and questioned in whether, you know, he could wind up, you know, coming out of that looking the way he looks now. Like, because that rehab process for those who don't know, it's not all like an upwards trajectory. Like you go up and you plateaued and you might drop off and then you're coming back. So, I mean, as much as you can, I ain't asking you to speak for him.

But, you know, were there times along the road where you saw concern? Yeah, like, definite frustration. I don't know about concern. I think when you're a guy like Kevin, you have the utmost confidence in your ability, especially if it has to do with your body, right? Like, he's, he's an alien in a lot of ways. But there was definitely frustration. There's days where physical therapy didn't go out.

He liked it. And he's frustrated. He's annoyed. And he's sick of that shit. And there's days where I think I've told the story on the podcast before. I remember the day he started jumping and started shooting. And I just saw him to go to his house that day. And he was showing me this video they took.

He's like, bro, like I'm back out there. Like, I feel like a basketball player. He was so excited. He was able to like dribble twice and shoot. And, you know, he was amazed. So I think it was a little mile. stones helped him get through it, but it was, it definitely was frustrated. He voiced that for sure. The first time I met him, first time I actually met him in person, I remember kind of like laughing because

he's on like this gigantic couch for an eight-foot human and he's got his big ass big assing the back of his leg. And I'm like, does it hurt? He's like, nah, like, it's kind of like always there, right? So I just kind of mess with it as best I can, loosen it up best I can. I'm like, that shit's crazy so we talked a little bit about you know the rehab and and that's kind of where I learned mostly that he was frustrated with that stuff but it's slow it's such a slow process and for him to be a basketball junkie like he is like I can't even I can't even hear the net for six months like that sucks so I think there was a lot of that but I don't think he ever wavered on the idea that he would be back I remember when we talked the first preseason game though

because he had worked out done open runs in the summer and all that and looked like him, you know, felt like him. And he has days where he's not feeling well. And I remember cracking up because he was guarding Kyrie. And he's like, I feel like I'm getting better defensively because Kyrie is ridiculous. And I can't chase his ass all over the court. But that first preseason game, he got to dunk his first basket. And I'll text him like, yo, they're still closing out on the kid, huh?

And he was like, bro, it just felt so good to be back out there. And he was just excited to finally play basketball again. So I was happy for him to be back out there doing what he loves. and kind of ending that frustration. And, you know, he's got the COVID stuff he's dealing with this year. And then he has another injury. And it's just, it's been a long road for him. So every time he can be back out there looking like him, I'm happy for him.

And I can tell that he's happier to be doing what he loves. For sure. Let's take a quick break. And I got some more stuff to talk about. All right. And we're back. Now, I wanted to talk about, we talked about Kevin a lot, but I do want to talk about the Brooklyn Nets.

And as of right now, they are. second in the Eastern Conference. Time for that first place spot, but, you know, second in the standings. They got their ass kicked by the Lakers this weekend. Their ass whooped.

And without, the Lakers did not have LeBron, who was originally your goat, Eddie. And they did not have, okay, they also did not have Anthony Davis, but just got pummeled by Andre Drummond. I have long said,

that the Brooklyn Nets are good, but I need to look at that front court, and I don't know about that front court. And they didn't change anything about my opinion. What's going on with the Brooklyn Nets, Eddie? What's going on? Are they going to be okay? Are they going to win the title?

Because I don't know what's going to happen. Yo, I didn't do... I didn't hang up a banner in February when they beat the Lakers. You know what I mean? I just let it be. Kevin didn't even play. It is what it is.

I didn't think there was going to be manners on Saturday when they lost to the Lakers. But I mean, I feel like we didn't learn anything we didn't know about either team. The Nets do need to be better in the interior as far as rebounding, rim protection, all of that. And the Lakers are going to have issues with Kyrie. They're going to have issues with James Hardin. And Kevin is Kevin.

You know, he turned the ball over eight times. But that team is different when it's all three of them. Now, Kyrie did whatever he did and got himself ejected. And I didn't think the game was, like, going to matter after that. You know what I mean? And people took a lot of stock in this game. I thought I was fascinated. But that matchup, it's interesting to me because they're fit to bother each other in different ways.

You know, and they're kind of made to be each other's kryptonite. I hope we get to see it at full health. I'm upset that we didn't at all this season. the two chances we got, they were both tainted by injuries and all of that. But I'd love to see everybody come back full strength and hopefully they win their conference. But I think they both got a tough road on the way there. I think they both got some formidable teams they'll run into. They should be the favorites, absolutely.

I think they have the best collection of players in both conferences. But, you know, that comes into matchups in the playoffs. And Joe Embed looks like he's a tough matchup. Janice is going to be a tough matchup. The way those teams are structured, the same in, in the West. Like, I'd pick the Lakers over everybody in the West, but there's some teams that, you know,

you get two weeks and get to give them all you got. Who knows? They might get two, three. And if they get to the finals, you know, it's a battle of attrition. So the Lakers don't make it there full health. We're looking at a different series, same for the Nets.

I just hope we get a good, healthy playoff run. I know that's usually never the reality, but I'd love to see it at least until they get there in July. man that game it's really interesting because normally I would say those games don't mean shit right I put no stock in the fact that the Lakers be Brooklyn kind of like you

but I do think the point is that's kind of exposing maybe a potential weakness in Brooklyn's you know chance to win a championship and you're right like Joel Embed it's going to be a monster down there like it's a load I'm just fascinated Brooklyn is so good. Like, I still pick them.

But I just, I'm with you in that there are a lot of things they got to navigate, right? And they're going to have to play with sound defensive strategies and execute them when you play teams that pose a mismatch problem for you. Like some of us on Steve, some of that's on the team to follow that. Do they, do they, are they aware as a team of the need to be better defensively when it really matters? Or are they just kind of like, listen, though, we are going out? outscore you and you're going to have to keep up and that's what it is. Like, I'm, you know, because some teams don't, I mean, it's very rare that you're not a great defensive team through the year, but you have the ability to say, you know what,

bomb, we got, we have vets like KD and James Hardin and Kyrie who understand what it's about and we're going to flip a switch and be solid because they're all very capable defenders, you know? Yeah, and I think throughout the season, they've made little incremental improvements where they've looked like, okay, now that's a functional NBA defense, you know, earlier in the season. And it's like, come on, bro. To me, when I watched, their biggest issue is rebounding. Like, if you play 20 good seconds of defense but give up an offensive rebound and they get a dunk off that,

it doesn't matter what you did. You know, defense ends and you get the rebound. But I do think in talking with Kevin and just kind of hearing what's been said around the team, I do think there is the idea that, yes, they can strap up enough when need be. I like to see it. I'd like to see it a little more than we have. It's been a weird season where a lot of these matches with these contenders haven't been full force. So we don't get to see it just yet, but I'd love to see it in the next month.

And I do think, like you, there is some remnants of that. There is some, you know, Kevin can be switchy on defense and help you there. And they like what Nick Claxton does, even though Dennis Schroeder was running right past them over and over. And they like what a lot of those guys done. And Lamarcus Aldeus has talked a lot about. being helpful on that end, even though Drummond was just bulldozing him over and over.

But I do think, you know, if they get healthy in this next month and really lock in for the stretch run, and even like the first round, they'll have some time to work on stuff, they'll get to a good point. But we'll find out, we'll find out when they play those real contenders in games that matter.

Yeah, this started with the Lakers' Nets, not rivalry, the Nets Lakers matchup. And the biggest story was Andre Drummond, who was highly coveted in the buyout market. And a lot, I know it was coveted by Brooklyn, what was that like? Did Brooklyn, were they close?

Was it, how, and how disappointed was it them for not to get Drummond? Because it was, you know, it was the prize of the buyout market. He was. Logan's trying to get me in trouble. You see what he's doing? I do see what he's doing there. You know, I'm a real reporter. I'm a real reporter, Eddie.

I'm a reiterate what I've seen on. the internet on Twitter.com. It seems like eventually the Nets decided they either didn't have a chance or whatever and moved on and ended up with Lamarcus and we'll probably never know who decided that but you know you got to move on

you got to take what you can get. I think Lamarcus is a fine pickup. I think Andrejum would look a lot better when Anthony Davis is there to kind of hide any warts he may have and same for LeBron and you know them lives come a little easier when LeBron's throwing them. You know what I'm saying? a little bit.

Yeah, so, you know, you could chase a little bit more blocks and, you know, AD's behind you and he could catch up on that shit you missed. So, you know, as far as that, I mean, there was interest. I know that much. I mean, I know as much as you guys know. You know how that goes, man. Raz, I want to ask you, you know, man, as somebody who play with Nash, what's it like seeing him coaching?

Do you think, how do you feel about the job he's doing and all that? Do you guys, I guess they'll be able to talk a little bit about it? Like, it's got to be fun to see your guys. Come on the pod, Steve, Nash. Stop ducking. He's fucking ducking. Yeah, I'm gonna, listen, I'll air my beef on air. I don't even fuck.

No, he, hey, listen, I, Eddie, on, like, on some real, when he called me and told me he was taking that job, it just, it caught me off guard. Because I know how much, you know, stuff he has going on and how many, not unlike Kevin. Like, you know, when you're close enough to him, you know how much stuff they're into. And that basketball is an all encompassing, you know, for him at this point now that he's retired. when he explained why he was coming back and, you know, the passion for trying to win again and the opportunity there in Brooklyn, I understood it. And like, real talk, I came really, really close to going up there with him because as former athletes, there's always a piece of you that wants back into it that needs that quest for

the championship, like that thirst to be around, you know, the gym and talking to shit and doing what you do in that setting. And so I understood it. I was worried, real talk, not for Kyrie and Kevin, but when he got James Hardin, and not for James Hardin's personality or anything, but that's a lot of, that's a lot of similar skill set, if you will, right? And so I have my concerns because Steve is always kind of a layback. You know, and KD, you notice, like Steve's not a confrontational type of leader. He's more kind of chill, like let you figure it out. But I got to say, he played it

right. Like he's, he's done, I think, at least from the outside looking in, him and probably the big three there have done a great job at kind of just chilling out and letting it organically kind of flow and it's work, it's worked great. Now, Kevin did want me to relay the message that, yo, why you didn't take that job, man? What the fuck? Listen, I asked for that shit back two weeks ago. So look, tell Kevin, if he got the hook, let me get back in. No. See? See? See? See?

Hey, hey, relax, real ones right here, man. What the fuck, man? You got more sway than Kevin? That's crazy. That's crazy. That's going right now. Hey, you see what? Hey, put the camera on me.

Hey, hold on, put the camera on me. Yeah, you see it. Hey, Kevin, you see it. You see it. Listen, when Steve hit me, right? Logan, I never told you this story because no one's ever asked. But Steve asked me, right? I say, I'm going to need a little time.

Let me think about it. Because I got four young ones. Like, 13 is my oldest. So we're in the middle of it. And when the pandemic couldn't provide any clarity. as to whether or not they'd be around the gym. I was like, damn, dog, like, I can't even have my boys around it. That's going to be tough for me, you know.

So all that played in. But I went back to Steve and I said, look, I think I want to do it. And he was like, cool, let me, you know, give me a couple days. So he called me back, talk about, yeah, Kevin says he thinks it's a good idea. Like, he likes you. He thinks you can be on board. I'm like, motherfucker. Wait, you asked me.

You had to go get Kevin Durranda sign off on that shit. No, but it was really cool. I was like really fired up, man. We got all the way down the process. It just didn't. It didn't work. Logan, should we, I tried to lock it in with Logan on a podcast before, man.

And he big-time me at the time. He was like, ah, dog, I can't. It's bad. I'm like, whoa. What was this? What was this? Nah, we don't got to talk too much. I got one more for you.

I got one more for you, Roger. Come on with it. Plan with, and it's kind of like get out the way he got it, get the rebound, kick it to me. You know what I'm saying? Help defend. And then playing with Steve, it's like keep your hands up. Don't get your nose broke.

How was that like for you? And it was, I don't even want to like compare and make one worse or better because I'm sure they were both fun. You played a lot of important big games. But what was that dynamic, like, switching for you mid-career? Here's what I'll say to that. They were both exactly what I needed, exactly when I was. I got them because when I played with Chuck, and both of them were great teammates, great dudes,

like great leaders, different, but great, equally great. I was not ready to help him in the capacity that he needed help, even if that was his style of play. I just wasn't ready. I was young. I didn't know what I was doing. I wasn't confident. And so I needed to just be running around, defending, providing some energy.

Like, that's what I needed to do. And then when I got to Steve, four years later, my game had grown a little bit. I was a little bit more confident. I got to give Mike DeAnne and Jerry Sloan a lot of credit for that, helping, like, build me up as a player. But I was ready for the role at that point, Eddie. So it was dope because I was ready to eat. And we were all unselfish. And I really do think, you know, I know Kevin's great.

And I don't mean this in it. Like Kevin, James Hardin and Kyrie are great players. I thought that Steve and Mike Dantone would be really good for them because what they preach is just we can all eat. You know, like we can all get this and we'll be a great team and we'll just score more points so everybody could get more buckets. And that's our answer, you know. I remember talking with Kevin when it was rumored and he didn't believe they could get James. And then when it went down and he saw it the same way, like it'll be so free now on the court. you know, like I don't care who dribbles it out.

I don't, it doesn't matter to me. And Kyrie has echoed those sentiments publicly as well. I don't talk to Kyrie as much, so I can't speak on that. But Kevin was excited about the opportunity to just being that free on offense and being that dangerous on offense. And I'm curious, you know, for you and you've played against a lot of great things. You see you taking over to interview. You see you taking over the interview right now.

I don't get to talk to. It's the real exeterous. That's the real excetress now. Look, this is some pro shit. Let me cue you in. Logan was trying to get messy and play the sources game. And I said, yo, let's talk to Razelle about his incredible, this incredible NBA journey, which I told you earlier.

I was a big fan. I was a big fan. I thought, you know, hey, that guy's got some game I like. He stands up to Kobe. He don't give a fuck. Like, I like this shit. But now, I just wanted to say, like, I'm sure when you got with those two guys, like you kind of noticed the greatness immediately.

Like in the approach, you see it on a day to day. you know, I obviously could make fun of practice all he wants, but you know he puts in the work, you know, he's ready and the same for Steve. So I know that had to be a fascinating journey for you. So I just wanted to give you a chance to say your peace, man. No, I appreciate that. And they were both phenomenal. It's incredible.

I tell Logan this all the time, like, as it pertains to Kyrie specifically, because I never played with James Hardner or KD. So I don't see them in an intimate practice situation, and I ain't ever play pick up with them. So, but it's incredible when even elite and, guys go into a gym, the dynamic that takes place when a real special one comes into the gym. Yeah. Because you can, like, I watched it with LeBron, who is the goat possibly, right?

Yeah, yeah. Watch Kyrie. LeBron watch Kyrie. And then pick Kyrie's brain like, damn, dog. Like, what you're doing with that is special. How do I do that? Like, so it's a really interesting dynamic how, you know, even the elites can see something like, and game recognizes game in that regard, you know?

So it's got to be really cool. I really am, I mean, I love my job with Logan. Like, but I'd love to, like, I would love to come up, like, and look, you know, once this shit opens up, if Steve would have me, I'd like to see what that looks like behind closed doors, because that's got to be a real special environment. He's not coming back at that. He's not coming back. That Vince is fool, damn?

No, that amazes me, too. And to hear them talk about it and just kind of being awe of what Kyrie does on a day-to-day basis and stuff like that. I tease Kevin, like, I know the energy in the gym changes in the open run when you walk in, you know, shoes and hands. Like, oh, fuck. Like, we got, we got to lock it. I'm like, I know you get every call. You know, he swears his fake modest on the call.

He's like, no, I got to argue for my call. So I'm like, fuck out of here. You call a foul. They're checking that shit up. Like, come on, dog. Right. But I'm always fascinated by that. In any field, you know, like, there's always a bit of a glow when a great walks into the room, a great at whatever.

they do. And so to see that every day, I know it's got to be fun and to just absorb their world in that sense. Have you played with two-in-graced? Logan, I'm icing you out again real quick, though. My back. Fuck it. Fuck it. I always felt like, um, I see it was going on. It's cool. People take for granted, um, or maybe it's not even, that's not the right phrase, but people don't understand that NBA locker rooms and, and, you know, organizations or like any other place of where some people can foster a great working environment.

Some people have an environment where you go in there, you're already like, no, damn, bro, I gotta come to work again. Like it just makes it a grind. I always felt Mike De Antony was the best I ever played for and making that work environment fun, a place you wanted to be, a place where, you know, guys were happy when they came in a building. I can't speak for Steve, but I'm asking you, I guess,

because you're around it a lot. Like, have they, is that something that they can feel? Is that what's been generated in that building where, where there's a lot? the joy about going in that thing to work every day? They're having fun. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's kind of the sense I've gotten all season for Kevin.

And he's had it up and down season because of all the time he's missed and frustration with that. But he definitely enjoys what's going on with this organization. And they seem to be united in their goals here. And understanding of what they are as a team right now, as a group of personalities. And that is a testament to me to the coaching staffings, just the leadership of the organization. they seem all the way up to the top. They seem to have a ton of synergy in what they're looking at,

what they're facing, and where they want to go with all that. So I'm with you. Like, he does seem to just, in general, be happy about going to work. And everybody doesn't get that.

Every team doesn't get that. You know, we hear that. Back to our interview with Dre, he said that. Like, I didn't like coming to work knowing,

you know, we're about to get our ass kit. And, you know, that's, that's, That's no fun. How could that be fun?

You know, so I definitely see that with Kevin. And I had to adjust in the work we do with him from off-season rehab, Kevin, to like, all right, yo, I'll see you in two weeks. We'll work it out. Like, you know, we'll figure out how we're going to do this shit since you're going to be in, you know, Minnesota or wherever he's at on the day to day. But definitely seems to be more joy and what they're doing. And I think you see it on the court. I think you see it on the bench. I think you just see it all around.

For all the talk about whether the personalities would mix and they, is there one ball and all this other stuff, when you're united in that way, you can, you can sync up and none of that shit matters. Yeah. I mean, I don't know. It just seems like in Brooklyn, it's a very much lower key super team. That makes sense. It doesn't see. Because I remember covering the Warriors and every day was something, man. And they weren't even like the most.

they weren't even the most controversial super team of all time, right? But every day it was something that was a little fire or something that was said to where it made national news. It seems like this team, it's not, I mean, there is national news that has been had, but it doesn't seem like it as much as when he was on the Warriors. So I could sit, I'd imagine that's lower stress level, like, for him. Someone would say that as your fault, right? Someone would say you did some of that shit. I did that. That was me.

I thought that was me who did that shit. You and your boys over there in the suits? Me and my pals. You and your buddies? But no, I mean, yeah, it definitely seems that way. But there's always talk about this team at the same time. I think they're blocking it out really well. And there's a confidence in that these people don't know what they're talking about, you know.

Sometimes I like to highlight, you know, the talking heads. They'll say one thing one day. and the next two days, it'll be the complete opposite. Like, yo, I'm worried about the Nets. And then it's, you know, the Nets are going to win the title. They blew out the Rockets or whoever they beat that day. And it's like, can you make up your mind? Or you just have to set one or the other every day.

But I think there's just focus. I think it just goes down to the focus and the United Goal, the United Front. And also that Logan Murdoch isn't out there fucking them up with the messy-ass questions, man. I think that would be. Anyways, I think it's a great, that's a, that's a great time to end this podcast. Oh, man, it was, it was hell of cool having you on the pod, bro. You know, we go back, you don't even got to, we never got to talk about that, but, um, you can catch, uh, Eddie on the excetteras. How often does that come out?

What, what is the, what is the schedule on that? Plug yourself right now. What's, what's going on? Yeah, so look, you can hear the et ceteras everywhere you get podcast. podcast, including Spotify. Shout out to you guys. Shout out to the gang here. But yeah, we come out biweekly and, you know,

try to keep it premium, as they say. But, you know, we're working on other stuff with the borough, other stuff with the et cetera, and trying to expand our reach as far as the media company and just digging in there. And I'm having a good time, man. I'm enjoying the team. I'm enjoying the freedom that I get in the trust

that Kevin Ritz and everybody else has had in. me. So it's been fun. It's been fun. I've been there a little over a year now, and I've enjoyed it. I've enjoyed all my time here. Logan, man, don't shy away. You've been my guy since way back, man, Logan, since he was a pup in the industry. So I'm always proud to see the moves you make and see you out here being a star dog. I remember teasing you when you was on TV. And, you know, you've earned it all. You've earned it all. So don't shy away from that. You know, I don't like when you fake modest, you need to throw your weight around a little bit, my guy. I mean, we're in the street.

I appreciate that. There you go, Logan. Now, next time, just slide me that Zoom link the next time I'll do the, et cetera, so I can take over y'all podcast. You can definitely sit in, man. But look, I don't get Rosal Bell's audience every day. Maybe next year, man, you make that call. I'll be seeing you on a day to day.

And I have two sources of tickets in the Barclays, man. I'll be good to go. Okay. Mm. Mm. But no, no, thank you guys for having me, of course, man. And, you know, like I said, I enjoy everything you do. Lo, you my guy always.

You know that, man. All good, man. Real ones. We'll see y'all on Thursday.