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Chasing the NBA Call-Up: Cleveland Charge Media Day 2026 · Hoop Industry Podcast

• CHARGE MEDIA DAY(1): What's up, guys? A new episode of Hoop Industry live here from Charge Media Day. Joined by my guest, Eli Kel Abrams, head coach of your Cleveland Charge. The first thing I want to ask you, and I didn't get a chance to ask you this last year. What's it like to be interviewed by a former teammate of yours on Media Day, where you guys have had this relationship obviously for 10 plus years, and he's on the media side. You're obviously in the basketball side. Like that has to be one of the coolest things ever. I it doesn't get much better than that. I think we, going through our careers at Emerson College, both basketball wise and scholastically, I think it's it's what cooler an opportunity to both pursue our dreams and have them coincide in the same city. that's you can can't draw it up any better. Let's dig into year two. what what what from year one here in Cleveland, what were the things that that you picked up on? You obviously have some guys returning, some new faces. what is the focus for you here in year two? Yeah, I think it's the the hardest thing I think is, you have, you have an incredible group year one and you think it's just gonna be, man, we're just gonna roll it out in the same success year. Like it there there is so much intent. There's so many things that need to go right. The spirit, to me, the spirit is our key focal point and making sure our spirit is in the right place, you know, and I think what we constantly tell our guys is, you know, the G League is as crazy a league as any league in the world. You never know who's gonna be on your team. You never know who's gonna be on the other team, right? Rosters could change every day. People could get called up. Including on Media Day. And so, you know, it's I think what what cooler an opportunity to double down on the group and the spirit in a league that's encouraging you to look elsewhere. Most definitely. here you're gonna be tinkering the offense a little bit to fit the new personnel. Like what are those kind of changes looking like for you? Like what's the difference in the r the roster? construction, but also just the roster talent where you do have to do things like that. Yeah. I think last year, again, no no group is the same, right? we had just an unbelievable group last year. This group is fantastic and different in different ways. Right. I think we had more I think last year probably more like elite role players, positional size, all this. I think this year we're blessed with having just incredible, adaptable decision makers. And it's on me to make sure these guys are in positions to be successful while not being too hands on. Let them be artists a little bit. What's it been like to be in the building for this last year too? not just the charge stuff, but being a part of the Cavs org, see all the time just walking around, rebounding, doing all the dirty work for the guys. Just just what what what's that like for you with this organization in particular? I think it I've been super, super, super lucky to, you know, have worked for a couple of NBA teams, right? This will be my fourth team. And to be able to see an organization as first class as a ke Cleveland Clabb. Wow, as first class. As the Cleveland Cavaliers, tongue twister. Say that five times fast. Man, just unbelievable. The resources, the people, the people being about the right stuff, the communication, the collaboration. It is it is second to none. And I'm incredibly lucky to be here. W who would you say is someone to keep your eye on as training camp goes forward here? I know I know it's hard for coaches to be like pick one guy or anything like that, but is there anyone who's like really caught your eye even just talking to just just knowing what they're bringing to the table? Man, I think to me, combination of guys, but I think, to start maybe Zach Austin. Zach Austin has just been an incredible shot of life since he's been here. A guy that, you know, if if we're speaking plainly, was in a really good position to get called up last year, dealt with some injury problems, and we're really excited to, you know, put him in front of the world and show what he could How helpful is it you get a guy coming from OKC though, right? Like coming from the org OK Z organization sees up front what a title contending program looks like. and he's also beloved around here too. I know, went to Pittsburgh, obviously someone that's extremely athletic, fun to watch. and you know, Pittsburgh's only about ninety minutes from here. So he's gonna have plenty of fans come around, I'm sure. Yeah. No, I absolutely no. We're we're you know, we're incredibly excited for this group. and you know, he's gonna be a big part of it. okay, we'll we'll end it at this. What's what's ultimately your goal? For the season coming up. I know you just said it, no G League season's the same. Everyone's got call-ups, the rosters change like in the blink of an eye. like what ultimately are your goals as a coach in the G League? I think to to to kind of sum it up, I think we need to we're always kind of in line with what our compass is and our North Star is development. Okay. So for us, it's about getting an environment together where these guys can feel the most comfortable and develop at a faster rate than everybody else. And ideally, we we hope that, the development and the winning habits drive winning on the court. But again, our North Star is development and we want to see these guys develop and get to the next contract. Here with Zach Austin of the Cleveland Charge. First year here in Cleveland, by the way. What's your first impressions of the city? Let's start there. You know, I'm loving the city. It's a lot better than I imagine. you know, weather's not as bad right now. I thought it's gonna be a little colder than it is right now, but just wait. I heard that just gonna get worse, but shoot, right now, I came over here in a beater on so I'm not complaining. Listen, I mean you were around Pittsburgh for a while, so it's not like the difference is that vast in terms of weather, right? Yeah, exactly. Let's start there, man. Like when I posted that thing that we did at Media Day, like the Pittsburgh fans just came flocking out of nowhere, man. Like just what what was your time like there? the w the experience you had there, playing and and obviously just being a part of that family. Yeah. I mean, when it came to like me and my decision to pit, like even on my visit, like I committed before my airplane took off to go back home. So like I felt the whole like family atmosphere from not even just the coaches or the teammates, just from everybody. And then once I committed then start playing games and like seeing the fan interactions but when it comes to us players, they still keep up. after the first, pre season game I had here at a family come that was Pit fans, come watch me play. And, it just means a lot just to see how it's not even just a f just for the time being thing. after after, you graduate, they're still coming to talk to you. They still, come see you play. I still talk to a family from Pit and they're gonna come watch me play this season. it's really just the H two P way. Just to be, a whole family. That's awesome, man. All right. We're taking the locker room conversation to the public. Mm-hmm. Besides the food. Yes. How was Spain? What was the Spain experience like being in training camp with the guys? Yeah. Off the court, on the court, all the experience. it was good, man. just being able to see, those guys just be regular people, out out outside the court. Like I get to kick it with Don and and James just to go out to eat and just to, hear, you know, things that they are, you know, how they how they see certain things and just not even just basketball, just life in general. Like asking Don how it is, you know, being married. You know, just how it is, just you know, just being in a relationship and just learning, you know, how he go about his ways and stuff like that. You know, then you got C P, you know, he was one of the first to come up and, talk to me with open arms and, it's just a super good guy that I kinda already knew Malik before, just off, Pittsburgh ties. So yeah. just hanging out with the guys and just, you know, learning how each guy is and how, you know, they are as people was kinda like the coolest thing. You talked about speaking with Don and C P. Are you looking for marriage advice? Because those two are the ones that got hitched this summer. Is this is this W what's that about? I mean, maybe. All right. I know it was there yet. Couple years maybe. Okay. And then, you know, you'll see me. I'm already out the game, but I'm gonna be ultra out the game after that. All right, man. just obviously starting training camp here, with the charge. what are your kind of first impressions of the team itself? you know, meeting up with Coach Eli and just the the organization as a hulk. it was great. the team is really gelling real fast. we're playing with a real fast pace, we're kicking the ball ahead, we're sharing the ball a lot. even in our skimmages we're having like a like seventy percent of our made shots are assisted. So like it's the G, so like assist and sharing the ball doesn't happen as much. So having a group this close, this fast, just together, just, is amazing. It's great to be a part of, especially with my skill set. I feel like, it it thrives in this type of system. Being able to run up and down, share the ball, everybody get to touch it. It's not sticking. I feel like that's gonna showcase not just my talents, but everybody, in a in on a team. And then it's just gonna lead to Winning and winning brings attention and tension brings calls ups and I think that's what we all here for. So hopefully God willing, we injuries free and everybody's keep living right. Think everything's gonna be good. How many donks this year? I can get up. I can get up a little bit. Get up. Goal is probably about two a game. Okay. But I really want to do something crazy on a fast break this year. I didn't get a chance to do nothing crazy last year. Thinking. I'm gonna go I'm gonna I'm gonna do one three sixty windmill this year. What three sixty window? In game's insane. We're doing it now because at this point, windmills are the new regular Tomahawk. So we gotta do something special. Gotta do something different for it, right? Goals for yourself, goals for the team. It's like when I talk to everybody, everyone knows what the deal is in the G. They want to get to the big the big stage. How do you balance wanting to get to the big stage, but also trying to help your team win and and obviously being a good teammate? I think the thing for me, I think it started with college just going to going back to pit. Jason Capel was like basically kind of like a father figure for me. And he he tell every day, like one in a row is not a streak. So you haven't one good game, you you going up and posting doing all that stuff, like that's not what you want to do. Like you wanna be where your feet are. And I think that's the best way to just go about the whole G League situation. And I think the start of my season last year, I wasn't playing that good 'cause I wasn't being where my feet were. I wasn't I was thinking ahead, I was thinking if I had to be this or this, I had to be perfect, I get a call up like This is why you were in LKC. Yeah. Yeah. And I was like, at this point I'm putting too much pressure on myself. I know who I am as a basketball player. And I think the biggest thing is not to look ahead too much, especially in the G. You can get caught up into the numbers and yeah, I gotta score this much. nine times out of ten in your in the G League and you're trying to get a call up, you're gonna get a call up because you score the ball. They already got people to do that. You're getting called up to play and and take the lows off the superstars that's on the team that you're getting called up to. I think that's the thing I I I I learned and embraced. And I feel like that's what my role has been since I really started playing basketball, just being able to team player that can be a nice connected piece that can guard, defend multiple decisions and make open shots and showcase my athleticism on a defensive end. So just being where your feet are, not looking too far ahead is like my advice to be for somebody who's like just coming in here and just trying to not get too caught up into the call ups 'cause you can get caught up and the call ups 'cause especially, when the season starts, you're gonna get like it's gonna be a day where five people get called up and you look at like maybe he's not as good as I think, but you can't put yourself in that man's shoes. You have to alright, he got a call up. Now's my turn. you can't be harping on the fact that somebody you don't think that's that good getting a call up 'cause what is that doing for you? That's letting you behind the eight ball. It's like putting yourself in that comparison window is just only gonna kill your psyche. Yeah, you you It's like this is what I tell my nephew. He have girl problems. I'm like, you can't you can't think about the way girls think things 'cause you're gonna make yourself go crazy. You can't put yourself in their shoes because you would never you've never been in their shoes. So just just worry about you. Control what you can control. Don't harp and try to compare your situations to the next man because it's not gonna do good for your mental. And your mental is very important in in situations like this. Everyone runs their own race. Yeah. It's that simple. Shout out to you. This was a very philosophical interview that I did not expect to be philosophical. We're gonna end with this. Give the people a fun fact about Zach Austin. Fun fact about Zach. well, I am a great uncle. My nephew has a two year old. My nephew's nineteen, finna be twenty in a couple months. It's a good fun fact about me. Shout out my my nephew, Kyrie. It's my dog. Here with Curtis Jones, guard for the Cleveland Charge. Good to see you again, man. See you. how was Spain, first of all? Man, Spain was a it was a cool experience. it was my first time overseas, so you know, I felt like where we was at Marbella, Marbella, I know you said one the two A's, it looked like San Diego and Denver and A beach in Florida all in one. So it was real cool. And then training camp, obviously that was a good experience as well. just being around the calves, seeing how they operate, getting some reps in with them. It was a cool experience. What were the kind of things that you were focusing on during training camp with them when you were around all the guys? what were the the specifics like in terms of skill, in terms of fitting in with the team? 'Cause it's obviously a new organization for you. I feel like kinda just trying to do what, they've been preaching, some principles and things like that. And obviously just make winning plays. I think any team values those things. So just trying to do the little things. Where'd you get your Jiggy nickname? That came from I mean, wouldn't really say it's my nickname. It was kind of more so a group. Okay. you know, in high school, one of my teammates, Trey Holliban, who is at G C U now, he kinda started it it was just that's how you know some people that played basketball in Minnesota. and they just called it Jiggy and then we just changed our Instagram name to Jiggy Dot whatever. So my house is just Jiggy dot Kurt and it's just been there ever since. we we talk about before when we were at Media Day, we talked about, you know, being n someone with no like no offers and then getting to you know, going from Buffalo, going to Iowa State. Just like what what did Minnesota basketball mean to you? Like to be able to at least put you on and and get s get in front of some of these schools? I think it was obviously like where you're from, you always gonna rep where you're from. I think Minnesota basketball is very underrated. Like we got a lot of talent, whether that's people going D one, D two, D three. If you play past high school, you know, I would consider that successful in your basketball career. So we got a lot of talent in that aspect. And then also just, you know, growing up, playing in the park, stuff like that, in the city. That was that was really fun. I feel like that was a part of my development as well. I gotta ask you because George Niang was here a couple years. And I know that the Cyclone family is very close knit. Saw pictures with you at Hallie's wedding with with all the guys, like just c can you explain just being there two years? And I know that that's not that long of a time, but I feel like I get the fans and my mentions were stuff like that. When when I mention you like what what's that like? What's that culture like? I say it is a great culture, I was able to play well at Iowa State, so I think, you know, the fans drew a liking to me, as well as my personality. and you know, we got a lot of great alumni, like you said, was at the wedding with a lot of them. they also came back a few times while I was there, so built a relationship there. Great guys, great fan base. Like I'm really glad I went to Iowa State. It's probably like nowhere. So I don't want to go in hindsight. So obviously spent time with the Nuggets organization. We talked about that at Media Day, but in in specifics, just being around like guys like Nicole Jokic and Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon, guys champions, right? Like what was the most important thing that you took away from those practices from being in, you know, in the weeds with those guys? probably just like, you know, mentality stuff, having, you know, the confidence in yourself to go out and, you know. play at a high level. really Jamal thought I feel like Jamal thinks he's the, you know, best player on the court at all times. And I don't think he's wrong for that at all. Because like if you think that, I mean, you have a confidence about yourself, you're gonna play better. Like you need to be that confident in yourself to play at your best. So that's that that was something that I took away, you know, from those guys, but Jamal specifically. What was the best way you think this year and going forward that you can best impact the game in your own way? I think just like I say earlier, making winning plays, showing you can do the little things, you know, to help teams win, maybe even things that don't show up in the stat sheet, because, you know, every team is watching and when you could do things like that, I feel like they get noticed, maybe not by fans all the time, but the people within organizations that, you know, us players will want. these things to be noticed. I think they'll they'll see things like that and they take a liking to things like that. How would you describe your game to someone who hasn't watched you play one minute? I probably just describe it as, you know, high queue player, that can shoot it very well. I think that's a simple version of, you know, how I describe my game. All right, last one, man. What's your goal? Just being here in the G at the charge first year? obviously it's different goals for being in the G. Everyone wants to get the call up, everyone wants to get to the league, but like just simply in this season, like what are you looking to accomplish? like you said, probably obviously everybody wants to get called up, but for my time with the Tars, like just win as many games as we can. hopefully, you know, win the showcase. It's the first goal. And then, I don't know if it's ever been done, but try to win the showcase and the G League Championship. that would be pretty cool. So if we could make history, I would assume that hasn't been done. So I feel like that that's that's a pretty good accomplishment right there. Doubling up, gotta love it. Kurt, appreciate you, man. Thanks for hopping on. Here with Jackson Robinson of the Cleveland Charge. You're two for you now here. Yes, sir. What would you say? First off, how's the day going? And and secondly, like What would you say is your focus coming in now that you're prepared for this? You know what's kinda kinda coming. Yeah. day's been good. We had practice earlier, so obviously it's always fun to have a media day. guys is getting to be able to put on like the jersey and yeah, just get a feel for it. But I would say just my main focus is coming in with a a different type of mindset. Obviously, the end goal is to be a NBA player, so just doing all the little things. Defensively, rebounding, spraying the floor. you know, I think those are the things that are gonna put me on the NBA floor. So, like I said, just focus on the little things and letting everything else take care of itself. How would you assess how you played in summer league this year? I thought it was solid. It was a solid showing. definitely felt like I took leaps from the summer league before. last summer league I had just became healthy off of a a wrist surgery, so just getting back out there, getting a feel for some of my new teammates and just kind of going from there. Awesome. You talked about the defensive side of the ball being one of your focuses. Just what is the specifics of that? Is it technique? Is it more commitment on that end? Is it being more physical? Like what goes into that? I think it's a mixture of all those things. just being more intentional about where I'm at on the floor, communicating, and just helping out any time that I can. Have you spent any extra time around the guys from the Cavs organization this summer? Have you talked to anybody, vets, anything like that? I mean, yeah, I was around the Cavs for most of the summer. they kept me here. I was dealing with a little bit of an injury, Achilles injury, so they kept me around to get me back healthy and then I was working out with with the Cavs, so I spent training camp with them. It was good to, you know, see guys like Don and James, some of the vets up close and Just learn some of their habits and things like that. It was really cool to see. So definitely things that can be taken away, but it was a great experience overall. What were you picking up on in as far as those habits go? I think more so it's really just about the work, the unseen hours that people don't see. obviously you see them in their jersey when they go out on the court and perform, but just being able to see it up close, how they take care of their body, the extra work they put in the weight room and on the court. were things that obviously I expect out of them, but just to see it up close was was really cool. How would you describe the the culture and the environment here with this organization now that you've been here and this is going into year two? It's amazing. Honestly, it's great. I think that the cohesiveness of both the charge and the calves has been really great since I've been here. everybody's on the same page. Everybody roots for w for one another and I think it just shows and the level of I feel like we we really went out last year and had a great season. We had six or seven call ups. We had some call ups from our coaches. So the s the success was very evident, I think. And I think that just goes to show just the the the togetherness that we had as just one organization. If you want a word, you can use alignment because that's the one that comes up a lot today. So obviously The goal in the G is to get called up to the league. That's for everybody. But how do you maintain that balance between wanting to do that for yourself but also having the team success? How do you maintain that balance? Because I'm sure that that has to be somewhat of a of a double edged sword sometimes. yeah. I mean, I think winning takes care of everything else. So if you don't win, it's gonna be hard to to get call ups and things like that. So I think everybody's main focus is just making sure that we're all on the same page and focused on winning and letting everything else take care of itself. Is it nice coming back to a little bit of continuity though? With Coach E. You obviously have some teammates that you played with last year. we also we obviously found out about what with with with Nord Chad, which congratulations by the way. But but you know, there's just an unpredictability that that comes with this, but there seems to be a little bit of c continuity going into this one. yeah. I think Coach Eli has done a great job of making sure that everybody's on the same page, even though we're we're all fairly new. there's a a couple of us that are returners, but for the most part everybody's new. So I think he's been doing a great job making sure everybody's on the same page and just trying to build those same habits that we built last year to have the same success, so or even better. Last one for me, man. How would you describe your game to someone who hasn't watched a minute of you play? Ooh, that's tough. probably just I can shoot the ball. I'm gonna work hard on defense and just be the best team that I can be. So here with Noam Yakov of the Cleveland Charge. First year here. How's your first Cleveland Charge media day going so far? It's been great. It's been great. good vibes, good people, so nice. What's your first impression of the Cavs organization and the charge? I think it's a really really good organization where they have a A lot of synergy between the G League team and the NBA team, which is pretty cool to see. And yeah, just, very professional, good people and amazing facilities. So I've been having a good time so far. How important is that alignment between the two sides, do you think? I think it's very important, you know. It like to be also around the NBA team daily, practicing after them or before them just, you know, gives you extra motivation and you you can see how the best pros are are doing it. You just mentioned it. You spent time with this team, the Cavs in particular, at training camp towards the the end of the preseason there. Just what was that experience like for you being around players who have been doing it for years and just the the veteran nature of that team? Yeah. I think it's definitely huge. Also different than what I'm used to coming from basketball in Europe. the playstyle here is different and you know, on court, off court, it's it's a big change. So just seeing kind of how they They do it and learning as much as I can. Curious, what is that change? What is the differences between international ball and NBA ball that you've noticed at least so far? Mm. I would say definitely the pace. it's much faster over here. And the court is bigger, so you know, it's more on defense you're by yourself a little more and on offense you got more space to operate. and then I would say it's just more free, you know, not as many set plays, just go up and down and that's where the talent really shows. For someone who hasn't watched you play like a minute, how would you describe your game? I would say a playmaking point guard that gets everybody involved. can also create for myself when needed, but definitely I'm a I'm a pass first, you know, I I like to to assist the guys and then on defense just ball pressure and then you know being aggressive 'cause I'm not the tallest, the strongest, so I gotta Gotta be smart and gotta be aggressive. Well, I didn't end up playing at Utah at all. I got ruled ineligible. my goodness. Yeah, so that's why I'm here. That's why you're here. but yeah, so I played four, five seasons overseas. Overseas, yep. and then this year I was supposed to go to college, you know, a lot Or no rules. which ended up yeah. I I got ruled ineligible and then naturally for me if I still wanted to play over here in America it was G League and Cavs had my rights, so I ended up on the charge and yeah, but I I definitely feel like I'm I'm ready, you know, went through a lot of different roles over there. being a main guy, being you know, a backup, being a third string, just everything really and yeah. How crucial is it to be able to scale up and scale down your role? 'Cause I feel like that's a really important skill to have, especially in the NBA, because you see it around the league, there's a bunch of injuries right now. So it's a lot of next man up. And then sometimes, you know, you have too many people in the same room. They th there's like five guards and you have to figure out what you gotta do best, to get yourself on the floor. Yeah. That's I mean exactly what you said. Whatever g get you on the floor, whatever help helps a team win is what you gotta do and that can change, especially you know, for example, if you get a call up from the G League, your role is gonna be much different than what it was in the G and and in the NBA. So just being ready for anything. What ultimately is your goal this year, being in the G? I mean, think it's like everyone's to get a call up. and yeah, just also getting used to the basketball over here. Like I said, it's different. So it's gonna take some time to transition, but think once I figure everything out it's definitely gonna be be good. Did you have when you were overseas, did you have anyone that you played with or played against that had G League experience that could give you advice about how to handle this season, how to handle it going forward? Yeah. I played with a lot of G League, NBA guys, so I've been talking to some of them just you know, kind of what they're looking for here, what what they felt like was different when they came over to Europe from here and yeah. But yeah. Definitely talking to them. If I may ask who? the last one I talked to was Pat Bell. really? Yeah. Okay. So do you have a ra good relationship with Pat Bev? We played together two seasons ago. still talking there not too often, but you know, I got a lot of ex teammates who played in the league. One of my first vets was Mike Scott. Okay. good power forward, played for the Hawks quite a bit. Yeah. Yeah. yeah, I I have a long list of NBA players, but just yeah, being around those guys. Yeah. day in, day out, seeing, you know, how they kinda have their routines and all that stuff kinda made me you know, also kinda learn from that and do it myself. How old are you? Twenty two. You're twenty two years old. Okay. He's quite a young guy. Quite a good young guy. last thing for me, man. What is it gonna take for you to get to that next step, to get to that goal of getting to the NBA? Like What what kind of things do you have to do to impact winning to get to that point? I think just playing the right way, knocking down my open shots, playmaking at a high level without turning the ball over, and then being a pest on defense, playing good defense, you know, fighting over screens and getting some steals here and there. I think that's that's what's gonna do it. Here with Mark Eye Strickland. Player for your Cleveland Charge here. Obviously, your first media day with the charge. How's the day been for you so far? it's been good. We had practice and now we all washed up, we're ready to go. What kind of stuff did you guys focus on in practice, would you say? we were just implementing like the basics, honestly, just getting used to each other, knowing the right reads. So it was good. What's your first impression of Koch E? He's funny. He's a funny dude. Like he's he's about business when it's time to be about business, but he's funny. Okay, okay. getting acclimated to Cleveland in this city, what would you say is the first things you've done here so far? shout out Marlin, 'cause I went to the mall. He sent me to a mall on the west side and then that mall didn't really have anything, so I went to the one across town. Yes, I was on a whole little goose chase on Saturday. Okay, okay. where you from? From Miami. You're from Miami? You're from Florida. You're from Miami, Florida, and you played basketball at North Dakota. Explain that one. Hey, basketball takes you everywhere. Yeah, it does. It does. Yeah, it does. What kinda what kinda shock was that though? going from literally the bottom of the country to the top of the country. Nah, it was a shock for sure. It was crazy, negative forty degrees, all that, but it was great. it was a great experience. I met some great dudes. So and we had a great team, so it was fun. How do you feel about mid major basketball? It's it's cool. I feel like The difference between mid major and high major, the guards are interchangeable with the bigs is the real, huge difference. Okay. How would you describe your game to someone who hasn't watched you play? explosive. Yeah, explosive. Just explosive. All right. All right. team concept wise, what do you think you guys can accomplish this year together? the same as last year is the expectation are even better. We don't see a decline in anything we're doing, so. Just staying focused, getting used to e playing with each other and it's gonna be great. You mentioned being explosive. What is the best way you think you can impact the game? defense and just creating for others. Okay. Ultimately, what is your goal in the G? It's like I was talking to Kurt, man, like It's different for everyone because everyone wants to get called up to the show. Yeah. Right. But you're also focusing on trying to win games. You're trying to to to win championships down here in the showcase cup, obviously. what what's your individual goal, would you say? individually, I just wanna be the best version of myself, honestly. Just keep getting better every day and win games, cause winning games everybody eats. Here at Charge Media Day with Coach Norm Richardson. What's up, man? It's so good to have you on here. we understand that you already have a relationship with our guy Ty Neal. So let's just rip the band-aid off. What's the relationship with Ty? what how do you guys know each other? me and Ty met I mean y many years ago as as coaches in the G League. He was coaching with Canton and I was with I think I was with Fort Wayne at the time and we met each other through a mutual a mutual friend. And you know and the relationship just grew over over time and you know I have a lot of respect for Ty. he's a great young coach. I mean he's he's done you know, he's done a marvelous job with all the coach players that he was able to coach and I got you know and I really I'm really enjoy our you know our relationship with one another and I'm looking forward to reconnecting with him since I've been back in Ohio. Yeah, that's awesome, man. Let's so let's let's start there. How did you end up back here? what what's your coaching journey been like? I'm I tried to look up a ton of stuff on ya and and I know the Hofster stuff, I know you're a pro. Like so let's get into it. Yeah, well so I I was I just give you a quick background. I I got started coaching in Germany in two thousand and twelve. I was playing in Europe for many years and when I was done playing I I tr I went right into coaching. And then did two years of Germany. From from there I'm I moved back to the States and I I did a I did a year in Erie with the Erie Bayhawks of the G League at the time and went on to Fort Wayne for three years. from Fort Wayne, I did a year in Greensboro, got promoted to the Charlotte Hornets staff and I was with Charlotte for three years. The last two years I spent that overtime in Lee in Atlanta. And and now I'm with them the Cleveland Charge. they had an opening. I spoke with Coach Eli. him and I had some great conversations in Le Ron. and they interviewed me and, you know, I was very, very happy to to get the opportunity to come and work with for the Charge. it's a great organization. both the NBA team and the G League and I love how they collab with one another and I'm very excited to get the season started. What's your first impression of the Cavs organization and of the charge? I mean so collaborative. I've been you know, this is now my sixth year in the G League and I've never been with an organization that's so together, from the NBA to the G League organization. I love the way we we communicate and how close we are as a group. I think is It just expedite the development process for our guys 'cause that's the that's the the the main reason why we're here to help guys develop. not only as us as coaches, but guys as players. And and I think being with the charge is helping it's helping us develop as coaches and helping those guys reach their ultimate goal and that's the th the be in better basketball situations. You spoke to the collaborative efforts here. What's the vision that you guys share together? Like why do you guys click so well? Well, I think everyone's aligned. I think all the way from obviously from the top to the bottom, Kobe, Kenny and and all the way down to to our staff, we're all aligned and we're all working towards one goal and that's development. Right. Kenny is a huge d proponent of developing players, developing coaches. he allows us to bring new ideas to the table. he allow allows us to have the freedom to to really coach these guys in a unique way. And I think for me, you know, that is one of the the best ways to help guys learn, improve, and eventually have success is to put, you know, players in in situations where that may mimic the game. And I think we do a great job here in Cleveland. And I love the alignment. I love the communication. I love the collaboration b between the NBA team and the G League team. And I think to me, again, that's the most important thing you can have. when when you're coaching at this level. Norm, you mentioned that you were with overtime elite for a few years. Did any of your decision have to do with one Malik Thomas being in Cleveland after the draft? I'd say it was purely coincidental. You know, when when I spoke with I remember speaking with with Eli and and I know you know the Cavs drafted Malik, I was like, well this would be this would be great for me to get a chance to go to Cleveland to be be around Malik again 'cause at overtime he was He was such a breath of fresh air. he was so mature, so competitive. and we're getting the chance to see it firsthand, right? He gets an opportunity, and we all knew the people that's been around him knew that he was gonna seize that opportunity, seize the opportunity and and really take advantage of it. And he and he has, and I'm very happy and excited for him. I saw him yesterday and I was like, just give him this big and I embraced him and just can can just try to continue to encourage him. I'm very happy for him. For those don't That don't know Malik all that well. How would you describe? You just said he's extremely mature. I felt that again Oswald on Media Day out in summer league. He's a nineteen year old that carries himself like a twenty-nine year old, really. how would you describe his approach to every day and how his game is gonna translate to this league? We've already seen it. He got his first start for crying out loud last night, and it's only six games into the season. He he has again, he has such a mature approach to everything and a positive approach. I don't know if you remember at the he was he was at the draft and he didn't get drafted in the first round and he showed up the next day, you know, when they announced the second rounders and he was just as enthusiastic as the guys that got drafted on the first day. And that was like typical Malik, right? Never you know, never allows his confidence to to waver. he's always believing in himself. And what's what I like mostly about him is he's extremely humble and he wants to continue to learn and grow. And he asks questions. He's very curious. And I think, you know, for a guy that's 19, 20 years old to be that way, you know, it's it's it's I think we're very lucky to have him in Cleveland. I think he's gonna be a a great pro for many years. We're certainly rooting for him because our guy out in Pittsburgh, Steve McNeese, runs run the show. He's come through there and they've trained him. Ty's trained him as well. So we're very familiar with Malik and obviously very excited for how he started his career last one, man. Just what are your ultimate goals as the associate coach here? obviously coaching takes you everywhere. You just described your journey and it's been pretty much every part of the country, every part of the world. so ultimately, what are your goals as associate coach in the G League and for the team this year? You know, I you know, I as a A longtime assistant, I I was taught to support the head coach in any way any way that that you can and and that's my job here. My goal is to try to support Eli, help him develop our players, and help him develop our staff while also growing as a coach. And I think that the main thing is is just to make sure that, you know, I stay aligned with his with his goals and his expectations and and what he wants from our group and what the Cavs want from a whole. And I think ultimately if I can do that, you know, I feel like that I've done my job and I'll I'll help our players improve, help our staff improve and help us have a a successful season. Back here on Hoop Industry LaShawn Wyatt. I don't know what his title is with the Cleveland Chargers, but technically the vice president of basketball communications and team services. It is a very double, triple, all sorts of duties position. What much more than just media relations. Let's get that perfectly clear. But this guy's been around for a while. How many years in particular? so I started with the Cavs in the 2007, 2008 season. I was a junior at Baldon Wallace College. It used to be Baldwin College back then. Yeah. And I worked every home Cavs game checking media in the checking their credentials, running stats, the broadcasters. recording my I would get Mike Brown quotes pregame. I would get LeBron quotes post game. my gosh. And you'd had to transcribe some of them 'cause back, you didn't have AI to do it for you or anything. Voice to text to do it for you. and so I worked home games at that was my first season, two thousand seven, two thousand eight. So did that for a few years. they started the charge in Canton in two thousand eleven, the D League Canton charge. And I was pretty fresh out of college and they hired me to do the communications for that and it's snowballed a little bit ever since. Yeah. what's it like to try and balance all of that, every duty that you have now? Because I'm sure that wasn't what you had envisioned to start. No, it's not at all. I d I I got a taste of doing commu communications and PR and I liked it. Gary Moraine, Jeff Schaefer. Love Gary. He's down he's down he's down with Atlanta. Tad's down with what, the Cowboys? Cowboys, yeah. He's Jerry Jones right hand PR man. Started out learning from them and I'd they worked with the media, they worked with the team behind the scenes. And I got, you know, I was at the time a young pup that knew I wanted to work in sports but didn't know what I wanted to do. And got a little taste of that and then started running with it since and and like I said, did it for a few years. They hired me to be just a PR guy out of call you know, when they started the charge. And then I got community relations put on me. I got, you know, we started a Twitter account and an Instagram account 'cause it was new then and and it snowballed from there and I tried to leave a few times. I was runner up for a job at the Hornets. I was running up for a job with the Jazz. I was like third for a job with the Wizards, and I just kept missing out and I they just kept like letting me grow and getting little more along the way. and then all you know, our athletic trainer used to do the travel and Mike Ganzi used to be the assistant GM of the charge. He used to do the equipment. Yeah. And so when I was still around, they kept throwing some more stuff on me and the position just kind of evolved into what it is today. where it got to the point where they couldn't get rid of me and I couldn't let me leave because I like to think that I help keep the the boat afloat. You d you do. this place would go burned to the ground if it wasn't for John Wyatt. the reason I wanted you on here is because obviously hoop industry, our podcast, Spotlight Sports, it's part of Run the Show. Run the show, co founder Tyler Neal. Yeah, used to be interim head coach of the Cleveland Charge, obviously spent a ton of years with the Cavs organization. So just a little bit of a moment here to tell some stories if any got any got any dirt on Tyler Neal. No, no dirt, nothing like that. I just was with him in the trenches, you know. He started out as the intern. Yeah. He did a lot of that intern stuff at Akron and and in college. He was there when I was there, but I didn't know he was there. Yeah, so he was doing a lot of that grind work and he got with us and was doing a little less of the grunt work and more of like video. Yep. And started to get on court a little bit with player development and literally worked his way up to be I I don't think he was associate head coach by title, but coach Nate ranking at the time, he was definitely one of his top assistants that he relied on. Yeah along with Austin Peterson, who's with the Cavs still. Yep. And Nate's with the Cavs too as well. So yeah, the I was in the trenches with Ty for years. So he he was charged up with Tyler for years. He's a great guy, had a lot of fun. I don't I really don't have any dirt on him. I really I really don't. No stories, nothing. Nothing but good stuff. I just the one thing that always stands out is ca I get reminded of by somebody that works with me. Ty had ha he has a good Chin strap beard. You know, he's got a really good and the side profile. I thought he looked like Abraham Lincoln, I thought, with his beard. And I called him Mr. Lincoln one day. No, you didn't. And it was like the Brandon Halupnik's first day working here, you know, five years ago. Yeah. And Ty wasn't having it. He did not like being called Mr. Lincoln. And he's like, I'll never forget how mad you made him that day. And I was that's just, you know, we were close enough like brothers, you could joke around like that. But yeah, the one he he reminds me of that all the time, that story. It was like his first day, and he was traumatized that I I made Tyler Mad call him the I thought it was a compliment. He looked distinguished. He looked good. He regal almost with that. Regal. Yeah. I see Brandon, he's he's popping in there. I see him over there at the door. So Brandon's been around too since he's been around there too. So yeah, Sean's has been around for a while. he's known me since I was a pup. So like when he was a pup, I was in high school still. but I've also been in this business like thirteen, fourteen years. I wanted to ask you this, 'cause I'm not in the trenches like you are, but similarly, I guess. what's the most rewarding part of the job for you? that's you know, it's the people, honestly. You know, it's I I'm actually a football player. I'm not a basketball player. I was a football grade school, high school, college, but I always loved the camaraderie of team of sport, you know, the locker room, the brotherhood, the togetherness. you know, being, you know, working hard, long days, long practices, blood, sweat, tears, for the collective, you know, doing your role the for the collective betterment of the team, success of the team. I always loved that growing up playing sports or whatever. I get that satisfaction doing what I do is being a cog, and the machine of the team to help help g set everybody up for success, help us to get in the b best position possible for these players and coaches to do their thing. And it's just satisfying. It's a lot of hard work. It's a lot of little details that, you gotta make sure nothing falls through the cracks. 'cause you're carrying about twenty-five people and and all of our collective, Endeavors, but you get that satisfaction of, you're in the with the with the guys, the camaraderie, the the guys and the girls, in the locker room, the camaraderie, and it's it's very satisfying for me still. I got the juice, Like I said, two what I say, 2007-8 was my first season as a part-timer. 26, 20. Somebody else can do the math about 26, 27, how many years that's been. But I still like today, I don't drink coffee or anything, but I'm driving, singing on the way here because I'm jacked up, man. I got the juice for it. I'm excited, it's a big day. it's an important day, a lot going on, and it's still I still got the juice for it. So it's fun. You are married with a child now too. Yeah. So th so how is how has that kind of changed your perspective, maybe and just even, you know, the the work life balance in that Yeah, we'll figure that out. I mean, my baby came we got we got eliminated unfortunately of the charge in the playoffs April first, I think, or April second. My baby was here on the seventeenth. So You wanna talk about perfect timing, off season to be able to really sync myself into time with her and my wife. so it's been good. So I haven't figured it out too much yet. We'll see, you go on the road tomorrow and go for a few days and we'll see how it goes. But I think, you know, it'll be it'll be interesting. It'll be tough, you know, you'll miss being at home. I I pick her up from school and stuff, so I'll have to miss that. But I also think, you know, five months of the G League season, you kinda but there's, s five or six months off too, where it's like it charges the batteries. So I'm gonna have to yeah, use all that ounce of juice I got left. But and you know what our longest road trip, they're gonna go visit my in laws in California and everything. So we'll figure it out. it'll be tough, but I've got an understanding wife and a daughter who'll be raised in it and so she'll get it. So most definitely. And Ty's got to figure that too 'cause he's got a new boy. Yeah, yeah, we can share tips with each other. Yeah. We can share both all the help I can get and I'm sure he'll feel the same too. Yeah. You a daughter too, right? Yes sir. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So definitely we're in the same boat together again. Yeah. I love it. I love it. Last one for me, man. How important is it to have alignment between two organizations, between the G and the NBA? And you've been, like you said, here since the late 2000s. And it it seems like every time I talk to one of you guys, it's always about how everyone's on the same page, how everyone's rowing in the same direction and That's gotta be extremely crucial for an organization that wants to succeed in in all facets. And that includes the Cyrus too now that's coming up. Yeah, you know, I I just don't really know life without it muchly, to tell you the truth. I mean, in Canton, you know, we were aligned and we were part of it, but you're still an hour away. And, you know, there was just, you know, you there's just things that still get lost in translation and get lost in an hour distance a little bit. But ever since, you know, twenty twenty one that we've been in Cleveland, I mean. I just call it J V and Varsity at the highest level. practices are staggered and and at the same time and coaches are in similar meetings that are the same philosophies and everything is just in complete synergy from a basketball standpoint, but also from a business standpoint. All of our ticket people are up in in the offices with the monsters, ticket people and the calves, and our marketing people are in meetings with so they're sharing best practices, we're sharing resources, and that's just in every facet of the charge, that's what we do, and I think it's the best way to do things, and I am by The way we do things, I think, is the best. But I mean, it's just for, you know, a G League team to have all these resources of Dan Gilbert provides and the Cavs provide and and having sirens, monsters, calves, people to lean on and collaborate with and share resources this media day. You know, all these people that are working cameras and setting up production down this hallway. I mean, they're they're they're shared resources for the building and they jump in, they the charge needed them and they're there's no hesitation. There's that you're a part of us. You're what we do in your extension, and we have all these resources and was like Look at another G League Media Day. I bet I would imagine they're not having as many cameras and production value and you know and at at the facilities that we have. And I think that's just today was a microcosm of why it's so beneficial because we're just at the best. See them at public hall. Yeah. All right. And one of the coolest venues. I I mean, know I said last question, but I mean that place is really cool. It's awesome. It it it feels like you're entering a museum. And you're looking up and there's just s all sorts of like this artistic, I don't know how to describe it, but it's very it's like medieval. Yeah, you know, that's it's I I've I work with the re the officials that come to the games and like the officials will come out with their phones because they want to record the walkout because it's just so breathtaking, all the like the gold trim and the details and the accoutrement of the building and the history and the marble. It is like I call it a basketball cathedral because it's like, you know, with the stained glass ceiling and all the gold. It looks it kinda does feel like s somewhere a little holy. And yeah, I think the the the wow factor of it is is just as soon as anybody walks in the door, gets it, whether it's the officials, it's the other teams that come in, it's it's fans, and that's the other beauty of it. Like you can love basketball and like follow it and wanna watch the next talent like, you know, the the young players. Or you can not give a crap about basketball. Then you come to public hall for a beautiful building and a fun time and a you know, cheap ticket and kids can Meet players and get autographs and you have fun even if you don't care about what happens in the game. That's the beauty of our s our situation is get you get a little something for everybody. It's most definitely the case. I've been to a couple of them. Thanks to this guy. He's he's hooked me up with some tickets, so I appreciate him. That is Sean Wyatt. Dude's been around forever. He told you. Late two thousands around the Cavs and the Charge organization. Great guy. Appreciate you coming on SpongeBob. Hey, glad you waited long enough that I could sit down and relax and sit with you. Yeah.