Latest / Bleacher Report / Donovan Mitchell s Honest Take on Cavs Season, Following in LeBron s Footsteps _ Taylor Rooks X

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Donovan Mitchell s Honest Take on Cavs Season, Following in LeBron s Footsteps _ Taylor Rooks X · Bleacher Report

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Donavan Mitchell, how are we feeling.
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: I'm good, some's been good.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: How you I'm amazing. I like your shirt.
• 0:06
  Speaker 3: Thank you, thank you Tom. It's the album. Make sure
• 0:09
  Speaker 3: you guys go check it out. It's out now.
• 0:11
  Speaker 4: Make sure you go get their streams from Marger. I'll
• 0:14
  Speaker 4: stop talking, but I do like the shirt. You know
• 0:17
  Speaker 4: what I was thinking about as I was getting ready
• 0:19
  Speaker 4: to do this interview, how has your nickname stuck? Because
• 0:24
  Speaker 4: we have to bring back NBA nicknames, and I think
• 0:27
  Speaker 4: you're just one of the few that people understand Spider
• 0:30
  Speaker 4: is you. They can use it in the broadcast. It's
• 0:33
  Speaker 4: become a part of your persona.
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean it's wild to think that, especially like
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: you said, that's like the whole remember the whole Twitter
• 0:40
  Speaker 3: thing where it's like everybody they gave random guys. Think
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: there was like maybe like during the season, like they
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: called Evan like the anomaly or somebody called the Anomaly,
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: all these different things and that like went away, and
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: then you know, you look at you got the King,
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: you got Kde, you got you know, Chef Cerry got
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: all those things, those sticks. So to have mine be
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: one that actually sticks and stage, I think is a
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: it's pretty special.
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: So people only become in my name, yeah, and they
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: see me on the street.
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: But to call yourself something that no one else called
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: you in high school in middle school and kind of
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: be like a lame for that, and then for it
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: to be like my brand, I think is it's pretty dope.
• 1:11
  Speaker 4: But why do you think, like, what is it about
• 1:14
  Speaker 4: you or the name that has had that staying power?
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: I think it makes sense, you know what I mean.
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: I think it's something that's like, okay, like the way
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: my body moves, which is how I got the nickname,
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: which I have long arms, you know what I mean.
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: I jump pretty high, I do all these different things,
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: but it's really uncanny how I move. I think that's
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: kind of you know, the reason why I would think.
• 1:33
  Speaker 4: Do you remember like the person like who was the
• 1:36
  Speaker 4: genesis of the name?
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, his name is al. This was back when I
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: was nine. He's from Jersey.
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: I was playing AAU and he gave everybody a nickname
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: on the team and he was like, your name is
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: Spider because you spinning a web. And basically I was
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: saying I move in such a crazy way. And then
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: it's like to say this stuff.
• 1:57
  Speaker 4: Well, shout out to al. I'm on a real campaign
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: to bring back NBA name.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: We should, We definitely should.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: I like one that's something to the game.
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: I think Wenby's will stick to the Alien. I think
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: that'll definitely be one. Trying to figure out one for
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: my teammate, trying to get more for we.
• 2:14
  Speaker 4: Do need one forever. Where are we at in the brainstorm?
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: He hated the one that was on Twitter. So when
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: people see this, I hope they can remember. I forgot
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: the name of it. He hated that one. Dan Gilbert
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: actually called them that on Twitter. Whatever the nickname was called.
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: I gotta think I gotta find it. Once I find it,
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: i'll let you know. But he Dan Gilbert tweeted it,
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: so then I started calling that the locker room. But
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: he didn't really like that one, So we got to
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: figure out. We got to figure out one for him.
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it's like, what's the play on like defense and Evan,
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: maybe it's more about mobiley than Yeah, we'll stick with Moby.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: I'm going to brainstorm. I'll send you some options. We'll
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: figure it out.
• 2:50
  Speaker 4: Excited to chat with you because there really is just
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: so much to dive into. But I want to begin
• 2:55
  Speaker 4: with what I feel like and correct me if I'm wrong.
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: Was just this kind of new found joy that you
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: had this season with the Cavaliers.
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I tell you all the time. That was the
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: first year in about five years where there was not
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: a question of where's Donavan Mitchell going next?
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean?
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: Like, and I was in Utah, it was like, where's
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: he going next? When I was in Cleveland, he wasn't.
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: I was like, I'm not staying. Oh, I'm not staying.
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: He's not staying. And then it became like after every win,
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: after every loss, we go on the losing street, it's like, oh,
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: this is why he's leaving, you know what I mean?
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: And I think it became it just became a lot,
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: and I didn't realize it in the moment. When you're
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: in it, you don't really notice how much that really, like,
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: you know, stresses you in life or note necessarily in
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: a bad way, but it's just like it's always on
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: your mind, so on your teammate's mind. That teammates gott
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: to answer these questions. My coaches got to answer these questions,
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: you know, GM, everybody's got to answer the question of like, where's.
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: He going what's he doing?
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: Even though I knew I was staying, Even though they
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: knew I was staying, It's just still a topic of conversation,
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean. And I think for me,
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: just being able to call a place home and be
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: there and want to be there and be like, all right, cool,
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: this is this is where I'm at. You know, obviously
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: that was I was huge. You know, I'm in a
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: new place in my life too, So like I think,
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: just for me just being able to just be happy
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: with Donovan, not even the Diamond Mitchell, you know what
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: I mean. I think that was why I think this
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: season for me was just you know, like you said,
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: just a sort of a piece. And then it allows
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: you and obviously my play, you know, continue to try
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: to find ways to get better and better and being
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: comfortable in my own skin and who I am and
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: not to say I wasn't before, but even more so
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: just being comfortable with you know, where I'm at.
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: Do you think there was a real tie in, like
• 4:30
  Speaker 4: the happiness and peace and joy that you felt as
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: a person along with the success.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: That you had in your like individual season.
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it allowed me to to look at
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: my season in a different light too, like understanding that,
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: you know, I did take a step back, you know,
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: for others to continue to grow. Understanding that that's a thing,
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: you know, at twenty two, twenty three. I don't know
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: if I'm I wouldn't say as open minded, but I
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: think it's it's a way of like.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: No, I got it, I gotta get it, I got it.
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: But understanding it's no, it's a it's a group thing,
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: and it's different. I'm the older guy, like you know
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: what I mean, I'm not with Mike, Joe, Rudy, guys
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: who are ten twelve years in So I got to
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: find ways to elevate the guys around me and you know,
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: allow them to grow, allow dg allow ev allow.
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: Tie everybody, you know, everybody, Jaya.
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: You know, if you allow guys to continue to flourish,
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: and you know that takes comfortability in yourself, you know
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: what I mean, understanding that, like, look, this is what
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: it's going to take to win and be you know
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: where eld to me I want to go.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: So I think it definitely ties in for sure.
• 5:32
  Speaker 4: It's interesting too how there are just some things that
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: you won't understand until you experience, and you probably don't
• 5:41
  Speaker 4: even realize how much being sure of yourself and who
• 5:45
  Speaker 4: you are really does bleed into how you play. Like
• 5:48
  Speaker 4: when we talk about immaturity, I think people view it
• 5:50
  Speaker 4: as a negative, but we really just mean when you're young,
• 5:54
  Speaker 4: you don't fully get it, like you don't even get
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: your but the more you unlock yourself, it bleeds in
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: to the success that you can find on the court.
• 6:03
  Speaker 4: What would you say to just younger players that maybe
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: feel this, I gotta get it right now, or maybe
• 6:10
  Speaker 4: feel this sort of insecurity about proving themselves, about just
• 6:13
  Speaker 4: figuring that out so that everything else unlocks.
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: I think, you know, I think it's a it's a
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: it's a life, it's a social media like you know effect.
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: I think you know, because we see everybody and this
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: is just life. This isn't just basketball, like this is
• 6:28
  Speaker 3: we see somebody on vacation, We see somebody doing these
• 6:32
  Speaker 3: unrealistic things at twenty two, like you know what I mean,
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: Like you know, even with like the new found like streamers,
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: like streamers are young, like not everybody's going to be
• 6:40
  Speaker 3: kisanat like you know what I mean, It's just understand
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: that it's going to take time, you know, I mean,
• 6:43
  Speaker 3: people don't understand how long it took for Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah,
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: all these people who we look at, Warren Buffett, how
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: long it took them to become who they are, Like
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean, I'm very blessed to be
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: at twenty years old and I'm drafted like you. I mean,
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: that's not a regular twenty year old's life. There's only
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: four hundred and fifty people that do it that I do.
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: So I tell all young kids, like, be patient, it's
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: okay to fail and take time. And I think that's
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: kind of where I'm at in my process, is like
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: I haven't made it out the second round. It's okay
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: to fail, Like you know what I mean, it takes time,
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean. It's not the first person
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: this has happened to and understand that. Hey, like you're
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: going to keep going, you know what I mean? You
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: got to keep going. And I tell people all the time,
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: like they only get you when you quit, Like that's
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: when they win, you know what I'm saying.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: And so I always tell my younger Steff, like.
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: Hey, Like if I were to tell my younger so,
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: I'd be like, hey, like you know, it's going to
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: take time and that's okay, Like I don't have to
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: be on everybody else's journey on my own, you know,
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: I'm trying to figure it out that way.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: So that's my that's my message.
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: So when you talk about the not making it out
• 7:43
  Speaker 4: of the second round, do you feel like people want
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: you to say that and then sort of doubt your
• 7:50
  Speaker 4: ability as a player.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: Or do I do they want a doubt? Do I
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: doubt you?
• 7:54
  Speaker 4: Do you think that that is almost the wish that
• 7:57
  Speaker 4: they want to sort of say to you, Okay, you
• 7:59
  Speaker 4: have I've not been able to make it out of
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: the second round.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: What does this mean about who Donovan Mitchell is?
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's easy. I mean that's the role.
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: That's my job.
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: Like you know what I mean, I'm very blessed. I
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: get paid a lot of money to play basketball. But
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: what comes with that is the criticism of like, hey,
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: can don even do it? Like that's gonna be the
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: question because when we win, you know, you know, it's
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: just how it works. So I think there's a world
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: where people definitely are excited to see you know, you
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: feel I think that's just sports. I don't think that's
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: just I think it's life but also sports. But I
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: also know there's a bunch of people in Cleveland and
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: other cities, I know, rooting, you know, for it to happen.
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: So for me not really getting consumed by that understanding like, hey,
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: you know this laws definitely messed me up a little bit,
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean, more so than most years.
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: And that's what it's going to take for it to
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: not happen again. And I made the joke after the
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: end of the year, like this could happen eight more times.
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: I'm not going to stop, like you know what I mean,
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: So I'm knock on wood. I mean, I'm not trying
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: I have that happened eight more years. But like understand
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: that no matter what said, no matter what questions are about.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: But I know who I am, you know what I mean.
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: I know what I bring to a team, I know
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: what I bring to a table, and I'm not really
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: here to kind.
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: Of worry about other people.
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: People who play against me know who I am, and
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: now it's just a matter of hey, it's got to
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: find a way.
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: And that's pretty much it.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: You said this one more so than the others.
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: Why I think for me, because you look at the
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: way the regular season, when you look at the way
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: things were stacked up.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: I think for me, it was just in my mind.
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: It was like this is supposed to like you know,
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: and that's everybody says, like you want to make God laugh,
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: tell them your plans, and like, you know what I mean,
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: Like that was my plan, like all right, cool, sixty
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: games were on these wind streaks, All right, cool, this
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: is I'm not saying we took anything for granted at
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: all by any means by it, so like this, it
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: just felt like this was that time, you know what
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: I mean. I think everybody can agree with that. So
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: I think that's why when it ended so abruptly, like
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: even the summer, like I didn't have any plans, Like
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: I didn't have I didn't know what to do, like
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean.
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: Like so.
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: That's why I think I found myself like even though
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: I was moving around and different things, I found myself
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: still just sitting there just trying to process like that
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: we don't play tomorrow.
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: Like you know what I mean?
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: Like that, And I was in Cleveland for about a
• 10:18
  Speaker 3: week after just and usually after the season I fly
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: out right after go back home. I just I couldn't
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: leave because it was just like there's there's no way,
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: like you know what I mean, and you know what
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: I mean, And I think that's it's ultimately gonna feel me,
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean. I'm at that point now
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: where I've accepted it and now I'm using it, you know,
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: to work. But it's definitely one of those, especially when
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: you have a year like that as a group, you're like, yeah,
• 10:38
  Speaker 3: this is this is special. So you know, it happens
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: and you got to find way to move on and
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: get ready.
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: For next year.
• 10:46
  Speaker 4: In those moments when you're thinking about it, what is
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: the image that you see?
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: Is it a play? Is it a moment? What comes
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: to your head?
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: The one that sticks out to me the inbounds pass.
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: From from Game two, both of them, the one where
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: I elbowed Nie Smith in the face and the one
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: where I couldn't get open so Max had to throw
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: at the tie. I should have got opened, Like I
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: mean that My man is like I should have got the ball,
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: you know, I mean in credit Indiana, they did it,
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: they did a good job. But I think those are
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: the two. Who knows, what, do we win the series?
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: Maybe do we lose, like this, but I know Game two,
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: you know, for us to play that well and well,
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: I mean obviously, yeah, we had three guys up.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: That's not an excuse. We were up, fifteen twenty whatever
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: it was.
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: So I think that's what sticks out to me, and
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: that's like, damn changes it changes the series at that point.
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: But you know, I can't can't dwell on it now.
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: I just got to use it.
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: Yeah, Well, from a basketball point of view, I just
• 11:54
  Speaker 4: love to get your take on the Pacers generally, because
• 11:59
  Speaker 4: now so many teams have this story.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: We were up, we were up. What happened?
• 12:07
  Speaker 4: What is it about Indiana's ability to, for a lack
• 12:10
  Speaker 4: of a better term, just like wear teams down and
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: keep going.
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's the fact that they have they
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: use their depth really well. I think they you know,
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: I love Tony Bradley's my dog. We got drafted together
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: in Utah, but no one had him playing in the
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: NBA Finals on their Bengo card, you know what I mean.
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: And that's a credit to not only Rick Carla and
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: his staff, that's a credit to Tony Bradley, his work, ethic,
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: Thomas Bryant, who I grew up with, Like those guys
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: playing well obi topping races level phenomenaon. Obviously you could
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: speak about Pascal Tyres and them hard and Nei Smith,
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: But like those guys TJ. McConnell, like those guys at
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: the end of the bench who are coming in and
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: impacting the game in a major way, Like you know
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: what I mean, I give them as much credit as
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: I do tie in Pascal, because that's what makes them
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: unique and special. You know, not a lot of teams
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: are going that far down, you know, even though in
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: our series Jeris Walker played something, it's Ben Shepard, you
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: know what I mean. Like, they have a bunch of
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: guys that when the numbers called, you know, they're always
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: finding a way to impact the game.
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: And it's all through effort, you know what I mean.
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: I think that's the biggest thing.
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: And you know, some teams may be more talented, some
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: teams may be this, but they their effort, you know
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: what I mean. And I think that's one thing I
• 13:19
  Speaker 3: genuinely respect about them and how they're coaching, how they play,
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: and obviously, yeah they're led by by Tyres and Pascal,
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: who you know, are phenomenal players in their own right,
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: but they just they don't stop and they don't quit,
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: and you got to give respect where's due.
• 13:33
  Speaker 4: Yeah, of course I saw your tweet sending well wishes
• 13:37
  Speaker 4: to Tyrese. That was just a heartbreaking, gut wrenching moment
• 13:42
  Speaker 4: for someone who of course is a phenomenal human being,
• 13:45
  Speaker 4: but has dazzled everybody throughout the playoffs. That has been
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: an amazing storyline, seeing him hit the buzzer beaters, win,
• 13:52
  Speaker 4: galvanize his team. But you of course see that moment
• 13:56
  Speaker 4: from a specific vantage.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: Point because you dealt with a half strain as well.
• 14:01
  Speaker 4: And something that I remember is you called me and
• 14:06
  Speaker 4: you were really upset that the news of your calf
• 14:09
  Speaker 4: strain even became public. Why was it so important for
• 14:14
  Speaker 4: you for that to stay private and why were you
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: upset it?
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: I think for me, I didn't want it to be
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: a thing, you know what I mean.
• 14:23
  Speaker 3: I think last year I had a calf strain and
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: I didn't play the last three games, and you know,
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: you're starting to see why. Unfortunately, like you know, you
• 14:32
  Speaker 3: look at tyree'se Dame had a calf injury. I don't
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: know if JT had anything in his in his calf,
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: and there's a lot of other guys unfortunately throughout the season.
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: But you know, obviously, like I didn't want that to
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: be a thing, you know what I mean. I think
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: for me, my mindset was like I don't want I
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: don't want no other bs. I want to know the bullshit.
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: I was like, hey, yeah, I'm heard everybody's hurt, you
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: know what I mean. And it's like all right, you know,
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: we're still going to find a way regardless, you know
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: what I mean. And everybody's in pain, and you know,
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: I think that for me was just my my own
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: thing that I wanted, you know, and you know, unfortunately
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: it did. It was said, and you know, that's a
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: thing that people now know. It's like a thing that
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: people talk about. It I'd rather kind of be because
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: I already had the ankle injury which I rolled up
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: before the season or right before the playoffs. But I
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: think for me personally, I just wanted it to be
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: you know, would loser draw its because of what happened
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: is like oh this or that, Like no, I mean, yeah,
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: give us grace, but like no, we you know, we
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: should have won in my opinion, and I'm not going
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: to say, oh the cave for is this and that,
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: and I think that's why I like to try to
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: keep it in house as much as possible.
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: Well, now that we are somewhat removed from it, did
• 15:37
  Speaker 4: it hinder you And if so?
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, like it's is this if I watched
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: the games back and there's just certain things that you know,
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: you know, moments and different things, and like I said,
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: you mixed that with the pace that we're playing at.
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: It made it tougher. But you know, I'm not using
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: that as no excuse. I want to mix. That's why
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: I to keep it quiet. I don't want to be
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: a thing.
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: But yeah, there's definitely a pain management thing, and it's unfortunate.
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: When you have the year we have and then we do.
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: It the way you know, and it really came from
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: the ankle, like you know, the ankle being rolled and
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: you're overcompensating and that's really what started at all.
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: But I mean, it happens and we'll figure it out
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: from there.
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 16:19
  Speaker 4: No, I feel like this is really interesting and important
• 16:21
  Speaker 4: perspective here because after this, it feels like there's a
• 16:24
  Speaker 4: lot of sort of misinformation and opinions about these moments
• 16:28
  Speaker 4: and what you should do and what you shouldn't do. So,
• 16:30
  Speaker 4: can you just enlighten me on what your process was
• 16:33
  Speaker 4: in terms of pain management? But also was there an
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: element of like fear for you about what this cap
• 16:39
  Speaker 4: strain could mean?
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think there's always there's always that, like you
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: know what I mean, and I don't.
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: I haven't spoken to Tyree.
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: I don't know his his process to it or Dame,
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: the two guys who I know had calf thinks, but.
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: Tyree the man's game seven of the finals.
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: I think you ask any guy in the league, you know,
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: I think, I mean Jamal, I think last year played
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: through a calf stream. Like there's guys that have done it,
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: you know, And I think I don't think he regrets
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: doing that.
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: I think he does, you know what I mean. I
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: think so for my process, it's like like I said,
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: you do everything for the season.
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: I'm not in my brain, I'm not There's no way,
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: like you know what I mean, There's no way I'm
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: letting this, you know, hinder affect me from from not
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: stepping out on the floor, you know, and I take
• 17:29
  Speaker 3: what comes with it, you know what I mean. I
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: think that's if you know, I'm very thankful that nothing
• 17:34
  Speaker 3: came out of that. But that's kind of my process,
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: like hey, like you know, to drag me off the floor,
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: like you know what I'm saying, And I think that's
• 17:42
  Speaker 3: you know, does it change a little bit after seeing
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: these things happen?
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: Maybe possibly?
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: I think, you know, I think it's hard for me
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: to say that because I may be in a moment,
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: I may be like fighting the doctors and team dogs
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: to get out there. But I think right now seeing
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: that and it's it's it's tough, man, it's and you know,
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: there's guys on TV that I've said that haven't had
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: their opinions and whatnot. Put you know, for me in
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: that moment, it was like, there's no way I'm not
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: I'm not.
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: Getting out there.
• 18:10
  Speaker 4: Well because to your point, I just think when you're
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: a competitor and you know you have lived your whole
• 18:17
  Speaker 4: life for this game, for this big moment, nothing is
• 18:20
  Speaker 4: going to stop you from going out there. You want
• 18:22
  Speaker 4: to do it for your teammates, you want to do
• 18:24
  Speaker 4: it for your coach, for the fans. But is there
• 18:27
  Speaker 4: a conversation of Okay, how do we sort of save
• 18:29
  Speaker 4: athletes from themselves or is this just a part.
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: Of the game.
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: I think it's also to the levels of the string.
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: Like I said, I don't know the level of it.
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and to be clear, I'm only talking to yeah.
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: But for me, I think it's a it's a conversation
• 18:45
  Speaker 3: and I respect our training staff. I love our training
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: staff and our doctors, and I think it's it's really
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: a conversation.
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: Didn't feel cap strings are tough.
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: Man like, it's I think, I don't know I'm making
• 18:57
  Speaker 3: a number up here, but I think I would say
• 18:59
  Speaker 3: probably ninety Cynadox will tell you to sit down, like
• 19:01
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean, And I think that is
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: a conversation of saving you from yourself. However, I think,
• 19:06
  Speaker 3: like I said, you know, this meant so much to
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: the to not just us as a team, but the city,
• 19:12
  Speaker 3: like you know what I mean. And I think for me,
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: I've never made it past that round, so I think
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: that you know, it was like a thing to try,
• 19:20
  Speaker 3: like we gotta, I gotta figure out a way to
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: get out there and play, you know what I mean.
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: Understanding that I've I've been in this position before, I've
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: had the best record h in the conference, and you know,
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: gotten to that point.
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: So I definitely think that played a part.
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: But like I said, moving forward, does seeing all these
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: things change things as I'm getting older, I think definitely
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: for sure.
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: But yeah, it's definitely.
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: Something that is a fine balance that I think teams
• 19:44
  Speaker 3: need to have because it's scary. Man, this is this
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: is tough and it sucks to see you Listen. You know,
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: talented talented guys man between J T. Dame, I'm forgetting
• 19:54
  Speaker 3: guys Dejonte you know, and whoever I'm missing, please forgive me.
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: But I think it's something that is definitely need to
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: be talked about. I think the league, in the PI
• 20:02
  Speaker 3: I definitely gonna speak on and try to figure things
• 20:04
  Speaker 3: out because it's it's tough.
• 20:06
  Speaker 4: Yeah, no, it's it's tough. The image is tough. I
• 20:10
  Speaker 4: hope every single person is dealing with injury, comes back fast, fast, better, healthy,
• 20:16
  Speaker 4: all of the things. So I know that you also
• 20:18
  Speaker 4: feel the same way, are sending all of the well wishes.
• 20:20
  Speaker 4: I think something that strikes me, like as I'm talking
• 20:23
  Speaker 4: to you about this season, the ups and the downs,
• 20:27
  Speaker 4: is you do seem to be at a real peace
• 20:30
  Speaker 4: with it, kind of this knowing that there will be more,
• 20:35
  Speaker 4: that you'll have another chance and it's striking me because
• 20:38
  Speaker 4: that's not how most players are after.
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: A loss like that.
• 20:45
  Speaker 3: I think for me understanding that, you know, the patience
• 20:48
  Speaker 3: of it, like, I can't let I can let it
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: affect me in a way of I can let it
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: affect my training, my habits, what I do, I can
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: take it to another level.
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: Well, but I can't let it. I can't.
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: I can't let it affect my mental every single day
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: because then that hinders you, you know what I mean.
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: And then you get to the moment and you tighten
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: up your seas up, you know, because you're I mean,
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: it's June whatever, and I'm over here stressing about it,
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: and then July I'm stressing about it, and then August
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: I'm stressing about it, and then September I'm stressing about
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: the season starts, and then I'm stressed about it, and
• 21:22
  Speaker 3: then I can't sleep because I know how my mind works,
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean.
• 21:25
  Speaker 4: Like, so, you're fairly and I think most good competitors are,
• 21:29
  Speaker 4: but you're fairly hard on yourself.
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I always am, and I think you know.
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: Now working with a mental coach of the past year
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: has also been different as understanding that, like one giving grace,
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: which I hated before working with them, like nah, I'm
• 21:42
  Speaker 3: not hearing none of that shit like no Graves, no, nothing,
• 21:45
  Speaker 3: like na I should have should have you know what
• 21:46
  Speaker 3: I mean? But understand that, hey, like that goes into
• 21:49
  Speaker 3: the patience of it all and understand like you know,
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: there's there's more to it, you know what I mean
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: than just you know what you can control, like yeah, yeah,
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: you're hurt and acknowledging that like it's it's you were hurt,
• 22:00
  Speaker 3: Like you know, there's there's the there's things that are
• 22:03
  Speaker 3: you know, hindring and like I said, it's not an excuse.
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: And I think that's where I kind of put my
• 22:06
  Speaker 3: mind as like I looked at grace as an excuse,
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: you know I think, and understanding that giving yourself grace,
• 22:12
  Speaker 3: understanding like Okay, this happened.
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: How do we fix that? How do we work towards that?
• 22:17
  Speaker 3: So I've started working in my body earlier than I
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: ever have in my career this summer. That's the first thing.
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: Then what does court look like? What does you know?
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: Am I conditioning just on the floor, my conditioning in
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: the pool? Am I taking soul cycle of my boxing?
• 22:29
  Speaker 3: Am I doing all these different things. So that's kind
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: of where my mind is that which allows me to
• 22:35
  Speaker 3: be in that space because you know me, like in
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: years past, I'd be like that's the only thing. And
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: it also takes away from life like living you know
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: life as well, and so yeah, it's it's been a
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: long fight, but I'm starting to realize that it's a process.
• 22:50
  Speaker 4: Well one that is an incredibly profound thought that you
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: were looking at grace as an excuse, because I think
• 22:58
  Speaker 4: that maybe most people do that, but that reframing is
• 23:02
  Speaker 4: really important. If you want to be able to progress
• 23:05
  Speaker 4: and change and see things for what they can be,
• 23:08
  Speaker 4: you have to be able to give yourself grace for that.
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: Has a mental coach been really transformative.
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: I think.
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: So I think that plays into the piece from this
• 23:16
  Speaker 3: of it all and being comfortable with who you are,
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: because I think it allows me to just I think,
• 23:22
  Speaker 3: I want to say Tyree spoke about it during this
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: During the I saw some articles he talked about having
• 23:28
  Speaker 3: kind of having that, you know, Steph talked about it.
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: You know, I think a bunch of us have it
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: where it's like.
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: You know, when you're playing well and you're talented and
• 23:36
  Speaker 3: you're at the top of your game. You know, it's
• 23:39
  Speaker 3: sort of like an imposter syndrome type of thing. It's
• 23:41
  Speaker 3: like can you like when Steph said it, I was like,
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: man like all right, cool, Like you know, it's something
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: that us as athletes we don't really speak on.
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: I feel like because it's like an edge, you know
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: what I mean.
• 23:52
  Speaker 3: But I think understanding that, like it's a real thing
• 23:54
  Speaker 3: and it doesn't take away from who I am. I
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: know who I am, I know what I can do.
• 23:58
  Speaker 3: But working with a mental coach, understand that, yeah you
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: are nervous, Yeah, this is this is this is frightening,
• 24:05
  Speaker 3: Like this is I'm gonna say frightened. This is like
• 24:07
  Speaker 3: it's a scary moment like yeah, you could fail, like
• 24:10
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean. But excepting that you could fail,
• 24:12
  Speaker 3: was now what, Like you know what I mean, there's
• 24:14
  Speaker 3: the thought, now what like, now go out there? And
• 24:16
  Speaker 3: I think that's what allowed me, has allowed me to
• 24:19
  Speaker 3: grow and be able to show up in certain moments
• 24:21
  Speaker 3: because it's like, you know, you may miss and yeah
• 24:24
  Speaker 3: they may talk about you. And I said it after
• 24:26
  Speaker 3: the we lost. It was like y'all going to write
• 24:29
  Speaker 3: us off? Yeah, not what am I gonna know? What
• 24:31
  Speaker 3: I mean, Like, so it's like that's what I think,
• 24:34
  Speaker 3: you know has really helped me as far as understanding that,
• 24:36
  Speaker 3: and so what now I got to go out there
• 24:39
  Speaker 3: and do it again, you know.
• 24:42
  Speaker 4: And something that you probably didn't realize in the moment,
• 24:45
  Speaker 4: but like, you're only able to be here because of
• 24:48
  Speaker 4: all the things that you went through in Utah, right right,
• 24:53
  Speaker 4: it is only possible for you to have this mentality,
• 24:57
  Speaker 4: this approach because of the way you've experienced it and
• 25:02
  Speaker 4: knowing the right way and wrong way to do it.
• 25:04
  Speaker 4: But I'm sure in the moment you're like, I'm just
• 25:07
  Speaker 4: overwhelmed by everything.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: That is happening right now. But do you see what
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: was sort of the treasure in that?
• 25:13
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think, and I go back and watch the
• 25:15
  Speaker 3: game from Utah, and I remember exactly where my mind
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: frame is, and it could be a random game against Orlando,
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: a random game against New Orleans or the Lakers or whoever,
• 25:28
  Speaker 3: and I think remembering where your mindsets in those moments
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: and seeing how far you're, like I've come in as
• 25:36
  Speaker 3: far as a mindset is like sometimes and even just
• 25:39
  Speaker 3: watching the game, sometimes it's just a simple kicker head
• 25:41
  Speaker 3: pass or I should have took this shot here, shouldn't
• 25:43
  Speaker 3: have gone left. I should have did that, like you know,
• 25:45
  Speaker 3: me understanding that, but you don't see that until you
• 25:47
  Speaker 3: go through it, you know what I mean. And I
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: think that's why I'm really like I believe in the
• 25:52
  Speaker 3: group and what we can continue to build because I
• 25:54
  Speaker 3: feel like that's you know, those guys were me, like
• 25:58
  Speaker 3: Ed was me, DG was me.
• 26:01
  Speaker 2: You know, Jay and I are about the same age.
• 26:04
  Speaker 3: Tis first playoff in ties, first playoff series and whatnot
• 26:09
  Speaker 3: playoff run, because now that fuels you for the next one, like,
• 26:13
  Speaker 3: you know, okay, cool New York. It was embarrassing. We
• 26:17
  Speaker 3: figured it out for Orlando. We got to a point
• 26:19
  Speaker 3: where we could have lost to Orlando, but we turned
• 26:21
  Speaker 3: it around and locked in, you know what I mean,
• 26:23
  Speaker 3: And this was embarrassing. So now we got to use
• 26:25
  Speaker 3: that and guys got to be like okay, and then
• 26:27
  Speaker 3: we do it for that. But I think that's that's huge,
• 26:31
  Speaker 3: that's key. You know understand that you use your past.
• 26:33
  Speaker 3: And I think that's why this year was so tough
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: on me because I was like, I've done this before
• 26:40
  Speaker 3: and here we are again. I think that's why it
• 26:42
  Speaker 3: kind of ate at me.
• 26:43
  Speaker 4: The way it did well something that was really cool
• 26:46
  Speaker 4: to watch this season. It was just your evolution as
• 26:50
  Speaker 4: a basketball player, how you adapted.
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: Changed, took less to be more.
• 26:57
  Speaker 4: What did you learn is like the direct correlation between
• 27:01
  Speaker 4: sacrifice and winning basketball.
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: Everybody wants to sacrifice until it's their turn. I think
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: that's the one thing I learned, and it's like, what
• 27:11
  Speaker 3: are you willing to do to win? You know what
• 27:14
  Speaker 3: I mean? And I think there's growing pains in that,
• 27:18
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean. I think this was a
• 27:20
  Speaker 3: growing pain, you know, losing the way we did. But
• 27:23
  Speaker 3: looking in at the season as a whole, you know,
• 27:25
  Speaker 3: there was a lot of progression in a lot of
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: fronts by a lot of people in our group, you know,
• 27:30
  Speaker 3: I think, And that's something for me and even myself,
• 27:33
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean. I think it's something that
• 27:35
  Speaker 3: you know, I'm not gonna say, oh, because of me,
• 27:38
  Speaker 3: Evan did this or DG did that? Like No, they
• 27:40
  Speaker 3: worked their tails off in their own right to be
• 27:42
  Speaker 3: who they are. But I think for them, for me,
• 27:46
  Speaker 3: them allowing me to lead in that way, I think
• 27:49
  Speaker 3: was special. You know what I mean. I think for me,
• 27:54
  Speaker 3: as a leader, you can only lead if guys allow
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: you to you know what I mean, They could easily
• 27:59
  Speaker 3: just be like na, listening to what you got to say.
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: Whatever.
• 28:02
  Speaker 3: So I had the utmost respect for my teammates in
• 28:05
  Speaker 3: that regard for allow me to do that. And then
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: you know, on the flip side, I think they'd say
• 28:08
  Speaker 3: the same because you know, I feel like not many
• 28:11
  Speaker 3: guys would want to just take a step back and
• 28:12
  Speaker 3: be like nah, like go ahead, like you know what
• 28:14
  Speaker 3: I mean. And I think that's what ultimately played into
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: our you know, group success, team success, and you know,
• 28:21
  Speaker 3: now continue to take that into the playoffs. And you know,
• 28:26
  Speaker 3: I think the Miami series was great, and I don't
• 28:29
  Speaker 3: mean this is any disrespect, but it's not realistic. You
• 28:31
  Speaker 3: don't necessarily go in there and win by ninety combined
• 28:34
  Speaker 3: points and two you know, two games on the road.
• 28:37
  Speaker 3: I think understanding that Indiana is more like, you know
• 28:41
  Speaker 3: that's that series is more like, okay, we need to
• 28:44
  Speaker 3: get this one. We needed like you need to inbound
• 28:46
  Speaker 3: the ball or like this miss blockout. That's the one
• 28:48
  Speaker 3: thing I forgot to tell you, the miss block out
• 28:50
  Speaker 3: that killed me. Violation or whatnot, whatever, but that was
• 28:55
  Speaker 3: that killed me. I forgot to forgot that one, but
• 28:58
  Speaker 3: understanding that that's we take it up another level and
• 29:01
  Speaker 3: being able to be ready for that on another level.
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: And that's part of the growing process and understanding that
• 29:07
  Speaker 3: shit's gonna hurt like well as you go through it,
• 29:10
  Speaker 3: but for me and the group, just being able to say, hey,
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: take a step back and allow you know, everything to
• 29:15
  Speaker 3: continue to play out, and I think it's it's worked
• 29:18
  Speaker 3: and now you're gonna take it up on another level.
• 29:20
  Speaker 4: What are the conversations that you had with Kenny Adkinson about, Okay,
• 29:24
  Speaker 4: this is the kind of player that you have to
• 29:26
  Speaker 4: be to be able to unlock everybody, because it just
• 29:29
  Speaker 4: it was a vast difference in terms of minutes played,
• 29:32
  Speaker 4: how you play, and so what were the mechanics of that.
• 29:36
  Speaker 3: It was Kenny and it was it was Kenny, and
• 29:38
  Speaker 3: it was Johnny Bryant, Johnny good old Johnny like they
• 29:42
  Speaker 3: they it's funny. I've never really I've never even said this,
• 29:45
  Speaker 3: but I I didn't like it at first. I changed
• 29:48
  Speaker 3: my I changed my way, subbed in, subbed out, and
• 29:52
  Speaker 3: I changed Obviously minutes everybody wants to play, you want
• 29:54
  Speaker 3: to play, and I think that's that was the biggest one,
• 29:56
  Speaker 3: It's like, yo, like what am I doing?
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean?
• 30:00
  Speaker 3: And but what I always tell everybody was like it
• 30:05
  Speaker 3: felt great because we start off the season fifteen to oh,
• 30:08
  Speaker 3: like very rarely are you met with instant gratification in
• 30:12
  Speaker 3: something that is such a drastic change. So I'm sitting
• 30:15
  Speaker 3: there like, wait, what are you met at? It's seven,
• 30:18
  Speaker 3: it's eight, it's nine, it's ten. And that's when I'm
• 30:22
  Speaker 3: a big believer in science. I'm like, all right, God,
• 30:24
  Speaker 3: like I get it. This is the way. Now I
• 30:26
  Speaker 3: have to figure out how to be elite in this space,
• 30:30
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean. And I think that's that's
• 30:32
  Speaker 3: what that was. But Kenny came up to me and
• 30:33
  Speaker 3: was like, hey, like try to get pushed Evan Mobley
• 30:35
  Speaker 3: and even more so next year, push EV, PUSHV PUSHV.
• 30:39
  Speaker 3: You know, ev has the potential man and he's continuing
• 30:42
  Speaker 3: to take that rise. And I'm glad he said it,
• 30:44
  Speaker 3: like they asked who the next face of the league
• 30:46
  Speaker 3: was in five years and he said himself and Wemby.
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: I love that, you know what I mean? And now
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: my push to Ev is I need twenty shots.
• 30:56
  Speaker 3: But he has to go in and say that, like
• 30:58
  Speaker 3: I give me the ball, you know, me like be
• 31:01
  Speaker 3: able to demand like you know what I mean. But
• 31:02
  Speaker 3: I was the same way as him, Like I was
• 31:04
  Speaker 3: a little more demonstrative than he was, but like being
• 31:08
  Speaker 3: comfortable in that space, you know that, because what comes
• 31:11
  Speaker 3: from that is fair success and praise, but also criticism.
• 31:16
  Speaker 3: You know, I've had five of twenties, five of thirty six's, like.
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean.
• 31:19
  Speaker 3: I've had those, and I've had people talk like talk shit,
• 31:22
  Speaker 3: talk shit on me about that. But you keep going,
• 31:26
  Speaker 3: and he's continuing to find that space. And you know,
• 31:29
  Speaker 3: I think for for us to be great, and we've
• 31:31
  Speaker 3: said it all year, he has to continue to take
• 31:33
  Speaker 3: a step. So I tell him, like, nah, we need
• 31:36
  Speaker 3: more demand it. If I don't pass you the bat,
• 31:38
  Speaker 3: get on my ass. If you don't get up, get
• 31:40
  Speaker 3: on his ass. If I don't get it to you,
• 31:42
  Speaker 3: get on his ass and be okay with.
• 31:43
  Speaker 2: That, you know what I mean. And I think that's
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: something that he's continued and he's ready for it. I
• 31:48
  Speaker 2: have no doubt. I saw. I talked to him the summer.
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: He's ready for it. He's excited for it.
• 31:53
  Speaker 3: But you know, when you're quiet, like the way he
• 31:55
  Speaker 3: is sometimes you got to get out of body a
• 31:57
  Speaker 3: little bit more. And I think that's that's the growth.
• 32:01
  Speaker 3: So that was a conversation with Kenny.
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 32:04
  Speaker 4: Well, before I go back to Kenny, can you sort
• 32:05
  Speaker 4: of contextualize like, and I said this to.
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: You very early.
• 32:08
  Speaker 4: I was like, when Evan mobilely figures everything out, it
• 32:13
  Speaker 4: will be dangerous for he doesn't contextualize sort of what
• 32:18
  Speaker 4: it is about Evan, Like, he has the tools, he
• 32:20
  Speaker 4: has to build, he has all of the things, and
• 32:22
  Speaker 4: it's just when it reaches that level it could be
• 32:25
  Speaker 4: truly magical.
• 32:26
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's I tell people I don't worry
• 32:30
  Speaker 3: about the defense, Like there's certain things that he can
• 32:32
  Speaker 3: get better at for sure. I mean it's the defensive
• 32:35
  Speaker 3: play of the year at twenty four years old.
• 32:36
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know what I mean. He was first team
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: All Defense last year at twenty three. I might beginning
• 32:39
  Speaker 2: his age wrong, but.
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: But he's young.
• 32:42
  Speaker 3: Yeah he's yeah, but offensively man like, it's an it's
• 32:48
  Speaker 3: we saw the last game of the playoffs.
• 32:50
  Speaker 2: I saw it throughout most of the year. That's why
• 32:52
  Speaker 2: he's all the NBA.
• 32:53
  Speaker 3: And then last one of the biggest reasons I resigned
• 32:57
  Speaker 3: was him, Like you know, seeing what he did in
• 32:59
  Speaker 3: the Ball series, especially when I when I was out
• 33:02
  Speaker 3: and Carris was out and a bunch of guys were out,
• 33:04
  Speaker 3: like he had the ball in his hand and we're
• 33:06
  Speaker 3: figuring out, like you know and whatnot. So I think
• 33:09
  Speaker 3: for for like we said, like when he figures it out,
• 33:11
  Speaker 3: and I think a lot of that too, is just
• 33:13
  Speaker 3: like the aggression, like the come because he has it,
• 33:16
  Speaker 3: he's shown it, he's done it, and it's now it's
• 33:19
  Speaker 3: all eighty two plus the sixteen wins, like it's every
• 33:23
  Speaker 3: single night, and it's not when he doesn't do it.
• 33:25
  Speaker 3: It's not that he's not capable. I think it's just understanding.
• 33:30
  Speaker 3: I was grateful, you know, it's like dejah vou. Like
• 33:34
  Speaker 3: what I'm telling him was what Ricky Rubio was telling me,
• 33:37
  Speaker 3: Mike Conley was telling me, what Joe was telling me.
• 33:39
  Speaker 3: Rudy was telling me, like you know what I mean,
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: Jay Jordan Clarkson. So now I'm that and understanding that, Hey,
• 33:46
  Speaker 3: Like it may be some uncomfortable conversations with us. It
• 33:49
  Speaker 3: may be like could we get on each other's ass.
• 33:51
  Speaker 3: It may be that be okay with that. You know,
• 33:54
  Speaker 3: you may demand the ball and turned over four times
• 33:57
  Speaker 3: in a row. I mean, he won't give it to
• 33:58
  Speaker 3: you the fifth time. But like under standing that that's
• 34:01
  Speaker 3: what comes with continue taking the step to be the guy,
• 34:04
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean. But like I said, that's
• 34:06
  Speaker 3: growing brand. That's the process of it. And I think,
• 34:09
  Speaker 3: you know, you see it so much throughout the season
• 34:12
  Speaker 3: and I'm like, man, he has no idea he does,
• 34:15
  Speaker 3: but he doesn't, you know what I mean. And I
• 34:17
  Speaker 3: think that's what makes him special. And he's such a
• 34:19
  Speaker 3: great kid and a great yeh can and.
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: I mean it's complimentary.
• 34:22
  Speaker 4: He has sort of like an innocence about it exactly,
• 34:24
  Speaker 4: you know, exactly, Like it's just very endearing. But to
• 34:28
  Speaker 4: your point, when you kind of get into that different gear,
• 34:31
  Speaker 4: you can still maintain like who you.
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: Are, but you're showing something else.
• 34:36
  Speaker 4: I think that's when everything will sort of click exactly
• 34:38
  Speaker 4: and come together. But no, Evan, Evan is great. It's
• 34:41
  Speaker 4: been great to watch him continue to grow. You said
• 34:45
  Speaker 4: something I want to revisit though, which was how at first.
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: You didn't like it, you didn't like the change. It
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: was tough.
• 34:53
  Speaker 4: I'm curious how you got out of it because I
• 34:55
  Speaker 4: think for a lot of athletes generally, that is the
• 34:59
  Speaker 4: thing that will hold them back. They've decided they don't
• 35:02
  Speaker 4: like it. Why am I not playing? When am I
• 35:04
  Speaker 4: playing less? I'm Donovan Mitchell, Like, it's that ego that
• 35:09
  Speaker 4: can get in the way of the wins. And so
• 35:11
  Speaker 4: how did you not let that happen outside of the
• 35:14
  Speaker 4: fact that you saw that y'all were winning.
• 35:18
  Speaker 3: I think for me to your point, like I try,
• 35:22
  Speaker 3: I'm so regimented. I'm very routine based, almost to a fault,
• 35:27
  Speaker 3: which is why I didn't like it, you know.
• 35:28
  Speaker 2: What I mean?
• 35:29
  Speaker 3: I think because all right, even my mom and sister know, like,
• 35:32
  Speaker 3: all right, at three minute mark, I'm coming out the game.
• 35:35
  Speaker 2: You can go get food. I'll be back at the
• 35:36
  Speaker 2: eight minute mark in the second.
• 35:37
  Speaker 3: Second quarter, Like you know, that's how much, that's how
• 35:41
  Speaker 3: like for seven years, that's what it was like, you
• 35:42
  Speaker 3: know what I mean.
• 35:43
  Speaker 2: So to automatically come in and change that, it was like.
• 35:46
  Speaker 3: Whoa, Like you know, you're throwing off my routine, right,
• 35:50
  Speaker 3: my what I'd like to do. But like to your point,
• 35:54
  Speaker 3: you said, a lot of guys wouldn't do it, And
• 35:56
  Speaker 3: I tried my best to not be that star. I
• 36:01
  Speaker 3: try not to be that guy where it's like, now
• 36:03
  Speaker 3: I'm doing this now. Granted if we have if I
• 36:06
  Speaker 3: have four rings, then I mean, yeah, does that change?
• 36:08
  Speaker 3: Like yeah, no, we've won four times doing it this way.
• 36:11
  Speaker 3: I'm gonna do it this way. But I've done it
• 36:13
  Speaker 3: that way and it hasn't worked. So what am I
• 36:16
  Speaker 3: willing to do to change that?
• 36:17
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean?
• 36:18
  Speaker 3: As I said, everybody's willing to sacrifice until it's their turn,
• 36:22
  Speaker 3: and that is my thing. Now Now it's like, okay,
• 36:26
  Speaker 3: are we going to do it again and again and again?
• 36:29
  Speaker 3: And that's like you said, outside of it being us
• 36:31
  Speaker 3: being fifteen to no to start the season, you know
• 36:34
  Speaker 3: your numbers.
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: I'm not. I'm not going to have the same numbers.
• 36:37
  Speaker 2: As you know.
• 36:38
  Speaker 3: I was top five, top ten in scoring in the
• 36:41
  Speaker 3: past whatever years. It's not gonna be the case necessarily,
• 36:44
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean? Being okay with that being
• 36:46
  Speaker 3: more efficient and less time, being okay with that, working
• 36:48
  Speaker 3: harder to on the off season, understanding like, hey, you're
• 36:51
  Speaker 3: only getting thirty one minutes?
• 36:53
  Speaker 2: How are we efficient? And it doesn't mean just scoring?
• 36:55
  Speaker 2: Are we? Turnovers? Are?
• 36:56
  Speaker 3: Are we less? Turnovers are? What you're are you affecting
• 36:59
  Speaker 3: the game in a positive way. You know, you rebounding,
• 37:01
  Speaker 3: are you passing? Are you doing all these different are
• 37:03
  Speaker 3: you defending? That's what it's gonna take because like I said,
• 37:06
  Speaker 3: like for that seven now eight, but eight years hasn't worked,
• 37:10
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean? And not to say that
• 37:11
  Speaker 3: I'm not good enough, but it's like you just need
• 37:13
  Speaker 3: to find a way to elevate again, and that's by
• 37:16
  Speaker 3: rerouting and trying to figure out a different.
• 37:18
  Speaker 4: Way, you know where I feel like some similarities and
• 37:21
  Speaker 4: what you're saying is also the arc of Jason. It
• 37:25
  Speaker 4: was Jason sort of had to also sacrifice and understand
• 37:30
  Speaker 4: how people would see his game, but it led to
• 37:32
  Speaker 4: a trophy.
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: Do you see any of that?
• 37:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah?
• 37:34
  Speaker 3: I think, you know, to your point, like everybody talked
• 37:39
  Speaker 3: about the oh he's not even fifty, it's not the
• 37:43
  Speaker 3: it's not this, it's not that. Oh after USA, he's
• 37:45
  Speaker 3: definitely gonna you know, do this, And then I think
• 37:48
  Speaker 3: to your to my point, it's more of like the
• 37:51
  Speaker 3: so what, like this is what it's gonna take and
• 37:53
  Speaker 3: being comfortable enough by being who we are to be like,
• 37:57
  Speaker 3: all right, this is how I get in his case,
• 37:59
  Speaker 3: how do I get Jams Brown how am I getting
• 38:01
  Speaker 3: Drew hard?
• 38:01
  Speaker 2: Like, how's Derek White? How's ourhor for Kristaps?
• 38:04
  Speaker 3: And in mine it's like a f DG JA max Tide,
• 38:07
  Speaker 3: like you know what I mean? Like, I think that's
• 38:09
  Speaker 3: you know, what a true leader you know does, and
• 38:12
  Speaker 3: it's not always people aren't going to understand it because
• 38:15
  Speaker 3: at the end of the day, people aren't who we are, Like, yeah,
• 38:17
  Speaker 3: they're not in our position. So I can't ask random
• 38:20
  Speaker 3: fan to understand what I do, you know what I mean? So,
• 38:24
  Speaker 3: like when that criticism comes, I I don't really hear you.
• 38:27
  Speaker 3: I'm not hearing what you're saying because you don't understand.
• 38:29
  Speaker 3: You've never been in that foxhole to understand what it
• 38:33
  Speaker 3: takes to be in the seat, you know what I mean.
• 38:35
  Speaker 3: So I think that's the comfortability and who you are
• 38:38
  Speaker 3: and understanding like, hey, this is what it's going to take,
• 38:40
  Speaker 3: but also being uncomfortable and being comfortably and uncomfortable in
• 38:43
  Speaker 3: that space.
• 38:45
  Speaker 4: I feel like there have been conversations about the mental.
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: Toughness of the Calves team. How do you assess that critique?
• 38:54
  Speaker 3: I think it's something that is part of the growing pain,
• 38:59
  Speaker 3: you know, I think you know understanding that there's another layer.
• 39:03
  Speaker 3: I won't say we're weak by any mindset at all.
• 39:05
  Speaker 3: I think we're very tough. I think we're very mentally tough.
• 39:07
  Speaker 3: But I think there's another level. Yeah, and I think
• 39:09
  Speaker 3: there's you know, it requires another level. I think you
• 39:12
  Speaker 3: look at what OKC did. Aaron Gordon comes in and
• 39:15
  Speaker 3: hits the game winning shot. They come in, take care
• 39:18
  Speaker 3: from my beginning's round, they come in, take care of
• 39:20
  Speaker 3: business in Denver, I believe, right. I think Jayla Williams
• 39:23
  Speaker 3: had a big game or something like that, Like they
• 39:24
  Speaker 3: got to a similar spot they did against Dallas, but
• 39:27
  Speaker 3: they took the step, you know, the same thing in
• 39:29
  Speaker 3: the finals. You know, they found a way in one
• 39:32
  Speaker 3: game seven. That's a step, you know what I mean?
• 39:35
  Speaker 3: And for us, you know, we feel at that test, okay,
• 39:38
  Speaker 3: so next year we got to take that step. So
• 39:40
  Speaker 3: I don't think we're mentally weak as a group. I think,
• 39:42
  Speaker 3: you know, there's just another level that we just need
• 39:44
  Speaker 3: to get to and need to show the world I
• 39:48
  Speaker 3: guess essentially and show you're like, this is who we are.
• 39:50
  Speaker 3: But ultimately I can sit here and tell you this,
• 39:52
  Speaker 3: and we got to go out there and do it.
• 39:54
  Speaker 3: You know what, I mean, I think that's that's really
• 39:56
  Speaker 3: what it is. I think we're strong. I think we're
• 39:57
  Speaker 3: mentally strong. I think we're hungry, but we have to
• 40:01
  Speaker 3: go out there and take that step.
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah. You know, the only thing that I think is.
• 40:07
  Speaker 4: More pressure filled than being a star on a team
• 40:10
  Speaker 4: that has never won a championship is being a star
• 40:14
  Speaker 4: and a team that has only won one, especially in
• 40:17
  Speaker 4: a place like Cleveland, where the moment was so momentous.
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: So you have that taste of what it is, and
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: so it's like.
• 40:25
  Speaker 4: Okay, you gotta go back and do that thing. This
• 40:27
  Speaker 4: is like, this is what this new standard is. And
• 40:28
  Speaker 4: now we have Donovan Mitchell and now we have to
• 40:30
  Speaker 4: go and we have to do that. Does that resonate
• 40:32
  Speaker 4: with you at all?
• 40:34
  Speaker 3: No, because like I'm not bron like you know, when
• 40:40
  Speaker 3: there's being like I said, it goes back to being comfortable.
• 40:43
  Speaker 3: We were like, I'm not gonna do it the same
• 40:45
  Speaker 3: way that he did it, you know what I mean?
• 40:46
  Speaker 3: And who knows, Maybe we get there, sip, what do
• 40:49
  Speaker 3: you do six times in a row? Maybe we do
• 40:50
  Speaker 3: that sick for the next six years. Maybe we don't,
• 40:52
  Speaker 3: like you know what I mean, But my goal is
• 40:54
  Speaker 3: to find ways to you know, we're not the Lebron
• 40:57
  Speaker 3: James Kyrie Irving Cavaliers. We do it differently. We do
• 41:00
  Speaker 3: it with Evan, we do it myself, we do it
• 41:01
  Speaker 3: with DG. We do with Max, we do with j
• 41:03
  Speaker 3: all the guys on the roster, and it's just different.
• 41:06
  Speaker 3: And I don't think it's a I think it's something
• 41:09
  Speaker 3: that people talk about. It's it's something that I think
• 41:11
  Speaker 3: is great for the city by all means. And obviously
• 41:14
  Speaker 3: we have a picture of the parade and something we
• 41:16
  Speaker 3: want to put you know, you know, understanding that hey,
• 41:20
  Speaker 3: like you know, we want to do it our own way,
• 41:23
  Speaker 3: you know what I mean, and.
• 41:24
  Speaker 2: While still having respect for what was done for the city,
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: you know what I mean.
• 41:27
  Speaker 3: But I think for me, I'm understanding that I we
• 41:29
  Speaker 3: do it differently, and we're going to try to find
• 41:31
  Speaker 3: a way to do it differently and we succeed fantastic.
• 41:34
  Speaker 2: If we fail, I promise you we're gonna do it.
• 41:36
  Speaker 2: We We're gonna keep going, like you know what I mean.
• 41:38
  Speaker 3: And I think that's there's always that comparison, for sure,
• 41:42
  Speaker 3: There's always gonna be that comparison because there's only one.
• 41:44
  Speaker 3: It's only one other time. But I think we're all comfortable.
• 41:47
  Speaker 3: I'm comfortable to be like, hey, like, that's not us.
• 41:51
  Speaker 3: That was that that team. We are different. We are
• 41:54
  Speaker 3: going to try to accomplish with obviously they did and
• 41:58
  Speaker 3: and and be the second team to win in franchise history.
• 42:02
  Speaker 3: But being okay with like, hey, like, you know, it's
• 42:04
  Speaker 3: not twenty sixteen. It was special. That was a special
• 42:06
  Speaker 3: it was a special year, and we're looking to do
• 42:07
  Speaker 3: something special ourselves for the city because they deserve it,
• 42:11
  Speaker 3: the fans deserve it.
• 42:13
  Speaker 2: And that starts to go, yeah, I love that.
• 42:15
  Speaker 4: Few more before I let you go, But I do
• 42:17
  Speaker 4: want to say this is like a masterclass on emotional intelligence.
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: Thank you, And I think.
• 42:24
  Speaker 2: That it took a while. I took a while, but you.
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: Are absolutely here.
• 42:30
  Speaker 4: And I think that you have a real self awareness
• 42:34
  Speaker 4: and you have very clearly sacked with yourself to figure
• 42:38
  Speaker 4: out how you feel, how you get better, what has
• 42:41
  Speaker 4: happened to you, and how you can can continue to grow.
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: A lot of people never get to that place.
• 42:47
  Speaker 4: So I hope that you at minimum take a second
• 42:50
  Speaker 4: to understand the ways that you have grown as an individual,
• 42:52
  Speaker 4: that of course please into you who you are as
• 42:54
  Speaker 4: a player, but understanding that it starts foundationally and the
• 42:58
  Speaker 4: root of that and the most.
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: People don't need and get there.
• 43:00
  Speaker 4: So I appreciate that take a moment to take that
• 43:02
  Speaker 4: in which, by the way, when we were researching this,
• 43:06
  Speaker 4: I saw that from what like third to ninth grade
• 43:09
  Speaker 4: you took public speaking class.
• 43:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I.
• 43:13
  Speaker 4: Feel like it shows and sort of how you are
• 43:16
  Speaker 4: with the media. How do you think that is like
• 43:18
  Speaker 4: influenced the way that you're able to express yourself.
• 43:21
  Speaker 3: I would have never thought that public speaking in middle
• 43:24
  Speaker 3: school would be my damn near daily job, Like you
• 43:28
  Speaker 3: know what I mean, Like, I think it's easy for
• 43:31
  Speaker 3: me now.
• 43:31
  Speaker 2: I think it's something.
• 43:32
  Speaker 3: That was way harder in middle school with my friends,
• 43:37
  Speaker 3: Like you know what I mean, It's way harder to
• 43:39
  Speaker 3: talk in front of a room full of your friends, yeah,
• 43:41
  Speaker 3: than in any other I could speak.
• 43:44
  Speaker 2: I can honestly speak to a whole arena and be
• 43:45
  Speaker 2: perfectly fine, totally.
• 43:47
  Speaker 3: I think it's something that when I'm sitting there and
• 43:49
  Speaker 3: it's just ten classmates, or if you advance, which I
• 43:52
  Speaker 3: never did, to the next round, was like the auditorium
• 43:56
  Speaker 3: full of kids, I feel like that's way tougher than
• 43:59
  Speaker 3: anything I do now, I think it helps for sure.
• 44:01
  Speaker 3: I think that makes me a way more comfortable in
• 44:04
  Speaker 3: these spaces.
• 44:05
  Speaker 4: Yeah, no, it's great. I thought that was such a
• 44:06
  Speaker 4: nice little nugget. So it was every grade from.
• 44:09
  Speaker 3: Third to ninth, and then I went on to be
• 44:12
  Speaker 3: class president, so then I had to do more speaking
• 44:14
  Speaker 3: engagements in front of my friends. Look at that high school,
• 44:17
  Speaker 3: So that was Those were the tougher years, I think,
• 44:20
  Speaker 3: because that was like your people, you know, and they
• 44:21
  Speaker 3: can laugh and whatever.
• 44:22
  Speaker 2: But I think now it's it's easy.
• 44:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 44:25
  Speaker 4: I mean you're young, so you obviously have years and
• 44:27
  Speaker 4: years and years before you even think about this. But like,
• 44:28
  Speaker 4: what is what do you want life to look like
• 44:30
  Speaker 4: after basketball in terms of what you do what.
• 44:34
  Speaker 2: I do, or like what i've like what I do after.
• 44:36
  Speaker 4: Basketball, or however you want to answer it? Because you
• 44:38
  Speaker 4: smiled and you were about to give me something, So
• 44:40
  Speaker 4: tell me that.
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: And then answer my question.
• 44:43
  Speaker 2: I think you know that one.
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: I do know.
• 44:45
  Speaker 4: Okay, I do know that one. Okay, I know what
• 44:48
  Speaker 4: you wanted to look like person, yeah and beautiful.
• 44:51
  Speaker 2: Tell me what I think professionally.
• 44:56
  Speaker 3: I want to coach, but not at the NBA or
• 44:59
  Speaker 3: even the college I want to coach at the high
• 45:01
  Speaker 3: school that I'm currently doing things out a country day,
• 45:05
  Speaker 3: continue building that program of you know, bringing kids from
• 45:09
  Speaker 3: the inner city to private school where I went to
• 45:11
  Speaker 3: where I took public speaking and kind of doing it
• 45:15
  Speaker 3: through basketball, and if it's not coach, be involved obviously
• 45:18
  Speaker 3: with the with the program.
• 45:19
  Speaker 2: But I feel like the youth.
• 45:22
  Speaker 3: Now I mean the dog on our youth when I
• 45:27
  Speaker 3: say this, but like sometimes can be led astray, like
• 45:30
  Speaker 3: and there's certain things where it's like nah, like you
• 45:33
  Speaker 3: know what I mean. It's just like I think for
• 45:35
  Speaker 3: me being able to be who I am use the
• 45:39
  Speaker 3: platform I have by then also coming to school and like, hey,
• 45:45
  Speaker 3: it doesn't have to be just NBA, like yes, you're
• 45:47
  Speaker 3: here to play basketball, but like the kids sitting next
• 45:50
  Speaker 3: to you is parents on the Forbes List and they
• 45:54
  Speaker 3: do this and they do that, and they live forty
• 45:57
  Speaker 3: five minutes from you, or they live thirty minutes from you.
• 45:59
  Speaker 3: I understand, and what's up the street and being able
• 46:01
  Speaker 3: to show them a different lifestyle because you know, in
• 46:04
  Speaker 3: our communities it's like it's like it's like rapper, it's
• 46:07
  Speaker 3: it's basket sports, it's so whatever. But I understand there's
• 46:10
  Speaker 3: so many other ways to be able to provide for
• 46:11
  Speaker 3: your family. And I was exposed to that at an
• 46:14
  Speaker 3: early age. I was very fortunate and blessed. So now
• 46:17
  Speaker 3: using my platform to be able to bring that to
• 46:19
  Speaker 3: kids who are close from New York City, from upstate Connecticut,
• 46:22
  Speaker 3: like wherever they may be, and being able to say, hey, like,
• 46:25
  Speaker 3: you know, we're here to hoop for sure, but we're
• 46:27
  Speaker 3: also here to get a great education and put yourself
• 46:30
  Speaker 3: because you know, life is all about connections, like put
• 46:32
  Speaker 3: yourself in a scenario where you know, and you're comfortable
• 46:36
  Speaker 3: sitting in every space. And I think that's something for
• 46:39
  Speaker 3: me that I take a lot of pride in. And
• 46:42
  Speaker 3: we're in the earlier years. I've been doing this for
• 46:44
  Speaker 3: the scholarship program. My family been doing this for I
• 46:48
  Speaker 3: want to say, three or four or five years. Yes, yes,
• 46:52
  Speaker 3: built just built the gym, and I'm excited about that.
• 46:55
  Speaker 3: So now it's like, how do I continue to elevate
• 46:58
  Speaker 3: and you know, help our community. And I think that's
• 47:00
  Speaker 3: something that I really, you know, hold near and dear
• 47:03
  Speaker 3: to me because, like I said, it really helped me,
• 47:08
  Speaker 3: you know, like I took like you said, I took
• 47:09
  Speaker 3: public speaking in the third grade. You know what I mean,
• 47:11
  Speaker 3: that's a I'm very fortunate to have that. So just
• 47:14
  Speaker 3: being able to bring that and give that to kids,
• 47:16
  Speaker 3: especially the younger generation, being able to show them.
• 47:19
  Speaker 2: I think it's huge.
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, coach don coming.
• 47:24
  Speaker 3: I might be more like with Patino than anything else
• 47:26
  Speaker 3: as a coach, but we'll see.
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: I love that.
• 47:29
  Speaker 4: Okay, two more questions and I'll let you go, just
• 47:31
  Speaker 4: because I think this sort of sets the stage for
• 47:34
  Speaker 4: what just happened, but also what is coming. And this
• 47:38
  Speaker 4: is a broad question, but what does the regular season need.
• 47:44
  Speaker 2: To me or in general to you? Mhm, how do
• 47:54
  Speaker 2: I say this? It's important.
• 47:57
  Speaker 3: I think it's I think we kind of fair or unfair.
• 48:03
  Speaker 3: We hold this expectation of the playoffs, and that's it.
• 48:06
  Speaker 3: I think we miss a lot of special moments. It's
• 48:10
  Speaker 3: a lot of special things because we overlook the regular season.
• 48:15
  Speaker 3: I think it's definitely important obviously for seeding. You mean
• 48:17
  Speaker 3: you want to you want to win games, But I
• 48:20
  Speaker 3: think it's important for not just us, but I think
• 48:22
  Speaker 3: it's important for our fans. I think it's important to
• 48:24
  Speaker 3: be able to reach and go to different cities and
• 48:28
  Speaker 3: showcase our talent and be there and just like I said,
• 48:30
  Speaker 3: just being just being there, you know what I mean.
• 48:33
  Speaker 3: And even if we don't play, just being on the
• 48:35
  Speaker 3: bench and kids can say they saw us, and you
• 48:36
  Speaker 3: never know whose first game it's going to be.
• 48:39
  Speaker 2: You never know what that moment we'll be able to
• 48:40
  Speaker 2: do to inspire. You know.
• 48:41
  Speaker 3: That's what drives our league. That's why our league is
• 48:44
  Speaker 3: the best league in the world. But I also think
• 48:46
  Speaker 3: it's just I think it's very important. I think it's
• 48:48
  Speaker 3: something that you also as a basketball team. You build
• 48:51
  Speaker 3: habits that get you to the playoffs. You work on
• 48:53
  Speaker 3: things that get you to the playoffs. You know, in
• 48:55
  Speaker 3: game twenty five and you know, we're in a back
• 48:59
  Speaker 3: to back versus I don't know, Miami and Atlanta. You know,
• 49:04
  Speaker 3: they're two different styles, but we could see them. All right, cool,
• 49:07
  Speaker 3: what does that look like? Or if we're playing you know,
• 49:09
  Speaker 3: New York and Boston, what does that look like?
• 49:11
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean?
• 49:12
  Speaker 3: Understanding that, you know, are we down like for instance,
• 49:15
  Speaker 3: we played Boston this year, we were down twenty five
• 49:16
  Speaker 3: to three.
• 49:17
  Speaker 2: We responded very much so.
• 49:19
  Speaker 3: Two years ago, like two years ago, I don't know
• 49:22
  Speaker 3: if we do that. I've been on JT for that
• 49:26
  Speaker 3: one too, but I think like understanding that, like we responded,
• 49:31
  Speaker 3: that's a step, you know what I mean. But then
• 49:33
  Speaker 3: also later in the season, we went on a four
• 49:36
  Speaker 3: game skid or five game skit. I played awful, but
• 49:39
  Speaker 3: like shit, but like I'd rather that I said this
• 49:42
  Speaker 3: in the media, I'd rather it happen right now. So
• 49:44
  Speaker 3: we learned from this. So then we get to the
• 49:46
  Speaker 3: playoffs and we figure it out, like you know what
• 49:47
  Speaker 3: I mean. So I think it's really critical. I think
• 49:49
  Speaker 3: it's important. I think, you know, it's it's great for
• 49:52
  Speaker 3: our fans, but it's also great for building the right habits.
• 49:55
  Speaker 4: So when you get to the playoffs, Okay, well, I
• 49:57
  Speaker 4: do have to ask because that game that was probably
• 50:01
  Speaker 4: that was one of the best games of last season.
• 50:03
  Speaker 4: You lead the Cavs twenty two point, come back to
• 50:05
  Speaker 4: beat the Celtics.
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: We have Jason doing that keep out of here. What's
• 50:10
  Speaker 1: the conversation with Jason after that?
• 50:17
  Speaker 3: So it's funny me, him and Bam have a group chat.
• 50:21
  Speaker 3: So Bam was the one that brought it up. I
• 50:23
  Speaker 3: wasn't gonna say nothing. I know, JT Dam because every
• 50:26
  Speaker 3: time like we lose, like we take a day, like
• 50:27
  Speaker 3: we take a few days and then we come back
• 50:29
  Speaker 3: and like everything's cool, and you know, I mean, that's
• 50:31
  Speaker 3: just how we are. So I think Bam said something
• 50:35
  Speaker 3: and then we kind of laughed it off from from
• 50:38
  Speaker 3: that point on.
• 50:38
  Speaker 2: But we've had a few of them.
• 50:40
  Speaker 3: We got the playoff series, you know, and then Bam
• 50:42
  Speaker 3: and I had our own playoff series this year. But
• 50:44
  Speaker 3: that moment, that was it was funny, man. I guess
• 50:46
  Speaker 3: that's what you don't You get those moments, you know,
• 50:48
  Speaker 3: through eighty two games, you know what I mean, you
• 50:50
  Speaker 3: get those moments, and.
• 50:52
  Speaker 1: And he's had them on other.
• 50:53
  Speaker 3: Exactly he's fifty points, just like he's had big nights.
• 50:57
  Speaker 3: I've had seventy one, Like you know, like those are
• 51:00
  Speaker 3: those are special moments that are etched in history.
• 51:03
  Speaker 2: Those just special moments that.
• 51:04
  Speaker 3: You know, are you know, great talking points, and people
• 51:07
  Speaker 3: on Twitter are talking about it like it's what drives us.
• 51:09
  Speaker 3: But that game was fun. It was I love I
• 51:12
  Speaker 3: love playing in Boston. I love competing against especially him
• 51:14
  Speaker 3: and j Beatles, my genuine friends who have known since
• 51:17
  Speaker 3: high school. So I think it's something that I think
• 51:20
  Speaker 3: is you know, it's great, but that that was that
• 51:23
  Speaker 3: was a good moment for Cleveland. That was fun that
• 51:26
  Speaker 3: I forgot what he said, but I don't know. It
• 51:28
  Speaker 3: was something along the lines like if it was if
• 51:30
  Speaker 3: I were to summarized, it'd be like, so we're not
• 51:32
  Speaker 3: going to talk about it.
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: Some ship like that, you know what I'm saying, Like
• 51:34
  Speaker 1: crickets right.
• 51:35
  Speaker 3: Like you know what I mean, something like that. But
• 51:37
  Speaker 3: BAM's always the one that's like egg and shit. Don't
• 51:39
  Speaker 3: like that exactly.
• 51:40
  Speaker 1: I love it.
• 51:40
  Speaker 4: Okay, last question we ask everybody this on the show,
• 51:44
  Speaker 4: tell me the biggest assist you've ever received off the court?
• 51:47
  Speaker 4: Who has given you the biggest assists off the court?
• 51:54
  Speaker 2: I think, I mean my mom and my sister.
• 51:57
  Speaker 3: I think, are you know we're hearing New York like
• 52:01
  Speaker 3: I'm from here, I live here, and for them, we
• 52:03
  Speaker 3: spend a lot of time here au tournaments, baseball games,
• 52:08
  Speaker 3: hot gyms, hours upon hours, and my mom sacrificing her time,
• 52:16
  Speaker 3: you know, and kind of following us around. My dad
• 52:18
  Speaker 3: works for the Mets. He was continually finding ways to help,
• 52:21
  Speaker 3: you know, for the family and still work for the
• 52:23
  Speaker 3: Mets Big game to night, by the way. But and
• 52:26
  Speaker 3: then my sister like taking time you know, from being
• 52:31
  Speaker 3: a young girl like you know, whether it's as much
• 52:34
  Speaker 3: I hate to say this, boyfriends, like you know what
• 52:37
  Speaker 3: I mean, parties, you know what I mean, like being
• 52:40
  Speaker 3: forced to go to hang with me to do something
• 52:43
  Speaker 3: that didn't It wasn't like I was this child prodigy
• 52:46
  Speaker 3: who was like, Oh, He's gonna get to the NBA
• 52:48
  Speaker 3: Like that wasn't This was just a something I just
• 52:52
  Speaker 3: did on the weekends of my friends, you know what
• 52:53
  Speaker 3: I mean. I was a baseball player, I was you know,
• 52:56
  Speaker 3: this was to be in a hot gym all day
• 52:58
  Speaker 3: for something I was trash.
• 53:00
  Speaker 2: I was not good. So like I'm.
• 53:01
  Speaker 3: Always really you know, grateful for them and my family
• 53:04
  Speaker 3: because this wasn't the plan. This was just something that
• 53:07
  Speaker 3: they did to support their family member, you know what
• 53:10
  Speaker 3: I mean. And I think for them to be able
• 53:12
  Speaker 3: to do that allowed me to kind of get to
• 53:14
  Speaker 3: this point to where I'm able to take care of
• 53:15
  Speaker 3: them and for life, you know what I mean. And
• 53:18
  Speaker 3: life is good. So I think that's the biggest s
• 53:21
  Speaker 3: sis for me in.
• 53:21
  Speaker 2: Life for sure. Well.
• 53:23
  Speaker 4: Shout out miss Nicole and Jordan, and thank you to
• 53:26
  Speaker 4: you for being so open for giving your thoughts for
• 53:29
  Speaker 4: reliving something that I know was definitely difficult at the time.
• 53:33
  Speaker 1: It has been a real joy for me to see
• 53:37
  Speaker 1: you evolve as a player, as a.
• 53:38
  Speaker 4: Person and see where you are at right now, and
• 53:40
  Speaker 4: I'm really excited for what life is going to bring you,
• 53:43
  Speaker 4: what basketball will bring you, And I appreciate you taking the.
• 53:45
  Speaker 1: Time to do this.
• 53:46
  Speaker 2: Oh, I appreciate you.
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah, of course, thanks don, Thank you.