"They Traded A Unicorn For A Minivan" Georges Niang On The Celtics Trade, Best Trash Talkers & NFL

You know, I'm a Boston kid. I then get traded for Kristaps Porzingis, which you know how tough Boston fans are.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So they don't give a shit if I'm from Boston or not. They're like, you just took our unicorn and replaced it with a minivan. They're like, get the fuck outta here.

You know what I'm saying? I see how it is.

Welcome back to the OGs. It is once again a Playmaker original presented by DraftKings. UD, what we got for them, man?

Got a real one today, man. Not, not, not back down. You know what I mean? Listen, we get a lot of star players, but you know, I like role player guys. Guys that you can't win without. Guys that make the right plays. Guys that hold theyself accountable. Guys that know that they don't have a lot of room for error. Everybody wasn't drafted, what, number 5, 7, whatever the fuck you was at. So I'm, yeah, this is a good one for me today. Ain't no Jeremiah Fears and all these high draft picks where you get to laugh and shit that I ain't get drafted. Not today is my day.

At least privileged.

Yeah, today is my day. How about that? You should give me the next time.

Nah, I don't like this shit. I'm outta here.

Yeah, today is my day, motherfucker. You're goddamn right. Getting out the mud today.

I'll give you a great stat 'cause you'll love this stat. I just saw it. From 2020, I think it was, most winningest player.

Oh wow. That might be me, right?

That is you.

That is a hell of a stat. That's an unbelievable stat. I love that stat.

You move slow enough, you play enough games, you play with good players, man, you get some wins.

No, listen, all bullshit aside though, like when I watch basketball with my son and my kids like to watch the superstars, you are somebody who I tell 'em to watch. 'Cause you do this shit the right way. I tell my kids that all the time, bro. Like, and I'm not just saying that 'cause you are here. You are somebody who I tell my kids to watch when they watching basketball. 'Cause he does this shit the right way and he don't back down. He understands who he is. He understands what he is. He understands what keeps him on the floor. He does his fucking job. He do his job, bro.

We got some passion going today. I like that.

He does.

I appreciate that. I like that, man. You got me ready to go play summer league right now.

So talk about it a little bit. The stuff he's talking about, going through it, going to Iowa State, playing for Hoyberg, blah, blah, blah. What did you learn from him and, you know, the next steps from there?

You know, I think obviously, you know, playing for a guy like Coach Hoyberg, right? You're playing in a college system where, you know, he's had a taste of the NBA, right? And he knows the nuances.

The—

back then it was the floppies, the drags, the double drags. So when you get into, you know, NBA situations or workouts, it's language and lingo that you've heard for multiple years before then. So that already gives you like a leg up. But then just to talk about the competitive nature, right? And it's something that I watch, you know, now that I've, you know, grown older is like, who competes? Like who really enjoys competing? Not just who enjoys that they're in the NBA or the things that come along with it, or now you got paid, now you wanna play dress up and be a model now. Like who? Who enjoys, like—

Yeah.

'Cause the things that I enjoy about basketball is like me and you are working towards the same thing. And when, if we're on the same team and we're working out, you know, in the gym, I know that you're going just as hard at the same thing as what I'm working for, you know? And you never wanna lose sight of that. So I think that's something that keeps me going, you know, every single day. Like we talk about, you know, having a chip on your shoulder is like, I never wanna let the person down next to me, but more or less, I don't wanna let myself down, you know? It's got me this far and I wanna see how much I can get outta this.

Coach playing dress up.

Yeah.

But listen, it sounds easy because it's who you are. But is that something that you learned early? Did you come from basketball background, family or sports or anything that came? 'Cause we get grown-ass men in the NBA that still don't understand that. We still trying to teach that. Just the competition every day, every single day, just simplify it. You might not know the plays, but play hard. Just do that first and we'll figure everything else out.

No, I mean, I think it starts off from like an early age. Like, I didn't grow up like in a rough neighborhood or anything like that. Like, I was lucky to have a 2-parent household. But, you know, my mom was always someone that was like, you know, if I was coming home from practice like searching for excuses, like, my coach is yelling at me, da da da, this, that, and the other. And she was like, Georges, like, if it was easy, everybody would do it. Like, it was like a repetitive line, like from like—

She never coddled you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Like from the 5th grade to the 8th grade, like it was never like, No, he shouldn't be yelling at you, baby. Like, he shouldn't be doing all of that.

Oh yeah. You speak your own language.

I was like, Georges, if it was hard, you know, if it was easy, everybody—

Shout out mom.

You know, yeah, exactly. Shout out to her 'cause that's my rock. But I think what it instilled in me is like, just show up every day. Like, day 1 may suck, but day 2 may get a little better. Day 3 may be the best day, but day 4 may suck also. So the best advice that I have is just continue to show up and and play hard and give maximum effort, right? Because at the end of the day, like, if you quit, and I tell people all the time, like, you're giving a person who's behind you working just as hard a free opportunity to just step right in front of you.

Man.

And I'd be damned if I got this far to just give someone a free— didn't nobody give me any free opportunities to get ahead. So that's the biggest thing is just, you know, there's going to be days where you may not believe that you can do it. You may not be able to get through it, but just show up. Just like showing up is Is 95% of the battle, because once you're there—

It makes a lot of sense because I'm looking at right here, you know, and some of the stuff going that you went, even went through, right? Like getting drafted 50th.

Yeah.

Right. Getting cut, bouncing back.

Yeah.

Santa Cruz Warriors.

Yeah.

You basically just touched on how you got through that. Yeah. Yeah. Right. But then, but then you get to Utah. How does that— because all you're looking for is opportunity. You're open for that door.

Yeah.

And what happened?

Utah is a crazy story. So You know, I was in Santa Cruz and I get signed on a two-way. And, you know, Dennis Lindsay was the GM.

Mmhmm.

Quinn Snyder was the head coach. And essentially, you know, Quinn Snyder does a great job of like, you know, getting himself oriented with everybody on the team, 1 through 18. This is when two-ways were finally in. And Dennis Lindsay was like, hey, like, you know, you work hard, you'll hopefully you'll get an opportunity. But until then, like, I suggest you start like living in the weight room and like taking these practices as if like their games. So like the stay ready runs, the 3-on-3s, like those were like my Super Bowls.

We used to play, that was when we were with the Heat. They had the big 3 and the little 12. They were changing us like drawers. One night he'll play, the next night I play. Those 3-on-3s are crucial to your confidence.

But young kids don't realize that. Like you're walking in with your Dunkin' Donuts, like coming in like— and I want to say this in the most politically correct way, is like everyone in the NBA has a job, whether if it's assistant coaches, People in the front office. So they're watching those games. So if they have an opportunity to be like, he fucking sucked today.

Yeah.

And he's gonna go tell a GM or whatever. Like, you want to minimize how many times he's saying, that dude sucked. You want him to be like, he was busting everybody's ass. And that's how, like, I took those opportunities on a 2-way. And I didn't really get much opportunity. It was— I came in halfway through the year, but they let me play Summer League. I played well in Summer League and I got signed to a a 3-year non-guaranteed deal, you know, pretty much. And then, you know, someone at my position earlier the next year got suspended for, I think, drug policy or whatever. So I had 5 games to start the year where I was in the rotation, right?

Wow.

And, you know, you're going to get your opportunity. Are you going to be prepared for it? And I was lucky enough, the ball went in and nobody drove right past me.

Yeah.

So, but when he— when that dude came back, You know, one of the assistant coaches pulled me aside, Alex Jensen. I'll never forget. He was like, hey, this sucks. This is part of the league. But, you know, you're out the rotation, but you did your job. You live to fight another day.

Right.

Hell yeah. So the next time that, you know, you get your opportunity and then you just be patiently relentless and work hard and wait for your next opportunity and try to hit singles every day that you get up in the morning. I mean, it sounds easy, but—

No, I'm just gonna ask, like a 3-year non-guarantee. So every year you had to come into camp and make it? How does that work? Like when you own a 3-year deal, but it's non-guaranteed. So what does that mean?

Like that July 7th date is like etched in my mind.

Yeah. I'm trying to figure out like, it's a 3-year deal, which, so they got you for 3 years, but it's non-guaranteed. So what does that mean? Like they can cut you at any time? I don't understand.

Yeah.

So, so you have a guarantee date. I had a 1-year deal and then I got a 2-year guarantee, but like 3-year non-guaranteed, did you have to make it every year?

It's a guarantee date basically.

Yeah. So essentially the team has a trigger date that allows them to, Say that you're guaranteed for the following year or not, for the whole year. Okay, so once you make it past that date, yeah, then, then your money is guaranteed.

And you'll see certain guys now, not to get into the side of it, but they'll get like partially guaranteed for the following year, but they still have the same date. Are they going to take it or not, right?

Okay.

Yeah, so it's like, because they can cut you and only pay you—

So you still— so you still bricks a little bit?

Oh yeah.

Oh yeah, absolutely. But I think, like I talk about just showing up, like you can't get caught up in the that you can't control.

Man.

And that's where guys get lost and lose who they are because like, just show up and be yourself, right? 'Cause when you start thinking about, oh, well, do they like me? Is, am I gonna get guaranteed? Then you start losing who you are. And that's when you really start not looking like yourself. So you should just show up and try to keep the main thing the main thing. And that's basketball.

He's speaking your language over there, Coach.

Yeah, he's speaking my language. Listen, hey man, I was a little disappointed he got drafted 50. I was hoping you would fall down and undraft me, but that's okay though. You still got the right mentality.

There's plenty of undrafted guys, man.

You still got the right mentality.

Everybody has their own journey.

He said you still got the right mentality, so you good. Oh man.

So I didn't know you grew up in New England.

Yeah.

That's comparable to, where is that from Boston? And we met, remember Matt Bonner from Concord?

Yeah, Concord, New Hampshire.

Where is that?

So he's about an hour north.

Shout out Matt, by the way.

Of where I am. Yeah.

The Red Rocket. Red Velvet or whatever.

Red Rocket.

Yeah, no, he's a legend. He was probably the first guy wearing New Balance.

So back when it wasn't cool, he was the first guy that told me I couldn't cheat off his paper. I was like, what the fuck are you talking about? Yeah, we was through.

Oh, Florida.

Yeah.

Hey, no, I was like, yo, he almost whooped his ass. I was like, what the fuck is you talking about? If I don't pass, we don't win. What did you just figure out?

Hey, hey, you wanna win, put UD in.

Yeah, I was like, yo, Brad, I need some help in this class.

I was like, yo, I just wanna sit behind you and look over your shoulder. He was like, told him, he said, no, you can't cheat.

He was like, I'll help you study, but I won't— you can't cheat off my paper. I said I could study on my own.

That's some real New Hampshire shit, man.

That's some real New Hampshire. That's some Concord shit. Hey, by the way, funny-ass story about Bonner. His roommate was Donnell Harvey. Now, you know anything about Donnell Harvey? You couldn't be the more polar opposite human beings than Matt Bonner and Donnell Harvey.

Straight back alleys Georges. This motherfucker wear no shirt, no shoes.

Man, but he had a pet iguana. Remember that big-ass iguana he had? And he literally just pissed off Bonner. Like, he'd hide the iguana in his, like, his soccer underwear drawer. Or he put, like, chicken nuggets and a pizza in his—

Terrorizing Bonner, bro.

Terrorizing, man.

Matt was calling his mom, I got to go home.

Oh, man.

That was so funny.

But that is—

anyways, go back.

All that's in the same area? All that Concord?

Yeah. I mean, the New England area is essentially Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts. Rhode Island, and Connecticut. So it, I think that's 6 states that I listed out, probably the size of, you know, Michigan.

Okay.

Or Michigan and Wisconsin. So it's a real—

Yeah, you from Florida, boy.

I don't know shit about Georgia. And the only thing I know is the bottom of the map. You go up a little bit, you hit Georgia.

Yeah, you know that wall.

After that, you count me out, Jack.

Yeah. So all of it's kind of within like a 3, 4, 5-hour drive.

Okay.

So yeah, essentially New England's like, One big state. But, you know, growing up in Massachusetts, I was lucky enough, you know, to play alongside some, some other good, you know, pros like Shabazz Napier, Michael Carter-Williams. That's the Heat guy.

Yeah.

Nerlens Noel, Wayne Selden.

Oh, wow. Michael Carter-Williams is from there?

Yeah. Yeah. No. So, yeah, I was just, you know, lucky enough to be in New England where there was a good hoop culture. And I don't know how I ended up at Iowa State, but Yeah, how did that happen?

I'll tell you how. NIL?

Wait, it wasn't no NILs then.

No, they paid me in meal swipes.

It wasn't no NILs, they were dropping off the envelope?

Yeah, envelope.

Freddie Hoiberg. They said, here you go, man, you can get some extra chicken fingers at the dining hall, man. I said, I'm in.

Cut it out. You could have bought chicken fingers with that check.

New England a little sneaky with some talent, huh?

Yeah, I know. I think they got a couple of Chris Dunns from Connecticut, Andre Drummond. Yeah, you got some Yeah, Donovan Mitchell claims New York, but he's from there. We're gonna say he's from Connecticut.

Okay, I didn't know that.

My bad, Don.

Small.

It's all good. That's good to know. That's intel. No, for sure. And so you're a Patriots fan? You're a Red Sox guy?

Yeah, yeah, I'm all— yeah, all— now that I'm with the Boston Celtics, I'm, I'm all in on, on Boston sports.

Okay, so when you weren't with the Celtics, you weren't all in on the Boston sports?

I mean, I was in Philly, so like it was As much as I loved like being a Celtics fan, like, you know, the Celtics were always like who we had to go up against. Like they were always in the way along with the Miami Heat.

The other sports though, the other sports that you still with the ride with this Red Sox.

Yeah.

'Cause I can't stand the Patriots.

Why?

'Cause I'm a goddamn Dolphin fan, Georges. What you mean? Drive us crazy.

Yeah. It's been a rough—

Hey, listen.

Hey, don't let the glasses come off.

I mean, when's the last time, like, damn, don't get me started.

Yeah. Yeah.

Hey, you talk about Philly though.

Yeah.

Playing on that team, you guys were loaded.

Yeah. Wow.

Loaded, right? That's Maxey, Harden, Embiid. MVP Embiid, right?

Man.

Yeah, that was.

Yeah, that was. That was.

Why can't, why can't they just get over the hump? Just health?

Yeah. I mean, at some point in the NBA, like, you need to continue to give yourself a chance. once you get there, right?

Yes.

And obviously Joel's health has, you know, obviously, you know, he had the broken face when we played Miami and then his knee the year before. So it's tough. You know, you wanna be playing your best ball when your best ball is needed. And sometimes injuries take away from that. Like you look at the playoffs.

Oh yeah, this year for sure.

You know, knock on wood.

For sure.

It's unfortunate. But you know, it's not like they've been losing to bad teams. Like they, Miami went to the finals, Boston went and won it. You know, it's just sometimes you get the short end of the stick. Like I hate to bring like OGs into this, but like look who Charles Barkley had to go through.

100%.

To try and, you know? So it's—

But I understand you gotta do a job and I respect it. 'Cause I would hold my teammates down and I would be there and say the right things at the right time. I wanna know what an in-shape, determined, chip on the shoulder, locked-in Joel Embiid looks like. I wanna see what that looks like before I blame it on everything else. I wanna see what an in-shape—

UD stirring the pot right now, man.

And listen, I don't give a fuck. I still gotta see these dudes every night. And this is not nothing that I won't say for anybody that stepped into Miami Heat locker room.

Yeah.

So I can almost say this as if he's on my team.

Absolutely.

I wanna see what that looks like before we blame anything else.

Yeah.

I wanna see what that looks like. And my only thing, and I say this all the time, I love what the Joker's able to do. He's unstoppable. It's amazing. But I would love to see if Joel Embiid was 100% locked in and came in conditioned, came in focused, came in willing to sacrifice and do everything he needed to do I'm inclined to feel like that's the best big in the league if he does those things. And that takes nothing away from what Joker does. 2 things could be true. Joker could be fucking great and he is fucking great. But I'm inclined to believe that a fucking healthy, locked in, in shape, committed Joel Embiid is the best center in the league. That's just what I believe. You know what I'm saying? And I want to see that. He cheating me. I wanna see that. 'Cause I see visions of it. I see flares of it. But fuck it. It ain't enough. It ain't damn sure ain't enough to win a championship. AI did not win a championship in Philly. You know why they love him? 'Cause the motherfucker gave 110. That's all he did.

Sheesh.

That's all he did. He didn't win. They went, they got beat 1-4. And the city gonna die for that motherfucker all day long.

Every motherfucker wear arm sleeve 'cause of—

Yeah, you ain't lying.

'Cause the motherfucker gave it his everything. And I guarantee you if Joel Embiid and the city of Philadelphia felt like he gave them Everything, he will get the same love and the same respect. So everything he is going through, he has the power to change that. So when he does that and he feels like it's important enough to him, then he'll change it.

Yeah, I mean, with that being said, I—

You don't have to say that 'cause you still play.

No, 100%. I understand where you're coming from because there is a place where, you know, to much is given, much is expected, right? You know, he's given a lot to the city, but the city has also given a lot to him. But, you know, as far as, you know, unfortunate situations, you know, like I said, injuries do happen, but, you know—

And you can also prevent injuries with being in shape.

100%. The thing that I realize is every season is like a life, right? So you can't ever be like, oh damn, I wish I had that back. 'Cause the clock is ticking, right? We don't get any younger.

We're sitting over here looking at us. Hey, look at us. We're sitting over here now.

Yeah, exactly. You only have so many trips up Up and down the court. So, you know, obviously you wanna, he's a close friend of mine. You wanna see him, him do great. Well, not too good.

I mean, I do, I wanna see it, bro. This is why I speak so passionately about it because I wanna see it. I would love to, and he might not even listen to me, but I would love to just have a year in that locker room. He might tell me to go to hell, but you're gonna tell me to go to hell every day.

Right.

'Cause I'm not stopping. I will not stop.

No, absolutely.

You know what I'm saying?

I hear you.

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A football junkie.

A junkie. Who are you taking in this thing with the numbers? Look at the odds.

You do—

you gotta do some math, man. I know it wasn't your strong suit at Florida.

I gotta make some math. I gotta make some money though, Kelly.

Okay, you make some money.

The only way you gotta make money out here.

Okay, cool.

And I don't want to have to bet a lot of money.

All right.

You can make a lot of money.

Okay.

So we gonna scratch the Cleveland Browns and the Giants.

Yeah, you already know what they ass at.

We ain't making no money.

We know they ain't making no money.

The Saints, we ain't making no money doing that.

Yeah.

I'm looking at some of this, man, and I'm just, I'm just a little confused, man. You know, the obsession with the Bears right now. Like, it ain't, you know, it's not me knocking the Bears, but they just ain't won shit in a long time. And I'm wondering, when I look at this and I see teams like the Bears having better odds than the Dolphins, To make it. To make it.

Now you're flipping it.

Now we flipping it.

Yeah, yeah.

And we got better odds not to make it than they do. Yeah, it's starting to piss me off and I'm starting to make it personal. So I'm taking the Bears.

How you flipping it?

You flip it around and you motherfuckers ain't making it. Taking the Bears, man.

I ain't gonna lie to you, dog.

Keep trying us, dog. They keep trying us.

I don't like to do this. I'ma, I'ma, I'ma piggyback and I'm gonna tell you why I'm piggybacking. Because I think the Vikings and the Packers out of the division make the playoffs.

Listen, look at this shit with the Pittsburgh Steelers. I understand that they got Aaron Rodgers coming in and A-Rod had a tough off— tough season last year and then whatever. But motherfucker Mike Tomlin has literally made the playoffs 100 years straight. Who put this shit on here? This the shit I'm talking about. Mike Tomlin has literally made the playoffs 100 fucking years straight. And you gonna tell me—

It's scary.

Yeah, man, get your shit up out my face.

This is scary though, because both of us picking the Chicago Bears at -195. I'm gonna be quite honest with you, bro. They might win the Super Bowl.

Because we, because we agreed. Not because it ain't good enough.

Because we agree.

Because we agree. But I do like DJ Moore though.

No, and I'll be honest, it's gonna be interesting to see how that team evolves because they've done everything for that quarterback, man.

Yes, they have. I do like DJ Moore. He's a fucking dog.

So right now, if y'all want to do it, go code OGs, go to DraftKings. Code OGs Draft Kings. These are the futures for the NFL to miss the playoffs. So going back to Boston now. Yeah, it's going to be a unique year in Boston. Talk about like with Tatum.

But damn, you just going to skip over the man in Atlanta? He was there for a little while. You ain't get none of them lemon pepper Louie's and Magic City. None of that.

Yeah, that's probably what got me up on out of Atlanta.

No, I'm kidding.

You do not need to be here. No, Atlanta was a great experience, right?

That was an interesting move 'cause that was the mid-season from Cleveland to Atlanta and y'all had the number 1.

Right, yeah.

So how did that make you feel?

You know what? That was the first time me being traded and, you know, I'll admit, you know, as much as people say make it a business, you know, I was a salty, salty B.

'Cause you had a— I liked your role on that team.

Yeah, no.

You know, you came in 3 and D guy, you was, you the force of your backbone. You ain't take no shit. from nobody. Like you had a solid role and you guys were playing well.

My time in Cleveland was tremendous, right? You know, I think that, that point, all of us did a great job of sacrificing and making sure it kind of all fit, right?

Your leadership was big there.

Yeah, it's not on me to make those decisions on what they decided to do, but they decided to go in a different direction, which at first I was, Obviously I think when it first hits you, you're like unhappy about it. Like, why me? Like, you think I'm the problem? But when you start thinking like that, you just get outta your lane. And when you get outta your lane, that's how you get hit by a Mack truck.

Yeah.

And you don't wanna do that. So after like picking up the pieces there, it was more or less like, okay, like how can I, you know, you were the number 1 seed. You then go to Atlanta who was the number 9. Now it's like, how can I look at this team, right? And implement the stuff that I bring to try and help this team Yeah. Achieve their goals, right? Your goals kind of change, right?

Yeah.

In Cleveland, it was like, win a championship.

Yeah.

Like, beat Boston. Like, beat New York. Sure. Then you get to Atlanta. It's like, okay, how can we get ourselves out of the play-in game situation? Okay, that's not— how do we, you know, win a play-in game? And then at the end of the year, you know, you fall short and you look back and you're like, okay, what can I do to help this team become better, right? And then that kind of transitioned into, okay, Then, you know, I'm a Boston kid. I then get traded for Kristaps Porzingis, which you know how tough Boston fans are. So they don't give a shit if I'm from Boston or not. They're like, you just took our unicorn and replaced it with a minivan. They're like, get the fuck outta here. You know what I'm saying?

I see how they feel about their superstars.

Yeah. So—

Oh, so they treat y'all the same way.

I'm like public enemy number one.

Unicorn for a minivan.

Yeah. They're like, what the—

what is this?

This ain't shiny, man. This got scratches on it, man. I don't like— so now I'm kind of in the mode of like, okay, you know, obviously JT is out, but Boston has done a really good job if you've looked at it when guys miss games.

Yes.

Really good.

Yeah.

Like it's their culture. It's who they are. So it's like, okay, Georges, now what can you do to maximize what you have to help them win games? 'Cause you don't wanna be in Boston losing. That's for sure.

That's the last place.

That's the expectation. That's the standard. That's the expectation and standard for Boston to win. Exactly.

So that's kind of how I've transitioned. My mindset is like, Okay, what can I do this summer? You know, can I come in in the best shape that I'm in and also, you know, mentor and kind of teach and also learn because they've won championships and kind of dial that all into one and focus every day on like, how can I win the day and then win games? So it's kind of like been like a full circle moment from getting traded to Cleveland to Atlanta to then back to Boston.

But you know the difference though, because you've been, you've been in Utah. Obviously you've been in Cleveland, which is, you know, connection. That looked like a connected group of guys. I've played with Max, you know what I'm saying? I know Max. So I kind of got a feel for how that locker room was.

Yeah.

Just me being able to keep in touch with Max and talk about Max. Then you go to Atlanta and I don't know what that locker room's like. And now you end up in Boston and the situation, and I love what Atlanta's been doing. I love the moves, shout out ATL. I just wanna see what the leadership gonna be like, but I love that. So now you go to another connected locker room, but when you talk about, the differences and why those teams are successful. Because there's a difference in those locker rooms. It just ain't the players and it just ain't the Xs and Os.

Right.

There's a difference when you walk in those locker rooms of teams that are playing how Cleveland was playing. And then the teams that play like Boston play. And then the teams that struggle are the teams that's figuring it out. Just talk about the power of the connection and brotherhood. 'Cause I think people think, the civilians at home feel like it's just, you get great players, you put good pieces around 'em, and then you show up at 7:30 and that's it.

No, that—

Just talk about the other shit that goes into it.

I definitely don't— yeah, that's definitely not it. And for the common fan, like, if they could really take a deep dive in, like, your best players set the tone, right? Like, when your best players are in there—

Amen.

Amen. When your best players are in there, you know, grinding and working, the fuckers that are, you know, you look at the payroll and they're making $60, $70 million and they're setting the tone. You look at yourself like, oh damn, like, he's working this hard. Like, How can I give anything less than what he's given? And then when the, you know, the best players drop their tone or their tempo, those guys that are still grinding, you know, pick them back up, challenge them. Because at the end of the day, like I talked about, when your best players are setting the tone and there's those competitors that are like— you guys talk about like dogs.

Dogs.

That's when the culture is set. And what I believe, and you can probably attest to this, you too, in Miami, is You fight for your culture every single day.

Yes.

Like, it's not just, hey, we've built a good culture over here. No, it's like you fight toeing the line of like what's accepted and not accepted. And are you going to call it out or are you going to let it slip?

And then— I tell people it's like, it's almost like parenting. Culture is an endurance game.

Yeah.

If you get sick of fighting that, you're going to lose.

Yeah.

So at the end of the day, it's like being a parent. Hey, kids, be home at midnight or 11, whatever time it is. And you start, it got to be 11:15, 11:30. They're just going to keep taking the rope away. And that was my comment when I said about Like I would be relentless.

He would have to tell me every day, go to hell. I would be relentless pointing out the small details every single day because those things fucking matter. And like you said, it's not easy to do. Sometimes I don't feel like pointing out shit. It's been days I came to practice, I gotta tell this fucker again to touch the line. Like I don't feel like telling this fucker, but I have to because it's going to matter at some point. You don't know when, but at some point that kind of shit is going to matter.

But let me ask you this, 'cause I have like a theory on this where, There's so many times during a season, like a season, what we'll probably say it's like 200 days, right? And there's so many times that you can allow people to drop below the standard before where you get to like the finals and it shows up.

Oh yeah.

And you're like, oh, I wonder why we fell short. Well, then you think about how many times did I not say something when he did something wrong? Or when he did something wrong. And it kind of makes you paranoid. Like every day you're like, nah, I ain't letting anybody before they're like, Come on, UD, like chill. Like, you know, we had a lot, like. So I guess my question is to you, how many times have you felt that when you fell short? Have you been like, damn, I wish I would've called out him or I would've did this different? Never.

Never. Because I never had an opportunity to get away with shit. So I kind of treated how I was.

Yeah.

I had a, my room for error was this small. So if I have the expectation of myself, I have that same expectation of you. So if I'm gonna call my fault, I'm gonna let you slide? 'Cause I ain't let myself get away with shit. I'm obsessing over fucking up. I'm going home and losing sleep over the one rebound I didn't get, the one rotation I didn't make. I'm losing sleep. So why the fuck would I let you think it's okay for you? That's not fucking okay. If it ain't okay for you, it ain't okay for me, then why would I think it's okay for you? I'm holding you to the same standard. I don't give a fuck where you was drafted.

No, for sure.

'Cause if all of us, if I can get 15 motherfuckers to think like me and I know you ain't me, But I used to tell myself this, like, sometimes you gotta have enough heart for everybody. All you motherfuckers ain't come from the slums, but when we get between these lines, we gonna act like it. And I got y'all back. So do what the fuck you gotta do.

Preaching. Feel that preaching.

So if I can get 15 guys to think like an undrafted motherfucker out the mud.

Yeah.

And you are actually the number 5 pick and talented as shit.

Yeah.

And you think how I think. Oh shit, I got something to work with. I can do something with this.

Yeah. That's why those guys, like the super talented guys, when they get that mindset, that's why They turn into the best of the best.

You said it though before. And again, I, I was— I've only been a part of the championship team. I was obviously— we didn't win it in Cleveland, but in Miami. What you said in here is the same thing. Like, Bron brought the shit to practice every day.

Yeah. Man.

And when Bron brought the shit to practice, what you said as a role player, it's like, yo, well, who the fuck am I?

Yeah.

Because he's doing that.

He's box office.

Yeah, if he's doing that. You know what I mean? And it's— but then the reason we had special teams, and I mean special teams, was because he was that good and D-Wade But they set the tone like that. But then you had other people that— Spo, Spo, as good as he is, I think the best coach in the business, didn't have to deal with the bullshit because he did it. And then once your locker room is like that, it's fucking over, bro, because you had—

No squares in the circle, George.

No squares in the circle.

No squares in the circle. That's the thing. When you walk in the locker room, no squares in this circle.

And then you had, then you had all of us like guys just chomping at the bit to play. Like we had a— it was, that shit was fun as hell.

And Mitch, you talked about it earlier. You tell, tell, tell us when I was talking to you, tell Mike, because he wasn't there. When you walked in the gym when you were in Golden State, what you saw every day.

Yeah, so I got cut from Indiana and I signed a training camp deal with Golden State. And, you know, they were like, yeah, you can, you know, come in, you know, work out, you know, training camp. And every day it was like 9 o'clock, KD would walk through the doors and be at the same hoop. 9:30, Steph would be at the same hoop. 10 o'clock, Klay would be at the same hoop doing the same things. And it just made me realize like, Damn, I just got cut and I don't have a routine. These guys just won a championship and they all have a routine. Like, maybe I need to fix something that I'm—

Yeah.

Doing it. And I think the best thing is if you can come up with a routine where, you know, it gets you a little bit better every single day. So, you know, when you go in, whether you're sick, not feeling well, extra happy, extra sad, you know, these are the things that I gotta do. You end up just getting better just by, like I said, showing up. And if the best players in the world do it, Who are you not to do it? And that was kind of my—

I'm the biggest on routines and habits. I think it's the most, 'cause to me, if I know I do my routine, if I don't do it one day, I feel sick.

Oh man. We're creatures of habit, bro. We're so superstitious.

And so literally for 15, 17 years, I did the same exact workout every day.

Yeah.

Every day. 'Cause I knew if I did that, I knew it was gonna translate. You know what I mean? It worked.

Am I the only one that has like weird superstitions and shit? Eat the same thing on game day.

No, I got that.

Put your right shoe on first.

I do, I tie my right shoe on my right foot.

You right foot first.

Yeah, left one before my right one.

Yeah, I do like the fact that you raised your hand to ask the question.

I mean, I got him being polite.

I was being polite.

I mean, because I'm a little— I'm also a little crazy too. Like, I'm not the only one that just overdoes just to be in a simple situation. Like, in the bubble, I fucked up on the couch. Like, that's documented. And ate Campbell's soup.

Like, I just made myself real trench baby, right?

Yeah, yeah, it's real. Because the last thing we finna do is get comfortable, so I'm not finna try to get So I'm just wondering, am I the only one that just goes extreme? Like, they used to— Jordan used to make people like think that you said something crazy about him. Like, oh, you called me a nigga? Like, yo. So people make up crazy shit in their head in competition. Killer, that's all I'm saying. Didn't they say, I think KG said that he thought somebody called him some shit.

Like, he was like— He said it about Pau Gasol.

Yeah, you see what I'm saying? Pau ain't said no shit like that.

He said it in Spanish.

So that's what I'm saying. Like, I'm the only crazy one that just have these crazy obsessions? People come to competition, dirt, dirt, dirt.

He said it in German.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'm just saying like we athletes, we're a little crazy. So I'm the only one that got weird superstitions?

Nah, nah, you definitely— I don't like to show my hands, so I keep, I'll keep them superstitious.

But you do have a few?

Yeah. Oh yeah, of course.

You have any killer?

Oh yeah.

Drink a Budweiser before every game or anything you do? Any superstition? Drink a Budweiser before the game?

Yeah, rub some dirt on it.

You know how I used to put that dip in? That was one of those.

You did. That was your thing. You did used to put that dip in. So then wouldn't that relax you? Did that relax you?

Oh yeah.

Really?

Put me right in space, baby.

Really?

Let's go.

Just body, whole body.

Just shut down.

Wow.

Ready to hoop. Yeah, I had to.

That was your thing.

Huh?

That was your thing.

I remember that. Yeah. Talk about the state of the game right now from when you came in to where it's at. 'Cause I saw a ton of transition.

What, 9 years for you?

Yeah.

This is going on year 10. No, going on year 10.

This is going on year 10.

This is gonna be year 9. Yeah. I got to still wanna keep going. I think you wanna play as long as you can. Yeah, till the puppies keep going.

I tell him he's the one Most blessed, one of the most blessed people. He landed, we talked about it, he landed his own plane. He quit when he wanted to quit.

Yeah.

No, that's special. That's 0.001% of these players.

Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think the game is in a good place. I think it's in a transition period, right? You have the superstars that have been the superstars for a long time. And now those young guys are like, nah, like what you did was cool, but I'm here.

That ass is mine.

Yeah, you know what I mean? That ass is mine. And the way that they're doing it too is like, They're not just doing it, they're letting you hear about it, you know?

And, uh, I love it.

Yeah, yeah. And I mean, I respect it, right? Because game respect game. Like, I could talk with you all day. I mean, obviously I've said shit to Paulo.

That's so good.

To KD. So like, I'm not afraid to hold punches on the court, but I also am man enough to be like, yo, respect, you know, off the court. Where a lot of people are like, why he say that about him? Like, you think I'm on the court trying to make friends? Like, you know, like, I want to embody Something that like, that people are like, hey, the city that I'm playing for, like, that embodies who I am. And I'm a carpenter and I go to work every day. And I, and I, that's, that's what I wanna, you know, embody. And I, I think the, the game is transitioning in a way where like these young kids, like the ones that are putting it all together, like the Shays, the Tyrese Halliburtons. And I know that I'm missing them and a bunch of the— The Anthony Edwards. The Anthony Edwards, the Paulos. Yeah. Like they're not, they're like, yeah, this is, it's my turn now. And I don't wanna share the throne either.

I think you said something interesting too, the transition, not only, not only in talent, but to me, the playoff basketball was— it started and it's gonna be interesting how the NBA does it next year in the regular season. That was the most physical I've seen basketball in a long time.

Yeah, they started letting them go.

And I'm here for that. Like, that was, that was like, man, they were having a hard time getting ball in bounds on side out of bounds, underneath out of bounds. Like, it was a physical brand of basketball. We ain't seen that in a minute.

Yeah.

Because it went to where freedom of movement and blah, blah, blah. And at first, like, playoff basketball was literally like the first one to 120. If you couldn't score, you had no chance.

No, for sure.

These games over here, man, like it was back to like, like when I first got in the league type shit. Like physical.

No, it was tackle football out there. Yes. Like someone told me the best thing. They're like, oh, what do you think it's gonna be like my first playoff experience? What do you think it's gonna be like? I'm like, oh, it's just like regular season. They're like, no. They're like, think of 3 regular season games put into 1. Like that's how much energy and effort and like locked in focus where like, it's almost like an 82-game season. Like, ah, damn, I had a turnover. I can't do that again. It's like, no. You need to be dialed in every second of every play. You can't be one second off, 'cause that's the difference between, you know, losing a game and winning a game.

Gee, we talk about it. I mean this sincerely. Like, you get through a playoff or win a championship, God forbid you get a chance to do it, you're more beat up mentally than you are physically.

Oh, man.

And your body physically is fucking gone. But mentally you're like, 'cause like you talk about, you get to playoff basketball, oh, deflection's big.

Yeah.

And your crowd hangs on it. Oh, you know what I mean? Like, it's just— and you, and you, and you don't— what you said before, like, as, as role players especially, you don't want to be that dude.

No.

So like, in a playoff, like, okay, was it your rotation? Was it your chuck? Was it your closeout? Was it— you know what I mean? Like, and then you put it up like— and I always tell these guys, we put it— you amplified about 1,000 because you play on LeBron James type teams.

Oh, right. And they start giving you the side eye because you miss them.

And it— but even the, even the crowd though, he'd rifle that pass You better make that bitch.

Oh, for sure.

You know, and it's like you got done, you're like, thank God that season's over, bro. You know what I mean? Like, I can't take it no more.

Yeah, that's—

But that's what we signed up for. That's what you want.

No, I mean, I think growing up and you're in the backyard, you want those.

Yeah.

Who didn't sit back there 5, 4, 3, 2, 1?

Yeah, exactly. You want that shit.

Like, those are the things that competitors really want. Like, you want the opportunity to play at the highest level, so you want to cherish those. And yes, mentally it's exhausting, but Would you want it any other way?

No. Hell no.

That's what you signed up for.

Exactly.

I mean, I think we're all at the— well, we retired like shit, but you going into 10 years, you walk in the locker room and you know when you legit, really realistically legit have a shot.

Yeah. No.

You know, I mean, you're gonna come to work every day and you're gonna be professional, you're gonna work, but you know if you got a shot.

Right.

You know what I'm saying? No, for sure. And so, you know, for me, like, it's just a difference, you know what I'm saying? And, and Playing with guys like LeBron James and playing with those certain type of guys, going to Boston, you know, you always got a fucking shot.

Yeah.

You know what I'm saying? So you understand what the expectation is. You understand that a lot of times that you're gonna have to make shots for those guys to be their best version.

Yeah.

We understand what the playoffs is about now. Your fucking star's gonna get you 2, your coach gonna get you 1, and it's gonna— 1 that's gonna come down to us.

Right. Our role players.

Role players.

Yeah.

We gotta do our jobs.

No, absolutely.

You don't wanna be the one when it's your night to be the role player to do your job, you don't do it.

Have a stinker.

There was plenty of times Like, oh yeah, stop Bron and D-Wade from getting to the basket. Haslam gotta beat us tonight. Well, I got 3 rings.

I think it'll work.

But it's plenty nights they put that shit on me. Like I was gonna be the motherfucker that let us down.

You know what I'm saying? Mid-range on that baseline.

Yo, no, this shit is crazy because we gotta win one. Role players gotta win one. We do, bro. You don't wanna be that motherfucker that don't get it done that night. Bron got 40, D-Wade got 35, and you over here with 6 points. You done shot 2 for 17 'cause they done left your ass open and y'all done lost by 5. That's on you, Jack.

Math ain't math.

Math ain't math.

That's on you, Jack. So we have to be prepared. And then the fucked up part about it is you don't know which game that's gonna be. You don't know which game it's gonna be that me and you got to win that. You just shot 2 shots game 3. Now game 4, you get 17 of them. And if you don't make it, bro, looking at you like, this nigga ain't real. Like, people don't understand. People don't get our role, dog. They don't get our— one time it was crazy 'cause I was having I'm having dinner with D-Wade, dog, he would say, man, I respect your role more than mine. 'Cause I knew what my job was every night. You never knew how many shots you were gonna get. You didn't know when the ball was coming to you. That shit is hard.

Yeah.

And people don't understand that role of a fucking role player on a championship roster.

You just gotta be patiently relentless, man.

Man, you sure. Patiently relentless. Patiently relentless.

This nigga had a broke back and no shoe and it was his night. He couldn't have came into worse conditions to have to make shots. If you would've failed that night, I don't think nobody could've blamed you. Play the clip. He was broken.

God luck.

And that was, and it just happened to be your night we needed you the most.

Yeah, it was good.

It was good.

That shit is crazy, bro. The way this shit works. But because your fucking ass worked your ass off when you were outta the rotation, we playing 3-on-3, not getting no minutes. When your fucking time came, you were ready, dog. You were ready.

It's tough business.

And all that matters when you a role player playing on a fucking championship team with great players. And they expect greatness outta your ass.

I'm surprised you kept your glasses on on that one. I know.

I'm telling you, we in some tough-ass fights, dog. And it ain't easy, Jack. And then we gonna go home and obsess if we don't get it done.

No doubt.

'Cause that's what matters to us.

No doubt.

Yeah, I only got 4 shots and I made 1. I wish I could have made 2 more. Like, that's the kind of shit we do.

No doubt.

Watch them clips 100 times.

Isn't it something? You said talking shit to people. Give me your best trash talker in the league right now.

Best trash talker? Damn, I just get in like a, like, you know, as a competitor, I get in such a crazy space on the court that I don't really like kind of, you know, but I always, I'll always remember like Joe Ingles is up there because he was one of my teammates. So hearing some of that—

He funny as shit.

Yeah, he'd be like, you stupid, you stupid, go drive in there, Rudy, go block you. Yeah, no, so he, he's good. Sometimes I think the only things that I remember are like what fans say to me that then get me going. Like there was this one time in Charlotte, you know, my jersey was a little tight, you know? And one of these little frat stars sitting courtside in Charlotte, probably got it from his dad, courtside tickets. And he was sitting next to like his little brother. I think he was like 8 years old. And he was like, hey fatty, or something, made some comment like, What size is that jersey? A small? And I was like, I don't want to hear from you. You're not even in fucking middle school yet. But, you know, like, those are the things that, like, you remember that are, like, funny. But as far as, like, you know, guys talking shit, I would say Pat Beverley's up there. Russell Westbrook, you know, has some good one-liners. But yeah, I get into a pretty crazy competitive. Yeah, someone will be like, you said this to me, and I'll be like, oh, my bad, I don't even really, you know, remember that.

Yeah, I mean, that's the artist talking. Like, yeah, yeah, you're not supposed to remember what you said. Supposed to flow naturally.

It's supposed to— Yeah, no, I want— I don't want you to feel comfortable.

It's got to be natural.

If I got—

if you say something to me and I got to think about what I got to say back, is that I've lost the effect.

But you know what's crazy is like now they have mics in there, and, and I'm saying this because like we have a relationship with that 'cause you obviously represent Paulo. But like what I was saying to Paulo was to like get him to throw him off his game. Like I wanted him to be like, oh, I'm gonna show you.

Yeah.

So I'm like, yeah, if I can get you the next 10 possessions to shoot a mid-range and not pass to anybody else, like that would be good for us right now. Especially if you're not making it.

Yeah.

Right? And then, you know, you have these mics up. Imagine if you guys were, if mics were around on you guys like, Yeah.

Yeah.

People would be like, oh my God, this person, like, who is—

yeah.

You know what I mean? There might be criminal charges.

Yeah.

So yeah, I mean, it's an— I feel like it's an art where like I'm trying to mentally throw you off your game because I don't want to give you the competitive advantage. And that's just the way I kind of think about it.

We're going to test your GM skills in our Rose Sparks segment, the Faster, Stronger, Longer segment presented by Rose Sparks. Build your perfect NBA player using the following categories.

You need some roast balls? You know we got the hookup.

My dog.

Always use a tune-up. My dog, my dog. Just asking.

Yeah, buddy.

Just asking.

Faster, stronger, longer.

What's up? All men could use a little roll in they life. Hey.

I ain't dead, man.

Build your perfect NBA player. Speed, who you taking?

I would have to say, I'm gonna go with, you know, old teammate of mine. I'll say Tyrese Maxey, but De'Aaron Fox, 1A, 1B with them.

Tyrese Maxey, your speed. Strength.

Yeah, too fast.

Right there.

You know, you guys did mention Steven Adams. He—

Stronger than I was.

Stronger than most people. I'll say Steven Adams.

Can't lose with that one.

For your Rose Sparks, stamina and motor.

Yo, that's crazy. This is—

Please don't put Rose Sparks into this one. That should have been first.

Yeah, right. You know, after watching the playoffs, I'm gonna go with Pascal Siakam. I think that's more like— to be that talented and to play that hard.

Yeah, man.

That is—

And a real loud two-way player too.

Yeah, like just all over the place. Nothing but respect there.

IQ.

I mean, come on. Jokic is thinking on another planet.

3 plays ahead. Yeah.

No, I ain't gonna argue that.

Jump shot. Come on, that's an easy one, man.

Yeah. I mean, I would say myself, but we'll go— we'll give Duncan Robinson a shout out.

Better than Steph, huh?

I mean, that's too, too mainstream.

Too easy call.

How many people come on here and say, hey man, this is—

The best shooter of all time though.

Yeah. I mean, he, he is, but you know, I'd like to be different.

I'm gonna say me.

He said better shooter than you. No, quickest to 1,000 3s in Miami Heat history.

Huh? Huh?

Who?

People say who's a better shooter than me? Duncan Robinson, man.

Quickest to 1,000 3s in Miami Heat history. But here, here, exactly.

You saying that, I wouldn't respect you if you were like, yeah, UD, like, if I had glasses, I'd take them off.

I love Duncan.

I was just poking the knife a little bit.

Yeah, I know. Layup package definitely got Package for Rose Parks. Oh man, that is so foul.

Might as well put Honey Pack up there too. Honey Pack next. They'll package Honey Pack on deck.

Kyrie Irving for sure.

So we, we built the fastest—

Thanks fellas for that one. Now we can be OGs on this side.

Summertime is here and it is my favorite time of the year. Ladies, come on with them sundresses and them bikinis and them cheeks out. Fellas, Get them beach bods and them six-packs ready with them hoochie daddy shorts. But that is only one part of it. That is the daytime. Trust me, nighttime is just as important. 2 things can be true. She can enjoy herself but not enjoy you. Make sure you handle your business. Rose Sparks gonna take care of that. Finish the game. Rose Sparks is a 2-in-1 treatment for you guys that need more controlled erections and the fellas that need a secret weapon. Don't be afraid to tap in and be your best version now. After Rose Sparks dissolve under your tongue, you got 15 minutes till showtime, my boy. Handle that. You could go back to back, round after round, and still be ready. Sound like a championship boxer to me. Go ahead and knock that thing out. Trust me when I tell you, if you're good at what you do, you ain't gotta brag. She'll do it for you, my boy. RoSpas will connect you 100% online so you don't have to be in weird rooms with weird people you don't know telling them you can't get an erection long enough and stay hard enough to goddamn please your woman. If approved, treatment shows up directly to your dope play Boy, you can handle your business immediately. If prescribed, sexual health patients will get $15 off their first order of Sparks on a recurring plan. Connect with a provider at ro.co/ogees to find out if Ro Sparks are right for you. That's ro.co/ogees for $15 off your first order. Compounded drugs are permitted to be prescribed under federal law, but are not FDA approved and do not undergo FDA safety. For safety information, go to ro.co/safetyinfo. Killer, you know about them honey packs?

Uh, no.

Okay, cool.

You ain't hanging out at the right gas stations.

Oh my God.

Listen, you ain't even—

We gotta get UD out of my city.

Listen, all I'm telling you is men is walking outta the gas stations with honey packs to keep them hard now. That's how you won't even—

For real?

Man, yeah, man. It's called a honey pack. It's taking pure honey, 100% honey.

Shots. You can't take them in the league.

I ain't gonna take none of that shit.

For real?

I think you might get stung.

Well, I'm just letting you know, I don't need it, but I'm just making you guys aware of what's going on out here. I clearly got the real spots connected. So if I want—

Yo, my car's outside.

Hey, listen, if I wanted something, I could just pop a few Skittles and I'm gonna be all right. Nah, I don't need it. I don't need it. I don't need to get the honey pack, Jack.

Hey, new segment, UD Unhinged, man.

I get that real shit. I don't need that honey pack. What you talking about, man?

Brought to you by Southwest. Wanna get away?

Chris is back there smiling 'cause he know about the honey pack. Look at him. Look at everybody back there. Honey pack. They guilty. They guilty.

Honey pack. Hey, speaking of getting popped for it, love, shout out my boy Nick Collathes. Killing it overseas. We're playing a playoff, getting ready for playoffs. He got suspended when I was in Memphis.

No.

All-Star Week. He's, he, they said it was a steroid, but he was getting—

Honey packs?

Yeah, it must have been. It was something that was to get him, to get him right.

So question. We did some TV stuff together. Before we get to these fan questions, we did some TV stuff together. How you liking it? You just think that's something? Tell me what you think about TV.

I'll talk about this. You know, TV is a different beast, right? And I think as a player, I talked to you about this before, like I value my relationships and respect and things that I've earned with people throughout the years of being in this basketball fraternity. So there's one thing that I know that I will never do or try not to do. to do is disrespect the game or disrespect other people in this business, right? You know, you kind of wanna call it like you see it, but you don't wanna assassinate anybody's character.

Mmhmm.

And I feel like for a little bit, you know, we're talking about things that are not basketball, you know? And I know this is NBA, is entertainment.

Yeah.

And I know basketball sometimes comes second to like, you know, the drama of the free agency moves or the draft.

Basketball should never come second to the fuck.

Exactly.

I love that. Basketball should never come second to the fuck.

Yeah.

And I think me and you agree with that. Yeah, absolutely.

I love basketball and I could talk about the game all day. I would just love for the TV aspect to continue to be about dissecting the game and teaching that through the player's eyes. Not being like, well, you know, if I had this, if my coach let me rock, like, yeah, of course.

If it was a 5th, we'd be drunk as bitches right now.

You know what I'm saying? UD might be, you know?

Hey, hit him with some fan questions, UD.

I already said, I already asked you that. Your favorite part of ATL as a city.

Yeah, come on.

That's a dangerous question. You said the wings.

That is a dangerous question.

You said the wings. Shout out Lou Williams, man.

Run it back. Let's see. What went wrong with the Jazz? I'm not interested in that. I can call D-Wade and ask him.

Oh, he was— is he still owner? Is he part owner over there? Damn.

Just 'cause you— that means he ain't showing up to work. You don't know the answer to that question. I've been outta there for 6 years. If you don't know the answer to that question, that mean he's horrible boss.

Oh. No, he was there.

Horrible Boss Part 5.

I was like, D-Wade, can I get some, some, some way of Wade's? He was like, ah, you gonna have to make a couple more threes.

Damn, dog. Okay, let's see what this one say. Who is a better shooter, Ingles or Bojan?

Wow.

That's a shout out to Bojan. He just retired.

Yes.

Congratulations, man. Yeah.

Enjoy it.

Had a strap too.

Yes, he did.

Yeah. He definitely could shoot that thing. But, you know, I'm gonna go with my vet, Joe Ingles.

Oh, lefty.

Yeah. He taught me a lot, you know, of just being like fearless, right? You know, like, Whatever happens, happens, and, and kind of like go out there and let, let them hang. So—

You're, you're a golfer?

Yeah, I like to swing the club a little bit. You beat Krew? Yeah, yeah, I could beat Krew because Krew has mental breakdowns.

So Krew Hange, don't be, don't be throwing your clubs in the lake, man.

You know the best thing about golf? Because I, I can't see by hole 9. Cross-eyed and Cross-eyed and on them stinkies.

They don't have honey packs for if you drank too much.

No, it's that grass. I don't need no Woody out there. I already got that iron. I'm straight on there. I'm straight on the golf course. And listen, the honey packs is below me. Just trying to let y'all know. Y'all wouldn't take those. But if you had a late night and you was desperate, just letting you know, you could pull up to a 7-Eleven and scratch that itch.

7-Eleven, get your honey pack.

Yeah, yeah, you get the 7-Eleven. But I'm just letting you know, y'all below that. Y'all got me. I got roast balls. Y'all gotta connect.

Y'all below me. Yeah, y'all below me.

I got roast balls.

I got to connect. Man, I'm slanging them things.

All right, we're gonna ask one more question.

You ask this one 'cause it's probably dumb. They be asking dumbass shit, then they get mad at us.

Yeah.

Who is your favorite teammate and coach? Just one person, I wanna ask a question.

You know, in a— I'm not gonna do the whole coaching thing, but one of my favorite teammates in Philly had to have been Tobias Harris, right?

You know— Tobias, OG.

I think he took a lot of heat in Philadelphia, you know, before—

Yeah, because of Jimmy. Tobias over me?

Whatever, whatever they want to say, I think as an overall, you know, veteran leader and you talk about sacrificing when, you know, James came in, Tyrese, Joel, he, he find out a way to still make himself effective and he still has found out a way.

He did it again in Detroit.

Yeah. To, to continue to connect guys, bring guys together, bring energy, bring life. into a youthful organization over there in Detroit. I couldn't say enough, you know, great things about that guy, what he's done for me and what he's allowed me to, you know, think beyond what I've tried to do in this league.

And I know it sounds funny and we joke about it, but when I said that, I was like, when you guys lost that playoff series to us and Jimmy played the way he played and that comment hit the media, like Tobias got a lot of like flack for that.

Yeah. That wasn't on him. Nope.

Oh, you wasn't on that team?

No, no, that wasn't on him.

That's what I'm saying. That wasn't on him. That wasn't on him.

I was on that team.

But people took that comment and they took the fact that Philadelphia let Jimmy walk and Tobias came in and it became about Jimmy and Tobias. It was never about that.

No.

It was never about that at all. But I got the ultimate respect for Tobias and I love what he was able to do in Detroit. So I respect all the OGs and I think we need more OGs. We talked about this. They need to make a fucking space on every team for OG that does not count against the fucking cap. and you just put these guys in the locker room. And Tobias is one of those guys, but I don't think he wanna make the minimum though. Tobias still cashing in on them things. So he don't wanna make the minimum. He ain't ready for that yet.

He don't work for free.

Nah. UD, give us some OG advice.

Oh man. Well, you know, we also got a guy who's beyond his years and he's going into year 10 and he's had to hold himself to a standard. He's done things the right way. And, you know, he might not be exactly an OG, but he's in the field. transitional stage where some of these young guys could be reaching out to him. You know, everything we got, social media and everything, and some of these guys can reach out for, you know, questions and different things like that. So let's take the OG advice from Georges. Let's see what he got. He's been mentoring a lot of young guys.

Oh, I'm gonna give him some OG advice?

OG advice.

You know, I think I'm gonna stick to what's got me here and, you know, You know, there's going to be bad days. There's going to be great days. But just show up. Show up and don't let an excuse make you quit, right? Everybody has an excuse of why this couldn't go the right way. Just show up with a competitive nature and grind every single day. And I know it sounds cliché, but if you just keep your head forward, by the time you're like, damn, I'm fucking tired, you look back, you— 10 years have passed you by.

Nobody, man.

So, you know, just continue to grow, keep going and show up every day and don't quit. That's the biggest thing. 'Cause once you quit once, you realize how easy it becomes, you'll quit again.

So— Man, I'm gonna follow you before we go and then we gonna OG out, man. And I tell these guys, I know, 'cause I tell these guys at home and I'm gonna tell you, anything in, easiest thing in life is to be a fucking loser. Anybody can do that. Anybody can be a fucking loser. It don't take much to do that. OG's out.

OG's out.

Anybody can be a fucking loser. It takes nothing to be that.