Draymond Green on Brandin Podziemski Extension, Darius Acuff Interaction, & Weird Rudy Gobert Talk

What's up, everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. On today's show, we'll talk about the season getting closer to tip-off. We're obviously learning quite a bit. There's also a bunch of great storylines going on around the league. So let's get right into it. First up, big congratulations to Brandon Przyjimski. He's agreed to a 5-year, $110 million, fully guaranteed rookie-scale extension. A deal that includes a mutual option in the 5th year, 2031-32, and a trade kicker. You know, it's good to see young guys get their due. You know, you see guys come in, put the work in, continue to improve. And you know, for BP, you know, he's been on a team where, you know, the guys who getting paid is kind of, you know. Seasoned, Steph, Jimmy, myself, you know, for him to, you know, KP, JK, when JK was here, obviously a young guy, but, you know, for him to— Moses, you know, younger guy, for him to see, you know, the path forward to come into this league, find his way as a rookie, continue to improve. getting more comfortable with the basketball, getting more comfortable shooting the basketball, you know, and to see him get rewarded with a contract, it's absolutely incredible. Well deserved. I will say about this deal, it has the mutual option in the 5th year. And these mutual options, it's kind of gotten a little weird. Like we're starting to see them pop up more and more in the NBA. You used to see the player option or team option, but lately we've been seeing these mutual options. I think Isaiah Hartenstein, recently had a mutual option that him and the Oklahoma City Thunder worked through. Pelé Larsen from Miami recently just signed one with a mutual option. We're starting to see these things pop up a bit more. And what it is, is ultimately a structure to where the final year of the deal requires both the player and the team to opt in for the contract to continue. Now, obviously in the other ones, either the player has the option or the team has the option. This one, they both have to agree. And if either the team or the player declines, the year is voided. So this is essentially a 4-year deal with the mutual option for the 5th year. So it could become a 5th year. So you figure if— If BP's playing great at that point, he probably opt out or you work on an extension. If he's not playing so great, it's, you know, then it's kind of a tradable last year. And, you know, a team can get out of it, I guess, in a sense. But these things have been a bit weird. Like I said, they're starting to pop up more and more in the NBA. But you know, I guess I guess to each his own. I guess we'll start seeing this more starting to happen more with the younger guys in these new contracts. Now you have to ask yourself the question: Are those mutual options also happening because players don't want the team option, right? Like if you're a player in this representation, you're fighting against the team option. If you're a team. You're fighting against the player option. I wonder if this could be happening more again due to the second apron. When you think about— I also, I saw, I saw some, uh, NBA PR or someone put out, oh, the second apron, all the noise about the second apron is false because the numbers will state that, um, more guys are getting paid in the middle and the middle isn't cut out. Bullshit. Uh, whoever put that out need to be ashamed of themselves because the second apron has affected a lot. And I wonder if this is another instance where the second apron is essentially making a team say, hey, we want the option to be able to get out of this because what if we are up against the second apron and we need a way out? This is an opportunity for us to be able to get out even if we need to negotiate a lower number to avoid the second apron. And, and I mean, that's really the only— that's really the only thing I can see, uh, that maybe making these things come into play are teams that are up against that second apron and may just need a way out. Because you just have never quite seen this, and it's now happening over and over and over again. And as we know also, the NBA is a copycat league, right? So one team see another team doing it. And then they're like, oh, that's an option for us. Maybe we can use that. And you're starting to see more and more teams doing it. So, you know, it could just be a copycat thing, but my spidey senses tell me that that's a thing that's going on because of the second apron. And teams need that optionality at the end of these deals due to being in the second apron or not wanting to be in the second apron from a tax perspective. Because yeah, why not just do the, you know, player option or team or just a straight year, right? So I find these mutual options very interesting. Nonetheless, as I said before, congratulations to BP on, you know, life-changing money, man. And then to see him, you know, come in and, you know, Mike Dudley, his first draft pick, you know, and, you know, as a general manager, you wanna see your picks succeed, especially the first one that you making. Yeah. You know, obviously that has happened here with him signing this new contract. So shout out to BP. Well deserved, my man. The Draymond Green Show is brought to you by Mod. Mod prescribes a once or twice daily modafinil drink that can keep you energized, focused, and alert throughout the day. Here's the mechanism. Energy drinks with caffeine temporarily block adenosine, the chemical that makes you tired. It builds up, and when the caffeine wears off, it all crashes down on you at once. Modafinil works differently. It engages multiple pathways in your brain— dopamine, norepinephrine, histamine, and orexin— to achieve steady energy and alertness for 10 to 12 hours. Modafinil was invented in the 1970s, and since then, it's been used by the highest performers on and off the planet. Soldiers, pilots, and astronauts aboard the space station use modafinil in high-stakes situations where full concentration and alertness are paramount. It's now available at mod.com to qualifying patients. Visit mod.com, that's M-O-D dot com, for a free consultation and get 10% off your first order plus free shipping with promo code Draymond. That's promo code Draymond at mod.com. See their website for important safety information, and we thank Mod for sponsoring the pod. In other news, the on the broadcast showed me having a moment with. Darius Acuff. Uh, now Acuff, as you all know or may not know, Acuff played for The Family. Uh, The Family is an AAU team ran by Coach Speedy Walker based out of Detroit, Michigan. Darius Acuff grew up and has played for The Family. And so for me personally, as an alumni of The Family as well, I always want to see young guys do well that come from The Family. So I'm rooting for Darius Acuff. like nobody's tomorrow. I really wanna see him have a successful career. Now, however, I always try to share knowledge with young guys. Number one, I feel like, what you gonna do? You gonna take the knowledge with you? And also, if you see something that may help a young guy out, give the game back. I've always said before, Pete Myers said something to me that stuck with me my rookie year. He said, yo, you owe it to the game. To leave it in a better place than it was when you found it. What does that mean? Right? And for me, you know, that means several different things. But more importantly, I think for me, you know, when I got some knowledge, when I see a young guy doing something that I can maybe help out, that may help him at some point in his career, I always wanna try to share that knowledge. And so in the clip that everybody saw, I was talking to Acuff about a possession he had earlier in the game where, you know, he had the ball and he ended up getting fouled at the rim. But it was just some game that I wanted to share with him. You know, when you're a young guy like Acuff drafted to a situation like the Sacramento Kings that are rebuilding, that's kind of trying to figure out the direction that they're going. Sometimes you can create bad habits when you are in situations like that. And, you know, and because, A, you know, they could be telling you, hey man, go out there and get as many shots up as you can. Or, you know, get into a pick and roll every possession. Just things that you wouldn't necessarily do on a great team. Sometimes you oftentimes see that happening in the NBA when you have a situation like the Sacramento Kings. And a lot of times, you know, those teams don't normally have any vets that are gonna help you out either. You know? And so I saw something in that game on a possession that I was speaking with Acuff about that he had the ball the entire possession. Ultimately down the stretch, late in the possession, he ended up getting fouled at the rim. But my advice to him was just, hey man, you remember that possession, which is why I was doing this, right? Like showing him. What the end of the play, what the end of the possession, how the possession turned out so he can remember the possession. And I'm like, yo, you remember that possession? And then he asked me, he's like, oh yeah. I'm like, who else touched the ball that possession? He's like, nobody. Don't have many of those because you can end up having a bunch of those with the Sacramento Kings this year. And a few things can happen. One, You can get guys start plotting against you, uh, guys that don't really wanna see you do well, guys that start bickering on the side to other guys, um, guys that try not to put you in the best possible position to be successful, right? You can get guys that get upset like, oh man, they wanna get this rookie this, they wanna do that, fuck that, right? And they get pissed off. And so you can get some of that. And number one, I just don't think as a rookie, you know, you wanna be up against that. That's a tough position to be in as a rookie when you get things like that to start to happen. And by the way, when you're on bad teams, teams that are trying to figure out a direction. Now, Sacramento Kings aren't a bad team. No one's a bad team yet. But as we all know, there's been so much talk about them. Wanted to trade Sabonis, wanted to trade Zach, which to me states they are trying to figure out, they are trying to figure out what direction they're gonna go in. And so you could be in a situation where no vets are even talking to you. And so just anytime I see things like that and I can try to help give a young guy some game, I just try to do that. Wasn't anything too serious. But like I said, in situations like that, sometimes, whereas people see like, oh man, you gonna have the ball every possession. That's great. Yeah, that's all great and fine and dandy until you start creating bad habits and there's no one really there to correct it. Right. And so for me, you know, when I saw that, you know, I just wanted to give him a little game about that. You know, even if you, you know, He got a switch that he like. Even if you get the switch you like, get off the ball earlier and get it back so you don't have it the whole possession, right? But you just want to minimize the amount of possessions that you have the ball the entire possession. It's hard to win that way in the NBA at the highest level, right? Like, you know, we've seen players that have the ball all the time and they hardly ever, if ever, win championships. You know, it's after a while, after a while it just gets really tough, you know, to have the ball the entire time and still be a great team. You know, guys get, again, like I said, guys get upset, guys get out of rhythm. It's a very, very, very tall task. So anytime you can limit the amount of those possessions that you have, I think ultimately— is for the better. And that's just what I was sharing with him about that possession. However, what I will say is I would not be surprised if Darius Acuff is right up there at the top of the Rookie of the Year voting. He's going high. That kid is good, man. He is very crafty with the ball. There was a couple times I had him in a pick and roll and I like jump him at the last second. Super poised, just get off the ball and make the next play. Really, really good scorer. Obviously going to continue to get better, but I think that kid is really, really, really good. He crafty as hell. He, he, his pace is great. Got the burst when he need the burst. Like, I was very impressed. He'll be right up there at the top of the charts for Rookie of the Year vote as well as Yaxel. But that young fella got some game. A lot of games. Now we'll move around the association. Adam Silver says that the NBA is testing a smart basketball embedded with a microchip sensor developed by Wilson. Uh, the tech tracks spin, movement, and trajectory to help refs with out-of-bounds calls and goaltending. It could be used in games as soon as next year. So I find this one interesting, uh, and I find this one interesting because, you know, this is AI continuing to creep into basketball. It's, it's actually creeping into the actual gameplay of basketball, and this is, this is right there with it. But I think, um, I just find it interesting because there's more and more things like this that I think are, um, Continuing to turn officials into robots. You know, now you wanna see the ball spin. Like, you wanna— like, I just think more and more things like this takes away the natural element of the game of basketball. Now, you know, this is our first time hearing about this, so I don't know all the details of this. I'm just— my initial thoughts is when you start to see more and more of these things, It's kind of roboticizing the game, in my opinion. I think sometimes it takes away some of the natural feel for officials and things that they're— and calls that they'll make and things that they're looking at. And so I don't know that that's gonna be the case, but I just feel like when you're starting to see more and more of these things, It's turning officials more and more into robots because it's taking things more and more out of their hands. Now you could say, hey, it's taking away more of the human error. Some people, for the people out there that say, oh man, the NBA is rigged, or referees are betting on games, all the things that you hear people saying, this could help with that, right? Like this helps take more and more. And so I think there's multiple different ways to look at this. But ultimately, these things could be used next year. And I think, you know, they could be interesting. Adam Silver also said NBA players are hesitant to allow wearable technology during games. He said if you could see a player was slowing down or something like that, they're worried that that could get used in bargaining. And I get that. So one thing's for certain, players are definitely very skeptical on what data is collected in games and what wearables you're wearing. Because again, these things could be used against you. You know, it's like, oh man, we see this guy around the end of the third quarter every game, his performance tanks, his energy tanks. You know, then they wanna pay you as a third, you know, as a three-quarter guy in a sense, like, oh, as a bench guy, if you will. You know, that could be used against you. And there's so many other things, right? that can be used, data that's collected that can ultimately be used against you that I think players are just not comfortable with it. And, you know, they'll oftentimes say, oh man, like this won't be used in a negative way. How do you know that? You don't know that, right? And so I think players have always been a bit uncomfortable with what wearable technology that you're gonna wear in the game because you just, again, you know, you're gonna end up at the negotiating table at some point, hopefully. And when you end up at that negotiating table, the last thing you want is some data from something that you wore very innocently. And now you go to the negotiating table and it's used against you. No one wants that. So that's why players has always been kind of against wearable technology. And then also let's face it, sometimes this thing could tell you something a little different on how I feel. Also, it can't measure my mind, right? Like, yeah, I may be a little more tired, but then my mind click in and I gotta— I gotta fight that, right? And the heart kick in and I'm gonna outdo that. So you can't measure that in wearables. So, you know, I think it also gives a bit of an inaccurate picture of, you know, what a guy is capable of. Oh man, it's great to see Kyrie Irving and Tyrese Halliburton back on the court after long layoffs due to injuries. Kyrie Irving missed the last 586 days, Tyrese Halliburton the last 472 days. And you just love to see those guys back out there, man. 2 of the great point guards in our league returning to the court is only great for the NBA. Ultimately, you know, gonna have big improvements on those teams. The Indiana Pacers weren't recognizable last year without Tyrese Halliburton. You know, the Dallas Mavericks struggled last year without Kyrie. And so, you know, there's been a lot of talks about, oh man, they're gonna get Kyrie back. Kyrie's gonna play well. They're gonna trade Kyrie. You know, it's been so many of these different talks, but who cares? To see Kyrie back on the floor, to see Halle back on the floor is overall great for the NBA. Just with what those 2 guys bring to their respective teams and, you know, the excitement that both of those guys bring to the league. So welcome back to the fellas. Great to see them back out there. Thriving and getting back to it, getting back to what they love to do, bringing joy to their respective fan bases and a competitive nature that their teams will not have without them. Kyrie played his first game in China, which was great to see. Obviously, remember all the stuff from before and, you know, Ky being back in China with his Anta partnership, I'm sure has been absolutely incredible. And then Halle, having a homecoming, playing his first game back in front of his Iowa State fans. I thought that was super dope. I also think NBA should do more games in college campuses like that. That'd be amazing to see guys return to their college campuses and play preseason games. Super dope. You know, you get to feel experience playing in those arenas again. I think it's absolutely incredible. I haven't gotten an opportunity to play at Michigan State, But the Phoenix Suns and the Detroit Pistons did play at Breslin Center a couple years ago. So I would love the opportunity before I'm done playing to play a preseason game at Breslin Center and just the nostalgia of stepping on that court again and the feeling that that give you. But also for those fans, you know, who may not get an opportunity to see me play, you know, since I've gone to Michigan, since I've left Michigan State and been playing at Golden State and to go back home. Super dope, man. So hope, uh, Halle enjoyed that because that's incredible. And, and like I said, it's a little more added to it, be that that is his first game back since tearing his Achilles. So super dope, uh, and I think the NBA should do a bunch more of that. You know, it brings excitement to these preseason games, which sometimes can get a bit mundane. I also think that's a way to, uh, Bring more hype to the preseason, right? Like you could, even if it's not at a guy university per se, man, you put some of these preseason games in cool places, like dope things that you wouldn't necessarily do for a regular season game. And I think it can bring a bunch more excitement to the preseason for the NBA as a whole. There's been a ton of hype over the Timberwolves and their new roster with LaMelo and J.K. However, Coach Fence had this to say when asked about it. He said, I feel like the mood of the team is good. I feel like LaMelo Ball has a really good feel for the game. Edwards' feel for the game is improving all the time. My biggest concern is that Gobert lost a lot of allies, guys who understood him, knew how to talk to him. And as I go into the season, I am just conscious to make sure that there are people on the team that can still speak Rooted. Um, a lot of people has assumed that that's Mike Conley being gone, that possibly Julius Randle being gone, maybe Naz Reid being gone. But I find that very interesting. Uh, Gobert is now in maybe year 13, and the fact that, oh, you're on a very young team and other guys got to know how to talk to them is, is kind of tough. Because in year 13, it's time for you to start taking on that veteran mindset, right? It's time for you to step up in that way. You are the veteran on the team. So to think that on the team, somebody's going to, like, they need to know how to talk to him, that's a bit weird to me. Like, you know, what I've had to learn is how you talk to them. How do you talk to the younger guys? Because how they talk to you, number one, there should just be a level of respect that how they talk to you shouldn't even be within question. But how you talk to them is something you have to learn because you start to get to a point of where the younger guys aren't quite of your generation, right? Like they're kind of of a different generation. So they react to things totally different. than what you may be accustomed to. And so I'm just very surprised, very surprised to see Coach Finch come out and say, hey man, like, I don't know if we're gonna have enough guys that'll know how to talk to Rudy, like speak Rudy's language. Like that's a bit weird to me. I think there's more to that, that obviously none of us will be able to dissect outside of being in their locker room. That's a bit weird, and I think the onus is going to end up being on Rudy to figure out how to talk and deal with the younger guys, not the guys figuring out how to talk to him. That's just a little backwards to me. There's been a lot of chatter online about the Spurs starting a 3-guard lineup in the preseason with Fox, Castle, Harper, Vassell, and Wemby. And listen, I think Number one, uh, that could be tough because now you're staggering with your lineups. Who's staying, you know, which guy is going to come out, uh, you know, how you're divvying minutes up. I think it can get a bit funky starting a 3-guard lineup. I also think, uh, you, you, you could— I mean, listen, Dylan Harper's good size. He's a point guard. Uh, De'Aaron Fox, good size, he's a point guard. Stephon Castle, really great size, ultimately a point guard. So I don't know that, you know, you're gonna end up putting a lot of onus on Wemby defensively, which is already a lot of onus on Wemby, right? Of course. But he's going to have to cover up everything, which he already covers up, of course. But it's a little different when you have size and you have people that know how to play the 4 position and different things that— it's still a little different when it comes to the lineups on what you have to cover defensively. So yes, we know, uh, Wemby's superhuman, and we know, uh, that Wemby can cover up just about anything, of course. But having to cover up every possession for everybody and no one really there to rotate and help you, it can get a bit tough. So I would love to see how this is going to affect them defensively because I think it would definitely Negatively affect them defensively. And not from a standpoint of like, oh, Castle can't guard, or Fox can't guard, or Harper can't guard. Not from that standpoint, but just from a size perspective and positional awareness perspective. Because that ultimately does come into play on the defensive end, and just positional awareness and how, you know, one thing about bigs is bigs has always worked in tandem with the 4 and 5. If you don't know how to play the 4, Wemby has nobody to work in tandem with. So ultimately I think that it could kind of have a negative effect on them. But you know, if they want to give it a go, you may have to give it a go with where Harper is in his career after one year and what he showed last year, especially during NBA Finals and all playoffs long. You may have to give it a go, but I do think this could possibly make them a little worse off defensively, which ultimately if it does, and then also the shooting. Yeah. that Julian Champagny brought to the table. Now Champagny is 6'8, right? So a little more length, but the shooting that he brought to the table, you're now taking that outta the lineup, which I think ultimately can affect the lineup as well. So it'll be interesting to see. Needless to say, they got 3 damn good point guards and they should be able to figure it out. I wanna thank you all again for tuning into the Draymond Green Show. Until next time, deuces. If you're rocking with the Draymond Green Show, be sure to click follow on your favorite podcast app. And while you're there, go ahead and drop a 5-star rating and leave a review. I wanna hear what you think, and it would also mean a ton to me if you share it with a friend that you think would enjoy it. Let's keep this thing growing. The Draymond Green Show is presented by Audacy and executive produced in conjunction with The New Media. Our executive producers are Leah Reese Dennis, Danny Friesinger, and Greg Holtzman. Video production and creative design by Kurt Courtney, Tim Meechel, Lauren Vieira and Evan O'Brien. Special thanks to the team at The New Media and the team at Audacy. Maura Curran, Josephina Francis, Hillary Shuff, Eric Donnelly, Kate Rose, Colin Gaynor, and Jake Galli.