Draymond Green Recaps Jimmy Butler’s Warriors Camp, Lonzo Ball's Non-Retirement & NBA Extensions

What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. On today's show, I'll get into a little bit into Jimmy's Players Only Dubs event in SoCal. There's a lot of extensions that happened over the last week that we'll talk about. Also, Nicolas Batum retired and a bunch of other things that's happening around the NBA as we get back into training camp soon. But let's get right into it. All right. Jimmy hosted, uh, again, a players-only event in San Diego, which I think is super dope for Jimmy to open his crib up, uh, you know, for someone who's not even playing right now to host at his home. Uh, always super gracious. The vibes are high, always. Uh, the wine, as you know, is top tier like no other. I think I told y'all, Jimmy's wine cellar is insane. Anybody who drinks wine will walk into that wine cellar and it's like kind of what you may think of heaven. Like obviously heaven is extraordinary, but this wine cellar is extraordinary. It's absolutely incredible. And always appreciative of Jimmy because Jimmy is not one of those people who like, oh man, look at this great wine. Now let me go grab a bottle of bullshit. Jimmy's like, oh man, look at this great wine. By the way, pick which bottle you wanna drink and let's drink all of it. And as someone who loves wine, I can always appreciate someone like that because that's how I am. Now obviously I don't have near, and when I say near, I mean like not even in the same state wine cellar that Jimmy Butler has. But what I do have, I'm willing to drink. I hate when people's like, oh man, I got this great wine and I'm just holding it for another 20 years. No, if it can be drank right now and it's good, drink the goddamn wine. You know? So I'm forever grateful. But like I said, the vibes was high. We got some great run in. Excited. You know, I've always been in this mindset ever since like maybe year 6 or 7 in my career. Maybe not even that late. You know, we'd be playing into the Finals and, you know, you go to the Finals, you're talking June. I think June 10th or 11th is the earliest I've ever been done in the Finals when we swept. But you know, you're talking June 16th, 19th, 21st. You know, July 4th roll around, week after July 4th, and people like, man, you excited for the season? Hell no, I'm not excited for the season. We just finished. So no. So what I did was when that would happen, it's crazy because I've done several different things like this throughout the course of my career, but you place them in different categories. So when that would happen, what I taught myself how to do is, is like, I never get excited for the season until it's here. Because number one, I don't think people realize the season is stressful. It's very stressful. You're playing for your livelihood. You're playing for to build a great resume. You're playing for a championship. You're like, it's stressful as hell. So what I did was I taught myself how to not get excited for the season until it's here. So, you know, if you asked me a week ago, like, yo, you excited for the season? I would tell you like, no, like I will be, but no. Well, San Diego, it brought that excitement for me. Like, I'm excited as hell. I'm ready to go. Training camp coming up top of next week. Like, I'm fucking excited. But I definitely had to teach myself not to get excited. This mini camp that Jimmy held, that Jimmy hosted, it got me there. Like, I'm excited as hell now. We're a few days away from training camp. Perfect. You know, and it's always super dope to see players get together without coaches. You know, Our coaching staff is great. You know, we hang with our coaches, some of our coaches. But when you're in an environment without coaches, how guys act, you know, how guys respond to each other, how the runs are going, all these different things, like it makes a difference. You know, Coach Izzo always had a saying where he said, player-coach team is better than the coach-coach team. Yeah. And this is a very, lesser version of that. You know, just for guys to get together, enjoy each other's company, break bread, break the ice. You know, you have new guys on the team, you're breaking the ice, like getting to know each other before you step in that stressful grind of training camp. You know, so it was super dope. You get to spend some time with the young guys, get asked a million questions by Yaxel, which is absolutely incredible, by the way. By the way, Yaxel's talked a lot of shit. You all know how I felt about Yaxel talking shit. That kid can play. He is really good. Now I don't wanna put some expectations on him because the NBA game is different, man. You get in that season with them lights on and, you know, guys, it moves fast. Like you're trying to, It's one guy, it's Kawhi Leonard tonight, it's Kevin Durant the next night. Like, it's hard, you know? So I'm not, I don't wanna put any expectations on him that is unnecessary, but he can play. He understands the game. He's smart. And this was like, this was really my first time getting eyes on him in person. You know? consistently shoot the piss outta the basketball. Like, I was very, very, very impressed. I'm excited to see where he can take it. I think Guy Santo's gonna have a big year. Melt being healthy, you know, is great. It was good to see B-Dub get out there with the guys. Al Horford's in incredible shape. So it, you know, it's really good to see guys get going and just see guys mixed together. That was absolutely beautiful. You had Jimmy rehabbing, Moses doing his rehab. Like, it was absolutely beautiful. We had a lot of fun. Wish it would've been a bit longer, but you know, you get up against the clock and schedules are tough. But really appreciative of Jimmy. You know, he hosts a great thing. Jimmy is a, He's a host at heart. You know, he want people to have a great time. And that we did. And everybody we played in Domino's, we whooped on. So just know that. But a lot of fun out there. And I think ultimately when you're able to build things like that, do things like that, ultimately I think it is beneficial for the team, you know, and something that you grow from. And like I said, breaking that ice from, Out the gate. It's very important. I wanna tell you about Zaply. As a professional athlete, staying at peak performance isn't the same as when I was 22. If you're a man over 35 dealing with afternoon slumps and low energy, listen up. I have to be incredibly conscious about my health, from training and sleep to my diet and supplements. If you're still buying supplements separately, stop. This all-in-one formula fills all your nutrition gaps. It's got 14 key ingredients right on the label, like zinc, vitamin D3, magnesium, and boron, supporting your energy, muscle function, and natural testosterone production. 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That's news to me, LOL, cuz I'm still waiting for a call. NBA season is long. So what I will say to Lonzo is when you say everything, I gave everything I had to hoop, that pretty much sounds like you're saying you have no more to give. However, I am very happy to see that Lonzo, regardless of the circumstances, regardless of, you know, his career didn't quite go the way we all would have thought it would have gone due to injury, because when he was healthy, he was a very special player in this league. To say, I'm grateful that I even made it and played for 9 years like that, that That feeling, that opinion, that openness is refreshing to hear because so many people have a bitterness about their journey. And each person's journey is their own journey. But to see someone who the journey didn't go quite the way everyone thought it would go, and I'm sure he thought it would go, say, no, I'm grateful I made it and I did 9 years. I think that's absolutely incredible. So, uh, obviously Lonzo has not retired, and I hope he get that call that he's looking for. Uh, it would be great to see him get the year 10 in the league for all the benefits and stuff. And he's done well, you know, I know he'll be fine, but I also think he's earned those benefits as well. So hopefully he can get that one more year in the league, get that call, and know he'll be a very good backup or third point guard on someone's roster. I hope he get that call because that's someone who worked his ass off for it, kept his head down, kept his mouth shut, and things just didn't quite go his way. So rooting for Lonzo. And like I said, I know he ain't announced his retirement, but big fan in me. And if this is the end, job well done. If not, great. Like I said, I'm hoping he get that call. Speaking of retirement, Nicolas Batum announced his retirement after 18 seasons in the NBA. You know, I played against Nicolas Batum in his younger years with the Portland Trail Blazers. He obviously left Portland and went to Charlotte. You know, played against him with the Clippers, played against him Team USA when he was with France, you know, and ultimately we were able to beat them in the gold medal game. But Nicolas Batum, man, great career. You know, continued to redefine his game. You talking from a young athletic, spry, bouncy guy to— go through some injuries, become a hell of a 3-point shooter, uh, and, and just worked his career, you know, and also did some things with his national team that a lot of people on his— in his national team history haven't done. So congrats to Nicolas Batum. Job well done. I thought that video, uh, I thought the video with his young one was incredible. It was beautiful. It was very short, simple, sweet, and to the point. So Job well done, Nicolas Batum. Enjoy retirement, brother. I'm sure he'll be around the game of basketball, probably be with Team France, but job well done, Nick Batum. Extension, extension, extensions. There are extensions happening all over the NBA, and I'm sure they'll continue to happen. Ausar Thompson and the Pistons agreed to a 5-year, $155 million contract extension. Twins Ausar and Amen Thompson are now the first pair of brothers in NBA history to each receive a $100 million deal as they signed for a total of $364 million. I know the Thompson parents are happy. 2 young fellas from Oakland continuing to push the boundaries. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. These young fellas will be making money for a long time. Y'all know how big of fans I am of them. And I'm happy they got their contracts. I see that there was a lot of discussion about their contracts, you know, their offensive limitations and this, that, and the other. One thing's for certain: there's not a player you can find in the NBA more athletic than those two guys. So number one, that is a skill. Number two, what they are on the defensive end is a skill. Iman Thompson has proven to be the better offensive player right now. He's However, he has the ball in his hands more. I think Asar is still figuring, kind of figuring out his way on the offensive end in the NBA. But with that athleticism, you can't teach that. You know, you want these young guys on your roster. This is a bet for the now and the future. You know, you want, these are 2 guys that you want on your roster. They changed the game with their athleticism, you know? And so. Great to see those young guys get paid. Shout out to them. In other news and extensions, you know, there's been a lot of talk about, oh, Jalen Duren doesn't want his contract because he feels like, you know, he's worth much, much more than Ausar Thompson. I'm pretty sure Jalen Duren isn't calling saying, I'm worth— y'all did that for Ausar. I'm worth way more. I hate when media try to stir up bullshit until you hear that come from Jalen Duren's mouth. I wouldn't believe it because everyone's always trying to get the big headline. Everyone always wants to stir the confusion. They say controversy sells. However, there are reports saying that the Pistons gave Jalen Duren a wait clause in his contract. Who knows? You know, I think with the shape, I think he's in much better shape than he was as a rookie. I think, you know, he's continued to get stronger. He's continued to play more physical. You know, I don't know what the scale tips in. That ain't none of my business. However, seems like Jalen Duren is kind of in a space where I don't know if he really wants to be in Detroit. To hear, you know, they were at $180 and they got to $200 and all the things, I'm not sure he wants to be there, but I'm not really one to speculate. I'll wait till this plays out. But as of right now, 2 days before training camp, there is no deal done with Jalen Duren. And the Detroit Pistons. The Draymond Green Show is brought to you by Mod. 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See their website for important safety information, and we thank Mod for sponsoring the pod. Keyonte George and the Jazz agreed to a 5-year, $157 million contract extension. No player option, no team options. I think this is a really good deal for both sides. Keyonte George, uh, has continued to improve each and every year. He had a really, really, really good year last year. And I think he fits the timeline of this Jazz rebuild. You know, I think they found one of their guards of the future. And, you know, he stayed in Utah summer after summer and put the work in. He's kept his head down. He has not caused any trouble in the NBA. Love when teams take care of their young guys, the young guys who are deserving. So oftentimes you see teams take care of young guys because they drafted them and the GM wants to look like he's right. This is a young guy who I think has kept his head down, has done the work, and has continued to improve. He's gone through this cycle of the Jazz, you know, bringing in 2 and 3 guards every year while they're rebuilding. And he's outlasted that, rose above all of that, and got his contract extension. So super happy for the young fella. Keontae, much love. Congratulations. Keep going. Go become an All-Star. Keep pressing it. Keep pressing go. Keep getting better. Rewrite what it what it should look like for you. Go be an all-star, but job well done and well-deserved extension. Pele Larson of the Heat agreed to a four-year, sixty-million-dollar contract extension includes a mutual option that fully guarantees sixty million while allowing either side to opt in for the 2030 season. I think this is a good deal. You know, you're talking fifteen million dollars a year. You know, for who they feel like will be a key rotational player. You got to build out your roster around Giannis, around Bam. And I think this is a good deal that is a tradable contract, number one. So if at any point they want to get off him, they need to bring in someone. This is a good contract to be a salary filler if you need it in a deal. This is not too much for a guy like Pelé to where you can't trade the deal. You don't look at this deal in a year like, oh man, this guy's way overpaid. So I think this is a good deal for both sides. And the Heat lost a lot of depth, so he'll likely play a much larger role than he has in the past. And again, this is a guy that the Heat found later in the draft. And, you know, it's good to see guys working, you know, teams to reward their own guys. Kawhi Leonard does it again, gets a 2-year, $115 million contract extension with a player option from the Raptors. A lot like Jimmy's deal that he signed 2 years ago with the Dubs. The 2-year extension was the maximum deal that the Raptors could do with Kawhi due to the over-38 rule. So that rule has always been in play. However, when CP and Bron were president and vice president of the union, the rule used to be 34. Like, you could only get a max up to 34 years, and they got it raised to 38 during the last CBA. that CP was on. And so that's what the over-38 rule is. It's not very old because they raised it, but it is an old rule. It just used to be less. However, guys start, you know, rewriting how long people can stay in their prime. So it used to be 34 where you couldn't get the max years. Now it's 38. That's why Kawhi got a 2-year extension as opposed to a 3 or 4-year extension. But I'm sure Toronto probably would have done— A 3-year. If they could, that's the rule. Cade Cunningham spoke to the Detroit Free Press for the first time since the Pistons traded Isaiah Stewart. He said, that's somebody I planned on playing my whole career with. For him not to be around, it is weird. It feels like I'm a rookie again, like I'm stepping into something new because I don't have him. Let me interpret this for you. Isaiah Stewart is the muscle, was the muscle. You couldn't talk to Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart would come take you out. That was his muscle. The Detroit Pistons traded that away. I don't know how that turns out. Cade say, I feel like a rookie again. He like, yeah, he ain't got his muscle right there. So he gonna have to fight some battles that he wouldn't have had to fight. He gonna have to redefine his physicality. Now listen, nobody's bullying Cade Cunningham. Cade gonna always play with the physicality, but it matters when you got a guy like Isaiah Stewart next to you. So when he say, I feel like a rookie again, he know, I gotta find that guy all over again. You know, when you see a franchise player like Cade Cunningham, and they lose their muscle like that, that's not always good. They replaced him with John Collins. I'm here to tell you, John Collins ain't doing that. No disrespect to John Collins at all, but he ain't Isaiah Stewart. That is what Isaiah Stewart is here for. That ain't what John Collins is here for. So, you know, it's gonna put some of that on Jalen Duren if he's back, you know? But they gotta redefine that. They gotta refine that guy. They're gonna lose some toughness on that team due to this. More people gonna try that team, try their guys due to Stewie not being there. So I really get what K Cunningham is saying. But this is also what happens when you don't win. You know, the Pistons, you know, I think, did they lose in the second round last year? Yeah. To the Cavs. Pistons go down in the second round to the Cavs, and now you're looking to make changes, right? You know you gotta pay Ausar Thompson. You know you gotta pay Jalen Duren. If you win, that team may go further into the tax. You get out in the second round, they start pulling pieces. That's just how it goes. That's why when you get up against that clock fast, and that's what happened right here. Now they lose their muscle. Kade ain't feeling that. Gotta redefine what it look like. So looking forward to the season and watching how that plays out. But that's what he's saying. Tyler Herro recreated TJ Forrest's iconic 2003 photo shoot, uh, with TJ, who's an assistant coach now. And I must say, I thought this was the corniest thing ever. I'm just gonna leave it at that because I ain't really trying to shit on nobody, but I thought it was super corny. And yeah, I'm gonna leave it at that. Michael Porter Jr. talked about losing his drive last season post-All-Star break. He said, for most of the season, I was shooting 40% from 3. After I wasn't selected, after I wasn't selected as an All-Star, I kind of lost my drive. I regret it, but I just didn't have any motivation left. We weren't playing for anything more. We weren't going to make the playoffs. I didn't even make All-Star, so I got discouraged. I wasn't even going to the gym like I used to before. I didn't prepare. My 3-point percent just tanked. Listen, I understand this. You know, it's hard in the NBA when you get later in the season and you know, January, February, March, April, and you're not playing for anything. What I would say to Michael Porter Jr. is, I think had, you know, I think had he played well down the stretch, he may not be in Brooklyn anymore. You know, he may be traded somewhere with an extension. You know, so there are consequences to every action. And I think that's one of the consequences for Michael Porter Jr. But what I would say to Michael Porter Jr. is, This is the first time in his career that he's kind of been up for All-Star consideration. And usually in order to be an All-Star, most All-Stars get snubbed first. Did Michael Porter Jr. get snubbed? I don't know. That's for you to decide. I'm not really here to debate if he got snubbed or not, but it seems like he feels like he got snubbed. And I'm here to tell him, you did. But if you finish the rest of that year strong, Everybody's now on the top of their mind coming into the season like, yo, we gotta watch Michael Porter Jr. Now, because he didn't finish the year strong, then people's just like, oh man, he's just out there playing on a bad team to make an All-Star Game. And so now you're gonna have to play so much better throughout the beginning course of this season, first 50 games or whatnot, in order to make an All-Star because of how they gonna view it now. So just for young guys out there in the future, like, just something to remember. And this ain't no knock to Michael Porter Jr. You don't know what you don't know. But I think people will hold this against him for the future, and teams looking to sign him is going to hold this against him for the future. So I would say, man, just try to— and also, you know, there's been guys that didn't make the All-Star Game and made All-NBA, and All-NBA is actually tougher to make. So just, just a little food for thought. Uh, yeah, just a little food for thought. You gotta finish strong because you're building that momentum for the next All-Star as well. Everybody's been asking, uh, about a video I teased on Instagram, uh, and it's Open Season. And what Open Season is, is so I have Open Season releasing on September 29th, on Meta VR. It is absolutely incredible. By the way, I had an opportunity to attend Meta Connect last week where Mark Zuckerberg, Bas, CTO at Meta, they did a lot of presenting, presenting new things. And wow. The strides they've made in VR. with where the world is headed with all the things that they are doing in AI. I mean, absolutely incredible. I was blown away by the devices that Meta has. And it's interesting because Meta obviously started as Facebook, right? And Facebook started as a social media platform. Meta is like this, They're becoming a hardware company and like pushing the world. Like, I couldn't believe some of the things I saw. So it was absolutely incredible to attend that. Very thankful to Mayrod, you know, Sarah, Ryan, to the Meta team, you know, bringing us in and allowing us to take part in that. It was absolutely amazing. But what I teased was Open Season. What Open Season is, is shot in VR, Last year during the season, literally open season, I went through therapy, you know, with a therapist. Different times though. Like, it's very real, very raw. It's you seeing me in a happy form sometimes, you seeing me in a beat down, disgusted, tired, don't know where to turn. Like, it's real life. It's real therapy shot in VR. So it's as if you're sitting in a room with me with these conversations. And it's— You know, there's no director in the room saying cut, you know, or, you know, like it's me and Dr. Carey in a room and we hash things out throughout the course of the season. And it's absolutely incredible. And that's releasing on September 29th. And I felt like I wanted to do this because therapy was always something that I was afraid of. It was always something that I was taught like, yo, you don't do that. It's for the weak. Those people don't know you. And it's ultimately a journey. that I had to go on for myself, and that's been extremely beneficial for me. And with Skydance as a partner and Meta, we developed and produced this show, Open Season, and I think it's absolutely incredible. And ultimately, what the goal is for me is just to share that journey, especially for that kid in Saginaw, that kid around the world who's been taught the same thing I've been taught, but sometimes things get tough as hell and you don't know where to turn. Yeah. just to say it's okay. It's okay to get help when you feel like you need help. It's okay to speak to someone when you feel like you need to be heard. It's important. And everybody have to go on their own journey. And I just wanted to share a little bit of my journey to make people who felt like me for so many years, that's not comfortable on that journey, to feel maybe possibly a little bit more comfortable on their own journey. If I can share my journey with the world, I hope to inspire some to, to just go on their journey in their own space, in their own peace— peaceful way, and go about their journey and bettering themselves. So that's Open Season. That's coming out September 29th. Make sure you check that out on MetaVRse. I wanna thank you all again for tuning in to 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 Mickle, 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.