Is Wemby The New Face of The NBA? Karl-Anthony Towns Interaction & Paul Pierce's AWFUL Take

What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. On today's show, I'll talk about Dub's recent hot streak, what's been working for us. I'm starting to figure it out. Then I'll hit future face of the league, Rich Paul stirring the pot, and Paul Pierce saying there's only 3 players worth max contracts. The Draymond Green Show is proudly presented by Grooms. Grunz proves that you can do the least and still feel the most. Thanks to a delicious daily habit that does the heavy lifting. Save up to 52% off with code Draymond at grunz.co. That's code Draymond at G-R-U-N-Z dot C-O. So let's get right into it. The dubs is rolling. Another good win last night versus Charlotte. 20-point win. Jimmy didn't play. Draymond Green was a late scratch and you know, we're expecting to have Jimmy back for Monday's game and Tuesday's games moving forward, but late scratch. So right before the game, literally we are going in the huddle for a coach to draw up the play, to break the huddle and go out. And he tells us like, or he says, Will, you're starting. Draymond Green tosses the rock in the starting lineup, which for, I don't know if people out there really understand, like when you go into these games and you're coming off the bench or starting, it's a different mindset. You know, when you're going into the game, you coming off the bench, you sit on the bench, you know, you like, all right, I'm going to the bench. I can watch the game, I can get the flow, I can let the game settle down and then we can play. And that's kind of your mindset, you know, when you're working your, you know, when you're coming off the bench or rather you're starting. And Rook got thrown right in the fire and he had an incredible game. And it was also interesting that like I saw the whole thing develop with Steve. They came to Steve, they told Steve Jimmy's out. And you can kind of just see like Steve like, huh? Uh-huh. Oh, all right. And then you can just see him make the adjustment and like the wheels start turning real fast and he's like, "Will." And I find that very interesting. Number one, because like how did he notice just like that that was the call? Like that was the one, that was the guy to go to. Because soon as they said it, I was standing there looking and I was like, oh, you know GP had been playing really well. So I was expecting like, go GP. And outta nowhere he went Will Richard. And that's one of those calls that like, for me, I sit back and I look at the job that coach is doing. I'm just like, man, like how did he right off the top of the dome just go Will Richard? That's the stuff I'd be fascinated about coaching. And like I said, Rook had a big game, bunch of steals, very disruptive on the defensive end. Made some good plays on the offensive end, some offensive rebounds, some— Yeah. Cutting into the right spot, hit 3, some steals, creating offense off our defense. It's beautiful, beautiful game to see. And the Rook cut his hair off. Came in with the little low box fro or whatever y'all like to call it with the taper. You know, so it's good to see the Rook come in and, Feeling himself first game without the dreads. Get into it. But anyway, that was a very interesting development to me. But most importantly, on this home stretch, we are currently 6-1 on the home stretch with 2 games to close out versus the Raptors and the Miami Heat. And you know, this home stretch, I think everybody's just kind of started to find their rhythm. Moses Moody's been playing incredible. I've played well on the home stretch. Brandon Przyjimski's played really well on the home stretch. Jimmy Butler's played well on the home stretch. Steph is obviously Steph. You know, so we're really just starting to turn that corner and it's good for us. Our schedule had been crazy and it's still, you know, I think the thing about this home stretch is it's been a game every other day. So it hasn't felt like much of a break per se, which it isn't, but. Yeah. You know, just to be at home, be in your rhythm, be with your family, you know, have access to the gym, all the facilities whenever you need. Like, and just find that flow, find that rhythm. It came at a good time for us. We, you know, we needed this at this moment. Hadn't had a home stand like this all year. So really good time. Everybody clicking, working together. And then obviously having Al and Melton back has, and what they've done. Not only in the second unit, but with whoever they're on the court with. You know, we always talk about having connectors, and Al and DeAnthony Melton are our connectors. It's great to see Melt, you know, this is the player we thought he was. You know, this is the player we knew we had last year before we lost him to injury, ACL injury for the rest of the year. This is the guy we knew we had. This is why— Melt. He was one of our two important targets. We went after Al Horford really hard. We went after De'Anthony Melton really hard in free agency this past summer. This is why you're starting to see it with Melt. He's gotten that speed burst back. He looks confident. His shot has started to fall, legs really underneath him. We've always known he can defend. But most importantly, what Melt has brought is another ball handler. And I think that's been really big for us to have another ball handler like DeAnthony Melton who can really handle the ball, who can break the defense down, get in the teeth of the defense, finish, make the next play. I mean, he's been really big for us. And then Al, Al's rim protection has been incredible. He's rebounded the ball great. And obviously we know what he is and who he is as a stretch 5, shooting the ball really well also. And so— Yeah. Just having those two guys has really, really, has really given us, you know, it's starting to turn a corner for us. It's connected all of our lineups, you know, made that second unit dangerous. Like if you look at this, this, this home stand, that second unit has been dangerous. Last night, bench had 70 points. And that's a bench that's playing without Jimmy Butler setting everyone up where our offense is around Jimmy Butler. And the second, that's a bench that did that without the attention being on Jimmy. And that says a lot, you know? And Melt really took over that role in that second unit with Jimmy being out, being that constant playmaker each play down the floor. And he was so intentional about it. And like I said, it was beautiful. To see because we know the chemistry with Jimmy and that group is really working as well. So it was good to see them play without Jimmy and what they were getting into and how they went about it. They continued to extend the lead like they've been doing. So really building up on that group. That group is becoming a key component of our team, a key component of our success. Yes. You know, that's been huge for us because it's the team that Mike Dunleavy anticipated having when he put this team together last summer, this past summer. And now you're starting to see the team at full strength. Looking forward to getting Gee Santos back whenever that is. But you're seeing the team at full strength and it's been beautiful to watch and it's all coming together for us. And so yeah, that's been the home stand for us. And like I said, closed out with Charlotte last night. And speaking of Charlotte, man, I found that team to be very interesting. Couple months ago or a month ago or so, it came out that the NBA is going to crack down on tanking. And I really wonder what that means. Like, how do you crack down on it? Apparently it'll be something they're altering with the draft position. Not that they're just altering the draft position, but altering how you reach certain draft positions., and apparently they're going to penalize tanking. And I would say, great. Uh, that can't happen fast enough. Because the Charlotte Hornets is a team that is tanking right in your face in plain sight. The fact that they have LaMelo Ball coming off the bench, I found very interesting. Um, they are a much worse team and so easy to guard when LaMelo's not on the floor. As I told y'all before, when we played them in Charlotte, LaMelo had it going. He hit multiple threes in a row. He had got their team going. And then in the third quarter, he came out at about the 5-minute mark maybe and did not come back in the game to no matter what was going on. Good game. He didn't come back in the game until the fourth quarter with 4 minutes to go. That when he left the game, he had hit like 4 straight threes, 3 straight threes. Like he had it rolling and he was playing beautiful basketball. I know people have tried to, you know, say that, oh man, LaMelo does this and he, he was playing beautiful basketball, advancing the ball ahead to their young athletic guys running in transition, making the plays, taking great shots. Knocking the threes down when we played them in Charlotte. And then he just came out the game and like didn't come back. And there's nothing to explain. Like, why, why, why is there nothing to explain about that? LaMelo Ball is on a max contract, one of the young talented guys in this league, and there's, there's nothing to explain about that. And so I saw that and I was just like, that's weird to me. That's tanking right in front of your face, in plain sight. Tanky. And then last night you see the, uh, we, we start our meeting and we're going through the starting lineup and I'm looking, I'm like, yo, Melo not playing. They like, no, he playing, he coming off the bench. And I'm sitting there looking like, huh? What? He coming off the bench? No disrespect to Zion James. I like his game. Um, you know, young rookie doesn't, you know, he has a presence, plays with a certain physicality. Respect to the young fella, but LaMelo Ball not starting, the offense was so simple to guard with LaMelo not— with LaMelo not on the floor. And also, when you look at this team, trade deadline's coming up. They're going to have some pieces they move. That's just the nature of sorry teams. Going to have some pieces they move. But I look at one guy in particular. What, whether he's in that or not doesn't matter. You're paying Miles Bridges $27 million this year, maybe $25, something like that. And it is very clear that Miles Bridges is so much better when LaMelo's on the floor, as are most people that play with great point guards. You're better when that point guard is on the floor. And so even the— that, like, having Miles out there with LaMelo, they're one of the best lob duos in the league. Uh, Miles plays— it was way more aggressive when LaMelo's on the floor. He knows how to find his spots when LaMelo's on the floor. But then you put him out there with no point guard. Who's setting him up? Brandon Miller got it going because he, he just got it going from 3. Who's setting him up? Conkanupo got it going just in transition and on some, you know, trapping the ball, he getting the swing. Who's setting him up? You have a point guard that is built to set all those guys up. And he's on the bench on that team. I don't get it. They are tanking in plain sight. And you know they're not looking to trade LaMelo because you wouldn't be bringing them off the bench. You'd be playing them, playing them, playing them so everybody can see them and get excited. So they're really just tanking in plain sight. And I think that sucks. Everybody always complaining about low management and 65 games and, you know, guys get hurt and they're gonna miss out on MVP awards and all NBA teams. The real problem is these teams that be tanking. And that's been a problem for a very long time. Before Kawhi Leonard ever said the word load management, that was a problem. And it's still a problem. You got teams tanking right in your face, bringing LaMelo off the bench. Ridiculous. So I thought that was whack. I also feel bad for Melo because what a young, talented, really good player in this league. You coming off the bench because they're tanking? That's whack to me. And crazy. But appreciate it. Also, they got the big man, Kalkbrenner, who I watched him play in college at Creighton. Big body. He would really benefit from having a point guard like LaMelo and he's rolling in the pocket. LaMelo drawing attention. He get late drop-offs. He was nonexistent because there's no point guard to set him up either. So again, the tank job that is Charlotte is ridiculous. Man, I saw a lot, a lot made of my interactions with KAT. And I will share those interactions. OG and Anunoby and I were sitting there having a conversation. And he came and joined in talking and he told me that, hey man, you been talking for the, you gonna start talking in the last minute and a half of the game? You're a front runner. Now, one thing Karl-Anthony Towns can't do is call me a front runner. His voice changes too much to call someone a front runner. Because we don't really know which cat we getting. In saying that, for those that watched that Knicks game, I was talking the whole game. I always talk the whole game when I'm in that mode. And I was definitely in that mode coming out, as you could see by the first post-up. And he tried to back down and the wall didn't move. And you try to back down and the wall didn't move. And then you try to, ah, and the wall doesn't move. So the 7-foot, 290-pounder versus the 6'7" guy that's 240 pounds, then shoots a falling fadeaway off one leg. And brick. We're going the other way. And I'm, when he catch the ball, I'm looking like. Yeah. And the bench see it, and then they see that man can't move a brick wall, and then he misses the shot. So you knew right then and there, the look on my face, how Stackhouse call it, get serious when a guy gets serious in the post, how I got serious and nothing came of it. And then we go down again and again, and he tries to post up again and nothing came of it. And then later in the game, in the first half, he tried to post and nothing came of it. Yeah. The next one he went middle and like, da da da, shot this fadeaway going middle. Nothing came of it. So I was a little baffled at how, you know, one can be a front runner when you ask the guys on this bench, they was witnessing it. Me talking to him the whole game, "He too little." That's what I kept saying. I think he too little. My mind, just for y'all out there, in my mind I'm 7 feet, 280 pounds. At least that's the size of my heart, maybe even bigger than that. So, you know, he say, "You front running." And I'm laughing at him. I'm like, "Front running? I've been talking to you the whole game. You decided to stay quiet the whole game. Your coaching staff tried to get me off you. Mike Brown started talking to me, started talking junk for him. Rick Brunson came off the bench, started talking junk for him. Like, 'Hey, you gonna get off my man. You gonna get off my man, Draymond Green. We ain't doing that. You gonna get off my man.'" I'm like, "Oh gee, I gotta get at him." I gotta get at him, OG. He like, no, you gotta get off my man. OG Anunoby tried to take up for him. OG like, man, Draymond Green, let him live, man. You gotta get off him. Frontrunning. I ain't coming up the last minute and a half if that's only happening for a minute and a half. You know, so, you know, I just said some choice words to him. Nothing disrespectful, by the way. I ain't call him out his name or nothing like that, but just said some, some choice words of what I think he is on the basketball court. But then I also proceeded to say, but by the way, your dad is amazing. I love OG Towns, man. He's incredible. His energy is the same. One thing I respect about OG Towns is, and I said this after the game too, me and KAT had our little back and forth. We were talking. I got a lot of respect for KAT and what he's done in this league, the basketball player that he is. Anybody that can produce at that high of a level for 10+ years in this league, you deserve respect. But we gonna always have them battles and I'm gonna always step up to that challenge and want that challenge and be who I am when that challenge is taking place. And so that's never gonna change. But KAT is one of the young good bigs in this league. When you have that— thing about KAT is, what I actually like playing against KAT, is you always have to be on, on the defensive side of the ball. You always have to be on. 'Cause if you relax for one second, he get an open three. You relax for one second, he to the hole. He got everything in his arsenal. And so you can't relax. It requires you to be engaged at all times. And I can always appreciate that. Same goes for Wimby. You must always be engaged. Not for the same reason, but just the advantages they get. If you're not engaged and they get that advantage, you can't make up the advantage. Joker, you must always be engaged. Cat, you must always be engaged. And so I enjoy those matchups because it challenges you. It brings out the best in you. It brings out the best in your focus level. It brings out the best in your physical ability. It brings out the competitive fire in you. And so I always love those matchups. But like I told Cat in that moment, like, hey, yeah, man, this is what I think of you. But I love your dad though. He's incredible. But like I was saying about the OG, man, like— Yeah. He let the basketball game be the basketball game because that's just what it is. It's a basketball game. You play, you do what you gotta do on the basketball court. You leave, what's on the basketball court, it stays on the basketball court. You leave, you move on. Life goes on. OG never takes anything from the basketball court and makes it his business. Number one, that's a real man that raised a young real man. That raised a young, a real young man. That's a great man that raised a great young man. And I respect that. I love that, you know, he never comes onto the court doing his thing, making it about him, making anything about what's happening. I respect that so much because he has raised an incredible young man. And you can see it in stuff like that of why that young man is so incredible. So shout out to the Towns, man. Always love them battles. Carl Anthony Towns will be an All-Star again. We know the type of player he is. We know the talent that he is, but we always gonna have them mix-ups. We always gonna, you know, have that matchup and embrace it and look forward to it when we coming in the game. That's just what we do. That's the competitive side of it. And that's the side I love most about what we get the opportunity to do every day. And lastly, I see the text amongst me and Bob is going viral about the J.K. and Moses draft. And yes, I would always give suggestions in drafts and free agency and all of that stuff. That's what you do when you have successful teams. And yes, I still believe and love the Jonathan Kuminga pick and Moses Moody pick. With JK, it hasn't gone so well. And not that it hasn't gone well because he's been great. I've built a relationship that'll last the rest of my life. I'm forever grateful for, but it just hasn't quite gone the way anyone would have wanted it to go. Not the way JK would've wanted it to go. Not the way this organization would've wanted it to go. And sometimes— Yeah. That's just the way, that's just how the cookie crumbles in what we do. What we do is an inexact science. That's just how the cookie crumbles sometimes. Moses, I think it has worked. Moses is a starter on this team. He signed a second contract. He has a role and a niche on this team. It has worked. And so, you know, I see people like, oh man, this, that, and the other. If you wouldn't have drafted JK with the 7th pick, you're an idiot. And if you didn't think Moses, Moses is a great rotational piece, starting player on our team. If you don't think he's worth the 14th pick, that's, you're an idiot. And so definitely stand by that. Love that. Love those guys. And they both got bright futures in this league. And I will continue to watch them fulfill those futures, fulfill their dreams, reach their goals. Their level of greatness, whatever that level of greatness within them is, I look forward to them reaching that. And I will continue to be big fans of their journeys. Coming up next after the break, I'll go around the association and hit on the biggest stories, including Ant versus Wimby last night, Rich Paul's controversial podcast comments, and Paul Pierce saying there's only 3 guys worth the max. Be right back after this. Finding supplements that feel both effective and trustworthy shouldn't be this hard, but let's be real, it usually is. So many products are packed with fillers and mystery ingredients. That's why Symbiotica has become such a standout for me. 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That's symbiotica.com/draymondgreen to get 20% off plus free shipping. What's up everybody? Welcome back to the show. As promised, we'll now move around the association a little bit more because we moved around a bit, but that was just the Charlotte Hornets and what bothered me with them last night. But let's get around the association. Crazy Spurs versus T-Wolves game that I did not get to see due to us having a game. But I did see the highlights and I saw Ant-Man drop 55 and Wimby had 39 and 9 with the Spurs ultimately taking the win and the T-Wolves being on the second night of a back-to-back. And the question you have to ask yourself is, are these two guys that could possibly be the next faces of the league? And I do think Ant-Man has the ability to be the face of the league. And I think he has the charisma to be the face of the league. And I do think obviously Wemby has the ability to be the face of the league. The thing with Wemby is we still have yet to see a non-American be the face of the NBA. Mm-hmm. The face of the NBA and the best player in the NBA are two totally different things. And we're still yet to see a non-American be the face of a game that is created, dominated, and based in America. Dominated by America. And is based in America. We've still yet to see an international face of the NBA. And so with that being said, I think when talking face of the NBA, you always have to take that into account. So with Wimby, who I think, man, that we all know how special Wimby is. There's no need for me to sit and talk about how special Wimby is. But in saying that, can you have a face of the NBA that's from France that, or is not from America. Does that really resonate and hit home with America? Because ultimately that matters when being the face of the NBA. Another thing that Wemby has going against him is Wemby's 7'5"? 7'5". We've never seen a 7'5" guy sell a sneaker at a high clip, which also kind of coincides a bit with the face of the NBA. So there's just some things that come with it now. And saying all of that, again, Wimby has the talent to be the face of the NBA. Wimby has the love and commitment and dedication to be the face of the NBA. But ultimately, the face of the NBA has to be accepted and created by the people. And I just don't know that the people, A, can relate to a 7'5" guy, B, a non-American, and specifically a European, and make them the face of our league. I just don't know that that's gonna happen. And I have a legitimate reason to think that that may not happen because it's never happened before. You know, you got, Joker's been the best player in the league now 3, 4 years. Giannis was, Luka's right there. None of them have become the face of the NBA because we've just never seen a face. And you could say, listen, LeBron still being Bron, Steph still being Steph, that's why those guys didn't become the face of the NBA. You can make that argument, but the reality is the reality. They're the best players in the league and still didn't become the actual face of the NBA. And I do think that that's in part due to not being American. We've just never seen that in NBA. We've seen Europeans be the face of the NHL. We've seen non-Americans be the face of MLB. We're seeing it now. But we have not seen that in NBA. We've not seen it in the NFL. We just have not seen non-Americans be the face of these leagues. And so until that changes, I don't think it's possible until it changes. If it does, and I don't know that it will. In saying that, this will be one of the premier matchups for years to come. As long as Ant-Man's in Minnesota, Wimby's in San Antonio, this can be one of the premier matchups because it is— It is. Two of the young studs, superstars in this league. And so I enjoyed it. I love the way both of them spoke about it after the game. Wimby like, "Yeah, I'll take on that challenge of him trying to dunk on me." Ant-Man like, "Yeah, I wish it was just me and him lined up one-on-one." I never loved that statement because one-on-one just isn't a real thing when it come to basketball. But I can read past that and read into the statement and I get exactly what Ant-Man was saying. And I love how both of them didn't shy away from questions. Both of them didn't dodge it. They answered the questions and they leaned into it. And that's the stuff that make this league great, man. That's what build rivalries, when guys lean into it. So oftentimes everybody wanna say the right thing nowadays. "Oh man, I don't wanna ruffle no feathers here. People gonna get mad here." That's the shit that make this league go. People leaning in. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, they leaned into the rival. Michael Jordan and Isaiah Thomas, they leaned into the rivalry. LeBron James and Steph Curry leaned into the rivalry. You have to lean into these rivalries for them to become rivalries. Also, to become rivalries, one team need to win, the other team need to win. I saw the other day, J Dub say, "Eh, I don't quite see no rivalry yet." And he's right. One team need to win and the other team need to win. Until San Antonio Spurs win, you can't say that's a rivalry. It can be a great matchup. It can't necessarily be a rivalry until you're winning, we're winning, you're winning, we're winning. That's what creates great rivalries. And also young people, guys, athletes leaning into these things, man. This league has gotten so soft that no one leans into anything anymore. And leaning into stuff like this is what makes these games great, is what makes them marquee games, is what makes them prime time and people wanting to watch. So I love what Ann and Wimby did. Shout out to those guys. Not the faces of the league right now. Some young faces of the league, but they're not the faces of the league right now. But doing stuff like that can make you the face of the league because you build up the things that are most important. So shout out to both of those young guys on they great games and just what they're bringing to the league. Love to see that. In other news, Rich Paul making a lot of noise on the podcast saying the Lakers should trade Austin Reeves for Jaren Jackson. And saying he told Moses Moody, you should be looking to push Draymond out. Um, the looking to push Draymond out is no shocker to me that Rich said that, because Rich and I talked and he told me that years ago. He's saying that to Moses. Um, and I'll explain that comment to y'all for those that don't understand it. It's not that Moses was going to become Draymond Green and push me out. What Rich is saying is you become so valuable to a team that they can't afford to keep Draymond, but you're young, you be— they push him out. That's what Rich was saying. And for those that don't understand it, it is what it is. Uh, but that's a quick explanation for you on that statement. Um, and I get it. And by the way, for many, many, many years, I felt like the Warriors were trying to push me out. And not that they were saying, hey, Draymond, we're pushing you out, you need to leave. No, I don't mean it that way. What I mean is They drafted Eric Pascal, they drafted Kevon Looney, they drafted Jordan Bell. They drafted really all of these guys to take my spot. And Looney obviously found his way. Um, Jordan Bell had a good run, EP had a good run, but ultimately my spot was never taken. But that's what general managers are doing. They are drafting guys to take on the spot so the guys was making the big money so they can move off them, reset the cap. That's just the job. Yeah. Right? And so I don't make anything of that, but I definitely understood it. And then also obviously Rich saying the Lakers should trade Austin Reeves and Jaren Jackson. And I saw the fallout from that. I saw everybody talking from that. I saw Bron speak up on that. And the one thing I'll say is, as someone who not only works with Rich, Uh, and Clutch Sports. But Rich was in my wedding. LeBron was obviously at my wedding. Close relationships, my brothers. If you think Rich is going to come out and say what LeBron James needs to say, you have it all wrong. If you actually seen their relationship, Rich is more likely to say the complete opposite of what Bron thinks or says, just because they kind of have that brotherly, you know, not friction, but like that brotherly, I'm my own guy, you your own guy. That's how they kind of operate, like I'm gonna speak for myself. I'm gonna stand on my own too. That is how, that is their relationship. Like also, if you see the things that they go back and forth on, they go at each other all the time calling each other out. And so to think that, A, who Rich is, that he's just gonna come out and like secretly say what LeBron James is thinking, like that is stupid. You think they're gonna wait 23 years to start doing that? Doesn't make sense. Also, if you're around Bron, he doesn't sit and talk about the Lakers. Just really not something that he does. And so I found it very interesting— people always jump to conclusions— I found it very interesting that people's like, oh man, he's just saying what LeBron want him to say. What? Also, Austin Reeves after 30. Why would Bron want him traded? But what Rich could be possibly doing, because it's his job and it's what he does, he could be talking the business of basketball because he knows the business of basketball, quite honestly. But I found that to be pretty, um, stupid. And saying that, I've had a lot of people asking me, what do you think about Rich having a podcast? I seen Austin Rivers, man, you're an agent, you shouldn't have a podcast. And what I'll say is, listen, in being the first to do something, you're always going to get crushed. That's just what it is. In 2021, '22, I got crushed for having this podcast. And then we won a championship, and all of a sudden every player in the NBA and NFL got their own podcast. Yeah. Guess why? Not that they have it because of me, but the beating has already been taken. I'd taken the beating already, and so now everybody can just usher their podcast in and go on about their day. Not saying I was the very first player to have a podcast, but I was definitely one of the ones to make it more widely acceptable, um, The build the popularity in it, definitely one of them ones. And then we won a championship and everybody had to shut up. You can't play in podcasts. And then they had to shut up. And so in saying that, when you are groundbreaking in something, it's always going to be met with resistance. In a year from today, another Asian will have a podcast or two or three or four. Yeah. And you won't hear Austin Rivers say, man, he an agent, you should shut up, you shouldn't have a podcast. I'm sorry, but the agent doesn't control what the team does. There are some agents that working, working behind the scenes and lawyers and getting credit and other people are getting credit for. So the agent doesn't have any control over what the team does. They can make suggestions on what they think should happen. But they don't have control over what teams do. They actually work in opposition against the team. It's just the job of an agent. And so I see everyone saying, "Oh man, he tripping. He should shut up." And I'll say this, a year from now, more agents will have podcasts and everybody will be like, "Oh man, it's just a normal thing." But when you're the first, you always take the beating. Yeah. And that's what's going on with Rich right now. He's gonna take the beating for it. I find it very funny that people like, "Oh man, well he ain't doing his job because he's sitting on the podcast." Like that hour outta those 24 is really altering your day. It's not. Because when you are successful, you know how to plan a day. You know your priorities or else you never reach the level of success, let alone continue to build and build great things. That just doesn't happen. So that's kind of my stance on the Rich Podcast front. Keep doing your thing, Richie P. I love it. Talk your shit and make everybody mad. Also around the association, we saw that Ja Morant and Vince Williams was apparently gonna fight. Although everyone talks in the NBA, no one really fights. Um, but you can see Ja saying, listen, man, it is what it is, I'm right here. And I love the comments on people like, oh man, Ja ain't want no smoke. He told Ja to follow him to the locker room. He ain't want no smoke. I saw those comments and said, you people are so dumb. And what hood have you ever grown up in? Because if you grew up in a hood, somebody tell you to follow them to the alley to fight, you fucking idiot, you don't follow them. Like, what? What if there's someone to jump you in the alleyway? What if there's a gun he got stashed in the alleyway? What, like, What? And when you are from these places, you never lose those instincts. So follow me back here to fight me, it's just a very dumb thing. So when I saw people say, Jah is scared, he didn't want to follow him back there. I'm like, you people are idiots. Y'all are like the white person in the scary movie to where you watch them and you like, yo, Why would you run that way? Like, why would you go that— like, why would you do that? I can't believe that per— do you know they're about to get killed? Oh my God. Oh, of course. Oh, there it is. Jason got him. Like, Michael Myers got— like, we— that, that's what you're essentially saying John Moran should have done. I saw that and I was just like People are so dumb because you want him to fight. That man stood right there. I've been right here. Antonio, I've been right here for 5 minutes now. You still haven't done anything? I thought that was interesting. There's been reports that they were fighting over a dinner spot. Um, who knows what it was. Apparently the people that break down the mouth reading said that Ja said, y'all don't mess with me, I don't mess with y'all. I don't know, I don't really care, but I thought it was interesting that people said, oh man, Ja was scared, he didn't want no smoke. I don't think Ja was worried about him at all. Um, I was hoping that it wasn't a situation like, oh man, they're going to trade Ja and the young fella is like pushing himself in like, oh, I'm gonna stand for the organization. 'Cause they will trade you by February 5th. If, not saying they are, I don't know, but it's possible. Because we all can be traded by February 5th. It's possible. I hope he wasn't like, oh man, I'm gonna stand. Oh, he doing this against the team. What's going on with Draymond Green, if anything, is way bigger than Vince Williams. With the Grizzlies has absolutely nothing to do with Vince Williams. So I just hope that wasn't the case because you see that from time to time. And I, yes. So yeah, I just hope that wasn't the case because Ja Morant's issues are way bigger than Vince Williams could ever be. So that's that. Paul Pierce says there's only 3 players in the NBA worth the max contract, Wimby, Joker, and SGA. And my thoughts on that was another ridiculous thing said by Paul Pierce. I understand what he's getting at, um, I guess, but Ant-Man not? Jason Tatum not? Giannis not worth a max? Jalen Brown? Draymond Green, Steph Curry. You mean to tell me none of these guys are worth max contracts? So then what Paul Pierce is saying is he was never worth a max contract because you named 3 guys. And when Paul Pierce was in the league, Kobe was in the league. So it definitely wasn't Kobe. Um, Paul Pierce spent some time in the league with Michael Jordan. Definitely wasn't Michael. Kevin Garnett, definitely wasn't Kevin. Tim Duncan, definitely wasn't Tim Duncan. So pretty much Paul Pierce was never a max player either. If his notion is what works. Um, then, then he was never a max player. Dwyane Wade was in the league. So Paul Pierce was never a max player if his notion is what a max player is. Now, yes, there are some guys that get max contracts by circumstance, right? Like there's a collective bargaining agreement. There's a floor salary that teams must pay. Talking about assets, you may wanna withhold an asset. You gotta pay 'em what you gotta pay 'em because the market decides what guys get. Yes, all of those things. There are some guys that get maxed due to circumstance. But to say there's only 3 and also to leave off Ant-Man, like if you don't, if you wanna say Steph not, Bron not because of their age, Cool. You can say, oh man, I don't want to give that guy a 4-year max because I get it. But to say they're not max at all, just another idiotic thing that Paul Pierce has spewed into the world and that we must live with. NBA has played a game in Berlin the other day. They will play a game in London this weekend as well. Which just takes me to my time and playing and my different journeys and playing overseas, whether that was with USA, Team USA, or in the Warriors preseason games. And you know, one of my favorite things about playing overseas is you get to see the love of the game in other places. And it's beautiful to see how this game moves from continent to continent, country to country. And the fan support in each country is huge. Yeah. I've had some great memories playing overseas. And winning those gold medals and bringing them back home when everybody's rooting against the United States of America. And then one of my favorite moments about the Warriors preseason games, I've played in China a few times, one of them being against the Lakers and Kobe. And I remember, you know, Kobe didn't play. Kobe wasn't on the bench. Kobe was just chilling in the back. And he came outta the locker room at some point and we're out there playing. And like the crowd goes berserk. I mean bananas. And we're all looking around like, why the hell are they going crazy like that? And you see Kobe walk and they are going nuts. And that's when I knew that Paul Pierce wasn't Kobe. I said, that's kind of the birth of, you thought you was Kobe, they don't love you like that. Yeah. Because I got the opportunity to see that love And that was insane. Like the craziest— those— they went nuts when Kobe walked out. Couldn't believe it. It was unreal, man. I've never seen a reaction like that to a player anywhere in the world. And I've been to China on multiple different occasions. I've never seen a reaction like that to a player. It was nuts. And that's one of my favorite moments about playing over— like to see that. Yeah. Moment. That was insane. And it showed me how big Kobe Bryant really was. Obviously we all knew Kobe was huge, but that moment right there was one of my favorites. Just to witness that moment, witness his fanfare, how huge Kobe is, how everybody loved him. That was nuts. And I really enjoyed that, being a part of that moment, just being there to be able to have the opportunity to see that moment. Mm-hmm. Yeah. They don't love you like that. Nobody's Kobe. And it showed in that game. And I appreciate the moment. Appreciate y'all also for tuning in to the Draymond Green Show. We're gonna finish off this homestand with the Heat and the Raptors on back-to-back. Big, big games. Wanna close out the homestand, especially the getaway game's very important. We've also lost to both of these teams. Wanna even out the season series. Big moment for us in the season, but two big time games that we need to get. Till next time, it's a wrap. 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 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 Curt Courtney, Tim Meekle, Lauren Vieira, and Evan O'Brien. Special thanks to the team at The New Media and the team at Audacy. Maura Curran. 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