Ja Morant To The Suns? NBA’s 65-Game Rule DISASTER, + European NBA Takeover

What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. On today's show, I'll do a quick mid-season check-in on my personal game, where I feel like I am, uh, on the dubs and where we are and how things are starting to play out. Also share my All-Star Game starters, uh, as that time has come to an end for voting and we will probably find out the starters next week, if not later this week. Um, and then I'll also join in on international versus USA debate as a two-time Olympic gold medalist. I think I have a pretty —unique opinions. The Draymond Green Show is proudly presented by Grooms. Grooms 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 Grooms.co. That's code Draymond at Grooms.co. We are exactly halfway through the season. Literally halfway through the season. I know everybody always say, "All-Star break, man. You guys are halfway through the season." All-Star break is so far beyond halfway point of the season. We are currently at 41 games played, which is half of 82, for my math geniuses out there. And we have about 14 to 15 games before the All-Star break. Which takes you to 56, 55, 56 games, which is 26, 27 games left in the season when you come outta All-Star break. So for us, you get to that All-Star break, you come out All-Star break and you know like, yo, it's a sprint to the finish line. It's a sprint to get to the end of the season. It's a sprint for playoff positioning. It's a sprint to wrap everything up and get yourself ready, get your team in the best position for playoff basketball, during playoff basketball, we always talk about not stumbling into the playoffs, but rolling into the playoffs. So you got some momentum, so you're feeling good about yourself. That thing is not always true because if you remember the Dubs in 2022, we did not roll into the playoffs. We kind of limped into the playoffs and stumbled into the playoffs. And then the rest is history. So most of the times it is true. In this case, in that case, it kind of went how it went, but nonetheless, I'll take it. At the midway point through the season, for myself personally, I feel like I am rounding into a pretty good space. I feel like I'm really catching a rhythm, really comfortable with my game. Things are starting to turn for us as a team. You know, I've been fairly healthy this year, which I'll take. You know, it's, as you start to get up there in age, the Knicks, the Knicks, they take their toll. For me, I felt great this year. I had that Clipper game that was brutal. It was, I was beat up after that one. From the fall to the chair. In the chair. You know, rolling my ankle, banging with bitch Zubac. You know, that was a tough game in itself. And I, you know, you feel some of the effects of residually from that as the season continues on. So that was a week ago. I think since the Clipper game, we've played 4 games, 4 or 5 games since that game. And so sometimes when you get these nicks and nacks, you're kind of, chasing it a bit, but you don't really necessarily have time to let the body heal. You're kind of actively healing as you're going. In saying that, uh, I've had a pretty good bill of health this year, and so that's great, which is allowing me to kind of catch that rhythm, rhythm round in the form. Um, overall, I think it's been a pretty decent year for me. I would like some of my numbers to be a little higher, uh, but that's, that's not the end of the world. What I would say for myself is just the comfort of shooting the ball, the comfort of taking the shots that I know I can make, not hesitating, just raising up when the shots are there. To me, that's felt great. To go so many years and not really having that total comfort, started to get the comfort back last year, but to go so many years and not have that total comfort, to start to get that comfort back, just as a basketball player, it feels amazing. You know, and I've had my issues of why that was an issue. I don't talk about it much because I'm not, I just don't make excuses. Things are what they are. You keep pushing, you deal with what you gotta deal with. And that's kind of what it's been for me. But needless to say, to have that comfort back in my shot and just willing to take the shot when the shots are there, Definitely feels good as a basketball player. As far as the dubs go, and then defensively, defensively, I feel like, you know, I've been good defensively all year, and now that's even starting to take a step up. You know, you're starting to see the stats to follow it. But as you, you know, like I said, as you get older and you start, you know, you get into these seasons, you're rounding into form. Mm-hmm. Getting into that tip-top shape, you know, now the stats are starting to follow, you know, with the defensive presence that I've already had and the plays that I've already been making. The stats are starting to follow that. So that's good. And then just us overall, the Dubs, we are 22-19 halfway through. In all honesty, probably should be 30 and 11, 28 and 13. I think we have completely given some games away that we should have won. And those are the ones that later on in the season you look back on and you like, ah, like if we just had this one, that one. Yeah. Like those were very winnable games, games that we should have taken and just kind of let them slip away. And so that's where we are right now. But I also think we're turning the corner. You know, you make a couple signings that's geared to help you out. Big Al Horford, who's playing incredible basketball right now, but early part of the season, you know, went through his injuries. You know, that didn't help us. Melt. Returning from his ACL recovery, playing really good basketball right now, was out first 30 games of the season. It helps, right? Like those guys are lineup connectors. You look at our second unit and they've been a part of that second unit and now consistently game after game, that second unit is starting to hold the lead or extend the lead or bring us back depending on the situation that we're in. That second unit is becoming more and more consistent. And that's due to having guys like Al, guys like Melt in that second unit with Jimmy. That's really allowing us to go and you're starting to see their play form take shape. And it's great. You know, so I think, you know, where we are right now, healthy, it's all starting to come together. We're really starting to find our identity.— and you're starting to see the pieces fit, you know. Can't necessarily say all year long you've been able to see the pieces fit, but now, you know, having a good bill of health, a fully healthy team, you're starting to see the pieces fit together, which is allowing us to build an identity, which is something that I talked about early that we just hadn't done, which was building an identity. And any team in the NBA, without an identity, you gonna struggle a bit. And I think we started to find that now. And it's put us in a much better position. And I, you know, going into these games, like you going into these games now knowing like, yo, we should win this game or this game we can give ourselves a real chance to win regardless of how the game is going. You know, now we're starting to win games with our defense. Although the shots aren't falling, you know, and when you can do that, that starts to take your team to another level. And I think we're starting to reach that, which it comes at a good time for us at the midway point of the season, still with 41 games left and in position and prime to put a run together. Being that we are at the midway point of the season, you know, you take a step back and you start to look at, you know, how many games guys have played, where they are as far as the 65-game rule, et cetera. And interesting moment last night for us on the bench. I was checking the stat sheet. Stackhouse had a stat sheet in his hand and I was checking the stat sheet and I was like, "All right, good." And he was like, "What are you looking at?" And I was like, "I played 20 minutes." He was like, he looked at me crazy like— Point. And I was like, oh, well you have to play 20 minutes in order for the game to count. So, and within the 65-game rule, you have to, or in any rule, whether that's the 65-game rule, whether that is a player hitting their incentives and bonuses, you have to play 20 minutes in order for the game to count. So say for instance, Draymond Green. Let's say, I think Zion Williamson has a game clause in it. Let's say Zion Williamson game clause, and I'm just using Zion as an example because I think he has a clause that he gotta play a certain amount of games or certain weight or whatever. But say Zion Williamson has a clause in his contract that says he has to play 61 games or 55 games. Well, towards that 55 game total, —has to, like, in order for that to reach 55 games, it has to be 20 minutes played in 55 games. The only exception to that rule is you get 2 games that you can be under 20 minutes. Say you leave early for, um, say you leave early for an injury or something like that. The game still counts towards your tally twice if you didn't play, if you played under 20 minutes. Outside of that, if you didn't play 20 minutes, it doesn't count towards the tally. And that rule came into play, if I'm not mistaken, a few years ago. If y'all remember Jrue Holiday with the Celtics, he checked into the game. I think he was with the Celtics still. He checked into the game, well, he started the game. Soon as the ball was tipped, he took a foul and checked outta the game. And it was for him to hit like a million dollar bonus or something like that. When the NBA saw that, they changed the rule to if you don't play 20 minutes, The game is null and void, it doesn't count. So I was just checking, be that it was a blowout, that I had played 20 minutes to make sure that my game counts. And I said to Stackhouse, I was like, "Yeah, you know you gotta play 20 minutes, blase blah." And he was like, "Really?" And I was like, "Yeah." He said, "Man, that's crazy." Which then led us, Alec Stack into talking about the awards and how the 65-game rule affects the awards. And I found it interesting because in a day and age where you hear so many OGs talk about load management, talk about, you know, how they played 82 games and da da da. Yeah. During the day and age when the game was slow as hell and they walked the ball up the court and the speed was completely different. So there weren't many hamstring injuries, there weren't many calf injuries, there weren't many quad injuries because they walked the ball up the court. In the day and age where you hear so many OGs speak on load management, It was interesting to hear one of the OGs speak on the 65-game rule. And he was just like, man, we gotta go back to the table and get that rule changed. He started mentioning Joker and how Joker's having an MVP season. I don't think there's a person in the world that will argue that. He's having an MVP caliber season. Possibly going to miss out on the award due to a freak injury with his knee that's costing him to miss quite a bit of a time, quite a bit of time. And due to load management, we put this 65-game rule in that affects awards, All-NBA Team, major awards, Defense Team. Draymond Green, et cetera. We put this rule in that was to combat load management, but I don't know a single star player like a Joker that's sitting 17 games for load management. And the reason I mentioned 17 games, because 82 minus 17 equals 65, the 65-game rule. No one's just sitting 17 games for load management. So it's one of those rules that, that, that put in place, that was put in place as if one size fits all. As if this hat you got, one size fit all. The glove you have, one size fits all. And it's just not the case because one size doesn't fit all. There's different things that take place. Yeah.— that are— that changes the scenario. So for instance, if Joker plays 64 games, you mean to tell me if he plays 64 games and the 100 voters that votes on MVP and All-NBA and blah, blah, blah decides as a human being— because these aren't mathematical equations, like this isn't some formula You know, where you're like, oh, we put these numbers into the tracker, like the DieselMaster calculator for my Californians out there that know anything about that. Wait, wait, it's not some formula that you put numbers in and it spits out who's the MVP. These are actual human beings. These are people that has been deemed to be experts of the game that didn't look, take a wholesome look at the entire picture and say, this is who gets my vote for MVP. It's not a formula. And so if that human being that the NBA thought was one of 100 that should have a vote says, yeah, he played 64 games, but I think he was the MVP of the NBA. Yeah. They shouldn't be stopped from making that vote because it's human beings. They have all the information in front of them. Again, I'd understand the rule if, if it was a, a mathematical equation, you know, and you put the numbers in and it spit a player out. Then I'd understand because then you're like, well, SGA plays 77 games. Yeah. Joker plays 61 games, I'm taking that into account. Or the mathematical formula can't take that into account. It's just taking into account the numbers. Then I understand it. But it's not that. It's a human being saying, huh, okay, X, Y. I saw these teams play quite a bit. Boom, I think this. Boom, that's what I'm voting for. If it's not going to be that these human beings can have all the data, take into account all of the data, and then just make their vote, then maybe we should turn into a mathematical equation so we can stop the human beings from snubbing people. So we can stop the human beings from costing Jayson Tatum $30 million. So we can stop the human beings from costing Draymond Green $35 million. So if we're going to let these human beings have the judgment to control $30+ million, well then we got to let these human beings have the judgment on how many games played mattered to them and what mattered to them and was that a freak injury and okay, yeah, it was blah, blah, blah. We also know when someone's load managing. So those human beings can say, well, they load manage X amount of times, but didn't really load manage, that was an injury. Those happen. If we're gonna allow the human beings to control someone's pockets, then we can't take the right from them to be able to vote for who they wanna vote for. Yeah. Because it's a version of having your cake and eating it too. And it just doesn't work. So getting back to, you know, Stackhouse, one of the OGs, and what he said is, yeah, we gotta go back to the table because it just ain't right for that boy in Denver to have to miss out on the war because somebody ran into his knee. That just ain't right. And I agree 100%. Let's take it a step further. Would you rather have the Joker who may be banged up, have an ankle injury, have a hamstring injury, anything of that nature, chasing 1 or 2 games in the last week of the season as opposed to like, Yo, he may need that game or two to be in prime position for the playoffs because that matters, right? Like we want to have good playoffs with healthy players, correct? Like you want the real guys out there just— So again, there's just these things that are happening that this rule is affecting that it's simply affecting because we applied this one-size-fits-all rule, and it's just not the case. And I speak on that from experience as someone who lost a Defensive Player of the Year award to someone who played 55 games. So you change it now, which affects the entire history of the NBA, but people have already been affected by it. All because of low management? No, you gotta find a different way. Yeah. 'Cause this way, it ain't the answer. I'm sorry, just not the answer. Coming up next after the break, I'll share my picks for All-Star starters. I'll give my opinion on Brandon Jennings saying the best 5 international players will beat the best 5 Americans. We'll be right back after this. I'll be honest, healthy habits have never been more important. So this year I actually found a routine that's much easier to stick to. Grooms. Feels like doing the least, works like doing the most. A simple, delicious daily habit that makes a real difference without overhauling my life. If you haven't heard me talk about Grooms before, they're a convenient formula packed into a daily snack pack of gummies. I love that it's not just a multivitamin, a greens gummy, or a prebiotic. It's all of those things and more at a fraction of the price. And the best part, they taste amazing, so it feels like a treat every day. Each pack is vegan, nut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and free from artificial colors and flavors. With 20+ vitamins and minerals, 60 ingredients including nutrient-dense and whole food ingredients, and 6 grams of prebiotic fiber— that's more than 2 cups of broccoli— Grooms makes healthy easy. Bonus: it's HSA/FSA eligible, so you can even use your healthcare funds to cover it. Kick your new year off right and save up to 52% off with code Draymond at Grooms.co. That's called Draymond at gruns.co. What's up everybody? Welcome back. As promised, we'll move around the association now. First up around the association is Dylan Brooks, who's having an incredible year. Sits at 15 technicals. For those of you that don't know what that means, that means his next technical foul, he will be suspended for 1 game. And then each subsequent technical foul after that, he will be suspended for 1 game. So at 16, he'll be suspended for 1 game. At 18, he'll be suspended for 1 game. At 20, 22, 24, and so on and so forth. Um, that is quite a ways up the ladder to be halfway point in the season. Um, probably almost inevitable that Dylan Brooks will probably get suspended at least 2 games this year. Um, we shall see. But I'm not really one that's too fond of people getting technicals or people getting suspended. I think it's actually pretty whack. Uh, so we're going to move on from Dylan Brooks' technicals, but However, we're going to stay in Phoenix because what I came across the other day on social media after the Ja Morant, um, announcement from the Memphis Grizzlies or sources around the Memphis Grizzlies that the Memphis Grizzlies are for the first time in Ja's career entertaining trade talks. After that, I saw on social media a couple NBA guys discussing Ja to Phoenix. And I found that interesting because once I sat back and I thought about it, it's like, huh, Devin Booker played his best basketball next to a great point guard in his career. That is Chris Paul. And when they had that point guard position filled the way they did, they actually went to the NBA Finals. Yeah. So it worked. John Morant is a superstar-level talent in this league. Obviously needs to stay healthy and stay on the court, obviously. That's with everybody, but it's superstar-level talent. So when you look at Phoenix, What would be the path of getting, acquiring a superstar level talent? Trade will be tough unless you're getting rid of a superstar that is Devin Booker. Because you don't have many picks because they sent a lot of their picks off in the Kevin Durant trade along with their young assets. And For trading Kevin Durant, they got one pick back in which they already used on Kamau Maluach. So when you look at the situation that Phoenix is in, in order to acquire star-level talent like Ja Morant, they don't really have the ability to do that with where they are with their picks, et cetera. So how do you do that? If Phoenix were to go after Ja, that would be what you would consider taking a flyer. What's taking a flyer? Meaning Ja's contract is up in another year and a half, 2 years, which would mean in 1 year it'll be an expiring deal, which those are a lot easier to get off of because they're expiring. Someone will take them because the money's coming off their books, resetting their books. So if you take a flyer, you can't give up many picks because they don't have them. You have the money and salaries to make the money work without breaking down your whole team, which I think is important. And so when I saw that, I, and I started thinking about it, I was like, huh. That's interesting. I see why these people would be talking about Ja possibly to Phoenix. And so, you know, the thing that everyone will say is, ah, well, you're building culture and this, that, and the other. I agree, you are building a culture. Ja Morant has been a part of a winning culture. They have not won championships, but since Ja's been in Memphis, they've been on the up until this year. I also think players that were stars, and not were stars because you're still a star, but were the number one in the organization, like they were the face of the franchise, and then they go to a situation that they're no longer face of the franchise, you're not getting the same person that you got that was the face of the franchise. Yeah. That's just not how it works. Because when they go into another franchise and Devin Booker's the face of the franchise, someone else the face of the franchise, it's no longer your show. You have to now fit behind that person, and you can't fit behind that person acting like it's your show. That's just not how it works in this league. And so you're also not getting the same exact person that Memphis got. Yeah. Because it's no longer the face of that franchise. And so I found this very interesting, um, of the talks about where Ja would be going, and someone mentioned Phoenix. When I saw that, I was like, huh, that's an interesting one. Anyway, uh, I have no clue where Ja's being traded to, or if he's even going to be traded, uh, but we'll keep our eyes out on that as people continue to report. But I saw that and I was like, huh, that's an interesting one. And you look at Ja played his best basketball actually next to Dillon Brooks. So you look at Dillon Brooks being in Phoenix now and the success that Phoenix is having with Dillon there seems as if Ja probably respects Dillon Brooks and that Dillon Brooks probably held Ja accountable. Yeah. Which I think is important for you to have teammates that hold you accountable. And so I don't know, we'll see. I don't know how true those rumors were. I just saw 'em on social media and thought, oh, that's interesting. So we'll see as the trade deadline nears what happens with that. Trae Murphy has also been in a bunch of trade talks. He's been playing incredible. You know, it's been interesting to see Trae Murphy's growth in this league. He's gotten a little better with the ball, obviously shoots the lights out of it. He's starting to have more plays at the rim, which means he's getting to the rim more, being a live threat, finishing at the rim better, expanding on his game. I also saw that came out the other day that Trey Murphy, Herb, Zion, Derrick Queen, or Jeremiah Fears weren't available for trade talks. I found that interesting, B, that you know, New Orleans has no picks and you know, their record is right at the bottom of the league. I found that very interesting for those reports to come out. Needless to say, Trey Murphy's been playing great. And I think if you're looking at Trey Murphy, you have to ask what is the value of the trade, right? Like what does someone have to give up to possibly trade for Trey Murphy. Because depending on what you're gonna give up, they say he's off limits, but that could change depending on what you give up. You know, I know all the teams right now wanna get in this draft for next year because you're looking at Cameron Boozer, you're looking at AJ DeBonsie, you're looking at Darren Peterson, Mykel Brown, the list goes on and on, the freshmen, and that's not even— Caleb Wilson. Caleb Wilson, excuse me. Caleb Wilson is a stud. But not even just the rookies. Like you look at it and think this will be a really good draft. And so teams are trying to get more picks in that draft. And you come with the right package, I think those change, you know, that talk could change. But I find it very interesting that every team right now has said, "Nope, we not trading those guys, just trying to raise the bar, baby." It is trade deadline time approaching. And everybody's playing their cards through the media. And it's very interesting to watch. So we'll see what happens with the trades as January 15th come around, which is when some players can start to be traded. And then obviously the February 5th deadline approaching. We'll see what happens. As promised, I'll now run through my starters for the All-Star Game. The All-Star Game will be World versus USA this year. My starting five for the World will be Luka, Joker, Shay, Giannis, and Wemby. Now interestingly enough, it's World versus USA because for me, Wemby would not have been a starter if it was just straight up. Yeah. East versus West. And the reason Wemby wouldn't have been a starter is because Ant-Man, for me, would have started over Wemby because Wemby just hadn't played enough. You know, he's been coming off the bench the last 7 games or so he's played. He missed a bunch of time, you know? So I just don't know that I could have made him a starter. Yes, he would've still been an All-Star, But I don't know that I could have made him a starter had it not been World versus USA. Needless to say, it is World versus USA. And if you don't wanna go with Wemby for that reason, I think you could very easily go Deni Avdija. Deni's played incredible. The Timberwolves, the Trail Blazers look like a completely different team when he's not on the floor. Uh, he's having an absolutely amazing year, and I'm not mad if someone puts Denny as a starter over Wemby just due to the amount of games Wemby has played, plus coming off the bench, only playing 20 minutes. I think all of that has to be taken into account. So I actually may even go Denny over Wemby. I am. But That would be my 5 for the world. My 5 for the USA team would be Steph, Tyrese Maxey, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Brown, and it would be Ant-Man and— or Jalen Brunson, except I feel like You need some size, but you can't necessarily pick it on size because there's no positions. So you're going to end up with 5 guards. That would make my 5: Steph, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, Cade Cunningham, and it's Jaylen Brunson or Ant-Man. Ant-Man. Me personally, I will go Ant-Man, but I'm not upset or mad at anyone that says it's Jalen Brunson and not Ant-Man. Tomato, tomato. Go whichever way it is that you wanna go. So that's my starting five for the All-Star Game, which leads me to Brandon Jennings says the best players in the NBA are all 5 Europeans and no team of 5 Americans can beat them. Quite frankly, what Brandon Jennings meant was the world team because Shay's not European, he's from the world. But I get what Brandon Jennings was getting at. He said, we got Luka, SGA, Wemby, Giannis, Joker. Now give me 5 Americans that can beat that. Give me your best 5 and thoughts. And when I saw that, I was like, huh, well that's interesting because You're making this a European thing, which is a continent versus a country. You know, and so if I take the best player from every country and put all these guys together and then say, hey, let's go compete against the Americans, it's a different story. Maybe that's what FIBA should do. Maybe FIBA should say, we're gonna take all of these guys from these countries, one guy from France, or two, one guy from Slovenia, one guy from Serbia, one guy from Canada, and then we're going to put all of these guys together and go try and beat the United States of America because we can't seem to beat them for an Olympic gold medal. So let's put all of these guys together and make one team to go beat the Americans. That's essentially what we're saying here. That's what has to happen. Yeah. Because don't just go pick 5 European players and then tell me there's no group of Americans that can't beat them because that's why we win gold medal after gold medal after gold medal. It doesn't work. We are the best. And still, are they having better individual years? Absolutely. They are. Are, have they been having great years and winning MVP? Absolutely. I take nothing from any of those guys. They are all great players. Yeah. But they are from countries and we play those countries and we've whooped those countries. So I get it. I get what you're saying. Top 5 individual players in the NBA, European or from, or on the world team. I get what you're saying, except it has yet to be proven that they can beat the The USA. It's yet to be proven. Every 4 years there's a shot. Has not been proven since 2004. It was 20 years ago. 22 to be exact. Has not been proven. So I hear what people are saying and I get it. But hey, if we're going to put a continent versus a country, great. If we're going to put two different continents versus one country, great. If we're going continents, Shea would actually be a part of the USA team. We're going continents, but we're throwing continents out there, so great. Uh, I get what Brandon Jennings was getting at. I, I understand what he was saying, except it just doesn't work because the gold medals speak for themselves. Team USA still running everything until further notice. So as an Olympic gold medalist, I just can't ride with this because it hasn't been proven. And they've had year after year after year to prove it, and it just still hasn't happened yet. So maybe in 2028, but until then, I don't hear it, I don't buy it. Dry January doesn't mean giving up cocktails. It just means finding a better option. That's exactly what RK delivers. RK makes alcohol-free versions of whiskey, tequila, gin, rum, vodka, and more with zero alcohol, zero sugar, and zero calories. And thanks to their patent-worn molecule, you'll still get that familiar burn that makes it feel like a real drink. It works for cocktails, mocktails, or sipping straight. RK is currently offering private investment opportunities as it expands toward a future NASDAQ listing. So join investors, influencers, and millions of fans who are joining the RK Zero Proof revolution. If you want all the flavor and none of the alcohol, check out RK Zero Proof. Cheers. Your favorite cocktails made non-alcoholic. Available at Walmart, Amazon, or arkaybeverages.com. That's A-R-K-A-Y beverages.com. And moving on before we get outta here, always great to have a good Golden Days segment. Today's Golden Days question come from Edgar Ornelas. For those of you that don't know or forgot, Submit your Golden Days moments to draymondgreen@audacy.com and your question can appear on an episode. So Edgar asks, at what point during the 2021-2022 championship season did yourself and the team start to believe winning it all was possible? I was at the home opener against the Clippers as well as a couple more games throughout the year and the vibes of the team were great, but I don't think anyone expected the season to end in champagne. As a big Dubs fan, this was truly incredible to watch. Edgar, when you're in an organization like we're in that has had the success that we have, you always are going to be compared to, can you win a championship? That's always gonna be the question. Can you win a championship? So coming into that year, if you remember, Klay was out the first, Just about till now. So call it the first half of the season. When Klay came back, I went out the day he came back. I couldn't play. I had the calf injury, which was a back injury. And I missed 3 and a half months. The day that I came back, Steph went out. For 3 and a half weeks. So we never truly got to play together. So going into the playoffs, we're just like, what, we're in the playoffs? Whatever happened, you know, nobody wants to see us in the playoffs. Good, great, we'll go play. However, and being totally transparent with you, Edgar, I thought there was no chance we win. Going into the playoffs. I thought we was gonna get mopped. And a close friend of mine, um, who has a lot to do with F1 Miami, he said, man, this is the first year of F1 Miami. He said, man, you coming down to F1? I'm like, Danny, have my stuff. I'll be at F1. There's no chance we're winning in these playoffs. I'll be at F1. For those that don't know, F1 is Cinco de Mayo weekend. He's like, all right, you sure? Because passes are tight. I'm like, Danny, I'll be there. Make sure you got my stuff. I called Danny after the very first game of the playoffs and said, hey bro, I'm not gonna make it to F1. We're gonna win the championship. Yeah. He said, "Dude, you just told me 3 days ago y'all suck and y'all be done in the first round. What do you mean after one game y'all gonna win a championship?" I said, "Danny, I'm just telling you I know how it looks and this team can win a championship and we're going to win a championship." Fast forward, we won the championship. And so to answer your question, Edgar, I don't know that all year we thought like, "Oh man, this is a championship team." But I knew after the very first playoff game we played, right away I called Danny right after the game. I knew that we could win a championship and that we were gonna win a championship. 'Cause I just know how it looks. I'm like, "Oh man, we got the lineups to go different lineups. We can go big, we can go small, we can go shooting, we can go defensive." And that's one of the main keys in being able to win a championship. Is you can teeter the lineups. Your roster, you have the ability to go different lineups for different matchups. That really makes a difference in the playoffs. And I saw it right away. I'm like, "Oh man, we can go me at the 5, Otto at the 4. We can go Bielisza at the 5, me at the 4. We can do all of these different lineup combinations. That makes us dangerous. We gonna win it." Yeah. So, All season long, I can't say that we thought we would be winning a championship, although the goal is always that. But right after the first game of the playoffs, Edgar, I knew it's a wrap. We're winning this championship. I canceled my F1 stuff through my friend and we went on to win a championship. And I agree with you, truly incredible to watch for you. It was truly incredible to experience for me. Loved it. It was amazing. Amazing. It was the icing on the cake with a cherry on top. Although we're still trying to ice up more cakes and put more cherries on top, but that one was fire because nobody expected it. But I knew after game 1 of the playoffs. Well, thank y'all again for tuning in to the Draymond Green Show. We've got the Knicks, then the Hornets again. Till 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 want to 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 Kirk Courtney, Tim Meekle, Lauren Vieira, and Evan O'Brien. Special thanks to the team at The New Media and the team at Odyssey. Maura Curran, Josephina Francis, Hillary Shuff, Eric Donnelly, Kate Rose, Colin Gaynor, and Jake Gally. [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]