Best of NBA News Part 2: Kawhi Leonard investigation NOT CLOSE to being done + Lu Dort TRADE + Former Rival QUESTIONS LeBron's LEGACY

Summary

Nightcap Podcast Summary

Episode: Best of NBA News Part 2: Kawhi Leonard investigation NOT CLOSE to being done + Lu Dort TRADE + Former Rival QUESTIONS LeBron's LEGACY
Hosts: Shannon Sharpe & Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson (Shay Shay Media & Playmaker)
Date: August 1, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this special “Best of NBA News” episode, Shannon Sharpe, Ochocinco, and various guests break down major storylines from around the NBA as the offseason heats up. The key focuses are the ongoing Kawhi Leonard salary cap investigation, the significant Lu Dort trade and its ripple effects, Zion Williamson's much-discussed body transformation, and a viral debate sparked by former rival Tony Allen questioning LeBron James' defensive legacy. The hosts also chat about NBA roster-building philosophies, salary cap pressures, and the importance of environment and discipline at the pro level. The discussion stays lively and candid with real-life anecdotes, inside takes, and Atlanta basketball perspectives.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lu Dort Trade & Number-One Pick Fallout

[03:04–09:39]

• The Thunder, Hawks, and Mavericks complete a three-way trade: Lu Dort and Ryan Nemhard to Atlanta; recent #1 pick Zachary Richard to the Mavericks; OKC collects three second-round picks.
• Discussion centered on Atlanta moving on from the 21-year-old Richard so quickly, questioning the burden of high expectations for #1 picks.
• Ocho: “When you that number one pick, bro, that shit weigh heavy.” (04:17)
• The hosts reflect on the difficulty for young players to live up to draft slots and how a change of scenery, such as Dallas, might help Richard realize his potential.
• Comparison to Jalen Brunson’s leap when given the opportunity elsewhere.
• Salary cap constraints and roster depth force contenders like OKC to flip valued players even after successful seasons.
• Joe: “They cut the tax bill from $102 million to $19.6 million... The salary cap is going to hurt them, bro. You got to get off these players.” (07:19)

2. Roster Building: Talent Development & Cap Strategy

[09:39–16:51]

• Praise for OKC's GM Sam Presti and the Thunder’s “Spurs-like” approach of drafting and developing talent, then reloading via trades for future assets.
• The NBA’s new cap rules make it nearly impossible for deep, well-drafted teams to retain all their talent.
• Ocho: “This is the price you have to pay when you a good team and you draft well and you develop guys great...[Y]ou got to get off some of them damn guys, man.” (06:55)
• Role and value of assets management, using contracts like Lou Dort’s to extract picks before losing players for nothing.
• Thunder have over seven second-round picks stacked for the coming years.
• Insight into how elite NBA teams must balance maintaining a winning nucleus with cap compliance and long-term planning.

3. Kawhi Leonard & Clippers Under Investigation

[61:41–70:21]

• The NBA’s salary cap investigation into the LA Clippers and whether they circumvented rules to pay Kawhi Leonard is expected to drag into 2027 if contested.
• Discussion about the stakes: if found guilty, the team and Kawhi could both face penalties (e.g., suspensions, voided deals, or heavy fines).
• The Toronto Raptors back out of a potential trade for Kawhi, fearing exposure to penalties.
• Ocho: “Raptors are refusing to complete the trade for Kawhi because they’re unwilling to take on the risk...” (62:54)
• Owners like Steve Ballmer prepare to fight any sanctions fiercely, with his deep pockets making a court battle likely.
• Anecdotes about MLB and NBA precedents with “under the table” deals (e.g., Joe Smith in Minnesota).
• Smooth: “He probably got the most money [ref. Ballmer]. But does that make you the best owner? His players love him, but it’s just different.” (66:05)

4. Zion Williamson’s Body Transformation and the 'Weight Clause'

[27:43–40:29]

• Zion’s offseason weight loss goes viral; his Pelicans contract has a detailed “weight + body fat” clause, reducing guaranteed money if he fails checks.
• The hosts are skeptical, questioning why Zion only got in peak shape at this juncture.
  • Joe: “If he ain’t heard the whispers, why he looking like that now? Cause now I got a problem because you wasted five or six of these years bull jiving.” (29:19)
• Parallels to Charles Barkley’s early-career struggles and how mentorship (Moses Malone’s advice: “You fat and you lazy”) changed things.
• Reflections on discipline at the pro level, asserting the right team culture can help (e.g., Miami Heat), and how not all players are self-motivated.
• Ocho: “If you can stay in this type of shape, I know you Gonna dominate. Boy, you look good, boy. I ain’t gonna lie to you.” (30:53)
• Broader point: Success in the NBA depends as much on accountability and work ethic as raw talent.

5. LeBron’s Defensive Legacy: Tony Allen Sparks Debate

[75:42–80:55]

• Tony Allen goes viral for saying LeBron is “an overrated defender” who “never guarded KD in his prime.”
• Allen: “Let’s just say OKC. Do you think LeBron starting out the game on KD to risk picking up two fouls? No, he’s going to stick Sefolosha...Game get tight, late down the stretch in the last two, three minutes, you get a chase down block.” (76:07)
• The hosts discuss strategic defensive assignments in the NBA—stars often avoid guarding opposing stars for stamina, foul-trouble, or strategic reasons.
• Ocho: “I think LeBron is above-average defender, bro...He finished second defensive player of the year [twice].” (80:03)
• Smooth: “He has more value than a person just playing defense...It’s okay for you to foul out, but we can’t… Not LeBron James.” (79:35)
• Perspective on why supporting stars like Tony Allen or Ocho themselves had to “do the dirty work defensively,” making all-NBA defense teams on merit alone.
• The hosts recognize some of the criticism is generational, contextual, and rooted in playoff rivalries.

6. Atlanta Basketball Culture & Community Roots

[82:01–87:32]

• Atlanta’s emergence as a basketball city with crossovers between sports, music, and comedy.
• DC Young Fly joins to reminisce about the city’s embrace of the Hawks, the excitement brought by new stars, and the growth of the franchise.
• Community influence noted: “When we had these type of conversations, you also got to understand people don’t be understanding that we really tight...it made me respect their game way more.” (88:03, DC Young Fly)
• The segment emphasizes how local culture, fan base, and personal relationships galvanize hometown teams.

7. Pro Sports Discipline & Environment

[41:09–47:50]

• Stories about the importance of being drafted into the right environment, with veteran leadership and strict organizational culture.
• Ocho: “It goes for...Hey, look, this is why it’s so important, bro, that when you come into the professional sport, especially NBA, that you come into a great damn environment...Some guys need that, bro.” (36:44)
• The hosts share old-school anecdotes about work ethic (“I can’t sacrifice the gift”), working on farms, and learning discipline from family and mentors.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ocho (on #1 pick pressure): “When you get that number one pick, bro, that shit weigh heavy.” (04:17)
• Joe (on NBA team-building): “You just hope when guys like this, you hope...this is just not a contract year, because we’ve all seen guys do what they need to do just for the contract year.” (36:08)
• Allen (on LeBron’s D): “You get a chase down block here and there...now you just first team all defense—I disagree.” (76:22)
• Ocho (on Atlanta’s growth): “When I came here, like, the city jumping too hard, bro. It's the capital of entertainment...it's wide open for somebody to come and take over.” (84:52)
• Ocho (on work ethic): “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” (43:13)

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Important Timestamps

• Lu Dort trade & #1 pick fallout: [03:04–09:39]
• Roster building, cap strategies, & asset management: [09:39–16:51]
• Kawhi Leonard/Clippers investigation: [61:41–70:21]
• Zion’s body transformation & weight clause: [27:43–40:29]
• Tony Allen questions LeBron’s defense: [75:42–80:55]
• Atlanta basketball culture: [82:01–87:32]
• Pro sports discipline/advice stories: [41:09–47:50]

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Summary Flow & Tone

Nightcap stays true to its energetic, unfiltered sports bar banter. Shannon, Ocho, and their guests mix sharp basketball IQ with humor, raw honesty, and storytelling—shifting from hard NBA analysis to life lessons and back around to cultural commentary. Whether discussing salary cap nuances, legendary trash talk, or the roots of Atlanta hoop culture, they keep it accessible to serious fans and casual listeners alike. The segments move naturally between headline news, deep-dive insights, and personal anecdotes, always in the hosts’ voices.

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Ideal for listeners who want:

• Candid NBA news/analysis
• Behind-the-scenes insights on league business, player development, and locker room culture
• Real talk on discipline, environment, and what makes or breaks pro athletes
• The pulse of Atlanta basketball and Black sports culture
• Hot takes and debates—from LeBron’s defense to Kawhi’s free agency drama

For full context and all quotes, tune in to the full episode.

Transcript

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[Joe]

Lou Dort is heading to Atlanta in a three way deal that sends former number one pick Zachary Richard. Richard to the Mavericks. Atlanta gets Lou Dort, Ryan Nemhard. Dallas gets Richard and OKC gets three second round picks. Joe, are you surprised that Atlanta will cut bait on the 2024 number one overall pick so soon? Richard is only 21 years of age and could still turn into a productive NBA player someday. He was bitched by Quinn Snyder in the playoffs because of Jonathan Kaminga was clearly a better option. Instead of gambling on Richard's development and upside. While the $31.3 million he's owed over the next two season sits on the cap sheet of Atlanta Hawks basketball operation Salah unsees, Salah decided to exchange him for Lou Dort. Dort shot 38% from the floor last season and will become a restricted free agent in the summer if Atlanta does not sign him to an extension. Actually, it's called re. Okay.

[Ocho]

Richard Shay. Yeah. Now, hey, look, I'll go. Joe, I ain't surprised, man. You know, obviously sometimes things just don't work out, bro.

[Joe]

Right.

[Ocho]

When you look at it, Rishi is a great talent. I still think, you know, his upside will be pretty good. It's just when you get that number one pick, when you that number one pick, bro, that shit weigh heavy.

[Joe]

I mean, you can never live that. Oh, we talked about it, Joe. You can never live down your draft slot.

[Ocho]

You can't. You can't. And so I think what they're trying to build in Dallas, he'll probably fit. And hopefully he comes around and he reaches his potential.

[Joe]

Playing with Cooper, Florida.

[Ocho]

I still think he'll be a pretty good player. Yeah. And Kyrie, I still think he'll be a pretty good player in this league. It's just, damn. When you look at him as a number one pick, you know what I mean? You just look like, oh, man. You know what I mean? But I think when he fell out of rotation during the season and then in the playoffs, he started getting DNPs, you know what I'm saying?

[Joe]

So it's only a matter of time.

[Ocho]

Yeah, the writing was on the wall. It's like, you know, he probably, obviously, still had a little value. And Atlanta used it, bro, and was able to bring in Lou Dork and Lil Nemhardt from the Dallas Mavericks. You know his brother played for the Pacers.

[Joe]

Yes.

[Ocho]

Now, Nemhardt, he ain't as big as his brother, but he feisty, he tough. You know what I mean? Hell, I think he did, what, three, four years in college, if I ain't mistaken. So he's a guy who plays. I thought he played well above himself as a rookie last season, so I think he gonna be a great addition for the Hawks. But, hey, man, the Hogs got Lou Dork. We got some dogs over here. Uncle Ocho. Hey.

[Joe]

Well, I'm not surprised. I'm not surprised by this. I'm not gonna be. I'm gonna. Cause they've already gotten rid of Isaiah, Joe. Now they got rid of Dort, who's. You know, they picked up his option and moved him. I'm not gonna. I'm gonna be. I'm gonna be really surprised if Kayson Wallace. Because he's made it clear he doesn't. I mean, Joe, when guys play really well, it's a. It's a. It's a Brunson. And I'm not saying he can go and be what Bronson became from the Knicks, but when you get your opportunity and he. Jalen Brunson got his opportunity. Luca got injured. He playing out of his damn mind. And you start to think, well, if he gets his own team or he goes somewhere where he's a. A focal point, he might can do something.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Casey Wallace showed you. Casey Wallace says, hey, bro, y' all never gonna let me, bro. I'm gonna be fourth. No matter how you look at it, I'm gonna be fourth. You got Shea, you got J Dub.

[Ocho]

You gotta.

[Joe]

You got Chet. Now you got Jerry McLean. You got a John Mitchell.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Excuse me, A.J. mitchell. So when is it going to be my run? Let me go somewhere. I can be at least two, maybe three.

[Ocho]

They just were too guard and forward heavy. Okay?

[DC]

Yes.

[Ocho]

And this is the price you have to pay. When you a good team and you draft well and you develop guys great, you got to get off some of them damn guys, man.

[Joe]

You do.

[Ocho]

This is what's going we going to continue to see this. You look at the spurs and what they dealing with.

[Joe]

Apron.

[Ocho]

Yeah, that's second apron. They don't want to have to. Hey, hey. They want to stay away from that.

[Joe]

Yes. And I'm not saying go ahead, Joe.

[Ocho]

You look at OKC, they cut the tax bill from 102 million Uncle Ocho to 19.6 million. You know what I mean? So that just shows you alone, bro, that teams in this league, especially the good teams, the salary cap is going to hurt them, bro. You got to get off these players

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[Smooth]

Right?

[Joe]

That's still too much money. It is that. Nah, it ain't. It ain't worth it. And I'm not saying Kayson Wallace can be Jalen Brunson, but he don't want to be no fifth or sixth option because he's shown you he's more than capable of being a second or a third option at worst.

[Ocho]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe]

That's like. I mean, who wants to be Ocho? I mean, I show you what I can do. The number one receiver gets hurt. I come in and I fill in for him and I go get me about 1200 yards, man. You think I want to go back to being second option? You think I want to go back to be a third option? I've shown you that I'm more than capable. You people don't get it. It's easy for you to say that. Cause you look at it from a distance. But sometimes you got to put Yourself in somebody's shoes. And Joe, you've been there. You. You know what it was like, Joe? Like, man, I can't keep. Hey, hey, I love Big Phoenix, but bro, I'm gonna be behind Amari. I'mma be behind Steve Nash. I'm behind Q, I'm gonna be behind Sean Mar. Bro, let me go somewhere I can be. At worst case, number two option.

[Commercial Disclaimer]

Damn.

[Ocho]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But you think about it, man, the Thunder, man, Sam Presley, bro, we gotta give him credit. I mean, think about it. They done receive what, three second. They got over seven second round picks, you know, throughout this whole summer, bro, like, they loaded. They gonna stay loaded with talent because how they produce talent, how they. How they. How they.

[Joe]

How they draft, they got kind of like R.C. buford in San Antonio.

[Ocho]

Yeah, yeah. So look, so instead of declining Lou Dork, 17.7 million, Uncle Ocho, they save money by trading him and getting all these assets. See, they can. You know what I mean?

[DC]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

Like, so instead of just declining it and be like, I guess letting them play, they're like, damn, that. We'll pick it up and then we'll trade him.

[Joe]

We get assets for him, we'll be

[Ocho]

able to get assets for him. And that's kind of what they've done, you know?

[Joe]

You know, sometimes you go throw stuff away, it has some value to somewhere. Hey, take it to Goodwill and get a tax write off. Take it to the Salvation army. Get a tax write off. Don't just give it away.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Uncle Joe]

You know, it's funny. Most of the time, obviously, maybe. Maybe the NBA might be different, but everything is a copycat league in the NFL. When teams or owners see something that works, most of the time, if they don't have ego and they can set their pride aside, they copy what other teams do. I'm not sure why other teams don't copy the spurs formula or copy the Thunders formula on how they not only acquire talent, but also develop talent so you can keep moving and stay underneath that apron in a sense, the same way.

[Joe]

Well, I think the thing is, but still, you're still gonna come available because guess what? You got, you got Chat, you got J Dub, and you got Shay. Now in a couple of years, Shay gonna be back up. Shay gonna be over 400. Now what you do? A Jay Mitchell gonna want to get paid too. Now. He got paid. He got two. I think he got a three year deal. So what happened in a couple of. In a couple of years, K. Wallace is already saying, man, I. I need. I need My bread.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

You just. They. They don't. Look, when this thing became available, it's just like what we talk about all the time, Ocho, with the. With the cba. Y' all know what was in the cba. Y' all sign it because you feel you have to, because you can't miss any checks. Well, now, in the process of Russian rushing because you can't miss any checks, you sign a bad deal.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Now all of a sudden you. Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah. But you meant. No, no, no. It's too late. Name on the contract. It's certified. Look, I know y' all ain't got the lawyers like they got. They got lawyers that see lawyers. See, the thing is, when you want the more high priced lawyers. Ocho, take it for your boy. I know they be in six minute increments. Oh, six minute increments. They charge you, you know, 1500, 2000, 2500 an hour, but they bill you in six. Six minute increments.

[Commercial Disclaimer]

Yes.

[Joe]

So you think, hey, no, I'm a good listener. Nah, bro, you already told me that. Yeah, we good. We're going something else. Yeah, you already told me that. Ain't no double talking. Hell no. Ain't no double talking. Hey, and if you put it. Hey, don't text me. Yeah, I got it. You put it in the group chat. Yeah, I got it.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Hey, you need. Do you need to talk about anything? No, I'm good.

[Ocho]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe]

Hey, yeah.

[Ocho]

At the end of the day, when you look at it, Lou Dort, Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins.

[Joe]

So you get. So.

[Ocho]

So the Hawks got Aaron Wiggins and Lou Dort from a championship team at okc. Now, although, you know, for whatever reason, well, obviously, salary cap reasons, they wasn't.

[Joe]

They.

[Ocho]

They was not as valuable for okc. But guess what? They gonna be some hell of additions for these, for some other teams, bro.

[Joe]

You know what I like?

[Ocho]

What's that

[Joe]

in a contract year? Lou Dorsey dart right here.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah, they gonna pay him over there.

[Joe]

Wait, they gonna be able.

[Uncle Joe]

Over there, Joe?

[Ocho]

What'd you say?

[Uncle Joe]

They gonna be able to pay him over there in Atlanta?

[Ocho]

Yeah, yeah. You know, winning. If you win, you get paid. Ocho, hold on.

[Joe]

If they don't resign, if they got 40 million in cap space, but you got guys that can compete on the defensive end. You got Dyson Daniels, that was an all NBA selection. Lou Dort was first team. You got Nikhil Alexander Walker, you got guys that could defend because, look, offense is great, but if you look at the situation when the rubber needs to Meet the road. You got to get some stops somewhere.

[Ocho]

Got to get some stops. And I ain't going to lie. You got to have some guys who going to make shots. That's the only thing that worries me about Lou Dork. Not necessarily Lou Dork, because I think you're going to get a lot of wide open looks. Uncle Ocho, considering the fact that I think this past year he probably averaged about 5.5 threes a game, shooting at probably about 38, 39%. He got to bump that up a little bit. You know, try. Try to get into the. The early 40s because you're going to get so many wide open looks. And Coach Quinn, this what they.

[Joe]

They.

[Ocho]

They preach, bro. You. It's the offense is designed, you know, obviously through Jalen Johnson, who creates so much attention, but he's a willing passer. Uncle Ocho Hill, I think he. Well, how many assists I think he averaged?

[Joe]

He had like seven.

[Ocho]

He had like seven, eight. Cause he wasn't far behind Jokic when it come to a triple double A game. So I say that to say this. You bring them guys over, bro, they gonna get great looks. We just need them to defend, play hard. Hey, man, I know. I told y'. All. I told y' all the Wizards could make the. The biggest jump in the Eastern Conference. Hey, my damn Hawks ain't playing now. Yeah,

[Joe]

they got. This is a great situation. I think the thing is, is that Ocho, you asked the questions. Why can't they do. Because everybody can't select players. They fall in love with names.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

A lot of times the people that you hear that them draft you like, who you like, Tony Parker, model, Ginobly, Kawhi Leonard, right. Jalen Williams. Jalen Williams. They get names. Ain't nobody all the fancy, you know, all this and all that and player of the year. None of that. They develop.

[Ocho]

Yeah, that.

[Joe]

That's gonna fit their system. That's gonna come in. Ain't gonna buck the system.

[Uncle Joe]

Right.

[Joe]

Understand the hierarchy. To play, you practice, you. Hey, look, Pop gonna be in there. Pop gonna always have say in there. You gotta understand, Pop is old school. He ain't what he once was as far as being able to get around and do things like that. But his imprint's gonna be on there.

[Ocho]

He.

[Joe]

And he's gonna be able to walk into a meeting and he gonna be at practice and say, when you bull jabbing and tell you you need to do better, get good or get going, son.

[Ocho]

Hey, when you go to great teams like that, though, you don't have no choice but to fall in love.

[Joe]

Absolutely.

[Ocho]

Because the best players. The best players are leading by example, Uncle Ocho. And it's just a great environment for a young cat to come into and wants to know what it's like to be a pro. I mean, let's keep it 100. Hell, it's. It's Oklahoma City, bro. It ain't a whole hell of a lot that going on that you gonna get into. You know what I mean? It's just like. I'll be honest with you. It's just like playing in Utah. Hey, man, I had a blast playing in Utah. It ain't a whole hell of a lot to do at night. So you be locked in. You know what I mean?

[Joe]

Right.

[Ocho]

And I think that's kind of what it is at okc.

[Joe]

Cause remember Greg Popovich? They traded George Hill. They traded George Hill to select Kawhi. Everybody's like, what? Why would you do that? Oh, that's why. Okay. That's why. You know, Tim Duncan is a no brainer. He was the consensus number one player in the country. Stayed all four years. So it's easy to select a Tim Duncan. Go get me a Tony Parker. Go get me a Manu Ginobili. Go get me a Kawhi Leonard. Now you impressing me.

[Ocho]

Hello. Cause I never seen Kawhi play in college.

[Joe]

Nope.

[Ocho]

I ain't gonna lie to y'. All. And I'm a basketball junkie over here.

[Amazon Pharmacy Narrator]

No.

[Joe]

And now look at it. Get into the first year, he's a little green. Worked on that jumper. They get beat his rookie year, they get beat in the finals by the comeback, lose game seven, you know. Hey, he missed those. Missed that. What? Free throw. Yeah, they kept missing. What? There was one make one miss one. Gave the. The heat an opportunity. They losing seven, come back, Kawhi, finals MVP in the second year. Now Tim Duncan retires. Now he got the mentality, hold it. This is my team. I ain't got to defer. They need more for me.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Now all of a sudden, he give you 25. Now he giving you 25 points a night. He giving 24, 25 points a night. And he's playing outstanding defense. Back to back, defensive player of the year. Before that injury, it wasn't. I mean, you talking about, oh, he the best too. It wasn't nobody close to Kawhi as far as being a two way player. It wasn't nobody close.

[Ocho]

Nah,

[Joe]

he was special before the injuries started taking his toll on his body. Joe. Yeah, bro. You see what he did. When he's healthy this year, career high points.

[Uncle Joe]

He was nice.

[Angela Yee]

Three ball.

[Joe]

His midi. Be it turnaround or going left or right, automatic.

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, what Kawhi average this year?

[Joe]

Like 26, I think.

[Ocho]

Yeah? Yeah. Boy balling, man. Balling like a dog. The one thing I say about Kawhi, and I know a lot of people harp on him as far as like, you know, sitting out games, not playing. But damn it, when he do play, Uncle Ocho, that boy cut up, man. And when you look at him, he's always. He always looks like he in great shape. You know what I mean? Like he.

[Joe]

Oh, yeah, he cut his chisel. Yeah, yeah.

[Ocho]

You don't never see him really out of shape. So for me, for a guy who played in the league for quite some time, bro, and I see that, like I know you doing something different. Cause Kawhi ain't no spring chicken no damn more.

[Joe]

Hell no. No, I think the thing is, Joe, you know, you see what a guy you like, man, he got a chance and he's. Look, he's a top 75 player, so ain't no. You know what I'm saying? So, I mean, you know, you talking about a guy that's a two time defensive player of the year. He's a two time league, a two time finals MVP with two different teams. Yeah, you know that, that once upon a time, that meant something. And you know, he. He go to the Clippers and win a third one, that was gonna say something, then somebody else went somewhere with a third one. And all of a sudden it don't mean as much as it was. You know what I'm saying? But y'.

[Uncle Joe]

All.

[Joe]

You know what I'm talking about. You know exactly what I'm talking about.

[Ocho]

I got you. I got you. I. I know exactly what you're saying. Yeah, yeah, I get you.

[DC]

But.

[Joe]

But Kawhi, man, I'm talking about, he could take the best teams player until Zaza Bacheet shot. Slid his foot up on his ankle on that jump shot and he came down on it and go to state. Cause. But they. Look, one thing about Pop, no matter how good your team is, Pop gonna find a way to solve it.

[Ocho]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, man, I'm telling y', all, Pop ain't letting you go on no damn run. You go, you score two buckets in a row. Ocho a four run. Timeout. Timeout. Time out.

[Joe]

You remember he started the game? He hacker Shaq to start the game. And look, that Sha talk about.

[Ocho]

Yeah, Pop ain't letting you get no momentum, bro. He ain't let you get no momentum. Hell no, man.

[Joe]

Pop, I said come. How you start the. How you start the game with a foul?

[Ocho]

And he so he too, respected uncle oo.

[Joe]

Them dudes, they run through a brick

[Ocho]

wall for him, bro.

[Joe]

Yep. I, I, I, I can, I can definitely see that, but I'm just waiting to see what, you know, Everybody talking about LeBron and him holding it up and going, and so we can find out where, you know, set the schedule. I think people are just as interested as what's going to happen with Kawhi.

[Ocho]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. If this deal going to go through or not, right?

[Joe]

Is the deal going to go through? Is he going to face a suspension? Are the Clippers going to face a suspension? There's another big name out there that hadn't been signed, James Harden. Are the Cavaliers waiting to see what LeBron's gonna do before they bring James Harden back? Oh, JoJo, yeah, yeah.

[Ocho]

Cause he opted out there. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Cause if I'm James, I ain't opting out my damn contract unless I know for sure. I got a verbal agreement, something written. I gotta have something up.

[Joe]

Yeah. Hey, especially after had they done did him in Philly. Remember how they did him in Philly? He told him the guy was gonna take care of him, and he ain't take care of him. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You can't burn me. You can't burn me twice with that. Deal with that.

[Ocho]

I know he, he gonna, he'll crash out. He'll crash out for it.

[Joe]

Rightfully so. Rightfully so. Hell yeah, he should crash out. But look, it's hard to argue anything that the OKC Thunder and the, the San Antonio spurs do, because San Antonio, this thing, this, this is, this is 20 plus years. 25 years. At least. It's a smaller sample size with, with okc. But Sam Preston, when you draft Kevin Durant, you draft James West, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Sergio Barker. You had Reggie Jackson. You look at his draft picks. Yeah, it's hard to argue with him. The trades that he's made. He traded and got. Hey, he got, he made the trade for pg. Yeah, he got Paul George. Turn Paul George into Shay. He got an Alex Caruso. He get the, the case in Wallace's and Isaiah Jones and the wit.

[Ocho]

Yeah, it's hard.

[Joe]

It's a smaller sample size than what San Antonio's done, but over the last. But it's hard to argue this over a decade.

[Ocho]

Yeah. No, I don't think nobody has developed more players than OKC has. Sam Presti and his system or whatever they got going on over there. Oh, Uncle Ocho and okc, boy, when they draft, they develop and them guys produce.

[Smooth]

Yes.

[Ocho]

And this is the results of it. Like, hey, man, I know because of camaraderie that they have over there and okc, all them guys probably want to stay together because they won a title together. It always seemed like they're enjoying each other's company, having fun. But hey, you got to break that up, bro. You keep the core nucleus together. But a lot of them guys that's sitting on the bench, although they help in many different ways, they just aren't as valuable as a Shay check J Dub. So you kind of have to get off them guys and then other teams, hell, they don't want you to keep winning. They want to take some of them assets you got over there.

[Joe]

Yeah, for sure. Absolutely.

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[Joe]

Zion Wigginson body transformation is going viral. Zion contract with the Pelicans includes a specific weight clause stipulating that the sum of his body weight in pounds and and his body fat percentage must, must be really main below 295. If he fails to meet periodic weigh ins, the amount of guaranteed money in his contract can be reduced. Somebody says Zion Williamson's off season transformation is the equivalent of Ben Simmons hitting threes in the gym. Joe, just like your Cowboys. Is it the year? Zion? He does look good. He does look good. And when he plays, he's another one guy. We talked about Kwai. You talk about his weight and the injuries and he's had his fair share. But when Zion Williamson plays, he's phenomenal. Now I wish you get more rebounds because I think a guy look, if you go, if Charles Barkley get every damn double digit rebounds, so can you.

[Ocho]

Yeah. Hey, when I seen this bro, I said I, I, I seen it on ig. I said damn. Somebody hearing the whispers So I guess the guy who been training him, he responded, he was like, nah, we don't hear the whispers. Damn it. He heard something.

[Joe]

Oh, you did it.

[Ocho]

He heard something. Because, man, if this man can look like this, bro, listen, he already can't be stopped when his ass play. Uncle Ocho, I don't care who you put on that, man. He too quick, he too fast, he too agile. If that man in peak shape. Uncle Ocho. Yeah, man, y' all can't.

[Joe]

So let me ask you a question, Ocho. Joe, he said his trainer said they didn't hear the whispers. So why didn't he come in there like that as a rookie?

[Ocho]

Hello.

[Joe]

Or his second year. Hello. Or his third year. Why the hell do they got away clause. I bet you LeBron ain't got no weight clause in his contract. I bet she ain't got no weight clause in his contract.

[Ocho]

Right?

[Joe]

So why does he have a weight cloth if he ain't hearing the whispers? Why he looking like that now? Cause now I got a problem because you wasted five or six of these years bull jiving. But you don't hear the whispers.

[Commercial Voice]

Come on, bro.

[Joe]

It's okay to hear them. It's okay to hear them. This is how you should look. Now, looking like that is one thing. Staying like that is something entirely different. Because, you know, it's the easiest thing you do is get in shape in off season because guess what? You structured you right there. But now when you start playing every other night and you hit that road and you grabbing them wings and them chicken fingers and that burgers and you. And you drinking them high calorie sodas, that's when it's different. So you got the guy cooking for you all the time, not Joe. Ocho, I ain't got to do nothing but go work out, train, and come home. And he got veggies and he got chicken breast and he got salmon and he. Yeah, he got a good stuff of it. Yeah, but when you going on that road, Joe, and you know this. Hey, when you play them that late game on the west coast and you just gotta grab something and go. Yeah, and they got fried chicken and they got wings and they got pizza and they got tater skins.

[Ocho]

Hey, hey, hey, hey. That's when you got to be dedicated to bring your own stuff like Unc used to say. He used to bring his own. But, man, look, Damn, all that. Hey, me speaking as I am right now, bro, if you. I'm telling you, if you can stay in this type of shape, I know you Gonna dominate. Boy, you look good, boy. I ain't gonna lie to you.

[Joe]

He look great. You. This is All Star. That. This body right here. All Star. This guy right here, Is it all NBA selection?

[Ocho]

Oh, yeah. No question. No question.

[Uncle Joe]

Matter of fact, you know, forget the whispers. How many. How many years he got left on his contract?

[Smooth]

Probably.

[Uncle Joe]

Is this a contract?

[Joe]

Probably like two or three. Probably at least two or three. Ocho, because he signed the rookie extension. But. But they stipulated it. I can loot. Ocho. I'm not putting. No, you're not going to take no. Take no money away from me, right?

[Ocho]

Talk about.

[Joe]

Think about it. We talked about this in football. Ocho.

[Uncle Joe]

They put it.

[Joe]

They put in Kyler Murray's contract. Why they put that in there? What's up, y'?

[DC]

All?

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[Ocho]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe]

How did. If you had a regular job and your boss tell you he stipulate your contract? You got to show up to work on time. You got to do your work.

[Ocho]

Really.

[Joe]

They probably gonna fire your ass.

[Uncle Joe]

You know, the funny thing about it, too, I'm not sure if you had anybody on your team like that.

[Joe]

Yeah, I had a bunch of guys that couldn't make weight. Hell, yeah.

[Uncle Joe]

So sometimes, you know, you got to put stipulation on certain people that have a problem with their weight. Certain. Certain people that have a problem with drinking, certain people that have a problem with eating, you know, and Zion just happened to be. I had. There ever been other NBA players, Uncle Joe, that have had this issue with their weight fluctuating like it's.

[Ocho]

It's been guys who. Yeah.

[Joe]

Charles Barton said he weighed 300 pounds. Charles said he didn't want to go to Philly.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Yeah, he didn't want to go. Charles weighed 300 at 6. He said the best thing happened to him. He went to Philly and Moses Malone. Moses said, you got two problems, Charles. He said, you fat and you lazy. Those are the only two problems you got.

[DC]

Facts.

[Ocho]

Fact.

[Joe]

Let Charles tell you the story what Mo told him. Yeah, you only got two problems. You fat and you laving.

[Ocho]

You fatten them. Facts.

[Joe]

In fact, he said, what we gonna do? He said, we ain't gonna do it all at once. He said, we'll lose 10 pounds in the next month.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Charles said, okay.

[Smooth]

Boom.

[Joe]

Lost. Lost 10. Yeah, they felt okay. Lost another 10. Charles said he got down like 250.

[Ocho]

Yeah, it was a rap.

[Joe]

Couldn't do nothing with him. Hell, Charles Average like 22 points, 1112 rebounds for a career.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah. Choice.

[Angela Yee]

Yeah.

[Joe]

And six.

[Uncle Joe]

Folding there.

[Joe]

That's my thing. To Zion. Zion. Zion should be a more explosive Charles Barkley. Oh, yeah, but y' all better stop sleeping on Chuck. I know he talk a lot and, you know, y' all tell you he be on the guys, he'd be on the guy's head. Charles Barkley was a great player.

[Ocho]

Now, he was a dog.

[Joe]

A great player. I remember. I remember when he was at. At Auburn with Chris Morris.

[Ocho]

Oh, yeah, yeah, they were good.

[Joe]

They were really good. Chris Morris from Georgia. He a Georgia boy.

[Ocho]

Oh, is he?

[Smooth]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

I ain't know that.

[Montucky Host]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

Hey, hey, but look, when you think about it, I think.

[Joe]

What.

[Ocho]

What year is this for Zion? Ocho?

[Joe]

It's got to be like six.

[Ocho]

Six.

[Joe]

Hey, look that up right quick. I think I thought he has two more years. He has two more years on his contract. So guess what? He played like he's supposed to. What they gonna do, Ocho? What they gonna do, Joe? Give him another one.

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, but listen, that's why this year is so important. That's why he's coming back looking the way he's looking.

[Joe]

And you just hope. You just hope when guys like this, you hope they. That they've learned, and this is just not a contract year, because we've all been in situation where we see guys do what they need to do just for the contract year, and then once they get the contract, they revert back to what they've done before. Now, I hope this isn't Zion, but look, the fact of the matter is that they put that. They put that. Man, Zion entering his eighth year,

[Ocho]

it went fast, bro.

[Joe]

It's been eight that fast year.

[Ocho]

It goes for. Hey, look, this is why it's so important, bro, that when you come into the professional sport, especially NBA, that you come into a great damn environment. Say what you want to say about the Miami Heat and Pat Riley and how strict he is, man. That's the type of. Some guys need that, bro. Think about if Zion was. Man, we wouldn't have to wait this long, Uncle Ocho, for him to get.

[Joe]

Hell no.

[Ocho]

You see what I'm saying?

[Joe]

Yep.

[Ocho]

Like, some guys really need you to be damn down they back. You know what I mean? Like, I just think it's needed at times because if you come into an environment to where they don't police you, they don't check your weight and your body fat, they don't make you lift weights, you know, three, two, three times. Hey, man, at some point here, you

[Joe]

gonna fail because everybody don't have a gun in the bag. They can't police themselves.

[Ocho]

Hello.

[Joe]

And that's the problem. I. I heard Dion Dawkins say Buffalo Bills, they give you a weight to come in. If you're over that way, they charge you 800 a pound, ocho. Ooh, 800. When I was in the league, it was 50 and 75, but the team said that. And then it doubles every time that you come in over there. So if you two pounds over and they charge you 50, obviously, that's a hundred dollars, 150 for 75. Then it goes. It doubles. So it's 150 and 200 for every pound that you overpower that up quick. Because guess what? When it's hot, it's easy to get that way. You sweat that thing off, you go sit in the sauna. Boom. What happened when it get cold?

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

And I don't know. Y' all know this. In Denver, it get real cold. In bmo, it get cold, too, you know.

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, Joe. I was overweight a few times, Joe.

[Ocho]

You were?

[Joe]

Yeah, Joe.

[Ocho]

How.

[Uncle Joe]

My joke, Joe. I came in, but we got. We got.

[Joe]

We got 175. He ain't never been overweight. I get on. I get on the scale, eating sausage biscuits. I get on the scale, Joe. I get on the scale. I'm eating sausage biscuits. I mean pancakes. I got pancakes in my head. I'm eating. I never had no weight problem.

[Ocho]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Uncle Joe]

When it was hot like September, you know, October, you know, about. About 190, 200. We got cold, Joe. Man. About 205.

[Joe]

That man ain't seen 200 a day in their life with cinder blocks tied around his ankle. He ain't 200.

[Smooth]

I'm a rocked up.

[Ocho]

Soak your way.

[Joe]

180. Go look at it, Ocho. You know, people can pull your. Pull your thing up and watch you on YouTube, right?

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah. And that's probably from September. October.

[Joe]

No, that's.

[Commercial Disclaimer]

What.

[Joe]

That's whatever she only talking about. Stop lying on me. Yeah, I ain't lying on you, Shelly. You know, you got less patience to me,

[Ocho]

but, yeah, I'm happy for Zion, man. Hey, hey, hey. Seem like he. He looking forward to having a. A big season this year because, boy, that boy look good, boy.

[Joe]

No, he looked great.

[Ocho]

That boy took care of his damn. So I'm talking about.

[Joe]

Ooh, we.

[Ocho]

Can you imagine? Probably the explosion that he got now, it probably a little lighter. Hey, let me tell you something, man. If you ain't in that weight room, bro. Chad. Y' all listen up, man.

[Joe]

Do.

[Ocho]

Doing a professional sport, obviously, I know football, but in basketball, you cannot get through a 82 game season if your ass ain't in that weight room, bro.

[Joe]

Your body will break down. That's too much up and down, Joe.

[Ocho]

It's no way. It's nowhere. Here you get to play 82 games and you don't touch them weights at least two, three times out the week. You got to. That's why. That's why it's so important that when these young guys get drafted to teams that they have a veteran presence, somebody who can show them the ropes. But not only that, you got coaches who you can trust and who can show you the ropes as well, because it's easy to get lost, bro.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Joe, you said something very interesting earlier. You say going to the right situation matters. It does. It absolutely matters. Because I, I, I, I, I remember a lot of guys that we had because I had Dan Reed for three years, I had Wade fella for two years. And a lot of the guys, they. They would do for Mike, wouldn't. They do what they wouldn't do for Wade.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

And me, I'm. I'm gonna play hard, regardless. That's just the way I was brought up, you know. Hey, Barney Porter. Hey. The man give you honesty? You give him all the days work. Don't be, don't be going on people job, bull jiving. And that's what it made me mad. I say, see what y' all do. Cause y' all see, they didn't fear Wade. They feared Mike. Cause Mike will cut your ass.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

And Michael tell you he cut you.

[Amazon Pharmacy Narrator]

Yeah.

[Joe]

He said, everybody that's in this room, you here for one reason. I wanted you here.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Nobody else. Me. And when you leave this room, you don't have to ask any questions. Why? It ain't no general manager. It ain't no owner, it ain't no position. Coach me. I'm the reason you here. That's all I needed to know. But I, I, But I was a guy that always did what I was supposed to do, right, bro? I understand. This is a, this is a lifelong dream of mine, and I will mess, and I'm. And I'm not gonna do what I'm supposed to, like, as far as eating and training and being on time. I don't. I'm like, guys, you. There is no way you can tell me that you just woke up yesterday and said, I want to be an NFL player. But a lot of times, because you've been great, and people let you skate. You come late. You're the best player, Ocho. You can come late. You make the most plays. You do X, Y, and Z. You can do all this stuff. I could, I could not in good conscience. I can't function like that.

[Ocho]

Because somebody who really believes in you, bro, and you let that. And you let them down.

[Uncle Joe]

That.

[Ocho]

That should do something to you. I was just telling my son this the other day, bro. I said, man, it's a. Slapping people's face when they expect something out of you. You know what I mean? And you don't deliver like, they give you an opportunity and you play with it, man. That's a slap in that person's face, bro. Yeah. So I get it. I'm like you. Hey, when Boston drafted me, I wanted to be the best rookie they had. Okay, Ocho, I did everything I could. Hell, I just wanted to be on the damn court. Like I tell you. They talk about ISO this, damn that ISO, boy. I was hawking somebody down, trying to play. Hey, I'm locking up. I'm in the passing lane, huh? I'm being a piss on defense, boy. Ain't getting but about five shots a game, Ocho.

[Joe]

Yeah, but that's, that's all you. I'm making them count though, the effort. That's it.

[Ocho]

Yeah, making them count.

[Joe]

Steve Prefontaine said that. He said to give anything less than your best is to sacrifice. To give. To give anything less than your best is the sacrifice to give. You have a gift.

[Uncle Joe]

I gotta put that in my notes right there. That's a good one there.

[Joe]

That is a gift. It's demeaning.

[Commercial Voice]

Yeah,

[Ocho]

I like that.

[Joe]

Dere went and got a guy from Savannah State in the seventh round. Hey, he figured like hell. His brother the first round draft pick. They went to the same house, they ate the same thing. He gotta have something in there. I just don't get it, guy. I just don't get it. And I'm not you. You can't make me get it. I don't, I don't, I don't do lazy. I don't.

[Ocho]

Not when you reach the highest level, bro.

[Joe]

Yeah, okay, I, I don't sacrifice. I done did every. I done did everything right. And now I get to the highest level. I'm gonna skate now. I didn't skate in jv. I didn't skate in high school, I didn't skate in college. Now I get to this level, I'm gonna skate. And then Wade Phillips. Wade Phillips was my, was the D coordinator for my three years before he became head coach. He go get Jim Fossil rest. Jim Fossil soul. Jim Foster. Say, son, I'm gonna build my office around you. You the best player outside of John Elwood. You the best player we got on offense. I'm going into my fourth year a seventh round draft pick. He said I'm the second best player.

[Uncle Joe]

Okay.

[Joe]

He said I'm put a lot on your plate. Let's deckle my position coach, man, he worked Ocho. I ain't gonna lie. By the time we got out of individuals, practice was a breeze.

[Ocho]

Oh, yeah, man.

[Joe]

What the dogs, man, look here, Joe. I was tired like a one legged man in the ass kicking contest. That's how I bet that man worked individual. Yes, Ocho. Individuals back then was 45 minutes. Golly, ain't nobody worked like that tight end group, man, that man had us doing everything. I'm talking about we soaked. I'm talking about soaked beyond soaked.

[Smooth]

Why?

[Ocho]

Hey, I done been there, man. I just.

[Joe]

I. I can't sacrifice the gift. God. God didn't give me a. He didn't give me a musical ability. He didn't give me an ability to sing. He didn't give me the ability to dance. He didn't give. He gave me the ability to play a sport. Yeah, he gave me that. He gave me this body. He gave me this mind. And he allowed me to be born to Mary Alice Porter and Winton Pete Sharp.

[Ocho]

Hello.

[Joe]

And then he said, you know what? I'm gonna break y'.

[Angela Yee]

All.

[Joe]

I'm gonna pull y' all apart. And I want them boys to go down there and live with their maternal grandparents, Mary and Barney Porter. All that's a part of the plan. And people like. And people are. Your mom. No, you see, as long as you don't care who get the credit, you don't realize how sometimes. Sometimes. Sometimes the best decisions don't involve you. But because you wanted to involve you, you want your name to be in print.

[Uncle Joe]

Best decisions don't involve.

[Joe]

Man, look here. What my mom gonna do with two teenage boys on the damn south side of Chicago. She working. My daddy going his way. My mom doing her thing, trying to work. I know where y' all can go. You'll get. You're gonna get. You gonna get two meals. You ain't gonna get no 3. Get cereal if that's a meal. Okay. But you go, hey, you gonna have a roof over your damn head. It might leak. But, hey, you ain't gonna be in the rain all the rain. They gonna rain directly on your ass. It might leak a little bit on your ass. You'll get. Hey, you'll get fed, but you're gonna get disciplined. And you're gonna come up knowing right from wrong. Cause Barney Porter ain't gonna have it no other way. And then when he passes, Mary Porter gonna be. For that first couple years after Popeye passed, she was more ruthless than he was.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Cause she said, y' all ain't gonna slack off now.

[Ocho]

Hello.

[Joe]

And my grandma, my mom said, mama, I. I'm gonna take the boys. She said, no, no, you're not them my boys. No, you're not taking them. So I just. God been too good for you to sacrifice that gift. Oh, God gave you those. Those feet. He gave you that Ability to be entertaining. And you sacrificing to do what? You mess over it. To do what? How many guys we. Well, I can say when we go back home. Hey, Sean, tell him. Wasn't I better than you? That's a hell of thing to say. 40 years for. 40 years ago.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

People looking at you like you crazy. Yeah.

[Ocho]

Yeah, man.

[Joe]

Sean with you? No, he was.

[Commercial Voice]

He.

[Joe]

No, he was really good. He was really good. Yeah, he was. At that point in time, he was better than I was. He absolutely was. He a lot. But he wanted. He wanted to drink, smoke dope, didn't want to come to school. I. I just did not.

[Ocho]

Hey, hey. When you get exposed to stuff like that at an early age, bro. Chad, y' all stay with me, boy. You get exposed to something like that at an early age. And that's why I'm so glad, man. The homies. I was kicking it with my homeboy Vault, bg. We was together every day. None of us was on none of that. You know what I mean? We weren't drinking smoke. All we did was hoop. I think the guys who you grew up with, the guys who you run with, hang with, whatever the hell they doing, nine times out of ten, you gonna be doing the same damn thing. Yeah. So once I got.

[Joe]

I was thinking of feels.

[Ocho]

What'd you say?

[Joe]

I was hanging in them fields, picking peas, picking up pecans. I was like, damn, do we. I. I was like, I remember, you know, being spanking. We talk about. I was like, man, do you think other kids work like we work? Hell, no. And I ain't going to school. I never went to school the next summer. Kids, you know, obviously, the white kids, they going to Disney. They doing stuff like that. They ain't talking about. They ain't talking about working. We go from clipping onions to cropping tobacco to catching chickens to picking up pecans, the bailing hay. I'm a little fella, I'm nine. 10 years old, lifting them big old bells of hay. The hay that y' all see, they've given them damn cows and them horses. Yeah. At 10, I can handle a bell of hay by my damn self.

[Uncle Joe]

You were strong back then, boy.

[Joe]

Oh, you think? Oh, you think it's a weightlifting body, huh? No, I ain't that weightlifting body. Yes, it definitely helped, but no, And I wanted to show because I was like I said, they called me Peewee because I was so small.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

I had to show. I had to carry my own weight, man. Look, hey. Cause you start walking behind the backup, picker as you get older, you start cropping tobacco. Once you start cropping, you get big and strong enough, you can hang the racks. Yeah, you graduate hanging the racks to working at the barn. You get to drive the trucks to and from. Yeah, you get to do it. That's my goal. I want to walk behind the pickup. I wanted to crop. I wanted to hang racks. I wanted to work at the back. I want to work at the barn. That was my goal. I mean, I was so smart, I had to tiptoe. Catman, cows be on fire at the end of the day. I done tiptoe so much because I ain't tall enough, because all the other guys could, you know, throw it on the leg. I had to tiptoe to get living. Say, boy, I' ma tell Granny you up here straining to try. You gonna be to hurt yourself. Leave her a tattletail. Man, we're talking about. I tell y' all be talking about. I told the tall tale I would tell.

[Ocho]

Great.

[Joe]

You gonna be to hurt yourself. Yeah, you talking about, boy, you're gonna be done. Give yourself a hernia. You won't be able to have no kids. That's the last thing. I ain't thinking about no kid. Great. I'm 12. I've lived 12 years old. I think I might hanging these racks up. Racks up so I can get to the barn.

[Ocho]

Hey, Chad say. Chad said that farm strength different, boy.

[Joe]

Hey, watermelons. I know y'. All. I mean black people. You ain't supposed to say watermelon. I live lifto mofo, too.

[Ocho]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe]

Oh, you load the road, babe. Lifting hay. That was the first time my body ever crammed up. But if you have anything now, they got them big. Big, like them big, big, big bales. But we used to have those little squirrel square bills like this in Ocho. Yeah, and. And they had a. The. The twine, the strings down there. And so you had to. You had to grab it like this and take it and put your knee up under and put it up there.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Joe]

I was a little fella doing it because I couldn't let my cousin him do something. I had to be there. I had to do it, too. Big old watermelons. Y' all know them? I don't know what these watermelon they got. Not them little watermelon, little cattle, little bait, softball side down watermelon. Them damn watermelon. We had this damn long.

[Ocho]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe]

We lay the whole truck clipping onions. Take it down there to the mascot. Man, y' all better check My working resume if I don't work another day outside.

[Uncle Joe]

You good?

[Joe]

I'm good. I'm more than good. Y' all heard my brother said he ain't. Hey, Barney Porter say, get up and watch the sunrise.

[DC]

Who?

[Joe]

Who heard that, Chad? Anybody heard that? Anybody parents tell them that? Grandparents tell them that. I ain't never get up and watch the sunrise on a Saturday.

[Ocho]

I ain't never heard that. Hey, but guess what, man. Hey, hey, it built good character, man. Shaped y' all up man to some decent young man.

[Joe]

Hey, it was gonna build me to go to the military because I was already disciplined. And my brother said if my grandfather doesn't pass, because he already told the coaches. Coach hall coached all my uncles. My uncles ended up getting. Breaking their leg, breaking their collarbone. And Barney said, nah. He said, no. He said, hall, he done talk my uncle. Cause they had. Hey, they had the same type of body. They just weren't as tall as I am, but they had the same type of body. They grew up working on a farm. They got muscles. Big old wide backs and quads and hamstrings and biceps. Coach, all them talk, Papa and letting them play. He say, hall, if one of them boys get hurt, who gonna help me on this damn farm? Mr. Mr. Porter, ain't nothing gonna happen to him. James break his leg. He didn't tell the assistant coach that. Papa said that if somebody. Something happened to one of them boys, one of y' all ass gonna be out there in the fields helping me with the fields. He done talk. Hey, take that boy home. He pull up there. James, get out there. Get out the car. Got the crutches. Papa looked at him. What the hell wrong with that damn boy? Mr. Porter, he broke. He broke his ankle. Did hall tell you what I had told him? No, sir. He said, I told him if something happened to one of them damn boys, one of y' all gonna get y' all ass out there in the field with him. Well, Mr. Barton, I don't know anything. I don't know anything about farming. So who in the hell gonna help me in these fields? He said, don't worry about it. You won't get another one. You won't get another one. So he wasn't gonna let us play. Me and Psych had already, hey, I'm going to the military. I ain't gonna be working. I ain't gonna be working like this here.

[Ocho]

You got. Hey, that got some good labor out of y' all boy in the military.

[Joe]

Hey, Joe, I was working minimum wage with 337 an hour, it ain't much more. Right now when you bull job it is 725. That's what. That's what the. The federal level is. I mean state. It varies, you know, 10, 15, $20, $25. But minimum wage was 337 an hour.

[Ocho]

Mm.

[Joe]

They tell you what somebody told me. I'm telling what I know. Five dollars a day. That's what we made. Five dollars. Now if you crop the bathroom, you got 16. But I walked behind the picker, I got five. And it made a mistake in bull drive. And he took my pay down. It got a raise. I got a raise the $6. Cause my cousin Landy talked me into getting the raid. I said, Mr. Joe, man, we be working hard.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

He said, y', all, Pee Wee is called my cousin son down. Cause he said, Mr. Joe, the sun done going down. It's time to knock off. Now that we call getting off work knocking off. He's all right. All right. Pee we sundown. What y'. All. What you think y' all worth? I said a dollar. He gave us a dollar. And then again. Libby, take her black ass home. Granny. Mr. Joe gave them boys a raise. A dollar raise. And. And all they do is play Gr. You just rocking just like this. Joe, don't you

[Uncle Joe]

in that chair.

[Joe]

Brand ain't say nothing. Mr. Joe pull up this morning to pull up the next morning. Joe. Hey, Mary, how you doing? I'm good. Libby told me you gave them boys a raise.

[Ocho]

So.

[Joe]

Yeah, Mary, they, they, they. Them little fellas, they work hard now. Yeah, but she told me all they did was play. She said take it back. Ever said you won't find a man that's ever told you I've been on his job and then give him nothing but a hundred percent of everything that I got. No matter the job, the Broncos, the Ravens, cbs, Fox, espn. That's all I know. I can't sacrifice the gift. Oh, right. Anything less. You're sacrificing the gift.

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Hey, it's Angela Yee from Lip Service. In a special mini episode, we're talking about why open, honest conversations matter, from relationships and identity to sexual health and HIV prevention. Because when we stop treating these topics like taboos, we give ourselves permission to take control of our health and live more openly. I felt like in our community, we weren't having these open and honest conversations about sex with no stigma attached to it. A lot of times people could feel, like, embarrassed to talk about things like sexual preferences, about STIs, what we're doing in the bedroom. And I didn't want to feel like that was taboo for us to be able to do. And so that's really the reason why I started Lip service. And I think for all of us, we have to take control of knowing that we care about our health more than anybody else ever will. You can listen to this special episode of Lip Service, sponsored by Care for the Culture from Gilead sciences on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Montucky Host]

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[Bobby Bones]

Yep.

[Montucky Host]

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[Montucky Host]

They got some cold horses on those cans.

[Joe]

Cold snacks came.

[Ocho]

You know what it is? Hey, look, check this out.

[Smooth]

Spoo.

[Ocho]

You got.

[Joe]

We.

[Ocho]

We got this Kawhi investigation that can go on with the NBA into 2027, per Baxter Homes. They said the NBA is investigating into whether the LA Clippers circumvented the salary cap to pay Kawhi Leonard. Say it could drag into 2027 if the parties don't agree on the findings or any proposed settlements that involves punishing the team. You know, so what they saying is they basically trying to see, bruh. Did the Clippers play this man under the table? Bruh.

[Smooth]

Is that the same thing they did with that Milwaukee situation with the.

[Ocho]

Well, you know, but hold up, hold up now. You know, we had a teammate in Joe Smith, you know, who played for Minnesota, who played with us in Atlanta, but he played for the Minnesota Timberwolves at the time. You know, he was getting that under the table. You know what I mean? So my thing is, because it was such a war in between, okay? Is Kawhi. Is he gonna go to the Lakers or is he gonna go to the Clippers?

[Smooth]

Right?

[Ocho]

That's all I'm saying. I. I ain't saying. I ain't saying they did. But this investigation, obviously, this is allegedly right.

[Smooth]

All this stuff.

[Commercial Voice]

This. This.

[Ocho]

This is alleged, but I'm. I'm giving you the. Yeah, I mean, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm just giving you the information because, see, what you gotta understand is the Raptors are refusing to complete the trade for Kawhi because they're unwilling to take on the risk, the potential NBA, the penalties that's gonna come from the NBA. This is per Ramona Shelburn, you know what I mean? She's an NBA insider. So, you know, this got some weight to it, bro.

[Smooth]

Got some legit. Okay, okay. It's legit A little bit. Okay.

[Ocho]

Yeah. Cause I guess, think about it. If they. If they find something, and let's say, you know, they do find some under the table stuff, the Raptors don't want to be on the hook for that. If they trade for him, they bring him to him. Now he gets suspended for 50 games. You know what I'm saying?

[Smooth]

So who get. Who gets penalized? The player gets penalized for that, or.

[Ocho]

Well, they. They trying to find out, bro. Huh?

[Smooth]

The player, the organization gets fine. I mean, who gets penalized?

[Ocho]

I don't Know, I just think if they find something to where Kawhi was getting paid under the table, they should get penalized.

[Commercial Voice]

Who.

[Smooth]

Who you think should get penalized?

[Ocho]

Well, they gonna penalize both. They gonna penalize the player and they gonna penalize the organization. That's just what it is. But I'm just saying. I'm saying if you look. If we looking at it from a standpoint, like, okay, we're in a bidding war to try to get Kawhi to join our squad with the Lakers, who was our rival. I mean, hell, I'm not saying, bro, they paid the man under the table. What I'm saying is it's a good damn chance. That's all. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, you gotta think about it, bro. You know? Huh.

[Smooth]

There's some legitimate sources, for sure.

[Ocho]

Yeah. Well, you know, so, you know, when the Raptors say they ain't willing to take their risk, bro, they ain't willing to complete this trade, you know, they got traded Smooth.

[Smooth]

Yeah, I've seen that. So that's why they. So that's why the. The trade wasn't completed. I was trying to figure out why they. Why they resent the trade back. Is that why it's.

[Ocho]

Yeah, that's why it's. This investigation as far as trying to figure out, obviously, if he was. If he was getting money when nobody was getting paid. So we don't know, man. We don't know. Steve Ballman is expected to aggressively fight the NBA legally if penalties are levine against him and Kawhi Leonard in the investigation. Meaning, you know, obviously, that's why I like Paulman.

[Smooth]

He's probably one of the top owners of the NBA, man.

[Ocho]

He probably got the most money. Smooth. Yeah. Yeah, if I keep it.

[Smooth]

But that doesn't like. Okay, so does that make you the, you know, the best owner? You're one of the best owners. When I went to Houston. When I went to Houston, that was probably like, one of my best stints, you know what I'm saying?

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Smooth]

It's like ownership and how they handle the players and how they let you be yourself, you know what I'm saying? So I don't know if he was one of the highest paid, but he was. He was really good on it, though.

[Ocho]

Was he?

[Smooth]

Yeah, he was good, man.

[Ocho]

It's different, bro. You know, we. I've been around some. I've had some good owners. I thought we had some good owners here in. I can't remember his name.

[Smooth]

Well, in Atlanta.

[Ocho]

Yeah, in Atlanta. What's my man, name it was a

[Smooth]

lot of them, boy. Yeah, about seven of them.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Amazon Pharmacy Narrator]

But.

[Ocho]

But, but, but, you know, when owners are involved like that, bro, it does give a sense of. At least, you know, you give a damn to some degree. You know what I mean?

[Smooth]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Ocho]

You know, so I don't never see that a bad thing.

[Joe]

I know you look.

[Ocho]

We see Mark Cuban, who was a. You know what I mean, who's always been on the sidelines, who's always been involved. So, yeah, I think it's a bad thing at the end of the day. Smooth. This ain't. This ain't how they make their money, bro. This is just a side gig for them absolute facts.

[Smooth]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ocho]

So, you know, they had that money before.

[Smooth]

They. They had that money before. Before the investment of the basketball team, for sure.

[Ocho]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Ramona Shelburne on Kawhi Leonard trade saga. She said, I can see a world in which Kawhi Leonard is back on the Clippers if this trade doesn't go through. And the Clippers, quite frankly, they ain't mad at that. Smooth. They saying they'll welcome his ass back with open arms.

[Smooth]

I know they would. I know they would.

[Ocho]

They got a decent team over there, bro.

[Smooth]

Yeah, they do. They do. How would they look for Kawhi, though? I mean, obviously he'll be back, the focal point of the offense, but how would that look for him, you know what I'm saying? Like, him coming back to a team that probably was possibly trying to trade him.

[Ocho]

Man, listen, it's part of the business, bro. Yeah, he just came off statistically smooth, you know, one of his best years as a player, you know what I'm saying?

[Smooth]

He played well.

[Ocho]

Yeah. I think Kawhi is a guy who you probably could put in any system. You could probably put him in any system, bro, and he'll be able to fit in or stand out. Like, I just feel like, you know, he doesn't. It's not all about athleticism with him, obviously. He stays in great condition, as you can see. But if Toronto would have got him or if this trade is still able to go through, it changed the trajectory for the Raptors as far as them contending, bro. I mean, if they get him, it just changed. I think if you. If you. Brandon Ingram, hell, you probably on the cuz, like, damn. You know? You know what I mean? Cause they sending you to the Clippers, and now you probably got to go back. You feel what I'm saying?

[Smooth]

Yeah, right. And he probably was excited about that trade.

[Ocho]

You saying for him to get an

[Smooth]

opportunity, you know, going out there to la, you know, a little bit, you know, you know, you're a little bit more Hollywood now. You got that. You know,

[Ocho]

They. They. They. They building a little something out there with the Clippers, man. I like the youth that they got on their team. So, you know, we'll see. We'll see what happens with this. With this whole ordeal. They say they trying to get it. They trying to get it done before the season start. What you think. You think they gonna get this resolved?

[Smooth]

Like, as far as. As far as they're making a decision on the. The possible, like, suspensions and stuff like that, or.

[Ocho]

Or if you don't find that. I'm just saying, man, we got a

[Smooth]

trade that's pending, because you got to also consider. And put in the fact that he, you know, Steve Ballman told me he gonna fight. He gonna fight the NBA with that. Would that prolong the process?

[Ocho]

I don't know, bro. Maybe. But I think if both parties can come together and come to some agreement, I mean,

[Joe]

what.

[Ocho]

They probably looking for a smoothie. We keeping it a beam, bro. They ain't gonna find it. You know what I'm saying?

[Smooth]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ocho]

So. I don't know, bro. I don't know. I hope they get this thing squared away, though, right?

[Smooth]

Yes, sir.

[Ocho]

What else? What you been on today, bro?

[Smooth]

Man, just chilling, man. Took. Took my. Josh got back in town today. He was out there in LA with.

[Ocho]

With Rondo putting that work in.

[Smooth]

Putting that work in. Yeah, putting that work in with. With his uncle and. And his. You know, it's good. You know, they family. You know, he family for sure. So, yeah, putting that work and being able to see. I think he was working out with Chris Johnson. I was able to see LeBron and Tyrese Maxey up there. So he got a little excited about that. Yeah, take a picture with the Atlanta. And if he kind of, you know, he was like, no, I ain't. Take one. He does. And I said, bro, if you'll take you a picture, stop playing like, you know what I mean? He was excited way.

[Ocho]

He was like, yeah, amen. Hey, take it to another level, bro. You know, when you build around greatness like that, you see what it look like. You see how hard cats work, and at a young age, you take on that challenge, you embrace it, and you go out there and put that grind in, put their work in. Come on, man.

[Smooth]

The good thing about it, they was working out. They worked out right before them. So he was Able to kind of like get to watch, you know, watch some of the workout and how. How they. How they work, how professionals work. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, so that was also good. That was good for him to be able to. To check out.

[Ocho]

Hey, that's what's up, man. You gotta. Hey, keep young and. Keep young and head straight, bro. Keep him going because he got, you know, he gonna have the talent, bro. You know, the. The grind that sold separately, homie. You know what? Tomorrow.

[Smooth]

Yeah. Cause he got the height now. He like six, seven, six, six, seven and a half. Yeah, he growing. You know, he got the height. So it's all about, you know, putting out. Keep unlocking. Keep unlocking Pandora's box, man. Keep on locking, bro. Keep unlocking up some skills, you know what I'm saying?

[Ocho]

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Hey, hey, hey. You gotta master the basics. Yeah, I mean, you master the basics, bro, the rest will come. Like, do it till you get.

[Smooth]

Yeah, we'll skip steps over here, man.

[Ocho]

Yes, sir. Okay.

[Smooth]

Okay. So many. There's so many players out here today that got agents. I'm trying to figure out why you got them. What you doing?

[Commercial Voice]

They.

[Ocho]

Hey, hey, hey. They trying to hit a lick early, bro. What?

[Commercial Voice]

You.

[Smooth]

You, you not. You not the Gerber baby. You're not the little baby on the diaper bag on the diaper box. You ain't supposed to. You like that. They got to recuperate their money too, now. You know what I mean? Yeah. Hey, man, if you ain't up there at the top 1, 2, or 5, you need to go and let that go, man. Let that agent stuff go, man.

[Ocho]

Bro, it's different because, hey, you being dead for you even before you even get a little piece of change.

[Smooth]

I'm trying to tell you, because they got them. They got the advantage right now. You don't have no advantage, no leverage as a high school trying to get an agent.

[Ocho]

You don't, bro. But that.

[Joe]

That.

[Ocho]

But that's the game now. Smooth. They getting them early, bro, you know, before they can really peek, you know.

[Smooth]

And then that's when they. That's when they try to hit you with the. Man, I was loyal. I was down with you. You know what I'm saying? How the fe hit you in high school? You thought you was nothing in high school. Meanwhile, you top five.

[Uncle Joe]

Don't.

[Smooth]

Folks can see the future now, Joe, you know what I'm saying? Looking right in front of us.

[Ocho]

Hey, you ain't lying, bro.

[Smooth]

You know what I mean? Looking to step ahead them folks looking 10 years ahead. Oh, okay. I can see the potential of what

[Joe]

you possibly could be.

[Smooth]

You know what I'm saying?

[Ocho]

Yeah. Yeah. So let me tap in real early before this thing.

[Smooth]

Yes, sir.

[Ocho]

Make you feel bad to get.

[Joe]

You try to leave me hell.

[Ocho]

Oh, man, come on, bro.

[Joe]

Come on.

[Smooth]

Yeah. I'll just put you down on it. You know, I'm just putting the. The world. These kids be trying to, you know, I want y' all to get. I want y' all to get put. Put in the. Putting that mix. The blender.

[Joe]

Yeah, they would call it.

[Smooth]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ocho]

Hey, hey, hold on. Check this out, man. Freaky. Hey, hey, Chat. Y' all hear me out, man. Freaky. Ocho just wrote in the chat. He says, joe, they got some new rear end plugs. They glow in the dark to spice things up at home.

[Smooth]

Oh, that boy.

[Ocho]

Come on, Chat.

[Smooth]

Damn.

[Ocho]

I mean, it's Ocho Cinco, bro.

[Smooth]

He just Ocho smooth.

[Ocho]

I ain't never seen nobody. Him. And them. Them some wild boys, man.

[Smooth]

They must have got them new hip replacements, man. They cutting up. Slow it down. And we're gonna take some years off that. Yes, I know. Want to chill out and slow it down.

[Ocho]

Hey, listen, man, listen, listen, listen. You know them boys over the top. I feel like God dropped me here, bro. To keep them dudes same, man. I had to keep them boys under control, man. That boy. Wow. You the glue, man.

[Smooth]

You the glue.

[Ocho]

Hey, man, I said, man, listen, boys ain't nothing but God. Somebody gotta slow these boys down. They can't be stopped, though. Ocho just too much. But yeah, he. He way too much. He way too much.

[Smooth]

That's that Florida in the.

[Commercial Disclaimer]

Man.

[Smooth]

The Miami boy is different, man. Oh, we a little different, man. Some of that water down there, Twin.

[Ocho]

Hey, hey, check this out. You know your boy went viral, man. He going viral. Tony Allen.

[Smooth]

Oh, okay.

[Ocho]

He says LeBron is an overrated defender. Never guarded KD in his prime. And OKC, I mean, hey, Chat, Chat, let's take a listen. Let's take a listen to ta.

[Joe]

No, but just think about it. Any team you put LeBron on, we can make any scenario they play. Let's just say OKC. Do you think LeBron starting out the game on KD to risk picking up two fouls? No, he's going to stick self lotion.

[Amazon Pharmacy Narrator]

So you.

[Joe]

So you got 41 minutes of sticking self lotion. Game get tight late down the stretch in the last two, three minutes. You get a chase down block here and there. Then now you get to Win. Now you just our first team ball defense. I disagree. Because Tia did disagree.

[Ocho]

Chase down blocks.

[Joe]

I disagree. I disagree. Me, on the other hand. Hey, it's all right, Ta. We gonna need you to come through on this one. You gotta can't let him get his average and he end up with 40. I get a few more episodes of that, I'm gonna be in the G league. You see what I'm saying? That was my job. That was my title. That's what I had to do. That's how I played 14 years. It wasn't cause I had a cold crossover. You saw me smoke all the layups.

[Montucky Host]

Yep.

[Joe]

But guess what? I bring you not getting your average to the table every night. Let's read some comments.

[Angela Yee]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

Oh, I've been getting them to some.

[Joe]

Agree to disagree. And I wasn't, man. I was just saying he not a better defender.

[Ocho]

Smooth. What you. What you think about. What you think about what TA said, bro?

[Smooth]

You.

[Ocho]

I'm saying, like, what was the question? So listen, so here it is. So look, I ain't saying a better

[Smooth]

defender than LeBron or. What was the. What was the question?

[Ocho]

Nah, he's saying. He's saying Braun ain't no lockdown defender. He's saying that, you know, when games start off, it ain't like, bro, garden KD for the whole game. It may put somebody else. He may put. They may put Braun on self alosia so he don't pick up two fouls early. But then in the last seconds of the game in the fourth quarter, Braun get a chase down block or something. He get a stop. He saying, that ain't like, you know, that ain't first team. That ain't like. You know what I'm saying?

[Joe]

What you think, bro?

[Smooth]

I got snubbed a lot of times on the defensive team, so I don't know, man.

[Ocho]

Yo. Hey, hey, hey. But I think.

[Smooth]

I think got snubbed a whole lot.

[Ocho]

Yeah, you did, bro.

[Smooth]

But

[DC]

did he ever.

[Smooth]

Guard. Did who? When we played. When we played it, who guarded you?

[Ocho]

Well, you know, he never. To start the games off. He never guarded me, but Smooth. That's kind of understood, bro.

[Smooth]

That's understood. That's understandable, because we can't.

[Joe]

I can't.

[Smooth]

I mean, he's making. He's making sense out of. He making sense out of it. You know what I'm saying, bro?

[Ocho]

When I was a rookie, Smooth. And I'm playing with Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce. Paul Pierce third in the league and scoring at 27, 28 a game. He the starting three, I'm the starting two. Listen, we playing against T. Mac, Vince Carter, Ray Allen. I got all these dudes for the first three quarters, bro. That's what it was. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, that's what it was. Yeah.

[Commercial Voice]

Yeah.

[Smooth]

That was me, too, though. I, you know. You know, that was me. I had to, you know, I had to guard pretty much every position that was. That was cold. So, yeah, I mean, I get what he's saying. I get what he's saying. But that doesn't mean that he's not a great defender, though. You know what I mean, bro, he just. That means that he has more value than a person just playing defense, respectfully.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Smooth]

You know what I'm saying? Like, we can. We can, we can. We can bank on you. Like, it's okay for you to file out, but we can't.

[Joe]

We.

[Smooth]

This. This dude can't foul out.

[Ocho]

Right?

[Smooth]

Right. Not LeBron James. You get what I'm saying?

[Ocho]

That's what I'm saying. That what I'm saying. But, but, but, but in NTA's defense, I understand what he's saying. Cause there are times when you start off the game, hell, you don't got no choice. When we played against the Miami Heat and D. Wade, I ain't got no choice. Me and D. Wade gotta guard each other the whole damn game.

[Smooth]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

You know what I'm saying? Yeah, that's just what it was. So I see what TA saying, but I think LeBron is above average defender, bro.

[Joe]

He.

[Ocho]

I mean, smooth. He. 2008, 2009, he finished second defensive player of the year behind Dwight Howard. 2012, 2013, he finished second behind Mark Gasol. I think this really would have come down to Smooth. You want me to keep it real with TA and Braun, you know, obviously, TA playing with the Celtics, you know what I'm saying? That little rivalry they had against Cleveland when he was in Braun, even in Miami, but not on top of that, maybe even some of the things that Braun may have said about Memphis, you know, how ta, TA and Z Bo out the mud. They. Hey, them boys, Memphis to their die. You hear me?

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah, yeah.

[Smooth]

Facts.

[Ocho]

Big facts, you know what I'm saying? It can be stemming from a lot of different things, bro. You never know. But when I think about it, I'm like, hold on. Th is out here wilding. He must be.

[Smooth]

We gotta do a wellness check on them black trucks. Ain't pull up on them.

[Ocho]

Yeah. I don't know. Hey, he must be over there. He Must be on that indica, too, or something. I don't know what he got going.

[Smooth]

He ain't on that instigate. He on there. He on that crush.

[Ocho]

Man, please.

[Smooth]

Yeah. You know that gas ain't gonna have you talking like that, man.

[Ocho]

Family, I just think. Huh?

[DC]

What it do?

[Smooth]

Oh, there you go.

[Ocho]

Hey, what's happening? What's happening? Hey, my boy, dc, y' all fly. What's up, baby? Hey, what you got going, man?

[DC]

Slow motion. Tell me something, Joan.

[Ocho]

Hey, man, listen. Hey, me old boy Smooth Josh Smith. You feel me? We is on kickback, first of all,

[DC]

man, with some real great ATL legends.

[Ocho]

Hello.

[DC]

Yes, sir.

[Smooth]

Yes, sir.

[Ocho]

Hello. Hey, we appreciate you.

[DC]

As soon as they called me. As soon as they called me, said what I said, but it's nothing.

[Ocho]

Hey, we appreciate you. We appreciate your time, bro. We appreciate. Hey, what you got going, man? What's. What's new with you guys? Any movies, comedy shows? What you got going, man?

[DC]

We working right now. I'm going back on tour. You dig what I'm saying? If it go crazy, we got some short verticals finna pop off. You dig what I'm saying? So we got some more music finna pop off. You dig what I'm saying?

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[DC]

Hey, man, I'm on. Hey, og.

[Ocho]

Hey. Hey. You don't never stop working, do you, man?

[DC]

No, I don't even know how to do that. I'm really trying to fit. I'm trying to put sleep into my schedule.

[Ocho]

Hey, man, I love seeing you on Wilding Out. I love seeing what you doing with 85 South. You, Carlos, Chico, bro.

[DC]

Yes, sir.

[Ocho]

Hey, hey, you boys some real fools over there, man. We appreciate everything y' all do, bro.

[DC]

We really do appreciate it, man. We've been watching y', all, man, since we were jits. And just, you know, I mean, it's just an honor. Just every time I see you at the. At the arena, you feel what I'm saying? I always show love. Cause I remember the times when I used to come down there and watch y'.

[Smooth]

All.

[DC]

I remember the time I used to come down there and watch you, John. You feel what I'm saying? So, Jeff, knowing y', all, and I'm gonna still be real, your dunk contest still the best one.

[Joe]

You hear me, Sir. Appreciate that, family.

[DC]

Yes, sir.

[Ocho]

Appreciate it. I remember I took my daughter, bro, to the halls game. Smooth. It was about a year, year and a half ago, and I walk in there, I see D.C. yo, fly, ti2 chain. I said, damn, did y' all get out the same car.

[Smooth]

Hey, listen to Atlanta, man. Welcome to Atlanta.

[Uncle Joe]

Action,

[Smooth]

sir.

[Ocho]

Hey, my daughter, like, so rich, I

[DC]

got a question for y'. All.

[Ocho]

Like, what's up?

[DC]

Now that you see how the city is embracing the Hawks, bro, do you remember a time when people was coming to come see the house? Like, has there ever been a time where folk were really were just pulling up? Like, I remember probably when Dominique were playing, but like, it was an era when

[Smooth]

I hear they were kind of pulling up for the other one names.

[Ocho]

Hey, hey, after about. I ain't gonna lie to you, dc, after it took us about three years I got here. The first two years, they were brutal. I ain't gonna lie to you. Yeah, they were brutal.

[DC]

After that picked up when you came. First off, Josh, when you came, it gave super excitement, like we was.

[Joe]

We had nothing. Hey, that's one thing.

[Smooth]

That's facts though, Bash. Hey, that's one thing I love about growing up. Growing up, man, you know, man, the town went then the Hawks boy, Nathaniel boy.

[DC]

And the crazy part about it, we want to chill for them. Like.

[Joe]

We want to chill.

[DC]

You feel what I'm saying? So just seeing the energy now, like in the arena, bro, they like. Hell yeah.

[Ocho]

Hey, look, that's all. That's. That's how I always. That's how I always envisioned it, bro. You know, when I came here, like, the city jumping too hard, bro. It's a capital entertainment. It's like you have so many guys coming out. You know what I mean?

[DC]

Right.

[Smooth]

I just felt like excellence, man.

[DC]

It's wide open for somebody to come over here and take over.

[Ocho]

Oh, yeah. Hey, hey, so speaking of that, dc, what you think about the Hogs, bro? What our chances look like considering the fact now we know the close out game. Hey, the closeout game was ugly. We know that.

[Amazon Pharmacy Narrator]

We.

[Ocho]

We leave that alone.

[Joe]

We ain't even gotta go.

[DC]

Come on, J.

[Ocho]

Hey, hey, hey. But listen, but listen, but listen. Look how the Knicks did every damn body else.

[DC]

Okay, but look, I do say that we gave the Knicks they energy. They umph.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[DC]

In the kick ass.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[DC]

Ever since them two wins, we got them boys turned up and. Did not. They did. You did What I'm saying I'm gonna be real, bro. I like to be. I. I feel like we need a real solid. I want to say big man. Because we got some big man. I only want to say we need a Dennis Rodman show.

[Ocho]

Yeah. You saying. Yeah. We need somebody that can wipe that glass.

[DC]

We need somebody to go get third chance shots because The Hawks, we good off our first shots. Chance shot.

[Ocho]

After that, if we miss, it's a wrap.

[DC]

It's a rap.

[Ocho]

Hey, listen, I think. I think the Hawks in good hands, bro. I think it's gonna be a. I

[DC]

think it'll be even good now.

[Ocho]

Oh, yeah, it's gonna be even better. Hey, look, look, look. Hey, look, when we. When me and you was there, you know, we was all me, you, 2 chains and ti. 2 chains. Already he been had, you know, his season tickets. We talking about.

[Joe]

Hey, hey, hey.

[Ocho]

We talking about season tickets, right? Smooth. So look, yeah, after we got through talking about season tickets, I look up, DC got him a damn job in there. He like, hey, I'm good.

[DC]

I'm trying to cut them season tickets in half.

[Ocho]

Hey, I feel you, though, bro. Hey, you know what?

[Commercial Voice]

The city.

[Ocho]

You know, the city love you, bro. They embrace you. You know what I mean? Especially when you do the halftime things, when you interview people.

[DC]

Yes, sir.

[Ocho]

If I'm keeping it real, dc, when we did that interview about that was last season, we did that interview at the Hawks, Everything kind of changed, bro. People started hitting me after that as far as trying to get. Trying to do different things. I hadn't done a lot of interviews and things like that. You know what I mean?

[Joe]

Right, Right.

[Ocho]

I want to appreciate you, bro. I want to appreciate you for that opportunity.

[DC]

My dude, oh, man, he love, man. And you know, that's what I platforms is for, bro. You fear me to just cross brand and. And show another side of people. You feel what I'm saying? Like, we. We ain't got to go talk to the other side. You feel me? We can go talk to our people. And when we had these type of conversation, bro, like, you got. You also got to understand people don't be understanding that we really tight. We really cool. So when they see us kicking in, when they see us having these conversations and they get to hear our intellect, they like, oh, that's who these folk really is. Okay. Oh, it made me respect their game way more. You feel? So Any OG anytime.

[Ocho]

Oh, yeah, yeah, man. We. You know what? Me and. Me and Smooth might have to pull up over there on you and Carlos and Chico, man. Y'.

[Joe]

All.

[Ocho]

What'd you say?

[Smooth]

Smooth got to go 85.

[Ocho]

Hey, and my boy Nav over there, too.

[Joe]

My boy.

[Smooth]

Yeah, that's my guy right there.

[Joe]

That's my dog.

[Ocho]

For real.

[Smooth]

That's that Potter. Potter right there. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Joe]

Hey, man. Hey. Hey.

[Ocho]

Last time I talked to you, too, I know you were telling Me about that knee, man. You get that knee fixed. You get.

[DC]

Hey, man, the meniscus is all the way good. We back. We back in the gym. We back playing golf. I bowl, y'.

[Smooth]

All.

[Joe]

Boy, bowl.

[Ocho]

Oh, yeah.

[DC]

What's your high?

[Ocho]

What you say? What's my high? Yeah, you know, you catch me on a good day. DC. I bowl like a. I bow like a 220 or something.

[Smooth]

Two.

[Ocho]

Two.

[DC]

That cool.

[Joe]

I like that cool.

[Smooth]

That's my.

[Ocho]

What about you?

[DC]

You?

[Ocho]

You like that? Like that?

[DC]

Oh, I got 279.

[Ocho]

Oh, man.

[Joe]

Come on, bro.

[DC]

Yeah, I'm trying. Yeah, I'm trying. I'm trying. I'm trying to get that 300, man. That my goal.

[Ocho]

Oh, man, you. Hey, hey, hey, hey. Smooth. He want them. Dude, you don't want to go bowling with him, bro?

[Smooth]

Oh, he got six. Bowling. Oh, he.

[Ocho]

Hold on. So you in bowling leagues and all that?

[DC]

It depends on how the lane is. I gotta adjust, man. You feel me?

[Smooth]

Yeah, yeah. I like the old school thing.

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[Bobby Bones]

Honestly, Honestly.

[Smooth]

Honestly.

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[Joe]

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