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- [00:00]
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- [01:18]
Dave Dufour
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily presented by Amazon prime for February 13, 2026. I'm Dave Dufour here with Esp Baraheni and Sam Amick. Coming up, we talk about Sam's piece on Matt Ishbia and the sun success this season. We talk about tanking and a little bit of trade deadline fallout. Good morning everybody. What's up Sam? Hey S. How you guys doing? All Star weekend loading. Sam's already in la.
- [01:48]
Sam Amick
We here boys. Nice to see you.
- [01:50]
Dave Dufour
Yeah.
- [01:51]
Sam Amick
All right. Well, Sam, you had a. I was going to paint the picture real quick, Dave. Sorry. Just for the people, you know, we got lax in front of me. We got runways, United planes. We, we are living the, the luxury life over here, but happy to be with you guys.
- [02:05]
Esp Baraheni
Beautiful, Beautiful. That's awesome. Lax.
- [02:08]
Dave Dufour
Gotta love it. You had a story at the Athletic on owner of the Suns, Matt Ispia. And look, they've had a great season. We'll throw out that, that blowout loss to the Thunder the other night. They've had a great and surprising season. What, what do you think has been the biggest change outside of coaching and gm? What has been the biggest organizational change from last year to this?
- [02:34]
Sam Amick
Well, I mean, you know what I tried to do with the story and you know in the picture that, that I tried to paint after learning about what they've done is, I guess, to your question, Dave, is, is that, you know, after Matt's first couple years of ownership, that, as we know, were pretty disastrous. They chased Kevin Durant, they chased Bradley Beal. They end up having to come off both guys. They have no picks until 2032. It's just an absolute nightmare. They're in luxury tax hell. They're, you know, it's so expensive, it ends up sparking lawsuits between, you know, Matt and the minority owners on the team. And it's all kinds of messy. And so the narrative all the way through that time was that Matt was too involved in terms of his critics. Right. And admittedly that I have been one. I've written some pretty on the nose stuff about him. Yeah. So after that brutal run, you know, where, where he's, you know, Stephen A. Smith is calling him on, you know, a guy who's on track to be the worst owner in the history of basketball and just making mistakes left and right. The idea was that he was too involved. Well, then he comes out in the off season with a statement that says, you know, guess what? I wasn't involved enough. And that I thought was fascinating from a human standpoint. So when, you know, the, the chance came to, to talk to him about his mentality, his choices and what he was going to do, that was what I tried to do with the story. So the short version is that he decided to go ahead and lean into the stuff that he was being criticized for. He's a Michigan State guy who was a walk on, on the 2000 title team, pretty good point guard who had like D2 level interest coming out of high school. He, you know, he's part of that Michigan State team that wins the title in 2000. He bleeds green. And now all of a sudden he says, you know what? I'm going to make that an even bigger part of my son's operation. I'm going to hire Brian Gregory, who had been with the Suns the year before, was a former Spartans assistant coach, a lifer as a head coach for Dayton and a few other places. And, you know, I'm going to make a guy who's an NBA neophyte a gm. I'm going to hire Jordan Ott, an assistant coach, also with Michigan State ties, to be the head coach, you know, and then I'm going to work on the roster. And so, you know, I mean, listen, for now, it's worked pretty well. They've dug themselves out of the hole. But if you talk to NBA people. And you cut through all the organizational stuff that I got into in the story this season is about if you had a list of the impact players, so to speak, it's Jordan Knott and it's Dillon Brooks, you know, Dylan in that trade which they targeted. You know, Dylan and the Durant trademark. If you go back to last trade deadline, for example, the Rockets only had Jabari Smith Jr. And Jalen Green on the table and their late offer to get Durant and the sun said, no, we want Dylan. Like, we're not doing this without Dylan. And so they did, you know, kind of take a bet on him. He's been spectacular on both ends of the floor, is obviously his offense has gotten a whole lot better. And then Jordan Knott is a guy that is just absolutely impressed the heck out of people all over the league. He's a grinder, he's a worker. He's connected with that group. And so, you know, they. These are the things. I mean, considering how low the expectations were, Vegas had them at, I think, 31 wins for the year. They've already surpassed that. You know, we'll see where they take it from here. But. But it's been a surprisingly good year for the Suns.
- [06:00]
Esp Baraheni
Sam, I'm kind of curious, you know, from your time spending time with the Suns, obviously with other organizations, too. There's always this word used of culture, and culture ends up being this black box of like, all right, we're citing it as a cultural thing. We're trying to change. But in your opinion, what do you think attributes to success when it comes to culture and establishing culture for an NBA team?
- [06:25]
Sam Amick
I mean, it's for sure an overused word. And let's be real about in this particular instance, you know, it's like the only pathway out after the disaster of Durant and Beal. And we should mention Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer, like $80 million on championship head coaches who got fired after one season. Like, you know, when all else fails, let's get back to culture. And that is kind of what happened with them. We're going to have to build from the inside out, get synergy between the GM and the coach and the roster and the players. And that is that to me, you know, I guess if you're trying to define the word, it's. It's something that if you don't have a vision and a shared philosophy about the type of team you're trying to be, the type of players you're going after and even. And this is the hokey stuff. But I think it matters. You know, they, you know, they, they actually emphasize with their players, like, and they can't make them do this, but like, we would really appreciate it if you sign a lot of autographs for the fans. We would appreciate, like they have this $2 menu thing in the arena that they're trying to do to just to kind of, you know, connect with the.
- [07:30]
Dave Dufour
Real fans, put them on free tv. That to me, it was one of the big first moves that he made that I, you know, I, I look at and I say, hey, look, here's an owner who does care about fans. And it's not just lip service.
- [07:42]
Sam Amick
Right. Well, and, and here's, and I, I, you know, I want to make sure I answer your question. S. But the part that I do, you know, a story like this is not, I'm not saying that they're on their way and they're going to be title contenders anytime soon, but I, I definitely came out of this story having a better understanding of why they're doing the things that they are doing. And in terms of culture, if you've got an owner like Matt who's going to be incredibly involved, you know, he had previously hired Josh Bartlestein away from the Pistons. That was his first hire. And Josh, you know, is an important part of their group. I think it was also smart to kind of, you know, be additive with it and have a guy in Brian who is, is older, is more experienced in the basketball world. So Brian and Josh are working together in the front office, but these guys really know Matt and, and from a trust level standpoint, you know, that synergy matters, you know, and obviously, like I said, Jordan is a big part of what they're doing too. So relationship dynamics appear to be a lot better if you look backwards at where they were. It was a tricky thing where, all right, the Suns go to the finals in 2021 with James Jones at the head of their front office. James is a beloved NBA figure, you know, three time champion, I believe, and a guy who, you know, had a lot of leeway when Matt bought the team, but he wasn't Matt's guy. And then by the time Matt buys the team, they're, they're kind of in the play in territory and, and they're not a very good team. And what he did kind of admit was if he could do it all over again, he would probably make these types of changes sooner. Like, if you're going to pay $4 billion for the team, then put your stamp on it, make it your own. But he had a certain level of reverence for the previous sons regime I think for two reasons. Because they were accomplished and getting to the finals for the Suns is not a small feat. And then you still were dealing with kind of the fumes, if you will of the Robert Sarver saga that Matt came in after. A guy who you talk about culture, the culture was decimated within the Suns was in a very negative place. So I think there was a little bit. This sounds counter to, you know, I mean he was very involved but I, there was actually I think a decent level of tiptoeing when it comes to making wholesale changes. That's what has changed is he now, you know, we're going to have my gm, my coach and my type of roster. And the last thought here guys, is that what, what's tough for me when it comes to figuring out how to analyze the job Ishbia is doing now. I mean listen, the first few years we know it's, it was not good, is that he's more of a basketball guy than the vast majority of owners, you know what I mean? Like in, in my backyard, for example, he played at a high level, you know, and this is in the story but like Brian Gregory was the scout team assistant coach for that Spartans team. He and Matt played like they were partners and before every practice and this is again a championship team. Their job was to, to basically figure out the scout for the next opponent. And it was Brian and Matt kind of in the basketball trenches together trying to problem solve. That's, you know, that's a real basketball knowledge that most NBA owners don't have. You know, I was going to say in my backyard, you know, Vivek Rona D of the Kings. A lot of the criticism that comes the way of a guy like that is because of the void of basketball experience. Right. Like we don't care that you coached your daughter's team when she was 12.
- [11:11]
Dave Dufour
You know that, that 4 on 5 thing, it's, it's right, I've seen it before.
- [11:16]
Sam Amick
I'm sure the Kings love that. He's catching a stray here. But like that, that is the thing is we are programmed to say hey owner, get the hell out of the way and right. I'd be lying to you if I'm not. I'm in the middle on it. Like man, these, these are the dudes who cut or the, or the women who cut the checks. Like right. Like they, you know, the money is so big now.
- [11:37]
Dave Dufour
Like it's usually just so bad though. Sam, you know, like, I mean, and again, I don't want to call out a ton of people, but it's usually so bad, like when we hear about.
- [11:46]
Esp Baraheni
Joe wake up getting involved syndrome also. Right?
- [11:48]
Dave Dufour
That's right. Okay. But. But Ishbia being a basketball guy, I mean, frankly, when you look at the changeover from Sarver to Ishbia, just from their college stuff, because Sarver was tied to Arizona, remember, Deandre Ayton goes number one overall to the Suns, and, And really, they should have been Luka Doncic, but it's. It's Ayton because he went to Arizona. How much of this is just Michigan State's a better basketball school.
- [12:16]
Sam Amick
Yeah, maybe. You know, and it's. This is part of it too. It's. And I'll make sure I don't leave anybody out. I mean, the Michigan State ties run deep, and the one that everybody's a little defensive for, and I get it, is Jordan Ott, because, yeah, first of all, Matt had no relationship with Jordan previously at all. That's very different, obviously, than the GM Brian Gregory. But. But he still, you know, spent time undertime Izzo, I think three years, a long time. So he's a Michigan State guy. Charlie Bell is running around part of the coaching staff. Michigan State. There, there seems to be, I think, just a lot of love and affection for that part of the country, you know, Josh Bartelstein, I believe, hopefully I don't get this wrong, is a Michigan man, not Michigan State. You know, Devin Booker. When I talked to Book and I didn't use some of this material, I wanted to get an understanding from Book of, like, why do you not seem like you were ever looking at your owner sideways like the rest of us were? You know what I mean? And I thought his, like, I should have seen this coming. But he literally immediately went to the Michigan thing and he said something along the lines of, like, I think sometimes people under. Underestimate a Michigan man. And then I, it, it hit me and it was like this guy too. He grew up in Grand Rapids, you know, there it is. So, like, and Matt, obviously, Devin was there long before Matt, but it's kind of perfect that, like, of course he's going to keep building around Devin Booker. He's a Michigan man, you know, so we'll see where it goes. But it is one of the more interesting, like, whatever side of the fence you're on, if you think they are doing a terrible job, fine. But it is one of the more interesting groups when you really try to unpack you know the histories of everybody and why they're there.
- [14:01]
Dave Dufour
They're interesting for another reason to me. And we'll talk about that after a quick break.
- [14:11]
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- [15:46]
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- [16:19]
Dave Dufour
The Suns had an interesting decision to make with their pivot and they chose not to tank. They chose to keep Devin Booker. They chose to get Dylan Brooks and get good players. And I want to tip my cap to that because it is the easiest time it's ever been and this year, especially with all the hype about this draft to tank. So credit to the Suns and Matt Isbia for not going that route, getting good players and trying to win games.
- [16:47]
Esp Baraheni
Al but like, can they? Yeah, exactly.
- [16:51]
Dave Dufour
I was about to say it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Teams are Tanking without what is happening?
- [16:57]
Sam Amick
Sam, I got accused of writing a puff piece. This. You're doing a puff pod now? What are we doing?
- [17:02]
Dave Dufour
I just, I. I am just at the point, Sam, with the tanking stuff that. I mean, last night there were 14 games, and SNI went through them, seven of them. You've got teams that aren't trying. You know, it's a. A bit of a problem, and I understand the strategy behind it and all those things. We don't need to rehash that. But, Sam, it is a problem, I think, for the NBA.
- [17:23]
Sam Amick
No, it's a big problem. I mean, we're basically talking about a third of the league now that is not, you know, active participants in the competition. You know what I mean? Like, the actual competition. I, I keep thinking back. This is for this season, and this tanking conversation, this moment will always stick with me. David Locke is a longtime voice of the Utah Jazz, and when they traded for Jaren Jackson Jr. And hopefully David doesn't mind me spotlighting this moment that I think is symbolic. He was on social media very excited about the fact that the Jazz were going to compete in basketball games again. And with a lot of passion and intensity and energy, talked about how the, you know, ding dong, the witch is dead. Like, we can get back to the game. And lo and behold, he spoke too soon. Yeah.
- [18:20]
Dave Dufour
By the way, we got the news yesterday that Jaren Jackson is going to miss rest of the season. He's having a tumor removed from his knee.
- [18:28]
Esp Baraheni
Something along the lines of that.
- [18:30]
Sam Amick
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so, you know, but they were already, you know, doing the same tank dance that everybody else has been doing. Yeah. And it's. Well, it's.
- [18:39]
Esp Baraheni
It's one of those things where it's like, it's. Don't hate the player, hate the game. You know, like the, the system has been set up to which these teams are taking advantage of the rules at place. When you talk to front office people, when you talk to executives around the league, what is the consensus around tanking, losing, and the benefits of trying to do that?
- [19:04]
Sam Amick
Well, I mean, this is certainly driven by the fact that this particular draft is very strong. Right. So that level of talent and the carrot at the end of the stick, so to speak, is. Is the driving force that is pushing executives of these teams through the. The fact that, like, you know, the, the rationale is not very sound. They flatten the lottery odds. Nobody who had the worst record in the league has gotten the number one pick since they did that. You know, they put all these guardrails in place and they're not working. And I think the strength of this draft is part of that. But, you know, because that, that mitigates any fear about even if I don't get number one, like, it's pretty damn good going down to four or five, you know. But I think you're right. S that the onus is on the league and into the way you framed it. You know, don't hate the player. Hit the game. They've tried to find solutions and they are now going to have to find more because you can't have, you know, fans looking at the scoreboard and literally being like, nope, nope, nope, don't want to see that game. Don't want to see that game. You know, and they're gonna have to.
- [20:15]
Dave Dufour
Buy programs again because you don't know who's in the game if you don't have a program.
- [20:19]
Sam Amick
Right?
- [20:19]
Esp Baraheni
Well, you don't know. You don't know maybe even two hours before the game starts who's going to play.
- [20:23]
Sam Amick
I think, is it. Is it. I forget which partner does the. The graphics with, you know, the name over the player. Like, they're going to have to start doing the gimmicky stuff on the screen. So we know who's out there.
- [20:37]
Esp Baraheni
So look, Adam Silver is going to talk at All Star Weekend. He usually does. And it's. It's going to be a lot of questions about expansion and, you know, what will happen with the Clippers and. But I think a very valid question will be around this tanking situation and we've seen to be kind slaps on the wrist when it comes to resting players or tanking out games and whatnot. How much do you think this is on. On him to be stronger on teams that are trying to lose?
- [21:10]
Sam Amick
I would tend to say it's going to have to get solved through legislation, so to speak, as opposed to current enforcement. The toothpaste is out of the tube. It's a little bit like, I keep going back to jazz references, but when Jerry Sloan used to teach his players that, you know, if we foul 300 times in a game, they can only call it so many times. There's like such a strength in numbers component to the tanking problem right now that, you know it's going to be whack a mole for Adam trying to do it through discipline. I think the way again, as you put it is on point. He's got to look in the mirror and just realize, like, you built the system, it doesn't work. You're going to have to change the system. So I think they got to go that direction.
- [21:58]
Dave Dufour
Has anyone brought up shutdowns, you know, where. Where we see guys like Trae Young getting traded and there's no intention to play them at all this season? Has anyone brought this up with Adam? Just, period, like, when you're, when you're talking to people, like, does this come up that it just doesn't make sense to trade for these guys and shut them down?
- [22:23]
Sam Amick
Well, I mean, let me make sure I understand you there, Dave. Like, why. I mean, that one was. It seemed right out the gate that there was already an arrangement that Trey was going to sit, and then we anticipate him getting a, you know, a nice extension in the summer, most likely. And, you know, that's kind of how the. The sausage gets made. But which part of it to you doesn't make sense?
- [22:47]
Dave Dufour
I mean, it's a player who theoretically would. Would be playing otherwise? I mean, I just.
- [22:53]
Sam Amick
Yeah, I mean, it is. It. It's nuanced. Right. I think it speaks to the fact that, for one, I can't remember a time in. In my long time covering the league where it was harder for star players to go where they want, Right? So if you're a guy like Trae Young, who at this point has fallen down the ranks of star players and you're losing control of your own future, you're going to have to compromise potentially with a situation like Washington in order to create the kind of Runway for the rest of your career that you're looking for, right? So, unfortunately, and really sadly, that might mean that a healthy player, you know, and let's not forget guys like all. And we're going to talk about Giannis in a minute. All these guys know their career point totals. They know, like, they're trying to chip away at the history books. So the sad part is, like, yeah, Trey Young not playing in 30 games that he should play in, that's. That's. That should not happen. And I think it's unfortunate. I think a guy in that position is being forced to compromise because of the other dynamics that I mentioned. You know, the inverse of that is if you're somebody like Giannis and you still. You're so good that you do have a fair amount of power, then, right? You push your way back on the court, which is what I fully expect him to do when he's healthy. You give the middle finger to an organization like the Bucs. If they are trying to tank and don't want you to play, you say Too bad. I'm going to check myself in. But not many players have that kind of juice. So to kind of close the loop on it, it's what sort of system can you create where you just shouldn't have talented, good basketball players sitting for no reason? Sitting to. Yeah, you know, to rig the ping pong ball. Ping pong balls, rather.
- [24:43]
Dave Dufour
I'm glad you mentioned Giannis, by the way. The Bucks, I think that they're going to make the play in, especially if, to your point, if Giannis comes back, I mean, that's. That that guy does not want to sit and he doesn't want to lose, but he didn't want to be with the Bucks. It felt like I would love if you would maybe empty the notebook. How did he wind up staying with the Bucks? Was it just a matter of keeping it, Keeping the powder dry until the summer when they could get a better deal? What happened there?
- [25:12]
Sam Amick
The. I mean, in. In hindsight, it appears pretty clear that John Horst, their longtime Bucks gm, had, you know, responded to the pressure that was for sure applied by Giannis to, To, to get out or at least in earnest to look at all these different situations. But the teams that dealt with them, when it comes to the warriors in the Heat, Minnesota and, you know, teams like that, when they unpacked it, it was like, okay, this was more of a fact finding mission for the Bucks. And A, let us read the room in anticipation of next summer when we will revisit this. Than. It was like A, trying to get a deal done in earnest because there were complaints about communication, the Bucks not getting back to teams, the Bucks not being clear about what it truly would take to get a deal done. And that's what you do when, A, you're obviously not blown away by some of the different scenarios that are in play. And then you know, B, when you have a plan B and you're. You're waiting for the summer. The part I didn't expect to be writing about or talking about is that I also quickly realized, oh, wow, this is not just kicking the can down the road. This is still like Operation Save Giannis for the Bucks.
- [26:33]
Dave Dufour
I'm into it. Yeah, maybe Cam Thomas is good enough coming off the bench that, you know, is like, hey, let's do it.
- [26:42]
Sam Amick
All your credibility just went out the window.
- [26:45]
Dave Dufour
Cam was on fire the other night.
- [26:47]
Sam Amick
He was.
- [26:47]
Dave Dufour
He was, yeah. The Bucks are not like, they're not really a good team, but with Giannis out there, they're better than this. And he's just missed so much Time.
- [26:55]
Sam Amick
Yeah. Now, let's see where it goes. But they're also, you know, they're banking on the fact, and banking being the operative word, because Giannis is going to be going to the bank is he has an extension that he's eligible to sign on October 1st. And I do think they are still holding out hope that if they can, what happens this season doesn't really matter much, but if they can paint the picture for him that, hey, in the summer we can access three first round picks, our pick might be really good, depending on how the rest of the year goes. Yeah, like, you know, it's, it's another Hail Mary and they just listen, they, they are. The history of the Giannis situation in Milwaukee is going to be that they did. And I still do think ultimately he gets traded, in my opinion, but that they, they did everything within their power to avoid, you know, Kareem Abdul Jabbar Part two. You know, that market, they don't want to lose a generational player and they're still trying, you know, everything they can to hold on to him. You.
- [27:54]
Esp Baraheni
Yeah, you can't blame them for trying at all. And, and they've done that multiple times. To your point about Hail Mary, they've pulled out that Hail Mary through the Giannis era. I, I have to ask you, Sam, because we know, as you said, the likelihood is Giannis gets traded, there's the John Morant stuff that probably gets pushed this summer. But you, I think a couple years ago or last year predicted the Dear and Fox situation. He's now in San Antonio. You predicted the Trey Young situation. He's now in Washington. Who's that guy that nobody is talking about that you have on your radar that might be involved in trades this summer?
- [28:30]
Sam Amick
Well, I mean, the Jaw thing is obviously out there and they just, the market was so low, you know, I think eventually something happens there in your neck of the woods. S. You know, the Mono Sabona situation with the Raptors.
- [28:45]
Dave Dufour
Yeah.
- [28:45]
Sam Amick
Definitely heated up around the deadline. And I expect that to, to kind of get, you know, resurfaced in the off season. And I think ultimately it would not shock me at all if that happens. As you continue shaking your head.
- [28:58]
Dave Dufour
Sorry, yes.
- [28:59]
Esp Baraheni
I just, I don't see the vision, but it's okay. I'm not, I don't get paid the big bucks to do this anyways.
- [29:04]
Sam Amick
Yeah. But like, you know, under the radar names, it's tough to say the one that. I mean, New Orleans is just such a question mark in terms of, I don't remember a team that is, you know, so bad, having so many good players that they hang on to, you know, and so Zion, there was some chatter after the deadline of like, why was Zion not a bigger part of the conversation? There were, you know, I talked to teams early in the trade season that had signaled that it did feel like, you know, if you pushed hard enough, you certainly could get Zion. You know, as you guys know, early in, like late December, all 30 teams end up having kind of a let's take a pulse call with each other. So these are not like real trade calls. It's more like, how do you see your roster, you know, and give us a framework to see how you see your. Your group. And the New Orleans messaging, you know, the way it was at least received was that, yeah, he's certainly not off the table. You know, you can talk about ZION.
- [30:06]
Dave Dufour
He'S played 30 games in a row. Yeah, guys, a little bit under the radar is that he's looked good and been healthy for so much season.
- [30:14]
Sam Amick
And, you know, and it seems like Joe Dumars wanted, you know, the intel was that Joe wanted an extended look at him with his. To make up his own mind. And so that's why there wasn't any urgency to move him. But I just think you can only have if he's going to play and be good and they're going to continue losing, then what are we doing here? You know, and to a lesser degree, it's. It's Trey Murphy and Herb Jones and all those guys that have great market. I just can't remember a team that has so many players with good market and a terrible record. So they come to mind. The Charlotte thing is been interesting roller coaster because we were all talking about Lamelo Ball. Was he going to be on the move and, you know, maybe some friction between he and Charles Lee at times. And then he was coming off the bench and he's upset and next thing you know, you know, they win nine in a row and they have a starting five that I don't know the last tally, but has an absurd record when they're together. And Lamelo is part of the solution, you know, so, yeah, that noise has certainly quieted too.
- [31:19]
Dave Dufour
Yeah, winning cures a lot. That's why tanking is so bad. Anyway, Sam, thanks for hanging out with us. What are you looking forward to at All Star break?
- [31:30]
Sam Amick
Not much of a break. Break is for everybody else, but it's a good process. Happy to be here. It's always a fun event. You, you guys know, it's it's very social. So it's. It's a lot of focus on the off court activities. You know, Luca Doncic had a promotional event last night in Hollywood that I went to. That was a good time, you know, and.
- [31:52]
Dave Dufour
And Kate Cunningham's got one tomorrow night.
- [32:01]
Sam Amick
I mean, agencies have parties. The players union is having a get together this evening that I'm going to go to. It's, you know, it is fun because it's. It's just, you know, like the. Even the Finals, you know, doesn't have everybody, you know, all the power brokers are here. You know, I walked into that Luca thing yesterday, and it would have been a Lakers fan's dream, because it was all of them. It was, you know, Rob Pelinka, Jeanie Bus, Kurt Rambis, you know, and so that's like a Laker slice, but you never know who you're going to run into. And that's kind of the fun of NBA All Star weekend. A quick story is we head out here, guys. At the LUCA event, I met a young man by the name of Justin Robinson, who is a player development coach for the Lakers and the son of the admiral David Robinson. And the fun little All Star moments you have is. And I was very comfortable just owning the age difference between Justin and I. I got him by about 20 years. But, like, I told him a story about how when I was a kid, I think about 12 years old, I went to a Spurs shoot around in the San Francisco Bay area because they were in town to play the warriors. And I was determined to get David's autograph. And I thought it'd be fun to share this story with his son because it's like, hey, your dad has always been a class act. So little Sam was trying to be creative on how to get the autograph because I didn't know where David was. I couldn't find him. So naturally, I walked over to the house phone at the hotel where the team was staying, and I just said to the operator, hello, could you please transfer me to David Robinson's room? And I was very pleasantly surprised and honestly, you know, petrified that I started hearing a ring. I hear a very deep voice. Hello? And says, hello, Mr. Robinson, could you come down and sign an autograph? And 40 minutes later, there was David in the lobby signing my autograph. Yeah, man.
- [33:57]
Dave Dufour
Wow. We were living in the 90s.
- [33:59]
Sam Amick
I know, right?
- [34:00]
Dave Dufour
You could just call up David Robinson.
- [34:03]
Sam Amick
On the hotel phone.
- [34:04]
Dave Dufour
That's amazing. That's a great story, Sam. I tell that story often that. That maybe is why you're sitting here today.
- [34:10]
Esp Baraheni
That's right.
- [34:11]
Dave Dufour
No, I love little journalist Sam. I've had the Robinson.
- [34:15]
Sam Amick
Well, and to keep it with the All Star theme. The irony here is that I told that story to David Robinson at Orlando All Star Weekend a very long time ago. So like, that was fun to share with him then, fun to share with his kid. And so, you know, those are the kinds of sights and sounds you get out here.
- [34:33]
Dave Dufour
That's a fun story. You know, a lot of kids listen to the show. Listen up kids. That's how you do them in the hotel room. That's a great way to get it. All right. Thank you Sam, for hanging out. Sam Amic. Go and read him. You guys know who he is. Go read him. Over at the Athletic for Sam Amick and S. Barahenny, I'm Dave Dufour and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
- [35:17]
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