Welcome everybody to another episode of in the zone. I of course am your host Chris Broussard We got another great show with you. I must say another tremendous insightful eye-opening entertaining Interview with another ex NBA player this time. It is Al Harrington I go back with Al till he was 18 years old when he first got in the league did a big story on him for the New York Times it was interesting watching his career and now he's doing some really interesting things as well very Successful, so we got that of course We got knocked down Jay with my man Jason McIntyre We're gonna tackle some really good topics as we head into the NBA finals But first as always we're gonna hit you with the top five Postseason player power rankings and this is the last one We won't do one through the finals because you're only looking at two teams This is the final installment and it is going to be for the whole playoffs It's not just who had a great week last week or the last two weeks This is the entire postseason who in my estimation were the best five players at number five James Harden. I know I know he's been catching flak My my staff here or in the zone been ripping him, but James Harden 29 points a game. I think he shot 41% from the floor gave you seven assists the game to lead the team Also led the Rockets and steals with 2.2 a game. Whoever thought James Harden would do that Remember him picking KD's pocket at midcourt and here's the thing James Harden Got the Houston Rockets. I know he struggled from three He wasn't phenomenal as he was in the regular season, but he still was great He got the Houston Rockets within a whisker a whisker of beating the golden state warriors one of the greatest teams we've ever seen In these playoffs without his second best player for games six and seven Chris Paul at number four Kevin Durant you say that's low. You might say it's high Look, I was critical of Durant because at times, you know They got too much ice so heavy and golden state got away from their free-flowing offense Everything was running from him through him, but you know what? I'm not gonna blame that all of Kevin Durant Steve Kerr has to take some responsibility because you are the coach Pull rank if they're not playing right and say start moving the ball I'm gonna blame a little bit of it on Steph and Clay because I saw too many times at half court They just gave the ball to Durant ran over to the side and wanted to see him go to work So they deferred to him a little too much. So it wasn't just Durant at number three I got to give some love to the young boy. Jason Tatum led the Boston Celtics without their two best players Gordon Hayward, Kyrie Irvin passed the two man children in Philadelphia Pass Milwaukee and big time Yanis Adedicumbo. He Tatum became the first youngest player ever Ever to lead his team in scoring in the playoffs and get to the conference finals Younger than Michael Jordan younger than Luau sender now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar This man younger than LeBron James Jason Tatum a star is born at number two Anthony Davis the unibrow. I know he went out relatively early five games in the second round But when he played he did major Damage led the New Orleans pelicans to their first playoff series victory in a decade Second all in of among all playoff scores in scoring at 30 points a game behind only LeBron James Let all the rebounders in the playoffs 13 and a half a game Let all the shot blockers in the playoffs over to a game shot over 50% from the field I mean what more could the dude do? Number one, you know who it is the suspense is gone LeBron James I didn't believe it earlier in the in the season But at least offensively and even in the playoffs he picked it up defensively This he's playing the best offensive basketball. I've ever seen him play I've ever seen him play no no ifs ands or buts about it. His jumper now is butter That's the thing. We know he can get to the rim and score We know he can get hot from three But his mid range jumper the turnaround the fade away all that is butter And with that he's unstoppable We always talk goat if you want to tell me no one has played at a higher level than LeBron James is playing right now I I have trouble arguing that so LeBron James doing it here doing it there doing it everywhere Number one the best player In the NBA in these playoffs LeBron James All right, I want to welcome in my man Al Harrington to end the zone It's great to have you here, but people don't know we go way back way back. I remember you were what 18, I guess During the lockout. I went to Indiana Indianapolis did a story on you for the new york times It's just and I used to always think this it was amazing to just see your career You know I kind of because knowing you at 18 and then watching you throughout the career become like an elder statesman in the league And all that, you know, it was a trip. Oh, right Yeah You were what 34 33 34 my last year. So that's young, but when you go in earlier, right? It's like, you know, I mean I played 16 It was my knee. I think I could have played a little bit more But um What happened was it's funny like you go through a little phase where like The NBA don't want you no more kind of so it really attacks your ego Okay, but for me the reason why I didn't keep fighting because I easily could have got two more years out of this Need for sure, but I think it was because of the business stuff that I had off the court You know what I'm saying was just as entertaining to me as playing basketball at that point So it was an easy transition for me. Just say, you know what? It's cool. I have my I have my time Let me go work on something else. It's good. You prepared yourself.  So it's one thing I do want to like start to talk to players about it's like really You know people always say prepare for it, but you really should because it's culture shock You know what I'm saying? Going from being the man and people, you know, wanting you and then to like Just a regular like regular now. You know what I'm saying? So but uh, yeah, it's been good though I've been I've having a lot of fun. I live out here in LA. So I feel like I live in paradise. So I mean What can I complain about at this point? We'll get to all that to your business and stuff. But firstly, it obviously NBA finals about to start Golden State Cleveland part four. Let's get your opinions on that first You give LeBron and the Cavs any chance?  You know what I mean? Like it just seemed like if it's any year for him to pull out Something even more magical than what he's already done is this year. So I wouldn't write him off You know what I'm saying and at the end of the day if he could just get his support and cast to You know, three or four guys that get just 10 They got a shot. That's all he needs, right? Just get 10 sometimes, you know what I mean? Sometimes he struggles with getting guys just to give him that So if he can just get that consistently the entire series, he has a shot What do you think about it looks like LeBron and KD will be matched up against each other There was a feeling last year after KD hit that shot in LeBron's face that the torch had been passed What's your thoughts on that? I don't think so I don't think so. I think bronze still wanted me. I mean you look at the way he played this year I tell people all the time like if he played the way he played this year, he would have been the goat for sure It wouldn't have been no discussion about it. You know what I'm saying? Like he really put his offense on display He put like everything on display this year and before he's always selfless and everything this year He was just like he like year 15. I'm gonna show y'all like what I really could have done So, you know at the end of the day, I think that if it could dial it on play that could hurt them You know what I'm saying?    His athleticism looks just about as good as ever I mean when you're watching that or you like man, this is crazy. It don't make sense I mean I played and I played with great players, you know, and I played with guys that prepared themselves I prepared myself and to be playing at that level a year 15 is really amazing You know, I take my hat off to him. Whatever he's doing is like, you know, obviously it's his secret sauce And obviously he hasn't shown anybody else because nobody's gonna do it with your smart I guess his son will probably be the next one that can do it But uh, it's really amazing. I don't get it.  Like so when people ask me sometimes like how how much long you think LeBron can play? I'm like easy five to seven years I mean just think about it. I mean the way he played this year Yeah, nah, he looks and if he ever decides to go somewhere where he wanted to be the second guy And not be the first guy that just preserves him a little bit more, you know, I'm speaking to that Because obviously he's gonna be a free agent this summer. Where would you recommend if he asked you What would you say he should do? Well, my heart would say go to the Knicks because I'm a Knicks But if I was him, I would stay.  That doesn't make any sense You may as well stand the issue dominating over here and I would say, you know, most people say Philly I like Philly But why you like Philly because if he go to Philly then he kills Ben Simmons Ben Simmons does nothing at that point because LeBron one has to have the ball in his hand And Ben can't hit a shot from me to you right now. And I mean hopefully he'll develop it right now. That's the reality You know what I'm saying? So if he goes there, I think Ben takes five steps backwards Yeah, Philly gets better. But I think Ben Ben could be a little brunish I think he has it in him. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, so my whole thing is like I wouldn't take if I'm Philly I'm not taking brun just because I would rather trust the process That's interesting because I I felt the same way I talked to some people close to LeBron. They were like because I told them I said I you don't want LeBron taking the ball to Ben Simmons hands And they said LeBron wants to play off the ball Now it's it's easy to say that right? But you've been he's been playing that way not just NBA his whole life That's what he is. Look, he's a point guard. He's not an off the ball guy That's why I like even people say he'll go to Houston. I'm like he definitely can't go to Houston Like that never will happen, you know what I mean? So I think he just need to stay right there He'd need to go beg somebody to come play with him. You know what I'm saying? I like PG or If he can get PG, that'd be it. I think he'll be straight, you know what I'm saying? But I wouldn't leave Cleveland so that would be my advice Just stay there and figure out another piece to come help you. Okay. Okay. Okay You were with the Warriors when y'all beat Dallas in the first round. What was that like like Y'all had played well against him in the regular season. Was he six and over? Yeah, we played him six times. No, we had four times. You swept him.  I think it showed, you know what I mean? And the fact that Don Nelson that just came from there like he literally had the blueprint of how to beat You know what I'm saying? Like he knew he knew everything Dirk would do You know what I mean? And as much as I don't like Don Nelson, he was an unbelievable basketball mind You know what I mean? He knew the game. He saw the game in a way that I don't think I could ever see the game And I think a lot of coaches don't see the game that way, you know what I mean?  What was your issue with Don? He just you know what and it's funny because that's how I got older, right? I've been sitting thinking like, you know what was it that he was just trying to push me? It was just like he never he never made me feel comfortable ever, you know what I'm saying? It was never like a good moment between it was always something negative But at the end of the day when I sit and think about it now I'm like, you know, I did have some really good years there under him too, you know what I'm saying? So maybe that was his way of motivating me So I was just in Maui or whatever and right when I was out there there was like an article that came out That said that like he had a cannabis strain or something like that While I was there and I was thinking like, you know what?  I was like B Send me Don number. I want to hit him up or whatever. I didn't But I was thinking I should just hit him up and just you know, figure out me and he could sit down and you know Make a man's yeah, yeah Now you came out of course right out of high school 1998 the draft But it was your seventh year before you came a full-time starter Looking back, would you have done the same thing or do you ever wish you had gone to college or anything? I mean, I don't know, you know I've had those times where I thought about like maybe I should have went to college just to see My AAU coach the guy that actually taught me the game We see what people don't know is that like I didn't start playing basketball until I was a freshman in high school Really? You know what I mean? So were you at Roselle? I was at Roselle my freshman year and they made me play basketball So you didn't play so when you say you mean organized or were you out on the streets playing? I didn't play at all because even when I tried to play in the playground, nobody would pick me So I would go to the park. I was off uncoordinated.  So I was 5 10 fat boy In orange new jersey. Were you athletic? It wasn't athletic or nothing So I moved to Roselle, but that summer I grew from 5 10 to 6 4 Wow So when I got there everybody see this tall lanky kid walking around they're like, oh, you play basketball I'm like, yeah, I play a little basketball. I had played basketball at all and even on my freshman team I didn't start I didn't play a lot on my friend I played freshman basketball in roselle and I got put on the team because the jv Defensive coach was the head basketball coach.  I just want to focus and get ready. I want to try to play varsity my sophomore year Football because football was my first I played football. So how good were you in football? I was good. I was just but I was always on the offensive line I was fat. So I wasn't all that athletic or whatever. So I was always on the offensive line and I was a defensive end So those are my two positions and I was just telling him like I just want to focus on football He's like, no, you playing basketball So he made me play or whatever and I started playing and actually I just started picking it up You know my freshman year, like I said, I was terrible, but my au coach He was there to recruit another player on my team and I said to him getting that play. He got me So he started working with me working with me and then I decided to transfer to schools Which is a leap of faith to go play to st. Pat's to an all basketball school With like literally my freshman year. I didn't even play to starting on a national You know, we was top 10 in the country as a sophomore. I'm starting on this team I was terrible then too. Like I averaged probably six points again. How'd you start though? I mean you could do that because I was six six. I was just I was big You know, do y'all have any other d1 players shaheen hollow way. Oh, he was over there. Yeah That was the best play on our team and we just had a bunch of other six five six eight guys or whatever But I guess, you know, my coach did see something Kevin Boyle who's down at Mount Verde I guess he saw something in me. Let me start Sophomore year, like I said, I averaged six points maybe and then he snuck me into the dita's camp That summer but that summer leading up into the dita's camp I was with my au coach every day like every single day working out and I went to the camp and Ended up being the one of the top 10 players at the camp and then everything just took off for me from there That's that's I didn't know the whole background that you had to play. So your junior year. Did you do damage? My junior year averaged like 23 or whatever and uh, and it was funny too because you know, I can talk about it now But like Boyle when he snuck me into the uh dita's camp. He was there trying to steal another player Like some kid around the country that was kind of just really good loss kind of you know He was like we got it in this way telling me he's like we're plight He's like we got some guys we may have to talk to him But like, you know, we need to come to St. Pat's and then and I ended up being his best player You know what I'm saying? Wow. Wow. So what what was the toughest thing about Coming out of high school and going straight to the NBA for me Nothing was tough because I think that when you that young you just young and naive and you go with the flow Like you don't even realize the magnitude of the decision that you just made You know what I mean like when I decided to go pro was just because I was a top player in the country That's what you guys want to say. What is okay. So that was that was the only reason why did you take recruiting trips? Go to college. I took recruiting trips. I went to georgia tech. I went to ohio state I went to st. John's seattle hall And I uh skipped my NC state visit. I didn't take that one or whatever, but I took visit So whatever the whole time I knew I was going pro Yeah, I never had no intentions on going to college and you live Did you because I know when I did the story on you it was during the lockout and you were living with antonio davis Yeah, um, did you did you live with him throughout the season or I live with him that whole season Because remember the lockout like ended in the middle of the night if you remember and it was like training camp was two days later Everybody had to get going. So, you know, I was I was talking to tone.  Just stay here. You know what I mean? So he looked out for me and then I bought my family out the next year Okay, whatever just I had that support because antonio had got traded Do you think what do you think the rules should be because it looks like they may go back to The high school players being able to go pro. They should definitely go back Like I said, I mean when you really think about it like what who wasn't successful that came out of high school You know what I mean? And then the other thing that they love people that people love to say is like College helping you become an adult and manage money and all that so far I haven't seen either high school players broke Either you look LeBron Kobe. They're very smart.   So, um, I think it should change. I mean the one year rule really makes no sense at the end of the day I mean all the college system doing is pimping those kids anyway You know what I mean and making them live under these crazy restrictions that make no sense at all So, I mean if a guy's good enough to go let them go man, and if he's not then that's on him That's the decision that he made. Yeah, I think they should Somehow like if the kid doesn't get drafted in the first round Now if you can go to the g-league then you you got a safety net, you know years ago You couldn't go to the d-league and so that was the problem But now if you can go to the g-league right now, that's a good that's a good point because now they've actually made it Easier for the guy to go now, you know what I'm saying because if you go to the g-league And if it takes you two years same as college, at least now you're making a little bit of money You know I'm saying and you're getting that exposure to the pro game, you know I'm saying so if it does work out now you go and you wait your way ahead of the curve Yep. Yep. Now you played for 17s doing your career. I want to highlight two of them One you mentioned the nicks was your favorite team and you had some really good years there. Yeah. Yeah now Y'all had talent we had um Duane was with you Duane was there uh quentin richison was there eddie curry, but eddie curry You know, okay, so we when I got there, right? Mike had already like decided who he was going to go in who he wasn't You know what I'm saying? So he had already alienated marbury curry Yeah, because marbury wasn't there with you right marbury was there too. He was there But he got traded he got traded to boston or they waved in one of the other Okay, that's when he went to boston. I never played the game with him. Okay, never put him in the game You remember uh mike had already said he wasn't falling out. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? So mike had alienated some of the better players like saying he wasn't dealing with him david lee was there with me as well um, so, you know We really wasn't that talented. I think we could I think we could have been better because we played in the east Yeah, I just feel like you know They was really just trying to set up to you know trying to get lebron. You know what I mean? I think that was the focus. They thought they were gonna.  Mike dantoni was your coach. So we just saw him lose to go and stay in the eastern western conference finals What was it like playing for him? It was cool.   Like I really wanted to stay a nick I was even willing to take a little bit of a pay cut the whole thing But for some reason me and him never really saw eye to eye and I never understood it because you put up good numbers I put up great numbers and I always used to ask i'm like, Mike, what can I do more? What can I change? What would you like to see and he's fine? Fine, it's fine. Everything's fine. It's all every time So i'm like, all right, it's fine. And then you know come, you know towards the end of the season His agent godname of warren something warren legari You know, I'm hearing stuff that he's telling teams that you know Mike hates me and this dad and the third. I'm just like, where's that coming from? I'm like, dude, I'm the most coachable dude. I feel ever, you know what I'm saying? Like if a coach told me he didn't want me to shoot, I would not shoot, you know what I'm saying? If we was going to win doing that, you know what I mean? So I just never understood why Me and Mike really never hit it off because I know I was open to it because I wanted to be a nick I loved his system like everything was perfect for me. It was like playing outside You know and and and it's funny because I felt like don nelson's system was like free Okay, then tony's is way you had way more freedom. Believe it or not, which is crazy Yeah, like what what is I mean his biggest thing is he just want you know, he believes like uh moving the ball You know the ball finds the correct energy to get the shots and stuff like that Which I feel like it found me a lot Um, but you know like, you know, he he's very easy going You know, I mean that system that you playing like I said, it's so free flowing. It's so fast That's why the point guards always have a blast in it because if you can pass a little bit you keep the you know He preaches keeping the floor so space. It just opens up the court literally, you know what I mean? So that's why I like, you know, I knew that adding cp was going to really take them to the next level Because even though James played the point guard James is not really a point guard Even though he get point guard numbers, you know what I'm saying? But to have a point guard that's been playing a point guard his whole life at that level I knew Houston was going to take that next step, which they did. Yeah. Yeah. Now. I heard dan tony too You might go months without hearing the word defense In reference to your team Is that true like so y'all did y'all not just at all focus on it? No, I mean, it's so weird. Like we just didn't go over. So like on game days, we would do scouts You know, I'm saying we would talk about you going through there off You go in there and we'll talk about schemes or whatever, but it was never like, you know I just you know on really good defensive teams you drill it every day Like, you know on the good defensive teams I was on like we drilled it every day Like we knew at the back of our hand, you know what I mean? It was never that kind of detail If we did go over stuff, it'd be like five, 10 minutes if that, you know what I mean? But he was a firm believer that offense dictated the defense and he'll tell us at all the time He'd be like shoot the ball right It was always some type of scheme that he had his mind and I guess it made sense because he was the coach You know what I mean? But I remember me and larry hues that went in and uh, we talked to him about you know Saying that as players I swear to god as players we said that as captains that we could get the players to come in 15 to 30 minutes early before practice before he even started To go over defensive just without him without y'all could do we could just do it or just have a coach out there I swear Duh, he was so upset that we came in there and said that to him He just like what the defense like he just I mean larry never played again He had to play me because I was in the dub.  We like, you know, we're scoring 115 a night, but they came 138 It's a big you know say like we knew that it was something we had to change And we thought it was defensively because we knew we could score with anybody You know what I mean? We that that was the easy part, but we just couldn't never stop nobody I don't know if we just didn't have confidence as a team or what but over there in hueson for what I see They're playing defense. It seems like he has a defensive coach and it's best deli Yeah, so that's what he so and I mean it's obvious, you know what I'm saying like the game is two ends of the floor You can't win on one end of the floor unless you got guys that you know that's not gonna miss You know what I mean? And that's just not gonna happen. So, you know, but I take my hat off to him now Like he definitely got a team that defends for sure. Yeah. No, they do they do now another team you play for was indiana And um, man, you had some y'all had some characters up in there. We asked even Jackson on here I know you good friends with Steve. That's my brother. He said he was a blood While he was playing with indiana So he he said he had his red bandana hanging in the locker So did did all the players know what that meant or did he advertise he was a blood or how did you not know? That's what he talked about. Oh, really? Some days I'll be scared to come in the locker room. I don't know what jack will be on but now jack uh Me the same person he is today. He was when he played but he was just times a thousand So if you think he's crazy down just imagine like when he was like really young. He's probably matured Yeah, he's matured a lot but he's still crazy. But like when he was young man, but yes, we all knew that he was a blood We all knew that he was active, you know, not just out there shooting anything But you know when he go home he go on the block with the homies and you know, he was never afraid of that life Not at all Were any of them around the team? No, he never bought them around I mean the only time we would see him was uh when we would be like in houston Because that's where he from. You know what I'm saying? So yeah, I have like there a couple of them a drive up or whatever But even them like you see them you wouldn't think they was like gang gang bangers or whatever they'd be cool They had a little red flags or whatever, but at the same time they was out just to have a good time They weren't like trying to look for somebody to shoot Or why just trying to see if somebody had on blue, you know, so a lot of that life, you know what I'm saying I mean, we don't live it because we're not in the trenches But you know, I feel like a lot of it is just glorified through media and everything else and just some people Got to live up to the height We're are there many players that I talked to baron davis once he said he had been involved with gangs in LA Are there many players that uh are involved in that at all? I don't think involved me like I said me active or wearing flags But I just think that just depending on where you grew up Yeah, like you can't get away from where you grew up. So like If if you're living in a blood-neighborhood neighborhood, you know blood If you grew up in a Crip neighborhood, you know Crips, you know what I mean? So I think that just depending on where guys grew up and you know, a lot of these dudes Um, you know, they thank the gang bangers for like helping them get out. Yeah. Yeah, you know what I mean? So they protect them and made sure they were straight and kept them out of trouble, you know what I'm saying? So, um, you know, I think that thing goes both ways, you know what I'm saying? Because I think that a lot of times, you know, you know, even though people live their life They also understand that there's a better life out there and especially if they got a kid that's or in the neighborhood that could You know have a better life. They're gonna make sure that happens Now you also played with meta world peace around our tests at that time What was that? He told me he's on the end of zone. He said He was crazy back like the stuff he said you the the bra the mallets and the piles whatever That was just like what people saw right and I remember I covered the nicks at that time and he'd slam monitors and was it really a lot of stuff going on volatile stuff? No, man. Let me tell you something about Ron our test man. Number one I want to say like he's one of the nicest kindest hardest people you'll ever meet like will give you the shirt off of his back He I think that he has behavioral issues That may need medication, but it's always like in the moment, you know what I mean? I think if it's in the you know If he's just sitting around filming like he won't he'll never go there's impulsive, right? It's just like oh and then he just goes He uh, you know, I grew up with Ron since I was 14 years old So I've known him since I was a freshman, you know, I'm saying first time I've seen him in a tournament So y'all played against me played against him all the time And even then like I always thought Ron was way older than me come to find out He's only a year older because he just kind of had that presence You know I'm saying the kind of way he should talk to us or whatever you thought he was just a lot older than us But you know as far as with Ron's stories like I tell people one story like he uh some Jortons came out And we were in Indiana and this is when the Nike town was in uh, Chicago So he left shoot around and he drove to Chicago from Indiana. We had a game. I said he left shoot around Right. He left shoot around And drove to Chicago. It's like a two-hour drive, right? To pick up the sneakers, right? And then he drives back for the game, right? So he gets there I don't have for the game So whatever he was able to get there back and see at five hours. He made it back and forth, right? So he got the Jortons on playing we go out and we play right never forget this go out play Ron numbers was I never forget this night because I had to look at the statue just to make sure I don't get it wrong He had 26 points. He had nine rebounds seven assists Like four stills and four blocks, right that game, right? So of course, he's playing the game. Yeah my locker here facing the CV at everything.  And he kick them off boom boom when he kicks them off. I realized he don't have socks on right? He played barefoot.  I pick up the right shoe and I look at I look at the size, right? It was a 14 and a half Ron was 16 He wanted to play any shoes so bad that he wore shoes a size and a half too short with no socks and no insole And dominated the game. Wow So Ron Wow was definitely different. I mean His feet must have been killing him. That's why he was kicking them off.  They was all red whatever. He played he played Six days at the heart surgery Yeah And he played two days at the thumb surgery So Ron was different. He was on another level. Ron was different. Well, a year he had the bra I mean, it was only seven games. I think he played before that But he was playing at an MVP level. Oh, no, he was killing I mean, I I really believe that's the first year I left because I was there and I got traded for Steven Jackson or whatever and they was killing it. He said you remember And even that game he was beating the brakes off Detroit like they had because we had Detroit number the year before Reggie should have just dunked the ball instead of with that block, you know what I'm saying? So we should have went to the finals that year anyway The year I was there but that next year adding jack and just a year older. Jermaine was better everything whatever To me, they was the favorites to win it. I think that was the year for Indiana to get a championship in the NBA For sure, but Ron, you know, that whole incident just messed the whole thing up. They was my favorites for sure Wow. Well, you so you we talked earlier about life after basketball And so you are I don't know what the technical term cannabis distributor entrepreneur A gonjopano So just tell me, I mean you have a Company that is it just it's not just medicinal marijuana, right? It's medicinal and it's recreational. So okay for me Like it's all legal in california. It's all legal in california now and to me I don't understand what's the difference. I don't understand why they make it a difference because I feel like Even people that use it, you know Recreationally they use it for a reason. You know what I'm saying a lot and at the end of the day cannabis heals anyway You know what I'm saying? So it's all medicinal to me So you feel like dudes just because you know you grow up you think dudes just getting hot They just want to get hot right, but do you feel like even then it has some type of It has that but it has it's definitely has a healing it's a healer number one Our body has endocannabinoids in it. You know what I'm saying? So we're made to to to interact with the cannabis plant. Okay, that's why when we smoke we get high You understand what I'm saying because we have cannabinoids in our bodies already. You understand what I'm saying People that smoke they a lot of times they don't know why they're smoking Just just say but at the end of the day like sometimes people smoke just to go to sleep at night Sometimes people smoke just to relax. You know what I'm saying? So what's the medicinal like? How can we say there's a doctor like you need that? You know what I mean? And then when you take it in a step further is like the reason why you know, we have our medicinal side of our business Right and that's what we really dominated. You know, we have a concentrate company So pretty much we grow flour to extract it down to making it You know medicinal grape, but it's a concentrate So it's like, you know, normally if you just smoke the plant you'll get like 30 of thc But when you smoke it as a concentrate, it may be 90 and that's what you and that's what I make Correct. So that's why we make it for a lot of you know, like vets People with terminal hiv and cancer and different things like that But you know from the lifestyle part of it, I took a little time like, you know Why is it okay for us to you know Go drink a beer or drink a whole bottle of great goose Like there's no medicinal benefits from that zero at least with cannabis Like I said, your body heals from within from using the plant, you know what I mean?  But when you think about it, how many without yeah, how many people how many people and I'll wait how many people Do you know stories that you've read that people got high and wouldn't crash they can't kill a family? Um, not like drunk driving Not at all, you know what I'm saying? I mean, I just feel like this plant is just something totally different and need to be looked in a different light You know what I mean?  I think it's a gateway It is not a gateway. I mean it's it's proven that it's not, you know what I'm saying? When we talk about like literature and stuff that's proven that's proven You know what I'm saying? But that's the stuff that nobody never wants to put out You know what I'm saying?  This is the most dynamic plant in the world and I tell you all the time like To me, I don't see how it could be a drug if you could take a seed Plant in the ground and just water it every day and it grows, you know what I'm saying? That's stuff that pharmaceutical companies that we're buying those are drugs. Those are made in labs And then when we talk about all the side effects from them, you know It's funny. I look at these commercials all the time and it's so nice. They're like people skipping in a park And you know this or help this that in the third and at the end is like side effects Sudden death Internal bleeding eyeballs falling out and I'm just like but I can't smoke some weed You know what I'm saying? We know like none of that happened. This is natural, bro Like you there's no chemicals in weed. You know what I mean? So it's just we just have to change the narrative and it's funny because we got to change it At the church level, you know what I mean? Like and you know for me like with the education Stuff that we're about to start rolling out, you know It's going to be in the churches and then actually in the schools Okay, you know what I'm saying because you know, I actually just did some DNA testing for my kids Or whatever because one of my kids potentially Has like the ADHD whatever so you know, so we give her medicine and we could tell when she's off and when she's on it But at the same time I hate her being on it because I don't understand what she's on So there's studies now that show that cannabis can help that that's all natural. So have you tried it? So we literally just did the DNA testing so we're waiting for the results to come I did it for everybody I did it for my eight-month-year-old son because from what I'm from what I'm reading and you know, when I'm learning it seems that Cannabis can also be a preventative from cancer and different things like that Exactly So if you get a certain amount of CBD in your body every day, there's studies that show that it can prevent cancer You know what I'm saying? So if that's the case, I want my kids to have the best shot to live the longest life as they can So if I get some studies that show me that you know, it's nothing for me to give my kids CBD every morning in their smoothies You know what I'm saying because it doesn't get them hot and like I said it heals from within How long do you think because I know you did I found out that you had this business when you did an interview with david stern before mba commissioner And he was saying he thinks he thinks it should be legal in the mba How long do you think before it is and have you had any conversations with adam silver or do you know? I haven't talked with adam yet. I've been talking to michelle and chris a chin over at the mba You know in order for it to even get to adam's desk. They're gonna have to be on board first Okay, you know especially because of the collective argument agreement and stuff like that So right now the most important thing for me is to educate them and let them know what's really going on You know what I mean? um, I feel like CBD Will be in all professional leagues within the next three years. Wow. I mean they already changed it at the uh at the Olympic level. So now do they first have to legalize it in all states? Well, not really because because what happens is with the farm with the farm act um, there's on there's right now. There's two states that can produce CBD legally which is kentucky in colorado, right? And since it's coming from those two states it can go to anywhere in the country So if the mba gets it from one of those two places, it's legal to be shipped Anywhere across the country and the players can fly with it and everything else. You understand what I'm saying? So I think I don't think that'll be an issue but I think that The biggest thing for them is they just need more information to know because you know at the end of the day Everything is perception and I get it. You know, I understand how big the mba is And the one thing we don't want is for Steph Curry to have a bad game and then they could be like oh Steph was smoking weed You know what I'm saying? I'm using him because he's the one that we know is clean But you know what I'm saying? But if they use CBD and and and the reason why I feel like it's so important to leagues is a couple reasons number one You know when you think about and you've been around this for a long time You think about what we go through to play a game even regular season like all the emotions You know, I'm talking about mental. I'm talking about mental and physical. So I'll start with mental So mental, you know, you wake up from your net, right?  I'm getting going now, whatever Now before the game we get all riled up now. We go out. We go to play whatever game start I'm fighting with Zebo man Zebo getting to an argument my teammate missing assignment I'm going crazy on him the coach screaming at me. I'm telling the coach something the fan going crazy I'm telling the fans sit down before I smack you all that right. So I'm going crazy, right? Now the game is over the game is over, but I'm not I'm not done like I'm still hyped up I'm like what's next and I'm dealing with whatever my knee hurting whatever, right?  I drink that to calm me down.  So now at the end of the day, like I said, we go back to we us knowing that you know cannabis Excuse me that alcohol has no benefits. You know, I'm saying for the body all it's going to do is what dehydrate me So now I don't have a couple drinks not saying I'm drunk get on the plane Have a couple more drinks now. I get to that next city now. I'm definitely dehydrated now I go to bed wake up You know, I can't be the best that I can be you know what I'm saying? Or just imagine if the NBA implements cannabis Now you could give a guy a little drop a little dummy No, because I mean you could be very small. You know what I'm saying? It was you give him so now instead of giving him a celibrex You know what I'm saying? I'll give him some type of I took I took him for eight years seven and a half took two in the morning one at night every day Even during the summer like and I knew and I knew the side effects. You know what I'm saying?  And I was just like yeah He was like man, you know the side effects of all that stuff and he started telling me some of the side effects You know what I'm saying? He died the next morning. That's right The next morning he died the next morning Is he taking them? I don't know what he was taking he was taking stuff for sure because he was dealing with injury But he died the next morning I know I cry like a baby went out when uh when David Fisdale called me and told me he died That's why I was on my way to practice and I'm sitting there like I was just talking to him about that Yesterday at practice he died that morning You know what I'm saying?  So now if you give a player edible, let them take that Now he's sitting relaxed Little THC in it where they won't hurt nobody. It's all about dosages. You know what I'm saying? So you just take just enough to make you just sit back and relax now Like I said, we know that cannabis heals so they heal strong within So now I just feel like it gives you a better product to put on the floor the next night Compared to a player sitting drinking a whole bottle of gray goose and then trying to go out and compete the next night You know what I'm saying? So those are some of the things that we got to get through to these leagues for them to understand like That's what's really going on and that I swear to god. That's what's going on with cannabis like this thing I mean it makes everything, you know what I'm saying? Not only I mean the plant has almost 124 different properties that they're still finding THC is only one out of 120 There's so many other things that that plant can help you know what I'm saying with with just our overall Health, you know what I'm saying? So we just got to get more testing and that's going to come from you know from the federal level because You know a lot of these companies like just if just say viola wanted to tomorrow go out and try to do a clinical trial Like the cost was 15 million. I don't we don't have that kind of money just to find we might be wrong So that's a crazy investment, you know what I'm saying? But you know at the end of the day like you know, there's a lot of studies that show That you know cannabis is a healer, you know what I mean? And I tell people all the time I feel like this plant can heal the world You know, it's it's made me friends with people that I never Thought that I would be friends with you know what I'm saying and some people that I actually didn't get along with You know I'm saying there was a joint that brought us together and realized how much we had in common Yeah, you know what I'm saying so with with yeah, you when you talk to NBA players, right? What do they they know what you're doing right? And they I'm sure they know david stern and said they could legalize you know legalize it or should What do they are they excited about that? Do they want that and what would because a lot of dudes do it Recreationally right in the league But they're doing them additionally, but they don't know so you you feel that you feel like they ain't just doing it just To to get high it's it's helping your body.  I'm telling you Okay, I'm telling you I did not use it. I didn't use it until the end of my career. I didn't know I was taking celebrex But if I would have known better I might have been one of those guys that did do that that did use it You know what I'm saying because it's for sure like I'm convinced that is definitely an alternative way Now I'm not saying it's going to cure everything. NFL players have said the same They need it, you know what I mean and the reception that I'm getting from the players is literally like Yo, thanks big homie. That's amazing. Keep doing that man. We need that It helps me. You know what I'm saying? It helps me. It helps me sleep. It helps me do this It helps me do that. It calms me down. You know what I'm saying? Like they need they want it You know what I mean and and like I said, you know, once we just have the correct education on it And then it just comes down to dosage. How you say this about 70 to 80 percent of dudes Doing it anyway in the league correct marijuana and they off seasons Yeah, and they all see an off season and the off seasons. They're using it You know what I mean? Like I said, you just look at the you just look at the country in general like You know, I think that now is like almost 70 percent of the country that is okay with cannabis You know what I mean? Like it's the players is their girlfriends They like the girlfriends like vape pens and the girlfriends like edibles and all that so, you know the off season I'm a pop one too. I'm a smoker vape too. You know what I'm saying? So I just think that uh, it's it's happening and like I was even telling you like from the church level You know, like even with my grandmother, my grandmother was 80 years old 81 years old when I first had to try cannabis You know what I mean? And when you talk about somebody that's straight and narrow And I told her like if she's not going to heaven, we're all going to hell for sure Like, you know what I mean? And for her to use it and now Need it every day. I read the article where you said she used it. So she's using it regularly No, my grandmother smoked it like when I had her try it. I had no knowledge about cannabis I just had her try because of what I read in the paper and them that it is help that it helps with glaucoma Okay, so she was telling me how bad her eyes were hurting and I was just like grandma I just read something two days ago in the newspaper about how cannabis helps glaucoma. She asked me what's cannabis? I said marijuana weed. She said rifa I ain't spoken no rifa. I ain't spoken no rifa. I'm like, nah, grandma. I'm just I said I just I have no I don't know if this gonna work or not and like my mother was kind of mad at me That I had that I was thinking about trying to get her to try it.  You know what I'm saying? I'm like, well, girl. I'm like, mom I read it in the paper. So Next day, you know, she said no that day the next day came home. She was sitting in the kitchen in pain I said, grandma, you sure you don't want to try it? I was like, just be between you or not I swear I said just be me and you I won't tell nobody.  I'm in so much pain today. I'll try anything So I called my boy who had a card in Denver. I said, yo, can you go get that? I said, I don't know nothing So I'm like go to the dispensary and ask them what they have for glaucoma So he went he came to the house. He had a he had a jar of Vietnam kush.  I went took my pregame that woke up an hour and a half late I said before I jumped in the shower.  I'm not going to do it. I'm backwards to the door and she was looking down And I was like, grandma, are you okay? And she turned around and I and she was crying tears And she said I'm healed. She said, you know, I haven't been able to read the words in my bible in over three years And I'm like, grandma, you're not reading your bible.  She's still she's still alive. She's still alive. She still is in Fayetteville, North Carolina She smokes vape pens. So she don't smoke any flour now You know, she uses it every day. She has dementia now or whatever. So that's kind of tough But uh, even with her dementia, she remember to try she remember to have a pen every day Yeah, and I and even on our website that we're about to relaunch I have her telling my mother the story that same day Or whatever my mother taped it or whatever So I'm gonna have that on the website when the website first start you will hear her telling her first encounter with cannabis That's interesting man. That's now when I read the story you wrote in the player's tribune You were talking about how you know growing up in orange the cops A lot of times would just come in harass all his kids I don't know if you say every day or every week or what it was Talk to me about that because you you mentioned how later on you met in the NBA You met people who were like man They're getting high all the time in the suburbs and in college campuses, which I agree right like It's actually proven. They're they're using Just as much if not more drugs on college campuses and suburbs Then they are in the hood, you know, but the the war on drugs was focused in the hood So a lot of people when they see You know, you see what's going on with the police brutality sterling brown Thabocephalosia non players as black men A lot of people who haven't encountered anything like that or aren't from those neighborhoods They can't fathom that the police might mistreat people like this So I think it's important for people to hear it From people they respect people they looked up to, you know, whether they're athletes, whatever businessman Entertainers, but tell me about what you encountered, you know, kind of as a kid I mean, it's funny like it's even growing up And it was even when I was in the NBA when I played for the nicks I hadn't encountered with the police at a charity event, you know what I'm saying? So like So what happened?  I like to I like to hire from within my people. You know, that's how I hire people So I hire my best friend's brother to drive him So he's outside the car and I see the police like sweating them or whatever. Right?    He pushed me again. I back up the second one So the third time pushed me. I stood strong or whatever.  I'm at a charity event And I'm just trying to figure out why you got my driver outside the car And he started going crazy push me turn me around push me up against the uh, the the wall Like the whole show Nick had no no effect. Just a whole show like a whole show push me He didn't put me in handcuffs, but just like flexing his muscles, you know, I'm seeing and at the end of the day You know what I felt that was about you know, I'm seeing because I'm a 6 10 black man You know, I'm seeing but when you talk about like growing up in jersey Like it was always when we was together So, you know, like I grew up in a complex of prey of probably like 50 apartments, right Upstairs two levels or whatever. So mad kids and we all lived there or whatever So we did everything to go play kickball play baseball till we broke somebody window We did all that, you know what I'm saying? But then the corner store was the hangout spot because that's where Street Fighter was NBA jam Shinobi video game, you know what I'm saying? So that's where everybody gonna play we only could play if the older dudes wasn't playing And he was down in back there we had we couldn't go back there Well, they weren't there we go get our game on so, you know, a lot of times that they back there We stand outside the store waiting our turn or whatever and now how do you at this point?  So but at the end of the day, it spooked me though It worked if it was a scare tactic it worked because I know I didn't want to go to jail You know what I'm saying because I've seen them do that to the older guys And they get locked up, you know what I'm saying?   So for us it was normal, you know what I'm saying? We didn't even realize that we was being picked on I didn't realize until I got older like that wasn't right That that ain't a part of everybody's life That's not supposed to be and then we talk about like you said the stories You know all these people that's in the cannabis space I took a little time like You know when I go to a lot of these events I'm the only person that look like me a lot of times like most of the time You know what I mean?  What they gonna mess with us for? You know what I'm saying? Like so that's that's how different it is And you think about talking about the college campuses Like you can even look at the arrest records of like black colleges Compared to universities It's just that there's no arrest There's none but on but you know what I'm saying? So I just feel like you know what I'm saying? The war on drugs was definitely real You know what I'm saying? It was aimed at people of low income and different things like that Because weed is cheap You know what I'm saying? That was our cheap way of getting hot You know what I'm saying? Then crack came You know what I'm saying? So it was just definitely aimed at that And that's why a lot of the arrests you know why we was you know picked on a lot You know You exactly I mean I went to Oberlin college Which was a you know predominantly white school And it was kids diplomats kids rich kids didn't hide all the time With no you know you wasn't worried about the cops Because you think about and that's what I'm talking about When you talk about just like people who have access to stuff Because if you get one of those diplomat kids pop They're gonna get off It's a waste of time You lock us up we're going down And then when we come home like we and that's what that's what's so corrupt about the system You know a lot meek mill and all that It's like you give us you give us a sentence We complete the sentence And then we come out But the sentence is still on top of us You know what I'm saying? Like we can't You don't even give us an environment to really learn from our mistake Because once we have fell in we can't work at McDonald's You know what I'm saying? And even like in the cannabis space Because all cannabis all drug related Arrest is a felony So you can't do the legal cannabis? You can't you can't work in the space The only place that they're doing it right now is in Oakland So in Oakland according to the license process If you had a drug conviction cannabis related It actually gives you an advantage to get a license Oh really? Right but then of course The people that are operating already they're suing They're saying why do why do these people get an advantage?  And then I'm like and I'm looking at them like They created this industry Yeah yeah yeah This industry was made off their backs While it was locked up You know what I'm saying? So like we have to we have to fix that system And like you know I'm part of this thing To where we do the expungements and stuff like that You know so that we can give these guys That come home an opportunity to work in the space Because to me they were the pioneers Man you know and that's like I don't know much about I don't smoke weed just recreationally But I don't know much about you know The medicinal prospects and aspects of it But you obviously articulated it well But the one so it seems like it's it's a fine thing You know what I mean? It's a natural thing it's it's got you say Got healing purposes But it does bother me when I know that so many people Particularly black men have been locked up And their lives changed For doing something that now Mostly white people like you said You're one of the few blacks doing it And now it's legal And it's fine and it's you know in a few years It's going to be like selling tobacco And doing the other thing they're doing That's sucking is that is that uh They monopolizing the process too You know it's like it's not even like You know minorities or let's just say blacks Forget let's just call it what it is Black people they don't have access to the capital To even try to get one of these licenses man You don't you don't have it because Like Michigan I'm going through the process In Michigan right I had to show two million dollars in an account Working capital Before they would even accept Yeah just for them to accept my likes That first I had to send them my bank statement That showed I had too many How many black people we know they had that None they didn't have a sum None you know what I'm saying So they're monopolizing the process And I'm you know like a state like Florida Florida they're requiring that uh You have 25 years of uh of um agricultural experience What Again you know what I'm saying Most black people haven't even owned a piece Of property 25 years You know what I'm saying So it's just you know it's a lot of changes That need to be made and it's funny Because as soon as we try to voice that Those those issues then all these lawsuits come out of nowhere Because they just won they won it all You're involved with I don't remember what the group was But one of the legal groups that's MCBA Yeah okay so are you are you trying to bring those issues up No that's all we do So we did National Lobby Day last year the end of the year So we went and we went to the Senate And we talked to all the states that have legalized Cannabis or whatever And we voiced our opinions And we told them and a lot of them agreed They were like you're right It's this is not right You know what I'm saying Because if they don't fix it then it's going to be Then we just never going to get a seat at the table You know what I'm saying And all all we're asking is just make a competitive Where you could just give us an opportunity I mean it's so many Think about all the industries that we're not a part of You know what I'm saying We and we'll never have an opportunity So I just feel like this one is one that Like I said you know Because of a lot of black people getting incarcerated Being locked up because of this Is the reason why it is where it is today So all I'm saying is give us an opportunity To participate in this industry It's so new that you can do that You know what I'm saying It's brand new So even one of the other things I'm about to launch With the HBCU I'm about to do an entrepreneurship program Or whatever So what I'm about to do is I'm going to start in Florida Or whatever Which school? Do you know which school? It's probably going to be FAMU Okay Or whatever So what we're going to do is You know we're going to These kids that's coming here for agriculture We're going to have some of your interested in cannabis Come and learn And pretty much my curriculum Or whatever how I got into this space You can learn how to grow You can learn how to manufacture You can learn how to be on the retail side Or the technology side And then what I want to do with these kids is I want to take these kids And since I have you know I'll be in five states Five to six states by the end of this year I want to deploy these kids to my locations And let them do an internship program Okay And if they shake out Then they work for Viola You know what I'm saying So those are the ways that I want to give back You know what I'm saying And try to And you know And just try to you know Empower the community You know what I'm saying That has been like devastated behind People talk about the family breakdown In the black family A lot of that dates back to the 80s When you know we crack All that stuff Devastated the black family When everybody else was doing it just as much It just as much Using it just as much But they weren't going after them You know what I'm saying So I feel you You involve You are As you say Entrepreneur So you got more than Viola going What other Some other things you I'm doing some real estate stuff You know I'm part of this company called Mosaic Where we do It's pretty much like hard money lending On most but for real estate You know You know triple aid Real estate I also have some technology company Called Claimant That I'm a part of Or whatever So it's just a platform Pretty much for like new businesses to You know pretty much advertise Through giving away free stuff You know what I'm saying So it'll you know In order for you to claim Whatever the gift is You have to watch a 30 second commercial So that's your way You know just to see So you can learn about the company Before you actually claim it What else I got going on I may be doing something With some clothing And you know they're not also Like a clothing line or something Yeah like a clothing line Or whatever Cannabis driven Or whatever Like t-shirts or something Yeah t-shirts or stuff like that We got that going on And what else I got going on I think that's it for now Well how did you So what I mean it sounds like cannabis This business is your passion Right And you said you just kind of fell into How many Do you see a lot of X players That don't find that That thing that can replace Basketball Yeah I see it a lot man I'm friends with a lot of them man And they're still trying to figure it out Yeah because you're young when you retire It's tough man I mean I'll tell you It really 40 is halftime It's how you're sure you look at it Because you're still a little bit of 85 years old now You know what I mean Not that many tall old guys Or something like that But you know maybe I got another 35 But yeah it's just like You know it's like what's next You know and it's scary sometimes Because you know Especially because when we play in the NBA And especially you play as long as I did Because you get used to this routine Like when I retired I was playing the league half my life You know what I'm saying So before I was a kid Being taken care of Listen on my mother's routine Or the school routine To now the NBA routine To now having no routine You know what I mean So it could be scary man And I'll tell you all the time I think that that's the reason why A lot of players get divorced And stuff like that Because you have so much free time Now you're just around your wife All the time and the kids And you know I've had I've had players or teammates Even talk about like How they don't like their kids sometimes Because they didn't really know them You know what I'm saying So it's tough man And if you don't have something man To kind of keep that normal season You know kind of traveling a little bit Just you know being busy I mean it could be I think it could be a scary world to live in You know until you figure that out And you know Ain't nobody really giving Nobody no handouts at this point You know and you And we all think sometimes like We always can coach Like coaches right there But that's so competitive It's hard to get in there And it's being dominated By guys that didn't play The analytics You know what I'm saying What's your take on the analytics Because they're I think it's softened a little bit But I know a few years ago It felt like there was This battle between the basketball guys Who had played Even if they weren't NBA players But played college level You know they knew the game Versed the analytics guys Some of whom didn't even play in high school Like what's your feel on that I think it has a place for it I think as much information You can have as a coach Organizational whatever the better You know what I'm saying So I think you need analytics Especially because they show that it works But I just still feel like the game is still A lot of it is still touching feel You know what I mean Like you can't look at a paper And say oh this combination worked But one of those players out there Is cooking right now So you just take them out the game Because another five that you had Seven minutes ago was more successful You know what I'm saying So I think that I mean like I said I think it's worth it I think it's good for the game But I just think that If you try to make all your decisions off of that I don't see it One thing you said One of the articles I read about you Is that a lot of players are And this was related to Why players use the marijuana A lot of them dealing with anxiety And stress and all that What is it like How did you deal with as a player The criticism Whether it's in the newspaper Whether it's talking heads Like myself debate show You know what I mean When they're ripping you Or even just the fans Right Booing you whatever How does a player do You guys just ignore it Not even read Or you know what I mean How do you deal with That's tough That's how I dealt with it Just not I just didn't read I wouldn't read it I wouldn't watch it So do you watch like Sports Center and shows like that I did You know when I played well I learned that from him Chris Mulling as well Chris Mulling should tell me Little stories or whatever You know just like You know you just gotta play the game And just have fun You know what I'm saying You're gonna have good ones You're gonna have bad ones Or whatever But always remember It's a game Nobody's dying after the game Nobody's gonna lose their money After the game You know what I mean Like it's a game So just go have fun And then like you know The commentators and stuff like that You gotta remember When I came up It wasn't as much as now Yeah, yeah So this is a totally different ball game Because now you go to Twitter You got a million people tweeting about you You got Instagram So I don't know Because we so heavy on our phone now I don't know if I could have got around it If you could avoid it But back then We could get around it Because it was all on TV only Yeah It's true man And that's one reason I give LeBron a lot of credit Like even though I think Jordan is the goat LeBron I feel like it's second But Jordan didn't have to deal with All this stuff that LeBron has to deal with So I give him a lot of credit for that See, LeBron The expectation that has been on LeBron Since the year he stepped in the NBA Michael didn't have that Michael never had that Right You know what I'm saying So to me I'm finally to the point Where I'm willing to say LeBron Is the best player Really And the only It's just two different things Number one They play two different positions Right So that's one thing It's hard to judge them Right The only thing that Mike had over The only thing Mike had over Brian was this I feel I feel like those older players Not Reggie Miller Or whatever But most players like When they got to that arena And they was tying their shoes up They was thinking in their mind Like oh my god I gotta guard this black cat I don't think God's fear LeBron like that Really I don't think so That's just my opinion I don't think I just think these Because they all friendly and every like See Mike ain't have no contact with him Talking to Ben Simmons before the game Good job I love what you're doing So it's different So it's almost like playing You're competing against your friend Mike had no friends You know what I'm saying Mike didn't deal with them They ain't know what Mike was thinking that night You know what I'm saying So I just feel like the fear That Mike had on players LeBron don't have on play I feel like even Kobe Might have had some of that fear in players But what LeBron does man At his size The fact that he can guard every He's Magic Johnson He's MJ a little bit He just don't have the killer instinct But he really does have the killer instinct When you look at the numbers The numbers don't lie You know what I'm saying Like every time Most times you need him to step up He's right there You know what I mean And then like you just think about You've asked him to become a better shooter You've asked him to become a better post player Like he does And he dominates every part of the game Like at this point now Like what is his weakness Other than free throw shooting You can't say anything And that's he's still And that ain't that bad He's in the 70s In the 70s You know what I'm saying But like he has no holes in his game And Mike didn't really have no holes in his game Either but Mike couldn't go guard Patrick Ewing LeBron could guard Patrick Ewing Mike couldn't go guard Hakeem shaking Bron could go guard him And actually like make it tough on him You know what I'm saying So with all that being said He the best man Wow He the best That's that's saying a lot That's saying I'm talking about finals and all that But who cares about that I mean he still got championships Why? Because he didn't win every last one of them So what? That's part of it I mean he playing you know I mean I would say the one that he lost That he should have won Was the Dallas one for sure He should have won that So I'll hold that against him But like you look at those teams In Cleveland and go I mean come on Look at what Golden State has Like you losing to Golden State That's not I mean that's tough That's like him playing I don't even know if Mike Would it be Golden State every year He didn't be the team as good as Golden State And he definitely wouldn't have done it Three years in a row You know what I'm saying Mike They didn't play a team They played nobody like that Super teams with Mike So it was just a different game But I just feel like LeBron's game He can play in that league With Mike and them You know what I'm saying The way he plays now Like I mean think about He can't dribble He has no moves He has 50, 15 and 12 every night It's just amazing to me bro All right brother Well good luck with everything Thank you brother Thank you Appreciate it Welcome to another segment Of one of my favorite parts of the podcast Knock Down Jay Where I get to knock down Jay's opinion You know I heard from people out there They missed me last week They were like where's the debate Where's the discussion Broussard Hey we gotta do this in the offseason Miss you or miss me I think they missed me a little bit Yeah I know what you're Goatsard That's what they call you online Chris Grotesard I got my faithful My loyal friends Hey can I take a quick shot At your playoff list real quick You cannot have James Harden Ahead of Donovan Mitchell Donovan Mitchell was phenomenal For Utah against OKC and then against Houston I actually thought Harden had a bad post season I don't want to go too deep here This is not one of our debates But I didn't think James Harden Was particularly good 24% from deep against the Warriors Yeah it's tough when your best Your second best player misses game Six and seven This is true So your last two games So think about the Warriors You got three We can argue four people to worry about On offense Do you have to worry about Dreymon right now Even if you take him out though You got three all-time great shooters To worry about on offense Who else did you have to worry about Well Trevor Ariza I can't like that That's what I'm saying So that's a load on Harden It was it was too much He I mean Michael Jordan Only shot 41% against Seattle in the finals He only shot 43% against Utah Michael Jordan is human Is that that's a fact I'm just saying sometimes You know when everything is focused on you Your shooting percentage might be that Not be that high All right let's get to the debates Mr. Boussard Cavs Warriors Game one is Thursday night We're recording this on Wednesday morning Let's just go big picture here LeBron pulls the upset The magical shocker Warriors Who would look lethargic At times against the Rockets Let's say they don't show up You know they felt like that Was the championship And they just forget to show up And LeBron rolls If LeBron is able to take down These Warriors Edit that part out Stop They're gonna show up They're gonna show up But if they don't But if he beats them No just give it If LeBron beats the Warriors In this series Are you ready to make him the goat Above Michael Jordan I say yes Remember Heavy underdogs in this series According to Las Vegas The Cavs are the biggest underdogs In the finals in 16 years Okay he's out man We don't know about Kevin Love status For game one Or going forward Even with And this would be the second time He took down this Warriors dynasty I mean listen Michael Jordan Accomplished a great thing We're not gonna dispute that But what LeBron has done here This season I think if I win over the Warriors In this series A finals victory You gotta make him the goat The goat You said the goat Yeah number I mean It's close already And I love LeBron LeBron is second on my list all time Is it a one A one B No he's just second It's one two If he were to beat the Warriors this year Then it might be a one A I still would not put him ahead of Jordan Just because I'd want to see a little bit more Four that'd be four titles Five losses Don't worry about the losses He's made it straight finals That would be nine trips to the finals Which obviously is more than Michael And it would be four victories Like you said two over I don't know if we call them an all time great team If they lose But it'd be certainly a great team Okay A better team than Jordan ever faced in the finals No doubt But I would not put him ahead of Jordan I might you know see how it plays out I might be willing to go equal But I think in my gut I would have Jordan one LeBron one A And I want to see what the rest of LeBron's You know last few years played out Because here's the thing Jordan was perfect once he started winning Six and oh He never got taken to a game seven You know Michael did some things He led the league in scoring 10 straight times Right And led the league in steals three times LeBron's only led the league in one category One time scoring once You know Michael like Michael kept everyone in his era Once he started winning from winning championship And that's your best point Charles Barkley David Robinson Shaquille O'Neal Akeem Elijah Can I add He also did catch when he ascended Caught Magic Johnson at the tail end Because he had to retire early Beat magic once and then magic was done Never faced Jabbar Who's an all-time great of yours Larry Bird's back was broken Yeah He had the double Achilles So Jordan did benefit a little bit from that I gotta say I don't know if he benefited from it I know you like those Sonic's teams And those jazz teams But man these spurs This spurs dynasty that LeBron took down This Warriors team Well that first team was a bit older Duncan wasn't quite himself I mean they needed a miracle Ray Allen three So I know But when And see that's one of the things That like People will look at if LeBron were to win this championship And rightly so look at it and say man he carried Jeff Green Yeah Rodney O'Neal Rodney O'Neal I don't even want to say stiffs I won't disrespect them He carried a bunch of mediocre players to a title Over a superstar laden team But you also have to look at this When LeBron had superstars with him In Miami They were the most talented team in the league They didn't win it twice Four straight times They only won two Yeah That's the thing Oh I love only two No I'm saying only I mean you don't even play Well Charles Barker the kill He would name and murder for one See that's making my argument for Jordan It does Because what we're seeing this post-season And really just since Jordan retired Is how incredibly difficult it is to win a championship LeBron James has had a career that No one else has had other than Michael Jordan And yet he's only won it three times in 15 years Miami he had the most talented team in the league Probably for four straight years And they only won it twice We look at this Warriors team Look how much they're struggling Just to get there four times And win it three times I remember Jordan after those three Took a year and a half off I think that was massive But he won it six times In essentially six years Think about that Well We're seeing a guy struggle To the Orlando Magic I mean if you want to Yeah he kind of has to He played 17 games that season Anybody that thinks he was Michael Jordan Still had his coach Jordan After a year and a half of playing baseball He comes back and is playing with the best players in the world And he wasn't himself And he wasn't expected to be himself He was still great But he wasn't Michael Jordan And that's why they lost So I don't really count that And for the Jordan He came back the next year in shape And swept that same Magic team So to also add for the Jordan fanboys out there LeBron just had to go to seven Against the Pacers And the Celtics Okay that Celtics team was missing It's two best players That's what I'm saying In LeBron's No no I'm saying that That's not a great This is for the Michael Jordan side Michael Jordan went to the Seventh game only twice In that six year run In the East Like against the Pacers and the Knicks And like LeBron had it twice In a post season So I mean if you're the Jordan fans You got a lot of ammo You nitpicked when we're talking about All-time greats Ultimately it's got to come down to the eye test Because you're not going to convince someone To come to your side That's where we are in society Well here's the other thing But here's the thing with the eye test Because let's go to football I could legitimately say And you could too I've never seen anybody play quarterback As well as Aaron Rodgers Yes You could say that I've made that already But when we Okay but when we discuss the goat He's not even in the conversation Your accomplishments team-wise In football is more of a team's Worth than even basketball Your accomplishments team-wise Have got to be at a certain level To be in the goat conversation And so yeah LeBron's got three And that would be four I think that gets him right there Like you said one A But Michael's still I still would give Michael a slight edge Yeah Slight We'll see All right moving on to the next topic Chris this has been polarizing I know the people out there Love this topic I'm shocked that you're still Well again I'm not still heavy on it I think there's a case to be made You really don't believe it The best I've never said anything I don't Don't believe The best player in the NBA right now Everybody says LeBron And there's a great case to be made for LeBron Obviously I think Kevin Durant has an argument I finally believe that No no no that Don't not has an argument Do is he the best player I've been saying this since last June I've never wavered Now I will say this Who's the best player in the NBA right now Kevin Durant's the best player in the NBA right now I do want to hear you say When they tell down three to two to the Rockets I had to look myself in the mirror and say Jason Durant has not delivered in the fourth quarter He better come through in these next two games He was not great in game six That was the Steph Curry Clay Thompson show And in game seven he was lights out I mean he was very good And let's just He averaged 30 a game against the Rockets He's phenomenal Now let me just push back a little bit On LeBron in the East in these playoffs I know he's put up monster numbers He avoided the next four best players in the East After himself He's number one Kyrie Irving he didn't have to face him Giannis he did not have to face him Ben Simmons Joellen Bied He never had to go against those superstars We talked about this before The guys LeBron faced Matched up with Boyan against the Pacers OG Ananobi a rookie Good player by a rookie Yeah he's 20-21 years old On Toronto And then Marcus Morris who's a very good defender But he ain't all first team defense He's not first He's not a defensive player of the year candidate So when you look at the teams And the players he faced you're like I don't want to hear the Raptors want 59 games They put Pascal Sikam on LeBron at times After OG Ananobi So LeBron steamrolling folks I think it's Siakum Siakum whatever I'm sorry I apologize to the eight Raptors fans Who watch this I've made my peace No We the North I'm with y'all Oh stop We the North You are not with them Dismiss this You're not with the North Nobody's with the North Dismiss the disrespect I got love for y'all Go ahead Go ahead I feel you look I'll wrap Okay That's a good point I mean there's nobody in there right Mine would argue that LeBron James went through anything close To what Kevin Durant had to go through in the Western Conference Here's the difference though It wasn't just Kevin Durant It was just LeBron James Right He had I mean LeBron James next leading score closest He averaged 34 Let all the playoff scores Okay His second leading score Kevin Love 13 points a game Well he did have Kyle Corvair You've got to account for Kyle Corvair didn't even average double figures I know I'm kidding So think about that LeBron carried his second leading score was 13 points a game Who was Kevin Durant's second leading score? Steph Curry 24 points a game Clay Thompson giving you 20 a game Yeah two all time greats That's the thing First of all let me just talk basketball wise Then I'll get to the series LeBron James controls a game Unlike anyone we've seen Maybe even including Michael Jordan I guess you can talk Magic Johnson Can control it like LeBron LeBron has led every team he played on in assists I looked this up last night Every single team Since he got in the league he's led in assists That's not what Derrion or Jordan have ever done Probably since he ever began playing basketball That's just not in the DNA of Jordan and LeBron And even if you watch LeBron Like he can control tempo Kevin Durant got to play like LeBron In terms of that role When Steph was out And you saw it They the Golden State Warriors were not the same Even against Houston There were times they reverted Which is why I think they were on the ropes They reverted to playing through Kevin Durant Instead of doing their free-flowing offense And you saw they weren't the same Kevin Durant shot 48% in the playoffs so far LeBron shot 54% now If you're LeBron James shot 54% And who else on that Cavs team Did you have to worry about offensively Well you really got to respect George Hill Who led the You can't even say it with a straight face George Hill shot like 25% in the playoffs so far For three He led the league You're entire Shooting in Sacramento Your entire defense is focused on LeBron's hand He still drops 34% on 54% shooting Kevin Durant You got to worry about Steph You got to worry about Clay Maybe Draymond And Durant's only shooting 48% And not scoring as much Like it's no Durant is the second best player in the world I'm with you on that It's not even close though LeBron is that much better than Durant at every one It's not even close With Andre Iudala officially out for game one We know we're going to see a lot of Durant on LeBron We saw it in the fourth quarter last year of the finals I'm just going to recap some stats Fourth quarter last year of the finals Kevin Durant outscored LeBron 46-27 Durant shot 62% in the fourth quarter LeBron 46% Durant shot 60% from deep against LeBron In the fourth quarter LeBron shot 17% Now you could say LeBron wore down You did have Kyrie Irving at the time What I have to say is it was a year ago I mean that was one series You know I mean One series where Kevin Durant You could argue I don't know if I'd say he outplayed LeBron Because obviously LeBron average a triple double But in the fourth quarter Durant Yeah Now we're going to see But that's one series How many games has LeBron played 100 this year or 101 Something like that He also played 82 in the regular season And led the league in minutes per game He is in trouble in the fourth quarter again This finals against Kevin Durant Here's Well He probably is But to get last year That's a decent argument I would argue it was one series And obviously Kevin Durant still Had a lot more help than LeBron had But LeBron had Kyrie He did So the defense couldn't just zero in on LeBron They had to worry about Kyrie This year I would expect Kevin Durant To outplay LeBron in the fourth Just because he's got so much more help But that's the thing Just because you win a championship And lead your team Doesn't mean you're the best player in the world I don't agree with that Right So LeBron can I think they'll lose this series And Durant may have better than I'm thinking five Okay But that doesn't mean Durant's better than LeBron So let's wrap up with another LeBron topic The Philadelphia 76ers You know, again, we're recording this Wednesday morning By the time it comes out They may have fired their GM for all we know Okay This Brian Coangelo situation I mean, what a debacle If you've read Yeah, I'm sure you've read the story by now Allegedly Brian Coangelo was using five burner accounts Took some shots at his teammates Players on the Sixers His head coach For Toronto Raptors Your former colleagues in Toronto A total debacle I want to spin this forward Because you've been saying for a while You think Philadelphia is the landing spot for LeBron And we know LeBron is a drama king There's drama wherever he goes I don't know if LeBron's going to want to get in this drama In Philadelphia If it's not sorted out Even if it turns out that it was Coangelo's kid or whoever Is there going to be a trust issue In Philadelphia With the president slash GM I don't know if LeBron is going to want to go there You're asking does this put the chances of Does this decrease or hinder the chance of Philadelphia A lot of unanswered questions Oh, there certainly are LeBron's going to want answers too My thing is this I think they'll be ironed out If it's true that it was Brian Coangelo You're gone He's toast There's no ifs ands or buts about it You are out Now we don't know if it's him I hope it's not But there's overwhelming evidence that points to him If it is him Okay, but He should be gone Now I would think Chris if he leaked it to And they were using the information from him I still think he could get in trouble Because why are you revealing team secrets Why are you talking this way about you The players on the team I just I want This is a massively pivotal offseason for the Sixers They want 51 games This is a team went to the second round They were ahead of schedule, right With them beating Simmons They've got a bright future And now all of a sudden you've got this Adam Bond that just went off That's the one LeBron certainly doesn't want to be a part of a service Heck no He certainly wants a front office that is solid If does this change your calculus on where he Entertains of going Are the Sixers still the best spot Or all of a sudden are there a lot of question marks Sixers are still the best spot They just pushed up their coach Brett Brown New three-year deal Yeah, I like Brett Brown We know LeBron's had some issues with coaches David Blatt Okay I'm fine with Brett Brown I'm fine with Brett Brown Okay I think they still are the landing spot Over the Lakers Yes Lakers can afford two max deals I'm not saying he won't go to the Lakers But I'm saying if LeBron James is ultimate motivation What we're going to find out is what's his motivation Right So let's just look at each team If you go to the Lakers To me, sure You LeBron James, you go there with Paul George You're thinking we're going to be good We can win We can challenge the Warriors We can try We're in the hunt The Rockets just pushed him to seven We're in the hunt And who was your third best player on the right? Eric Gordon Eric Gordon's a good player He's good Or Capella one of them You're telling me the Lakers can't put together a team on that level There, well, a lot of it depends on how you're going to play Because we saw the Warriors And you even said it That system, everybody's ripping Mike D'Antoni But his system was good I'm not ripping Mike D'Antoni They won 65 games Here's what I'm saying If LeBron goes to the Lakers To me, his number one motivation was lifestyle And prepare yourself for life after basketball Which is understandable He's 33 and a half years old That's what he wants to do And you're thinking we could win We got a chance I don't see why not We're not defending, but we got a chance If you stay in Cleveland, obviously it's lifestyle Your family wants to be there You want to be there And we know next year the Sixers and Celtics Are going to be better If he stays in Cleveland Cleveland would be below Yeah, they wouldn't be expected to get to the final But if you're all to Houston, I'm just thinking is iffy I don't think that fits I don't know how it works We got to go dive deep on this And if LeBron went to Houston You probably have to lose You're losing Capella You're losing a lot of your shooters Eric Gordon, you know, that team would be depleted So let's look at Philly To me, if your ultimate goal is LeBron James And this is in my opinion what it should be Chasing the gold title And I know the one thing I need to do I'm going to have Michael beat In terms of individual statistics The one thing I've got to do Is keep going to the finals And win some Okay, but you just said earlier in the podcast Even if they beat the Warriors You're not willing to put them as gold Yeah, but I'm moving in closer So if he goes to the Sixers If he can get to five And you've been Let's say he ends up being five and six in the finals Now you say you won five You got there twice as much as Michael Okay Oh, this is highly speculative Let me ask on the fly Highly speculative LeBron, Embiid, Simmons We don't know what else is going to be around them They'll probably have to lose them, guys I think you could I mean, I don't know this for a fact But Reddick, you would want to see if Reddick Will come back for less money Or is that Boston team With Kyrie, Tayward, Tatum No Philly's better First of all, Boston just smoked them Without Kyrie and Hayward They needed a closer What's LeBron James? LeBron is a closer Okay They needed veteran leadership What, Kyrie's not a closer? Oh, no, no, I'm telling you No, I was still I will ride Boston better than Philly Even if they get LeBron, Philly No, no way No way But you see, you don't like Gordon Hayward I don't know what you personally have against him I don't dislike Gordon Hayward But he's not a superstar He's damn close Gordon Hayward is an awesome player How many times has he made the All-Star 10? I don't know Once Twice He's like 26 years old He's in the league like eight, seven years At some point, we're gonna have to do a top 20 He's a pretty good player Top 20 player in the NBA, right? I think Jason Tatum's going to be better Yeah, maybe three or four years from now Maybe next year Definitely the year after Gordon Hayward was so good Jason Tatum is going to be better I love Jason I mean, Jaylen Brown is going to be better than him as well I don't know about that yet We'll see You didn't even watch Gordon Hayward When he was in Utah I was a huge fan I don't know We got a guy on the staff here Who's a big jazz fan Let me just get back to your ultimate question This is why I don't think it hinders The chances of LeBron going there If Calangelo's guilty, you're fired You're done If he is exonerated and innocent Then you're keeping And it's not an issue He was catfished or whatever That's going to be a cloud catfish But whatever the term would be Is that the usage catfish? Well done But whatever it would be Y'all know out here Social media types Okay, so this is a great podcast I do want to close on a winning note We are slated to play one on one At some point You really close on a winning note At some point this summer It could be next week, people We will We may live see it on Periscope I've got to see if I can I haven't played in a year So we'll see So just so you know The basketball resume This guy played Division III Your boy didn't play anywhere He just plays a lot now Pickup style So Broussard thinks he's going to skunk me 7-0, 11-0 I know that's not going to happen 7-0 There's zero chance of you beating me 7-0 7-0 It's make it take it, right?


Okay, now we have the button, we have the callback. You now know where to find the callback, the IRQ handler, this is everything perfect. Now, we can, for example, play with the IRQ and I show you new feature. For example, I now decided that I don't want to leave this IRQ handler. I will, I want here after I press the button, stay in this callback forever. And I want to toggle with the delay here inside, inside this function every each one second. Then I here put the while, sorry, let's stop the debugging a little bit better. I turn to my perspective. Put here the while one and I put here the delay function. Here put 1000 to create the one second delay. Then what we expect from this function, we expect that if we press the button, we jump here into, into this certain and we will toggle with the left each one, one second. Then we can try this. We will save the file, put my file, and jump with the bugger. Yes, and I need that, what that means? All right, I press it, and what happens? The let is only on, it's not blinking. Now why? This can happen because this function, this delay function using how the delay works, it's used with the SysStick. The SysStick keeps the one millisecond time base for the delay, but the SysStick operates through the interrupt. If you remember, the SysStick is here. Then what happened? That why the SysStick not entering the interrupt? The problem is that we can have only one, we're running interrupt at the time. This means only one interrupt can be active. This mean that if we are in this interrupt, we cannot enter the SysStick interrupt. Then we are blocked and this delay function not work because we are stuck here waiting for the SysStick to count up. Then what is happening? And what to solve this? For this, the NVIC Sys have the second functionality. We can hear, we can hear the priorities. We can hear, we can have here the pension priorities and the sub priorities. And also on some M3 and M4 core devices, you can set also how many bits are used for the pension priorities and how many bits for the sub priorities. In our case, we will use all the four bits for the pension priorities. What is different? The pension priority mean that if you enter if the interrupt, which is with the lower number, it wants to pan or wants to be active, it will stop the interrupt with the lower number and start executing the interrupt with the higher number. This mean the pension. The sub priority means that only when the interrupts start in the same time, it will be decided that the first interrupt will be the interrupt with the lower number. In our case, we have the X-tay and you can see all the priorities have the same number. Also the C-stake here, that's also number. Then to allow the C-stake to run, the C-stake need to have lower number than our X-tay. And here have the C-stake have the zero. This is the lowest value. In our case, we can put number between one to 15 because we have only two interrupts, I select one. Okay, I click to apply. Okay, I generate my code to open my folder. I open this one. Okay, we can start everything, we can build it. We can expect what will happen. If everything will work as we expected, then after I change these priorities, the X-tay, the C-stake have now the higher pension parity. This means that when I am in the lower priority interrupt, which is this one, I'm painting here, then still the C-stake have the lower priority. It's the higher priority for him, lower number is higher priority. Then I can always access this C-stake interrupt. I hear the successful in my project. I run the debugger, I'll go to the perspective, I run my code, and when I press the button, I can see that my light is blinking. This means our configuration is working. Then don't please not forget on the interrupt priorities because it's sometimes very, very important that one interrupt can have the higher priority than the other interrupts. And you always need to check during your design of your application, which interrupt will be higher. And you need to ensure that you cannot block your application in the interrupt. On the end, put the delay into interrupt. It's not clear solution, it's not recommended. The interrupts may be as short as possible, then never put the delays into interrupt.


In a previous video, we saw how lists and strings are similar. Now, let's look at how they're different. The biggest difference is that strings are immutable. We can't put a string axis on the left side of an assignment. However, lists are mutable. When you have a list, you can reassign one of the items by putting the index on the left-hand side of the assignment. You can reassign a slice of the list to a list of equal size or a different size. Let's switch over to a list of words to look at other ways to modify a list. The Dell operator deletes an item from a list and closes up the empty space. You can use Dell with a slice to delete multiple items with this result. The append method lets you add items at the end of the list. The insert method lets you add items at a specific index and all the items from that index on move down to make room for the inserted item. And those are some of the ways you can modify a list.