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Transcript
00:00All righty, welcome back in. It is Hockman, Crowder, and Solana.
00:03Zach Gelb in for Hawk on this Wednesday.
00:06Antoine Walker won an NBA championship with your Miami Heat back in 2006,
00:11and he joins us on the Toyota of Hollywood hotline.
00:13Shop over 2,000 Toyotas on sale at one location.
00:16Toyota of Hollywood on 441 between Hollywood and Sheridan.
00:21ToyotaofHollywood.com.
00:22Antoine, appreciate the time as always. How you been, my man?
00:24I've been good, man. Thanks for having me on the show.
00:26Well, we appreciate you coming on.
00:28So, let me start you off with Giannis, because I know last time we talked,
00:32there was a lot of speculation. Would it be Boston? Would it be Miami?
00:36When Pat made the move to bring in another star to Miami
00:40and kind of jumpstart this Heat team once again, what was that initial reaction?
00:45I mean, I loved it. I think, you know, they was in a situation
00:48where they probably wasn't going to be able to get a free agency
00:51the way the cap is set up now and guys signing back with their own team.
00:54So, they wasn't going to be able to actually really get anybody.
00:57So, to be able to get Giannis, I think he still has a couple years left.
01:01I know people are a little concerned because he hasn't played a lot of games
01:04last couple years. His durability is probably a question a little bit.
01:08But I'll take a shot at him his last two years.
01:11I mean, he's still playing at a really, really high level.
01:13I think it's a great move by the Heat.
01:15Antoine, how does that look with two bigs?
01:17Because they both try to shoot threes.
01:20Bam had a good three-point shooting game, you know, season last year.
01:23But with them two guys that finished at the rim,
01:25how are they going to manipulate that where they're not getting in each other's way?
01:29It's going to be tough.
01:30It's going to take some adjustment for them to play.
01:32I think it's going to be probably harder for Bam
01:35because Giannis is a one-on-one guy that needs spaces on the floor.
01:38So, Bam is going to probably become even a more three-point shooter,
01:41as crazy as that sounds, because Giannis needs space.
01:45I mean, he's a great one-on-one player.
01:47But I think one thing we got to remember, Giannis requires double teams.
01:50If he gets going, you're going to have to double-team him.
01:53And that's when he's got to make passes and be a great playmaker for the team.
01:56But that's something you're trying to figure out, man.
01:59You figure two guys are all-stars.
02:00You figure, hey, man, if I get an opportunity, you guys got to figure that out.
02:04You know, you can't just nitpick everything.
02:06But that is some concern.
02:07I see where you can see that could be a problem.
02:09Now we know, as Antoine Walker is here with us,
02:12the Giannis domino did fall, and everyone's waiting to see what's next.
02:15The big rumor is LeBron James not coming back to the Lakers.
02:19Does the Heat get thrown into the mix?
02:21Could he be going back home to Cleveland?
02:23Could he be going out to the Bay Area?
02:26Do you think there's a chance?
02:28Can you see maybe LeBron looking at Giannis and Bam and saying,
02:31you know what, I'll take my talents back to South Beach?
02:33Man, LeBron could probably go play anywhere.
02:36How much money do you want?
02:38That's the thing.
02:39How much money does he want?
02:41They're saying the veteran minimum.
02:42I'll believe it when I see it, though.
02:44I mean, I don't think so.
02:46I mean, that's the same thing I'm saying.
02:47If he's going to play for the veteran minimum, then that's a different story.
02:50Now about 15, 20 teams come into play, if that's the case,
02:54if he's going to play for that.
02:55But if you start talking about $45 to $60 million for one year,
02:59I mean, he's going to handicap himself on where he can actually go
03:02and be effective and put a good team around him.
03:06I don't necessarily – I like him with anybody.
03:08I mean, it's LeBron James.
03:09It's hard for me to say I don't like him with somebody because he's so good
03:13and I know he can make an adjustments and play with anybody.
03:15I do – I would love to see him with talent, though.
03:18I don't want to see him with a bunch of young guys trying to figure it out.
03:22I want to see him with some guys that have been there,
03:24that know how to play.
03:25So if the Miami Heat situation, which is still incomplete,
03:28even with Giannis, they got a lot to fill in that roster still right now.
03:32So I hope LeBron brings the ass down.
03:37I don't know.
03:38You guys – I can't see him playing for the league minimum,
03:41but maybe you guys know something I don't know.
03:43I was going to say, Antoine, I don't know how basketball players do it,
03:46but football players, man, we ain't taking a dime less than we can take.
03:49I'm going to take a $40 million cut?
03:51You can get out of here with that.
03:53I don't think he's going to do it anyway.
03:56I just think that's too far.
03:57You start talking maybe $25, $30 million for one year,
04:01you get somewhere in that number, now he gives up maybe $15 to $20 million,
04:06even though that's still a big number.
04:07Maybe he may do it if he feels like he can win a title,
04:10and that's joining a team that's really, really good.
04:13But it's going to be hard to talk him to taking the league minimum, man.
04:16I don't know if it's going to be able to happen.
04:18And once again, I don't know how the salaries will all work out.
04:21All I know is Giannis is coming to Miami.
04:24Bam is here in Miami.
04:25You also have Andrew Wiggins staying in Miami.
04:28They just signed Tim Hardaway Jr. the other day.
04:32There is a need for LeBron in Miami because he's someone that can control
04:36that backcourt, and the ball will be in his hand a lot.
04:39Oh, without question.
04:40I mean, obviously they get him.
04:41They become a top three contender in the East,
04:43if not the number one contender in the East.
04:45When you think about Giannis and LeBron being on the same team,
04:48we know the Celtics think situation is not looking good right now,
04:52especially what's going on with Jalen Brown and the Knicks.
04:55I mean, the Knicks still got a retool, and they're already starting.
04:58As soon as you win, everybody gets the lead.
05:00Look at Mitchell Robinson now.
05:01He signs a big deal.
05:02So now you start losing pieces too.
05:04So the East is wide open if you want to make a move.
05:07So it's really up to LeBron and where he feels like he can win a title at
05:12or get back into the mix of winning a title.
05:14Yeah, and it's interesting because we've seen a lot of reports suggesting
05:17that it's going to come down to happiness.
05:20And then Rich Paul was talking about where he can play golf,
05:23indoor and outdoor.
05:24But I just wonder, from a player's perspective,
05:27does he have anything left to prove in terms of legacy?
05:30I mean, he's either regarded as the best player ever,
05:34the second best player, the third, however you want to rank it, right?
05:36Like he's one of the greats of all time, without question,
05:39if he retired today.
05:40But does he have anything left to prove would a title,
05:43wherever he goes, end up helping his legacy anymore?
05:48I mean, Sha, you probably can agree with me.
05:50I mean, if you still can play, why not play?
05:53I mean, I think, you know, you only get one life,
05:55you only get one opportunity at this.
05:57So I understand him wanting to play, but it's nothing to prove.
06:01But I don't think you should be playing if he's not trying to win a title.
06:04That's what makes it fun.
06:06That's what makes you want to go to work every day.
06:09Just coming to play, just to say, because your body still feel good to play,
06:13I don't think LeBron should do it that way.
06:15I think if he's going to play, I want to go all out and see if I can get in
06:19the mix
06:19and win a title.
06:20And, you know, I look at Serena Williams yesterday, man.
06:23You know what I'm saying?
06:23You think about that.
06:24You know what I'm saying?
06:25Obviously, she wants to play, but you don't need to take the mails on your legacy right now.
06:31You know?
06:32So I just think about stuff like that.
06:34But I think if he wants to play and if it's important to him, go get with a team that's
06:39got some guys that they're in the same mind frame, the organization that's trying to win,
06:43and give yourself the best chance to, you know, just continue to add on to your legacy,
06:47but play for championships.
06:49Hey, Walt, and we got down here the same year, 05.
06:52We might have seen each other at the Little Diamonds under the bridge once or twice.
06:58And we went down here.
07:00Might have.
07:00My ass.
07:01That was indefinite.
07:03We might have been in there once or twice together.
07:06But the thing about Miami, a great place to live, state taxes, all that stuff.
07:10But then what about dudes coming to play for Spoh and Pat with that old school, you know,
07:15weight, the percentage weights and all the stuff you got to do, the well, best condition,
07:20best in shape, all that stuff.
07:21Is it a knock of how the old school basketball that Pat and Spoh like to do to some players,
07:27especially these young players?
07:28Oh, without question.
07:30Obviously, I mean, I went through that when I played there.
07:33Every star has kind of had that problem a little bit.
07:36Whether it was publicized or behind closed doors, where they're really big on fitness
07:41and condition, which is nothing wrong with that.
07:44But there's sticklers with body fat.
07:46The thing about it, you get to get weighed every week.
07:48You know what I mean?
07:49It's a constant thing.
07:50And some of these guys, I mean, typically guys are in their best shape of their life when
07:53you play there.
07:54So that typically happens.
07:56But it can be, you know, something that people don't really like, you know, especially young
08:01stars.
08:02They don't want to be told about body fat and weight.
08:05They want to be able to kind of control their own narrative.
08:07In Miami, you're probably not going to be able to do that.
08:10They're going to be on top of you on and off the court.
08:13And some guys need that.
08:15It's not for every guy.
08:17Like LeBron James already took care of his body.
08:19So it was an easy transition for him to go to Miami.
08:22You know, some guys, it's a little bit harder to do.
08:25But I do, I am going to have to agree with you.
08:27That does stop some superstars from coming.
08:30There was a lot of question marks, even here in Miami, Antoine, about Pat Riley, if he
08:37could continue to still be at the front of the Heat organization and continue to build
08:41title contenders after they lost Jimmy over the past couple of years, even with Jimmy,
08:47weren't landing the next great whale to come here and play alongside him, even after they
08:51missed out on a couple of guys.
08:53You were part of the largest trade in NBA history that Pat pulled off in 2005 when you
08:59came to Miami 20 years later to see him still landing a guy like Giannis Antetokounmpo.
09:04Are you surprised that he's still been able, in terms of longevity, to keep his career going
09:09at the front office and still make trades that kind of alter the way that the franchise
09:14is headed?
09:16No, because he knows you need a superstar to win.
09:20You can look at Pat's history.
09:21I mean, we go back to Magic, Kareem, obviously D-Wade, Alonzo Mourning.
09:25You know, he needed superstars to win.
09:27I mean, the team I played on, there was six of us that was all-stars, I think, on that
09:31team.
09:31You think about me, Gary Payton, and all of us joining the team.
09:34You got all-stars on that team.
09:37He knows you have to have superstars.
09:39He tried to do it.
09:40I think they got kind of a little stale because they had a great run with Jimmy Butler, and
09:44not to take anything away from that young team, but that young team went to the Eastern
09:47Conference Finals.
09:48I mean, went to the Finals as an eighth seed, so when you do stuff like that, so they went
09:53on that little run where they were developing guys and having these guys, unrestricted free
09:58agents, come in and make the team and play hard, but you got to have superstars to win
10:02this league consistently and to make deep runs, and Pat Riley understands that, and that's
10:07why he's willing to gamble and get a guy like Giannis and take a chance, and that's what
10:11they want to do.
10:12He wants to go out with a bang.
10:13Mickey trusts him and knows that he's going to make the right decisions for this organization,
10:17and that's where I think, you know, Pat kind of stands out to some other owners and organizations
10:22that we see.
10:23I'm here in Chicago, and I wonder, you know, the Bulls trade away, Aya Dosumo and Kobe White,
10:28and they do all type of things.
10:29I see not making the commitment to winning all the time, being in Chicago with the Bulls,
10:34so to see a Pat Riley knows that, hey, I got to make a power move here and make a
10:37big
10:38play.
10:38That's what makes him great.
10:39He wants to play for championships, and think about it.
10:42We talk about LeBron James there.
10:44How much long he's going?
10:44How many more years does Pat have at running the team?
10:48You know, Pat's getting down to his last years of probably running the team, so he wants
10:53to, obviously, his legacy on the line a little bit, too, even though he's on the floor and
10:57everything's stretching there, but he wants to leave a winner, too, so I like the fact
11:01that he wants to win now.
11:02Antoine Walker here with us.
11:04So you talk about that team, how it was assembled, and you guys ended up winning a championship
11:09in 2006, but you've been on a team where you've been the star, and you've been like
11:13the main attraction.
11:14That wasn't the case in Miami.
11:16The sacrifice was worth the reward, but how tough was it for guys in the locker room at
11:21the time to sacrifice and maybe not play your normal role and do less for the betterment
11:27of the team?
11:28I think it's hard, but I think what was good for us, and it's not for every team, if you
11:32ain't never had one and you ain't never won on a big stage, that's when you get hungry.
11:37That's when you make that sacrifice.
11:39That's when you do everything.
11:40That's when you kind of watch the Knicks.
11:42Those guys had never won much on the guys in the Knicks, but they sacrificed.
11:47That was a sacrifice team that did all the little things to be able to win.
11:50That group had been together about three, four years now, the core of that group with
11:54the Knicks, so you can see that the sacrifice those guys finally made, it's about sacrifice,
11:59man.
11:59It's about knowing your role, guys accepting their role, not worrying about getting 10
12:04and 20 a night, not worrying about contracts.
12:08So it's a lot that goes into winning the championship, and you can get guys to buy into that, then
12:13so be it.
12:13I think Pat Riley and them did a good job of putting a bunch of hungry guys that hadn't
12:17won one together.
12:18I mean, you got to think about James Posey hadn't had one.
12:21Gary Payton didn't have one.
12:23Jason Williams didn't have a championship.
12:25So you had a bunch of us that never played at that level, and he gave us that opportunity
12:30to do it together.
12:31You were just down here last year for the 06 celebration, and then I saw a bunch of
12:37videos that the Heat had posted, you talking with Zoe, Shaq, D-Wade was there.
12:43All the guys were kind of reminiscing about the title, but it was fun, right?
12:48Was that the most fun you ever had while you were in the NBA?
12:53Oh, that was great.
12:54That was an unbelievable time.
12:55I get shouts out to the Miami Heat, Pat Riley, the organization for bringing us back together.
13:00Why everybody was still here.
13:02You know what I'm saying?
13:02Like, to be able to, everybody's here.
13:04We can have, so that was a great three days together to be able to celebrate that and
13:08reminisce about the championship.
13:10But those are things that are special.
13:12I was lucky enough to win one in college, too, and I'm still very close to a lot of my
13:16college
13:16teammates.
13:17But to be able to be around the NBA guys, which you guys know, pro guys don't get together
13:21after their career will win.
13:22Not many.
13:23You know what I mean?
13:25Everybody's off in their own world.
13:26And to be able to get everybody back together, I think 13 out of 15 of us showed up.
13:30So it was a big number of guys that showed up and got to hang out for three days.
13:35They gave us some cool jackets that we can always have for the rest of our lives.
13:38So it was a good celebration, a good time.
13:41Last one for me, Anton Walker.
13:42I wonder if they still trash talk, though.
13:44Because we get together, boy, it'll be 20 years later.
13:47We still talking nasty to each other.
13:49Oh, yeah.
13:49And we remember this about the season, man.
13:52Man, we had a party team.
13:54Now, we're talking about partying in Miami.
13:55Now, we party now.
13:57I just didn't go to the strip club.
13:58Now, I party now.
13:59I did a little South Beach now.
14:01So we talked about it.
14:03We had a great run.
14:04Now, we had fun on and off the court.
14:06You got to give us a story.
14:07What was a good – you guys got a good off-the-court story that maybe doesn't get you in
14:10too much trouble?
14:11Was there Forge?
14:12Hey, Walt, was the Forge still rolling?
14:14No, look.
14:15I caught the Forge my first year.
14:17I caught the Forge.
14:20And then my second year, they had came down and moved that party into the Fountain Blue.
14:28So whenever the year the Fountain Blue opened up on a Sunday night, then I started getting lit.
14:33And then – but then Lil Wayne and what happened in New Orleans with Katrina, you had all the rappers
14:41from New Orleans moved to Miami.
14:43That's how the party started.
14:47It was a long night.
14:49We'll leave it at that.
14:51Long night, man.
14:52And I'm sure Pat Riley was at all of them, right?
14:54He was at all those parties with you guys.
14:56Oh, no, no, no.
14:56He knew about them.
14:58He knew about them.
14:59You guys were talking about flying home from a road trip, land at 4 a.m., go out, party until
15:067, be at practice by 9.
15:09Well, Pat had a rule that if we came in any time after 2, the next day was off.
15:15So once we got in after 2, so you know Miami don't shut down to 5-6.
15:20That's prime time.
15:23Yes, sir.
15:25Hey, the only messed up part about it, we had a dress code.
15:28So we used to have to wear suits on the road.
15:31So you see us in the club with suits on.
15:35That ain't no problem.
15:37That ain't no problem.
15:38Hey, that's the only thing about it.
15:40You know, we coming in at 2, 33 o'clock.
15:41The club just popping in Miami, so you was good.
15:44That was one of the best parts about it.
15:46But, yeah, we had some rules.
15:48We had a couple guys on the team.
15:49They ain't going to name no names.
15:50They love the strip club.
15:51So we did a lot of pairs in the strip club.
15:56That's amazing.
15:57There might have been a corner in the back of a strip club.
16:01It had a heat banner in it.
16:02You know about it.
16:04You know about it.
16:06Yeah, Channing was picking up the bills after you guys threw them.
16:09Well, I tell you, no, no, no.
16:11Football and basketball money is different.
16:13So we would be in there.
16:15Then basketball comes in.
16:16That's when it's our time to go.
16:18Hold on, hold on, crowd, crowd, you appreciate this story.
16:21So one night, I got to tell this story real quick.
16:24So one night I'm out of Miami, me and Posey, regular Thursday night, we go to the club.
16:29And what's my man, Sean Merriman is in the club.
16:32Him and all his boys in the club.
16:34They're on like the two, three couches down from us.
16:37So we're in the party.
16:38So they ordered three bottles of champagne.
16:41We ordered three bottles.
16:43It's just me and Posey.
16:44Couple girls.
16:45So now they order six more bottles.
16:49So we ordered six more bottles.
16:54This is a true story.
16:56So now they ordered 10 bottles.
16:57It's about seven, eight of them.
16:59It's me and Posey and a couple girls.
17:01So they ordered seven, eight bottles.
17:03We ordered seven, eight bottles.
17:05You gotta keep up.
17:08But we ain't saying nothing to each other, but it's a bottle war going on.
17:14That's amazing.
17:15No, no, true story.
17:16So look, our bill was like about $9,000, $10,000.
17:20So I said, Posey, I said, forget it, man.
17:21We messed up.
17:22Let's just split it.
17:23But just what I did, I promise.
17:24I went to the club.
17:25I said, look, man, we was a little out of control.
17:27Can we come back and get out?
17:29Or can we take our bottles with us?
17:31So they're like, nah, look, we're going to put your name on them.
17:33So whenever y'all come, y'all got your bottles.
17:35So they looked out for us, though.
17:37But this was a true story, man.
17:38We had a bottle war.
17:39I'll never forget that night.
17:40For no reason.
17:41For no reason at all.
17:43For no reason at all.
17:45It's just me and him and a couple people.
17:47Just two, four people, and we're trying to keep up with them.
17:51But that's what Miami was doing to me, man.
17:55Miami's something different, man.
17:56That's amazing.
17:58Hey, how much you just got?
18:00How much that brick over there?
18:01It'd be double.
18:03They went six.
18:04We went six.
18:05It was a bottle war indirectly.
18:07I said, it's crazy.
18:09And I know you knew this.
18:11When I got down there, the football players had pretty much started training there even more in the winter.
18:17I mean, it was a large group of football players living in Miami in the wintertime.
18:22And that was like the meat and potatoes of the basketball season.
18:24They were living there working out.
18:25So we were bumping to everybody in the club.
18:29Last thing I got to ask you, Antoine Walker, who's been great with us.
18:34So it looked like, right, it was either going to be Boston or Miami for Giannis.
18:39It ends up being Miami.
18:40The Celtics with Jalen Brown, he was included in those trade talks.
18:44Now there's a lot of questions if that relationship could get repaired.
18:48I saw a report today, eight to 12 teams have had conversations with the Celtics about Jalen.
18:53Is that relationship over in your estimation?
18:56Or do you think there's still a chance Jalen Brown can go complete his career with the Celtics?
19:00I think everybody got to understand.
19:02They have a new ownership group.
19:04This is not the same ownership group that signed them.
19:06I'm not saying this ownership group don't love them.
19:08But the Boston Celtics do not own the arena.
19:11So that's where the problem lies at.
19:13So you can't really pay right now.
19:14It doesn't justify them financially to pay probably two guys $60-plus million.
19:20And they're not really saying it.
19:22But they don't have an arena.
19:25They need an arena.
19:26Think about what the Clippers owner did, Steve Ball.
19:28The first thing he did when he started putting that guy, he went and got him an arena.
19:32So now this can make sense to pay guys big money.
19:35I think that's what the problem is with the Celtics, this ownership group.
19:38Obviously, they're great businessmen, these people that buy these teams.
19:41I think it's a business decision.
19:42I don't think it's nothing to do with basketball.
19:45I think they don't want to say that.
19:46But I think it's about business and trying to get the cap and the roster at the right level that
19:51they wanted.
19:52And I think it's tough to do that.
19:53He had an unbelievable year.
19:55You can't trade him after a year like he had last year.
19:58I mean, he had an MVP.
20:00He finished in the top five, MVP voting.
20:02And I think if he would have got it, nobody would have said anything because the team played unbelievable without
20:07Jason Tatum.
20:07They won 57, 58 games.
20:10You know what I mean?
20:11And most of that season, besides I think the last 17, 18 games, was without Jason Tatum.
20:18So is this happiness thing overblown there?
20:20Like him not being happy?
20:22Do you just kind of laugh at that?
20:24Oh, yeah.
20:24Of course he's happy.
20:25I mean, you know, it's a star.
20:28You're the man.
20:29You get to shoot where you want to.
20:30You get all the ball.
20:31Everything's built around you.
20:32Why wouldn't he be happy?
20:33The community has embraced him.
20:36People love him there.
20:37So I don't see why he wouldn't be happy.
20:38I think this has turned into a business decision for the Celtics.
20:43And they're trying to figure out what's the right way to do this.
20:46They obviously, you brand a new team.
20:48You don't want to go from being one of the top teams in the East to the bottom of the
20:52East.
20:52And it's going to cost you.
20:54In order to be at the top, you got to pay money for your roster.
20:56And it's going to be less for you up top.
20:58So it's a new ownership group.
21:00We'll see what this ownership group is willing to do.
21:02Are they willing to spend money on their roster and pay a luxury tax and all those things?
21:07We'll see if they do it.
21:08That's why I think there's trade talks.
21:10But how can you even be in trade talks for a guy that top five in the MVP vote?
21:14So he was right to go public and talk about he's upset about having his name in trade talks.
21:19He had a monster year last year.
21:21So I understand it from where he's speaking from.
21:24But I think the Boston Celtics are operating from an ownership situation.
21:29New owners, they're looking at how we can be profitable.
21:32And I think without having your own arena, they're not going to be profitable, as profitable as they need to
21:36be.
21:37And I think you have to come off some of that salary.
21:39They're paying a lot of money.
21:40Derek White makes big money as well.
21:44I mean, think about the guys they got rid of.
21:46They got rid of Holiday.
21:47He was making $30-plus million.
21:49I mean, Al Horford was making $15, $20 million.
21:51I mean, so they came off some guys that were making big money to try to make this thing work.
21:57So hopefully they get it done.
21:58I want to see those guys finish it out.
21:59I think they got one more chip in them.
22:01He's Antoine Walker.
22:02He joins us on the Toyota of Hollywood Hotline Shop.
22:03Over 2,000 Toyotas on sale at one location.
22:06Toyota of Hollywood on 441 between Hollywood and Sheridan.
22:10ToyotaofHollywood.com.
22:11Antoine, great job as always.
22:12Appreciate it.
22:14All right, man.
22:14Thanks for having me on the show, man.
22:15Y'all keep it up.
22:16There you go.
22:17More of Hawkman, Crowder, and Solana.
22:18Zach Gelbin for Hawk after these short messages.

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