- 14 hours ago
Former Miami Heat player Antoine Walker joins the show to discuss the Heat's potential after adding Giannis Antetokounmpo. Plus, why LeBron on the Heat immediately makes them a contender.
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00:00I'm Antoine. Appreciate the time as always. How you been, my man?
00:02I've been good, man. Thanks for having me on the show.
00:04Well, we appreciate you coming on.
00:06So let me start you off with Giannis because I know last time we talked,
00:10there was a lot of speculation. Would it be Boston? Would it be Miami?
00:14When Pat made the move to bring in another star to Miami
00:17and kind of jumpstart this Heat team once again, what was that initial reaction?
00:23I mean, I loved it. I think, you know,
00:24they was in a situation where they probably wasn't going to be able to get a free agency
00:28and free agency the way that the cap is set up now
00:30and guys signing back with their own team.
00:32So they wasn't going to be able to actually really get anybody.
00:35So to be able to get Giannis, I think he still has a couple years left.
00:39I know people are a little concerned because he hasn't played a lot of games
00:42last couple years. His durability is probably a question a little bit.
00:46But I'll take a shot at him his last two years.
00:49I mean, he's still playing at a really, really high level.
00:51I think it's a great move by the Heat.
00:53Antoine, how does that look with two bigs?
00:55Because they both try to shoot threes.
00:57Bam had a good three-point shooting game, you know, season last year.
01:01But with them two guys that finished at the rim,
01:02how are they going to manipulate that where they're not getting in each other's way?
01:06It's going to be tough.
01:07It's going to take some adjustment for them to play.
01:10I think it's going to be probably harder for Bam
01:13because Giannis is a one-on-one guy that needs spaces on the floor.
01:16So Bam is going to probably become even a more three-point shooter,
01:19as crazy as that sounds, because Giannis needs space.
01:22I mean, he's a great one-on-one player.
01:24But I think one thing we've got to remember, Giannis requires double teams.
01:28If he gets going, you're going to have to double team him,
01:30and that's where he's got to make passes and be a great playmaker for the team.
01:34But that's something you're trying to figure out, man.
01:36You figure two guys are all-stars.
01:38You figure, hey, man, if I get an opportunity, you guys got to figure that out.
01:42You know, you can't just nitpick everything.
01:44But that is some concern.
01:45I see where you can see that could be a problem.
01:47Now we know, as Antoine Walker is here with us, the Giannis domino did fall,
01:51and everyone's waiting to see what's next.
01:53The big rumor is LeBron James not coming back to the Lakers.
01:57The heat get thrown into the mix.
01:59Could he be going back home to Cleveland?
02:01Could he be going out to the Bay Area?
02:04Do you think there's a chance?
02:05Can you see maybe LeBron looking at Giannis and Bam and saying,
02:08you know what, I'll take my talents back to South Beach?
02:11Man, LeBron could probably go play anywhere.
02:14How much money he want?
02:16That's the thing.
02:17How much money does he want?
02:19They're saying the veteran minimum.
02:20I'll believe it when I see it, though.
02:22I mean, I don't think so.
02:23I mean, that's the same thing I'm saying.
02:25If he's going to play for the veteran minimum, then that's a different story.
02:28Now about 15, 20 teams coming to play, if that's the case,
02:31if he's going to play for that.
02:33But if you start talking about $45 to $60 million for one year,
02:37I mean, he's going to handicap himself on where he can actually go
02:40and be effective and put a good team around him.
02:44So I don't necessarily – I like him with anybody.
02:46I mean, it's LeBron James.
02:47It's hard for me to say I don't like him with somebody because he's so good
02:50and I know he can make an adjustment and play with anybody.
02:53I do – I would love to see him with talent, though.
02:56I don't want to see him with a bunch of young guys trying to figure it out.
03:00I want to see him with some guys that have been there, that know how to play.
03:03So if the Miami Heat situation, which is still incomplete, even with Giannis,
03:07they got a lot to fill in that roster still right now.
03:10So I hope LeBron brings the ax down.
03:15I don't know.
03:15You guys – I can't see him playing for the league minimum,
03:19but maybe you guys know something I don't know.
03:21I was going to say, Antoine, I don't know how basketball players do it,
03:23but football players, man, we ain't taking a dime less than we can take.
03:26I'm going to take a $40 million cut.
03:29You can get out of here with that.
03:31I don't think he's going to do it anyway.
03:33I just think that's too far.
03:35You start talking maybe $25 million, $30 million for one year.
03:39You get somewhere in that number.
03:40Now he gives up maybe $15 million to $20 million,
03:44even though that's still a big number.
03:45Maybe he may do it if he feel like he can win a title
03:48and that's joining a team that's really, really good.
03:50But it's going to be hard to talk him to taking the league minimum, man.
03:54I don't know if it's going to be able to happen.
03:56And once again, I don't know how the salaries will all work out.
03:59All I know is Giannis is coming to Miami.
04:02Bam is here in Miami.
04:03You also have Andrew Wiggins staying in Miami.
04:06They just signed Tim Hardaway Jr. the other day.
04:09Like, there is a need for LeBron in Miami
04:12because he's someone that can control that backcourt
04:14and the ball will be in his hand a lot.
04:17Oh, without question.
04:18I mean, obviously they get him.
04:19They become a top three contender in the East,
04:21if not the number one contender in the East.
04:23When you think about Giannis and LeBron being on the same team,
04:26we know the Celtics think situation is not looking good right now,
04:30especially what's going on with Jalen Brown and the Knicks.
04:33I mean, the Knicks still got a retool.
04:35And they're already starting.
04:36As soon as you win, everybody gets the lead.
04:38Look at Mitchell Robinson now.
04:39He signs a big deal.
04:40So now you start losing pieces too.
04:42So the East is wide open if you want to make a move.
04:45So it's really up to LeBron and where he feels like he can win a title at
04:50or get back into the mix of winning the title.
04:52Yeah, and it's interesting because we've seen a lot of reports suggesting
04:55that it's going to come down to happiness.
04:57And then Rich Paul was talking about where he can play golf,
05:01indoor and outdoor.
05:02But I just wonder, from a player's perspective,
05:05does he have anything left to prove in terms of legacy?
05:08I mean, he's either regarded as the best player ever,
05:12the second best player, the third, however you want to rank it, right?
05:14Like, he's one of the greats of all time, without question,
05:17if he retired today.
05:18But does he have anything left to prove?
05:20Would a title, wherever he goes, end up helping his legacy anymore?
05:25I mean, and, Sha, you probably can agree with me.
05:28I mean, if you still can play, why not play?
05:31I mean, I think, you know, you only get one life.
05:33You only get one opportunity at this.
05:34So I understand him wanting to play, but it's nothing to prove.
05:39But I don't think you should be playing if he's not trying to win a title.
05:42That's what makes it fun.
05:43That's what makes you want to go to work every day.
05:47Just coming to play, just to say, because you still,
05:49your body still feels good to play.
05:51I don't think LeBron should do it that way.
05:53I think if he's going to play, I want to go all out
05:56and see if I can get in the mix and win a title.
05:58And, you know, I look at Serena Williams yesterday, man.
06:01You know what I'm saying?
06:01You think about that.
06:02You know what I'm saying?
06:03Obviously, she wants to play,
06:05but you don't need to take the mails on your legacy right now.
06:09You know?
06:10So I just think about stuff like that.
06:12But I think if he wants to play and if it's important to him,
06:16go get with a team that's got some guys that they're in the same mind frame,
06:19the organization that's trying to win,
06:21and give yourself the best chance to, you know,
06:24just continue to add on to your legacy, but play for championships.
06:27Hey, Walt, and we got down here the same year, 05.
06:30We might have seen each other at the Little Diamonds
06:33under the bridge once or twice.
06:36And we were down here.
06:37Might have.
06:38My ass.
06:39That was indefinite.
06:41We might have been in there once or twice together.
06:44But the thing about Miami, a great place to live,
06:47state taxes, all that stuff.
06:48But then what about dudes coming to play for Spoh and Pat
06:50with that old school, you know, weight, the percentage weights
06:54and all the stuff you got to do, the well, best condition,
06:57best in shape, all that stuff.
06:59Is it a knock of how the old school basketball that Pat and Spoh
07:03like to do to some players, especially these young players?
07:06Oh, without question.
07:08Obviously, I mean, I went through that when I played there.
07:11It's been every star has kind of had that problem a little bit,
07:13whether it was publicized or behind closed doors,
07:17where they're really big on fitness and condition,
07:20which is nothing wrong with that.
07:21But they're sticklers with body fat.
07:23But the thing about it, you get to get weighed every week.
07:26You know what I mean?
07:26It's a constant thing.
07:28And some of these guys, I mean, typically guys are in their best shape
07:31of their life when you play there.
07:32So that typically happens.
07:34But it can be, you know, something that people don't really like,
07:38you know, especially young stars.
07:40They don't want to be told about body fat and weight.
07:43They want to be able to kind of control their own narrative.
07:45In Miami, you're probably not going to be able to do that.
07:48They're going to be on top of you, on and off the court.
07:51And some guys need that.
07:53It's not for every guy.
07:54Like LeBron James already took care of his body.
07:57So it was an easy transition for him to go to Miami.
08:00You know, some guys, it's a little bit harder to do.
08:02But I do, I am going to have to agree with you.
08:05That does stop some superstars from coming.
08:08There was a lot of question marks, even here in Miami, Antoine,
08:13about Pat Riley.
08:14If he could continue to still be at the front of the Heat organization
08:18and continue to build title contenders after they lost Jimmy.
08:21Over the past couple of years, even with Jimmy,
08:24weren't landing the next great whale to come here and play alongside him,
08:28even after they missed out on a couple of guys.
08:31You were part of the largest trade in NBA history that Pat pulled off in 2005
08:36when you came to Miami.
08:3720 years later, to see him still landing a guy like Giannis Antetokounmpo,
08:42are you surprised that he's still been able, in terms of longevity,
08:45to keep his career going at the front office
08:48and still make trades that kind of alter the way that the franchise is headed?
08:54No, because he knows you need a superstar to win.
08:57You can look at Pat's history.
08:59I mean, we go back to Magic, Kareem, obviously D-Wade, Alonzo Mourning.
09:03You know, he needed superstars to win.
09:05I mean, the team I played on, there was six of us that was all-stars,
09:08I think, on that team.
09:09You think about me, Gary Payton, and all of us that joined the team.
09:12You got all-stars on that team.
09:14He knows you have to have superstars.
09:16He tried to do it.
09:18I think they got kind of a little stale because they had a great run with Jimmy Butler
09:22and not to take anything away from that young team,
09:24but that young team went to the Eastern Conference Finals.
09:26I mean, went to the Finals as an eighth seed.
09:29So when you do stuff like that, so they went on that little run
09:32where they were developing guys and having these guys, unrestricted free agents,
09:36come in and make the team and play hard.
09:38But you got to have superstars to win this league consistently
09:41and to make deep runs.
09:42And Pat Riley understands that.
09:44And that's why he's willing to gamble and get a guy like Giannis
09:47and take a chance.
09:48And that's what they want to do.
09:50He wants to go out with a bang.
09:51Mickey trusts him and knows that he's going to make the right decisions
09:54for this organization.
09:55And that's where I think, you know,
09:56Pat kind of stands out to some other owners and organizations that we see.
10:00I'm here in Chicago, and I wonder, you know,
10:03the Bulls trade away, Aya DuSumo and Kobe White,
10:06and they do all type of things.
10:07I see not making the commitment to winning all the time,
10:10being in Chicago with the Bulls.
10:11So to see a Pat Riley knows that, hey,
10:14I got to make a power move here and make a big play.
10:16That's what makes him great.
10:17He wants to play for championships.
10:18And think about it.
10:20We talk about LeBron James there.
10:21How many more years does Pat have at running the team?
10:26You know, Pat's getting down to his last years to probably run the team.
10:29So he wants to, obviously, his legacy on the line a little bit too,
10:33even though he's on the floor and everything's stretching there.
10:36But he wants to leave a winner too.
10:37So I like the fact that he wants to win now.
10:40Antoine Walker here with us.
10:42So you talk about that team, how it was assembled,
10:44and you guys ended up winning a championship in 2006.
10:48But you've been on a team where you've been the star
10:51and you've been, like, the main attraction.
10:52That wasn't the case in Miami.
10:54The sacrifice was worth the reward.
10:56But how tough was it for guys in the locker room at the time to sacrifice
11:00and maybe not play your normal role and do less for the betterment of the team?
11:06I think it's hard.
11:07But I think what was good for us, and Scott, for every team,
11:09if you ain't never had one and you ain't never won on a big stage,
11:14that's when you get hungry.
11:15That's when you make that sacrifice.
11:16That's when you do everything.
11:18That's when you kind of watch the Knicks.
11:20Those guys had never won much on the guys in the Knicks, but they sacrificed.
11:25That was a sacrifice team that did all the little things to be able to win.
11:28That group had been together about three, four years now,
11:31the core of that group with the Knicks.
11:32So you can see that the sacrifice those guys finally made.
11:35It's about sacrifice, man.
11:37It's about knowing your role, guys accepting their role,
11:40not worrying about getting 10 or 20 a night, not worrying about contracts.
11:45So it's a lot that goes into it winning the championship,
11:48and if you can get guys to buy into that, then so be it.
11:51I think Pat Ryan did a good job of putting a bunch of hungry guys that hadn't won one together.
11:56I mean, you got to think about James Posey hadn't had one.
11:59Gary Payton didn't have one.
12:01Jason Williams didn't have a championship.
12:03So you had a bunch of us that never played at that level,
12:06and he gave us that opportunity to do it together.
12:09You were just down here last year for the 06 celebration,
12:13and then I saw a bunch of videos that the Heat had posted.
12:17You talking with Zoe, Shaq, D-Wade was there.
12:21All the guys were kind of reminiscing about the title, but it was fun, right?
12:26Like, was that the most fun you ever had while you were in the NBA?
12:30Oh, that was great.
12:31That was an unbelievable time.
12:32I get shots out to the Miami Heat and Pat Ryan, the organization,
12:36for bringing us back together while everybody was still here.
12:40You know what I'm saying?
12:40Like, to be able to – everybody's here.
12:42So that was a great three days together to be able to celebrate that
12:45and reminisce about the championship.
12:48But those are things that are special.
12:50I was lucky enough to win one in college, too,
12:52and I'm still very close to a lot of my college teammates.
12:55But to be able to be around the NBA guys, which you guys know,
12:58pro guys don't get together after they career overwin.
13:00Not many.
13:01You know what I mean?
13:02Everybody's off in their own world.
13:03And to be able to get everybody back together,
13:05I think 13 out of 15 of us showed up.
13:08So it was a big number of guys that showed up
13:10and got to hang out for three days.
13:13They gave us some cool jackets that we can always have
13:15for the rest of our lives.
13:16So it was a good celebration, a good time.
13:18Last one for me, Anton Walker.
13:20I wonder if they still trash talk, though, because we get together.
13:23Boy, it'll be 20 years later.
13:25We still talking nasty to each other.
13:26Oh, yeah.
13:27And we remember this about the season, Matt.
13:29Man, we had a party team now.
13:32We're talking about partying in Miami now.
13:33We party now.
13:34I just didn't go to the strip club now.
13:36I party now.
13:37I did a little South Beach now.
13:38So we talked about it.
13:40We had a great run now.
13:42We had fun on and off the court.
13:43You got to give us a story.
13:45What was a good – you guys got a good off-the-court story
13:47that maybe doesn't get you in too much trouble?
13:49Was there Forge?
13:50Hey, Walt, was the Forge still rolling?
13:52Well, no.
13:53Look, I caught the Forge my first year.
13:55I caught the Forge.
13:58And then my second year, they had came down and moved that party into the Fountain Blue.
14:06So whenever the year the Fountain Blue opened up on a Sunday night,
14:09then I started getting live.
14:12But then Lil Wayne and what happened in New Orleans with Katrina,
14:18you had all the rappers from New Orleans move to Miami.
14:20Miami, that's how the party started.
14:26Long nights.
14:27We'll leave it at that.
14:28Long nights, man.
14:30And I'm sure Pat Riley was at all of them, right?
14:32He was at all those parties with you guys.
14:33Oh, no, no, no.
14:34He knew about them.
14:36He knew about them.
14:37You guys were talking about flying home from a road trip, land at 4 a.m.,
14:43go out and party until 7, be at practice by 9.
14:47Well, Pat had a rule that if we came in any time after 2, the next day was off.
14:53So once we got in after 2, so you know Miami don't shut down to 5-6.
14:58That's prime time.
15:01Yes, sir.
15:02Hey, the only messed up part about it, we had a dress code.
15:06So we used to have to wear suits on the road.
15:09So you see us in the club with suits on.
15:13That ain't no problem.
15:14That ain't no problem.
15:16Hey, that's the only thing about it.
15:17You know, we come in there at 2, 33 o'clock.
15:19The club just popping in Miami, so you was good.
15:22That was one of the best parts about it.
15:24But, yeah, we had some rules.
15:26We had a couple guys on our team.
15:27They ain't going to name no names.
15:28They love the strip club.
15:29So we did a lot of pairs in the strip club.
15:34That's amazing.
15:36There might have been a corner in the back of a strip club that had a heat banner in it.
15:40You know about it.
15:42You know about it.
15:44Yeah, Channing was picking up the bills after you guys threw them.
15:47Well, I tell you, no, no, no.
15:49Football and basketball money is different.
15:51So we would be in there.
15:52Then basketball comes in.
15:54That's when it's our time to go.
15:56Hold on, hold on.
15:57Crowd, crowd, crowd.
15:57You appreciate this story.
15:59So one night, I got to tell this story real quick.
16:01So one night I'm out of Miami, me and Posey, regular Thursday night, we go to the club.
16:07And what's my man, Sean Merriman, is in the club.
16:10Him and all his boys in the club.
16:12They're like the two, three couches down from us.
16:15So we in the party.
16:16So they ordered three bottles of champagne.
16:19We ordered three bottles.
16:20It's just me and Pose.
16:22A couple of girls.
16:23So now they order six more bottles.
16:27So we order six more bottles.
16:32This is a true story.
16:34So now they order ten bottles.
16:35It's about seven, eight of them.
16:37It's me and Posey and a couple of girls.
16:39So they ordered seven, eight bottles.
16:41We order seven, eight bottles.
16:42You got to keep up.
16:46But we ain't saying nothing to each other.
16:48But it's a bottle war going on.
16:52That's amazing.
16:53No, no.
16:53True story.
16:54So look, our bill was like about nine, $10,000.
16:57So I say, Posey.
16:58I said, forget it, man.
16:59We messed up.
17:00Let's just split it.
17:01But just what I did, I promise.
17:02I went to the club.
17:03I said, look, man, we was a little out of control.
17:05Can we come back and get out?
17:07Or can we take our bottles with us?
17:09So they like, nah, look, we're going to put your name on them.
17:11So whenever y'all come, y'all got y'all bottles.
17:13So they looked out for us, though.
17:14But this is a true story, man.
17:16We had a bottle war.
17:17I'll never forget that night.
17:18For no reason.
17:19For no reason at all.
17:21For no reason at all.
17:23It's just me and him and a couple people.
17:25There's two, four people, and we're trying to keep up with them.
17:28But that's what Miami was doing to me, man.
17:32Miami is something different, man.
17:34That's amazing.
17:36Hey, how much you just got?
17:37How much that brick over there?
17:39It would double.
17:41They win six.
17:42We win six.
17:43It was a bottle war indirectly.
17:45I said, it's crazy.
17:47And I know you knew this.
17:48When I got down there, the football players have pretty much started training there even more in the winter.
17:54I mean, it was a large group of football players living in Miami in the wintertime.
18:00And that was like the meat and potatoes of the basketball season.
18:02They were living there working out.
18:03So we were bumping to everybody in the club.
18:07Last thing I got to ask you, Antoine Walker, who's been great with us.
18:11So it looked like, right, it was either going to be Boston or Miami for Giannis.
18:17It ends up being Miami.
18:18The Celtics with Jalen Brown, he was included in those trade talks.
18:22Now there's a lot of questions if that relationship could get repaired.
18:26I saw a report today.
18:26Eight to 12 teams have had conversations with the Celtics about Jalen.
18:30Is that relationship over in your estimation?
18:33Or do you think there's still a chance Jalen Brown can go complete his career with the Celtics?
18:38I think everybody got to understand.
18:39They have a new ownership group.
18:41This is not the same ownership group that signed them.
18:44And I'm not saying this ownership group don't love them.
18:45But the Boston Celtics do not own their arena.
18:48So that's where the problem lies at.
18:50So you can't really pay right now.
18:52It doesn't justify them financially to pay probably two guys $60-plus million.
18:57And they're not really saying it.
19:00But they don't have an arena.
19:03They need an arena.
19:04Think about what the Clippers owner did, Steve Ball.
19:06First thing he did when he started putting that guy, he went and got him an arena.
19:10So now this can make sense to pay guys big money.
19:12I think that's what the problem is with the Celtics, this ownership group.
19:16Obviously, they're great businessmen, these people that buy these teams.
19:19I think it's a business decision.
19:20I don't think it's nothing to do with basketball.
19:23I think they don't want to say that.
19:24But I think it's about business and trying to get the cap and the roster at the right level that
19:29they want it.
19:30And I think it's tough to do that.
19:31He had an unbelievable year.
19:33You can't trade him after a year like he had last year.
19:36I mean, he had an MVP.
19:38He finished in the top five, MVP voting.
19:39And I think if he would have got it, nobody would have said anything because the team played unbelievable without
19:44Jason Tatum.
19:45They won 57, 58 games.
19:48You know what I mean?
19:49And most of that season, besides I think the last 17, 18 games, were without Jason Tatum.
19:55So is this happiness thing overblown there?
19:58Like him not being happy?
20:00Do you just kind of laugh at that?
20:01Oh, yeah.
20:02Of course he's happy.
20:03I mean, you know it's a star.
20:06You're the man.
20:06You get to shoot where you want to, get all the ball, everything's built around you.
20:10Why wouldn't he be happy?
20:11The community has embraced him.
20:14People love him there.
20:15So I don't see why he wouldn't be happy.
20:16I think this has turned into a business decision for the Celtics.
20:21And they're trying to figure out what's the right way to do this.
20:24They obviously, you brand a new team.
20:26You don't want to go from being one of the top teams in the East to at the bottom of
20:29the East.
20:30And it's going to cost you.
20:31In order to be at the top, you've got to pay money for your roster.
20:34And it's going to be less for you up top.
20:36So it's a new ownership group.
20:37We'll see what this ownership group is willing to do.
20:40Are they willing to spend money on their roster and pay a luxury tax and all those things?
20:45We'll see if they do it.
20:46That's why I think there's trade talks.
20:48But how can you even be in trade talks for a guy that top five in the MVP bonus?
20:52So he was right to go public and talk about he's upset about having his name in trade talks.
20:57He had a monster year last year.
20:59So I can understand it from where he's speaking from.
21:02But I think the Boston Celtics are operating from an ownership situation.
21:07New owners.
21:08They're looking at how we can be profitable.
21:10And I think without having your own arena, they're not going to be profitable, as profitable as they need to
21:14be.
21:15And I think you have to come out with some of that salary.
21:17They're paying a lot of money.
21:18Derek White makes big money as well.
21:21I mean, think about the guys they got rid of.
21:23They got rid of Holiday.
21:24He was making $30-plus million.
21:26I mean, Al Horford was making $15-20 million.
21:29I mean, so they came off some guys that were making big money to try to make this thing work.
21:35So hopefully they get it done.
21:35I want to see those guys finish it out.
21:37I think they got one more chip in them.
21:38He's Antoine Walker.
21:40He joins us on the Toyota of Hollywood Hotline.
21:41Chop over 2,000 Toyotas on sale at one location.
21:43Toyota of Hollywood on 441 between Hollywood and Sheridan.
21:48ToyotaofHollywood.com.
21:49Antoine, great job as always.
21:50Appreciate it.
21:51All right, man.
21:52Thanks for having me on the show, man.
21:53Y'all keep it up.
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