 now you've been an NBA player for a long time how tough is this not to be on it now you're on a different team but not to be on a basketball team you know what I'm gonna be really really honest it's not as tough as I thought I would be like it would be like I miss it I miss the camaraderie I miss being around the guys I miss being around the players but it was time it's something very very comforting when you were able to get everything out of your system me and my agent were having a conversation not too long ago and he was like Richard you know four years ago you said you wanted to play one or two more years and I was like you know what you're right and so you know I'm at such peace and ease with with just kind of you know moving on and that's I said that in a message on social media that I'm kind of moving on from basketball just because I felt like it was time but you can still play I would assume right yeah I really I feel like I can still play in it again part of like you know even if you're not signed in that initial you know free agency rush there was a lot of interest there were people that I were talking to some things didn't pan out some people decided to go different direction but you look at injuries you know even you know DeMarie Carroll you know having ankle surgery stuff like that there would have been so many opportunities that present themselves in the first month of the season but I just felt like there were other things that I wanted to do and accomplish in my life and basketball was not a part of the five-year plan anymore and so I felt like there was opportunities that were presenting themselves that I were more interested in and more excited about and that that that's kind of why I decided to take this step was it made easier by the fact that you were able to get a ring a couple years ago one thousand percent one thousand percent that was really my only goal I've always you know in my entire career I've always you know kind of judged this the season by how the team played and how far we went and a lot of that was based off of you know how I played in college and then my first couple of years in New Jersey so you know to win that championship and to get the ultimate goal that made you know I was ready to retire then I wanted to go out on top but people kept dragging me back in and I was there right fine now is there a lot of pressure though because people look at you I don't want to put the pressure on you but you're like a Tony Romo type that you cannot fail in the broadcast like you were made for this see do you do you hear those things and do you believe that you're made for this well I'm gonna first say this like one Tony's amazing Tony Romo's amazing but there's no pressure that anybody can put on me that I wouldn't put on myself like I approached this with the exact same same type of focus that I approached kind of like my rookie year in the league like I want to get here I want to prove myself I want to kick ass and take names and I want to you know I want to be the best at this and you know I have you know I'm a little bit older I'm a little more confident now but you know if you're gonna do something and you know you I've been blessed to get you know with the gift to gab and you know for me it's just like how can I bring the fans to a more knowledgeable place how can I entertain the fans and still you know make them understand the game at another level and those are those are the challenges that I you know I want to face head-on and I want to be the best and I know you know not to be too critical of myself but that I'll be better in game five and I was a game one and I'll be better in game ten than I was in game five but my goal is just to get get better and better and better and really just increase the experience for the fans all right let's talk about this next team slow and steady I mean this group you know Sean Marks and and Atkinson took over they had no draft picks because of the trade with the cell thinks and now they're finally out from under that and it seems like I don't know if this is the year but they're moving in the right direction what's your feel well they've been moving in the right direction Sean has done a really really good job of you know they've unloaded some contracts they've acquired some picks they've gotten back in the mix even the D'Angelo Russell you know bringing him in basically means that you have the number two pick from three years ago right so you know you put yourself in a position where it's like maybe you didn't have a traditional pick but if you were able to get a high level pick like Russell that puts you in a spot where it's like okay you know the future is bright you're moving in the right direction and and I you have to give them all the credit I do believe that there's obviously more steps to go but you're finally moving in the right direction and then for the last like three to four years it was just it was it was very difficult for you know fans with you know obviously Boston having the success and having all the draft picks and doing all these different things but I think now that you know their game plan is starting to you can start to see it and it's starting to you know kind of come to fruition I think this is an exciting time for the Nets and for you know the Nets fan base I've heard so many things Richard from people in the NBA that you know Kenny Atkinson has looked at as a big-time star in the coaching industry and you know just what he did with the last year's Nets team is he looked at that way by the players around the league yeah I said a lot of people you know a lot of people kind of look at the situation like man this is a tough situation it takes a very strong minded and strong willed and a confident person even for Sean to take this job like yeah you can you can take any job but when you take a job where it's like hey there's going to be some rebuilding that's going to be there's going to be I don't want to say dark times but there's going to be some times where it's like man this is really really difficult and especially when most of the time you have difficult seasons you're rewarded with a good draft pick so that just brings the energy back to the franchise so for them to take the job especially in this new in this New York media in the tri-state area to take on that challenge with all the things that were you know kind of put in front of them it's just a compliment to who they are as people that they are willing to take on these challenges even though you know there might not have been an end in sight when they first took over so with new yes network Nets analyst Richard Jefferson here on the Michael K show let's let's spread it out a little bit and go around the league I've always wanted to ask somebody who played with him you are on a championship team with LeBron what's it like being his teammate is he overly demanding is it tough to play with him tell me no I wouldn't overly demanding is not the right word I think this is a man that every day he steps on the floor there is a tremendous amount of pressure on him and his job is to go out there and make his not only win the game but to make the job easier for his teammates and so you know yeah there are certain players that that love the game and there are certain players that love the lifestyle of the game there are certain people that want to score points and there are some people that want to win games and there are certain people that want to win championships I think brawn is a person that always has a championship in his sights and so for any player if championship isn't your final goal then yeah it might be hard because you might not see it and you know one of Brahms favorite quotes is by Jerry West he's like winning is the most important thing to me if it's not the most important thing to you then you're probably not going to like me and you know that's not for every player that's not for everybody but then again winning championships and winning games that's not for everyone either you think he's gonna do well this year with the Lakers you know do they have enough this year enough to what to let's say 50 games conference finals no conference finals now Stephen A. Smith on before I said he sees them in the conference final wow yeah but Stephen A. gets paid to say like over-the-top absurd thing right that's his job I think I think if you do that I think then they overachieved and bronze many of brawn teams that overachieved everyone talks about his final streak but when he went back to Cleveland and he signed there Kyrie was a high level but a still a young player Kevin Love wasn't even there yet so for them him to take that team to the finals and even I think they might have finished second in a conference after Atlanta and then to lose Kevin and to lose Kyrie so brawn has a history of overachieving in the end in in most seasons that that he plays in but I think 50 games I think is attainable but do I think conference finals I think there would have to be an upset somewhere in the first round or the second round there would have to be an upset I don't think that they're gonna finish in the top they're not gonna finish in the top three so that would probably mean that they would have to upset somebody in the second round of the playoffs to get to the conference finals so I think they're in a very very good position it's LA you know LA has a home court advantage unlike other places because of the nightlife because the glitz because of the glamour so I think when people go to LA now you know there's a little bit of a different feel you got to make sure that you get your rest which you know young players typically don't so you know you're gonna get guys that are probably hanging out all night because in Cleveland that was one thing that you had to know in Cleveland it was a very calm city there wasn't a lot going on it's an amazing town but the home court advantage was based off the fans not all of the attractions that might distract players when they got to town