 Run it up, do run it back, yeah. Run it up, do run it back, run it back. Run it up, do run it back. Really, you guys love me. Chandler. You're there. OK, fine. Thank you, Shoms. Shoms is my only friend. Happy Monday. This is Run It Back. And yes, everyone is in studio. Can you even believe it? Stadium insider, Shoms Harania. Chandler Parsons. And Lou Will. NBA legend, Lou Will, back on the end over there. Yeah, we saw you all weekend long out in Vegas. Did you like that on the Shack Cam and all that good stuff? I had a good time. It was cool. Did you have fun being a trader? Yeah. I missed you guys. Say that I missed you guys. Shoms, you never do anything wrong. I have nothing to pick. Actually, no, maybe you did, depending on who you ask. How did you break the Ohtani news? How? I think, you know, a lot of big stuff happens around sports. So we stay tuned. I mean, you are dabbling into the baseball world. Do people get territorial? Because I was dying. Baseball, football, you know. You did a football trend, too, right? A lot of upset people, for sure. You love it, so. What can't he do? He quicker than that. They got a good look. Sorry. This fall, he's good at his job. He's on here. All right. So yeah, if you don't know, we are going to start just really, really quickly, because the amount of money is astronomical. Chandler money. He got Chandler money. He really did. She guys are so sweet. Lou, that money. 10 years, $700 million is the richest contract ever in North American sports. I can't stop smiling at any of my money. Can we, all of our, all your kids are going to start playing baseball, right? Oh, my son's taking grounders right now in the backyard. This is the sport to play. Yes, indeed. Can you believe it? Hey, he's got them doing ground ball right now. Turning two. 6 AM, 7 AM stints. You better believe he's going to be on it. Here's the thing, because I, the joke of media, it was like, what about taxes? Yeah, we get it. They're really bad. I mean, I even made the joke, because they are really bad out here. But he could have, I guess, gone to a state without taxes. Is that ever, we always wonder, is that a consideration when you guys are looking at deals and what's available? Somewhat, but we were having a discussion off-camera. You play in certain markets, or you look at certain markets, no amount of money is worth being there, being miserable, losing, snowing, cold. And so you tend to deal with those tax breaks. Call some out, Lou. Call some out, Lou, real quick. Like, we're naming three. We got enough small markets that hate this show as it is. That's a great point. All right, I'll tell you, I signed a deal on Memphis, and it was the most miserable I've ever been and the most money I've ever made. So, no, I would rather him be in LA, make the bread, be happy, because your life matters more than the money. And if you could thug it out, and then, now your life, now my life is great. But those three years, ooh, brutal, Michelle. I mean, I hope he can piece it all together for 700. And he doesn't have to move? It just goes to the other city straight there. That we've said something crazy about Memphis. They gonna hate us for sure. Oh, too. That's my hometown. What if you have to go to Memphis for a second? You're dead. I have to go. See, you have to go, but you should bring. I'll never go again. Oh, look, I'm like, hey, I'll never go again. Blackout. OK, fine. Let's get to the game over the weekend that we got really serious for a second. Man, man, man, man, man, man, man, man. All right, Pacers, Lakers, Anthony Davis, look for as much grief and crap as he gets. This was a dominant performance, 41, 25, and four. LeBron, of course, was ageless, 24, 30, for Austin Reeves just went ahead and threw 28 points in there, 22 of those coming in the first half. It was a bit of a bummer for the Pacers. They had a moment where they could have done it. But, man, when Andy is having that kind of a game, first of all, it makes you realize, like, when he doesn't have those games, how much we missed that. But who can beat him if he's like this? It's tough. And when he plays that level, it automatically makes them a contender, right? The way he dominated both ends of the floor, the way he just neutralized Miles Turner and got him in foul trouble early, it does. It makes you scratch your head because you want to see this more, right? You want this more consistent. And you can see this wasn't just a normal game for him. And he was getting the crowd hyped up. He was beaten on his chest. He was all over the offensive glass, like that. I mean, again, kudos to Adam for the end season tournament. But that intensity that he has, we want more of that. We want more of that because they are a real contender. And he is a top, top elite player in this league when he gives that effort. We just want it more often. He looked motivated. He looked really motivated. And I get, in a sense of that, the end season tournament works, right? So it got these guys to play at a high level. We got to see A.D. beating on his chest, being excited 20 games into this season. But there are other guys that we see do that a lot. Joellen Beat is one of those guys. Carl Anthony Towns is one of those guys. Obviously, Yoke is just one of those guys. And A.D. is one of those guys as well. And so we just want to see him do it consistently. We want to see that fire at all times when he plays. So this is a good to see. It's almost frustrating a little bit too, because you know he can. And then you see this game and you're like, that's, that is the guy. Why is this so hard? Don't you see the guy? It's not dependent on who they play. You're like, Miles Turner is a great defender, shop locker, physical, tough matchup the way he plays and picks and pops. So it's not like Anthony Davis is picking his games to kind of play harder. It's just, we just want to see it more consistent. And obviously the Lakers do too, because they're a completely different team when he gives this kind of effort. And you also notice that he's also a veteran guy that's used to deep playoff runs. The more you play deep into the playoffs, the less excited you become about regular season basketball. And I think sometimes we see that from Anthony Davis. And so putting this tournament in there, putting some incentive in it. I think we saw a great version of him. So it was super entertaining and it was fun to watch. And he's healthy. He played 40 minutes. Like that's the huge key to this. He came up limping at one point. I was like, uh-oh. Yeah, uh-oh. But you got a factor in one or two of those at game for sure. That's going to happen. He's going to be on the court. That's the fact that the world stops every time. I don't know how I'm like... Oh, he's fine, he's fine, he's fine. He had a stretch last year too, though. I mean, he had an MVP. There was a stretch in D.C. I think he scored 50 points against the Wizards. So it's not like Anthony Davis hasn't shown it. It's just every time he has, there's an injury. There's a setback. There's maybe downplay. We all know what he's capable of. That's why he gets the crap. It's because he does show it. We know what's there. And then it's gone again. So Lakers coach Darvin Ham compared him to Ray Lewis. Don't make any jokes. He anchors the defense, plays middle linebacker in the paint. He's feared. That's really weird, by the way. It's a cross-bord comparison that I did not have on my bingo guard, Chandler. Are we good with this one? I mean, sure. I understand what he's saying, right? Like just having Anthony Davis in the paint and the lane can make the other offense a little more threatened going in there. And he's such a good help side defender. He blocks shots, he rebounds. He is the catalyst on the defense. So that's what he's saying by that. He's vocal. He communicates. He gets guys in position. He's calling out coverages. Things like that is, I think, why he's saying that. And that's important. It's just as important offensively. When you have guys like LeBron and also Reeves that can score the ball, you need that anchor on defense. And that's what Anthony Davis is. I'm not rolling with that particular. Yeah. I'm not rolling with that one. When I think of Ray Lewis, he's the... White suit, right? He is the definition of intensity. And so for Anthony Davis to have that on his name, to have that on his jacket, we got to see the intensity at all times. And I think that's what Ray Lewis always brought to the table. Every game, Ray Lewis. Every single man. That's fair. Every single night. And so in that aspect of it, I'm not rolling. Everything else, I understood he was trying to get across about his player. Now I want to think of the perfect cross sport comparison. I've been working on it all morning. Have you? Okay. I'm gonna start thinking about it. Shoms, for you on the Lakers side of things, what really stood out? What stood out to me is I think they have a formula to win. Obviously it starts with Anthony Davis, starts with LeBron James, but you think about Austin Reeves and the impact that he had coming off the bench. When they, I guess, whatever you want to call it, a big three, when you have LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reeves, that's really their formula. And LeBron, 24 and 11, D'Angelo Russell even contributed 13.7 assists. They built this team around tremendous depth. They make that trip for Russell Westbrook after winning the championship and after losing the second round to Phoenix. And they went all in on stars. And then at the deadline last year, they doubled down on what got them a championship in 2020, which is a bunch of rotation players depth. You got Ruby Hachimura, Jared Vanderbilt's back in the lineup. Kam Reddish has also played at a high level, especially defensively. So to me, it's the fact that this Lakers team has a lot of depth. And then I also got to say, just being at the end season tournament, I know Lou was there as well, just from the Lakers perspective, the LeBron perspective, the fact that he embraced it. And I think he gave, I think LeBron gave this in-season tournament a lot of credibility because if he took it the other way and gave it this like, I don't care, nonchalant, it doesn't really matter. I think there would have been a domino effect across the league. But the fact that from the beginning, he embraced it, he talked about how much money was involved. So he was on the bench, he was going like this, like near the end of the game, like all he was thinking about was the 500,000 he was branding that money throughout. So the fact that he embraced it, put equity into it, I think it had a domino effect across the league. So he's the first ever in-season tournament MVP. And I think this is a good start for the league, the fact that he has essentially stamped it. Look, I make my own jokes about it as well, but I'm with you. I think if LeBron had not bought it, kind of damned if you do, damned if you don't, right? If the Lakers celebrate too much, we mock them. If they don't celebrate at all, then the whole thing loses credibility. It's kind of a weird place to live on that one. But he did get the first ever MVP, first ever in-season tournament title. What does it do? And immediately the internet was like, well, MJ doesn't have one of these. Legacy-wise, where are we now? You know what? For me, young players take notes. This is a guy that's 39 years old and he took pride in this. This was the first time. We don't know what the legacy of this tournament is gonna be in 10 to 15 years. We know this was the first one. This is the very first season. And so he took a lot of pride in wanting to go out and represent. If you were in Vegas, you knew that this was the Lakers' tournament to lose. This was a home game for them. And he embraced it and he made it so much fun. And so sometimes with our young superstars, they're kind of complacent, kind of nonchalant about things. Too cool. Too cool about things like this. And LeBron went all out and he really wanted this thing. And so I hope that trickles down to the seasons to come and guys can see that intensity and they wanna go out and do the same thing. Yeah, that's what impressed me the most. Like Lou said, this guy is about to turn 39 years old, right? And he was the most conditioned, played the hardest of everybody there. So who knows where this end-season tournament's going to go? I think it's gonna stick around for a while. I think it's been great. I think it's intensified the games. So when you're talking about like hanging the banner, are they gonna do it? Yeah, I think you do do it just because it's simple. You're doing everything else, right? Is it like a half-banner? Like what kind of banner? I think it's definitely smaller. It's definitely on a different area. It's gonna be a version of a banner. It's the skinny one. It can't be the long one. It's gotta be the long one. No, it's gonna be small. It's gotta be small. But listen, you sprayed the champagne, you wore the hats, you wore the shirts, kind of the banner. But I think it's appropriate. Yeah, it's... You up with something, you want a tournament. Hey, listen, if you're gonna put games in front of guys, you might as well go win them. And you're gonna put a prize at it. Big prize. Yeah, a big prize at that. You might as well go out and get it. I'm not saying this is the NBA finals, but the fact that there's a champion that's been crying in season. Well, what I enjoyed was, there were guys, they were genuinely excited to have won the cash prize. Because what message do you send? They basically doubled their salary. Yeah, but what message do you send if you win 500 cams like, uh... Right. Well, you're kind of an ass. And I'll say this, LeBron, you could tell like, he wanted to win this for those guys that don't make as much money, right? I think LeBron wanted to win it for LeBron. 100%, but listen, those kids, like the two-way Alex Fudge and Colin Castan, like those guys just doubled up their salary. That's so impressive. And not to backtrack you, but you talked about Cam Reddish earlier. The fact that he went through everything he went through in New York, right, with all these DMPs, not in the rotation. The Florida Channel? Yeah, in Atlanta, out of Atlanta. Yeah, that's lit. He's found a home, man. This guy has found a home, and he is such a valuable defender. The way he played defense on Tyrese Halburton with his length and getting them passing lanes was unbelievable. So the fact that he's now a starter on the Los Angeles Lakers and couldn't get off the bench in New York is just comedy to me, because Lou knows it's all about opportunity, right? There's so many talented players that just got drafted to do a shitty situation or something, and they're now like in China. They're now overseas playing. That could have happened to Cam Reddish and Obie Toppin on the other side. Oh, yeah. And it didn't, and so I'm super hyped for those two guys. What's your number? The LeBron of it all. Here's if you're a betting person, most of us are at this point. LeBron's MVP odds, they have dropped a little bit. Right now he's at plus 7,500. So 75, I feel like... Take it. Low risk, high reward. I'll take it. Put something on that. Why not? Why not? And he's showing no signs of slowing down. No. And I think the league would want this would be the craziest thing ever in his career. Everything he's done, this would be the most impressive. He can pull off an MVP at 39 years old. Let's be clear, it would be earned. Yeah, oh yeah, no, it wouldn't be earned. Yeah, no, you're right, you're right. His impact is being felt, it will be earned. All right, so Austin Reeves, who's joining us here in a little bit before the game, he reported, right, nailed that. He had flu like, he was sick, how bad was this? He started feeling sick Friday, the day before the game, they played Saturday. He started feeling sick throughout Friday. By Friday night, I'm told he was bedridden, didn't get out of bed Friday night, didn't get out of bed all of Saturday until game time. This is in Vegas? This is in Vegas. I got some questions, I got some questions for him. He was bedridden. You can't be sick in Vegas. All day Saturday. He did the one thing he did Friday before getting sick, golf. Oh, see? He was golfing all day on Friday, or part of the day on Friday. And then he played through it. I saw him warm-up pre-game on Saturday and you could tell, like, low energy and clearly he was making sure he was good for the game. That challenge is not, he's not buying it. Well, he's gonna be, you can ask. I'm gonna ask him. Well, I'll say this. I was about to say, I'll ask him when he's on camera. I'll look him in his eye and I'll know the truth here in a little bit. Well, listen, the start he had between two points in the first half, that kept him afloat, that kept him in the game, that was huge for them. And sick or not, this kid, he played amazing, right? And he's such a good option alongside Anthony Davis where you can give him the ball and let him post up, you can give LeBron James the ball and transition. So he is that perfect fit. Now that he's off onto the bench, he's found this other role where he's just rocking, going against second string defenders. Darvin Ham has the utmost confidence in this kid. So I'm hyped and I'm, he started off slow, but he had a long summer and now he looks to be in great form. He's a wild car for that team, Swiss Army Knife. Some nights they expect him to score, some nights they expect him to be a lead defender and do that. And every single night, the one thing that I do know about AR-15 is he plays with so much energy. Plays with so much energy on both ends of the floor and just giving them an opportunity to get extra possessions on the offensive end. And you can put him on the best player on the team at sometimes four or certain possessions and he's gonna give you that as well. And so he's so valuable to this group just by how he goes about playing the best. And he's young enough and consistent enough to do this on a nightly basis, right? AD can disappear sometimes, LeBron's gonna have games where he's gonna not do what he did in the tournament. Austin Rees should be that consistent piece that can go and get you those big buckets down the stretch. All right, so we all agreed the Lakers are gonna hang some sort of banner? You should. Have to. I don't know for sure. If not you're belittling the whole idea of the tournament, right? Like if they have to put it in the practice, put it somewhere. Put it in a ring of honor, put where the sweets are. Oh yeah, you can do that. You think if the Pacers had won, it would be a different, like would they have had a whole thing for it? It's huge, I don't know. I think you have to show a little respect for the tournament and what it's gonna grow to be. And I think you have to, right? Indiana's a great, Indiana's a great basketball town. I don't think they go overboard, but they definitely would have celebrated it to some degree. And just that team and where they are right now, that would have been such a huge win for them. We're still talking about a team that's in fifth place in the East, by the way. What, Pacers? Yeah, let's not do too much. Well, hold on, we do need to talk about them a little bit because there were people that probably saw the Pacers play for the first time in this season tournament. They're like, oh, this Hella Burton's very good. What do you think it does for them moving forward, this kind of action? Well, I'll say this. This was valuable experience for this scrappy team that come post-season. Who knows what seed they're gonna be. There's still a lot of basketball left, but this was valuable experience for guys that really have never been there, right? This was a playoff atmosphere. These were live national televised games, which I think they ended up getting three or four extra that they weren't supposed to get. So good for them. I love the way they play. And like Lou said, they're the fifth seed of the East. Let's pump the brakes a little bit. They had a great tournament. They played great, and they knocked off the box. They knocked off the Celtics. They gave them that confidence, knowing those are the two teams they probably have to go through. And they have a stud, absolute stud point guard in Tyrese Halliburton. So they're on the right track. They play the right way. They play hard, and the good thing for them is the way they play, teams have to adapt to them. That offense and that pace, that's gonna mess with some teams. So they have a good thing going over there. And on the flip side, they should buckle up because now they are targeted. Oh, no. Teams watch this tournament. They saw the height. They saw Halliburton doing this is his time. And we are in a jealous business. You know, that's the reality of it. We get jealous as players sometime. And so they're gonna get the best shot from everybody, from now on now, based on the success that they've had in that tournament. So we're gonna see if they're the real deal or not. So do the Pistons in the streak tonight against them? That's a... Absolutely not. Somebody's gonna have to at some point. This one seems like it could be. It ain't gonna be the night. All right, let me ask you this. Cause Halliburton said he wants to try and recruit star players to the pace. Are they, is that? Okay, you know what? You're asking Shaw? Turn off his mic. Yeah, I'm talking to Shaw. Yeah, that's Shaw. So I'll ask that. Ask him. Do star players want to go to Indiana? Go. No, but again, this helps. Having a coach like Rick Carlisle... You're only me for this. Having a coach like Carlisle and that system, that's fun, right? You're playing up and down. You're playing pick and roll. You're shooting a bunch of threes. And then you have this one lasting real point card that can let you get off and make the game easier for you. It helps, but... This will have to be in trades. Or drafts. Or trades. This type of transaction would be... And they have looked into trades. Like two names I would keep an eye on for the Pacers. Pascal Siakam, Ojean Anubi. Both guys with Toronto. Toronto's going to have decisions to make. Again? The Pacers have had conversations about both players over the last year. So obviously no deals happened. Masayu Jiri, the rappers have kept their core. Scotty Barnes, Pascal Siakam, Ojean Anubi. But they're nine and 13. They've lost three in a row. They're outside of the playing race right now. So we'll see if Toronto finally makes a move. Like Dame just okay to trade to Milwaukee, right? That's true. He's coming from Portland though, yeah, hell. Yeah, the idea of that, like, they're going to get these free agents. I mean, can you guys just make a list so all the cities will hate us by the end of the day? I mean, Portland's a treat. Thank God we could take a break right now. Because when we come back, you can grill him yourself, Chandler, and ask him what was up. Fresh off of Championship Week at Austin Reads. Join us this show next. The primal yell. There he is. He's been in the league for three years. You know him. You love him. Coming off of Championship Weekend in Las Vegas, Austin Reads. First of all, I know you're still like a little bit under the weather and that this was your flu game. And LeBron did put it to the press and everyone that was within hearing better flu game, MJ or Austin Reads. Where are we on this? Oh boy. Ha ha ha. Everybody takes Brown a little too serious. I love it. I just think being even in the conversation is kind of funny to me. But because you were ill, were you able to? I mean, it's Las Vegas. Did you celebrate? Did you say I'll deal with it next week? Like, what'd we do here? No, right after the game, I went straight to the hotel. Went down to bed. My family stopped by for like two games with us, but I was struggling. Man. So we're giving the edge to MJ because MJ would have went right back down. What a bummer. Fair enough. What a bummer. Austin, there's been a lot of talk about whether there should be a banner raised for this in-season tournament championship. Would you got, what do you say? Would you raise a banner at Crypto.com Arena? I don't know. I mean, the Lakers are so used to winning championships, like actual championships that I don't think will raise a banner, but you know what? It is the first time for anybody to win that tournament. So that's special. So regardless if we do or don't, you know, I'll be happy. But you know, hopefully we can, you know, raise like a real championship banner this year. You got to tell me for that, for your guys group and having the star power that you guys have. What was, what was you guys incentive? Was it the 500K or did you guys just want to go out and say we want to win this thing? What was you guys incentive? I think it was a little bit of everything. And I think that, you know, what Braun said after the game was, you know, real when he said that, you know, being, you know, records will be broke, all that, but being the first to do something, you know, that'll never be broke. That's something that'll stay in forever. So I think that was really the main thing. Cause, you know, to be honest with 500K, you know, Braun, you know, he's got all that money. So I think it was really just being the first to do something like that. I think, I think the visual was kind of fun. It was fun as a fan to watch a basketball game where you knew that like there was an actual money amount on the line and it was for everybody. Like that just felt different, I think for us watching. I loved afterwards when the bra was like, the young guys were, hey, when, when do you think we'll get our money? By the way, great question. I'd want to know the answer too. Like, did they get any of it to celebrate in Vegas with? Cause Lou said none of that's leaving Vegas if it was him. I had to lift all my money. Yeah, I'm going home with that. That's funny. I don't think, honestly, I still don't know the answer to that question. Someone told me at the latest, we'd get it January 15th, but I don't know. No, I don't think anybody's gotten any of their money yet, but you know, all the young guys were running around, you know, even before the game, like please win, please win. Two ways were like, this is a $150,000 game for us. We need y'all to win. So I don't know when we get the money, but you know, those guys are super excited. Austin, you mentioned that 500 K that you would possibly use that for a Riviera membership. I think you said, you realize you got a bag this summer and you can already afford the Riviera membership, right? Hey, yeah, I mean, I just, I don't, I don't really like to spend my money. You know, I don't really have, I didn't have any before now, but yeah, I've kind of realized that this is just, you know, a little, you know, extra. I told you, I get you out to Sherwood whenever you want, bro. And so have you played with any of the other golfers? Like, have you played with Steph? Are you the best golfer in the NBA right now? I haven't played with Steph nor anybody else in the NBA. I don't really know anybody personally, but for me, I mean, I believe so. What is your handicap? I'm scratch. Oh, dear. How does that make you feel? I'm getting a solid 10 strokes off you, boss. That's fine, you let me know when and where. All right, I got you. And I just saw also Charles Barkley is trying to challenge you to a match. How bad will you bust his ass? He said he needed four on the front, four on the back. That ain't enough. No, that's not enough. I didn't know. That's not enough. I haven't seen a swing in a couple of years. So the last time I remember, he had the horrible hitch in it. So, yeah, I still like my odds regardless. His hitch is so bad, I feel like you have to try to have that hitch. It's that bad. He says he fixed it. He says he fixed the yips. The yips. All right, Hillbilly Kobe. Chandler is offended by that nickname. Where did it come from? Do you love it? How do you feel about it? I actually like it. It was when I was at OU, one of my GA's that I was really close when they come up to me, it was like, I figured it out. And I was like, what the hell are you talking about? And he was like Hillbilly, like he was kind of whispering to me because we were in the middle of practice. Coach was probably talking, but he was like Hillbilly Kobe. And I just started laughing. And I was like, yeah, whatever. But one of my teammates heard it and basically just ran with it from there. And then it just kind of, you know, caught wind and everybody started using it. And then when I got, when I went undrafted and I sat with the Lakers, you know, it actually become a thing. See, Chandler, not offended. Good. Everyone's so offended by everything these days. I'm glad you're not. Austin, you just signed a new deal with Chinese shoe company, Rigor. You're now a shareholder, part owner in the company. What made Rigor the right brand for you? What led you to this decision and then now being a part owner? Like what goes into that for you? Yeah, I mean, we first off, we signed the two year deal before last year. And was just seeing, you know, what the partnership could be. And then after a year of, you know, work together, you know, becoming, you know, close friends and, you know, just putting our brains together, we've seen, you know, a special opportunity to create something great. And I think, you know, going that direction of, you know, actually joining the organization and trying to make it great and build it was the best opportunity for us to, like I said, do something great. The shoes are great. You know, they have done everything that I've asked for them to do. And, you know, we're looking forward to, you know, keep building that relationship and hopefully, you know, growing something special. Austin, I just saw those shoes had Team USA colors. Are you, is that for Team USA? Are you, like, are you trying to be on the Olympic team? Where do you stand on this? If, like I said, I think a couple of months ago, if they called and asked me, I'd be the first one to say yes. You know, if not understand, but I would definitely would love to. What was that moment like for you, literally everything you've been through, lacing up your own signature shoe for the first time? It was special. I mean, if you would have told me, you know, even two years ago that, you know, I would have an opportunity to have my, you know, own signature shoe, I probably would have looked at you crazy. So the first time getting them, you know, shipped in and put on and actually going and hooping in front of a crowd that everybody could see, you know, it was special, you know, brought back a lot of, you know, memories of, you know, all the hard work that I've put in to get to this spot. A.R., you were a free agent this past off season. You resided with Lakers four years, 56 million dollar deal. What went into your decision? What other options did you have in going back to Lakers? I know you wanted to be in L.A., but what went into your decision to go back? The main thing was just being in a spot where I was comfortable, you know, coming off a really good, you know, end of the year last year in L.A. And we made a push to, you know, the Western Conference finals and obviously got upset by, or not upset, got swept by Denver. You know, like I said, I wanted to be somewhere where I felt comfortable. I knew, you know, kind of what was gonna be asking me and I mean, sorry, sorry, I'm still going through it. You know, I was still trying to, you know, figure out, you know, the money situation and all that, but at the end of the day, I was restricted. So it kind of made it a little more difficult. And, you know, L.A. did a really good job of putting out there that they were gonna match everything. So teams were kind of reluctant to, you know, tie up their money before the, what's the call between the first and the sixth? Yeah, so at the end of the day, I wanted to be back in L.A., like I said, I wanted to be somewhere where I was super comfortable and knew what was gonna be asking me and obviously, you know, have an opportunity to compete for a championship. Austin Lebron has praised, you know, your basketball IQ and the way you see the floor, everything. How nuts is that? I know I'm 35 years old, he's my guy growing up. He must have been a huge fan growing up, like how weird and how crazy and surreal is that? That first thought that you're playing with him and that he loves your game and loves playing with you? Yeah, I mean, it's crazy at the fact that he's still playing, to be honest, but, you know, it never gets old, honestly. Like anytime you have a guy of that caliber that knows the game that well, you know, it speaks highly about you. You know, it feels good and it empowers you. But one thing I can say, obviously, and I know everybody knows that he makes my life a lot easier, just, you know, the way he sees the game, the way he's unselfish and, you know, believes in his teammates and gives them, you know, free reigns to have opportunity to, you know, have their imprint on game, you know, as special. And, you know, growing up, I was a huge Kobe fan, so I wasn't the biggest Bron fan, you know, probably like 2000, probably 17, 18. I just one day was like, man, this, I got to stop, you know, I got to stop hating this man's great. You know, I think I was just sitting there watching a regular season game in my dorm, or in my apartment when I was at OU. And I was just like, man, you know, probably never see anything like this again, so let me just appreciate it. And then it comes full circle that I'm teammates with the man and, you know, you can't beat him as a human, always in a good mood. So, you know, I don't have a lot for my career so far. Is there one piece of advice that stuck out to you that LeBron has given you that's really helped? It was really just my first year, you know, my main thing when I first got here is I was like, I'm gonna earn him an 80s respect, like regardless of what I got to do, be in practice outside of practice, like I've earned the respect. And there was obviously a couple of times for my first year where I would, I don't wanna say deferred to him because obviously I should at that point, but there was a couple of times I probably made the wrong play trying to give them the ball. And both of them come up to me and was like, look, you don't have to do that. You can, you know, you can be you. And, you know, that day forward, like that gave me so much confidence to just beat me and constantly just do, you know, the right things and really just be myself. All right, Austin, I gotta go back to 2000. Now that you've said it, the 2017, you're sort of like, all right, maybe I don't have to hate LeBron anymore. And then fast forward, you're playing on a team with him. So how surreal is that? I'm assuming you guys have like a text thread. Do you save him as LeBron? Does he have like a secret code in it? Like the whole thing kind of blows my mind that fast forward and now you are playing with him. And not just on the same team, but like there's a mutual respect and you have a huge role. How has that been? Oh, it's been crazy. Many times I go back home, you know, obviously everybody's first question is how's LeBron? Like, how's LeBron as a human? You know, does he treat you good? You know, just cause, you know, he's, you know, there's such a big superstar that you, regular people don't understand that he's just a normal person. You know, he acts like he's about 18 years old. He's always joking, laughing, having a good time. So it is surreal, especially when I go back home and people put it in perspective of, you know, who he actually is. Like obviously I know, but, you know, I spend so much time with him that, you know, to me he's kind of just another human. And that's crazy to say just because, you know, five, six years ago, I was thinking the same way that everybody else was thinking. So, you know, shout out to him because, you know, if anybody could be, you know, standoffish or, you know, a little bit different, you know, just cause, you know, their stature is so good, it could be him, but he's not, you know, he's just a regular guy that, you know, always wants to have fun. I don't know if you do this with your friends. Like in my phone, I have Lou as NBA legend, Lou Will. I have Chandler as horse's ass, which is I think like a cute codename. Do you do anything like that for LeBron and company? No, his name in my phone is just LeBron. Just, you don't need a name, it's perfect. I'm looking at you, I thought you were set. I was waiting to see what you have me on, but it's all good. Oh my God, I'm probably just my number. Horse's ass, huh? Horse's ass, too. It's probably not even saved. I only know one shams and there's only one LeBron. I feel like you guys are golden. I'll take that. Austin, so you begin the season as a starter, now you're coming off the bench, you're essentially the sixth man. What was your initial reaction to that move? How do you feel like you've embraced the changing of roles that you've had over the years? I feel like I've embraced it well. My parents' whole thing growing up was, the coaches, the coach respect his decisions and figure out how to be successful around that. And me and Darwin had a conversation at Phoenix the night before we played Phoenix in the first in-season game, that I'd come off the bench for the first time this year. And he laid it out all out on the line for me and was like, this is why we were beat up at that time. And we needed more bench scoring, but more or better, plus, minus, as well as when Brown was off the floor. So I respected that and bought into it because at the end of the day, all I wanted to do was win. Former teammate Pat Beverly, it was on the show not that long ago. And we asked him about the two small celebration. You hit him with that last season in Chicago. Then a few weeks ago in Philly, you guys had a moment. And then afterward, he said, every time I see the Lakers until I retire, whatever team Austin Reeves is on, I'm on his ass. What was your reaction to that? I laughed. I liked that. I genuinely, you know, Pat was here for, I don't even know, half a season, a little more. And, you know, me and Pat got along really well. He's super competitor. And I believe, you know, after that, you know, two small, they asked him about it. And he was like, I love it. You know, it's competition and that's what the game needs. So after the one in Philly, you know, everybody was sending it to him. He was like, he's serious. Like, I was like, to be honest, I don't know. Like he probably, you know, in a sense is serious. Like, you know, stuff like that probably sticks with him just because he probably has to find things to, you know, still motivate him because he's been in the league for a while. But me and Pat, I mean, I believe have a, you know, mutual respect for one another. And at the end of the day, it's just competition we were talking about. We were talking to each other at halftime. And I sent something to him because he said something about me on his pod, you know, having my back. I was like, yo, appreciate it, bro. He was like, you know, I'm your biggest supporter. Like, keep going basically. And then all that happens that everybody is like sending to me, like I said. So there's so much more that goes on than everybody sees. He's not forgetting that anytime soon though. No one that animal, he's not letting go. He's not letting go. But also last season, you had the legendary Tom Hymn to my beloved Memphis crowd. Were you just wait on the right moment for that? Or, you know, how did that come about? It was just straight adrenaline. Yeah, I don't ever, when I'm playing the game, all I can think about is the game. I don't think about, you know, celebrations, you know, anything I'm gonna say, everything I'd say is pure to, you know, me just being caught up in the moment of the game. And, you know, the situation where had a really good fourth quarter and obviously a big, you know, game one in Memphis against a really good team. You know, I knew probably over a hundred people, you know, in attendance, because it's like hour 45 from where I grew up. So pure emotion and, you know, joy, honestly. Awesome, you're also one of the best players on Team USA this past summer. You had a freeze celebration when you were shooting, you know, making threes on Team USA. Is it true that Steve Kerr outlawed that? Did he ban that? He tried to, he tried to. So I started to try to get everybody else on the team to do it as well. I remember it was very early in the USA stuff and I was just messing around in practice and I hit a three, just shooting around and I did it and Kerr looks at me and I was just like, no, or I've seen this too much in the past, you know, a month and a half or so. He was like, we can't do this for the next couple of months or I'm gonna go crazy. Like I said, so I continued to try to get McKell, Cam and all those guys are doing it with me. And, you know, it was all just a big run to joke. Hey, you've become quite a celebrity in LA and I play for the Clippers and I play for the Lakers and it's definitely two different vibes when you play for both of those groups. What are some of the perks playing with the Lakers? I mean, you know, it's the Lakers. It's just a, I mean, I believe I haven't played for the Clippers, but I think it's just a different feeling. I think that, you know, it's, I mean, it's just a Lakers town. It's a Lakers city. If you play for the Lakers, regardless, you know, big, big dog, Bron, or, you know, you can go down the list. I believe everybody's gonna know you wherever you go. You're gonna, you know, be recognized more. But for me, you know, I stay in the crib. So I don't have to deal with all that, but I think it's just a different feel. Like I said. Austin, there were some stories last year about you and Taylor Swift from my boy, Trav swooped it up. It was, obviously there was no truth to that, but what was your initial reaction to that? Was it crazy? And are you single? What the? Oh, I'm going rogue. What's happening right now? We gotta put my boy on. He's in LA, he's a store of LA. Come on, let's get him out there. Yeah. I'm not single. Oh, there you go. Yeah, I'm good. I'm locked down. And my first initial reaction was like, I was, I was back home in Arkansas. I was playing cards with my friends and one of my friends sent it to me. And I was just like, are you serious? Like as much as I try to stay out of the media, out the way, you know, it's almost impossible to do that. You know, that goes back to Lou's question about, you know, being a Laker, you know, anytime, you know, something like this happens, you know, you know, they try to attach names to, you know, people just because you're a Laker. But as much as, like I said, as much as I try to stay out of the media, I was just like, here's another one. Austin, could you and Taylor Swift even be in a bar and not like, I couldn't even imagine, that was what the report was, that they were together in a bar, like I couldn't even like it for long. Like knowing how famous you two are in your respective rights, like I, you know, obviously her. And knowing how famous she is, she's famous. No. I don't know. Have you ever, have you ever been out and about and somebody's like, you're not a Laker? Like you had to like prove it to somebody? Oh no, I'll tell y'all, even worse. We were in Brooklyn. I don't know if it was my rookie year last year and I was injured at the time. So before the game, I was getting treatment and it went, you know, a little bit into the first quarter, maybe the second quarter and so I jumped into the shower and put on my clothes and I was walking out to the bench and right before I got to the bench, I was about to sit down security like, grab. And it was like, well, what do you do? And first person I seen was 80, 80 bust out, laughing was like, yo, he's a player. I was just, shit. So I've gotten that a couple of times. I actually, my rookie year going into crypto, you know, you go down the staples, you go down the ramp. I was dropped off at the top a couple of times. See, I didn't have a car yet. And I was just trying to walk through to go down the ramp and they would stop me and be like, what's your credentials? Like, you work for the team. That's awesome. Rose and Kahn's being a white guy in the NBA. Yeah, it's great to watch them. Get used to it. It's always great to show. For sure. Dude, this has been awesome. We appreciate the time. You know, you're probably exhausted. Go back to sleep, sue to Fed, all that good stuff. That's the plan. Good luck. Best of the way. Appreciate your AR. Yeah, I'm a goal. We'll be back. Oh, the scoops. Okay, this, I don't want to get too positive, but Bradley Beal. Let's, let's cross our fingers. Let's cross our fingers. Bradley Beal is targeting a return tomorrow, Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors, TNT, national TV game. They're hopeful that he's going to be back in the lineup. This has been a stop and go process all season. He's been dealing with literally a nerve irritation in his back, stemming from a disc issue. He's missed the last month. The Suns need to see their big three on the floor. We don't know about Kevin Durant yet. His status is up in the air for Tuesday. Come on. If he doesn't play Tuesday, hopefully he plays Wednesday. They have a back-to-back, so they play the Warriors tomorrow. Nets on Wednesday. Durant did not practice yesterday. We'll see if he practices today. So his status is up in the air, but Bradley Beal, unless barring the setback. Oh my gosh. The Suns are hopeful and planning for him to be back in the lineup, but they can't have him back in and then back out really quick. So they have to make sure he's in it and he stays in it. I wonder if they would hold him back a game if that's when KD is coming back. And then, no. It doesn't work like that. So it's just whoever's ready to go. It's whoever's ready to go, because they only have a book. I mean, if KD's not playing, they only have Booker in there. Right. So it's like you at least have that support. They're playing on playing the back-to-back. It was his first game back or he'll just play one of those, you think? I mean, given how things have gone. Probably won. Okay, so here's the million-zillion-dollar question. How many games totaled do you think will get the big three out of Phoenix? I hope a lot, right? Because this is the expectation of this team. This has the potential to be the best offense in the NBA. We just haven't seen it yet, right? But the way these three guys play, the way they can shoot the ball, the way they can space the floor, it's got the potential. And like I said many times, the guys that are playing now, getting all these minutes for Phoenix, it's only going to make them better, right? And give them those valuable minutes. It's going to make their team deeper. But they got to start playing, right? Like I don't know a number. Like, I mean, 20, 25 games, I'm sure they would love to get under their belt before going into the postseason. But this is the team that I think most people were that excited to see and we just haven't been able to see it. So I hope it happens this week. 25, that's the over-under. I'm saying 10. Oh, damn, okay. That's all they needed. That's all they'll give us. They need to see this team. But like, seriously. Like to me, given how good offensively these three guys are, you need to see this team for at least 20 games. You have to see these guys play together, get that chemistry. The most extensive time we've seen them is in pre-season in Detroit. They all looked really good, but they haven't played together in like a month and a half. Also, who the hell plays point card? What are the rotations? Like the coaching staff has a lot to figure out. Not just the players on the court, their chemistry, the coaching staff have to adjust everything whose minutes are going to get dropped off. Like it's, they got to get going. It's time, 20 is a good sample size. Kairi Irving. How bad is this injury that happened on Friday? This looked scary. I don't know if you saw it. Dwight Powell, their center, he literally landed on Kairi Irving's leg. Kairi Irving's leg literally, like it looked like it kind of snapped. And it was a scary looking injury. He underwent an X-ray. He underwent an MRI that night. It looked the worst, but he's been diagnosed with a heel contusion. He's in Dallas right now. The team is in Memphis. He's in Dallas. He stayed back for treatment for rehab. This could be a bit though. They're treating it day to day, but he's going to ramp up. It's got to be cautious. If you're Kairi Irving in your Dallas Mavericks, I would expect this to play out over several days, maybe a week. They dodge the real bullet. That's a heel bruise? Yeah. That looked like it could have been bad. Such a freaky moment too. Like just stupid injury. That's one of those stupid injuries. All right, quick break. When we come back, something's going to happen. I'm not going to tell you what it is. That is the tease. Oh boy. Lou, I apologize for stealing a question. Too late. Too late. Too late. The live same game parlays are now available for every NBA game on Fandall. America's number one sports book. Live SGPs that you get in on the action after the game has already started. You can choose from the money line, points spread and over under, plus player points, props, or even how many threes a player will make. Best of all, you'll get your winnings as soon as the buzzer sounds. That's what I'm talking about. Make every moment more with Fandall, official sports betting partner of the NBA. So everyone feel good about our Austin Reeves interview? I did. I love them. So just tell the world. He watched it. He watched it. He has watched it. Bachelor in Paradise. I got hooked. And then decided to proceed and ask the jury to feed the single. I feel like it's a valid question. He's the newest guy to LA. You're asking about him. What's changed? The Taylor Swift things. You feel good about it? You were asking all of us. Oh, that's right. We watched. You almost were the bachelor back in the day. Crap, I forgot about that. That's funny. It's true that you passed up on the opportunity to live in Memphis. And then Travis Kelsey took the show. For the love of Kelsey, it was my show. Oh, that would have been great. Breaking news. That's TMZ. Channel Parsons turns down show for Memphis. Love you, Ailey. See you at home. Run it over, run it back, run it over, run it over, run it back, run it over.