- How much did our argument
against the Clippers drive you to ultimately leave the Warriors? K, what's up, man? I appreciate you coming on to my show “Chips.” Obviously it stems from exploring
that chip on your shoulder, what drives us and makes us who we are and why we’re here today. So thank you. - No doubt, man. Thanks for having me, bro. - So take me on the journey: Coach
Brown, your first coach, how was that? And what did he teach you?
- He taught me fundamentals. I mean, it felt like fundamentals of the
game, but it was, like, truly fundamentals of life. What it’s gonna take for me to survive
as a human being, a maturing human being. He put this game in front of me,
told me the fundamentals of it, the balance of the game, the history of it. I just started to understand
that, for one, but also started to see life a little bit clearer too. It was one of those special times in my
life that I always revert back to, you know? - You hear the cliche saying
of everything you do, do at game speed. To me, that is the most
cliche statement in the world. - Yeah. - Except for when it comes to you. You
actually do every rep game speed. Does that come from him, or does
that come from somewhere else? - Yeah. Well, he built the foundation,
and the cliche stuff— I mean, I am cliched. I mean, I'm simple. I'm efficient. I'm to the point. That's what my game is, and all
the best stuff to me is cliche. So I just tried to approach every
workout like a game, every game like a workout.
- And then you go to high school, and you went to several different high schools.
- Yeah. - How did you feel about that then? And looking back on that,
how do you feel about it now? - So back then, I didn't
know it was any different. I was listening to my—Coach Brown,
my mom, my pops. Like, this was where the best competition was. So I would switch schools
every year to move up a level. - People have tried to make
that connection of you being at several different high schools to
now you being on three different teams. What do you say to that or those people? - Yeah, I mean, I feel as though at
each spot, even in high school, my game was growing so fast. I needed to be in a different
environment to see how far that I can go. - And, and why Texas? In my opinion, Texas is a football school. - Yeah, it is. It is. It's a football state. But underneath all of that is some
incredible athletes on the basketball side. It was this perfect situation. And then being in Austin, it was
like, you know, the city itself, you know, it wasn't a normal college town. It was like being in a major city. So it was perfect for me. - I know growing up in Saginaw, for me,
being the tallest kid, everybody always wanted to, wanted me to play center.
- Mmhmm. - And I was fortunate enough to have
my uncle, who just taught me how to dribble and taught me guard skills. But I still always end up throwing
at the center, whereas you're seven feet . And you'll never
admit it, but you're seven feet. You never played the 4 in your life
till you came to Golden State, really. And when we—
- I played a little bit in college cuz I couldn't dribble that well, but I was still on
the perimeter most of the time. - And when we went small, that's when you would play the
4. Whose idea was it, like, to never just stick you on the block cuz you were always
taller than everybody? - Coach Brown and then Coach Chucky. Like, they would see me every
day, just running up and down the court. Like, no ball in my hand,
just running around with kids. And they seen my agility outside,
running, playing football and stuff. So they seen that I wasn't just a stiff. So I—
- So you callin’ me a stiff? All right, bet. - I mean...nah, you’re not a stiff though.
And you're not even big, bro. You’re like 6’6”. Like, you play bigger
than what you really are. But most guys that's tall and skinny, they can't really move at the same times. And, you know, I always wanted to
be a point guard and shooting guard. I was just growing so fast. So some coaches did just stick me
underneath the basket, but if I get a rebound, I go coast to coast. You know what I'm saying?
- Mmhmm. - If I—I’d shoot a jump
shot here and there. So I was showing flashes,
but it wasn't like this. You know what I'm saying?
- Yeah. - I developed this over time. - I remember reading a
statement where you said, “I'm tired of being No. 2.
I was the No. 2 pick. I was the No. 2
player in the country.” Where was that coming from, like, and why did you feel that?
- Yeah, cuz
we had just lost in the Finals, and I felt like we was right there every game.
And people was like, “Man, good job. Y'all did great.” Like, “You guys are young,
Y’all will be right back.” And I was like, “I don't care about that.” I wanted to win that series, and
I wanted to win a championship. And that's where that came from. I was just—people wanted me to
accept being second so much. That was never my mentality ever,
always to win the game. And, you know, I appreciated people, like, respecting my game. But I was
like, I wanted more for myself. And at that point, that's how I was feeling.
- First nine years in OKC, and then you decide that you leavin’
OKC. And you ultimately decide to come to the Warriors, knowing
that the scrutiny would be there, knowing that, you know, everybody
would say the Warriors were this great team, but you still ultimately made the
decision. - Why was that? Was that driven by “I don't give a fuck what y'all
think, this is good for me”? Or was that just, you know, was it
strictly just a basketball decision? - It was a basketball decision,
but I knocked down the, like, “not giving a fuck ladder” with that too. You know what I'm saying? It kinda knocked down two birds with
one stone with that. But it was mainly I felt like I was the absolute
perfect fit with what you guys were doing on both ends of the ball. And I knew my game had reached
a point where I needed to really see what that looked like. I thought that was just a no-brainer. I would do that shit a million times. And, you know, again, I wouldn't—I
didn't second-guess at all. And I knew that's what I wanted
to do when I was going into these meetings, but I really just had to
confirm, go through the process. But, like, I knew from watching the
games, just looking at interviews, just seeing everything that y’all were about,
like, that's the way I wanted to play. And that's the way I needed to go to, you know, continue to keep
getting better as a player. Once I tunnel visioned on that, I
knew everything would come afterwards, and it was just me going
through that experience and seeing how I was gonna deal with it. And It was, it went perfect. - You then do three years there. Two championships. Would have been
three had you not got hurt.
- Easily. - But in my opinion, after Year 2,
you were over it. You were done with it, and you were on to the next thing. But
we had the opportunity to three-peat and in my mind, what brought you back
to Golden State for Year 3 was just the opportunity to three-peat, but
it didn't feel right for you no more. Am I right, wrong? - That’s interesting because a lot of people, that's just the
talk around me the last few years, and I get what people are saying, because before I
got to Golden State, I was just happy-go-lucky. Like, just bright-eyed to the
experience, not knowing what was ahead. By the first year, I knew exactly what we needed
to do in order for us to win every night. I knew what my role was
to the T. Teams before, I didn't quite know what my role was every night. Did I have to be the scorer? Did I have to be the facilitator
that had to get other guys involved? Did I have to make threes? I knew exactly what my role was, and
I locked on it with so much focus and determination to not
fuck around every day. You’ve seen it.
- Mmhmm.
- From workouts to practices, shootarounds, film, I was super locked. It
made people on the outside. look at me like, “Hold on. Is he enjoying this?” When I dive into something like that with that level of focus, I don't wanna be anywhere else in life. That's the most enjoyable experience
I ever had after that first one. If that was the case, I wouldn't
have played 78 games that year. I would have just waited till
the end of the season and tried to play in the playoffs. I played every game. I went hard every day. I cared about every matchup, no
matter who was on the floor. Just my look didn’t feel as, like, energetic
or open as it was before. And I liked that. I liked that I was closed off and
focused on my work. I maybe should have communicated that with more people who
were interested in knowing what I was going through, but I had the most fun
locking in and completing the task. You know what I'm saying? Cuz I knew we was gonna win every night.
- Mmhmm.
- And it's rare to get to that point as an NBA player. - Yeah.
- Knowing you gonna win every night. So I just tried to focus in and stay
in the moment more than anything - And for my, for my own personal,
um, sanity, cuz I've been getting my ass kicked ever since you left. So just for my own personal
sanity, how much did our argument against the Clippers drive you to ultimately leave the Warriors? - It wasn't the argument. It was the way that everybody, Steve Kerr,
acted like it didn't happen. Bob Myers then tried to just
discipline you and think that that would put the mask over everything. I really felt like that was such
a big situation for us as a group the first time we went through
something like that. We had to get that shit all out. I remember watching “The Last Dance.” And when Scottie didn't go into the game, the whole team in the locker room
said, “Scottie, that was fucked up that you did that.” We needed that.
We just needed to throw all of that shit out on the table and say, “Yo, Dray, K, like, that was fucked up that
we even had to go through that. Let's just wipe our hands of
that and go finish the task.” I don't think we did that. We tried to dance around it. I just didn't like how all of that,
just the vibe between all of that, it just made shit weird to me. And I'd rather us be who we say we are. Family first. Communication is key. Like, we didn't show that. And that's what rubbed me the wrong way more than anything.
- When we landed back from L.A., I sat in the—Hazel was sitting in
the car for an hour, 45 minutes. They pulled me in that room at
Signature for an hour and 45 minutes. And they tried to tell
me, “You need to apologize.” And I told them, “I'll talk to K, but y'all aren't
going to tell me what I need to say.” And, you know, they went on for an hour and 45
minutes talking, saying a bunch of bullshit. And ultimately they realized, “All
right, we're not getting through to him. We're gonna try again in the morning.” And so we met the next morning, and
they said, “All right, you slept on it. You ready to apologize?” And I told them right then and there, I said, “Y'all about to fuck this up.” I said, “The only person that can
make this right is me and K. And there is nothing that y'all can do,
and y'all are going to fuck this up.” And in my opinion, they fucked it up. - I think so, too. And they told me right then
and there, like, “We're gonna suspend you for this game.” I laughed in their, literally laughed in their face. And Bob said to me, he said, “Wow. That was not the reaction I
was looking for or expecting.” And I said, “Well, either I'mma
laugh in your face, or I’mma cuss you the fuck out. So, you pick. I'mma choose laugh. So I think what you're doing
is funny, and so I'mma laugh.” And so it's interesting to hear
you say essentially the same thing that I told them that day. But,
you know, moving past that, kinda along those same lines. You've now played with Russ, who I think
has an incredible chip on his shoulder that sometimes goes too far;
myself, who has a chip on my shoulder that sometimes goes too far;
Kyrie, who has a chip on his shoulder that sometimes goes too far; and James, who has a chip on his shoulder
that probably sometimes goes too far. And playing with all the guys that you’ve
played with, that you could say, “Ah, he
probably goes way too far.” - We all go too far, bro. And we all got major chips on
our shoulders. There’s a million of us. Imagine a million people trying to
walk, run into this door right now. Somebody would get elbowed, kicked, pushed over. Like, we all trying to fit into a one-peg
spot. A hundred, millions of us trying to fit into these 12, 15 spots on teams. So we gotta have that
chip on our shoulder. And I always appreciate that. Appreciate the people that acknowledge that it's
tough to make it to the league. And I had to kick a lot of
motherfuckers down to get here. I had to shun a lotta my
friends and a lotta that, sacrifice a lotta the personal shit that I loved as a kid so I can get here. So we all, all of us naturally are
underdogs, got chips on our shows. Cuz it's hard to make it to this point. But the person that went too far was
always Draymond Green.
- [Laughing]
- He, I mean, to the point where I felt like you were tryna
establish that you not playing around. Like, you not gonna walk over
me, even though I was a second-round pick, and I'm undersized. And I'm not as skilled as y'all want me
to be, or I don't play the way y'all traditionally like for people my size
to play. I felt that same way about Russell Westbrook because in his story.
I felt the same way about James Harden cuz I know his story from, like, when
these dudes was kids what they had to go through as everyday people, not just
on the court. It's hard to make it through life every day, you know what I'm saying?
- Mmhmm. - Where some of these people come from,
you know, so I started understanding that about people I'm realizing, like
now I see why they show their ego. They show the pride that they have.
They show the chip that they have on their shoulder, because it's
hard as shit to make it—
- Facts.
- Every day. You know what I'm saying? But you pushed it to the limit where it's,
like, it's cool for me to be who I am. And be, and not apologize for it all the
Time.
- Mmhmm.
- Because you don't mean no harm to anybody, but shit
that you wanted done, you want it done. And we all respected that. And we all kinda looked up to that
as guys that come into the league and wanna fit into this system so bad.
- Mmhmm. You know what I'm saying?
- Facts. - Like, wanting to be a part of this whole thing. Then you realize, you see dudes who
just going by their own little pace. And it's like, oh, that's
more so of my rhythm.
- Mmhmm. - You know what I'm saying? So a lotta the guys that I play with,
from Russ to James to Ky to Steph to Klay, they all kinda moved at the
beat of their own drum. That encourages a lotta people to do the same shit,
not just basketball players, but people in general who just watch us dealing
with everybody every single day. I started thinking like that, you know, started
seeing the beauty in all of this shit.
- Mmhmm. To watch you early on in your career,
like you said, you was the happy one, you was the kid that carried the backpack. Nike started a backpack line because
you always, and to this day you still carry—
- Still do it, yeah.
- The backpack all the time. Um, and so there's this common
misconception that you're not the kid that carries the backpack anymore. I still think you're the kid that
loves basketball and carry a backpack.
- Yeah. - But over the course of the years,
your answers to the media, how you deal with the media has changed. Why is that? Is that just who you grew into? Is that because of the way
they act with certain shit? Where did that? - I felt like the media knew more than me. I almost had them on a
pedestal of like, they got more history, knowledge of the game. They more experienced
than me in this area of the NBA. So once I started to get more experienced
and realized like, oh no, they can never be what I am.
- Mmhmm.
- Or know what I know. Or
understand it the way I understand it. Some of the questions, you know, they
didn't seem so intelligent to me anymore. People wanted to praise
me more than I liked or hate me more than I liked. Make a
big deal out of so much other shit. And I was just like, you know,
this game is simple to me. So some of the stuff that y'all asking
really doesn't move me the way it used to. I just, you know, started
to see life different, I guess, see this game different. So, you know, of course my answers
and questions, you know, about what goes on is gonna be different too. So I just chalked that up to
just maturity and experience. - And speaking of media, uh, social
media. Obviously we were teammates when you, when you got caught with
the burner account.
- [Laughing]
- One thing I love about the burner account is everything
that you said on the burner account you just started to say
on Kevin Durant's account. - Yeah. - A lotta people don't like
it as, you know,
- Mmhmm.
- most people voice. They don't like how you respond to some fans or how you
respond to this, how you are always tweeting. What do you make of people's
reaction to you responding to fans? And if you think something, you send it. - Yeah.
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00:16:30,905 --> 00:16:33,935
I just think people are still upset
that I went to the Warriors, and a lotta people who are Cavs fans who
enjoy watching the Cavs beat y'all before, um, which is a lot of people.
- Mmhmm. - I didn't realize that till I got, a lotta
people enjoyed seeing y'all lose in 2016. And a lotta those people were
upset that we were so good. And they're still upset. Because
you do the same shit on Twitter.
- Mmhmm. - Damian Lillard does the
same shit on Twitter.
- Mmhmm. - CJ McCollum does the same shit on Twitter. We all do the same shit on
Twitter, but for me it's a problem. I mean, I chalk it up to just me being
so good at what I do and playing with a team that was so great. And we fit so well. Nobody likes a great thing.
- Mmhmm. - And I was, I guess I was the cause of that great thing because I came and joined. So it's way deeper than
what I do on Twitter. And I understand that. And it's funny to me at this point
because you can't erase what we did. You never gonna erase it. And you know you loved watchin' us play. You know what I'm saying?
- Facts, though, man. I think it's the best era of
basketball ever, in my opinion. But that's really what it is. So many people still upset with me
that I chose to play basketball for the Golden State Warriors, which is sad
at this point, cuz it's almost a decade later
- Mmhmm.
- since I made that decision, you know what I'm saying? Cuz that's never going to stop me
from engaging with fans cuz at the end of the day, I'm only talking about
basketball.
- Mmhmm.
- I'm not diving into politics. I'm not telling you how you should live. I'm not flexing my money or
my power or none of that. I'm just literally talking about the game,
- Mmhmm.
- you know, and what I see, and I don't think it harms anyone. - I would love to see D-Book win a
championship, but in my opinion, the Finals does not compare to Warriors-Cavs,
Warriors…
- Nah, mm-mm.
- Even, even Warriors-Raptors. Do you have any regrets about that knowing that we probably woulda
won five more championships? - Nah, I don't have
any regrets at all. I felt like we did exactly
what we were supposed to do. And I wish we woulda three-peated
because that's rare. And we were, like, right there. Um, but I don't have any regrets at
all cuz I felt like if we'd stayed healthy with the Nets, we had
a great chance of finishing too.
- Mmhmm. - So, um, nah, I mean, being hurt for that
year really changed my perspective on everything I was doing and everything
I did before. I looked at that time with playing with the Warriors as so special
to me, but it was time to move on. - So now you're in this
space with the Nets, and, you know, everybody has made this big deal
about Kyrie and, you know, his beliefs and out here missing games, and just
like we all do, he got his shit. - Yeah. - And a lotta people are now
saying that this was going to cost y'all ultimately of reaching where
y'all wanna reach. What do you make of that?
- I mean, I just think people don't like Kyrie because he wanted to leave Cleveland
and he wanted to leave Boston. I don't think it's any deeper than that. He doesn't harm anyone. He hasn't said anything that's
disrespectful to anybody. His game is beautiful to watch. I just think people don't like the
decisions on where he chooses to play. Um, and they sorta
amplify everything. Cuz everybody in this
league has their shit.
- Mmhmm. - They may say something over
a course of six months that may, everybody may not agree with. That's just the nature of our business. You know, when you're that good at
what you do, everything is a little amplified, and sometimes it's a little
extra, you know. So what Kyrie does, especially in our building, nobody
is making a big deal out of it, just like a lotta shit
we did in our building. We didn't give a shit
if Klay missed practice, right?
- [Green laughing]
It don't matter. - Who c—as long as you're there for the
game, as long as you, you know, you have, you healthy enough to play, like,
we didn't give a shit. Like, when you and Coach cursed each other out.
- Yeah.
[Laughing] - And literally soon as the practice
is over with, it was cool.
- Mmhmm. - Like, you know, so it was, like,
everybody was mature enough to understand, like, we come to work, we handle
our business and you be who you are. - Family. You have no kids. You're now 32. - I'll be 33. - I got three kids. I'm 31. So I, you know, I took a little
different route.
- Yeah, you OG now, man.
- But you have no kids. Why? Do you want kids ultimately?
Do you not want kids?
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00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:44,270
- I mean, that's a, that's a big commitment,
for one. And I always felt like I was just really zoned in on my work
and my alone time and my free time. Um, too much for me to, like,
lock in on something like that, you know. Eventually I do want that,
but the older I got, that gets it better, because I mature more
and more, myself more, understanding my situation a little bit more. So if I were to invite someone in or combine my life
with another person, you know, it'd be perfectly, perfect at this time. As opposed to me 10 years ago,
I wouldn't know what to do, so.
- Mmhmm.
- I think I'm, as long as I
wait, you know, uh, it's only gonna be for the better. - Do you ever worry that the
longer you wait, your kid won't understand who Kevin Durant is? - I'm glad he won't understand.
- Why is that?
- Cuz I don't want him to have to feel like he's pressured in this bubble to do what
I did, you know? And as long as I'm playing, like, this bubble is always
gonna be about making it to the NBA. So if you see a little KD out here,
it's nothin but you expectin' him to be a basketball player. So, like, I don't know if my kid is even
gonna be that tall or fall into the game like I fell into it. Who knows? So I'd rather just, me tell him,
you know, over time, what I did. I don't want any pressure for anybody
just coming into my world to do what I like to do. I want 'em to explore things on their own. - So what's next for you? You got, um, you know, probably
10 more years left of hoopin.
- [Laughing]
I hope so. - What comes after that? Have you gotten there yet, or are you still just so
locked in on basketball that it is just that?
- You know, I'll definitely wanna stay
involved in the game. Um, I'm learning so much now,
I don't know where I could use it at. Coaching, GM, ownership. I feel like I'm gathering so
much knowledge that I could be useful in any part of this game. But outside of that, I've other
interests in tech world, media space, art, all of that stuff, that,
you know, that I enjoy doing in my leisure time. You know, I want to get
involved in at some point. Uh, but for now, you know what I'm about.
- [Laughing]
- You know what I enjoy to do every day. So until that time is up,
then we'll see what happens. But I feel like I'm setting up
stuff on the back end of things that I can have options. - You know, I think people look
at us, and they say: "Oh, man, you play basketball for a living. You should be happy." Which is great, right? Like, you love basketball. I love basketball. Being able to do that and make the
type of money we make is incredible. But with that comes a lot of fucking
scrutiny, comes a lotta headaches. What is the happiest
you've been as a professional? - I don't even, I don't even
like to use the word happiness. That's just a fleetin' feeling.
It can just go so up and down. I don't wanna chase that feeling. It's just not, uh, an efficient way for me to live. I feel like just having peace and
really, uh, simply just enjoying being alive every day is the best place for me to be. You know, I don't wanna
be happy and sad. Like, I don't even wanna
have to go through that. I just wanna just kind
of float through life. I experienced so much. I just wanna take on every experience
for what it is and enjoy it in the moment, you know?
- Mmhmm.
- I don't want to chase happiness. So, you know, I just try to stay even.
- I respect that. Appreciate it, bro. - Man, that was incredible too.
- Yessir. Thank you. Thank you.
- No doubt.
[Clapping and cheering offscreen]
- That's "Chips," a wrap. - This is gonna be an incredible
interview by the way. This is gonna go crazy.
- [Laughing]
