"NOBODY SAW IT COMING" | Richard Jefferson On Playing With Young Steph and Klay

you uh not in a self-deprecating way but in a self-congratulatory way talked about your influence on those uh Warriors teams in 2012 2013 that team played the Spurs in the second round ultimately lost in six games but that was the first time we really saw Steph and clay in a big time playoff series against a great team and won a couple games where they shot the [ __ ] out of the ball as a teammate and as sort of a a a front row bystander of of a young Stephan clay could you ever have imagined the impact on the game the amount of winning like the it was so it was the antithesis of how NBA basketball Was Won and Chuck you know probably still thinks that jump shooting teams can't win championships but clearly they can um what did you sort of think back then about the ceiling and the impact that they could potentially have on the game of basketball can I we first of all we lost one of those San Antonio games I was like a negative 12 in two minutes and the Warrior fans still bring this up right but I want to address this go back and watch the tape yeah I missed a couple of free throws but like I said I was I played like 55 games that year my back was [ __ ] up anyways we're gonna get to this right in that series Mark Jackson [ __ ] stood on that Podium and said it's the greatest shooting back court he in the history of the game of basketball and Steph was in his fourth year and Clay was in his second right because I think Steph had just signed that extension one of the craziest extensions ever signed in in the game of basketball because he went from like a very good player to the best player you know in the NBA winning two MVPs so like the amount of money difference that also allowed them space to go sign the guys that date Kevin so did I see it coming you didn't know what was coming you didn't because you'd never seen it before I was there when he broke the record right the first record and you didn't think like I think it was like 250 maybe or something threes you didn't think that the next year the [ __ ] was going to shoot 400 make 400 threes or whatever but I think it's a compliment to staff it was a compliment to Mark it's a compliment to Clay it's a compliment to the people you know even even Lake up you know because as much as people I we all know the people inside know that the trade for for clay and Kevin Love was I don't want to say imminent but it was a very real conversation and they were like well look the amount of Threes that Kevin Love shoots is very similar to Clay and now we have a big that can shoot and we have it was like and they like begged him to do not trade do not trade clay do not and so like even then sometimes inactivity can be the best move right and so as an organization everything that they did was beautiful they crushed it but no one saw it coming no one saw it coming and no one truly knew how to [ __ ] stop it when they got going that's why they won 73 games it was like how do you stop this there is no way to stop it and so these guys they put in so much work Steph is listening to Steph's workout and I know how OCD you are people don't understand the amount of energy that he has to use every single day it's it's it's next level like even for athletes even for guys that do this for a living you're like this man has to run around for 48 minutes every single night doing what he does you don't see that coming and so it's a compliment to those guys to figure out an equation that no one ever has and they just dominated with it the freedom that they get to play with um it's a little envious if I'm being honest it's not jealous it's envious I I see jealousy no it's enviously it's also and we've discussed this on the broadcast before it's also the fact that they play together the best shots I ever got in my career in terms of open looks were when I was on the court with another high volume 40 shooter that's a fact yeah there was a number of years where they they had a stat where it was like most open threes taken in the NBA this is the second Spectrum right the camera once the camera tracking got in there in 2013 2014 and it was like last three seasons most open threes in the NBA number one most wide open threes Steph number two clay and you're like well how's that possible because like because they play together it's some of it is that I also when we touched on this with Steph when he was on the pod in November there's so many what-ifs like what if Steph doesn't get injured okay I'll give you what if Steph doesn't get injured yeah and they didn't sound like and he signs a bigger extension they can't get Kevin what if clay doesn't actually sign a Max extension on his rookie because he signed a set number so they don't get Kevin what if uh they trade Steph instead of Monte for Andrew Bogut what if Stan takes a job instead of Steve Kerr what if Steve had taken the next job what if uh they did end up trading Kevin for Clayton like there's so many what-ifs and yet those still guys are still I'll give you I'll give you one that people gloss over a lot what if David Lee's not hurt to start that season he was an All-Star David Lee was the best powerful in the team so they started with Draymond and then they [ __ ] are gangbusters they get going and at that point in time like they got to go to David Lee and say hey like we're gonna keep going with this lineup and I don't know if you know David Lee I know him well yeah he he was he's not no he wasn't stoked about it like you're stoked that you're winning but you're also like bro like you're not supposed to lose your starting job because of an injury that that's a pretty common thing but they were rolling so much they were rolling David was going into a contract here as well yeah he was not he was and again this is not a knock on David but if he was healthy Draymond doesn't get that start he's not starting and that's the beautiful thing about what they did and in that year Mark Jackson was the like because we had Jared so Jarrett Jack would run point and then Steph then Steph and Clay would be off the ball and that allowed them to run around and the floor was going to be open so they figured out we need guys that can handle the ball Livingston Iguodala Draymond so that these guys can go around one since we're pissing off stands here I stand by that I think Steph is a shooting guard I don't think that he's a point guard and that's not to knock him you can be that position I think Steph his best version is off the ball best version of Staff because of the space that he creates with his movement now on the ball he's got one of the best handles he's got all of this stuff he can do it on the ball also but I think if you look at the greatest shooter ever all the threes and his amount that he plays off ball he's a combo guard but I would consider Steph more of a shooting guard because they have so many primary ball handlers around him that leads to their success it can be Draymond it could be Livingston it can be Iguodala even Bogut handling it in the pick and rolls for a five man is very very versatile so I would I also always would classify him because I like there were so many years where I would see that he wasn't the point guard for like 50 percent of the time if you're the point guard 50 and that was one of the criticisms it's like clay are not clay but Chris Paul was like yeah I'm guarding him but he's not guarding me right and so the point guards were kind of like a little you know like wait a second like he's switching out they're doing this stuff and it was intelligent basketball but yeah I think that Steph is a shooting guard that that can play point not a point guard that shoots that's that that's my argument and I love staff I think he is special like don't don't like I love because as a person as a teammate as a basketball player and as an ambassador I don't think that we could pick a better guide than Steph Curry that's how special he is when you came back I forgot you were here I know it happens sometimes actually frequently it's because you're long-winded I'm very long with this podcast no dead air when you when you come back when you come back with Cleveland um was there a specific thing about those two that you noticed that was different when I when I came back uh played them in the um no I think their confidence I don't want to say different but I think I when you win a championship the next year you're a better team the next year you're you're a better team because you you've done that you've gone to an intensity level mentally emotionally and physically that is very hard to get to right and that's probably the reason why we talk about Braun and what he did for all those years with no rest and playing USA Basketball on that but when I got to them that next year they won 73 games there was no stopping them there was it was they had figured out their lineup they were they were moving faster than the defense could react because they were so intuitive and that's where Draymond changed the game because defensively he was the five he was the communicator he would kick people out he would do all of the things that were needed and so as much as it's they say Steph changed the game I think he changed that with clay and with Draymond I think collectively they contributed because step we believe is an elite player but he doesn't have that that six this success is like Michael Jordan with Scottie Pippen right he doesn't have that success I think without Draymond being a defensive player of the year like like one year and probably could have wanted multiple years without him being that guy and without clay maybe being a top five shooter and we both said it that like I think clay has the prettiest shot that I that I've seen right like like that's me so to have that collectively they moved it to shooting teams could win and that's what changed the game yes Draymond talked about this on the podcast I I really believe this and Draymond probably gets it the worst out of those three guys we're like if he was on another team he wouldn't be good and you're I I totally disagree with that Draymond is so intelligent defensively he's so good and he's so uh intuitive offensively and I think on any team with good players like Draymond is going to make a huge impact so is death on any team so would Clay on any team

Channel: JJ Redick

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Id: M38mbESWteU

Length: 10min 10sec (610 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 06 2023