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Matt Barnes on Damian Lillard: the reason why I think Dame will be okay is because his game is never dependent on athleticism. You know, I mean, his strength, skill set, and ability to shoot the ball. I mean, it'll probably take a little bit to get back there, but I don't think it's going to be dramatic. I think the defensive end is something we're going to have to wait and see because he wasn't super strong on that side anyway.
Speaking on the latest episode of the All The Smoke podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Mobley reflected on his time with Yao in Houston and expressed that the 7-foot-6 center was more than just a dominant post scorer. “What people don’t understand about Yao. He could pass the ball, like Joker, he could've done that,” Mobley said. “It’s just the offense didn’t. Say we would’ve had Rick Adelman, for a fact, you would’ve seen more of Yao Ming. Like that Chris Webber, that Vlade Divac, Brad Miller type of passing. He had all of it.”
During practice, the now co-podcat host of "All the Smoke" took a shot the head coach saw as "ill-advised," and Cheeks stopped everything to call out his player in front of the whole roster. "I was going to pounce on him," Matt remembered his reaction. "Luckily, Chris [Webber] grabbed me and stopped me." Ultimately, Barnes, outspoken as ever, couldn't resist a jab. He said Cheeks' poor treatment of players left a lasting, and not positive, impact. "That's probably why he's a lifelong assistant," the 45-year-old noted, alluding to the fact that Mo hasn't held a main role on the sidelines since the 2014–15 NBA regular season.
Matt Barnes thinks Magic Johnson is going back to the Lakers (along with Bob Myers)
Matt Barnes: But with new ownership—who’s obviously tied to Magic Johnson—and Magic is tied to Rob in the Commanders deal... do we smell what The Rock is cooking? Or am I crazy to think that Magic could be on his way back to the Lakers at some point? Maybe with Bob Myers—a fellow Bruin, the great mind behind the Golden State Warriors—who’s just sitting at home collecting checks, looking good on ESPN, owning NFL teams. As a Laker fan, what would you think?
Matt Barnes: I just don’t like it—none of this weird talk was happening when he was here. And I want to say something else. I work for ESPN, I work for Fox—some of these big machines. When they talk about the greatness of players, it’s not that I don’t respect it... I just don’t go by it. A lot of former players don’t either. You gotta listen to your peers. It’s crazy—on ESPN, Kobe’s always outside the top 10. But when you talk to guys who went to war before or after or with him, they say, ‘Kobe’s two. Kobe’s three. Kobe’s top five.’"
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Gilbert Arenas on his son's Cybertruck accident: Put a hammer in there or something that can break the window
Gilbert Arenas: He was at least in the car for 10 minutes. Once he started talking and doing all that just realized he couldn't break the window, started doing all the back search on the car. If you're a parent and your teen has this car (Cybertruck) you might want to put a hammer in that joint. Something that can break the window because physically… Matt Barnes: Not strong enough. Arenas: He said he was trying to kick the door the window and he couldn't. Barnes: Damn. Arenas: When he got home we had flowers for him and I gave him that speech. I said, ‘listen, you were a lucky one to see this. Most people don't get to see the flowers and how everybody reacts when something happens.’
Matt Barnes: Two parents were functioning drug users. Dad was in the streets making ends meet. There was violence, there were drugs, there was just a lot of [expletive] going on. That’s what I grew up on. My dad and I connected on sports—and he loved to fight. He told me to start fighting because I faced a lot of racism as a kid, because I’m Italian. At nine years old, that’s when I started fighting. So it’s like—I learned sports, and I learned to fight. That’s what I learned from my dad. My mom gave me the love. But it was never really… I felt like… it was never really—my dad was tough love. You know what I mean? So it’s just like—that creates [expletive] now. I’m learning—I don’t let my guard down. I’m not empathetic. I’m not… there’s a lot of different things I’m not. Even though I don’t think I’m a bad person, there’s still just a lot of qualities that I have a hard time unleashing, because I was just never really taught to unleash that [expletive].
Craig Hodges on Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan: The difference was MJ's right hand
Matt Barnes: What's the difference between those two in your opinion? Craig Hodges: Right hand. Barnes: Why? Hodges: Because Kobe would be going to the line to shoot two, MJ was going to shoot the and one. So a lot of them knocks that Kobe had to shoot with two hands when that knock would happen, MJ put that bad boy over here. You know what I'm saying? Stephen Jackson: Oh, that's the difference, huh? Okay. Hodges: That is the only difference, it’s that gripper. Him and Dr. J (Julius Erving).
Matt Barnes: Y’all don’t really know. We used to take real chances smoking. ‘Cause when I first came in the league, it was one preseason test and you were good. Then mid-2000s they started the four random tests, which was [__], but we were still smoking. That meant any given day you could have a pee test. I used to pay my trainer to give me a heads up—like, ‘Yo bro, let me know who’s on the list.’ At first the league would give names, but they found out we was too smart. So they just said, ‘Hey, heads up, we’re testing your team today.’ They’d test four or five guys. So every time I got the call, I had to prepare like I was the one getting tested. Nasty-ass drinks, all that water—it was horrible.
Matt Barnes: Will we see you back in the NBA? Phil Handy: Yeah man. I'm a coach at heart now so for me it's really about the right opportunity. I've had the chance to experience everything as a coach: Winning at the highest level, experience, coaching some of the best players, I just want to be able to continue to impact the game with the players and then whatever organization I'm working for, the value of what I bring as a coach in terms of the development? That's just easy but I think people don't really understand who I am as a coach with the X's and O’s.
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Matt Barnes: What was your guys's first impression of Nelly? Because we all know Nelly is outside the box. I remember he would bring beers to practice at 10:00 a.m. Or sometimes it'd be Crown in his cup. His dog would come piss on the court.
Draymond Green on Karl-Anthony Towns: 'If he played that physical all the time, he'd be much more respected around the NBA'
Draymond Green: "He 100% would be better off, and they 100% would be better off, if he always played that physical. And by the way — if he played that physical all the time, he’d be much more respected around the NBA than he is. He’s respected as a talented player, but — you saw Matt Barnes say the other day — Matt said, 'Cat’s problem is he a cat. He not a dog.' That’s what Matt said." "If KAT came out and played with the type of dog he played with against me the other night? Man — good luck guarding Karl-Anthony Towns. Good luck. Because the way he shoots the ball like a guard, and he’s got that type of dog — you’re not stopping him."
Vernon Maxwell: I'd rather guard Michael Jordan than Drazen Petrovic
Vernon Maxwell on Drazen Petrovic: That motherf*cker gave me nightmares. Matt Barnes: What made him so tough, he was like 6-4, 6-5? Maxwell: Yeah he wass bigger than me. I'm 6’4. I mean I’ve never seen nothing like before… I’d rather guard Black Jesus, Michael Jordan than guard that motherf*cker, that's how bad it was for me. This motherf*cker used to give me buckets. I used to be so frustrated, I couldn't stop this motherf*cker.
Jason Richardson: Then he pulls a mouthpiece out of his ass and puts it in Lou’s locker. He looks at us and says, “Y’all better not say [expletive].” Then, he grabs a toothbrush—Lou’s toothbrush—goes into the bathroom, and stirs it in his [expletive]. At this point, we’re like, “Man, we are NOT part of this. This is getting out of hand.” So, the game happens. Somehow, I’m on the bench, Matt Barnes is on the bench, Steve Nash is on the bench, Jared Dudley’s on the bench. Lou is in the game. And Lou puts the mouthpiece in his mouth. The entire bench loses it—EVERYBODY is dying. Lou comes back to the locker room, takes the mouthpiece out, and someone finally tells him, “Hey, Lou, don’t use your mouthpiece. Shaq put it in his ass.” Lou just goes, “Nah, he didn’t.” Then he puts it back in his mouth. The bench loses it AGAIN.
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