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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.
One key member of that team was none other than small forward Matt Barnes, who appears to have some fond memories of those days, recently stopping by Paul George's Podcast P With Paul George, presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment, to share some of the wilder aspects of that era of Warriors basketball. “We won that series against Dallas and you would have thought we won the championship,” said Barnes, per Podcast P with Paul George on YouTube. “We was in the streets, before we get to Snoop, Jack (Stephen Jackson) lived in the same building as Nelly (Don Nelson) but Jack's on like the 12th floor, Nelly’s the whole roof. So we go down there pre-party at Jacks, go up there, and as soon as we walk in, this is our coach by the way, “fellas Woody is in the back rolling joints.” what the f— huh like I didn't know that he didn't give a f— that everyone knew. So we go back there and Woody Harrelson's rolling joints and we're back there smoking joints with Woody Harrelson bro it was unbelievable.”
“Him & my mom went to high school. He’s known my dad,” said Tatum, who finished Game 3 with 26 points, nine assists and six rebounds. “St. Louis is as big as this room, so we know each other. Nelly is arguably the most famous guy from St. Louis, until I can catch up.”
As Cleveland gears up for the 2022 NBA All-Star Weekend headed to the city next weekend, some of the entertainment has been announced for the three-day event, including two concerts with major names in hip-hop scheduled at Cleveland Public Auditorium. The first concert, NBA Jamz hosted by Michelob Ultra, will feature "Country Grammar" rap star Nelly. Joining Nelly on stage is rapper Reese LAFLARE.
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You get picked No. 1 overall, land with Golden State and spend just one season there after some issues with Don Nelson. You two were ahead of your time in terms of playing the game — what do you feel went right, or wrong, during that early stretch of your career? Chris Webber: I loved my time in Golden State. I think the league was changing again. It was a difference at that time from old-school coaching and what you see now. I was part of that transition as well. It was fun to play point forward, but at that time, the league didn’t understand Nelly. They didn’t understand me. Even though I won Rookie of the Year, we were criticized for it. It’s just funny now looking back, and I was a part of change. I have to look back at it. The backlash we got for trying to be that change. We were among the top in the pace in play and playing with Mully (Chris Mullin) … I remember just following Mully, doing everything that he did. I love Golden State, the Bay, and winning Rookie of the Year was awesome.
Chris Webber: From 18 months at Michigan, from the period of calling the timeout, which was the worst period. It was April, and within almost 50 days, you have to deal with the mistake you made, forget yourself, then prepare for the next level. I was happy with the focus that I had, I didn’t get caught up. I didn’t use anything as an excuse not to succeed that next year. So it goes straight to for me was a success. It was an honor. I didn’t want to leave Golden State, but my contract had an out after the first year. That was great for me financially. But it’s not necessarily what Nelly appreciated. (Webber signed a 15-year, $74 million deal as a rookie but had a player option on his contract for the second season, which he exercised to become a free agent.) I got to go play in Washington and that was awesome because of Juwan, Tim Legler, Rod Strickland, Tracy Murray, Chris Whitney and all those guys. D.C. was a great place to live.
Nelson, a former Celtic whose number 19 is retired and hanging in the rafters, essentially re-branded Ainge at that point. “Red was really mad at Nelly for that,” Ainge explained. “I think Nelly was trying to turn that Milwaukee crowd and the NBA crowds against me at that very moment. And it worked.”
The Hornets declined comment on Nelly’s arrest Saturday. Nelly, 42, was part of the original ownership group formed by founder Bob Johnson in 2004, when this expansion team was called the Charlotte Bobcats. In the spring of 2010, Johnson sold controlling interest to Michael Jordan.
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An NBA source described Nelly’s percentage of the Hornets as very small, adding he does not take an active role in the Hornets’ operation. The Hornets’ media guide for the 2015-16 season listed Les King, an executive of Nelly, Inc., as the rapper’s representative in the ownership group.
Miles listed a $20,000 child-support debt in his bankruptcy and a $100,000 loss in a 2008 California real-estate deal. He also lost money in another real-estate deal with fellow investors former St. Louis Rams player Marshall Faulk and rapper Nelly after a Laclede’s Landing property became mired in lawsuits. In addition to his Belleville home, Miles listed 12 other properties he owns, all in East St. Louis. He has a Deutsche Bank account with $49,000 and his son’s college fund with $84,900. He also listed ownership of various collectibles with unknown value, including trophies, signed jerseys and jewelry.
Have a lot of rappers over your career tried to come at you on the basketball court? Allen Iverson: Not one-on-one. Me and Nelly played H.O.R.S.E. He’s a friend of mine. I remember one night we went to Jermaine Dupri’s studio and I had been drinking before I got there. We went into the gym and he beat my ass. Then he went on 106 and Park and bragged about it. So the next time we played, I made sure that I came prepared. I hadn’t drunk anything and beat his ass. And during that game he was saying, “You need to get him a couple drinks.” I told him, “Nah. Not today. You ain’t going to brag on this one.”
Rick Bonnell: NBA spokesman: League aware Hornets minority owner Nelly was arrested over the weekend. NBA monitoring the situation. Nelly's tour bus was pulled over by Tennessee state troopers who discovered drugs. Attorney representing Nelly told AP he'll be exonerated. Nelly has owned a small percentage of the Hornets for several years and occasionally attends games at Time Warner Cable Arena.
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