00:00Oh, it's that time of year when you're always smiling, happy, a lot of energy, clean shaven, clean shaven, not
00:09beat up yet, not beat up, oh man, Eric Spolscher joining us here on the show, Spolscher, how's it going,
00:18man, pretty big summer, pretty big summer getting Giannis Antetokounmpo, that's one you'll take.
00:22Yeah, I feel like it was like five summers in one, it was way too long for a lot of
00:28us, but that was a great turning of the page, we all felt like we needed to after last season,
00:36and that's not a knock on anyone, it just felt like the natural time, and then Pat and Andy did
00:43their thing and changed things in a massive way, we're excited about it, we think Giannis and the new players
00:49are excited about it,
00:49I think they've experienced something also in the last couple of years where we all just want to come together,
00:56like-minded people about the same thing, not the BS, not anything else, it's just about winning, and I think
01:04that's what appealed to him when he chose us, we clearly chose him, and it's still probably, it's surreal, you
01:11know, for us seeing Antetokounmpo on the back of a Miami Heat jersey, and I'm sure it also is surreal
01:18for him,
01:19and I also want to respect that it is tough for guys, even though he chose us, and he wanted
01:25this, guys are human beings, and he was at a place that he really cared deeply about, and won a
01:30title with, had some great relationships there, he's there for 13 years, that's not an easy change, so we want
01:37to respect that, make him feel as comfortable as possible, I think that's already happening, you know, but it's a
01:44synergistic relationship, we're coming together hopefully to create something amazing.
01:48So, my question is this, because I played for Evil Genius and Bill Belichick, and I was thinking, you know,
01:56you pull some rabbits out of your hat with the different combinations or whatever, they announced the Heat are getting
02:02Giannis, how long before you thought of your first play, or started working in your brain how things are going
02:11to work?
02:12All right, it happened before, isn't it?
02:16I mean, these conversations were happening, like, weeks before, so that peaked my mind, and when your season ends in
02:23the middle of April, like, of course you want to get excited about something in June, and yeah, the possibilities
02:30are endless.
02:31Like I said, it's surreal, you know, thinking about that, you know, he'll be in a Miami Heat uniform, we
02:37competed against him three times in the playoffs, he's a fierce competitor, he is fiercely ambitious, and serious about winning,
02:47and I think, you know, to make a massive change in his life, and in his career, I think he
02:53wanted a place where he could trust that.
02:54And we're not perfect as an organization, and we do things, you know, differently, I say it all the time,
03:00we're not for everyone, and that's not to say we're better, because we make mistakes, but we stand for something,
03:06and everybody understands that, and you can never criticize us for us not being serious about winning, you can criticize
03:13us about a lot of other things, but we're dead-ass serious about trying to win, and we wanted to
03:19bring in like-minded people that feel the same way we do.
03:22You know, we'll figure out like the chemistry and all that stuff, but the first thing is, is there an
03:27alignment about how you're approaching competition?
03:29I feel like, I mean, in all those battles, I just think of Giannis versus Bam, and so it's pretty
03:35weird that they're going to be a tandem together.
03:38What do you think this duo can be like? Because a lot of people are wondering, well, how's that going
03:42to fit?
03:42And first of all, I think it feels like it's going to be a nightmare for people to score on
03:45them, but, you know, Bam did such a thing into adding all the three-point volume to his game last
03:50year.
03:50What have you thought about, like, the idea of how that duo is going to work together?
03:54They'll be able to figure it out because they're both supreme competitors, right?
03:59So they're approaching the game on how they can impact the game on both sides of the floor.
04:03It's not just about the three-point spacing.
04:06It's about, you know, how they move and create space off each other.
04:11They both have been hubs.
04:13We're going to need both of them to be hubs of the offense at different times,
04:16and both of them to be live when they don't have the ball in their hands.
04:21And that takes a little bit of an adjustment.
04:23You know, Dwayne and LeBron had to go through that, and they figured it out in a brilliant way because
04:27they wanted to.
04:28And I'm not expecting that to happen overnight.
04:31That's not going to happen tomorrow on the first day of training camp, but it will happen.
04:34It's going to happen.
04:35Those guys are smart enough.
04:37They're highly intelligent basketball players and competitors.
04:40They're going to be able to figure it out.
04:41So it's amazing.
04:43It's interesting.
04:44You just said they'll figure it out.
04:46And is that how a lot of these things work is that you might put a template out there,
04:52but when they go on to a floor, they got to work with one another, and they have to kind
04:57of figure it out.
04:58Do you just sit back and just add to that,
05:01or you let them go through the bumps and bruises of trying to figure out how to play with one
05:06another?
05:06Yeah.
05:06I mean, we spent a lot of time as a staff putting together a plan, but we have to see
05:11it on the wood.
05:12Right.
05:12You know, we'll see, and if we have to course correct, we'll do that.
05:15We've proven we'll do that whenever.
05:17You know, that could be the end of the week.
05:18It could be, you know, several times during the season, or it could just work brilliantly.
05:23I don't think that's going to happen like day one, but I think it's going to be incredible having two
05:26great competitors,
05:29you know, on the floor at the same time.
05:32And then, you know, we want both of them to be who they are, right?
05:37We don't want to reinvent them.
05:39It's about maximizing each other, and then how can we do it in a way where it's lifting the entire
05:44locker room up?
05:45That's the magic sauce that takes a little bit of time.
05:47How long does that normally, like when you have a plan and the players get in and try to incorporate
05:54that plan
05:55and work and plan with one another, how long as a coach, when you sit outside and watch it,
05:59you go, we've got to change this up a little bit.
06:02Yeah, that all depends.
06:04You know, if I had, you know, I've made a lot of mistakes over my coaching career,
06:08and sometimes I guess the more years, unfortunately, the more experience you have,
06:13that creates the wisdom you wish you had when you were younger.
06:17Right.
06:17I think I underestimated that, you know, with Dwayne and LeBron, that it would happen overnight,
06:20and I didn't spend enough time trying to create opportunities where they could play off each other
06:25and get to know each other.
06:26We did eventually.
06:29But I guess what I'm saying is I won't wait as long as I did then,
06:33and hopefully I'll be able to help.
06:35That's what we're here for.
06:36I'm here to serve.
06:37I'm here to help.
06:38I'm here to try to elevate them, elevate them to a higher level in whatever way that may be.
06:45I don't have the exact quote of what you said, but it was like on Giannis'
06:48when he was doing his behind-the-scenes first day, and you said, like,
06:51I like the attention being back on the team again.
06:54You know, you had internal expectations, but, like, bringing a guy like this, it does put more of a spotlight
06:58on the team.
06:59How beneficial is that to a team, just knowing, like, hey, there is pressure because now it's not just our
07:04own selves
07:05and our expectations, but the world's going to be watching and seeing what this team does.
07:08Yeah, I mean, you guys are familiar with us.
07:09We're not going to ever stop, so the internal expectations are always going to be there.
07:15We like it when there's also the external, and you bring in a player of his caliber, that just puts
07:21a lot more eyeballs on you.
07:22It's not a coincidence now, like, bringing in him and Clay and Tim and Bobby and then retaining the guys
07:30that we've had.
07:31All of a sudden, now we have 30 games on national TV.
07:33What comes with that, the more eyeballs will be a lot more noise and a lot more opinions, a lot
07:39more criticism.
07:40Ultimately, you know, you don't want to, like, dive into all that on your phone, but you want that type
07:45of relevance.
07:46You want the games to feel like, all right, if you lose, it's a catastrophe and all that, and you
07:51manage it better with a more level head.
07:54But we want that type of relevance.
07:57We don't want games where you win or lose and nobody's watching and nobody knows.
08:02I'm not talking about people and the fans.
08:03I'm just talking about the national stage.
08:06We have some ambitious type A personalities that want to play on the biggest stage.
08:11There's a lot that comes with that.
08:14Avion Mitchell was a really fun thing for Heat fans this summer because he kind of gave the window into
08:18everything it felt like on social media.
08:19But he mentioned in an interview recently that you guys wanted him to lean down a little bit.
08:24What have you made of his summer?
08:25Why was that important for him, you thought?
08:26And what do you expect for him?
08:28Because, I mean, he looks like, I mean, he makes you almost feel lazy when you watch him on what
08:33he's doing every day.
08:33Yeah, he really had a tremendous summer.
08:36You have to credit him, you know, from the exit meeting discussions.
08:38He knew it.
08:39You know, he was in better shape the year before, and then a lot of things, you know, led to
08:43that.
08:43It's not an excuse, but he knew he could be in better shape, and he went to work right away,
08:49dropped what he needed to drop.
08:50And what you're going to see is a guy that can make a whole lot more plays out there.
08:54And you can make a case in all these play-in games that we've had the last two years that
08:58he's in the discussion of the best player on the floor.
09:02That's his competitive nature, and now the consistency of being in world-class shape, he can do that more often.
09:07The second piece was, you know, the leadership piece that I want to step a little bit more into that
09:13space.
09:14He's our point guard.
09:15People don't view him as a guy that can lead a team, you know, to that stage.
09:23But he's a natural, like, voice, and he was that way at Baylor.
09:28You know, he won a title there in college.
09:31He has a voice where he can make an impact, but he just wanted to fit in the last year
09:39and a half.
09:39I was like, this year coming up is not going to be a fit-in year.
09:42You know, you have to make your presence felt and don't be afraid to tell people.
09:46I think this summer he did it in a great positive way, bringing people together, going to travel to meet
09:52people, all of that, like letting people know I'm that organizer.
09:56I'm that guard, you know.
09:57I'm the guy that wants to get everybody involved almost to a fault.
10:00But I like that he checked those two boxes going into the season.
10:03Leroy makes fun of me all summer because I'm watching this FIBA, this World Cup qualifying stuff, and he's upset.
10:08But, like, I really enjoyed watching it.
10:10No, I'm upset with you that you bought a subscription to Eurobasketball.
10:16Do you have to buy a subscription as the Team USA coach or do they give you a subscription to
10:19watch these games?
10:19I get all the videos.
10:20I don't think I personally have it, but I'm with you.
10:24I think it's so fun.
10:25He's in Texas.
10:26It's playoff basketball.
10:27It's Pella Larson is insane.
10:30Like, I don't understand.
10:30Like, he's out there.
10:31That game against France, he's got, like, 12 free throws in a quarter.
10:35He's bouncing all over the place.
10:36He goes into Helsinki.
10:38But Finland's no joke.
10:39They beat Serbia last year.
10:40Like, respectfully, Sweden's not, like, thought of as a power.
10:45He's doing something for that nation, is he not?
10:48Yeah, he is.
10:49And it's really notable because he put the team and the country on his back, took that responsibility.
10:55It means so much to him.
10:57That's the thing I like about it, like, FIBA tournaments and all that stuff.
11:00And USA, when we go in to compete, like, they're crying or celebrating.
11:04One of those two with a win or a loss, the countries, it means that much.
11:07And it meant that much to Pella.
11:10And then he produced, right?
11:12Yep.
11:12I mean, he really produced.
11:14And that's not taken away from anything from his teammates.
11:17But, yeah, they were not predicted to do what they did.
11:21And it was his competitive will.
11:23And that's what he's done, you know, day and day out with us.
11:25He makes you have to do something.
11:28I've had to put him in games.
11:29Like, he makes me play him.
11:31Then he makes me play him more.
11:32Then he makes me adjust the rotation.
11:34You want that from all your guys.
11:36You don't want to, like, gift things.
11:37He, you know, he made the front office.
11:40Give him an extension with his play and his competitiveness.
11:43You're happy for a guy when that happens.
11:46Go, Jack Spolscher.
11:46Appreciate you stopping by.
11:47Thank you so much.
11:48Okay.
11:48Appreciate you guys.
