Fresh off of being traded to the Toronto Raptors, former San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green posted the first episode of "Inside the Green Room with Danny Green," his new podcast that "offers an inside look into the life of a current NBA veteran."
Episode 1 of ‘Inside the Green Room with Danny Green’ is now LIVE on the Apple Podcast App and Spotify! Click on the link in bio to listen to Danny talk about his and Kawhi’s trade to Toronto, ‘partying with LeBron’ after losing to him in the finals, and meeting Drake. pic.twitter.com/UKFizXswBC
— Inside The Green Room (@GreenRoomInside) July 24, 2018
In the hour-long episode, Green talks about last week's blockbuster trade and how special the Raptors can be next season with him and Leonard now on board.
Here are the highlights...
On being closer to home
"I wasn't mad at [the trade]. Everybody from New York was texting me, too. Toronto, it's closer to home, it's an hour flight. There's a flight every hour on the hour. Everybody can make it at any point now. My family is excited about it."
On how good the Raptors can be
"It's a great team. They were No. 1 in the East. We've got me and Kawhi. We can do something special there. It's a really nice city. Obviously it's a little colder weather and some taxes might be a little tough, but it's closer to home and they're a really good team in the East. I think with me and Kawhi, we can be a huge plus and hopefully bring this team to the next level that they're looking to be."
On his conversation with Leonard
"I saw him at the physical. We talked briefly, but I haven't had a chance to sit down and chop it up with him."
On Spurs fans being mad at Leonard
"Obviously fans aren't happy, but we haven't heard from Kawhi. A lot of these things are media sources. They think that he was a distraction this past year, they think that he broke the team up, which is not true. Nothing is going to last forever. Regardless of if it happened now or later, the team was going to break up eventually."
On his role with the Raptors
"I'm going to do my job, do my part and work my butt off to be the best I can be, but also make our team the best it can be. It's not just about one individual when it comes to this. When the team wins, everybody wins. My biggest part in this play is to get Kawhi on board and get the rest of those young guys on board, and let them know how to become a championship team."
"Regardless of whether I'm starting or not, I'll try and be the best pro I can be."
On the Raptors' potential defensively
"I think we have an opportunity to do something really special. We have a pretty good frontcourt, and our backcourt as well. Defensively, I think we could be monsters. Me, Kawhi, Serge [Ibaka], [Jonas] Valanciunas, OG [Anunoby]. I think that's where it starts, is the defensive end."
On his relationship with Kyle Lowry
"I haven't spoken to him yet, but we've been cool over the years. We played against each other growing up. He's been right there in Philly, AAU, he was a killer in high school. That guy was a monster. He still is a monster. He still can hoop."
On his relationship with Leonard
"We've been together since he's been in the league. I was there when he was drafted. I was there the previous year before he got drafted and he's been in the league for, what, six or seven years now? So I've been with him for all six or seven years now. I've seen him grow from a rookie to being an elite player in this league. We've grown together. We've become a defensive tandem. That's what they instilled in us there, in San Antonio. That's why they win. Defense always comes first."
"We tried to be the best defensive wings in the league every year, and I think we can still sustain that because of how much pride and passion we have for that end of the floor."
On the Spurs' potential with DeMar DeRozan
"They were already a playoff team last year. We were when I was there. We only had LaMarcus [Aldridge], one franchise guy. They got two now. Obviously Kawhi was hurt. When we had him, we were really good. Now they have DeMar, who is healthy and another franchise player. Them two alone will carry you to the playoffs and a pretty good seed."