Josh Hart's Lightharted Podcast

New episode of the LightHarted pod up today, so I figured that for as long as Hart is on the team, it can't hurt to have a thread on here to keep up with the goings-on. Particularly when it's the dead spot of the season and we're pretty devoid of content, and especially when Hart has already said elsewhere that he's planning to get a lot more Pelicans guys on there in the near future.

So far, that promise seems to have paid off, as we now have Episode 10 of the LightHarted podcast, featuring none other than Jaxson Hayes. I'll include the link to it if anyone wants to go listen: warning though, it's damn near 2 hours long, so don't go there expecting a bite-sized pod.

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcas...=1000446886856

As always, I will provide a transcription of some key moments in the pod for people who don't have 2 hours to listen to Hart and Hayes chat, or for people who do have that time but would rather spend it binge watching something on Netflix or making banana bread or something. Note that for the podcast thread, I will only include key moment transcriptions, because I will be frozen alive and thrown into the ocean before I transcribe a 2 hour podcast.

Key moments:

[Talking about how the Pelicans have 30 televised games this year, and they won't be trapped in that situation where guys are playing great but nobody is seeing it, and how that's a huge opportunity.]

Hart: ''Most definitely, and I think the biggest example of that is Jrue, and I kinda wanna get away from saying he's the most underrated player because I don't want that to be the label that he has, but someone like that who's an amazing player on both sides of the court and can impact the game in every which way, he's going to be able to have so much more exposure. So with that many more people watching the NBA and love the game of basketball can see him more and see how well he plays and how good he is and how good he is for our organisation, so I'm excited. I'm excited for Jrue, for this team in general, 'Zo, Zion, BI, you know, just go down the list.''

[Talking about playing with a chip on your shoulder from being ranked lower than other prospects coming out of high school, and how much that matters to them.]

Jax: ''You know who John Lucas is? Well his son, Jai Lucas, is one of our coaches at Texas [...] he was like top ten in the country when he was in high school, he was above James Harden, Blake Griffin, all them. So we always go back and look at that. [...] at that age, you think it matters. I always went to check the ESPN rankings after every game, I remember when I first saw my name on ESPN, I was so happy, but that stuff don't matter. It does not.''

[After Jax's first Summer League Game]

Hart: ''I had people calling me [''not just random people, like, centres in the league'' adds co-host Matt Hillman] telling me... yo... your man's gonna be good. It's funny because a couple of them were like, it wasn't even the highlights, you just have a really good feel for the game. Did you just always have that, or did you get it at Texas, or was it just gradual, taking pieces from each place?''

Jax: ''I feel like I've always kinda had it because, I mean, when I was younger, I was short. My freshman year, I played point guard, sophomore year I was a stretch three, my junior year was really my first year playing big. So, I feel like that definitely helped, so I've always kinda had that flow to my game, like I run like a guard, I jump like a guard, I go off one foot, so... yeah.''

Hart: ''Yeah, I think the first time I saw you work out, it was in Vegas, and me and you were in the same boat [chatter about when that actually was, whether Hillman was there, extra stuff], so I was talking to someone from the Pelicans cause I wanted to get some shots up and they were saying that the young guys were coming in cause they can't do stuff with the team. So I saw, like, Swin Cash, and she came in and we were chopping it up, but it's your feel for the game, just kinda how you moved because it's kind of crazy. Just seeing how big you are, but how well you move for a big, and your touch around the rim, and your ability to just 'get' the ball, which is really good.''

[Matt asks about the offense, how Jaxson thinks he will fit in with it, mentions that Josh said that it was going to be extremely funny because ''they just play'']

Jax: ''I just love the flow of the game, the NBA game. The court feels so much more spaced out, and people move now. They push the ball, which helps me, because I'm a big who can move so I love to just run the floor, so obviously that helps me a lot.''

Hart: ''It's funny because obviously Zo, BI, you, Zion, we have so many young pieces and I think one of games I watched, I wasn't there, in Summer League, and David Griffin was talking about how it was going to be a really good year for guys to learn and grow because there wasn't going to be a crazy amount of expectation, and even Zion, nobody's putting that much pressure on him now because we want you guys to be good in the future [as the main focus]. Obviously we wanna win now and compete but we want you guys to learn the game and stuff so yeah, it was funny because in the interview he was talking about how 'oh, Jaxson might play some but we really don't know but his Summer League has been so good, you know, he's really kinda making it difficult to just kinda do that', and so yeah, I feel like the NBA is going to be really good for you.

So, you know, AG [Alvin Gentry] just wants to push the pace and run run run, he'll say a couple words but the one you hear most often is run, but with having Jrue because obviously you know Jrue is an amazing guard, but had AD for what, six or seven years [it was six] but you two have similarities in terms of being long, lanky, athletic bigs who can move, where you can just throw the ball up [for an oop], score out of the pick and roll, finish well, so you have that. And then you add Zo into it, who, you know people are gonna realise, he'll just throw it. And he's not scared to get turnovers, that's part of why his IQ, his court vision, is so good because he'll just throw it [when he sees the opening]. So you've two really good, gifted passers, like I said, Jrue played with AD so obviously he knows how to play like that, and then you have Zo who just loves to push the pace, and to just run, so I think you're one of the guys who is going to benefit the most from having Jrue and Zo on the team, because of how you play and how well that goes together.''

[The final ten rapid fire style questions that Hart asks everyone: the LightHarted 10. Here's Jax's answers.]

Biggest pet peeve: Groupies and fake people.
Biggest fear: Clowns and birds. [This is a dude with a Sideshow Bob chain who plays for the Pelicans.]
Favourite cartoon growing up: Phineas and Ferb
Childhood celebrity crush: Megan Fox
Which Superhero would you wanna be/which superpower would you want: Superman, because he has basically all the powers, and flying, because you could kinda use it in basketball surreptitiously.
If you could switch lives with anyone for a day, who?: ''Lowkey, Bill Gates, because he has infinite bread'', which is an amazing phrase I have never written before.
What profession other than basketball would you like to attempt?: Real estate.
Who would play you in a Jaxson Hayes movie?: Michael B Jordan on stilts.
What is the title of the current chapter of your life?: The Beginning.
If Heaven exists, what do you want God to say when you arrive?: Welcome, we've been expecting you.



Random facts from the pod without exact quotation because it's not a big enough deal to transcribe but is still interesting:

- Hart has hired a personal chef for the first time, because he loves the food in New Orleans but doesn't trust himself to stay in shape if that's all he's eating.
- Hart has making the playoffs and being an above .500 team as his primary goals for the team this year. Personal goals are basically just being a two way player, getting his shooting back to where it should be, and improving as a playmaker.
- More than just being a receiver in high school, Hayes also played at the state level for an Ohio team in lacrosse. He says that lacrosse taught him a lot of basketball skills, because many of the sets are fairly similar, and the use of cutting and screening is fairly similar too. Also says it added to his hand eye co-ordination.
- Hayes just bought a 2020 Escalade, and was practically begging Hart not to popcorn it. He said he bought an Escalade because the roads in New Orleans are bad, and it floods a lot. Hart agreed, and said that's why he's switching his Porsche for a Range Rover.

Good pod.

The roads arent that bad anymore. Earhart Blvd was probably one of the worst roads in the world before Katrina. It's a nice smooth dreamy drive now. I mean the roads arent the best but you can drive an expensive car without worrying too much about suspension problems on all the main drags now. They are finally putting solid concrete around all the street car lines. A few side streets still need some work, but there are plenty people driving Porches down here.

Jaxson apparently has discovered those chicken sliders at District. Typical 19 year old fare but they are fire. Cinnamon rolls are damn good too.

brb :hihi:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Key moments:

[Talking about how the Pelicans have 30 televised games this year, and they won't be trapped in that situation where guys are playing great but nobody is seeing it, and how that's a huge opportunity.]

Hart: ''Most definitely, and I think the biggest example of that is Jrue, and I kinda wanna get away from saying he's the most underrated player because I don't want that to be the label that he has, but someone like that who's an amazing player on both sides of the court and can impact the game in every which way, he's going to be able to have so much more exposure. So with that many more people watching the NBA and love the game of basketball can see him more and see how well he plays and how good he is and how good he is for our organisation, so I'm excited. I'm excited for Jrue, for this team in general, 'Zo, Zion, BI, you know, just go down the list.''

[Talking about playing with a chip on your shoulder from being ranked lower than other prospects coming out of high school, and how much that matters to them.]

Jax: ''You know who John Lucas is? Well his son, Jai Lucas, is one of our coaches at Texas [...] he was like top ten in the country when he was in high school, he was above James Harden, Blake Griffin, all them. So we always go back and look at that. [...] at that age, you think it matters. I always went to check the ESPN rankings after every game, I remember when I first saw my name on ESPN, I was so happy, but that stuff don't matter. It does not.''

[After Jax's first Summer League Game]

Hart: ''I had people calling me [''not just random people, like, centres in the league'' adds co-host Matt Hillman] telling me... yo... your man's gonna be good. It's funny because a couple of them were like, it wasn't even the highlights, you just have a really good feel for the game. Did you just always have that, or did you get it at Texas, or was it just gradual, taking pieces from each place?''

Jax: ''I feel like I've always kinda had it because, I mean, when I was younger, I was short. My freshman year, I played point guard, sophomore year I was a stretch three, my junior year was really my first year playing big. So, I feel like that definitely helped, so I've always kinda had that flow to my game, like I run like a guard, I jump like a guard, I go off one foot, so... yeah.''

Hart: ''Yeah, I think the first time I saw you work out, it was in Vegas, and me and you were in the same boat [chatter about when that actually was, whether Hillman was there, extra stuff], so I was talking to someone from the Pelicans cause I wanted to get some shots up and they were saying that the young guys were coming in cause they can't do stuff with the team. So I saw, like, Swin Cash, and she came in and we were chopping it up, but it's your feel for the game, just kinda how you moved because it's kind of crazy. Just seeing how big you are, but how well you move for a big, and your touch around the rim, and your ability to just 'get' the ball, which is really good.''

[Matt asks about the offense, how Jaxson thinks he will fit in with it, mentions that Josh said that it was going to be extremely funny because ''they just play'']

Jax: ''I just love the flow of the game, the NBA game. The court feels so much more spaced out, and people move now. They push the ball, which helps me, because I'm a big who can move so I love to just run the floor, so obviously that helps me a lot.''

Hart: ''It's funny because obviously Zo, BI, you, Zion, we have so many young pieces and I think one of games I watched, I wasn't there, in Summer League, and David Griffin was talking about how it was going to be a really good year for guys to learn and grow because there wasn't going to be a crazy amount of expectation, and even Zion, nobody's putting that much pressure on him now because we want you guys to be good in the future [as the main focus]. Obviously we wanna win now and compete but we want you guys to learn the game and stuff so yeah, it was funny because in the interview he was talking about how 'oh, Jaxson might play some but we really don't know but his Summer League has been so good, you know, he's really kinda making it difficult to just kinda do that', and so yeah, I feel like the NBA is going to be really good for you.

So, you know, AG [Alvin Gentry] just wants to push the pace and run run run, he'll say a couple words but the one you hear most often is run, but with having Jrue because obviously you know Jrue is an amazing guard, but had AD for what, six or seven years [it was six] but you two have similarities in terms of being long, lanky, athletic bigs who can move, where you can just throw the ball up [for an oop], score out of the pick and roll, finish well, so you have that. And then you add Zo into it, who, you know people are gonna realise, he'll just throw it. And he's not scared to get turnovers, that's part of why his IQ, his court vision, is so good because he'll just throw it [when he sees the opening]. So you've two really good, gifted passers, like I said, Jrue played with AD so obviously he knows how to play like that, and then you have Zo who just loves to push the pace, and to just run, so I think you're one of the guys who is going to benefit the most from having Jrue and Zo on the team, because of how you play and how well that goes together.''

[The final ten rapid fire style questions that Hart asks everyone: the LightHarted 10. Here's Jax's answers.]

Biggest pet peeve: Groupies and fake people.
Biggest fear: Clowns and birds. [This is a dude with a Sideshow Bob chain who plays for the Pelicans.]
Favourite cartoon growing up: Phineas and Ferb
Childhood celebrity crush: Megan Fox
Which Superhero would you wanna be/which superpower would you want: Superman, because he has basically all the powers, and flying, because you could kinda use it in basketball surreptitiously.
If you could switch lives with anyone for a day, who?: ''Lowkey, Bill Gates, because he has infinite bread'', which is an amazing phrase I have never written before.
What profession other than basketball would you like to attempt?: Real estate.
Who would play you in a Jaxson Hayes movie?: Michael B Jordan on stilts.
What is the title of the current chapter of your life?: The Beginning.
If Heaven exists, what do you want God to say when you arrive?: Welcome, we've been expecting you.



Random facts from the pod without exact quotation because it's not a big enough deal to transcribe but is still interesting:

- Hart has hired a personal chef for the first time, because he loves the food in New Orleans but doesn't trust himself to stay in shape if that's all he's eating.
- Hart has making the playoffs and being an above .500 team as his primary goals for the team this year. Personal goals are basically just being a two way player, getting his shooting back to where it should be, and improving as a playmaker.
- More than just being a receiver in high school, Hayes also played at the state level for an Ohio team in lacrosse. He says that lacrosse taught him a lot of basketball skills, because many of the sets are fairly similar, and the use of cutting and screening is fairly similar too. Also says it added to his hand eye co-ordination.
- Hayes just bought a 2020 Escalade, and was practically begging Hart not to popcorn it. He said he bought an Escalade because the roads in New Orleans are bad, and it floods a lot. Hart agreed, and said that's why he's switching his Porsche for a Range Rover.

Good pod.

---

Thanks for the write up!

This was cool, thanks for the highlights

I almost never listen to pods so definitely appreciate you recapping! I might give this one a listen next time I do a road trip or something since hart seems like a good dude.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joe Gerrity

I almost never listen to pods so definitely appreciate you recapping! I might give this one a listen next time I do a road trip or something since hart seems like a good dude.

---

I get you man, there are so many pods and so many of them get pretty long, unless you're constantly finding yourself with dead time or you love listening to pods above anything else, it's pretty difficult to actually find time to hear them. That's why I do so many recaps :hihi:

I think that's kinda my role on the site, to be honest. I transcribe things and make the game day threads.

What the hell is a stretch three? :confused:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AusPel

What the hell is a stretch three? :confused:

---

Ask Jaxson Hayes :hihi: I think he just meant he was a three that shot threes a lot. Not specifically a positional term

The @ZO2_ episode is here! Zo is humble, locked in, and grateful for what he has. Incredible to see his growth over the past few years.

And thank you to @venmo for joining the #LightHartedFam as presenting sponsor

Listen here��: https://t.co/Wt2whdBGVJ pic.twitter.com/2bu7hvOGPl

— LightHarted Podcast (@lighthartedpod) September 4, 2019

Will be transcribing this later!

Lonzo Ball on the Podcast. Here we go with the transcription! I will note that this was clearly recorded a few weeks ago, because Lonzo refers to mid-August as being in the future, so when he says he's getting back to contact ''next week'', please note that the week he's speaking about is like, 3 weeks ago now.

Key points, moments, quotes, and stories from the Lonzo Ball appearance on the LightHarted Podcast:

They start the podcast by saying that Lonzo is probably the most requested name for the pod that they have gotten in the past, aside from perhaps Brandon Ingram. However, Hart notes that it was basically impossible to track Ingram down to do the pod at the same time as Lonzo in the summer because he's a home-body, and spends his summers mostly in North Carolina, and Hart would never spend the summer there because, and I quote, ''I have no reason to, so we were trying to get Zo and BI on the podcast so we could talk about, you know, the trade, the upcoming season, and all that. So we were planning to do it, but it never really... didn't really work out.''

Q: Due to the injury, you haven't really had the chance to work out in the Summer like you usually would, so tell us about your Summer, update us on the injury, etc.

Lonzo: Still progressing with it till this day. It's the worst ankle sprain I've ever had in my life. Been out since January 19th, so it's been a very long summer, but I'm finally running, finally jumping, and there should be contact in the next week so we finally got over the hump. And now it's just about getting rhythm back and you know, getting ready for the training camp. It's been a long summer. Lot of support, you know, obviously you know, got traded with two guys and that's about it.

Hart: Yeah, I can't wait to get back on the court, because like Zo, I've been out for like 4 months so far, even more than 4 months, so you don't realise how long it's gonna be while you're out, but you just can't wait. You know, the off-season has been so long, unfortunately, and it's been very eventful, very publicised, but I think it's all in the best and we're definitely gonna talk about that a little bit.

Q: Have you been down to New Orleans a lot? Has there been much back and forth?

Lonzo: Nah, not a lot. I went down there for the press conference, and that was it. We move in September 3rd, so I'll be out there officially after that, but I've been in LA with my family.

Hart: I've been down there three times, I was there for the press conference, I was down there in the last week, looking at houses, and I'm actually going tomorrow night to look at two more houses and I've gotta meet with a couple of the banker people because you know, the process of buying a crib and doing all that stuff. So I've gotta do all that, but it's just, in the summer I can't be down there too much because it's too hot man, you know the humidity -

Lonzo: That's the first thing he said off the flight, man, it's not that bad! It's not that bad.

Hart: We got there like 9 or 10, and here at 9 or 10, especially where we are, where we live, it'll be chill, because the beach is right there so you get the breeze and it's all cool, but there it was like 10 o'clock and the moment we stepped off the plane I started sweating. I like it down there, and it's cool, but this weather is really not for me, in the Summer time.

Q: So, are you excited to get down there? The energy seems to be really good around the team and everyone seems excited in the city.

Lonzo: It's a young team with a lot of talent, and you know, a lot of new starts for people. The talent's there, we just gotta put it together. I'm excited for training camp, you know, just to get the chance to play, finally, and I think we should be good this year.

Hart: I think we'll be good. Obviously cause they have, you know, when they had AD and Demarcus they were good, looking to be in the playoffs, but then Boogie got hurt, he tore his Achilles, and they dropped off a little bit [editorial note here: this is not accurate, we were actually better after Boogie went down], and then last year they had an okay year. But now there's so much excitement, obviously with the addition of Zo, BI, Derrick Favors,

Lonzo: Zion, JJ.

Hart: Yeah, you can just go down the list. The rookies look good, so it's just this list of so many strong pieces that we have that we can't really wait to mature. A lot of us are still young. Well, I don't categorise us [points to himself and Zo] because we've played good minutes in the league, but you know we aren't looking for Zion to come in and have 25 and 12 and all that. If he does then -

Lonzo: Great. We'll take it :hihi: We'll take it every night.

Hart: Yeah, we'll take it, but we're gonna take this a step at a time and we'll be exciting and we'll be competitive, and I think we have - no, I'm not gonna say I think - we have the best young core in the league and this year we're gonna have the platform to really show that.

Q: Talk about the fresh start.

Hart: Tell us about your start, because obviously, I watched you at UCLA but, I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't into the hype. I wasn't really sold, and obviously you were on the West Coast so I didn't really watch many of the games, cause I'm not gonna stay up to watch UCLA, UCS games. So obviously you were on the West Coast and your pops was talking and I was like, 'nah, he can't be that good', and then Summer League going into our rookie year, I was like 'sh**'', the way you're able to see the court, push the tempo, defend, do all that, it was really good. And obviously the last couple of years it's been harder for you to do that, cause obviously we had Bron, and no knock on Bron because he's an amazing player but he had the ball in his hands a lot, Rondo has the ball in his hands a lot, so what does the fresh start mean for you?

Lonzo: You know, anybody that watches me play, I play very free. Up-tempo. You know, I'm gonna make a few mistakes but I'll make more good plays than bad, and at the end of the day when I get into rhythm, and that's all my game is, straight rhythm, I just do what it takes to make the team win. And of course on top of that, it's the injuries. Just to be strong enough to make it through a whole season, that'll help a lot, help me get into rhythm. You know, in LA, I had a few good games, I had some spurts, but it was never consistent, so that's what I wanna do this year, just help the team. You know, we got a lot of pieces that fit my game, they put that team together and I like the pieces we've got, we got some shooters, we got people that can run, we got bigs, we've got people that play defense. That's the thing, if we can guard people and get out on the break, it's gonna be tough to deal with us and I'm looking forward to it, that new start.

Q: Are you looking forward to playing in a smaller market, where you might be scrutinised less?

Lonzo: I don't believe in that no more. I don't believe in a small market, because of social media. You've got Giannis playing for Milwaukee, and they're the number one team. He's MVP as well. Obviously there's LA, there's New York, but as far as people saying there's small markets, I think anybody can get seen now, because social media runs everything.

Hart: If you wanna get technical, it is [a smaller market], but we're going to have so many eyes on us, because of the trade, because Zo, because Zion, because Jrue, there's going to be so many eyes on us and we don't really have that vibe where we're a small market.

Lonzo: Yeah, I don't feel it at all. Just look at the media right now. We're the most talked about, us, Lakers, Clippers, we're up there with them. We're in the media every day. So it's the same thing.

Talk about the BBB shoes, and Lonzo's shoes moving forward:

Lonzo: No one knows the real story about those shoes, though. Them ZO2's I was playing in? They was not ready. Nobody knows this, but Dmo had a packback and he had an extra 4 pairs of shoes in there cause I had to switch 'em, every quarter. Cause they would just rip. The real truth is, those shoes just wasn't ready. So I'm on the phone, this is when Allen was running everything, and I'm like ''I'm not playing in those shoes.'' and he was like, fine, just switch every game, wear every brand. And I was like, cool! But if you literally have my shoes from those games, they're like, exploded. I don't know how that didn't get caught.

Let's talk about the trade. During the year, did you pay attention to it? What are your thoughts on it? Reaction?

Lonzo: I didn't pay attention to it, but I kinda had a feeling that it was gonna happen. You know, it's LA, and AD, you knew it was going to happen eventually. So when we got traded, I wasn't tripping at all. I found out on Twitter, we were in LA at my grandfather's house and we were about to go to the Drew League game and we got in the whip and Dmo was like, 'you seen Twitter?'. I said, what are you talking about, and he said, 'we just got traded'. I was like, 'word? That's crazy'. Got a call from my agent, got traded, and I'm like cool. Like I said, I was excited, just from having a new start and start over. It helps going with you [Hart] and BI, I was happy that someone came with me. But after the season, I was just waiting to get that call honestly. [...] I think being in the league for two years changed my mindset on some things. If I had gotten traded in my rookie year, I probably would have broke down, been like damn, you know? Just hurt.

But just being in the league, it's like, we're in the NBA bro. We aren't even home most of the time anyway. We're always on the road, just playing the game we love, and when you think about it, AD was everything over here, so the guys they want in exchange, they must really want them. And I wanna play for someone who wants me to play for them. So, I was just happy.

Thoughts on the team and the front office?

Lonzo: We're young, fun. But we also have vets. I mean, Jrue's one of the most underrated players, in my opinion, you know I can't wait to play with him. On both sides of the court. That's going to be a lot of fun. And then just the front office, they were very welcoming right when we got traded, I don't know if they called you [Hart: right away, they did] but they called me, really excited and sounded like they were about to jump through the phone. So it's been good vibes ever since the trade happened.

Hart: The reason why I like Griff so much is that he doesn't sugar-coat stuff. He's going to tell you exactly what it is. In the league, sometimes that's hard. For the two years for us, that was hard, a lot of things I think wasn't as straightforward as we wanted it to be, and that was frustrating. But I think that's why I loved the move so much, I've said it before, the first day I didn't really know I was going to be in it at all until I opened twitter and I was like, damn. They drafted me and just threw me away? And then I got the call from Griff, Trajan, they were so excited. Then the next day, you think how you [Lonzo] thought, they must have really wanted me if they did this deal, so I was just excited from talking to them and the few times I've been in the facility the vibe was totally different. Everyone genuinely loves going to work and they're excited about the year that they think and that we expect we're gonna have. You know, if you wanna be technical, it's a smaller market, but the love we've gotten already from them has been crazy.

Matt: And New Orleans has been through so much as a city, right, it's like if you embrace them and love them, they'll give it back to you tenfold.

For both of you guys, the style of play, particularly in transition, seems very complimentary.

Hart: Oh man... we're gonna hoop. BI's the same way, Jrue's the same way, and just the additions that we've had are going to show so much. Especially Jaxson Hayes, I think, this year is going to improve so much, and the reason I think he's going to improve so much is that Jrue's had AD. And physically, they're kinda the same body type, tall, athletic, lanky... light-skinned. Uhhhh, But you have Jrue who's used to playing with someone like that, just throwing it up, and then you also have you [Lonzo] that gets the ball and just goes. And can just throw it on a dime, and sometimes I'm just sitting there thinking 'how'd he get the ball there?', but I just think we have so many guys like him. JJ's gonna be scaring the living daylights of opponents just running down the wing, though he's a little older so hopefully he can still run. But yeah, I think the way this team is constructed really benefits our playing style a lot.

The LightHarted 10: The 10 Questions Hart asks every guest.

Biggest pet peeve: Smacking, with food. Melo does that all the time, and I'll be wanting to sock that dude, like there's no reason for you to chew like that. At all. Literally no reason to do that. He just does it, cause he's obnoxious, but I'm like, bro I'm really about to fight you.

There is then a brief detour talking about LaMelo going to Australia, in which Lonzo says it's better than Lithuania. He says Lithuania is gloomy, nobody smiles, and that everybody hates that they're there. Hart said ''that sounds like LA''. Lonzo said, ''That's nothing like LA,'' and Hart replied ''I'm not talking about the city.'' Lonzo said ''I don't know what you're talking about'', to which Matt said ''we can edit this part out so you might as well just tell us'', and Hart said ''I was talking about the Lakers organisation'', in the middle of cracking up with laughter. Obviously they did not edit that part out.

Biggest fear: ''I don't know... I feel like burning to death would be tough.'' Which is an understatement and a half.
Favourite cartoon growing up: Martin. Boondocks is a close second.
Childhood celebrity crush: Megan Fox, for sure [same as Hayes', actually]
Which Superhero would you wanna be/which superpower would you want: Teleportation.
If you could switch lives with anyone for a day, who?: Probably Future
What profession other than basketball would you like to attempt?: Rapping, obviously.
Who would play you in a Lonzo Ball movie?: ''I wanna say Denzel, but he's too old. But he's the best actor ever. I'd just play myself.''
What is the title of the current chapter of your life?: The Bounce Back.
If Heaven exists, what do you want God to say when you arrive?: ''What's good my n---- *laughing*''.


And that's your transcription of the key moments, quotes, stories, etc, from this pod.

Just this alone, tells me they get it; the front office gets it and we're going to exceed expectations THIS season:

Quote:

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Q: Are you looking forward to playing in a smaller market, where you might be scrutinised less?

Lonzo: I don't believe in that no more. I don't believe in a small market, because of social media. You've got Giannis playing for Milwaukee, and they're the number one team. He's MVP as well. Obviously there's LA, there's New York, but as far as people saying there's small markets, I think anybody can get seen now, because social media runs everything.

Hart: If you wanna get technical, it is [a smaller market], but we're going to have so many eyes on us, because of the trade, because Zo, because Zion, because Jrue, there's going to be so many eyes on us and we don't really have that vibe where we're a small market.

Lonzo: Yeah, I don't feel it at all. Just look at the media right now. We're the most talked about, us, Lakers, Clippers, we're up there with them. We're in the media every day. So it's the same thing.

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Quote:

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Thoughts on the team and the front office?

Lonzo: We're young, fun. But we also have vets. I mean, Jrue's one of the most underrated players, in my opinion, you know I can't wait to play with him. On both sides of the court. That's going to be a lot of fun. And then just the front office, they were very welcoming right when we got traded, I don't know if they called you [Hart: right away, they did] but they called me, really excited and sounded like they were about to jump through the phone. So it's been good vibes ever since the trade happened.

Hart: The reason why I like Griff so much is that he doesn't sugar-coat stuff. He's going to tell you exactly what it is. In the league, sometimes that's hard. For the two years for us, that was hard, a lot of things I think wasn't as straightforward as we wanted it to be, and that was frustrating. But I think that's why I loved the move so much, I've said it before, the first day I didn't really know I was going to be in it at all until I opened twitter and I was like, damn. They drafted me and just threw me away? And then I got the call from Griff, Trajan, they were so excited. Then the next day, you think how you [Lonzo] thought, they must have really wanted me if they did this deal, so I was just excited from talking to them and the few times I've been in the facility the vibe was totally different. Everyone genuinely loves going to work and they're excited about the year that they think and that we expect we're gonna have. You know, if you wanna be technical, it's a smaller market, but the love we've gotten already from them has been crazy.

Matt: And New Orleans has been through so much as a city, right, it's like if you embrace them and love them, they'll give it back to you tenfold.

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The intro, which isn't on the Youtube, opened showing love for the whole team. The article mentioned...
https://www.forbes.com/sites/christo...-podcast-team/

An areas physical "tv market" can be substantially different than a team's or player's fan base. This whole idea of a tv market is antiquated with League Pass, VPNs, and the internet in general.