Jeff Teague: De'Aaron Fox and Darius Garland retired me

Teague and his friends never wanted to do a basketball podcast. In fact, their biggest inspiration to start their pod was The Joe Budden Podcast. “His podcast is really why we started,” Teague says. “We weren’t really based off basketball but obviously playing basketball my whole life, it always goes back to that.” -via complex.com / August 6, 2023

To that point, you had the situation with Tracy McGrady, who said your story wasn’t true. Some, inclduing T-Mac might say you’re fabricating stories to go viral… Jeff Teague: Nah because I ain’t never think that was going to go viral. We didn’t have that many people watching the show at first and I don’t got no reason to lie. I mean, I was a fan of T-Mac. I’m still a fan. It just happened. -via complex.com / August 6, 2023

There was a viral tweet the other day on this topic so I thought I’d ask you. Why are your stories always so negative? Jeff Teague: It’s not negative. It’s just the truth. I just don’t take myself so serious. Like everybody else wants to say ‘oh I was the best player to do this, I was the best player to do that’ or ‘I worked so hard…’ and that’s cool. I did that too but I just don’t take it so serious. I played basketball and I loved it. I enjoyed it. It was my career. I was able to take care of my family but now when I look back on it, it was fun. I’m a clown naturally so I clowned in the locker room all the time. That’s why I got all these stories because I joke too much. That’s probably why people can say stuff to me and I don’t take it as offensive or nothing. -via complex.com / August 6, 2023

Matt George: Sacramento Kings star De’Aaron Fox has spent time working with Sac State’s men’s basketball team this summer, and even asked for team gear. Sac State head coach David Patrick shares Fox’s response to being a “Kentucky guy” & what his time at practice has meant to the team. -via Twitter @MattGeorgeSAC / July 25, 2023

With so many professional basketball players as alums of this tournament, who were the best of the best? The Athletic spoke to former and current AAU coaches, scouts, directors, players and personnel who have participated in the Peach Jam since 2010. De’Aaron Fox (Houston Hoops) Since his high school days, we haven’t seen a player with this kind of speed with the ball in his hands. Fox played in three Peach Jams and is one of the best high school players I have ever seen. With his overall athleticism and competitiveness on both ends, Fox was and still is a special talent. -via The Athletic / July 6, 2023

Jason Anderson: Scoot Henderson tells ESPN that Damian Lillard, De’Aaron Fox and Stephen Curry are among the players he most wants to test himself against in the NBA. -via Twitter @JandersonSacBee / June 22, 2023

When asked specifically to pinpoint what troubled him most about that non-competitive five-game series with New York, Garland paused nearly 5 seconds before answering. “We didn’t play our best throughout the entire series,” Garland lamented. “Even the game we won at home that was a blowout, still feel we had a lot of mistakes that we could have cleaned up in that game — different ways to attack their switches, how to better attack Mitchell Robinson. Those were a couple things that stuck with me. I’ve been watching a lot of film of it this summer. Just trying to find ways to improve for next year. -via Cleveland Plain Dealer / August 1, 2023

When the Knicks got bounced by the eventual conference champions, there was a sense of relief. Closure even. Darius Garland could finally move forward.“It took a couple weeks,” Garland told cleveland.com in a phone interview from Johannesburg, South Africa, where he is taking part in Basketball Without Borders Africa. “Probably until the second round. Probably until they lost.” -via Cleveland Plain Dealer / July 31, 2023

Like many of his teammates, Garland, who averaged 21.6 points and 7.8 assists last season, has been a frequent weightroom resident this summer. He wants to get stronger and bulkier. He learned from the Knicks that postseason basketball demands a different level of fitness. “We have to be more physical,” Garland admitted. “I think their physicality took a toll on us in that series. They beat us up. We now know how physical the game is in the playoffs and we know how fast the pace is and every possession matters. Just taking little bits and pieces of that series and trying to put it together for the regular season and then also carry that into the playoffs.” -via Cleveland Plain Dealer / July 31, 2023