This was a really great segment from Dray’s recent appearance on Carmelo and Mero’s podcast 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony & The Kid Mero. Transcript below.
**Mero:** Y’all have been a unit, a group. Like, you said, y’all love playing together. That team chemistry is envy around the league. A lot of teams look at y’all like, yo, this is the blueprint, this is all homegrown…how do y’all stay solid as a group?
**Dray:** Honestly, we kind of got a perfect balance of, like, we give each other space. Like, I got a family, Steph got a family. Klay got his thing, him and his brother are tight, thick as thieves, always together. And we give each other that space. It ain’t like, yo, you my teammate. Like, yo, we need to go do this. We need to go do that. You know what I’m saying?
**Like, me, Steph, and Klay, our interests of things that interest us, like, on a daily basis, is over here, over there, and over here. We have things in common, but like, our everyday lives are not the same. We don’t make the mistake of trying to force that. Which makes it work.**
But when we together, we together. And we’ll do stuff like, we’ll kick it together, and that’s always fun. But like, man, we’ve been on tour together for 12 years. And guess what? We spend more time together than anyone else in our lives. We don’t need to go fake some shit like, while we at home, like, yo, I need to be at your house. Like, we already spend so much time together. You go do your thing, I’m going to go do my thing, you go do yours.
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But I can only anchor as far as Steph Curry allows me to. Like, at the end of the day, I can take something to third base. But it can only get it to home plate if Steph says so and I would never cross that. Again, in talking about how this thing works, I’m never crossing that.
**At the end of the day, it is my role to take stuff from first to third. He shouldn’t have to take stuff from first to third. And Klay, Klay ain’t dealing with none of that shit. Klay’s like listen, I’m playing basketball, y’all let me know when it’s time to go do that thing. Y’all deal with all the other shit…tell me when I need to show up and play. So it’s my role to take. Like, [Steph] shouldn’t be in the weeds, it ain’t his job to take it from first to third. I’m taking it from first to third every time. But like, he got to close it, and he got to stamp it and he got to say, alright, I agree.**
It’s almost like I write up this whole plan, if you can visualize it, and then I go hand it to him like, alright, I’ve done this, this, this, and this. If we want to finish [the plan written up], here’s what you should do or here’s what you could do. It’s totally your total decision, if you want to do this or not. I’ve done this leg work, now, if you want to do this, now you just go do that.
**Melo interjects:** “You want to be Mariano and close it? Close it. If not, keep it on third.
**Dray:** And we’re done with it, and I’m done with it. F*ck the groundwork I’ve laid, you ain’t want to do it? Great, we go this way, no problem.
**Mero:** Does it help having a teammate like Steph, who isn’t the ego guy to be like, “yo, Dray, what the f*ck are you doing over there, man? Who the fck you calling this guy?” And you just being like, “yo, listen, man, there’s an opportunity here, if you’re interested” and him just engaging?”
**Dray:** It 100% helps. Because, again, **I’m never going to disrespect Steph. So, if he not cool with it, I’m not cool with it. Like, I can’t, I’m not doing it. I’m not going to cross him. I’m just not doing that, number one out of my respect and love for him. Like, that’s first and foremost. But, I’m also not a f*cking idiot either. I’m only going to do something with his approval.**
Now, I’ll float an idea. And like, I know his reactions. If I float the idea and he like, “huh, oh, talk to me about that.” Cool, we got some action. If I float an idea and he just keep it bumping. Like, I’m never, I’m not going back to this. Because he heard me. He’s a very sharp dude. He heard me. He ain’t on that, I’m going to go this way now.
**But, it is also a testament to Steph and his character, but also his secureness in him. Like, Steph knows exactly who he is. There’s no question on who he is, what he do, why he do it, how he do it. He knows exactly who he is and he always knows the right thing to do.**
Sometimes I get in my own head or in my own way and I’m like, I’m f*cking doing this and I’m doing it this way, I want to go about it one way. What I’ve learned over these last couple years is bounce it off him. He’s going to tell me the right thing to do. Whatever it is, he knows the right thing to do in everything. He’ll be like, “ah, I think you should do it this way and if you do it this way” And I’ll do it, and I’m like, yo, you was right, 100% right.
**So, I trust him, number one. He always knows the right thing. Just him being so secure in who he is, like, he’s not – to Melo’s point, a lot of people in Steph’s position would be phased by a Kevin Durant coming. He like, “Ah, yeah come on, man. Cool, let’s do it.” Because he know exactly who he is. Most people actually are the opposite. Most people don’t have a f*cking clue of who they are.**
by taygads
