Royce O’Neale on Suns Trade, Kevin Durant Leadership, Nets Firing Jacque Vaughn
When we come back from your Phoenix Sons R O’Neal joins the show run back returns Backy O’Neal welcome to the valley Zero that’s right seventh season in the leagues played for the Nets Jazz and now of course the where he landed right at the deadline perfect timing Royce O’Neal thanks for joining us it looks lovely and uh the sun on your face what a what
A day for you to start out all right we got to talk a little bit about last night Rockets big win for you guys uh you played 37 minutes I was gonna ask you if you’re tired but then we just talked about Josh heart playing 47 minutes and 10 seconds have you ever
Heard of such craziness sir are you tired I have never I’m not tired uh I mean I think he definitely is tired but uh hey that’s impressive by him I mean guess when you’re trying to play every minute of the game EV every minute so
Far let me ask you are you uh I mean we’re happy that you landed in Phoenix as the team everyone’s keeping their eye on are you pleased with your role so far there oh yeah definitely I mean uh you know these guys welcome me since day one
Uh just allow me to be myself I mean uh whether I mean bringing that defensive int intensity uh playmaking and you know just doing whatever I do for us to win the games Roy even last night just stuff in the statute 11 7 six and three for you just
Across the board obviously a different role now in Phoenix really in a lot of ways like you were last year in Brooklyn just just playing on a contending type of team but what were your emotions when you get traded from a team that’s out of the plane right now in Brooklyn to a
Team that’s trying to compete for a title in Phoenix uh yeah I mean uh you know it’s my first time like being traded midseason uh was definitely a world win but uh I mean my time in Brooklyn was great I mean you know from the moment I
Got there to you know trade that line and guys showed me a lot of respect and you know allowed me to be myself come in play a different role than you know coming to Phoenix you know expanding my role allowing to be myself and then you know comeing and compete every
Day um did you we were always kind of figuring out how guys find out they’re traded it’s fascinating to those of us who are just mere mortals but how did you find out you were traded yeah I mean I was actually playing Call of Duty um you know then uh and then
Like you know I wasn’t trying to keep up with like all the rumors and stuff that was going around and U you know my friends kept calling me and then my agent called me uh like right right as it happened I’m in the middle of a game
And then I just like kind of like threw the controller down and you know told my friends I got to go so uh I mean it happened real fast and um you know I was I was excited just for another opportunity to keep playing I just love
The visual that you’re like why is everyone bothering me I’m in the middle of a game it’s kind of amazing um maybe you can explain this thing that Suns fans do because I still I don’t get it so when a player heads to Phoenix they
Do this thing where they go and see if that player has ever tweeted about Hooters the restaurant uh they did it with Devin Booker who had tweeted about Hooters back in 2012 they did it with you and sure enough you had done it before as well what what is this
Tradition to be honest I have no idea um like when I got traded I was like yo why is why is like I’m training for hudas and then I see uh I see you know me book you know Katie and Brad all literally tweeted something about Hooters and I
Was just like oh okay just the weirdest tradition I’ve ever heard and I love call me crazy call me crazy I think they’re fantastic chicken wings I go there for only the chicken wings and the chicken wings only obviously I haven’t been in years so uh Roy obviously coming from Brooklyn
To to Phoenix now what’s been the biggest difference in the two organizations you know from from from the Nets to the Suns uh I mean I only been here for like two two weeks plus uh I mean both organizations are great I mean uh you
Know just the just the way you know they you know handled themselves I mean Brooklyn was a great time you know Meeting those guys uh they didn’t spending time getting to know them being around him this guys had a lot of value in me you know being one of the leaders
On this team on the team and then you know being in Phoenix kind of the same way uh I mean these guys you know wanted me here and you know trying to just be myself allow me to be myself each and every day and you know come in be the
Player and person that I am yeah and then obviously a few days after you get traded the Nets fire Jack vau is is that something that you saw coming or was that a complete surprise to you definitely could complete surprise I didn’t I didn’t even know that was
Coming um I was surprised I thought you know my friends just playing around they was like yo J long out fir like No And I was like oh wow crazy cold world rce this is this is now the second time you’re playing with KD Kevin Durant um obviously you guys
Had some success last year before the trades and now it seems like it’s going well here do you feel like you’ve developed that on court chemistry with him like it it seems pretty natural but how do you feel and is he a different player now you’re seeing him a year
Later than you saw him in Brooklyn is he different leader how is he carrying himself compared to what he was uh yeah I mean I feel like you know both times Brooklyn and Phoenix I mean uh you know just the you know on the court chemistry
That do develop in off the court I mean have a top 75 and you know the best to play the game you know have your back you know one play with you uh means a lot and U you know just competing with him every day I mean now it’s just like
I mean I feel like he’s a little more calm and relaxed but uh I mean he’s still being the leader every day you know showing up competing you know in games telling us you know keeping us account accountable and you know him just being accountable and being able to
Talk to him again so that’s I’m glad you mentioned that that he’s still out there being a leader because Charles Barkley I I don’t know what the deal is but you know did the thing again where he’s talking about KD and that he’s not a leader which seems like very strong
Words to say you just said he is so what maybe clear it up for those of us who don’t understand it what kind of leader is he I mean he’s a local one I mean uh you know during the games you know he’s getting on guys you know um telling us
You know what he sees and you know allow us just to be oursel I mean it a’t every day showing up working hard uh you know setting a standard you know for us to uphold and you know just being able to communicate with everybody being around everybody um I think you know he’s
Keeping us in Direction you know he wants to win every day I like that I like that a couple years ago when you were at the Jazz and playing the Nets KD did the his little too small um and then now you guys obviously are good friends
Um does that come up do you bring it up when you guys see each other the first time after all this do you joke about it how’s this handled nah I mean I should bring it up next time in practice you know I’m gon give
Him a budet and I’m G do it to him so but I think that’s just that’s just the competitiveness in us and uh you know taking the challenge yeah your first did your first 20 and 10 game on Sunday obviously had to feel great in front of your new home
Crowd how what was that like it was amazing I mean these fans you know welcome me since day one um and then you know first 20 to 10 games especially I mean ABC I mean against the lers and then I got my first start so I guess it was like the perfect moment
That you you know couldn’t that you can only imagine and it happened so and we won the game that’s all that matter by the way I don’t know if you saw this but after the game they they actually took away one they took away one of your
Rebounds so is there anything you want to say to to the official St keeper n no they got to get that back I need I need that to team I need that I need that it’s rude so rude um this footage I’m just happy we get to play this right now
So you’re running a basketball camp few years ago you go one-on-one against your mom sir I need you to defend yourself right what are you doing oh man so you know you know during the camp you know my mom she always tried to challenge me you know she might
Check up uh when I was little she used to you know lock me up but then I told told her I was like yo I mean now you know I got more moves and stuff so she was like I can’t post her up so you know
She’s bumping me and I’m like yo like I gotta go somewhere and then so when I spin and I see she’s falling I’m like wow um do I help her or do I shoot it make the basket look look and I was like let me make the basket first and I help
Her wow you made decision but if you ask her she would tell you herself that she would wanted me to make the basket it didn’t help her up though but it went viral everywhere yeah it went viral everywhere and that’s all she really wanted she was like Hey y
Can’t post it unless it goes viral I was like well they did so this was uh this was like a reverse pool chair you did on Dylan Brooks last night so she went this he went this right oh man Ro you hadn’t been the sons for for
You know for more than a week and I got asked the Isaiah Stewart Drew Eubanks what the hell what was what was that like what was that about how did the team react to that because I there was nothing real no fireworks after or anything right yeah I mean it was I mean
I was surprised and shocked that happened I mean uh you know as we supposed to be a Brotherhood and stuff like that happens but uh you just like wonder why and then I mean we ended up winning a game so you know that’s we got Drew back and you know that’s all that
Matters stuff like that definitely shouldn’t happen m Roy so you go for playing the Eastern Conference now you’re in the west the West is absolutely stacked I know you know just looking at the standings every night you’re you’re playing against a top team in the west like is it exciting
For you now now knowing you’re under that Spotlight every day in the Western Conference and every game has has such great meaning for you guys um yeah for sure I mean especially you know if you look at the standings right now it’s what one game like one through or two through
Eight so like every game really matters uh but you know just you know especially being here SP like with these three guys uh book KD and Brad you know always you know games as you know teams come hunt for us always you know being in the
Spotlight so uh I mean we gonna get team’s best shots and you know we got to play our best basketball to win these games and it’s just fun every night just to compete you know play against the West knowing every game matters especially from here on now it’s going
To be a hell a final stretch going on here uh before you got to the league you played overseas a bit little bit in Germany little bit in Spain biggest difference between playing over there versus here is there something that would surprise us uh I would say couple of the rules I
Mean it’s no like defensive 3 seconds over here um it’s more like a team concept I mean you find ways to move without the ball play without the ball you know it’s definitely a game game oriented you know over there every game really matters uh so I mean the
Fans are just crazy you mean they love basketball and so top to the bottom top to the bottom leagues are good is there a is there a rule that you would wouldn’t mind the NBA bringing over here I always wondered about the when the ball’s like bouncing on the rim
Trying to hit it off um I mean I feel like that would be a little that’ll be a rule to try um mean could have help to Advantage especially like late game situations and stuff like that I like this I like the new rules idea like let
Just bring new stuff over uh this has been a pleasure Royce best of luck rest of the way it’s gonna be a great stretch great playoff run we wish you luck thanks for the time and we’ll be right back appreciate y back
On today’s episode of ‘Run It Back’ on FanDuel TV LIVE co-hosts Michelle Beadle, Shams Charania, Lou Williams, and Chandler Parsons are joined by Metta World Peace to talk about his time playing with Kobe Bryant, his top 10 NBA players of all time and more!
Full Episode: https://youtu.be/mNRKFjttenc
Find out what channel FanDuel TV is in your region here: http://bit.ly/FDTV-Finder
00:00 INTRO
0:25 ROYCE JOINS
1:50 SUNS TRADE
6:00 KD’S LEADERSHIP
8:35 ROYCE VS MOM
10:45 PLAYOFF PUSH
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