Zach Randolph On ‘Podcast P With Paul George’

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Zach Randolph waxes poetic on DJ Burns comparisons, locker room brawls with Ruben Patterson, and why the Grizzlies will be Top of the West next year on “Podcast P with Paul George”.

We share this week’s episode of “Podcast P with Paul George”, presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment, where PG and the guys are joined by Zach Randolph who shares his coming to the league journey and deciding to go to Michigan State and Head Coach Tom Izzo’s reaction to his “one and done” plan.

Zach also delves into his notable locker room altercation with Ruben Patterson, Mike Conley’s impact with the Wolves, and why he expects a healthy Memphis Grizzlies team to re-stake their claim at the top of the Western Conference next year.

Later in the episode, Zach offers his thoughts on the comparisons between him and NC State star DJ Burns Jr. and the advice he gave to D.J. ahead of the NBA draft.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

  • 28:41 – ZACH ON THE “SLAM HEARD AROUND THE WORLD” LOCKER ROOM ALTERCATION WITH RUBEN PATTERSON

PG:Can you tell us a little bit what happened there between you and Ruben [Patterson]?

Zach:Man, listen, Ruben is a bully man. He’s a bully…I’m going to get my story out…He had to get some get back man. He slammed me, man. He’s a bully. Ruben is strong man. So he come in, he just got done lifting waist now he ain’t got no body fat. I’m 18, 19. This a grown man. I think he [was] probably 28, 30, 29…And he come in the locker room, ‘can’t nobody slam me.’ After working out, we in the locker room…So I’m sitting around, I’m like, I’m from the hood. So I grew up locking up in the yard. We dumping each other every day. That’s fun…I’m thinking somebody going to say something like you got me fucked up or something.

PG:So nobody say something at this moment.

Zach:…I stood up, try to grab him, we lock up, he slammed– he throwing me all in the lockers. Boom! Boom! I’m trying to, I’m 19, I ain’t going. So I’m trying to, man, it’s a difference, grown man strength I found out then it’s different…So he slammed me in the locker, boom, all over the locker room. Boom, boom, boom. So we get back to the middle now Portland, in the locker room is carpet on the floor, but underneath the carpet it’s concrete. So I’m standing off thinking he going to grab me again. We get the middle, he dropped on me, grabbed my legs. Man, pick me up bro. Like this and thump me on my back like a WWE fool.

  • 44:29 – ZACH ON WHEN HE FOUND OUT HE WAS GETTING TRADED DURING THE 2007 NBA DRAFT AFTER THE PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS GM TOLD HIM HE WASN’T MOVING

Dallas:During the 2007 NBA draft you get traded to the New York Knicks and I wasn’t aware of this, I’m curious if you know, that during the draft they actually showed the proposed trade for you for Steve Francis and Channing Frye and Spike Lee actually stood up and cheered when they showed the actual trade, which probably was funny. But when did you realize or learn that you were being traded to the Knicks?

Zach:Man, it’s a cold business, right? So I was so fucked up, I didn’t want to get traded. When you a first time getting traded somewhere, getting traded from where you’ve been, I was in Portland, I got there at 18, I was there for what, six, seven years. So how you feel at home and shit. So when I got traded I was sick as hell, right? But I’m at the Four Seasons on Wilshire and just the night of the draft and I’m downstairs, I see the general manager Kevin Pritchard at the time. So I walk up to KP, I’m like ‘what’s up KP?’ Like ‘what’s up?’ I was like ‘man, am I getting traded?’ And he’s like ‘man, no man, you’re not going nowhere. We want you here, you’re not getting traded.’ So I’m like okay, so cool. So I go upstairs, I tell a couple of my homies up there.

I tell ‘man I just seen Prichard, man I’m cool. I ain’t going nowhere. I’m good. I am straight. I ain’t going nowhere. He just told me I ain’t going nowhere.’ Right? Man, so we sitting back in the room doing whatever, watching the draft. Ding ding ding, trade Zach Randolph going to [the] New York Knicks. Look man, man, stomach drop fool I go in the restroom, I’m sick as hell, right? So I like man I just seen this dude, he tell me he ain’t serious. I said man it’s bullshit ass man. Come on man. And then you see it. Now you see it with it’s business. So now it’s business. You see stuff with James [Harden] and a guy in Philly and other stuff, other players, but it’s business, man. But that’s how I found out. And he told me a couple hours later I got traded when he told me I wasn’t getting traded. So it was like damn.

  • 50:00 – ZACH ON WHY THE KNICKS DIDN’T CLICK HIS FIRST YEAR THERE, DESPITE TOP TIER TALENT

PG:So you arrived with the Knicks on a team there’s Jamal Crawford, Quentin Richardson, Stephon Marbury, Malik Rose, just a ton of talent on his team but you guys underperformed that year. What about that team – do you think guys didn’t click or the name didn’t translate to the success of the team?

Zach:It did. We had a lot of talent on that team. And like you said, that year, I think I got there the year, the second half of the season and the next season I got traded at the beginning. But that year we came back and got traded and we were balling. I think we were a record, we was above 507 and some every you could see, everything would be clicking and then that’s when the LeBron [James] free agency thing, they hung they hat. So they thought LeBron was coming to New York and LeBron was never coming to New York and they done traded they whole team …So they got rid of me, they got rid of Mar, they got rid of everybody. Damn…So they got rid of the whole team for shit.

  • 1:05:33 – Z-BO ON MIKE CONLEY’S IMPACT ON THE WOLVES AND HOW WE MAY SEE HIM AS A HEAD COACH ONE DAY

Zach:He’s so talented and not only that, his leadership skills and the way he take care of his body, the way he’s such a professional…He could play really another…five years he wants to. You know what I mean? Not only that, he’s the type of guy, like Steve Kerr, where you might see him be a head coach of the NBA team or a general manager. He’s gonna be one of those type of guys.

  • 1:15:33 – ZACH GIVES UPDATE ON JA MORANT AND PROMISES THE GRIZZLIES WILL BE BACK IN CONTENTION FOR THE TOP OF THE WEST NEXT YEAR

Zach:Next year everybody gonna come back healthy. I talked to Ja [Morant], seen him a couple weeks ago and he’s looking good and ready. He’s been working hard and his shoulder is healing. We got Brandon [Clarke] coming back, Marcus [Smart] going to be back. So is [Desmond] Bane. So next year, we’re going to be a team to be reckoned with and we’re going to be right up there at the top again.

  • 1:29:36 – ZACH REACTS TO THE COMPARISONS BETWEEN HIS GAME AND INCOMING ROOKIE DJ BURNS

PG:Well I think it’s only fitting, this player right here who is a ton of talent. He’ll be in this year’s draft. He had a hell of a 2024 college run in the tournament and he has a lot of Zebo likeness and comparisons and I think DJ Burns Jr.’s game has been awesome. He had a hell of a run, like I mentioned, just his ability, his poise-ness, I think his confidence. And you don’t see that level of, I would say just maturity on the court that I think you saw in DJ Burns this season. And so I know you’ve heard of the name and you’ve heard of the comparisons to you. What do you feel about DJ’s game and relations of them comparing them to you?

Zach:I like him. I like the kid, man. When he first came on the scene, I think it was during the tournament, he’s making big waves and I talked to him actually…So we got on the phone and we talked and he’s talking about me, the young man, he’s very smart, he’s investing his money, he’s buying vending machines, he’s doing clothes, he’s in the music. So his mind is, he’s developing, he got so much stuff he want to do. And for me, I told him from the basketball standpoint, just get in the best shape you can. Lose as much weight, you can get in the best shape you can, work on your shot. You know what I mean? Because the game has changed. The NBA has changed and the way they play and the different styles. So just at that fact and tell him you know the NBA ain’t the only one that pay green. So man, it’s a lot of go out there and get your money and just work hard and believe in yourself, man.