Um, hope you Well, um, how much have you allowed yourself to get excited about A Siri's against the Celtics.

You guys have been kind of banging heads now, pretty much your whole career, But to meet them in this kind of context, uh, what comes to mind?

Yeah.

I mean, I was pretty excited.

Um, and then we all had the watch.

Uh, Jacob Blake gets shot yesterday.

So that kind of changes the tone of things and puts things in perspective.

So that's really kind of all that's been on my mind and, you know, coming down here making a choice to play.

Um, you know, we're supposed to not be in vain, but it's just starting to feel like everything we're doing is is just going through the motions, and nothing is really changing.

And here we are again with another unfortunate incident.

So my thoughts today are with that man and his family and trying to just put my mind wrap my mind around what they're going through today.

Read, uh, when you Where were you when you saw the video?

And like, how do you try to make sense of it?

Um, I don't know how I would like to ask you.

What do you think about it?

Like what?

How do you make sense of it?

Uh um I think that those interactions are the product of a lot of they pyramid of things that those interactions express.

Um, that are unavoidably factual.

On Ben, some of the moments, I kind of at the same time wonder if there's, you know, the, you know, I feel for everyone involved.

That's about all I can say.

Yeah, No, I'm with you.

I just, uh at some point, like we're the ones always with the microphones in our face were the ones always who have to make a stand.

But like in the car, you know, we're the oppressed ones, and the responsibility falls on us to make a change to stop being a press.

You know what I'm saying?

Like that's that's what it boils down to.

That's my point.

And I ask you a question, like at what point does it way not have to speak about it anymore?

Like, are we gonna hold everybody accountable or we're just gonna put the spotlight on black people or black athletes or entertainers and It's like, What are you doing?

What are you contributing to your community?

What do you put it on the line and then us to We got to take responsibility as well.

Like what are we willing to give up that we actually give about what's going on?

Or does it is it just quota where you know black lives matter on on the backdrop or wear a T shirt like, what does that really mean?

Is it really doing anything?

So, um, I don't have the answers for you today, but I just I think we're all, uh I'll speak for myself.

I'm in a different place today, you know, Um, just mostly speaking mhm, Fred, Um when I mean you guys, you're attuned to these issues you grew up in.

Ah, in a town.

You know, I think your food pretty familiar with that part of the world.

Some of things that go down and some in the Midwest, I guess, would be the way to put it.

Um, when you guys entered into this bubble, how did you weigh the potential of visibility, which I think has been very high on this issue and I think there's been an effort.

I can speak for Toronto media.

I think there's been an effort to kind of amplify a lot of your concerns, Um, versus the fact that the change is inevitably going to be incremental, right?

Like I mean I mean, there's no way that you could go into Orlando and think that a knish you like this wouldn't arise again that the math just doesn't work that way.

So how do you make peace with that?

How do you get your mind around it?

I know it's a It's a tough question.

Yeah, I mean, that's the point.

Like we knew, you know, coming here or not coming here wasn't going to stop anything.

But I think ultimately, ultimately, like playing or not playing puts pressure on somebody.

So, for example, just happening in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

If I'm, um you know, would it be nice if if in a perfect world we all say we're not playing and the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, you know that's gonna trickle down if he steps up to the plate and puts pressure on, you know, District Attorney's Office and States attorneys and governors and politicians there toe to make real change and get some justice.

Like I know it's not that simple.

But at the end of the day, if we're gonna be sit here and talk about making change, then you know at some point we're gonna have to put our nuts on the line and and actually, you know, put something up to lose rather than just money or visibility.

Like I'm just over the media aspect of sensationalized.

You know, we talk about it every day.

That's always see, but it just feels like a big, passive fire at this point to me.

I just ask what more I know.

There's a lot of people online here.

Has there been any conversation within your team or amongst players there about a potential boycott?

Have games?

Way had a meeting this morning?

Number of things are being discussed, so I'll keep that between our team.

But, um, you know, we're dealing with it in real time, and I think it affects everybody differently.

And, um, it was pretty fresh on my mind, and I'm sitting in front of a camera.

So I'm just speaking as I'm going, but, you know, yeah, there's there's a lot of different things being discussed.

Thank you, Fred.

To go next to Steve Simmons from the Toronto Sun.

Okay, Fred, from a personal point of view, you have a huge playoff series coming up.

From a personal point of view, you have free agency coming up, and yet the world around you is happening.

Unfortunately, the way the world around you is happening.

How do you look at your own personal situations and then see the disgusting elements of the last 24 hours and and try and make sense of all of it?

You can't really make sense of it.

I mean, you can, but you know, it's not.

It's not the most logical thing in the world, you know, for people to be killed because of their skin color, like that's not It just doesn't make sense.

So situation itself.

I mean, I don't it's Ah, it's tough a little bit, you know, you get a little survivor's remorse, you feel a little guilty.

Um, that's just natural, you know, as someone who lives a very privileged and blessed life.

Obviously, I work to be here.

Don't get me wrong, but, um because I make millions of dollars doesn't make me any more worth of a person than someone else.

So, um, you just you feel guilty sometimes on DATs normal.

Um, and you try to use your platform and you reach your resource Is that contribute to other people's lives and making their lives better?

And you know, that's about Aziz, much as you can dio in the moment.

And so what are your thoughts on the Celtics?

Siri's coming up as Bigas.

It is to you and your team and your personal situation.

I don't really care about that right now.

To be honest with you, I'm sure you know Thursday comes and it's time to play.

I'll be able to lock in basket waas.

Not really that hard for me.

Eso um to be honest with you, I haven't, you know, thought much about it.

I know that that's unbelievably talented team, and they're a great team.

And I think the fans have been looking forward to this, you know, for a long time.

So once we get to that point, if we get to that point, then um you know we'll deal with that when it comes.

But right now, today, on Tuesday, I could care less good.

Two more questions for you, Fred.

First one is going to Stephen Long from SportsNet Hey, Fred, George Hill.

Like yesterday in a press conference, uh, said like it's kind of a mistake to to be to be here now, like in light of everything that's like of the events with Jacob Blake.

Eso If you want to know your thoughts like in hindsight now, do you feel like you want?

But do you feel like it was It was a good idea Thio to go ahead with the resumption of the season, and that's what that man said.

I didn't say that.

So I'm not gonna speaking with somebody else, said.

I didn't see the interview.

I don't know the full context of what he said.

Eso no, I appreciate your question, but I'm not going to comment on what that man said.

Uh, we made the decision to come here, and I'm here and I don't really live with regret.