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Mo Williams is in a perfect spot to bad mouth his former owner, Dan Gilbert. The Cleveland Cavaliers owner, notorious for the way he handled — or more aptly, mishandled — the LeBron James situation, is now being portrayed as one of the “hawk” lockout leaders. Not only that, Gilbert also traded Williams to the Los Angeles Clippers, opening the door for Williams to take some shots now that he’s out of town. Instead, Williams is standing behind Gilbert. The point guard is not wont to admit that everything Gilbert has ever done in Cleveland was because he won LeBron James in the lottery, instead saying that Gilbert built the Cavaliers from scratch. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Williams doesn’t seem to know much about the status of the lockout. Mo Williams joined ESPN LA with Max Kellerman and Marcellus Wiley to discuss how he’s not heard much lately about the status of the NBA lockout, why Dan Gilbert is a great owner, why Dan Gilbert’s accomplishments with the Cavaliers and what they meant for the city of Cleveland overshadow his acrimonious falling out with LeBron, his contingency plan if there is no NBA season, and his early impressions of Blake Griffin.
What’s the latest? What are you hearing?:
“I don’t know. They had a meeting today and we got a meeting tomorrow. We’ll get on the same page as far as from a players’ point of view of what’s going on.”
How frustrating is it that you got out of Cleveland and joined a young Clippers team only to have the potential for a lockout because of owners like Dan Gilbert?:
“First of all, the owner [in Cleveland] that you’re speaking of is a great owner. I’ve gotten to know him for three years and I’ve got nothing but great things to say about him. … But that all being said, I’m absolutely excited about the season and hopefully we can get something done.”
You’re on the wrong show for those cliches. We saw what happened with the LeBron situation, but you have nothing but good things to say?:
“Naw, man. Trust me man. If there was something bad I could say about somebody, I would.”
Didn’t Dan Gilbert blow the situation though? He could’ve found a way to keep you and LeBron and another great piece in Cleveland. Why do you like this guy so much?:
“Just look at the team, man. That team came from nothing when he bought that team. Obviously he had LeBron James, yeah, one of the best players to ever play the game. That being said, he did a lot of great things for that team and that city. You can’t take that from him.”
With a wife and four kids, what’s your contingency plan in case there is no basketball this year?:
“A lot of people ask me about overseas and I’m pretty surprised you guys ain’t asked me yet. I think it’s an option for everybody depending on how things go the next couple weeks and if we get training camp started. If we don’t, I think you’ll see a lot more guys entertain more offers. … Hopefully we don’t lose our top players in our league because this is a great league and you don’t want to water it down.”
What’s the most impressive thing you’ve seen out of Blake Griffin since you arrived?:
“His demeanor and how hard he works. When you’re talking about a young guy that’s got a lot of talent to be one of the greatest players, you always look for one thing and the first thing is work ethic. He has that. And if you have work ethic, you can always continue to develop and get better. … He’s got a target on his back and he was an All-Star last year and they’re going to be going at him this year.”
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