RealGM

SLAM: I read that if you didn’t make it in the NBA, you were going to try out for the NFL…

MB: I was a receiver. I was All-American in high school and I led the nation in touchdowns. So football was really my number one sport. But at UCLA they weren’t really high on me playing football so I ended up just playing basketball. But there were some teams that were willing to give me a private tryout. When I was going into my first Golden State season and I told myself that if this doesn’t work, maybe it’s time to make a switch. But luckily Don Nelson gave me a chance and I’ve kinda been rolling ever since.

SLAM: How badly did you want to come back to the Clippers this offseason?

MB: They were obviously my number one choice. Chris Paul and I talked during the season and we were kind of going to be a packaged deal. Playing with him was unlike playing with anybody I’ve ever played with. I felt comfortable and strong in saying that I think we could win a Championship together, and we’re both glad that we got a chance to come back to the Clippers.

SLAM: Does this Clippers team have what it takes to get over the hump and get a title?

MB: Definitely. It’s Championship or bust. We feel we have the talent level from a player standpoint, and now we have the coach to match that. So anything less than a Championship is going to be a pointless season. We won the division last year—56 wins, 17 in a row—and then won the first two and then lost four straight, so basically to be swept out of the Playoffs…Last year really didn’t mean anything to us. We accomplished a lot of franchise goals but we didn’t accomplish our team goal, which was to win. So last year is a driving force for this summer for people to get better.

Leo Sepkowitz, SLAM Online