During the closing thoughts segment of our pod from after the Rockets game, I closed out touching on World Wide Wes and the energy & enthusiasm he brings to the game. How it matters to the players, builds goodwill and establishes a rapport between those upstairs (the front office) and those downstairs (the players & coaches). This builds a culture and opposing players see it.
None of the “us vs. them” divisive mindset that we saw in Chicago where the front office was at odds with Thibs. Or what we saw in Golden State with the front office vs. Mark Jackson.
We’re all in this TOGETHER!
Well our livecast was done simultaneously as the Knicks players were doing their interviews. Low and behold, team leader Julius Randle echoed my exact thoughts when he gave this quote to reporters:
After a Rockets timeout, Randle gave a hug to senior vice president William Wesley, who was — per usual — whooping it up near the bench.
“He’s one of our biggest supporters out there cheering for us every day,’’ Randle said. “It’s amazing to have someone like that from the front office be that into it. It makes it that much more fun.’’
https://nypost.com/2021/05/02/julius-randle-takes-down-rockets-as-knicks-reach-milestone/
Some stiff extra corporate guys view it as tacky gif reactions out of line for an NBA exec. I beg to differ. Nice to see team leader Julius Randle agrees.
Hopefully players we pursue value this type of backing, as it shows the front office wants it just as bad as the players.
