The Mis-Education of Noah Baldwin (2027 - ???)

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All the Smoke Podcast

Matt Barnes: We are sitting here with the future of the NBA. I can’t even say he got next, he got right now, Jack.

Stephen Jackson: Right fucking now, bruh. He has got IT. Rookie of the Year, future league MVP. Mr. Noah Baldwin. Welcome to the show. Glad to have you.

Noah: Glad to be here. I listen to you guys all the time. I love that this is still going.

Matt: We’re gonna jump into it. Tell us about your background. Where did you grow up?

Noah: New Orleans, baby. Born and raised. Went to high school at Isidore Newman. Won some championships with Coach Livingston.

Jack: Shoutout to Randy. They hadn’t won a championship since he played there, right?

Noah: Right. So, it was a real full circle moment for him, and I was glad I could be part of that, especially that first one. Randy is a great coach, and I learned a lot. Had a few scholarship offers, but decided to head to St. John’s.

Matt: Did you have an offer from St. John’s?

Noah: Nope. But I wasn’t worried about it. That’s where I wanted to play. I had been trying to get to New York for a minute if I’m being honest. I wanted to transfer to Christ the King when I was in high school. Already had my plans worked out, but things didn’t turn out like I wanted. Pops wanted me at home, so on the strength of my mom and my grandma, I stayed home, but as soon as I was able to go, I left. Unc said if I made the team, he would pay for me to go to school. I balled out in tryouts.

Matt: That’s what’s up. Shout out to your uncle for coming through like that. A lot of people don’t have that type of support to be free to choose what they wanna do. So, you make the squad, you’re doing you’re thing and then what?

Noah: College life. Girls, parties, practice, girls (laughs). Shit, I think I spent more time at Howard University than I did at my own campus. Much love to the ladies at Howard. But my grades suffered and with that, I was done for the second semester. Watched my team lose out of the Big East tournament and all that. My uncle got on my ass about my grades. Told me I let my team down. And that he wasn’t going to have me out there wasting his money. So, I put in the work in the spring and all summer. Books and basketball. I had to own my shit.

Jack: Derek coming through with the tough love. Okay. So, you ball out in the second season, lead St. John’s on a wild tournament run. Then here comes the NBA Draft. How was that?

Noah: You guys know what that’s like. It was more than I imagined it would be. The moments leading up to hearing my name called was nerve racking to say the least. And of course, you’re trying to impress all these teams and everybody wanted to revisit the negativity surrounding my freshman year at St. John’s, but when I hit that stage and Commissioner Silver put that royal blue cap in my hand, I was good to go. I was just hoping I didn’t get traded before the end of the night because I didn’t want to leave New York.

Jack: And you really put on for the Knicks this season, Noah. I ain’t gonna lie. I was tuned in every chance I could get.

Noah: Appreciate that, Jack.

Jack: I mean, we haven’t seen a rookie season like that since, maybe LeBron? Ja?

Matt: Damn. You might be right, Jack. You made the All-Star team. You were in the running for Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player. That hasn’t been done since Wes Unseld. Were you upset that you didn’t win it? You can be honest with us. We all family here.

Noah: Oh, I definitely was. I thought I deserved it. No disrespect to Keith. He had a great season, but it’s the Nets, you know? They’ve been dominating for years. I kicked the door off the hinges this season, man. Scoring and assists. But it’s just fuel for me. Next season, I will leave no doubt.

Jack: Talk your shit, man. I like to hear that. This boy is a killer, man. You hear him? Just leave me some tickets for next season.

Noah: You got that.

Matt: So playoffs roll around and the Knicks are just sweeping teams left and right. Blow past Detroit and Milwaukee. Then y’all gotta face the big dogs. The reigning champs. How was that?

Noah: I loved it. Brooklyn was our measuring stick this season. And the fact that two of their nine losses came from us gave us all the confidence we needed going into this series. We didn’t shy away from it. There was no fear in our hearts when we played those guys. We just got in there and gave it everything we had. Of course, it didn’t turn out like we hoped, but we left it all out there. I can say that for sure.

Matt: But you and your uncle are cool, right? Family dinners are still on?

Noah: Of course, the game could never come between us. Like I said, he taught me everything. He is the reason I fell in love with the game. I kind of withdrew for the season and once the playoffs started we cut all communication until they won the finals. We celebrated, but after that night I didn’t go over to the house for about a week. (laughs) And when I finally did, this dude has his Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Finals MVP trophies on the dinner table as centerpieces.

Jack: Derek is a wild guy. But let’s back up a bit. You have literally taken the league by storm this season. Your face is everywhere. Reggie Miller is calling you Broadway Noah. We see you being more vocal during the games. You are emerging as a clear leader on the team, so, of course, some guys may not be able to handle a rookie coming in and trying to run things. So, when the deadline passes and R.J. and Sebastio decided not to sign new deals, how did you feel?

Noah: It was weird. But we were winning. And I respect the whole veteran leadership thing. I understand the pecking order. But if I saw something, I was going to say it. That’s just the way that I play. I’m a point guard, you know? I’m holding everybody around me accountable and I want them to hold me accountable too. I had my vet, Ryan, backing me. I had Coach Silas backing me, so I was doing my thing. Maybe coach was drawing up too many plays for me. I don’t know. I can’t speak on that, but they made it clear that they wanted out of New York.

Matt: I feel you on that. Ego is a powerful thing.

Noah: No question.

Jack: So, speaking of ego, the Knicks drafted two point guards in the first round. You good with that?

Noah: I have no choice but to be. I’m not calling the shots. I got a chance to watch Anthony in the tournament this year with Oklahoma State and the boy is nice. So, being able to keep that energy on the floor while I’m out is going to be great. I didn’t see too much of Wen, but it’s all good. We’re gonna work together and get better together. Iron sharpens iron.

Matt: That shit was really politically correct. I like that. Alright, so free agency is underway and as we mentioned, Sebastio and R.J. have decided to split. One to Chicago and the other to Washington. I know your boy Remy has been working hard, but you think the team is gonna sign any big free agents this summer?

Noah: I really don’t know. We’ll see how things shake out. The squad looks pretty solid. There’s always room for improvement, but it’s up to the guys upstairs. We lost Ryan to retirement, and we lost a couple guys to free agency. But we still have Rui. We’ve got Carter. So, we’ll see.

Matt: Appreciate you name dropping my son like that.

Noah: (laughs) Me and Remy have already reached out. He sounds ready to put in some work.

Matt: He better be. You weren’t in town for draft night were you?

Noah: Nah, I was in Miami with my girl and some friends.

Jack: Nice. Alright enough talk about the Knicks. Any big plans for the summer?

Noah: Right now, I’m just enjoying all this Cali sunshine. Reminds me of my summers growing up when my uncle played for the Clippers. The whole family is out here, except my grandparents. We’re gonna hit the beach. We’re gonna put in some work. Might hit up the Drew League to catch a couple games.

Jack: Yeah, I saw your boy, uh, Monk, tell you to pull up. That would be pretty dope if you could get a few games in. Let us know, so we can be there.

Noah: No doubt.

Jack: We appreciate you stopping by and chopping it up with us for a little bit. But before you go, we ask all out guests this question: who would you have as a guest on our show? And you have to help us get them on here.

Noah: Has my uncle done the podcast?

Matt: No, he has not. And that’s damn shame.

Noah: Done. I’ll get him on.

Jack: My man. We appreciate having you here, Noah.

[Agent]

All the smoke!

[mvp]

fire pod

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All the smoke!

fire pod

One of my favorites to listen to

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[Agent]

V dope offseason addition to the franchise