Tim Thomas (left) and actor Denzel Washington (right) in downtown Paterson, NJ. Photo Credit: Tim Thomas/Scoop B Radio

Tim Thomas drops by episode # 74 of Scoop B Radio and chats with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson about the love of his hometown of Paterson New Jersey, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter and the time actor Denzel Washington got him out of class. Press Play Below to Listen!

Tim Thomas is a pretty good story teller.

The retired NBA vet has given you his recount of his feud with Kenyon Martin during the 2004 NBA Playoffs, which subsequently found its way to the nightclub.

He and Martin have finally moved on from that, praise the Lord!

Thomas has  also given you the low-down on Charles Oakley’s GM abilities. While sitting with Scottie Pippen at Michael Jordan’s card game party  Oak informed Thomas that the Chicago Bulls would waive him. And yup, it happened!

Thomas’ stories don’t end there! Apparently, Thomas also has clout with Oscar award winning actor, Denzel Washington.

According to Thomas, Denzel once got him out of basketball practice early, while he was a high school junior at Paterson Catholic High School in Paterson, NJ.

Appearing on the Scoop B Radio Podcast, Thomas says that a police officer dressed in a suit interrupted practice and approached the team’s coach. “The first thing we’re thinking is that somebody got in trouble,” Thomas joked.

“I’m thinking it’s a detective or something like that, not knowing that it was Denzel Washington that was downtown shooting a movie called “The Preacher’s Wife,” at that time and he actually called for me.”

“The Preacher’s Wife” was a pretty big deal in 1996, by the way; particularly in church circles! Directed by Penny Marshall, the film starred the late, Whitney Houston and Courtney Vance. The movie had a decent soundtrack, too.

Washington’s request to meet Thomas would change Thomas’ life. 

“So we ride downtown and we’re actually behind City Hall and he was going through his scene. We talked for a bit in his trailer and he was a good dude and dropped a lot of jewels on me about managing money and the stuff that I was about to come into as far as fame.”

The advice would pay off. Thomas was drafted 7th in the 1997 NBA Draft by the then-New Jersey Nets. He’d later be shipped to the Philadelphia 76ers in a draft day deal for the ’97 Draft’s 2nd overall pick, Keith Van Horn.

Thomas said the most important thing that came from the meeting was Washington introducing Thomas to boxer, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter.

For those tardy to the party, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter was a middleweight boxer who was wrongfully convicted of murder and later released following a petition of habeas corpus after spending almost 20 years in prison.

Washington would later play the role of Carter in the 1999 film, “The Hurricane.”

In 1966, police arrested both Carter and friend John Artis for a triple-homicide committed in the Lafayette Bar and Grill in Paterson, New Jersey. Police stopped Carter’s car and brought him and Artis, also in the car, to the scene of the crime. Upon the search,  police found ammunition that fit the description of weapons used in the murder. Here’s the kicker: Paterson, NJ Police took no fingerprints at the crime scene and lacked the facilities to conduct a paraffin test for gunshot residue. Carter and Artis were tried and convicted twice (1967 and 1976) for the murders, and both served time in Rahway State Prison. After the second conviction was overturned in 1985, prosecutors choose not to try the case for a third time.

“I knew nothing about Hurricane Carter,” said Thomas.

“I wasn’t even born at the time that the stuff involving him was going on. So it was great for him to connect us and for me to have the opportunity to meet a man that couldn’t come back to our hometown and went through so much in his life as far as sitting in prison for 20 years and it was beneficial for me to get the information that he gave me about our hometown and the politicians and what people do there with so –called famous people and celebrities from that town.”

While on Scoop B Radio, Thomas detailed his conversations with Rubin “Hurricane” Carter. Thomas also detailed his documentary, I Am Tim Thomas while will release next year.

Check out our Q & A below:

Rubin “Hurricane” Carter (right) and Denzel Washington. Photo Credit: Tim Thomas/Scoop B Radio

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: What specifically did Hurricane tell you?

Tim Thomas: He told me to watch out pretty much for how our city moves. Our city is small so once you make it there’s a lot of people that’s going to come around mainly politicians and try to benefit off of your stature and financial situation and that was pretty much it because of things that he went through it just opened my eyes to a lot of the corrupt stuff that city officials actually were doing at that time and with him being a lot older he knew of what was going on and who was in position at that time and truth be told he was right because there were a lot of things going on with different mayors who ended up getting into trouble and he told me if I was ever going to do anything in the city for the youth to do it on my own and try to find loopholes where I didn’t have to give money to the city itself because the money would disappear. It was great advice because there were mayors who got in trouble back then and are still getting into trouble now. I had a cousin who was actually mayor when we had Hurricane Sandy, Jeffrey Jones but it was great advice that I got from the champ.

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: What did you do with that advice as you progressed in the NBA and even now that you’ve retired?

Tim Thomas: I took it to heart even though I was in a position to give back and I definitely did that for numerous things I’m probably the only guy who has put a million dollars into my city for the youth, so I took the advice for what it was but I still made sure I did things for the community and youth in various ways, for 10 plus years I took care of full tuitions at my high school, started a Pop Warner football team with Marcel Shipp and flew the team out to LA to play against Snoop, started an AAU program we had 23 pros who came out of the program, I got two girls basketball programs that I started, donating money to Kennedy and Eastside High School just different things man there’s nothing in Paterson pertaining to youth that I haven’t touched and the people that are around me know what I have done. As far as the real information that he gave me pertaining to politicians I have helped a lot of people get into office with my celebrity but I haven’t really crossed the line with using my name to go towards the actually city itself. There was one building that I actually wanted but the city wouldn’t help me financially with taxes and different things. It was called the armory, an older building that could have been used for different sporting events it could actually could have been rebuilt into a new stadium for the high school teams that are there, concerts, basketball games but they had armory trucks and stuff in there. When I was younger my grammar school was right next to that actual building it was just sitting there for forever and that was the one building I actually wanted to get but the city wouldn’t  back me on that but other than that I’ve been doing numerous things for the community, especially the youth.

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: When Denzel reached out to have that conversation and wanted to get to know you did he make a call to someone in Paterson how did you know about you?

Tim Thomas: I don’t know that’s a great question. But Denzel is a sports junkie so he probably knew that he was in my town so he sent for me like in American Gangster because literally I was in the middle of practice. I lived like two blocks from the high school so I had to asked the guys hey can you shoot me over to my house to crib so I can change because I wanted to look right but in the picture I don’t even think my jeans were ironed or anything I just threw them on and took off, but pretty much that’s what happened he sent for me and that was it and once I got there it was cool because on my 33rd birthday I got to meet Obama when I was with the Chicago Bulls and that was a great weekend for me  and that’s also going to be in the documentary in 2018 but it was similar to that with all the security and everything being blocked off, but Denzel is one of those type of people that he is a major figure anywhere and if you can get around him he’s a great guy with a lot of information and a lot of jewels he can drop on you.

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: Your mom must have been jealous that you got to meet Denzel.

Tim Thomas: Sort of. It was kind of weird because when people are in town shooting movies nobody announces it unless it’s in New York or LA nobody is going to say or put in the paper that Denzel is in town shooting a movie, you just won’t get that kind of information so when it happens it’s all a shock to everyone, especially me. When we actually met after we introduced ourselves I couldn’t even talk because I couldn’t believe I was sitting there with Denzel Washington, I was in high school and it’s awkward but he was so cool that he made me relax and be myself so it was a good thing and the other thing was that he was giving me so much information about my town that I didn’t even know, I had no clue about it. We were right behind City Hall and the old police station was right there the same police station that they held Mr. Carter in during his days so with his powers he took me in there to see that old prison and that’s something to this day even with me being who I am from my hometown couldn’t get the okay to go see that old jail cell so that just goes to show you the power that he has.

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: Tell me more about the I Am Tim Thomas documentary that you’re dropping next year.

Tim Thomas: The doc is pretty much about my life as far as what I have seen and been through good and bad from an early age up until now. I had so many different stories, playing in the 90’s which most people consider the golden era of the NBA so during that time there were a lot of things going on but we didn’t have social media or camera phones and people weren’t walking around with cameras in their pockets or anything like that. This documentary gave me an opportunity to tell my story and give you an inside look on my life the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’m putting it out there especially for the younger generation because I have an AAU program based out of Jersey and 23 pros have come out of that program and a lot of kids know of me but they don’t know the story, they don’t know that I’m the player to the players and that I was such a bad dude that I had Kobe and Vince Carter playing with me which was a good thing because we went out there and we were like rock stars so I’m trying to change the way that the AAU manifest is being ran now and days as far as not having these super teams with the AAU programs.

Suggested Articles:

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post Scoop B: Ex NBA’er Tim Thomas says Denzel Washington once got him excused from school appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Lonzo Ball and Jason Kidd. Photo Credit: Uproxx

Kenyon Martin checked in with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson and discussed Lonzo Ball/Jason Kidd comparisons and more on Scoop B Radio. Press Play Below To Listen!

Tonight the Los Angeles Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks play each other at BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee. It will be the first meeting between the two teams this season and the first time that Lakers rookie, Lonzo Ball faces a Bucks team that is coached by Jason Kidd, a player the rookie is often compared to.

Kidd told ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk that he thought that it was a stretch to compare Ball and Kidd’s game after playing just 12 games.

“I am not saying it is not fair [to make the comparison], but it is too early,” the Milwaukee Bucks coach told  Youngmisuk about Ball. “People are talking about Rookie of the Year; we are already talking about awards [for Ball]. But it is really early and we are 12 games into this. We are jumping the gun a little bit. Let’s enjoy and watch this young kid play and then we will make the comparison at 40 games [or more].

“Let him get some games under his belt. I truly think he is talented. Today we want everything microwaved, we want it overnight or we want it Googled. We want to see the answer now.”

Jason Kidd with son TJ during The NBA Store hosts the ‘2nd Annual Back-To-School Style Preview’ at NBA Store in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by James Devaney/WireImage)

Kidd’s son, T.J., now a sophomore at a Los Angeles-area college agrees: “I believe that Lonzo is a great basketball player,” T.J. Kidd told me by phone.

“High basketball I.Q,. great passer. He has without a doubt the potential to be great and do great things in the NBA. I think there are some similarities between the two. But I think at the same time, they’re playing in two different eras.”

During Jason Kidd’s playing career, he became an NBA champion, a 10-time All-Star, five-time first-team All-NBA performer, five-time assists leader, three-time All-Defensive selection and Co-Rookie of the Year in 1994-95.

During that time he played alongside Kenyon Martin on both the New Jersey Nets and the New York Knicks. 

Martin also weighed in: “I see the size comparison,” Martin said of Kidd and Ball while on Scoop B Radio.

Kenyon Martin puts Jason Kidd in the class of Magic and Stockton 76. Once a teammate, always a teammate? Photo Credit: Sports-Kings

“He is tall and athletic like J-Kidd was coming out. I haven’t seen that. He passes the ball well. The floor is wide open right now. Kidd has that vision though. I’m not going to deny him that. I need to see a little bit more. I am a big J-Kidd fan, even before when I saw him in Dallas. I saw J-Kidd when he first came in and seeing the things he did. I guess against tougher defense. We will see the kid can play and I’m not taking anything away from him, but he needs to show me more.”

Suggested Articles: 

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post Kenyon Martin & Jason Kidd’s son, T.J. don’t buy Lonzo Ball, J-Kidd comparisons just yet appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Retired NBA players Charles Oakley and TIm Thomas. Photo Credit: Scoop B Radio

Tim Thomas tells Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson that Charles Oakley let him know the Chicago Bulls were going to buy him out of his contract at Michael Jordan’s party back in 2006. Press Play Below To Listen!

Retired NBA vet Tim Thomas is actually a good story teller. 

In the past, Thomas has shared classic stories like the feuds with fellow retired hooper, Kenyon Martin while both on the court and even in nightclub.

We’ve moved past that, though! 

Why, you ask? 

‘Cuz Tim Thomas has funny Charles Oakley stories, too! And apparently Charles Oakley has Ms. Cleo future telling genes.

Appearing on the Scoop B Radio podcast, Tim Thomas recounts attending a card game party hosted by both Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in Chicago 2006 that Charles Oakley was also present for.

At the time, Thomas had one season left on his deal that would have paid him nearly $6.5 million. Oakley let him know he would soon be leaving Chi-city!

Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan and Charles Oakley. Photo Credit: Pinterest

“MJ was hosting a card game so I went over there and all of the guys just told me: ‘hey man you’re not going to play here,’” Thomas recounted.

“Pippen was there, Jordan was there and Oak was really the one who told me.”

The Chicago Bulls were sculpting their rebuilding project that would see them draft Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah over the next couple of years and have both Vinny Del Negro and Tom Thibodeau guide the team as their head coach.

Thomas wanted to genuinely really leave a good impression with the Bulls, but no such luck. “I was about to be a free agent, so I wanted to showcase myself to get another contract,” he said.

“They got me just so that they could get me off of the books at the end of the year.”

Don’t feel too bad for Timmy.

Thomas got the buyout that Oakley predicted with the Bulls and he signed with the Phoenix Suns. While in Phoenix, he’d joined forces with Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion and then-Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni.

Thomas would arrive in Phoenix shooting a career 44-percent. He came in averaging 11.9 points per game and in the 2006 NBA Playoffs, he’d make the shot of his career in game 6 of the 2006 Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

With 8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Thomas hit a game-tying three to tie the game at the end of regulation. In overtime of that game, he hit an important three-pointer late in the game to seal the Suns’ win. The Suns would go on to win game 7 and overcome a 3-1 series deficit.

The Suns would lose to the Dallas Mavericks in the next round. But it was Oakley’s honesty month’s prior at Michael Jordan’s party in Chicago that is the catalyst for making this story ultra-interesting.

“Everything worked out,” said Thomas.

Suggested Articles:

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post Charles Oakley warned Tim Thomas of Bulls buying out his contract in ’06 while attending Michael Jordan’s party appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Rapper & Everyday Struggle Host Joe Budden & retired NBA forward Kenyon Martin. Photo Credit: VIBE

Kenyon Martin Chatted With RESPECT Magazine’s Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson about EVERYTHING on Scoop B Radio. Press Play Below To Listen In

Summer 2003 was big for both Kenyon Martin and Joe Budden.

For Budden, a former cast member of Love & Hip Hop New York and current host of COMPLEX’s Everyday Struggle, his self-titled debut album, Joe Budden released June 10, 2003 via Def Jam.

The Jersey City, NJ representer’s album had hits guest appearances from  Lil’ Mo, Busta Rhymes and 112 and had top singles Focus, Fire and the Just Blazed-produced crossover hit, Pump It Up.

June 10, 2003 for Martin was a tad bit different. He and his New Jersey Nets were preparing for Game 4 of the 2003 NBA Finals after dropping Game 3 84-79 to Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs two days before at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.  

New Jersey’s Jason Kidd, left, and Kenyon Martin watch as San Antonio celebrates a 93-83 win in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The Spurs won the game Friday in East Rutherford, N.J. Photo Credit: Lawrence Journal

Martin would score 23 points and hauled in 11 rebounds in Game 3. and would would lead all Nets scorers in Game 4 with 20 points and 13 rebounds in New Jersey’s 77-76 win.

The Nets would lose the series 4-2, but K-Mart was the man around the Garden State.

So was Budden.

Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic gave his album four stars out of five, Chris Ryan of SPIN gave the album an eight out of ten and HipHopDX’s K.B. Tindal gave the album a four and a half out of five. Pump It Up was placed on the soundtracks for 2 Fast 2 Furious, You Got Served and EA Sports’ Madden NFL 2004.

Fire even found it’s way on the Mean Girls Soundtrack.

With all of the success going on that summer for said rapper and said NBA baller, can you believe that the two were mistaken for each other in public?

Everywhere,” Kenyon Martin told me on Scoop B Radio.“Everywhere! You name it!”

Martin says that their mistaken identities would mostly happen while he’d go shopping in downtown Newark, New Jersey. “I used to go onto Clinton Ave a lot and in the hood on Clinton Avenue shopping,” he said.

“It would be at a distance and then they would get up on me and see the height differential and say: ‘Oh hey! It’s K-Mart.’”

While you listened to part two of Martin’s interview above, make sure to also check out part one of our discussion. He talked about his Nets days and the 2002 NBA Finals against Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. “I have never been afraid when it comes to basketball, period,” said Martin.

Check Out Kenyon Martin’s Part 1 Interview Scoop B Radio

“I’m not afraid to mix it up with guards or big men. But that experience there was a good team and we got to, but Shaq was dominant that series. We got to being out there and playing on that level, me holding my own, helping my team and putting them in a position to win. That meant a lot that I was there for my career and my confidence moving forward.”

Suggested Articles:

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post Kenyon Martin Says He Would Get Mistaken For Joe Budden During His New Jersey Nets Playing Days appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Bob Huggins and Kenyon Martin. Photo Credit: Twitter

Kenyon Martin chatted on Scoop B Radio with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson about his playing time at Cincinnati with Coach Bob Huggins. Press Play Below to Listen

Two things that go together like peanut butter and jelly is Kenyon Martin and Bob Huggins. Currently head men’s basketball coach at West Virginia, Huggins guided Cincinnati to a 399–127 record during his 16 years as coach of the Bearcats. Huggins directed Cincinnati to ten conference regular-season titles and eight league tournament titles. He’d coach future NBA players like Lance Stephenson, Ruben Patterson, Danny Fortson, DerMarr Johnson and Nick Van Exel.

One of his gems was NBA vet Kenyon Martin, the greatest power forward in Cincinnati history. K-Mart holds school records for field-goal percentage (.586) and blocks (292). Drafted by the then-New Jersey Nets in 2000, Martin lived his best life catching alley-oops from future Hall of fame point guard and current Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd. The two would make two trips to the NBA Finals.

Martin relished in how influential Bob Huggins was to his career. “It was great for me,” Kenyon Martin told me on Scoop B Radio. “A lot of people’s experience with Hugs is not the same; because I play basketball the way Hugs wants you to play basketball,” Kenyon Martin told me on Scoop B Radio.

Martin says the thing he learned early was just to go out there and stay on your grind under Huggins. “Go out there play hard get better and don’t complain,” he said. “Go straight forward. That is the way that I came to Cincinnati and that is the way I left. All he had to do was coach me, he didn’t have to get on me about playing hard.”

An emotional Kenyon Martin hugs Bob Huggins before his last game at the Shoemaker Center. Photo by Lisa Ventre.

Martin was both a Wooden and Naismith Award winner in his senior year despite breaking his leg in a collision with a St. Louis player that kept him out of the NCAA tournament. He was the big man on campus and it magnified on the basketball court under Huggins. That didn’t mean that there weren’t some enjoyable and funny moments too! “Oh s*** that is a laundry list,” Martin said.

Martin recounted a time that Huggins literally barged in on Ryan Fletcher while he was in a bathroom stall. For those keeping score at home, in 1998, Fletcher threw a length of the court pass to Kenyon Martin, who passed to Mel Levett for the game winning dunk in the final second of the game to beat #1 rated Duke University.  

“Fletch played hard but Huggs used to be on him all the time like riding him riding him riding him,” said Martin.

“So one day Hugs was on Fletch, like he knocked the bathroom stall door off the hinges. I heard it so I went and looked I came back around the corner and told Hugs: ‘you might not want to f*** with Fletch today.’ So he started laughing. Huggs is one of those guys if you let him get to you, he is going to be on you daily. He wants you to play harder and if he gets to you, he wants you to be annoyed, he doesn’t want anybody that he can break. I have seen a few guys quit and I have seen a few guys cry from the tongue lashing. They can’t take it, it’s like transfer. Its real. If you have thin skin man, it’s not for you.”

Bob Huggins is the winningest coach in terms of victories and percentage in the school’s basketball history. The Bearcats appeared in postseason play in each of Huggins’ 16 seasons. They appeared in the Final Four in 1992 and advanced to the Elite Eight twice.

Suggested Articles:

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post Kenyon Martin Recounts The Time Former Cincinnati Bearcats Coach Bob Huggins Stormed A Bathroom Stall While A Player Was In There To Motivate Him appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Tim Thomas and Kenyon Martin. Photo Credit: DJ Whoo Kid/Twitter

Retired NBA player Kenyon Martin chatted with RESPECT Magazine’s Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson on the Scoop B Radio podcast about his feud with Tim Thomas and a range of other topics. Click the player below to listen.

Kenyon Martin and Tim Thomas have had a long-standing feud that dates back to April 17, 2004. NBA Playoffs, first seeded New Jersey Nets vs. eight seeded New York Knicks.

With the Nets leading 94-74 midway through the 4th quarter of game 1 of the Hudson River matchup, Thomas, then a Knick, took Martin, then a Net off the dribble from the left side. Martin lost Thomas on defense as Thomas glided to the basket. Jason Collins, then a Net went to bail Martin on defense and attempted to block Thomas’ shot and instead knocked Thomas to the ground. Collins was charged with a flagrant foul. The hit not only required a stretcher for Thomas to get off the court, but Thomas was ruled out for the remainder of the series.

After being released from the hospital, Thomas expressed his frustration to the New York media, telling reporters that he would be looking to hit someone back when he returned to the court. When pressed by a writer on his stance on Kenyon Martin, Thomas stated that Martin was a “fugazi,” a mafia term which means ‘fake,’ and was popularized by former HBO original program The Sopranos, a hit during that time period.  

“I said what I thought that individual, Kenyon Martin is, which is a fake tough guy,” Thomas told me last year on Scoop B Radio.

“It kind of stuck. I’m from Paterson NJ, 10th Ave. and E. 29th. My city is called Pakistan right now. They call him Ken in his hometown, where he’s from. They call me Big Dog and Big Homie or OG where I’m from. So it’s a major difference right there.”

Martin would retaliate by cutting out the New York Post’s headline that read “Whiny Tim” and taped it to his practice jersey for all the media to see. The Nets swept the Knicks in that series, 4-0 and would lose in the Eastern Conference Finals to eventual 2004 NBA Champion Detroit Pistons.

The feud would escalate.

Martin would appear on a podcast with NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, a former Nets beat writer for the Bergen Record (NJ) newspaper. Martin discussed his time playing with the Nets and when asked by Woj about the topic of Thomas, Martin weighed in.

Apparently, after the playoff series between the two teams, the two got into an altercation at a Dallas-area night club.

According to Martin, the party’s hostess asked Thomas to leave and informed him that she didn’t want “any of Thomas’ blood on her hands.” To which Martin told The Vertical Podcast: “Ain’t no one going to let something happen to me in my area code and I don’t think he knew that, so it could have got ugly. He found out that night to leave me alone.”

When pressed on a way to resolve the issue, Thomas stated that he’d like to step into the ring and box Kenyon Martin for a charity of his choice.

“Brother let’s get in the ring,”  Tim Thomas told me on Scoop B Radio. “Let’s get in the ring! I know you got some charities you can send the money to. I’ve got plenty of kids to help out, plenty of organizations. We could give it to charity. Or we can get some boxing promoters. I can call Floyd and we can get this off my chest once and for all.”

Earlier this year, 50 Cent announced that he and boxer Floyd Mayweather were setting up a boxing match with singer Chris Brown and rapper Soulja Boy as its headliners. 50 also indicated that retired NBA player Kenyon Martin, who played for the Nets, and Thomas, were on the event’s undercard.

Well, Floyd had a big fight last month, he fought some guy Irish MMA fighter named Conor McGregor! Maybe you’ve heard of him?

No sign of Thomas or Martin, though!

When asked about 50 Cent’s challenge, Martin told Billboard Magazine:

“Don’t be part of the circus, dog. You know what they say if you entertain clowns, right? If you entertain clowns, you become part of the circus. I’m a 39-year-old grown-ass man, dog. If that was going to happen, I would have took care of it seven years ago. I moved on. I got kids at home. I don’t got time for that. It’s childish. It’s just people reaching for something to talk about. I’m not gonna entertain that.”

Martin’s been pretty mum about it. Until now.

Appearing on today’s episode of Scoop B Radio, the NBA veteran and newly minted champion of Ice Cube’s Big 3 league had a lot to say about Thomas and that whole feud. “I would have whooped his ass is what I would have done,” Kenyon Martin told me on Scoop B Radio.

“And it would have been f***ing over is what I’m saying. It’s all it is and it wouldn’t have to go on as long. I would have taken care of it or I should have let someone else take care of it like they wanted to.”

Added Martin:

“The truth of the matter is, the man went at me for no reason. That is all that matters. I had nothing to do with the situation. I had nothing to do with the situation. The man got baited in like a dummy. He let the media bait him in and he fell for the bait like that is all it is. There is nothing more to it. There is no three sides to the story or nothing. The truth is he got baited in and went for the bait. Know what I am saying? They asked him a question and I had nothing to do with the situation. Jason Collins fouled him, I did not. They asked that man and he said when I come back I’m going to hit somebody. But they got Kenyon over there, that is where the question is at. I had nothing to do with the situation.”

Tim Thomas and Kenyon Martin. Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated

Martin says he wants to move on past their feud: “Listen man, I am a man first. F*** all the basketball s***, all the celebrity s***, all that bull****. No, I am not. I don’t play those kinds of games, bruh.”

He also weighed in on their altercation in the Dallas-area night club. “Listen man, the only reason he here right now and his homeboys are here right now is because I called the dogs off him in Dallas, man,” said Martin. “Ain’t no if ands or buts about it. Ask him if he did go to the club in Dallas and ask him if the lady asked him to leave. All that needs to be said. Hear what I’m saying?”

Added K-Mart:

“Club Blue in Dallas. Trust me bruh, he only here and his n****s are only walking around right now in one piece because I didn’t allow people to do something to them. Because I am smarter than them. I am not with all.”

The two men made a truce at a Los Angeles-area grocery store, even taking a picture together. 

Tim Thomas vs Kenyon Martin @Shade45 ?????? @SIRIUSXM ? pic.twitter.com/SvRjtRjRY5

— DJ Whoo Kid (@DJWhooKid) May 21, 2016

“My son took the picture with his phone at the grocery store, dawg,” Martin told Scoop B Radio. “You know what I am saying? I’m in flip flops. We are in the grocery store shopping for barbeque. I got on flip flops. He had to take the picture. It didn’t come from my phone. So if I’m such a hoe and I’m such a fan why do you want to take pictures with me and s**t?”

Closure needs to be a thing at this point. My NBA childhood is at stake! Martin is a versatile big that could bang with the big guys and even defend the guards. I hope that NBA teams were taking notes during his Big 3 play.

Tim Thomas, for the record is one of the most talented tall  do-it-all players with handle and a deadly three point shot when it is hot!

At his skill-set, he Al Harrington and Andray Blatche are my guilty pleasures to watch on Youtube.

But I digress!

Mr. Martin, in the words of ESPN’s Mark Jackson, may we have this last dance? “It’s old for me unless he tries something or says something slick,” Kenyon Martin told Scoop B Radio.

“I am done with it. I got other things in my life that I need to worry about other than that clown. Everybody know the way I feel about him and it ain’t a secret. He knows the way I feel about him. It is what it is at this point, man.”

Case closed!

Suggested Articles:

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post Kenyon Martin On Feud With Tim Thomas: “I would have whooped his ass” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Kenyon Martin tells Scoop B Radio about the time he and Alonzo Mourning argued at a Nets morning shootaround. Photo Credit: The Score

Kenyon Martin is coming off of a very successful summer.  Martin who was the captain of team Trilogy won a Big 3 championship and earned a perfect record. That team featured former NBA’ers like Al Harrington and Rashad McCants.

Martin has always been respected in NBA lockerrooms for his energy and hard-scraping on the court. He’s also never been afraid to speak his mind.

Taking a walk down memory lane on Scoop B Radio, Martin discussed the time he and Alonzo Mourning had a war of words during a Nets morning shootaround.

Check Out Kenyon Martin’s appearance on Scoop B Radio with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson

According to Steve Popper and Lee Jenkins who were covering the Nets for the New York Times back then, Martin, then in his fourth season with the then-New Jersey Nets was mocking Mourning’s recent performance on the court and commenting that Mourning would not have to run if he would improve his rebounding, Mourning attacked Martin’s leadership and toughness.

Mourning had just signed with the Nets after his kidney disease cost him the season before and nearly the entire 2000-01 season. Mourning responded by telling Martin: ”At least I’m out there on the court, not in the training room. I’m trying to make the best of my time.”

‘You can’t be a leader in the trainer’s room crying, ‘My ankle, my ankle,’ ” Mourning added, referring to the sprained ankle that sidelined Martin for five games. Martin responded by mocking Mourning, muttering, ”My kidney, my kidney.”

Mourning did not immediately react to that comment. But when the players separated into groups for the next part of practice, he charged at Martin before being restrained by teammates, yelling: ”What did you say about my kidney? Don’t talk about my kidney. I’ll put you on your back.”

“It was one incident that we got into but it turned around,” Martin told me on Scoop B Radio.

“I think Alonzo looked at me like I should have been working as hard as he was in shootarounds and stuff. I was never a shoot around guy I was never like that. I have never understood the purpose of shoot arounds you know, just being honest. Why are we here? I’m just going to go home and go back to sleep. That was my thing.”

Martin’s perspective and Mourning’s grittiness came to a head that day. “Alonzo used to go dumb hard all the time because he was old school and he wants to go all the time,” said Martin.

“I guess I wasn’t doing that and I had sprained my ankle against Minnesota and I came back so we are practicing and it was an offensive rebounding drill and it’s me and RJ [Richard Jefferson] on the same team and him and whoever was on the other team. So we’re doing the drill or what not, so whoever gets the most offensive rebounds on the team’s got to run. However many rebounds you missed you had to do a round down and back or what not. So we are on the sideline laughing and joking and what not. They can’t keep us off the glass, but we were having a good time and it ain’t nothing fierce at that point.”

According to Martin, that’s where Alonzo Mourning got a bit riled up:

“So ‘Zo got mad and go at me and was like: ‘why don’t you go and get your ass off the training table.’ I was like: ‘who the hell you talking about brah?’ So me being who I am was like: ‘you gotta be worrying about your own, my exact words were ‘You gotta worry about your own mother f****** kids and stop worrying about me.’ He didn’t like that too much.”

So who won the fight? “We didn’t even fight, there was no punches thrown so it wasn’t like that,” said Martin.

Martin said former Net Aaron Williams was instrumental in diffusing the situation. “Aaron Williams said: ‘nah just let him go.”

“Like boy I have seen your fight with Larry Johnson and I’ll wear you out in here. I have seen your fight. So that’s all that was. So after the fact, what I [realized that what I] had said was hurtful and so I apologized to him. That never got noted that I apologized to the man. Like maybe I took it over the line, you know what I am saying? But at that time I wanted that action like you are coming at me for no reason.”

Suggested Articles:

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post Kenyon Martin Once Told Alonzo Mourning: ‘worry about your own mother f****** kids’ during altercation In Nets Practice appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.