Trew 2 the Game #14: More on Media Day

By:
Published: October 1, 2013

This column appears every Tuesday exclusively on Bourbon Street Shots.

What’s a Christmas, birthday, anniversary, graduation and new year’s eve party all in one? For a lot of NBA junkies it’s media day. Pelicans fans have been lucky, as a steady stream of Crescent City Basketball information has been running our way since the day the Hornets jerseys came off. A rebrand will do that to you. Given that this will be the most exciting media day New Orleans will ever see until a championship banner is raised, how about a dive into some of the more interesting moments of that lovely day (yesterday) where so many players we’ll spend large chunks of our time deconstructing are just hanging out in their uniforms, talking to people with sound recorders in tow.

Eric Gordon:

Lil Boosie is a Baton Rouge rapper who is currently serving time in Angola. Eric Gordon is an Indiana basketball player who is currently practicing basketball in New Orleans. They have the same haircut.

IMG_5286

New haircuts are cool because it can mean a new beginning, a new chapter in one’s life. When Eric Gordon was first spotted in that crisp new uniform, his dome was the first thing I noticed. So I asked EJ about his new ‘do and he mentioned Lil Boosie. Was he inspired by Lil Boosie? “No” said Gordon. And that was that.

Other than that, Gordon was hot during the interviews. He came off as well spoken and very motivated to perform well this season, the first time he’s felt this good about his health since he was with the Clippers. Of course, all players are going to share some of those same “canned” motivations but something seemed different about him. There was conviction in his voice when he said “We need to start running. That’s what I think we need to do.” Prediction: Eric Gordon is going to have such a fantastic year that nobody qualifies that sentence with the words “if” and “healthy” ever again.

Here’s Lil Boosie representing South Louisiana for good measure.

Jason Smith: Last year at Media Day, we asked Jason Smith which business he was most likely to open after his long and illustrious career as a Pelican. After checking in with him yesterday about the same topic, the answer remains the same – he’s a car guy. Would you buy a car from Jason Smith? Or would you rather eat at Jason Smith’s restaurant?

When asked what a proper punishment will be for anyone who accidentally calls the Pelicans the Hornets this season, the big man referenced this v8 commercial.

It’s not clear if #14 was implying that anyone who would call this team Hornets doesn’t deserve bacon bits or if they should get a bop on the head accompanied by a goofy sound effect. Regardless of what he meant, what’s up with that commercial? Why didn’t she just hit him in the head? Why did she have to have him lean over like that? That woman needs to relax.

Greg Stiemsma: The last guy out for Media Day was one of the most fun to talk to. There was a bit of a “been there, done that” vibe to him but once the lighthearted questions started to roll his personality shined. I asked him for three words to describe his play and he quickly shot out “Physical.” “Tough” was quick to follow but after a long silence I asked him to have fun with the third word. When he said “Silky”, we had a little chuckle as “silk” isn’t “tough” but Greg clarified, as he’s been working on his shot and he has a “Silky” touch.

With the NBA considering nickname jerseys, I asked Stiemsma if his would say “Silky” on it or perhaps even “Silkk” as in “The Shocker”. He said his would say “Silky Steamer.” I don’t know about you guys but I’m spending my lawn cutting money on a personalized #34 Pelicans jersey as soon as they become available.

Chris Trew is a comedian who lives in New Orleans. He referenced Louisiana rap artists twice in this column. If you already knew that then you should be friends with Chris on Twitter or listen to his podcast. New episodes every Tuesday on It’s New Orleans.

One Comment

  1. Pingback: Trew 2 the Game #14: More on Media Day | New Orleans Pelicans News

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.