Where do you expect the Nets to wind up in the Eastern Conference, and do you think they’re a championship contender?
FRATELLO: My goodness, they’re playing for the whole thing this year. Let’s not kid anybody. You don’t know how much longer Kevin Garnett wants to play. Kevin could decide at the end of this year, “that’s it.” So you’re not bringing this group together to say “we’re building for down the road.” That’s not what’s happening here. This group has been put together to try and win the whole thing this season. They’ve got guys who have won championships already, a coach that’s won a championship already.
Your top teams in the Eastern Conference clearly are, and I’m not putting these in any order, but clearly the top teams are Miami, Chicago, Brooklyn, Indiana. I don’t know about New York right now, I’m not sure about New York. New York is right on that borderline.
After that, there’s a couple of teams that I think are going to do better than some might give them credit for. Milwaukee could be interesting this year. Cleveland, if Bynum plays, could be very interesting. Toronto I think is going to surprise some people. I even think that if Rondo comes back with the majority of the season left, and he’s healthy, and they don’t trade him, I can see Boston sneaking into the 8th seed.
Boston?
FRATELLO: You’ve got some veteran guys there. You’ve got Rondo, who’s been around. Bass has been around. Green, not too bad. Gerald Wallace, not too bad. Sullinger, if he can stay healthy, gives them something. Avery Bradley, along with Rondo… People forget what they’ve got there in Boston. If they keep Rondo and if they play the way I think they’re capable of playing, they might be interesting. Could be an interesting group.
We did a podcast a few times last year and I actually spoke with Ian Eagle.
FRATELLO: That’s too bad. That’s too bad you had to speak with him.
I know, I had to do it. But I asked him what he hated most about you. Do you know what he said?
FRATELLO: What?
Well, he laughed and said he doesn’t hate you, but he did say that you have a lot of cell phones and that sometimes you’re very needy.
FRATELLO: Well, what does he mean by needy? I need clarification on very needy.
I think he said you’re always on your phones talking to 3, 4 people at once, you need to have that connection.
FRATELLO: Well, if you believe him, that means you’re part of the problem. Because I’m on the phone with you right now.
That’s probably true. I’m helping feed your need.
FRATELLO: And you also have to understand that Ian is a person who, one of his missions in life is to get up each day in life and see how many problems he can cause for other people. That’s his daily mission. “How can I annoy someone today, how can I cause a problem for someone today, how can I get under someone’s skin today.” That’s just what he gets up for every day.
He threw you some shade immediately in the first preseason game, too.
FRATELLO: He went directly into attack mode for the 2013-14 season. Immediately. He opened the first broadcast, he attacked immediately.
He’s relentless. But, as a fair man, I wanted to ask you the same question I asked him: What do you hate most about Ian Eagle?
FRATELLO: (no longer joking) Well, I love him. I love him as a talent, I love him as a partner in broadcasting. He’s a very gifted, talented individual. You don’t see that many people who are sought after to do multiple sports the way he is, whether it’s football, basketball, tennis. He’s sought after because he’s very well prepared, he’s very bright, he’s very good at calling whatever it is that he’s calling. So I’m sorry to say there’s not much I could think of that I might hate about him.
