Steven Adams on trash talking

It was an unusual sight, seeing Steven Adams engage in some on-court trash-talking last night against the Clippers. After a brief tangle with Chris Paul, Adams had some words, and then moved on.

“That wasn’t nothing big,” Adams said Thursday. “He just slapped me in the face and I said, ‘Can you please apologize for that.’ That’s all it was. I was just kind of upset about it and he said he was sorry, so yeah, we’re still good friends.”

In all the incidents Adams has been involved in, the common theme is his remarkable stoicism. He takes elbows, punches, grabs and whatever else, and just ignores them like a cyborg and moves on about his business.

But he shared some insight into the game of smack-talk, and who the best at it is:

“I don’t smack talk. I don’t like to smack talk. I’d just rather be playing hard, just focused on the game then talking. I’m not really good at smack-talking anyway. Like KG and Perk, those two are like, talented. It’s ridiculous. They make you question why you’re playing basketball and stuff, like ‘Why am I doing this?’ It’s really weird. You get depressed. I’d rather just play hard. Stay in my lane.”

You didn’t learn anything from Perk?

“I don’t know. The stuff he uses, I think I’ll wait like… he’s a veteran, so I think I’ll wait for that status. It’s just a talent. He’s like talented. It’s ridiculous.”

What about Kevin Garnett? What’s the worst thing he’s said?

“Thankfully, he doesn’t talk to me. But like he was talking to Serge and stuff and I was like ‘Whoa. That’s some stuff.’ But I can’t repeat what he said.”

What about how Garnett talks to himself?

“Yeah, it’s really weird. He’s like talking to himself but he makes you feel bad because he mentions you in it. You’re like, ‘What the hell?’ It’s crazy.”

“I walk away. I try to walk away, so I don’t hear it. Because then I’m like just, sad.”

You haven’t used Perk’s “Silverback” line yet?

“No. No chance. No way. That’s going to cause so much trouble. It’s not even worth it. I don’t think I’d gain anything from that.”