Richard Jefferson talks retirement, LeBron and more on ESPN podcast

In the immediate wake of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ title win, veteran forward Richard Jefferson said he was going to retire. But not longer after, he changed in his mind and came back to the Cavs on a two-year deal.

On a new ESPN TrueHoop podcast interview with ESPN reporter Marc Stein, Jefferson opened up about his decision to return, winning a title and also the Cavs’ locker room.

“I’ve been on some teams that love to party and love to hangout,” Jefferson said. “I’ve been on some teams that couldn’t stand each out, but were really really good. Some of the San Antonio teams, the guys were brothers, but it was very cliquey from a standpoint of that you had guys that had been there their whole career and other guys that were transplanted there, so it was a different vibe.”

“When Mike Dunleavy got here, from a camaraderie standpoint he was like ‘you don’t understand. I’ve never seen this. It’s like a college team’. To remind you, we were going to World Series games and planning dinners, like, a week ahead. We were just trying to figure out how to hangout with each other. That’s something that, as a group, it starts with your best player.”

You can listen to the full podcast here. It’s about 20 minutes long and well worth your time.