It came as a disappointment to The Joe Budden Podcast fans when Rory Farrell and Mal Clay exited the famed show. A little over a year ago, there were rumors that things weren't going well between the co-hosts, and the gossip only intensified when Rory and Mal took a brief hiatus from the podcast. Later, Budden suggested that he fired Rory, and soon, his former friends were publicly sharing their grievances with how Budden did business behind the scenes.
They've all moved on and seemed to wish each other well, and now, Rory and Mal have their own podcast. In his recently shared sit-down with I Am Athlete, Budden explicated on that time in his life, reiterating that he doesn't hold any ill will toward his former collaborators.
"Where would we be if we stayed together and we were in our greatest form...that's how I hear that question," said Budden in response to being asked where he, Rory, and Mal would be if they hadn't separated. "And the truth of that is, it wasn't there for a little while, and you have to go through trying to mask that, publicly, and that's back to people having they own visions and how to do this, how they want it to go, how they want it to feel, what deal you should take, what deal you shouldn't take—it's just, too many chefs."
He added that the "tough" part about working with friends is "that sometimes you speak less on the friendship side" because the focus is always on getting the job done.
"Some of that communication fades, with that, trust fades," Budden added. "Some other things start to fade. You watch a friendship deteriorate, but now, you at work. Again, this is in real-time. So, to answer your question, though, if none of that existed, sky was the limit. We were—you hear the stories about Kobe and Shaq...same sh*t."
"Like, if Shaq would have practiced more, how many could we have won? Sky is the limit."
Watch the clip of Joe Budden on I Am Athlete below.