4.6.23 - JR SportBrief Hour 1

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It is the JR Sport Brief Show on CBS Sports Radio. If you haven't figured it out, I am JR. I'm going to be hanging out here with you for the next four hours because that is what the hell I do every single weeknight starting at 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. Pacific. I appreciate you for listening right now. You could be at work, you could be at home, you could be in a vehicle, you could be laying down, you could be standing up, be in a chair.

I don't know what you're doing. I'm happy that you're here. Man, oh man, oh man, we got a busy show. What else is new, right?

NFL, golf with the Masters, got some NBA action, got a couple of guests joining us tonight. Matter of fact, in about 20 minutes or so, we're going to have a conversation with one of Michael Jordan's former teammates. He also was a teammate with LeBron James. There were only four of those guys and he has a new book out. His name is Scott Williams. The big man from the 90s is going to come through and have a conversation about his new book Through the Fire. Find out more about that.

Have some questions for him about, well, I don't know if you've seen this. We'll get into this too. Isaiah Thomas and Charles Oakley are going at it and there's a lot going on.

Tyreek Hill talked about quitting in a few years and Cam Newton has a list of teams that he would be okay being a backup for. I'm like, oh wow, beggars aren't really choosers now, are we? Mark Cuban is throwing a fit. We got a lot to do. In the next hour, we'll have a conversation with Michael Williams to figure out what's going on.

Well, it's pretty far enough for me. I ain't driving out there, out in Augusta. The Masters is going on. And so one of my favorite golf analysts, Michael Williams, covers golf for CBS Radio and a million other places.

He's going to come through and give us the lowdown on what's going on at Augusta. If you want to talk to us, it's simple. The phone number is 855-212-4CBS. That's 855-212-4CBS. I'm everywhere at JR Sportbrief coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia.

Super producer and host, Dave Shepherd, live in New York City. Hey Shep, how was your day, man? You doing good? I'm doing really well, JR. It felt like a legitimate spring day today. How was it in Atlanta, man? I hope not too hot?

It's like, I don't know. Every day is like somewhere between 70 and 80, so I'm good. That's not bad. Yeah, I can't complain.

I was inside all day for the most part, but I looked outside and saw the sun, so what do I know? There you go. Anyway, here we go.

I want to get this out the way. Right before I went on air, I said, oh, NBA season is coming to a close. Miami Heat in Philadelphia taking on the Sixers. Joel Embiid just put up a 52 point game.

I said, I want to see this game. The Miami Heat had 41 points in the first quarter. At one point in the third quarter, Miami led by 26 points in the final score 129 to 101. In this entire game, I said, what the hell am I watching? Jimmy Butler, Tally Hero, they had 24 points each. And Philadelphia at this point, what are they playing for?

Nothing. Joel Embiid was healthy. He was running around out there. 30 minutes had 21 points. James Harden was out there.

He had 14 points. This was just, if I was a Sixers fan and I had tickets to this game, I would just say to myself, why did I just waste my coin? I feel like going to an NBA game is more buyer beware than going to one of these fights where a guy is training for two months and three months and the next thing you know, fight is canceled because he pulled an eyelash or something like that. This stinks in basketball. And I understand the Philadelphia 76ers, they don't have nothing to play for. The third seed overall in the east is all locked up. You have Miami who's in the seventh seed right now. By winning, they stay alive and have a little bit of hope to jump into the sixth seed from the Brooklyn Nets. The Brooklyn Nets, the sixth seed is theirs. All they have to do is win one game or Miami might have to lose one game and it's curtains. Miami has games left against Washington and Orlando and then even from a Sixers perspective, they're on a back to back. The 76ers are coming here to Atlanta tomorrow, Friday. I want to go see Joel Embiid.

Should I? Should I take my ass to State Farm Arena and will I see Joel Embiid play? Hey Shepherd, do you think this man's going to play tomorrow?

No. He's going to be sitting on the bench. I want him to for your sake, but he's not playing.

I know six of fans here in Atlanta. They want to go see the Sixers. They want to see Joel Embiid, but they know he's not going to play.

And from the Sixers perspective, let's think about this for a minute. Why would he play? This is a dude who finished last season.

Joel Embiid finished last year. He had a broken bone in his face. He had two wraps on his hand and you would have thought he was in there with, I don't know, George Foreman. Hey, Shub, by the way, George Foreman will join us on the show next Friday.

That's amazing. So now I'll have to watch the movie, okay? You were probably going to watch it anyway. They don't make too many great movies about boxers anymore. So this is this certainly comes to mind. Well, what about fictitious boxers? They make a lot of those.

A lot of those. One happened to be at the game last night. Yeah, Creed was good. Shoutouts to Michael B. Jordan for coming through. But anyway, Joel Embiid last year looked like he got hit in the face by George Foreman. And this is just terrible for the NBA.

And it's not just an insure. People will still go to the games. I'll still go. I feel bad because when I go, I'm using a credential. I'm not paying. I feel bad for people who spend their hard-earned money and go to these NBA games and they get shafted. In a certain degree, I think there should be a rule. I think most people understand it's already buy, beware.

But then if you get screwed, it doesn't make you feel any better. How about this? This game just got underway, just got underway on TNT. I'm looking up at it now. You have the Nuggets and you have the Suns. None of the Nuggets starting lineup is in there. None of them. There's a guy on the there's a guy on the Nuggets right now.

I'm looking. I don't know who the hell this guy is. There is no Jokic. It's calf. Michael Porter Jr. is dealing with a heel injury. Jamal Murray has a busted thumb.

Aaron Gordon is dealing with a shoulder issue. And the Denver Nuggets have already locked up the number one overall seed. What do they have to play for, right? Nothing. And then meanwhile, you got the Phoenix Suns.

They got their roster out there. Who's this guy? What's this man's name? Braun. Christian Braun from Kansas, a guard. 21 years old.

I was like, who's this? Who's this white guy wearing number zero? He's played in 73 games. He gets 15 minutes. He's averaging four points. I have never seen this man in my life. And he's the starting sharp people.

What is he doing out there? I made a joke. He's the starting center. They're actually having a guy that really shouldn't even be in the NBA anymore as their starting center.

So I made a joke. But he is their starting guard. DeAndre Jordan.

DeAndre Jordan is playing basketball. We just need that. I tweeted this out before the show. With the NBA season in its current state. We should just chop off the rest of the season right now. Thank God the season ends on Sunday. It's going to be over. We're going to move into the playing games. We're going to watch a bunch of losers advance unless it's the Western Conference. Maybe those teams will have a chance to actually go somewhere in the east.

Who cares about the plan? I look forward to seeing. I hope I can get to a Hawks playing game. That will be curtains for their season sooner than later.

Sorry all my friends here in Atlanta. But I'm counting down the days, man. Let's get through the end of the regular season. Ain't nobody playing for anything anymore.

It's an embarrassment. Let's get through the playing next week. See what losers just end their season. And then let's get to some real NBA playoff basketball. Because turning on a Thursday night game. Looking at the Denver Nuggets. Knowing that none of their starters are playing.

None of them. And I'm a huge, just ridiculous, maniacal NBA fan. The Nuggets got a guy on the team that I have never seen in my life. It's like they had a casting call and said, hey, we need you. And here he is. Christian Braun.

Four points, two rebounds for the season. This stinks. You know what? You want to know how bad it stinks? I'll let you hear some of it yourself, man. Earlier on in the game, I told you about this disaster. This was pretty poor. With the Sixers losing and getting lit up by the Miami Heat 129 to 101.

Let's listen to some of that ass-whooping. This is late in the game. I told you Jimmy Butler, Tolly Hero, they had 24 each. Jimmy Butler, no resistance. And the Heat announcers on Heat radio, they're amazing. This is just the layup in the third quarter.

Listen to the disparity. 20 points. He gets it to Jimmy. Jimmy with P.J. in front. Snaps it out, top to love. Pumphé, back to Jimmy.

Top of the arc, top of the circle, bottom of the circle. Bounces off the glass for two. Timeout Philadelphia. Butler has 24 to go with three rebounds and six assists. Heat back up 20.

20 points? Yeah, Tolly Hero. Let's get a Tolly Hero highlight in there. Tolly Hero likes to shoot threes. I believe he had five of them on the night.

Let's hear one of them. Lowry, on the drive, kicks it out to Tyler. One on the shot clock. Rips the net.

Mmm, mmm, good. The Miami Heat have hit 16 of 35 from downtown. 101 points with over 10 minutes to go. Jason Jackson, who you hear, he calls the Heat games.

He needs a raise for having to sit down and call his crap. Hey, here's another Tolly Hero three. Tyler, a quick three. Oh, he feels it.

He ripped it. He has five threes in this game. Tyler up to 24 points. Tied for the game lead. It's an 11-2 run for Miami up 104-80 with 937 to go. You know what?

Let's just punctuate this. Caleb Martin went in for a slam dunk late in the game too. Let's hear the dunk. Love just got stripped by Reed. He got it to Milton for three. He misses. Love gets that one to Tyler. He gets it ahead to Lowry.

Lowry up top to Martin. One hand throw down. Climbing Caleb Mountain. Where the air is rare, but good for you, Love. I knew he was going to say something stupid. That's why I wanted to hear it. Climbing Caleb Mountain.

Did he say the air is rare, Shep? Is that what he said? And feels so good.

And feels so good. That was more entertaining than the stupid ass game I just watched. I want my money back and I didn't pay for it. Maybe Turner will send me some cash. That'd be nice. Anyway, NBA season, they should just end it today if the teams aren't going to play. Let's just call it a wrap and go into the dumb playing. It's the J.R. Sportbree show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. I'm sick of watching, who's this guy?

Christian Braun. I'm sick of watching him play basketball and I've only seen him for 30 seconds. I'm tired of him.

I got no interest in these Denver Nuggets. So we're going to take a break and when we come back we're going to talk to someone who actually played in the NBA. I'm talking 15 years. Three championships, the first three-peat with the Chicago Bulls. He went to North Carolina. Played there after Mr. Michael Jordan and became his teammate. And he has a new book out.

It's called Through the Fire by Scott Williams. Former NBA vet, coach, current broadcaster, Mr. Everything. Scott Williams is going to join us on the other side of the break and tell us about the book. I'm going to ask him about the current state of the NBA. I know he's a Cali guy. I'm going to ask him about the Lakers. We'll talk about some of his former teammates and more.

Don't move. We're just getting started. The J.R. Sportbree show, CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the J.R. Sportbree on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the J.R. Sportbree on CBS Sports Radio. It is the J.R. Sportbree show on CBS Sports Radio. Man, we talked about that blowout that the Sixers just received on the other side of the Miami Heat.

So let's get away from them. Let's talk to someone who's actually been a champion in the NBA, a three-time champion. Let's have a conversation with someone who had a 15-year career, playing career. Someone who has coached. Someone who has broadcasted. And more recently is now an author. Through the Fire is the name of the book.

You can pick it up on Amazon right now today. It is NBA veteran and legend Scott Williams. Scott, how are you, man?

J.R.M. doing fantastic. And I appreciate you bringing me in like that, man. It made me sound real accomplished over the course of my time since I've left school. I appreciate that. I'm happy to be on your show. I appreciate the platform. I want to bring some awareness to my project, Through the Fire, a memoir, A Trauma of Lost Basketball and Triumph to try to do some good for a couple of local domestic violence centers.

I hear you. So I understand that your inspiration to put this book together, like a lot of things that were born, was kind of born out of the pandemic. What happened at that point in time? And fill everybody in as to why you wanted to put this together.

Yeah, I guess you kind of, you know, you take a message, you try to make a message. Well, what happened was, you know, it was chosen for sports like everybody else. Michael Jordan released his 10-part documentary, The Last Dance, and I made my week around that. You know, what I was going to do for dinner, a bottle of wine I was going to crack open at. I started doing some podcasts and some NBA TV stuff with some of my former teammates, BJ Armstrong, Stacy King, Will Perdue, and reminiscent about stories. And it just led to me putting some things on Facebook.

And then guys were like, I want some more of that. You should write a biography. I don't know the first thing about being an author.

I can't even spell it. And I happened to get a call from a guy who was working on a book. He wasn't a basketball guy, but he wanted to learn basketball terminology and philosophy and thought process.

This will help you with your book if you help me with mine. So I started telling him about all my stories in the NBA. We got to take it back to before you were in the league. So we took it back to my childhood and started dealing with all of the abuse that I suffered, my brother and my mother at the hands of my father. And it's real and it was kind of traumatic, but also therapeutic to put it down on paper. And I was nervous and apprehensive of wanting to share some of these things. I've never shared with anybody in my life before, but it's authentic.

And I think people are connecting to that. And, you know, Coach Smith, who recruited me out of California, I was his first recruit west of the Mississippi, told my mother when I went to school that he'd look out for me. And he had no idea the first day of practice my sophomore year after my mother had separated from my father, he'd have to knock on my door and give me the news that my dad found her in her apartment complex and turned a gun on her and then turned a gun on himself.

Scott Williams is joining us. Three-time champ with the Bulls telling us about his book, Through the Fire, Scott's memoir of trauma, loss, basketball and triumph. I know Dean Smith didn't just deliver that unfortunate news to you. Dean Smith, through his lessons, just used basketball to improve your life and keep you going. How did he contribute to that and how did basketball save your life and bring you to this point? Oh, Jay, I'm glad you asked because I'm trying to honor Coach Smith and my mother by writing this book and putting it all out there. True to his word, he had built a culture at North Carolina, a family. And that family wrapped itself around me and his practices were my therapy, having to lock into a Dean Smith practice and concentrate on all the things that he was teaching, banging with my teammates, Joe Wolfe, J.R. Reid, Pete Chilcutt, Marty Hensley in practice every day, working to try to improve with Coach Williams 45 minutes before practice.

He would wear a saddle and Coach Smith get a hold of us. And the great thing about North Carolina, yes, we work hard, we're competitive. Coach Smith was the most competitive person I'd been around. And he had an offensive emphasis of the day, a defensive emphasis of the day. But most importantly on that practice plan, everybody's responsibility to remember was the thought for the day.

And that literally had nothing to do with basketball whatsoever. It had to do with life. And one thought for the day that's come up over the years from time to time would be repeated was, it's never too late to do the right thing. And here I am some three decades later finally being able to tell this story with the hopes that maybe I'll help a young boy or a young girl or a young woman that's in an abusive situation realize that you can lean on people for help the way I leaned on Coach Smith and my Carolina family.

Hey, Scott, I think that's an awesome message. I want to commend you for that. Even after your time at North Carolina, you went undrafted. Your time at UNC came after Jordan was already in the league. And it was actually participating in a charity basketball game that helped open up that door for you into the NBA. Tell us that story.

Yeah, small world. So obviously Jordan being a North Carolina alum as well, had connections in the state. One of his good buddies, Fred Whitfield, who was a lawyer in Greensboro, very civic minded, community minded individual, was putting together a camp for underprivileged kids called Achievements Unlimited. And I had found out about this game that they played with Jordan and he'd bring some guys from the Bulls and some guys from the newly expanded expansion team, the Hornets, would come up and play. And I said, well, I've got to get in this game because if I'm going to make a chance of playing in the pros, I've got to play against pro guys and see where I measure up. So I happened to be put on Jordan's team and got a rebound late in the ballgame. And I don't say I dominated the game, but I got a good physical game from a guy that had just left the year before J.R. Reid. He gave me a good physical game and that's my style of play. So I showed real well and moving him around and getting that offensive rebound and firing over Jordan with the game on the line. Of course, dude knocks down the shot, right?

Money. So as he's getting into his little red Corvette, I'll never forget that image with Fred Whitfield driving out of the high school. He calls Jerry Krause, the general manager of the Chicago Bulls, and says, I think you should give Williams a look-see. And I rode that to an invitation to the summer league. That's when we were at Loyola Marymount practicing that hot little box of a gym. From there, I got the extension to the veterans camp and there were seven of us trying out for the last spot on the roster. Back then, we only carried 12 guys.

And 11 were already under contract. So seven of us in the van one day, four the next day, and then it's just being another two. And then one day I got down in that van, I was the only one there, and I rode that all the way to three championships.

I love it. Scott Williams is here with us, former Chicago Bull three-time champ, as he said, a 15-year NBA career. We hear so many stories about Jordan and his competitiveness. We even heard about still Isaiah Thomas and him just going back and forth, or maybe it's a one-way at this point.

What don't we know or what haven't we seen? Is there one story that would show a different perspective that you've seen from Michael Jordan that doesn't involve him being hyper-competitive? I love telling a hyper-competitive story, but one that I will tell that I think kind of got mistruth in the last dance. You know, he used to play cards in the back of the plane with some of the guys. They play for larger sums of money. We play for up front, me, Stacey King, and B.J. Armstrong.

We play in five and ten hands of blackjack. And he would come up to the front of the plane after playing in the back for a while. And I just like the way he connected with everybody. You know, he'd say, I'll be the bank, you bet, whatever makes you uncomfortable in a laughing matter. But because he never wanted to separate himself from the team.

He realized that there's not too many places out on the road, grabbing a bite to eat, where it's not a distraction for the rest of us to be able to have a good time. Because he was like a rock star. He was like a Beatle when he went out, man.

He would draw a crowd anywhere he went. So he had to pick his moments where he could connect with everybody on the squad. Whether it was me talking about North Carolina or Will Perdue about being down in the South and playing at Vanderbilt. Laughing and joking with him that, you know, he just went to a brilliant academic institution. It's not really a basketball school. So I thought that was something that he probably learned from Coach Smith.

That the superstar can't be bigger than the program. And I thought that was a good way him connect. Sometimes we'd be out at dinner. All of a sudden we'd ask for the bill and be like, it's already been paid for. You see Jordan had slipped through the back door and had a table and a quiet little spot.

You see he picked up the tab. Little things like that I think made for the camaraderie and the chemistry of the basketball club. We went like, hey, we're never going to get our names in the paper in front of Michael Jordan's.

With that spotlight so big it shines on all of us and we're happy to be a supporting troop. Fifteen-year NBA vet Scott Williams is here with us. You played not just with Jordan, but over those 15 years, you played with a relatively still young Michael Jordan. You played with Allen Iverson and then you played first couple of years with LeBron James. These are our superstars, Hall of Famers and legends.

Can you tell me three similarities or just one similarity that ties the three of them together and then something that makes them different? JR, you're not going to get me to say a good thing about Allen Iverson ever. I love the Michael Jordan, LeBron James, I can go there all day, the work ethic, the thirst for knowledge, the competitiveness. I got a young Allen Iverson in Philadelphia who was all about Allen Iverson. He was bigger than the team, didn't care about the overall team success. He was on a mission for only looking out for him.

He should have been playing tennis or swimming. He was the worst teammate I ever had in 15 years. So the other two guys I'd love to whack Poetic on. I had a lot of love for them. There's a lot of debate on who's the greatest.

I write about that in my book. They're both phenomenal players. I love the way they approach the game a little bit differently. But Allen Iverson's not a guy you're going to get me to say a whole lot of good things about.

Wow, Scott Williams here with us. We see that a lot. That's something that's missed in the game today. And not necessarily the, you know, a me first, a team first.

We see that from a lot of guys. Do you feel that has changed over time or has that always permeated even back when you got started in the early 90s? When I got back started in the early 90s, it was, at least on most of the ball clubs that I was on, it was about trying to win. Sure, it's a business.

Everybody wants to get their, stack their chips. But at the end of the day, it's a very small window of opportunity you have to be a professional basketball player. Even the 15 years that I enjoyed, it seemed like it was a blink of an eye. Compared to the rest of my, you know, at a length of nearly 20 years now. This is so important to guys that are competitive that want to be known as winners.

I think people that just want to get checked on the first and the 15th, they don't give a damn about that. Scott Williams is here as we get ready to wrap things up, Scott, and thank you for taking the time. Controversy is always around. We just witnessed and saw the most viewed women's college basketball game ever between Iowa and LSU. A lot of conversations about sportsmanship and me first and who's important and not important and taunting. And even elements of I'm going or not going to the White House.

We heard Andrew Reese say that. I don't know if I'm going. You've been, man. What is that experience like? I know there's a lot of politics involved with who's in the seat or not in the seat.

How would you summarize that experience and what advice would you give to someone who gets the chance of the opportunity? No, I relished it. I thought it was one of those perks of winning a championship being at the nation's capital with the most powerful individual on the planet. I thought that was a really cool thing.

I would never turn that that opportunity down so much history about our our country there in that building. I don't know too much of the story about what Angel Reese has said. I know about the taunting with Caitlin Clark. That was the one story that line that I did get. I'd rather talk about that a little bit.

And I will say this. Taunting has been a part of basketball since I was probably in H8. Hosking Heights Basketball Association in the sixth grade when I first learned the fundamentals. You want to try to gain an advantage on the court, whether it be with your play or getting inside someone's head. Getting in their kitchen, trying to throw them off for their game. That's all part of it. Now, there's also a thing called winning with grace when the game is decided. I think that's when you put that that element of the game aside and you shut that down. I'm not trying to say what Angel Reese did was after the fact because I didn't watch the basketball game. I could only see still photos for the most part and that fine line of when she had the game won versus trying to psych out an opponent.

That's a tough one to walk. And I know sometimes your adrenaline, your emotions get the better of you. That's what I would have thought when I saw the still pictures that she could have dialed it down a little bit. Yeah, it's fine in the third quarter. It's fine midway through the fourth quarter. They won by 15 points at some point in time while the clock was still ticking. That game had been decided.

I think Angel Reese needed to dial it back. So Scott Williams joining us last and final question. You talk about being competitive.

And this was a game on Sunday just over the past couple of days, past couple of weeks. We have seen Charles Oakley go at Isaiah Thomas and Isaiah Thomas respond to Charles Oakley. Just on the basis of Isaiah's relationship with with your old teammate as well.

Just Michael Jordan. This is now 30 years down the line. At what point does it stop being competitive and everybody has to go, wait a minute, like we're a little too old for this? Or is it ever a point?

Yeah, I don't know, man. I kind of find it a little bit funny watching these grown men with their gray hair and their pot bellies, you know, you know, acting like they can still go out on the court and settled on the floor. So I kind of take a little bit funny. And I know Charles Oakley and Michael are are phenomenally good friends and very close. I think I could see Charles trying to weigh in on that whole situation and say he's got MJ's back.

MJ, for the most part, is relatively quiet. I don't see much come from his side or his camp outside of Oakley. So, you know, I think some of it has to do with maybe they just want to see their names on the paper on the Internet, you know, on the Sports Center. To me, it's it's childish, it's humorous. I don't think anybody's getting hurt from it. Well, I guess let them have have at it.

Those are for those Hall of Famers that, quite frankly, Stacy Keene and I talk about was above our pay grade. I hear that. Well, Scott, you have a wealth of experience and I appreciate you taking the time to hop on from your championships with the Bulls, the length of your career, your experience as a coach and a broadcaster. Tell everybody one more time where they can go ahead and get the book Through the Fire. Through the Fire is a memoir of trauma, loss, basketball and triumph. It is available now on Amazon and Kindle paperback and hard cover.

You can also get it at Barnes and Noble dot com as well. Now, Jay, I want to say I really appreciate you letting me come on and share on your platform. I hope to try to do some some good for domestic violence victims.

You know, 20 people every minute in the United States suffers from some form of domestic violence. And we want to try to help those folks. Hey, I appreciate the cause. And thank you for bringing a message. We'll be talking to each other coming on soon down the line as well. You can rest assured that, Scott. Thank you.

I appreciate that, Jay. I just want to know, do you got my son's coming out of the West? I'm headed to the game tonight.

Well, you had to get the one that they already win it. What's that? The Sun's Sun Sun's Nuggets tonight. Oh, man.

Yeah. Well, the Denver Nuggets, me and you can still go out there and play. So just just go out and play. Get involved.

None of the stars are playing at the Sun. Stars are playing the Nuggets. I got a win in the West and go on and go into the finals this year. Hey, look, if they stay healthy, I'm not mad at you.

I think that's a reality. Well, we'll have to come back and talk to playoff hoops. Get me on another time.

Well, yeah, we'll come back on in a few weeks, Scott. I appreciate you. Thank you, my man.

No doubt about it. Much love. Much, much love to Scott Williams, three time champion with the Bulls, 15 year NBA career.

Make sure you go ahead and get the memoir Through the Fire by Scott Williams, a memoir of trauma, loss, basketball and triumph available on Amazon and also hardcover. We're going to talk more about some things he said on the other side. Had some positive words to say about MJ and LeBron.

Not so much. Well, nothing really at all about Allen Iverson. And we're going to get into this beef with Isaiah and Oak. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. JR wants to hear from you. Call him now at eight five five two one two four CBS.

That's eight five five two one two four two two seven. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. I want to give a big thank you to 15 year NBA vet, three time champ with the Bulls, big man holding it down with the power, with the dirty work. Scott Williams, he came through to talk about his book Through the Fire. It's his memoir of trauma, loss, basketball and triumph. He's looking to raise awareness on issues of domestic violence of all forms.

It doesn't necessarily have to be between two two partners. And so thank you so much to Scott Williams for coming through and sharing how basketball saved his life and sharing some stories with Michael Jordan, how he got into the league. His time as a champ with the Bulls, his visit to the White House, playing alongside LeBron James early in his career. And then also letting us know that Mr. Allen Iverson wasn't in their category when it came to being a good teammate. So thank you to Scott Williams. Go ahead and purchase his book Through the Fire on Amazon. And if you missed the interview, you can go ahead and hit rewind on the free Odyssey app.

He also shared some points, a point regarding Charles Oakley and Isaiah Thomas that I want to replay for you at the top of the hour, because we got vets and we got legends going at each other right now. And it's kind of like you're going to grow up. Before we do that, at the top of the hour, eight, five, five, two, one, two, four CBS eight, five, five, two, one, two, four CBS Sigma calling from Arkansas. Sigma, you're CBS Sports Radio.

What's going on? Hello, my name is Sigma. How are you? Hello, my name is Sigma and they call me Sigma. OK, what's on your mind?

What are you thinking about? I think that the Rockets are the best and they're going to win this year. OK, thank you, Sigma. I appreciate you. That was a very. Very.

Hey, shut up. Did you also have the Rockets winning this season championship? I don't think the Rockets family members had the Rockets winning the NBA championship this season, but I guess the beauty of our country is that there is freedom of speech and you can think even though they were mathematically eliminated two months ago, that they still have a shot at winning the NBA championship and express that on the national airwaves. Let's think about some other teams that are going to win a championship.

You ready? Yes. Tell me your thoughts on these teams winning the championship to see a shot. Sure. Portland Trailblazers. They're bringing back Lamarca soldiers and Clyde Drexler in the time machine.

OK, let's keep going. San Antonio Spurs. The same theory and logic would apply. Tim Duncan's not coming back any time soon. OK, what's the team that are Victor when Benyama can he come over and play in the playoffs? Well, he you know, listen, the Spurs is certainly angling for him and we know the ties he has with Tony Parker.

So that may very well work in twenty twenty four. Who knows? Maybe pop sticks around for another year of misery. We have to wait a full season before not even a full now.

You know that I think about this, right? I talked about at the beginning of the show, just like let's get this this current NBA season over with. Let's just go into the playoffs. We are realistically now at this point only months away from seeing Victor when Benyama. In the NBA months, six, six months away, six months away. Yeah.

He's going to be drafted in what? Two months to what are we in April? April, May June. Yes.

How is it? It's all right after the NBA championship. And we're going three months.

Yeah. And J.R. we're probably going to it usually happens in the conference finals, as you know, when they reveal the draft lottery. Who's getting the number one? Oh, I can't think about what team is a loser as to that. We know that.

Well, loser going to be a winner pretty soon when they get him. Let's just put I mean, I mean, I mean, J.R., this is no accident this year particularly. There was a lot of tanking going on. Yeah, because and so teams are actually a lot better than they let on.

But they understood the prize at the end of the tunnel here. Yeah. Let's just be one of the three worst teams and go for it.

Yeah. But I I want I'm interested to see him in summer league. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't play much in summer league. And we'll see where he plays in June.

And then we got to wait until September, October. But we don't have to wait too much longer before the NBA stops telling me at 1 p.m. Hey, watch Victor when Benyama and I don't have no time to watch this guy. I see the clips. He's taken a three. He misses the three. He jumps from the three point line and he puts the ball back in with a dunk because he's nine feet tall.

Great. And he's going to be good next year. Well, let me not say that. He's going to be fine, I believe, if he stays healthy. I think he'll also be pushed around just a little bit. I think there may be some development, more so than people realize, especially if folks put a body on him. Be interesting.

Hey, we can look forward to victim when Benyama. But I'd rather just get the stupid NBA playoffs here first, because these games, they ain't cutting it. Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets and their bench warmers, they're playing a close game with the Phoenix Suns. Phoenix leading forty nine to forty five, about three minutes left in the game.

Not bad, not shabby. It's the J.R. sport brie show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. We're going to take a break. When we come back, I'm going to get some more of your calls. I do want to talk about this. Can I call it an old man beef? Isaiah Thomas and Oakley and Tyreek Hill ready to quit.

And we're going to talk some masters. Don't go anywhere. CBS Sports Radio. Ah, hammock. Check. Arnold Palmer.

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