It is the JR Sport Brief Show on the Infinity Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you to everybody for being locked in and tuned in all over North America. You could be on the highways, the back roads, the farm, the bar, the restaurant.
You could be holding it down. You could be on the beach. You could just be in your house minding your business. Thank you for being here. I appreciate you. I'll be with you for the next three hours. This show does get started every weekday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. I'm in Atlanta. Thank you to our producer in New York City, Ryan Botcher.
You can always be a part of the show by calling up 888-710-4ISN is the number. You can find me online at JR Sport Brief. And we've already discussed a lot. We talked about Aaron Rogers, first media appearance as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Good for him.
Hey, we heard from, well, Tyrese Halliburton had a media appearance. He said, my leg is fine. My leg is fine. It's a little busted up, but I'm fine.
Okay. I don't know if the Pacers chances in the finals are fine. Kirk Cousins, he showed up to work. He said he's rooting for the Falcons to win a Super Bowl as a team that he's still a part of because they haven't traded him yet.
I think it'll have to come late in training camp or in the regular season. And we have so much more to get into. We got a lot of NFL players who did not show up to work today. Hey, we're going to have a chat with Hub Arkes.
Hub is going to be here in about 20 minutes. We'll take a look at everything going on in the NFL. And then later on in the show, there's all these championships going on with the Stanley Cup, the NBA finals, the Club World Cup is about to get underway as well. And some of the best teams on planet earth will be here in the United States of America. We'll be joined by Weston McKinney, who plays on a US men's national team, but then also represents Italian club Juventus.
And he'll be playing here stateside in a couple of days. So we'll talk to Weston McKinney later on in the show. If you've missed a minute or a second of what we've done already, all you have to do is hit rewind on the free Odyssey app. 888-710-4ISN is the number. That's 888-710-4ISN. So we talked about Aaron Rodgers. He's at work.
We talked about Kirk Cousins. He is reluctantly at work in a city that he no longer wants to be in. And then there's a whole bunch of other guys who did not show up to work.
And as you can imagine, a lot of it is related to contracts. By the way, JK Dobbins, a new deal with the Denver Broncos. He's showing up to work. And somebody else who showed up to work.
How about this? James Cook showed up to Buffalo Bills camp. And we know James Cook is out here looking for his own new contract. This man is slated to make about $5 million this year. Wants to be slotted as one of the top running backs in the game after accounting for 18 touchdowns last season, he wants about $15 million a year. I don't think the Buffalo Bills are going to pay him that. But it was reported that he was not going to show up for work.
And then ultimately he did. And I think like a lot of people, whether you're making $5 or you're making $15, James Cook had a good reason as to why he showed up to work. Listen, I like my money. No, definitely do. But so that's why I'm here.
I mean, why not? I'm here. I'm part of the team and just not practicing with my leader.
So it just, she's got to practice and get a job. It's my team. And in order not to win a Super Bowl or compete for a Super Bowl and have a winning season, I have to be out there and be out there with my teammates. Yeah. Cue up the Marshawn Lynch right away. I'm just here. And so I don't get fined. Yeah.
You don't show up to mandatory camp and you get a fine. And let's be real, James Cook, he ain't Barry Sanders. He's not Derrick Henry. And I know what he did last year with his 18 touchdowns. He's a running back. He doesn't have, he don't have leverage. Like he's not Saquon Barkley.
This man doesn't have leverage. I'd be shocked if the Buffalo Bills decide to go out here and pay this man anywhere close to $15 million. They may look at him and just go, listen, man, we'll get another one of you coming out of college. Like we'll get another guy. Isn't another one of you coming out of Georgia any day now?
We'll go ahead and get another dude. And so James Cook knows this. That's why he showed up to work. There's not going to be any forgiveness when it comes down to, oh, hey, well, let's sign a new contract. Well, all's forgiven when it comes to the fines. No, that's not happening. So James Cook showed up to work. Let's see what his contract looks like.
Damn it. I wouldn't be shocked if the Buffalo Bills said, bro, we're trying to win a Superbowl. Finish out your contract. Let's see what happens.
And then we'll give you a deal. He ain't sitting out. I tell you that much.
Somebody who is, did not appear at mandatory camp today. We got to go to Washington. We got to go to DC. Terry McLaurin also entering into the final year of his contract. Three year deal is $68 million total. Man, we got wide receivers in the game right now that are making about 40 a year. And Terry McLaurin was second in the NFL last year when it came down to receiving touchdowns. He had 13 of them.
He had another season when he went over 1,000 yards. You think about Jayden Daniels and having a reliable somebody to throw the football to. Terry McLaurin is as reliable as they come.
And as I mentioned, you start thinking about this cash that the Jamar chases of the world are now clocking in. Terry McLaurin, is he asking for 40? I highly doubt it, but he wants a bump.
And he also wants to know that he has some long term security. Dan Quinn, head coach of the surprising Washington football team, the commanders last year. This is what Dan Quinn had to say about his star wide receiver not showing up for work. Hey, sometimes football and business, they intersect.
And this is one of those times. Terry is a fantastic teammate and really puts in the work and spent a lot of time with them already this offseason. But the business side of things, Adam and their crew and Terry and his group, let them work through that. Yeah, let them work through it. Like the last thing Dan Quinn wants to do is stand around and talk about contract. He's like, man, I just want to coach the guys out of here. I got better things to do than think about money. I got my own bills that I have to take care of.
Why they got me thinking about this? Man, Terry McLaurin not at work. James Cook showed up to work. Miami is just a completely different story in and of itself. John Ooh Smith, and he wants a new contract after setting basically every tight end record for the Miami Dolphins last year. And then Jalen Ramsey, I think it's a mutual thing that he wants out of Miami and Miami wants to move him. And so today, the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Mike McDaniel, he was asked about both of these guys being unavailable.
And I don't think he stuttered or stammered this time. Mike McDaniel, excuse me, he got straight to the point. I don't personally, and I would lump you into this with me. I don't give a about what I feel.
I'm not, I don't even really go down that road of how do I feel about it? My job is to react and control my controllables and make sure that people are moving in one direction appropriately. And so the business is business. The opportunity that business does provide in the off season is a rep to the team about handling noise. What do I define noise as?
Noise is things that don't have to do with what actually you're there to do and you should be focused on doing because you'll be held accountable to do. So business and off seasons allows you to speak to your team about how the focus of noise is a constant battle that if you're successful, you have to win. Mike McDaniel already in mid season, explaining for him.
He said a whole lot just to say, man, I got nothing to do with me. Like he needs to take some notes. Mike McDaniel needs to take some notes from somebody like Mike Tomlin who's pretty aggressive and pretty straightforward and pretty blunt and in curtain short when he speaks because he had somebody that didn't show up for work today. We know Aaron Rogers did. TJ Watt is still MIA. This man is also looking for a new contract. You think about all the money that's flowing in the NFL right now. I told you about Miles Garrett now making more than 40 to go out there and sack the quarterback. Well, TJ Watt, he's in the same category. We're talking about contender for defensive player of the year.
Damn it up. I think there was a year he should have got it as well. By the way, TJ Watt is entering into the final year of his deal.
He's getting $28 million. When it comes down to edge rushers, he's seventh in the league. But over the past seven years, TJ Watt has more sacks than anybody, including Miles Garrett.
101 to 95 and a half. And you want to know who's third? Trey Hendrickson, who's also looking for a new deal from those cheap ass Cincinnati Bengals. He's way down the list at 75 and he's third on the list.
This is what the short Kurt Mike Tomlin basically had to say about TJ Watt not being at practice. Certainly we'd like him to be here, but certainly not surprised by where we are. We've expressed a desire to get the business done. He has as well. And so we'll continue to work. We've been here before.
Yes, no big deal. The man will get paid. They have to probably work things out, wait for Aaron Rogers to show up. I highly doubt that the Steelers just don't let this man stick around. Ironically, his brother JJ Watt, who sits around on CBS and now talks about football instead of knocking quarterbacks over. JJ Watt was on Pat McAfee show and he said what a lot of us know. Maybe the Cowboys don't realize it.
Maybe the Bengals don't realize it. When you have a guy on your team that you want to pay, pay him sooner than later before the market drives the price of that player up because every new contract you're going to have to top it. Pay these guys earlier. Don't do it later. This is what JJ Watt had to say.
Wink, wink about his brother. I've long been a big believer that ownership and front offices obviously treat this like a business, but they do not like it when the players flip the script on them and treat it like a business back. Taking care of your guys earlier does a few things for you.
Number one, it gets them locked in at a lower price because if you don't do that, that's when the problems start to arise. And now all of a sudden you say, hey, we have to kick this can down the road because of the way everything's working out. You kick the can down the road, the can gets a whole lot bigger.
And then the player says, well, the can's a lot bigger now. Fill it up. And you don't want to fill it up because you say, well, we have to pay all these other guys. We have to take care of these other things. It's like, well, I wanted to fill the can way back down here when it was a little soup can. Now we got ourselves a garbage pail. Yeah, look, for the light.
And I think it's just a matter of some of these owners wanting to flex their muscles amongst other things. You're not going to bully me. You're not going to push me around. You can't make me do anything. You work for me.
You pay for me. In some cases. Some of these NFL teams need to take the approach, and I think it's terrible in baseball. Some of the service time manipulation, very different system, obviously, with a minor leagues and in baseball. But, man, some of these teams, the player comes up and the first thing they do is say, we're just going to give this young player with a lot of potential who had a great year. We're going to underpay the guy because he's going to want the money and the security.
And so we're not going to have to go ahead and pay him later. I mean, shoot, as hurt, as injured as Ronald Acuna Jr. has been, this guy's playing on a massive discount. You think about one of the best players in the game and Shohei Ohtani. Damn it, even forget Ohtani in his 70 or Soto. You think about Judge. Guys are making 40 mil. You think about Ronald Acuna. They're basically paying this man $100 million over an eight year deal. That's chump change. That's peanuts because they got him young. They got him early set up.
You're great. Take the money now. Do you want the money now or do you want to risk it later? And I guess given his injury history, it was smart for him to take the money. NFL can kind of learn a little bit of a lesson from baseball in that regard.
It's the J.R. Sportbree show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. We'll get more into the Bengals next hour because it's not just their star edge rusher, one of the best in the game, who's looking for a new deal. They have a rookie that they just drafted. They can't even come to an agreement on him.
And the salaries are slotted like, where are you being a penny pincher that you can't get this deal done? Well, Shamar Stewart, the newest Bengal not yet signed to a contract, man, he kind of threw the Bengals under the bus today and said it's their fault. We'll hear from him next hour about what he had to say.
But we're going to take a break. When we come back on the other side, we're going to have a chat with Hub Arkish. This man is an NFL analyst, a voter for the MVP. Catch him on Westwood, the score, he is all over the place. I'm going to get his thoughts on some of these contractual issues going on in the league. I'm going to ask him about Aaron Rodgers.
We got a lot to discuss with Hub Arkish on the other side. It's the J.R. Sportbree show on the Infinity Sports Network. You're listening to the J.R. Sportbree.
It is the J.R. Sportbree show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. NFL mandatory minicamps underway across the country. Some teams, some players are showing up, some players are staying away. We have some players have signed new contracts. We have players who are looking for money, looking to get paid, new faces in new places to talk about what we have seen, what we can expect to see and to break it all down is someone who covers the NFL in many places, whether it be for Westwood or the score in Chicago.
He's the executive editor for Pro Football Weekly. It is Hub Arkish. Hub, how are you, man? I'm good, Jay. How are you doing? I'm excellent.
Thank you for taking the time and joining us. I guess one of the bigger or larger stories today is the fact that Aaron Rodgers did show up with the Pittsburgh Steelers. On one hand, Aaron Rodgers is there. T.J. Watt is not. What do you expect with T.J. Watt's situation as they're trying to build a rapport here?
Well, you know, T.J. is one of the best players in the NFL. He has been unsettled with his team for a little while now. And, you know, I think that adding somebody who can be as much of a concern as Aaron Rodgers is interesting, you know, and I don't think he has a problem with that. I think his problem is more just, you know, with the Steelers and, you know, with his status in the league, having some input into what's going on.
But at the end of the day, the other interesting part of the story is we didn't know until a couple hours ago. Apparently, Aaron Rodgers waited three months because he was busy getting married, of all things. So, you know, and good for him.
And I hope they're happy. You know, I have not had the best things to say about Aaron Rodgers in recent years, but he is one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the game. He did play fairly well last year, you know, when he was healthy. And even at 41, it is an interesting fit with the Steelers if Mike Tomlin can handle all this, you know, and that's really the next big question for that ball club. Yeah, well, we know I'm still trying to figure out if he's going to pop up and do weekly interviews. I had him on Pat McAfee besides anything Mike Tomlin says. So we know the Steelers will certainly be a story all year long.
Hub, there's another pass rusher, Trey Hendrickson with the Cincinnati Bengals. We know that they have loaded up on offense. They're trying to figure things out on defense right now.
Do you think he's going to stick around with the team? Are the Bengals trying to figure out, you know, what the T.J. Watt is going to receive? What's the holdup? Well, you know, we've got a couple of these superstars that have been looking for contracts this offseason.
They're all taking or have taken longer than we thought they would. And it's because they're waiting for the next guy at their position or the next guy on top of there at the position gets and to make sure that they get something that is competitive. The Bengals cannot afford to lose him. I think they know that because they're a contender with him.
You know, they could be a solid contender with him. Without him, they've got a lot of, you know, rebuilding that has to be done if he leaves. And, you know, he is he's been interesting because at times he has said, no, he wants to stay with Cincinnati. And other times he has made it sound like he doesn't want to leave.
So that's one that we still need to get a little more information on. But my guess is that there'll be some type of contract adjustment. He'll get the money he wants and he'll understand that there probably isn't a better place for him to go than where he is right now. NFL analyst Tub Arkish is here with us on the J.R.
Sport Brief Show. When you continue on down the line, you come down here to Atlanta and you look at Kirk Cousins. He spoke today and of course, he said all of the right things. What do you think is the most likeliest of outcomes when it comes down to his situation? Well, they have to trade him eventually. I mean, how many number two quarterbacks in the NFL have one hundred eighty million dollar contracts? It's you know, I think they've been careful until now because they still don't know if the young man is the answer at quarterback. I think they're pleased with the little bit they saw last year and they definitely want to find out now. And I think they're probably just holding on to him at this point in part because I'm not sure they've had a good trade offer for him yet.
And they're not just going to release him and pay all the guaranteed money. But I think they want to be a little more certain with their young quarterback, you know, before they do move him somewhere else. And so I would guess that that may resolve itself during training camp sometime that still won't really tell them enough about what they've got, but at least they'll know more. And because once the season starts, then moving him becomes he's not going to get exactly what he wants and he's not going to get exactly what they want. So I still suspect that he will be moved sometime in a little training camp.
But we have to wait and get more information on that one, too. Well, have you mentioned a young quarterback, a young quarterback in Michael Pennix Junior? The NFL is littered with young quarterbacks now. You don't get a chance to develop.
You get thrown right out into the wolves. And we've seen Anthony Richardson. He's kind of sunk now dealing with the shoulder issue.
Jayden McDaniels probably had the best rookie season that we've seen from a quarterback. What are your thoughts on how the NFL has shifted over the past, I feel like decades, towards just putting the guys right out there? Is it financially driven?
Why is that? Well, I think part of it changed dramatically with last year, not this year's, but last year's draft with those six quarterbacks going in the top 12 picks, because many people thought that all six, or at least somebody thought that at least three or four of the six were franchise quarterbacks. And so that kind of changed the market. I think it gave some of the other teams still looking or still not certain with their veterans, you know, what could be coming. And they're now talking about the 26th draft being a quarterback draft, much like 24.
I don't know if that's true or not. We don't see another college football season yet. But I think that's why so many of these youngsters are being started sooner.
And they're trying to find out more quickly about them to know what they have. And at the same time, I think that's why other teams, you know, the Vikings ended up in a situation when McCarthy got hurt when they had no choice and they had to wait a year. But there are other teams with these younger quarterbacks are still waiting a little longer to develop them, because the position hasn't changed at all.
It still takes time for a young quarterback to become a franchise quarterback in the NFL. And that's not going to change. So it's and the other thing we have going on now is that we have owners getting involved more with their GMs and their head coaches on these big moves, these 100 million, 200 million, 300 million dollar contract boost. And they're making decisions that possibly even their top football people don't agree with. And so that's why it's also complicated right now. Hub Arkish is here with us, NFL analyst.
Well, Hub, you're based out of Chicago. I know you certainly are keeping up with everything going on with Caleb Williams. What is the anticipation level for this upcoming season with the new weapons and Ben Johnson and everybody's expecting the Bears to make a big leap? Yeah, I think certainly amongst the fans and even in the media, there is an expectation that there's going to be a big leap this year. I think there has been some poor reporting on Caleb Williams rookie year. He did not have a bad rookie year by any other standards, but the number one overall pick in the draft.
It would have been considered a fairly decent rookie year. The problem is that the roster was still kind of a mess. The coaching staff, as it turned out, I did not think they should have fired Maddie before the last season.
I had seen enough interesting things going into the season to say, you know, you got to find out what you've got with this guy, but by the time that you got to the midway point, and then you had that game, you know, in Washington with, you know, talking about, and, you know, everything went south that day and he was fired the next day. They hired the best young coach available this year in Ben Johnson. Um, they've, they've had a very productive year in free agency, particularly by rebuilding their offensive line and some work on their defensive line.
They had another interesting looking draft last year's draft is already looking like a very good one. And so I hear a lot of people picking the bears to win that division this year. Now you've got two, well, you've got with both the Vikings and the lions, they had major changes to their coaching staffs.
They, they probably, yeah, I think Minnesota may have gained as much as they lost in free agency, but the lions lost more than they gained in free agency. And then you've got the Packers who nobody can figure out cause they're a playoff team too, but they're just not as good a roster or as highly respected as, you know, you've got the Vikings and the lions. And so now you've got the bears coming on with all this new talent and new coaching staff and possibly a franchise quarterback.
He showed enough last year to show me he may be, he hasn't proven it yet. Um, and so it's, there's a lot of excitement in Chicago right now. And a lot of people believe that the bears could be one of the surprise teams this year, very much like, uh, you know, the Houston team has been the last couple of years.
Oh, we see Houston even dealing with the shoulder issues right now with Stroud, uh, hub Arkish is joining us here on the JR sport brief show. Those are some teams that we've seen make some jumps and leaps over the past year or two. Is there a team that you expect to probably do the same thing this upcoming season? Well, I, there's not a bad team that I expect to, you know, make a six, seven game win a job, but, uh, I know I, I hear a lot of people and I'm sure I understand why, but, uh, I hear a lot of people talking about Arizona, you know, and that there's enough on that roster that they could make a big leap this year. I know other people are certainly interested in the Raiders, you know, and, and, um, I don't see that either, although they definitely have an upgrade in the coaching staff.
And, um, you know, I love their first round draft pick. And, uh, so those are the two teams I'm hearing talked about the most. I personally don't see the kind of leap from any team this year, unless it may be the bears. I kind of forget the bears were five and, uh, 11 team last year or five and 12 team.
And they're the one team that I guess most people are talking about possibly being a bad team that makes a big leap this year. Possibly. Oh, hub is the final question for you. I guess, uh, end on this note, speaking of a bad team, are the saints just kind of waiting for arches? Is that what they're doing?
Hub? Well, I don't think that's what they're doing, but I think that may be the way it ends up. And they may not be upset if it does, you know, um, that, that team has been a mess for the last four or five years, you know, just in the, in the way that they've been managing to run, uh, you know, and, and how streaky they've been, they've looked like they were going to be a winning team and also became a losing team. And now, uh, you know, with, with, uh, again, new head coach, you know, and, and change is coming. Um, I think that they could be headed in the right direction, but I definitely don't see any big lead this year. And, and they could, they, they, they were bad enough the second half of last year that they could be bad enough this year to think they have a shot with Archie Manning. I don't know, you know, we're assuming he comes out. He probably will. Um, but that, that, I don't think that's the plan, but that could turn out to be the reality, depending on how the season goes for him this year. Yeah. I think all those fans partying in the super dome, they may, uh, they may not want to look at the football field. This, uh, let's put it that way.
Hey hub, thank you so much for the time and lending your expertise. Where can people follow you and your work? Oh, well, uh, you know, pretty much just on, uh, on text late these days, like anybody else on text on the internet.
Um, we still have our TV show pro football, weekly TV, which is on nationally, and we're back again at the start of this season. And, uh, I'm working with a couple of people about doing some more writing this year too. Absolutely.
It sounds like a great thing hub. Thank you so much. Catch you down the line. All right, buddy. Take care. No doubt about it.
That NFL analyst based out of the windy city hub Arcus. Yeah, man. I look at the new Orleans saints and I'm just like, Oh my God, I feel bad for all of my friends or my family down. I feel bad that they have to witness this because this is going to be an ugly season for new Orleans.
Okay. They might as well just lay down every single game all season long. They might as well roll out the welcome mat for arch Manning. I hope arch Manning has an amazing year. I hope he wins the Heisman. Um, just, just bring in arch lose every game on purpose.
Okay. It's the JR sport re-show here with you coast to coast on the infinity sports network. I don't even think the fans down there would mind. It'd be like, yeah, let's just suck the season and bring in arch. When we come back on the other side, speaking of a disaster of a team and an organization, it's like every single day we get a little bit more news here, a little bit more information about the New York Knicks and who could be their next head coach. It's been said that Jason kid and the next to have mutual interest. And then could Kevin Durant be on his way to the next?
I mean, now there's stories about where Kevin Durant may end up and it's not New York. It's another team in Texas. There's a lot going on. We'll get into that on the other side of the break. We'll get into this entire disaster with the Cincinnati Bengals.
It's just their owner is like Scrooge McDuck holding onto that money. Okay. We got a lot to do, but right now let's get into a news flash with rich Ackerman. You are listening to the JR sport brief. It is the JR sport brief show here on the infinity sports network. Thank you so much to hub Arkish for joining us in the last break. A Chicago legend coming through to chat with us about everything going on in the NFL, who showed up, who didn't go to work, who's getting paid, who's not getting paid, who's complaining. And thank you so much to hub for his expertise. If you missed that conversation, you got the free odyssey app.
All you have to do is go ahead and hit re wind. Ironically, I asked him about one team in particular that I think is going to stink this year. That's the new Orleans saints.
I'm sorry. Hey, they don't, they don't got a shock is the quarterback. I thought they were going to stink with or without Derek Carr.
Now they don't even have a quarterback yet. Just, uh, they're going to be in the toilet and that just automatically triggered my brain into another professional sports team that I think is, well, they're perennially in the toilet. Even when they're winning, they figure out a way to lose. They find a way to lose. That's the New York Knicks. They have the most successful season in their franchises history over the last 25 years.
And they say, Oh, well now we got a father coach. Okay. All right. Um, and do what now?
And attract too. And so with the New York Knicks, it's been bandied about even dating back to the end of last week that the New York Knicks would like to bring in Jason Kidd. The last time I looked has a job with the Dallas Mavericks. They just gave him a contract extension last year after both he and Luca led the team to the NBA finals. And apparently there's mutual interest between the Knicks and Jason Kidd. I guess Jason Kidd just wants to be back in New York. There is not a damn other reason for that man to want the stress, but apparently he wants the stress. Apparently he wants the challenge. Take a listen to this. This is Brian Windhorst earlier today on ESPN.
Yeah. The way I would describe this is there's mutual intrigue on both sides. And also I know there's this whole thing about asking for permission. You don't ask for permission to hire another team's coach. When you ask, you're going to hire them. So essentially when the Knicks express interest, the ball will be in the Mavericks court and they have three options as I see it.
One, they can just say, no, thank you very much. Jason, we'll see you in the fall. Look forward to the season.
Look forward to Cooper flag. They can try to make Jason Kidd have zero interest in the Knicks, possibly with the new contract. They did just give him an extension last year, or they can negotiate a trade. And we have seen a handful of trades of coaches over the last 15 to 18 years, including Jason Kidd being traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Milwaukee Bucks for two second round picks 11 years ago. So it's not like Jason Kidd hasn't been in this situation before.
Oh my goodness. You know, and it, there are levels of interest. Some things take place through back channels. I highly doubt the Mavericks are just going, Hey, you, you want to leave? But if the man doesn't want to be there, then let them go. Like go somewhere else.
Like, why do I want to be with somebody who does not want to be with me? And you take a look at the Dallas Mavericks. Okay. They get the number one overall pick in a couple of weeks. We know that they're going to select Cooper flag. Who cares about Anthony Davis? And then God only knows when Kyrie Irving is going to be back. He's getting older. He's already on the smaller side. The guy's been hurt since he was coming out of Duke off and on.
Am I trusting in Kyrie? And so maybe in that regard, Jason Kidd is like, man, I get to coach Cooper flag, but I'll just, I ain't got time for this other stuff. It's going to take years. Let me compete for a title now. And then maybe, maybe having Jason Kidd on the Knicks helps them add additional talent.
I don't know. I've said this from the minute that Tom Thibodeau was canned by the New York Knicks. Ultimately it's about the players that they bring in because Tom Thibodeau was not the Knicks biggest problem.
It's defense in depth. And that's not something that Tom Thibodeau could wave a magic wand all of a sudden and have out there on the basketball court. And so of course we're getting all the rumors. Does Kevin Durant want to go to the New York Knicks? I mean, damn it in 2019, he said the Knicks aren't cool anymore.
That's why he went to Brooklyn. Is Giannis moving? Man, apparently Giannis isn't going anywhere. This is what Windhorst had to say about Giannis. Right now there is no Giannis Atenecumpo trade market. There is no Atenecumpo trade discussions.
He has not asked for it. The bucks are not looking to trade him. And I just want to point something out about Carl towns. Well, everybody in New York may want to trade him.
He is an in his prime, all NBA player that contributed significantly to the Knicks going the farthest they have in 25 years. I just want to point that out. Yeah, he did it. He got fired for that. Boncher, could you imagine having success at your job and I'm going out?
Well, it wasn't good enough. But that'd be horrible. Yeah. This is what Thibodeau was dealing with right now. What do you think about this Jason Kidd stuff? Would you leave or you you stick? I would stay. It's probably taxes are better for you. You have a better future, you could argue.
And even still, if you don't win, you still have, I don't know, Kyrie, Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson and Cooper flag, Cooper flag you can build around for the next 1015 years and play right. Yeah, I don't think Jason Kidd is worried about the money. He lived up in New Jersey. I think he still might have a place in the metropolitan area.
I don't think that man is thinking about the money. I just I would not want any of the New York Knicks drama. And Jason Kidd lived in New York in New Jersey. He played in New York, New Jersey and Brooklyn. Like he's familiar with the tri state area. He's familiar with the the media. And he certainly he played for the Knicks. And I'm sure he has a relationship with James Dolan. Maybe not.
I don't know if you want that relationship. Like there's not a guy that James does. Like, let's let's hit the eject button every couple of years. And even on a guy like Tom Thibodeau, who just helped the New York Knicks turn things around. Yes, a lot of it had to do with the talent, but he was the coach who helped steer the ship.
The Knicks are just always going to hit the button. Like, I'm not putting Derek Fisher in the same space as Jason Kidd. But you think about former players. Jeff Hornacek doesn't even come to mind. And at one point in time, he was the head coach of the New York Knicks. And I'm like, how the hell did they end up with Jeff Hornacek here?
Oh, it's Phil Jacks. It's just the Knicks always going to do something stupid. And if they bring in Jason Kidd, I'm not going to say Jason Kidd deserves whatever the hell is going to happen, but it'll be inevitable.
Jason Kidd will coach for a couple of years. There'll be some disaster. Somebody will get hurt. Some free agent doesn't join the team.
Things go bad. And then Jason Kidd is the fall guy. Unless Jason Kidd is the one who says, you know, I just don't want to be here anymore. Man, I'd stay in Dallas unless he really, really, really wants to come back to New York.
There's some jobs I just don't think are worth it. Being the head coach of the New York Knicks, I don't think is one of them. Go ahead and ask, you know, Jeff Van Gundy how he feels about Dolan. Go ask Thibodeau how he feels about Dolan.
I just, it goes on and on and on. But look, the money talks. If the New York Knicks are going to pay up and they want to bring on Jason Kidd, then God bless them, but still figure out by bringing on a player. And in the case of Giannis, I'm not going to say the Bucs are like the Saints who we just talked about. Saints don't have a chance to win anything this year. The Milwaukee Bucs might as well just be in the same position. I have no idea what the Milwaukee Bucs can do between now and September to improve the roster. None. None whatsoever. They're going to send, I see Drew Holliday is back and are they going to send him back?
I don't think so. The Bucs are old. And Brook Lopez is a free agent. Bobby Portis has the option as well. And Giannis, he needs a bunch of shooters around him to be successful. And Damian Lillard, shoot, we may not see him until the end of the season.
And even if we do see him, he's basically still going to be in a recovery process. And so Giannis spoke to a newspaper down in Brazil. He's in Brazil hanging out on the big Jesus sculpture, which scared the living hell out of me.
Hey, Batcher, let me tell you something. I saw Giannis. You know the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio? Yeah. One of the, what is it, seven wonders of the world? Or eleven? I don't remember. Whatever wonder it is.
Giannis is 6'11, seven feet tall. Getting up to the top of that mountain, I'm not going to say is one of the most horrifying things I've ever done in my life. But there's only like one way up.
And it feels like you feel like you're in a cartoon. You got to get in a bus and then get on a tram to get to the top. And so when you're on the bus portion, going up the mountain, it's like you're going around and around the mountain on the edge of the mountain. And you're looking over at the top of the mountain and you're on the edge of the mountain and you're looking over and you're like, wait a minute, it's not like there's nets or there's some safety things.
It's it's it's scary as hell. And so I'm looking at Giannis' big ass up on that mountain and I'm just like. He got a whole foot over me. And how the hell did his big ass get up there? So I don't know, maybe Giannis climbed the mountain by himself.
He's so damn tall, but he's risking it. He's worth way too much money to be going on unbarricaded car rides. I don't know. Maybe he took the tram. Maybe he got a secret way.
A helicopter. I don't know about that. I don't know.
I don't know if you need that. Oh, man. Yeah. But yeah. Anyway, Giannis was talking to a paper in Brazil and he was just like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I want to get back to the finals with the Bucks. I'm like, OK, that can mean a whole lot of nothing.
It can mean something. I just as you heard from Windhorst, there's no there's no guarantee. Giannis hasn't asked to leave and the Bucks haven't started asking around. Well, Giannis better get used to just having a track meet season. Thirty one points, twelve, thirteen rebounds, a block and a half, two steals. In a mediocre season, I'm not going to say that they'll be garbage, but they ain't winning no championship.
Yeah, they're not there yet. And maybe Giannis wants to be one of those guys that just sticks around with one team his entire career. But he's going to face some lean years now with the Milwaukee Bucks. The J.R. Sportbreeze show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. We're going to take a break when we come back. Speaking of a team that, well, it's going to be difficult for them to win anything. We're going to talk about the Cincinnati Bengals and their owner, Scrooge McDuck. I'll explain. It's the J.R. Sportbreeze show on the Infinity Sports Network.
