This episode is brought to you by Progressive. Most of you aren't just listening right now. You're driving, cleaning, and even exercising. But what if you could be saving money by switching to progressive? Drivers who save by switching save nearly $750 on average, and auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts.
Multitask right now. Quote today at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary.
Discounts not available in all states and situations. You don't just live in your home. You live in your neighborhood as well.
So when you're shopping for a home, you want to know as much about the area around it as possible. Luckily, Homes.com has got you covered. Each listing features a comprehensive neighborhood guide from local experts. Everything you'd ever want to know about a neighborhood, including the number of homes for sale, transportation, local amenities, cultural attractions, unique qualities, and even things like median lot size and a noise score. Homes.com.
We've done your homework. Dollar Shave Club delivers premium razors without premium prices. Get close, comfortable six-blade shaves. With Brintson Four Blades for thicker hair and translucent shave butter for precision. Visit dollarshaveclub.com/slash home run.
Use promo code HomeRun for 20% off. Right now, though, we want to go out to the guest hotline for the first time this show where we find a good friend of the programmer, pal Gary Washburn, longtime national NBA writer for the Boston Globe. Give him a follow on the XNATN at G Washburn Globe. Gary, what's going on, brother? Happy fourth, man.
Hey, happy fourth. How's it going? Going good, man. Let me ask you this before we get into it into business. I I know you're somebody that that that has a very unique palate, I would probably say, right, brother?
Is there anything that is a must-have on your Fourth of July cookout plate? Wow. I'm gonna say potato salad. You gotta get a potato salad. Yeah, barbecue and potato salad.
Let me ask you this, though, Gary. It's going to tell me a lot about you. I respect the hell out of the NBA right. I'm going to see if I respect the palate. Are you just eating anybody's potato salad, Gary?
Is there somebody in the family? Is there somebody in the family that does it right? Yeah, you gotta, you can't do the first-time potato salad. You gotta have somebody who's proving themselves. It's almost where you need a resume.
Like, you just need the person to give you their potato salad resume. No raisins, obviously. I like a little tart, I like a little mustard in it.
Some people have little pieces of pickle.
So, yeah, like. Potato salad is a big deal. It's almost as big of a deal as mac and cheese. You know how big of a deal some people take their mac and cheese. Hell mac and cheese.
But yeah, I'm a potato salad guy. That's interesting. Look, I'm down for some good potato salad as well, my mess. I'm glad we were able to get that out of the way. I said it on Sunday night when I was on these airwaves, man.
When Rich Paul. First of all, when LeBron opts in... To the $52.6 million player option. Initially, my antennas don't. Go off.
But when Rich Paul is releasing several lengthy statements to Shyam Serrani of ESPN saying that LeBron wants to maximize his time left, I immediately thought the writing is on the wall that he's probably played his last game as a member of the Lakers. What have you made of that situation out in La La Land? And do you think the Lakers can come out of this thing winners at all? Yeah, I'm just not surprised because I think LeBron enjoys being part of the news cycle. Like, if he just does a normal opt-in with no fanfare, then it's like, okay, let's move on.
Who else is signing where and where's This player going, and where's KD going, and who's making trades, and who's going to be the next coach? But now that this statement has been released, there's LeBron conversation in free agency. I think he enjoys still being the central figure of NBA News. And I just think that's just. I think he's open at this point.
I think he puts the Lakers kind of on the spotlight in terms of: okay, you know, now they've signed DeAndre Ayton, make some moves. and make me want to stay there. And then the rest of the league came. Figure out which teams, what it's going to take. But the fact that he opted in to the 52 million.
One, it shows he still likes his money. Secondly, it shows that the the likelihood of him being traded, like now you you've got to send three to four players to the Lakers for one year of LeBron.
Now PR wise. uh attention, getting all your games on Amazon and all the TNT is gone now, but shed a tear. But ESPN and Amazon and NBC, yeah, you're going to get all your games on there now because LeBron's on your team. You might make that money back, but That's one of the four players potentially. That's a lot.
Or a buyout is LeBron going to say that. That's the crazy one. That's the crazy one to me. And I'll walk away. And why would the Lakers do that?
And we know, too, Gary, and I'm sure you know this being around NFL circles, as much as they show themselves to be a big market, big city franchise, they're a little cash-trapped out there in La La Land.
So I don't know how much a buyout would be. They operate like a mom and pop store. Yeah, they're not.
Now that they've been sold and now they have two new owners, it might be a little different. Like the the Bus family, yeah, they're not just gonna fork over 25, 30 million to LeBron. and pat him on the back and go, you know, good luck. Good luck, sir, and see you down the road when you get your number retired or whatever. Like, there's going to be some negotiation here.
To me, if I'm the Lakers, I just prepare for next season if he's going to come back. Unless LeBron comes into the office walks into the offices and says, I want out. It don't You don't do nothing. It's on LeBron to determine his fate as he's done. But I do think he enjoys being part of this NBA news cycle because if he had just opted in quietly, no one would have said a word.
Or if he had just done the one-on-one, I do think. Is telling the liquors, this could be my last year here. And I do think, too. We're not thinking about Bronny. I do think he wants to play another year with his son.
His son will probably have a more expanded role. He won't be. You know, as green and wide-eyed as he was as a rookie, I think he'll probably. get some more minutes and I think LeBron will enjoy seeing that development in the sun. Yeah, it's gonna be fascinating.
The LeBrony part of it always kind of gets swept under the rug, right? It feels like Gary and he spoke, I believe it was yesterday after the first summer league practice, and kind of saying, Hey, look, man, you know, Pops tells me not to worry about stuff like this. I just always try to put myself in his shoes at times, man. As a 27-year-old, he's living the dream first and foremost. And I think about it from from my perspective.
I'm living the dream being, you know, young doing sports talk radio. I don't have the distraction, though, of trying to live up to to and feel the shoes of my father and then how we got there, all of that. Gary, I'll ask you this, and we were just chewing on this before we brought you on. Can he sustain an NBA career if he's not on the same team as LeBron?
Well, that's a good question. I think it all depends on his work ethic and his development. I think he can have. You know, if he does what he's supposed to do and develops, and I think he's a hard worker. I don't think he's a.
I don't think Very honestly, I don't think his father, I don't think LeBron did him any justice by throwing him in. To that situation last year. I don't think he was ready for the NBA. I think he should have spent another year, if not at USC. Maybe, hey, transfer to Ohio State.
There would have been 40 schools. Willing to pay him major NIL money for him to transfer there for one year to start at point guard if that's what he wanted. Because all he had to do was work out a deal: hey, I want to play point guard and I want to start.
So And who wants me? And there would have been 30 schools, major schools, that would have offered him plenty of money. Him to play another college year, but now that he's here, That's too late for that. He's just got to work and just try to work himself into the rotation, become a defender, shoot better. And make that natural progression, then I think he'll get a bunch of breaks.
He's LeBron's son, he'll get a bunch of chances to make it. And we'll see if he sticks with it or. You know, we looked at other sons. Shaq's son was trying, you know, got into the movies, and Dwayne Wade's son. We've seen some of these guys' sons kind of want to do it, then kind of not, right?
Once they got into the 20s and they got other interests and things like that. And we'll see if that happens to Bronnie or if he's a baller and he's like, listen, I'm sticking with this. I think he's got all the ability to do so. It was such. A frustrating time for me last summer.
I felt like I was going against the Gray, and I was one of the few that thought he would have gotten drafted regardless to me if LeBron didn't force his hand just because of the tools he has as a prospect and the genes. There was going to be a team in the second round willing to take a flyer on that. And there were less talented, less decorated players that got drafted in that second round.
So I always thought he. He belonged. It's just the fact of, you know, can he carve out a career in the pros, or is he a G-Leaguer, so on and so forth. The other Lakers component that I want to look at here, Gary, real quick is like Has anyone i really bracing themselves for the potential That Luca looks at Genie Buss and Rob Polinka and what they've done. in this front office pre LeBron, post LeBron, whatever, and go Yeah, maybe not.
Maybe I should sign a long term extension any somewhere else. This episode is brought to you by Progressive. Most of you aren't just listening right now. you're driving, cleaning, and even exercising. But what if you could be saving money by switching to progressive?
Drivers who save by switching save nearly $750 on average, and auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Multitask right now. Quote today at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023.
Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. What kind of programs does this school have? How are the test scores? How many kids to a classroom?
Homes.com knows these are all things you ask when you're home shopping as a parent. That's why each listing on Homes.com includes extensive reports on local schools, including photos, parent reviews, test scores, student-teacher ratio, school rankings, and more. The information is from multiple trusted sources and curated by Homes.com's dedicated in-house research team. It's all so you can make the right decision for your family. Homes.com We've done your homework.
Dollar Shape Club is the real grooming MVP. Their six-blade razor gives you the closest, most comfortable shave. The four-blade features swift rinse tech for longer, thicker hair, and the handle has a no-slip 360-degree diamond pattern grip for comfort and control. Shave Butter works great with their razors. It's translucent for precision and delivers a long-lasting glide that hydrates the skin.
Visit dollarshapeclub.com/slash home run and use code HomeRun for 20% off your order of $20 or more. Plus, free shipping, whatever you shave. Welcome to the club. Like, do you think that's a realistic possibility at this point? I mean It could be.
It all depends on what motivates Luca. I mean, he loved Dallas. Want to stay there.
Okay, that's He's not going back.
Now it's LA. I'm sure there's obviously plenty of things for him to do off the floor. There's probably a solid Slovenian community to wear that embraces him and that he's, you know, that he can go do things and he can have people that are like him and from where he's from to make it a little bit more comfortable. Obviously, the weather.
So I think for him, I'm thinking he's going to ride this for a while. And If it turns into the Lakers aren't trying to win around him as he enters his prime, because I don't think he's at his prime yet, he's 26, you know, like that's a year or two from entering your absolute prime, although. I mean if he retired Or stop playing tomorrow, he probably go to the Hall of Fame. You know, so I think he kind of looks at the Lakers and gives them a fair opportunity. I don't think he wants to uproot.
I think he's probably got probably. A beautiful home, the weather, all of what LA has to offer. And I think he's like, you know what, I'm just gonna ride this out. and see what happens and and see how the organization Uh You know, goes forward, especially with this new ownership. And I'm sure he'll have conversations with the ownership.
And you know, this is the guys I'd like to play with. And obviously, you know, it's a chance to take on DeAndre Ayton. DeAndre doesn't have the greatest reputation. He's not known as the hardest worker. He's not known for having the greatest attitude.
We'll see if LeBron and Luca can get him straightened out. To where he can be that all-star caliber center. Because if you remember, Like that 18 draft. He was taking number one. And, you know, and it looked bad enough when it was over Trey and Luca.
But now, if you look further down that list, SGA was in that draft.
So now. That that is what That doesn't look all that good. Uh For the Phoenix Suns to take him over three guys who are pretty all-stars and all-NBA guys. Joined right now by our pal Gary Washburn, who covers the NBA, national NBA rider for the Boston Globe. Give him a follow at G.Washburn Globe.
Yeah, I've I've been talking about it uh a lot pretty much the entirety of the show, man. Just The Lakers could really see things crash and burn. And I go back to, and Gary, let me know if you agree with this statement or not. I feel like LeBron James, whether haters of King James would admit it or not. I think he came in and saved that Lakers franchise when you think about where they were.
Pre-LeBron James and floating in mediocrity, sending Kobe out in just an untasteful way. God rest his soul. But, like, realistically speaking, like, I. Why would Luca have confidence in this front office? What good decisions have they made?
In the last decade. Yeah, I mean, I can't argue with you on that one. I mean, like, you're talking about. You're talking about Look at the lottery picks like the Julius Randall. Yeah, Julius Randle.
D'Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, taking Lonzo Ball over Jason Tatum. Like, there's a lot of mistakes. And that was Magic's era, too.
So, you know, Magic got it.
Now you gotta take some of the heat from that too. But there's been a lot of blown opportunities because they were bad. for a few years after the Kobe. Uh, you know, Kobe walked away from the game, and they had a couple of you know, high lottery picks. And none of them ended up working out, right?
You probably would. we probably argue Julius Randall probably is the best of that group. But Brandon Ingram has never, you know, has kind of been, you know, okay and installed a little bit in New Orleans. And he's had his moments. Lonzo Ball's been injury prone.
D'Angelo Russell has. bounced around is kind of considered Kind of an unserious player, so they blew all those picks essentially or trade them away, and obviously got Anthony Davis. You're right. I mean, letting Alex Caruso walk. I mean, The list goes on, man.
There are things that they have done. That just blew up in their face. And I just think, even now, I'm in the Dorian Finney Smith situation where, you know, he. You don't walk you know you never walked away from LA. You didn't You didn't have a chance to stay in LA and you said, you know what, I'm going to go to Houston or I'm going to go to, like, now players are just saying, I'm I'm okay with the Lakers.
I I I I feel like I I can go somewhere else. Yeah. I think that says a lot about the organization because obviously LA used to sell itself, obviously, with the location of the city. It's my hometown, great place.
Now, that's not... That's not as much the selling point. And guys don't mind getting the hell out of there. And that says a lot about the organization. It does, and it's part of why.
You know, I'm not trying to be a shock jock or cynical or anything like that. It would not stun me. If One, they find a way to move off of LeBron, and that's, you know, apparently things are getting messy behind the scenes with that, according to who you listen to, but. Uh it wouldn't surprise me if Luka and his camp went Yeah, I don't know, man. I don't know if it's a guarantee that I sign a max extension here because I could do it elsewhere.
But to your point, the track record of Rapalinka and Jeannie Buss really. Over the past decade, pre-LeBron, really just nothing to be proud of. In the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks, their process, Gary, I think, was. scrutinized by a lot of folks, but I think you gotta agree Their result and who they landed on is a coaching candidate that's full of substance, a guy that's well-traveled, and is an offensive guru. And when you think about.
the shortcomings that the Knicks had in the postseason and the way that offense stalled out, What type of fit do you think Mike Brown is in the big apple? I think Mike Brown will adjust and make the necessary changes that they want, and I think he'll collaborate with Leon Rose and World Wide West and those. Folks, in terms of making the players happier and more conducive to playing. you know, and be and being more of a harmonious atmosphere. I don't think that he's Head and shoulders above.
Tom Thibodeau is a coach. I thought Thibodeau did a good job. I just thought Thibodeau's no-nonsense style. And this is what you you get. I mean Tibodo coached in Minnesota and Chicago, same situation.
Mike Brown has coached in three other places, LA, Cleveland, and SAC. And he's been fired three times, right? And nothing against Mike. Mike's a good, solid NBA coach. But I don't know I don't think you fire Thibodeau unless you have that guy.
Like, if they were going to get Jay right, if they were going to get a dude to step in and be like, That's who you get. I I think they didn't get you know, then they started asking. They started asking everybody else's, you know. General managers and teams around the league for their coach, right? That didn't work out.
You're looking thirsty. Yeah, hey, is your guy available? You know, like. It's a terrible look. You know, you get the two guys who have recently been fired in Mike Brown and Taylor Jenkins.
And then you decide on Mike Brown. I think it'll work. I don't know if it's a long-term solution because. Mike Brown hasn't been a long-term guy in terms of eight, nine, ten years at a place. It's usually three or four.
And in Sacramento, they've made some interesting decisions like the Lakers have over the years in terms of personnel and coaching, and that's a coach carousel.
So I don't think that was all on Mike Brown, but. I think Mike Brown is a very good coach, and he'll do. Exactly what management wants him to do. He'll put guys in positions to win. It all depends on whether they can bounce back and have the same kind of luck in terms of.
Staying relatively healthy, having the chemistry as they did last year when they went to the East Comps finals. Yeah, I agree. It's not a sexy hire by any stretch of the imagination, but I do think what excites me is you saw what he was able to do offensively in Sacramento in 23 when he won Coach of the Year. When I think about some of these Knick performances throughout this postseason, their offense just lacked creativity and imagination at times. And it felt like we were watching Jalen Brunson be treated like 0-1 Allen Iverson.
Just everyone stand around and watch him pound the basketball. When you have Carl Anthony Towns, and say what you want about his mannerisms and all that, he is still, you know, arguably the most skilled big man, one of the most skilled big men in the association. And those two in the playoffs, the offense should have run through them and it didn't at times. That's where I think Mike Brown helps New York out the most. Do you put them atop the Eastern Conference, considering how banged up everyone else is?
Yeah, at this point, the East is theirs to win. I mean, and then you can look at them and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Yeah. Um as a team. teams that are at the top.
And but this is the next time the Celtics are down, the Indiana lost Caliburton, like, there's so many. Variables in the East, and now the Knicks bring back everybody pretty much that you had. Hershawn Yevostelli, a quality, you know, undersized big, and you and Jordan Clarkson. I love the Jordan Clarkson move, yeah. Yeah, he's been itching to get out of Utah.
He can score. I mean, he's a guy who a lot of teams have won. I think he'll play better and more consistently in a winning situation. I thought those are two quality moves. By management, and we'll see.
I mean, all the pressure is on them right now. Yeah. I totally agree. The Jordan Clarkson move, I loved it. I think it's one of the better moves that's made this offseason.
I just think the punch. That they were lacking off the bench. You can't rely on Campaign and Deuce McBride to give you big-time scoring performances off the pine in the playoffs. They just haven't done that. Jordan Clarkson, while he hasn't been in a bunch of winning situations, I haven't watched a lot of Utah basketball, Gary, over the years, but I do box score watch, and I know he fills it up.
and can score 20 points on any given night. I'll let you go on this, my friend. The Denver Nuggets scary. Wow. You want to talk about not resting on your laurels, not sitting on your hands and letting OKC's dynasty just run rough shot.
Their moves to me, as much as I love what Houston did, I think Denver and Houston are right now nipping at the heels of the Oklahoma City Thunder atop the Western Conference. How big of a fan were you of what Denver's been able to accomplish? Yeah, I mean I like the camp I don't know I Marco Porter Jr. has always been a guy who I compare having covered Jason Tatum all these years, right? And I compare guys, like, there's two guys I've.
Could have said, were could have been potentially Tatum-like. One was Kyle Kuzma, that didn't work out. The second guy was Michael Porter Jr. And I think Maybe it was just time for an environment change for Michael Porter Jr. because he just never became that.
Real second. You know, Jamal Murray, 2A guy behind Jokic, and along with Murray. He kind of was okay being number three. There wasn't a market improvement. And I think Cam Johnson, who was a good defender and a good three-point shooter, brings that.
Real steady third option. You know, I think bringing Bruce Brown back. You know, I think that's what. He played his best basketball that year. I don't think he, you know, he hasn't been much of a factor in the league since he left Denver.
I think he probably understood that, hey, they brought the best out of me, and I'm going to. Come back and be that utility guy that I was a couple of years ago on the championship team. But yeah, I'm impressed. I don't think any of them are as good as Oklahoma City. Houston it's kind of a wait and see, although I was impressed.
Obviously, you get KD and you re sign Fred Van Riegen. I thought it was really important to bring that fact that veteran leadership and a guy who knows Some of those young dudes, because I don't, you know, I think Kevin. Leads by example. I don't know how much of a vocal mentor he is for some of those young guys who are looking at him and, man, I played you on 2K. And I'm, you know, I mean, obviously, they're, they're.
They're looking at him like, you know, just a a legend.
So, I think the Nuggets have done a quality job. They've gotten over their issues, obviously, by firing their coach and their general manager on the same thing. He was great on TV, by the way, Gary. He was awesome during the finals. I loved it.
Yeah. Yeah. You don't look at. You don't look, you know, you don't see that very often, firing, but adamant seems to be. Uh Their choice and a growing quality coach, and to bring some pieces around.
Yokish, I think, is much needed. For sure, Gary, we appreciate you making some time for us on the day before the 4th of July, my brother. Enjoy the good food this weekend, and hopefully, you get some of that potato salad, man. I appreciate that. I'll let you know how it tastes.
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Whether you love true crime or comedy, celebrity interviews or news, you call the shots on what's in your podcast queue. And guess what?
Now you can call them on your auto insurance too, with the name your price tool from Progressive. It works just the way it sounds. You tell Progressive how much you want to pay for car insurance, and they'll show you coverage options that fit your budget. Get your quote today at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates, price and coverage match limited by state law. What kind of programs does this school have?
How are the test scores? How many kids do a classroom? Homes.com knows these are all things you ask when you're home shopping as a parent. That's why each listing on Homes.com includes extensive reports on local schools, including photos, parent reviews, test scores, student-teacher ratio, school rankings, and more. The information is from multiple trusted sources and curated by Homes.com's dedicated in-house research team.
It's all so you can make the right decision for your family. Homes.com. We've done your homework. Dollar Shape Club is the real grooming MVP. Their six-blade razor gives you the closest, most comfortable shave.
The four-blade features swift rinse tech for longer, thicker hair, and the handle has a no-slip 360-degree diamond pattern grip for comfort and control. Shave Butter works great with their razors. It's translucent for precision and delivers a long-lasting glide that hydrates the skin. Visit dollarshaveclub.com/slash home run and use code HomeRun for 20% off your order of $20 or more. Plus, free shipping, whatever you shave.
Welcome to the club. Okay, close your eyes, exhale, feel your body relax, and let go of whatever you're carrying today.
Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free for 1-800 contacts. You guys, they're so fast! Oh, Sorry. No mistake.
Hi there. Did you find everything okay? Yes, I did, because I found the exact same contacts as my eye doctor prescribes F-1-800 Contacts. Here, give me that. Attention, shoppers, did you know 1-800 Contacts has 45 million contacts in stock?
Okay, we checked the brakes. Everything looks good. You know, speaking of checking, did you know 1-800 Contacts triple-checks every order? Yeah, they make sure you get exactly what you need when you need it. 1-800 Contacts.
So good, so fast, so accurate. You'll want to tell everyone too. Download the app or visit 1-800Contacts.com today and save on your first order. 1-800 Contacts.
You set the gold standard for your business. Your website should do the same. Wix puts you at the helm so you can enjoy the creative freedom of designing your site just the way you want. Want someone to bounce your ideas off? Talk with AI to create a beautiful site together.
Whatever your business, manage it from one place and tie it all together with a personalized domain name. Gear up for success with a brand that says you best. You can do it yourself on Wix. Yeah.
