It is. The JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast. on the Infiniti Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you to everybody for being here.
Wherever you might be, I'm in Atlanta. Our producer, Ryan Botcher, is in New York City. You could be in Portland, Oregon. Where Damian Lillard is returning. You could be in Washington, DC.
where Von Miller is going to be playing for the Commanders outside of DC. You could be in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Where TJ Watt is going nowhere. TJ Watts sticking around, now making forty one million dollars a year to get the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. You could be in Indianapolis, Indiana.
where unfortunately Caitlin Clark will not be playing this weekend. Ain't no three-point contest, ain't no all-star game. Caitlin Clark will just be a massive cheerleader. It sucks.
So wherever you are, Thank you for being here. Or you could be in Los Angeles. We're going to have a chat about the Clippers. As a matter of fact, in 20 minutes, we're going to be joined by our guest, Lawrence Murray. Clippers have an interesting team, right?
Got Bradley Beal in the building now. You got Gawai, you got James Hardy, you got John Collins, you got Brooke Lopez. What are they doing out there? We'll talk to Lawrence in about twenty minutes. Hey, thank you so much to Ben Standick.
Ben Standard came through, covers all things Washington Commanders. We had that chat last hour. And then we talked about everything that I just brought up: TJY, Damien Lillard. Caitlin Clark. We talked about it all.
If you missed a minute of the show. Go ahead and hit Rewind. On the Free Odyssey App. 888-710-4ISN is the number if you want to call me. That's eight eight eight seven ten four I S N.
If you missed a minute of the show, You can always hit rewind on the free Odyssey app. You can start from the beginning. You can hit pause. Thank you to everybody listening live on your local affiliate, wherever you might be. If you got SiriusXM, it's channel 375.
And if you got yourself a smart speaker, ask the speaker to play. the Infiniti Sports Network. Can't forget about Rashee Rice. Guy's been sentenced to jail time, thirty days in jail. They probably split it up.
Jordan Addison is likely to get punished by the NFL as well. Sleeping in his car, his white Rolls-Royce. Second incident. Just a lot going on. And speaking of incidents, last night there was.
Was it an incident in Los Angeles? I mean, did Shane Gillis come through and Did he cause an incident with these jokes? I didn't.
So we sat here and talked about it last night. Obviously, the SBs were on while we were in the studio. Could only read or see a couple of the jokes, maybe hear them in commercial. And I had to just kind of shrug.
Now, I have seen this man, I have no idea who he is, I've never heard a joke from him. Maybe I did, didn't remember him. Bacha, you told me about him. I had no idea who he was. I know who this guy is now, after last night.
And I out of all his jokes, the one that stood out to me the most while we were on the air initially was the one about Carl Anthony Towns. Like, hey, Carl Anthony Townsend is here. Hey, girl. It's just like, oh, kind of cringy. You know, questioning someone's mannerisms, maybe even their sexuality on live television is a That's a tough one.
Outside of that joke, I didn't find anything else that he said. To be offensive. Or even that Carl Anthony Towns one. That was kind of on the line. I.
You know what a matter of fact It just Don't listen to what he said. About Carl Anthony's house. The New York Knicks had a great season. Yeah, hell yeah. Carl Anthony Towns is here.
Hey, girl. Yeah, that one a little rough, they got it, just kind of makes you squirm a little bit. I didn't take no issue with any of his jokes, really. I thought he did a good job. I thought he was pushy.
You know, if I tune into the S Ps or or if I'm there, they're like, that's what I want to hear. Like, push the buttons, be edgy. People are so sensitive nowadays. Like, you don't have to be disrespectful. And there's there's room r really really the only space you can be an ass.
is comedy. 'Cause everybody's so sensitive. I just I enjoyed it. Ibacha, did you have a problem with any of his jokes last night? How what did you think after you've seen or heard most of 'em?
In a traditional comedy standpoint, I had no issue with them.
Some of them you could say if you were trying to go for a cleaner show, you could have. Used, not used, cut out. Like the the politics ones. But overall I had no issue with what he did. Politics?
He made. What do you say? Politics or dirty? Which one is it? He mentioned Trump a little bit.
He mentioned. Epstein file, stuff like that, stuff.
So he pushed he pushed the envelope. Oh yeah, he certainly did. That's what comedians historically have done.
Well, good ones at least. President Trump. This is a joke that he made about uh well, Illegal aliens. I don't know if Juan Soto appreciated this joke, but here it is. Joe Rogan actually wanted me to be here to host this award show so that I could capture Adam Silver because Joe thinks he's an alien.
And Donald Trump wanted me to be here to capture Juan Soto for the same reason. It's an alien joke. Wait, you boot up there, dude? Shut up. Yeah.
Yeah, it's it's it's touchy. Come on, now it's it's It's touchy, like that's real life stuff that's goin' on. And that's that every listen, a good comedian, a good comedian. Knows how to get everybody. You want people to feel things, you want people to be uncomfortable.
You wanna go damn? Being able to have comedy is it's like a it's escapism. We have comedians that Man, they can't string together a joke, they can't tie together a joke, they can't set one up. He's a comedian. I mean, nowadays we got people that run around doing skits on Instagram, and now they're comedians.
No, this guy's a comedian. He knows what he does. And he did a great job. You're supposed to evoke. emotion and thoughts.
He's supposed to make people go, Well, damn. And he accomplished that.
Okay, I got no problem with Sarah Spain. I don't need her messaging me about anything. I saw she wasn't appreciative of some of the jokes last night.
Now there was a joke that he made About um He thanked, well, it's a WNBA player joke. We'll hear it in a second. He basically made a point of, hey, nobody knows any WNBA players. And then he went on getting on Caitlin Clark, who we just talked about. Listen to Shane Gillis.
He introduced an audience member. They start going, hey, Kevin Durant is here, or hey, LeBron is here, or this person is here. He introduced a fake WNBA player. The audience clapped. And then he basically said I told y'all, y'all don't know any WNBA players because she's not even a real one.
Listen to this. Four-time WNBA All-Star Britney Hicks is here. Give it up for Britney, everybody. I'm joking around. That's my friend's wife.
I knew none of you knew WNBA players. That's crazy, you clap with it. Yeah, that's the he's a jerk. I like that joke. I like it.
It's a new league.
Well, it's not a new league. I'm going to get in trouble now again. It's a league that is growing. It's a league that has finally hit its peak and hopefully it continues to climb up. But the reality is it's a league that needs to expose its stars to the league.
Come on, we had a guy who pretended to be a WMBA not a W NBA. He pretended to be an NBA draft pick a couple of weeks ago and he had people tricked. All he had to do was be black and be eight feet tall. People like, oh my god, let me get a photo, let me get a picture. Come on now.
I like that joke, and then he had one about Caitlin Clark. It's probably my favorite joke of the night. I just told you about Caitlin Clark and How bad she's been beaten up and fouled Well Shane Gillis had a joke about that and said Caitlin Clark had a Particular place that she could work. After her WNBA career is over, listen to this. When Caitlin Clark retires from the WNBA, she's going to work at a waffle house so she can continue doing what she loves most: fistfighting black women.
Yeah, tough, tough. But I found it funny. I found it I like the creativity in it. It's it's creative. Like I I liked it.
I got I had no problem with it. There wasn't a joke that he told last night that made me go.
Okay, this guy sucks. The fact that he made people feel something And he was creative. I liked it. I know Sarah Spain may not have liked it. The other people may have liked it.
They found some of his jokes to be cheap. Oh, I made a joke about black women. Oh, I made a joke about Caitlin Clark. Oh, the WNBA. Oh, easy targets.
He made jokes about everybody. He hit every buck. He even got at Bill Belichick. Listen to what he had to say about this man. And then he started off talking about a Short hail Tiny and uh some of his gambling issues.
A bookie is what Bill Belichick reads to his girlfriend before bedtime. They do. They read uh The Very Horny Caterpillar. The little engine that could but needed a pill first. And of course, the classic good night boobs.
That's my favorite one. Yeah, okay, all right. He could have stopped and he didn't have to give book examples. But, all things considered, For a guy sitting here in studio and only have seen and heard the jokes online I think he did a good job. He's not coming back.
They're not doing that again. Or maybe he will in a couple of years, but I I enjoyed it. 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN. Paul is here from Nebraska.
You're on the JR Sport Brief Show. Paul, what's on your mind? Paul, you're live on the radio. Oh my god, Paul, maybe Paul also got abducted by aliens. 888-710-4ISN.
Robbie is here. from Birmingham, Alabama. You on the Charles Sportry Show, Robbie, what's up? What's up, JR? You doing all right?
I'm excellent. How are you? Awesome. Doing great. Doing great.
Thank you. Yeah, so watched the whole S news last night, at least 90% of it. Uh I thought the host did a good job. You know, you're right, some of the jokes were pretty good. And the show overall was good, and I loved the Corso recognition.
I mean, highly deserved, of course. But I'll just say, from a technical standpoint, as far as people knowing what to read. They see prompter popping up on time. I mean, it was sub hard, bro. I mean, if you went back and watched that, you would have thought this was a.
A fourth grade Uh play. No, in my opinion. Yeah, it was Robbie. Have you ever read off of a teleprompter?
Okay, fair, fair. No, I'm not being a jerk. I'm asking. I'm asking. No, sure, sure.
No, no, I haven't. Have you ever. Have you ever worked in production? I've been in about four movies just as an extra, as a California football player.
So the only clip, and I'm not trying to be a jerky. I'm just trying to provide perspective. The only thing that I saw, and I just told you, I did not watch the Espes. I only saw the Shane Gillis clips, and I saw some photos here and there. The only thing that I saw about a teleprompter, I think it was maybe Matthew Stafford who went up to read something.
And then apparently, the prompter was too slow or froze. I didn't see anything else about that. But I will tell you. Taking people, not even people, reading off of a teleprompter. is something that you have to learn and then also practice.
And it is also something that It takes two to tango. You have one person who's supposed to be the person who professionally rolls the prompter, and then you have someone who reads it. And you have to do it at a speed where people are comfortable. Because if you have somebody, even if you practice it once for five minutes and you have to come back and do it five hours later, you still may not be up to speed with reading something that moves. Most things that we read, It doesn't move, you know?
I'll give them some grace. I have no idea about the production last night. I didn't see it. But I mean if you are Are watching it and just going, man, this seems kind of shaky, then there probably was something to it. And it wasn't so m and to your point, and your all your points are valid.
It was the timing of the act, like what Stafford said. At least four other people could have said the same thing, but didn't. They just sat there. And it was just awkward. It was just awkward.
When they would come and get the award or. You know, say um uh what was it, uh, Westbrook walked up there to give an award and they just stand there for five seconds just waiting for that thing. It just it's everybody's like, Is he gonna say anything? And he's just sitting there waiting for it to pop up. Yeah.
So it just it's so that and then also the direction of how they're getting off the stage. nobody knew knew which direction to go. They were like having a point in A lot of confusion, but it it is what it is. They'll iron it out, I'm sure, but but it was still a good show.
Okay.
Well, thank you, Robbie, for calling from Birmingham. Appreciate you. No doubt. Robbie can find a new job. He can do a set.
He'd be lead producer. Paul is here from Nebraska. Apparently, he didn't get abducted by ICE or aliens. Paul, you're on the JR Sportbree show. What's up?
Hey, what's up, Jay? I'm not sure which of those two is worse. Yeah. Well, let's ask Juan Soto. Yeah.
There you go. What's up, Paul? I thought it was interesting how Gillis came out and went hard like he did. You know, he's typically considered a right leaning comic. And in all these years past, It's been the opposite direction.
And it was actually funny. I mean, the Waffle House joke killed. That was great. I I enjoyed I enjoyed the whole thing. If dude, if you're Carl Anthony Towns, you gotta kick somebody's ass, don't you?
Well, he he has a beautiful uh girlfriend, so maybe he doesn't care. Maybe. But I think you got to check people, and where better to do it than during the NBA regular season? Nobody can fight anyway. Yeah, right.
Well a hard foul, hard foul, hard foul. Real hard foul. All right, but the reason I wanted to call is Lamian Lillard. I heard what you said a couple seconds you like that? Does that have legs?
Lamian. Uh oh, go ahead.
So okay, I like what you said. Question for you. How much interest was he getting on the open market? Were there other teams? I'd seen some speculation.
There were a handful of teams. Do you know?
Well, apparently the he was having chats with Jason Tatum about joining the Celtics, yes.
Okay, so here's what I think. Here's my Damien Lillard conspiracy theory. The Trailblazers That brand is in a state of regression. From the uniforms, which are terrible, go back to the Blazers, Terry Porter, Kevin Duckworth-era style. To the roster, how can they sell tickets?
Denny, I mean, that's it. That's the only guy with any draw on that entire roster. not going to be Jeremy Grants, not going to be any of these other guys. Let's bring him back.
Now we've got marketing capital that we can use for the next two years. and sell some tickets, drum up interest based on the hometown reunion. and resell them, repackage the same old product, sell it again. They can still be middling like they always are. And there you go.
Now you got some to sell tickets for. I I I think there are uh I think there's there was mutual interest for some of the reasons that you just you just mentioned. I think for Lillard, he can go back home to his family in a situation he's familiar with. And then I think for the Blazers, yeah, they can they can certainly go out there and make some cash. Hey, Paul, I gotta go ahead and hit the break.
Appreciate you for calling from Nebraska, my man. Thank you, Jare. All the time. Shout out to my main man, Paul, from Nebraska. You know, we'll talk more about Damian Lillard.
We'll talk about his situation. We're going to get into some more television stuff as well with the MLB ratings that have come out. We're going to take a break when we come back. Let's keep on with the basketball, though. Let's have a chat with Lawrence Murray.
He covers all things Clippers for the athletic. You want to talk about adding some pieces? They've added some. Are they now better than the Lakers? We'll talk about it.
It's the JR Sport Brief Show, Coast to Coast, the Infinity Sports Network. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief. It is the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. Man, we talked about a lot of deals that have taken place today. We got NFL players like TJ Watt getting contracts.
We got Von Miller with a new deal with the Commanders. And we even got Damian Lullard, who's well, damn it, he's going right back to Portland, Oregon. Play for those Portland Trailblazers whenever he's healthy. But we've also had a lot of big moves done by the Los Angeles Clippers. I mean, they just picked up Bradley Beal, they traded for John Collins, they added a Lopez twin and Brooke to come off the bench.
Flipper's got a lot of talent. Do they all fit together? What can we expect from them? What else is going on in the league? Joining us right now is someone who covers all things basketball for the Athletic.
Joining us right now is Lawrence Murray. Lawrence, how are you, man? I'm doing well. Thanks for having me. Absolutely appreciate the time.
Well, let's take a look at first the Los Angeles Clippers. They add Bradley Beale. They've made all these adjustments. They look good on paper. Is anybody supposed to trust them?
Is this a team just for the postseason? Are they just warming up in the regular season? What is this? Yeah. It's going to be a great look at how they want to Process through both the regular season and the playoffs.
You have to get to the playoffs, right? And I think everyone has that big picture in mind: okay, we just lost in the first round. We haven't gotten out the first round in a few years, and you're trying to react to that all the time. There's that pressure. But when you all those dudes show up for camp, You just want to have good vibes.
Get guys that care about each other and get into the season and get yourself off to a good start so that you can develop the right habits.
so that when you do get to the playoffs the best version of yourself in the playoffs can come out. That's a lot. That's a lot that needs to happen. between October and Really, February, because if it works, you're like, okay, let's fine-tune and see how high our ceiling is. If it doesn't work, and with this group of guys that they put together, there's a lot of boomer bust here.
If it doesn't work, you're reassessing in January. You know, we're talking about this in July. They're not going to play any games that matter for three months. And then for three months, they got to show that they can validate. all this talent that we are about to you know, spend a lot of time talking about.
I like what they've done from the simple fact that they got beat in a game seven, fully healthy, and understood that. There's no real incentive to quote unquote You know, see what happens, you know, like make something happen because a lot of these dudes are playing for bread. a year from now and it's going to be fascinating to watch. We know Bradley Beal with his son's buyout. He has money coming for years.
He's in essence on a one plus one contract. He can opt out and be a free agent next offseason. We saw that he didn't fit in. With Booker and then also Durant, when they played in Phoenix, we know James Harden is someone more apt to get rid of the ball. Kawhi Leonard isn't necessarily a ball hog by any stretch of the imagination.
How is Bradley Beal expected to fit in with this team, particularly amongst the other two future Hall of Famers?
Well, it will start with Bradley Beal actually being on the floor. I think more than anything, the fit in Phoenix was difficult because Brad missed so much time. But also, Because I actually think that Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant. Evan Booker, offensively, you're not really tripping that much. But what hurt them when Brad first got there Is the fact that that Phoenix Suns team decided to trade their Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul to get Bradley Beal and his no trade calls.
And basically, we're like, how about we just not have a guy who's ever been a you know, facilitator as they grow in basketball. You had You had stars and play finishers and guys who can make plays for others as a part of their scoring, but you never had a guy whose main task on a basketball court was getting others and keeping them involved in the flow of the offense. That's why that first Phoenix Suns team, man, they could be really good through three quarters, but they were the worst fourth quarter team I've ever seen. You know, relative to good teams. That messed up Brad's first year.
And then last year, they bring in all the small guards: Tyus Jones, Monte Morris, minimum contracts. The offense was good. Hues made shots. Brad made shots, but they were one of the softest teams I've ever seen.
Okay, so you're talking about one year Brad was playing with guys who couldn't finish games properly. And then last year, the Phoenix Suns hurt office realized they had messed a whole lot of stuff up. They benched Brad. They You know, kick the tires on Kevin Durant seeing if he wanted to get traded. Kevin was like, nah, y'all not going to do me like that.
And they pretty much blew up their whole team afterwards. The fit should be better with the Clippers simply because the Clippers aren't as dysfunctional as the Phoenix Suns are. And that means a lot.
So if it comes down to it, Brad's job is to come in, get his body right, get his mind right, find some love of the game, and make the shots that we know that he's capable of making and buy it. If he can do that, it's going to go better. But the number one thing is I don't care who's out there, James Harden, Kawai Leonard. If you're in lineups that are big, if you're in, it doesn't matter. Brad's gotta get his body right.
I think that's the biggest part of the fit, he's gotta be able to be healthy enough to. Be on the court in the first place. Lawrence Murray is here with us, covers all things Clippers for the Athletic. When you think about the Clippers moving into the new arena with the new owner, he's been here for a while now, almost a decade, and Steve Ballmer. Their expectation is that he's going to spend, spend, spend, which they've done.
But knowing that these guys are older, Harden, 30s, Kawhi Leonard, 30s, we know his injury history, and Bradley Beal is no longer a spring chicken. What is the long-term expectation? It feels like eventually, if this doesn't result in a championship, that they're going to have to just restart from scratch. Am I wrong? Yeah, I don't think that's really how they're looking at it.
I mean, these guys are already year to year anyway. You're building two teams, and the team that you have for this season is the team that you have for this season. Everything that the Clippers have done, and it hasn't just started this year, it started last year when Paul George left, is with an eye towards. Pre-agency in 2026, 2027, having that cat space, having that flexibility so that you're not starting over. You are in a sense.
Getting the most out of the guys that you have with an eye towards making sure that you're never going to completely fall off or fall apart, and those guys are all playing at relatively high levels. James was an all-NBA performer last year, Kawhi Leonard. He had to take some time to get his body right, but once he debuted, he played well. And we all know he's an all-NBA caliber talent as well. And Uh, they have guys who emerged if it's Zubots.
He was a finalist or most improved player. He was really good last season. He's not three yet. John Collins coming in. That's a player who I just feel like I don't think they need to start him, but the fact that he's on the team represents something they just didn't have a year ago.
And so This is a team that there is pressure to your point. The pressure is. Because these guys are not Emerging players, they're established players who a lot of them could be free agents next year. They can't take for granted that, hey, you have another chance at this. You got to get the most out of this year.
But I think that's the case for every team. And the difference between this team and other teams is, this team might be good enough to do something. And this team understands that you're going to have to keep an eye towards completely reimagining what your team looks like and having the flexibility to make the most of it. That's how the Clippers have Bradley Beal in their team now. And I bet you, just looking at the Clippers' history over the last decade, They're going to continue to do the most that they can to make sure that they're competitive year over year.
Well, Lawrence, you talk about what this team is composed of and the timeline that they are on. You look at the other teams in the West. We know who just won the championship. We know Houston just went ahead and got Durant. We've seen the improvement in the Denver Nuggets as well.
Where is the ceiling for this Clippers team? Could you see this squad hoisting the Larry O'Brien at the end of next season? Right now, I can't say that. Because The Oklahoma City Thunder is still here. They bring their whole team back.
They got the MVP, the leading scorer, a guy who was drafted and debuted with the Clippers. I feel like it's still the Thunder versus everybody else in the West. Uh, and to be honest with you, I don't think the West was all that good last year. I think you had good teams, but you didn't have true threats, the sixth seed. Was the team that wound up making the Western Conference finals.
And outside of one game, They weren't all that competitive in that Western Conference final.
So I would say the Thunder should be the clear favorites. Uh, I don't really see another team being nearly as good as them. I'm not really that high on anybody, the Clippers included. That being said, I do think the Clippers are better. I do think the Nuggets are respectable.
I think the Rockets have a lot to build off of. Timbulls have made back-to-back conference finals. They're going to be right there in the mixed suit. That mix is going to be more interesting to me. Anything else, like, but it's still, I think, the context of the West is who can challenge the Thunder.
I think the Thunder is still the team to be reckoned with in the West. I I would certainly agree with you on on that one.
Well, Law, thank you so much for the time. Please tell everybody where they can follow you and all of your work on The Athletic. Yeah, shout out to the athletic, and you can find me on all the socials at Law Murray The New. And Just read the articles. They're way better than social media.
I'll tell you that much. Yeah, well we know we know what social media looks like, Laura, so yeah. Anyway, we'll leave that one alone. Hey, Law, thank you so much. We'll catch you down the line, okay?
All right, thank you. No doubt about it. That law, Murray, Lawrence Murray, covers all things clippers for the athletic. Yeah, you look at the timeline, all these established players who are currently on the team. You just go, man, y'all gotta make something shake.
And I think with the new ownership, I keep saying new, I can't believe he's been around for almost a decade now. But when you think about Steve Ballmer, he's going to go out there, he's going to spend that money.
Now is it going to result in a championship? Is there ever going to be a point in time where they just say, hey, let's hit the reset button? Or are they just going to throw money around in free agency? The Clippers are always going to be another option now. outside of the Lakers.
Let's be realistic. We had Brooke Lopez. Who wanted to go to the Los Angeles Lakers and reportedly said, I ain't going there. Because of the uncertainty surrounding LeBron James. And so as much as it stands of LeBron is uh on an expiring contract and LeBron is older, but LeBron is still great.
Uh l how much carrying weight does he still have in the organization? It's now Lucas team. Even with all of that, Man, there's still guys who are just like, I ain't going. Like, yeah, Luca is great, but i he not there with LeBron, wh why am I spending a year or two of my career to just sign up for whatever the hell y'all got going on? I mean Brooke Lopez thought it better for him to join the Clippers.
Was the last time you heard that? Bradley Beale. I'm sure he could have gone to the Los Angeles Lakers. he thought it was better for him to go to the Clippers. Apparently James Harden recruited him Pretty hard.
And yeah, if James Harden has now advanced past Houston era where he's just jacking up shots, yeah, James Harden is really moving that rock.
So we'll see what the Clippers do. They'll go to the poll season. And then we'll just play it by year at that point. I do think they need some additional depth pieces. They are definitely a playoff team.
They're going to give anybody a fight in the Western Conference if they're healthy. I just don't believe they're a championship squad. No, they're not there yet. It's the JR Sport Ree Show here with you, Coast to Coast on the Infinity Sports Network. 888-710-4ISN.
That's 888-710-4ISN. We'll take a break. You know what? Speaking of the NBA. There's been even more talk recently.
in Vegas in the finals about the NBA expanding. I'm going to give you an update on what cities may get some teams, and we'll actually hear what Adam Silver had to say about it. It's the JR Sport Reshow on the Infinity Sports Network, and right now it is time for a news flash. Here he is, Rich Ackerman. I'm gonna put you on, nephew.
All right, Uncle. Welcome to McDonald's. Can I take your order? Miss, I've been hitting up McDonald's for years.
Now it's back. We need snack wraps. What's a snack rap? It's the return of something great. Snack wrap is back.
You're listening to the JR Sport Brief. It is the JR Sport Brief Show here with you, coast to coast, on the Infinity Sports Network.
Well, damn it, I wish I could get paid off of being a good dude. That'd be nice, right? Anyway. Hey, thank you so much to our guests. Came through and joined us to talk about the Clippers, all their additions, Law Murray from the Athletic.
Yeah, you know you've come a long way.
Well, you can talk about the Los Angeles Clippers. You know you've come a long way when they're attracting future Hall of Famers and All Stars. Let's see what they do. I'm not all that sold on the Los Angeles Clippers. I'm expecting an injury here or there, and even at full strength, with hardening and Kawhi and Bradley Beale I still kind of go, eh, okay, all right, maybe, maybe if they're absolutely healthy.
They could beat anybody. It would take a lot. I'm not all that sold on their depth. Bogdanovich off the bench. You got Brooke Lopez.
Nice roster. I just don't know. Kawhi would have to take them over the top. And are we going to depend on that? I'm not gonna hold my breath on that one either.
Eight eight eight seven ten four ISN is the number. That's eight eight eight seven ten. Four ISN. And speaking of West Coast basketball, we talked about Damian Lillard. Are re-signing with the Portland Trailblazers.
We know he's basically likely going to be out this entire year as he returns from his torn Achilles. Basically has a two-year contract here with the Portland Trailblazers. and we talked about the Clippers. But if we want to talk about West Coast basketball, We know that the NBA has been holding its Vegas Summer League. You won't see any more Cooper flag, and that that's done.
He played two games, and that was all she wrote. But ultimately We're probably going to get a basketball team in Vegas. Why not? Every major sports league is now in Las Vegas. Hockey, WNBA is in Vegas.
We got the A's that are going to Vegas. The NBA is not there yet. because uh the taboo of gambling. Everybody's now moved out there. That's why a team wasn't there.
And then we got another team in the Pacific Northwest, not in Portland, but in Seattle. That still does not have a team. After Kevin Durant's rookie year in 08, the next thing you know, poof, Oklahoma City got the thunder.
So We need a team in Seattle. We need a team in Las Vegas. I'm waiting on it. They put a team in Las Vegas. Damn it, I'm gonna root for them.
I don't even know who's on the team, don't know who will be on the team, outside of an idiot owning the squad. I'm gonna root for them. Damn it, they're going to be my home team, even hometown team, even though I'm in Atlanta. Yeah, I'm going to go see them a lot. But anyway.
Adam Silver talked about this in Vegas during the Summer League just a few days ago. He says that, yeah, we're we're we're making a big step here. When it comes down to thinking about adding two teams or a team He says he's been in communications with the owners. Listen to this. There is a significant step now in that we're now engaging in this in-depth analysis, something we weren't prepared to do before, but beyond that, As I said, it's really day one of that analysis.
And so, in terms of Price potential timing, too early to say. And again, I think that also assumes the outcome. of this analysis.
Well, the analysis basically says that they got to add two more teams, right? One team has to be in Las Vegas, and the other team has to be. and Seattle. What are we doing? Like that's just common damn sense.
I'd be shocked if we had any other outcome.
Now Adam Silver did continue on. And he said that this is a difficult process because basically you You add a team or two? You're splitting up the revenue Amongst the other teams. And who wants a bigger pie to be chopped down?
Well, if it's going to make you more money in the long run, you might as well do it. Listen to what Adam Silver had to say. expansion was discussed both at both at a committee level and at the board and ultimately The League Office was tasked by our board with doing an in-depth analysis of all the issues around expansion, both economic and non-economic. Of course, the non-economic issues include dilution of talent. how it could potentially affect competition around the league.
If we were to expand, how you would how you would stock those teams, all those related issues, the economic issues, as I've talked about before. we knew would be the case in these discussions. among the board, they're very complex because in how you would potentially value the opportunity has a lot to do with your projections on the future growth of the league. Oh, I like what he said. Dilution of talent.
Do we have enough guys in the league that don't suck? That now we be ass, I mean, we've gone and we've had all these superstars for years that are teaming up together. Like, Bacha, is there a team? I mean, outside, and some the teams that are bad are bad because they're stupid. Is there an NBA team out here that is just Just barren of talent.
Like, ain't nobody out here. Washington? Not even Washington, there's a lot of old people on their team. It's just a lot of good vets. It I would say Arguably Every team has one or two pieces.
that they care about. and can develop But I think where the NBA is in a good spot is there's a bunch of players that are quality role players. and can fill out a bench. and maybe take a step if they had more of an opportunity. Oh, well we saw what Norman Powell did last year having a career year for the Los Angeles Clippers.
He's now been shipped to Miami. Yeah, I I wouldn't be too concerned with a dilution of talent. If I were the NBA, I mean, we had Bradley Beale, Kevin Durant. And Devon book on one damn team. Even if you have to look at things from an economic standpoint and who's on a max contract and who's making major dough and who's making tons of money, man, we got guys that have names that people would pay to see.
I mean, Bradley Beal was out here suffering in Washington. He's their best player. Where the hell were they going? I don't think anybody sat around going, oh my God, what's going on with Washington? Oh, the NBA, they need to contract.
They have too many teams. Ain't nobody say that. It's quite the opposite. It's room for expansion. And I hear all the teams in the cities that are lobbying for a squad.
I know Kansas City. Looking for a team. Obviously, Las Vegas would be a massive shock if they don't get one. I think it's just going to boil down to Seattle. in Vegas.
Is is there a market do you do you think otherwise? Right now, no. I would say. Depending In the future maybe get Mores Middle of America teams. I don't know, Nashville.
If they get around to it. Why? Why why why would why why would Tennessee need another team? Uh, they're p it's a party town, so I guess if you wanna bring in people Nah, bruh. It's enough to have the team in Memphis.
I mean, we don't need another one. That's true. That's true. Uh other than that No, nothing. Ain't no there's no place.
Sorry, Kansas City, my bad. You just gotta settle for the the what you got there with the Chiefs. I mean, at least they play in the same place for now, right across the parking lot. You gotta settle for the Chiefs and the Royals. Call it a day.
Come on now. And then I guess to even things out amongst the conferences. And you have to move a team east. Move. Move the Pelicans.
I don't know. Move the Pelicans east. No no. You got a better candidate? No, because they're they're more Louisiana is more East than it is West, if you think about it.
Yeah, it is.
So it it would make sense that they'd move. They've also been moved and messed with a ton of other times so they wouldn't mind it.
Well, you also have uh Well the timber wolves, they're more East and Midwest and anything west, but I don't know. Whatever. Move the pelicans. Move em to the east, they can play The Hawksen No, oh yeah, maybe maybe move the Grizzlies, they'll figure it out. But just put two teams in the West.
You end up moving the Pelicans to the east. Schedule more games out this way, and all will be well and fine in the world. NBA is making so much money they can expand. I hope it happens sooner than later. And we know it has to be Vegas.
Has to be. There's no way in hell. Las Vegas has a Major League Baseball team, in NHL team, in NFL team, And they don't have an NBA team. It's only a matter of time. But what I hope doesn't happen Whatever NBA player goes out there.
stars, who knows, whatever it is, Just stay out of trouble. And all things considered, Vegas hasn't been the death trap. that people thought it would be for sports. We got access to online gambling and people are just making bad decisions in the palm of their hands. They don't have to be in Las Vegas.
You could be a Tennessee Titan. You could be an Atlanta Falcon sitting on a bench You know, making bad decisions with your phone as it relates to gambling.
So I think a lot of the young athletes, they don't necessarily have the uh doesn't have the allure that it used to. Yeah, you can go outside and and hit the strip button. And you can do the same damn thing in New York, LA, Miami.
So yeah, Las Vegas, get the NBA team. And let's get the Sonics back in Seattle as well.
So, the JR Sport Brief show coast to coastal on the Infinity Sports Network. It's been a busy day. When we come back, I'm going to tell you about all the deals that took place. I got you covered. Fon Lauer of the Show, the Chair of Sport Re Show, the Infinity Sports Network.
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