We all belong outside. We're drawn to nature. Whether it's the recorded sounds of the ocean we doze off to, or the succulents that adorn our homes, nature makes all of our lives, well, better.
Despite all this, we often go about our busy lives removed from it. But the outdoors is closer than we realize. With AllTrails, you can discover trails nearby and explore confidently with offline maps and on-trail navigation.
Download the free app today and make the most of your summer with AllTrails. Look around. What do you see? Cars? Lots of them. And guess what? They're probably on AutoTrader.
Whether you're into timeless classics or the latest trends. Did somebody say solar-powered, eco-friendly, vegan leather-wrapped, aromatherapy-scented, disco-ball-equipped self-driving car? If you see it on the road, you can likely find it on AutoTrader. Big cars. Small cars. Blue cars. New cars and used cars. Electric cars. And one day, maybe even flying cars.
With millions of options to choose from, buying a car becomes a whole lot easier. See it. Find it. AutoTrader. The JR Sportbreeze Show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you to everybody tuned in and locked in all over North America.
I'll be hanging out with you for three more hours. This is a four-hour show. It gets started every single weekday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. You can always listen on the free Odyssey app. You can lock in on your local Infinity Sports Network affiliate, Sirius XM Channel 158. You got a smart speaker? It's simple. Ask it to play the Infinity Sports Network.
You don't have to push a button. Just talk. Use your voice. Thank you to our producer holding it down in New York, Nick Theodoro. And you, of course. We talked about it quite a bit. NBA Free Agency has taken over the world of sports over the past 24 hours.
I mean, just in the first hour of the show. We talked about Klay Thompson, his new home with the Dallas Mavericks. Paul George has a new home with the Philadelphia 76ers. We got a guy in Chris Paul who is, man, he's going to be playing for the San Antonio Spurs, one-year contract throwing lobs to Victor Wibinyama. Not a bad way to, I guess, go out.
To me, it feels like retirement, but hell, what do I know? Anyway, 855-212-4227. That's 855-212-4227. Talked about the contract of Jason Tatum. Biggest deal in NBA history. $314 million over the next five years. He's making major bucks. It's the biggest basketball contract in history.
And he jumps in front of his own teammate in Jalen Brown. Got a five-year deal, $304 million. So Brown might have the Finals MVP. Damn it, Jason Tatum seemingly has everything else. You want to think about the biggest contracts in sports history? Jason Tatum, 314 mil. Patrick Mahomes, $450 million. Lionel Messi, $674 million. And then Shohei Ohtani. What a world, what a world, what a world. Shohei Ohtani making $700 million. It's going to be real fun and real interesting. One day when we get a billion-dollar athlete, I wonder who the hell it's going to be. The prices can't get any bigger than this, right? Well, I mean, if you think about it, with the amount of money that the teams and the leagues are making, it's going to be normal one day for a guy to get a billion-dollar contract. What's coming? 855-212-4227.
That's 855-212-4227. And speaking of billions, I told you about Tatum's new contract. We also had an opportunity to really mention how, well, Boston Celtics, they're a team for sale. Whit Grossbeck blocked the team in 2002, $360 million. And by the time he offloads the majority of the team, it wouldn't have shocked me if the team was sold for anywhere between $5 and $6 billion. It costs to be competitive. The Celtics aren't just competitive. They are reigning champs. Now they're going to be for sale. 855-212-4227.
That's 855-212-4227. Pick up the phone lines and then talk about a team out west, the other legacy team in the NBA. What the hell are the Lakers doing? It seems like they had all their big splashes last week.
There's still some time, though. Manny is calling up from Flushing, Queens. Manny, you're on the JR Sportbreeze show.
Go ahead. What's up, my man? How you doing? Hope you're having a hell of a summer.
Thank you so much, Manny. What's up? Good.
Listen, man. Look, I think, yeah, the Eastern Conference, man, it could be loaded. I mean, you have some, like, basically six or seven good teams. I mean, you said Boston's number one. Knicks most likely, too, if healthy. If they're healthy and get a big man. The Sixers, I'm not sold on them, you know, because they can't stay healthy and retrieve it.
Specifically, both George and Ed Bead. You also got Indiana and Milwaukee. They're not getting younger. Look at Orlando. They're the team on the rise. I mean, I'm glad that they brought a guy who's won a championship in Virginia.
He's the all-girl Pope. And then you have Cleveland and Miami. I mean, I don't know who's going to be the AC, you know, maybe Atlanta with Trey Young, if this team get a little better. Who knows? I'm not going to hold my breath on that one. Well, oh, well, that's the best. Oh, well, that's that's that's for them. But I mean, they got you all thought that Brink Murray and Young will do something together.
I guess that did not work well, but I digress. But in the same token, I mean, the Eastern Conference is going to be very interesting. I mean, look at the Western Conference. I mean, you only got Denver, Minnesota. I'm not too sold on on OKC yet.
I mean, I mean, you know, specifically Sam Presley. I know he's done a hell of a job, but he hasn't got a championship. You also got, you know, the Lakers. I mean, I suspect part of the Mavericks. You also got I mean, I think the Clippers are going to regress. They may miss the playoffs. You also got Houston, who I think they could get that could be very good. He may duck up moving into another year. Yeah, we we certainly I don't want to say that the balances have kind of changed here and from east to west. And thank you, Manny, for calling from Flushing.
Appreciate you. Like we are in a different a different space right now in the league. Typically, you look at the Western Conference in the NBA as the powerhouse, right? Right now, it's I would say it's the east. The Boston Celtics are the reigning champs. The New York Knicks are strong.
They're deep. Well, even though they lost Isaiah Hartenstein, Milwaukee Bucks will still be competitive. I think they have some some work to do to round out the roster. Cleveland will be good. Now they have a great head coach in Kenny Atkinson. Orlando is not going to get worse.
I expect them to be the same, if not better. The Pacers should be better with more experience. The 76ers, what's going to slow them down besides injury? The Miami Heat are always competitive.
I know Jimmy Butler is going to be playing for a contract, so maybe he'll actually show up to work able to play. And then once you start getting into the rest of the teams in the East, Chicago, who cares? Atlanta, very average team. Brooklyn isn't a full rebuild. Toronto, what are they going to do? OK, they got a full year of now Emmanuel quickly, R.J. Barrett and Scottie Barnes. I'm not sold on them as a team. I'm happy all those guys got their contracts and got their money.
I'm not sold on them. Charlotte, disaster. I don't care if LaMelo comes back and is an all star. There's still an average at best team. Washington stinks. Detroit stinks, even though they have a new head coach in J.B. Bickerstaff. So, yeah, the East is is deep.
The West. It was deep last year, but to be like real contenders, like whatever, right? Oklahoma City not going anywhere. Denver not going anywhere, even though they lost. They've lost some depth now. KCP gone this year. Last year after the championship, you lose Bruce Brown. Minnesota is not going anywhere. The Clippers.
Yeah, they're going to fall off. Bringing back James Harden, what they do in Kawhi London. How exciting is that? Russell Westbrook just opted into his contract with the Clippers and his talks that he might get traded and move.
Nothing exciting about the Clippers. Dallas will be good. Phoenix?
I don't know. Is Phoenix going to be good? Can you count on Beale and Durant to actually go out there and do some damage? And Booker, the three of them actually be healthy at the same time. I'm not sold. And then we got the team that won the playing tournament.
I know it sounds and feels so long ago. It's the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are good. But are the Los Angeles Lakers championship good? Is anybody looking at the Lakers right now and going, oh, man, they're absolutely going to, you know, blaze their way through the postseason.
Like, for how? We know the Lakers stole all of the news and the headlines before the draft and after the draft and during the draft. Just a week ago, just a week ago. J.J. Redick was introduced as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. That was just a week ago.
A couple of days ago, Thursday afternoon, Thursday evening. Bronny James. Is drafted at number fifty five in the second round by the Los Angeles Lakers. And so LeBron James got two things that he wanted.
It's not even a holiday season. He gets the coach that he wanted. Having J.J. Redick right there with him, former podcast buddy and host.
And LeBron James also has an opportunity to play alongside his son. Beautiful, historic. Oh, man, it's going to be so sweet watching, I don't know, Bronny throw an alley oop to his dad. Great story.
Great stuff. Right. Or Bronny James won't play. Who knows? We'll see.
I forgot LeBron is running the team, so I guess he had Bronny James will play. But now that we've gotten into free agency. Crickets. Now that we've gotten into free agency, things are pretty quiet. With the Los Angeles Lakers. What's the biggest news we got?
Oh, how about this? Amongst all of the exciting things that have happened for the Lakers. They drafted Dalton Connect.
Out of Tennessee. He can shoot, he can score, he also can not play defense. Good.
Great. Just what the Lakers needed. DeAngelo Russell opting into the final year of his deal.
Los Angeles Lakers got to be like, how can we trade this man and where can we send him? LeBron James declining his player option, which was at fifty one million dollars next season. Because let's be real, LeBron James is going to sign another contract.
It's just a matter of of when, for how long and for how much. And when you're pushing 40 years old like LeBron. I mean, there's limits on on how long he can sign a contract due to the CBA. But outside of that, how much money is LeBron going to leave on the table? It was reported that that LeBron called Klay Thompson last night.
To kind of let him know, hey, man, I want you to come here. And Klay Thompson said, no, thank you. And Klay Thompson took his talents to Dallas, Texas, to play for the Mavs. So that's that's one LeBron James Lakers swing and a miss.
And who the hell else is out there? I know everybody wants to go for the star. Who's the big name? LeBron James had a whole big three, him and Wade and Bosch.
LeBron James playing in Cleveland had a not the same type of Kevin Love, but Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. But the Los Angeles Lakers has been him, Anthony Davis and a one in the bubble. Who the hell else is available?
I'll tell you is another guy. He's actually from Los Angeles as well. He's pretty much the only thing the Lakers can do if they want to swing or swing big and actually try to connect. The Lakers would have to bring in DeMar DeRozan. DeMar DeRozan would have to decide to come home to Los Angeles to play for the Lakers. DeMar DeRozan has spent the past few seasons.
This is absolutely terrible. I feel like this man's career has been withering away. For Chicago Bulls team that has gone and is going nowhere. Zach Lavine's contract, Zach Lavine, period. Looks like an anchor for the Chicago Bulls.
Period. They're going to stink for as long as that guy's on the team. And so DeMar DeRozan turns 35 years old. I know it sounds crazy to say DeMar DeRozan turns 35 in August. He's been a six time All-Star, has been balling out in the league since 2009.
He's bounced around a little bit, but not a lot. Remember, he plied his trade starting with the Raptors, went to the Spurs, has been on the Bulls since 2021. This past year, he dropped 25 points a game in 79 games. He plays basketball. And if you haven't seen DeMar DeRozan, the guy's mid-range game is ridiculous. This man will destroy you. He's a straight scorer.
Doesn't talk trash, doesn't talk mess, shows up to work, destroys you and keeps it moving. He's the only guy at this point that the Lakers could bring in outside of a trade. And I don't even know who you're going to trade to bring back because you've got to get rid of Russell.
But I don't know. I don't think the Lakers are trading anybody. DeMar DeRozan would work out for that because LeBron James wouldn't have to wake up with Anthony Davis and say, we need to score all the points and then actually hope for, I don't know, Austin Reeves to have one of those nights as well. DeMar DeRozan, he steps out onto the basketball court and you know what you're going to get. Game to game points, buckets.
That's it. Now, DeMar DeRozan, he did talk a little while ago, about a month or so ago about his future. He was chatted up with FanDuel.
And for the life of me, these comments were a little shocking. Listen to DeMar DeRozan talk about his Bulls future, his future in free agency. You're going into free agency this offseason. What's the what's the vibes like in Chicago? Are you holding your cards close, trying to see how it play out or is there somewhere you would like to return back to? It's definitely somewhere I'd like to return to.
I think more so than anybody. You know, when the job ain't done with me lose, you know, no matter how tough the situation may look, I'm one of those guys that try to stick it through and try to make something out of nothing, you know. And, you know, the city is great. I love the city. The organization been great. You know, so it's definitely a place I would love to return to and just, you know, take care of unfinished business.
OK. Love to come back and take care of unfinished business. What is wrong with DeMar DeRozan now? I know. I guess maybe things have changed since he said that.
And now. Josh Getty is now a member of the Chicago Bulls. Maybe DeMar DeRozan is just like, what the hell are they bringing this guy in to play point guard and shoot? DeMar DeRozan just needs to go to the Lakers.
I mean, he said a few years ago he thought he was going to be traded for the Los Angeles Lakers. If you are from Los Angeles, maybe he doesn't want to go home. There are a lot of athletes who don't. They don't want to go home. They don't want the attention. They don't want the family bothering them. People asking for tickets. Some kid from the fifth grade.
Your former classmates are hitting you up. I can understand it. But what else is there for DeMar DeRozan to do in his career besides put on the purple and gold? Maybe he also, like Klay Thompson, doesn't want to be a part of the circus. Maybe DeMar DeRozan doesn't want to look at Bronny James.
Maybe DeMar DeRozan doesn't want to look at J.J. Redick and go, man, I used to play against you. Are you the coach or is LeBron the coach? Maybe Klay Thompson said, I don't want to go to the Lakers.
I know my dad is the broadcaster, but this looks like a disaster. How ironic would it be if the Lakers are having a difficulty bringing in talent? Even with LeBron James taking a pay cut. Because of LeBron James. Because LeBron James picked the coach. LeBron James picked his son in the draft. Maybe people just they don't want the drama of, I guess, I don't know, showing up to work and not working for the Lakers. But quite frankly, working for LeBron James.
Wild stuff. The Lakers are just kind of walking on thin ice right now. Let's see if DeMar DeRozan decides to go back home to Los Angeles.
Do yourself a favor, bruh. That would be better than the Bulls who are going nowhere. 855-212-4227.
That's 855-212-4227. We are going to take a break when we come back. Los Angeles Lakers, I don't have too much hope in them. They're going to do anything. Maybe they add DeMar DeRozan, but I still find them to be meh.
Lakers could be done. We come back on the other side. I'm going to tell you something that finished up over the weekend.
It's the Pac-12. I'll explain on the other side. You're locked into the J.R. sport reef show. We all belong outside. We're drawn to nature. Whether it's the recorded sounds of the ocean we doze off to or the succulents that adorn our homes. Nature makes all of our lives, well, better. Despite all this, we often go about our busy lives removed from it. But the outdoors is closer than we realize. With AllTrails, you can discover trails nearby and explore confidently with offline maps and on-trail navigation.
Download the free app today and make the most of your summer with AllTrails. Worried about letting someone else pick out the perfect avocado for your perfect impress them on the third date guacamole? Well, good thing Instacart shoppers are as picky as you are. They find ripe avocados like it's their guac on the line. They are milk expiration date detectives. They bag eggs like the 12 precious pieces of cargo they are. So let Instacart shoppers overthink your groceries so that you can overthink what you'll wear on that third date. Download the Instacart app to get free delivery on your first three orders while supplies last.
Minimum $10 per order, additional term supply. Look around. What do you see? Cars? Lots of them. And guess what? They're probably on AutoTrader.
Whether you're into timeless classics or the latest trends. Did somebody say solar-powered, eco-friendly, vegan leather-wrapped, aroma-therapy-scented, disco-ball-equipped self-driving car? If you see it on the road, you can likely find it on AutoTrader. Big cars, small cars, blue cars, new cars and used cars, electric cars, and one day, maybe even flying cars.
With millions of options to choose from, buying a car becomes a whole lot easier. See it. Find it.
AutoTrader. You are listening to the JR Sport Brief. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. Amongst all the talk about NBA free agency and who goes where and who signs here and who will get traded and who doesn't go to the Lakers.
We've had another, I can't call it a free agent signing. It's not. But we've had another transaction, okay? Last night, the Pac-12, Pac-12 network, it doesn't exist anymore. It's over.
It's done. The Pac-12 and the network, this is kind of crazy. It's only been around for 12 years. But when the Pac-12 can no longer produce 12 teams or 10 teams, and now they're down to two. Oregon and Washington.
What the hell are you keeping the network around for? I mean, we got Oregon and Washington that are going to have to play games in the West Coast Conference in the Mountain West. Just to get games on the schedule because there's nobody for them to play against. They can't play against each other all season long.
It's two teams. And so the irony is, for years, for years, the Pac-12 was pretty much, the teams owned it. USC and UCLA, they said, we need to get the hell up on out of here. We need some of that TV money. They went to the Big Ten. Yeah, so what that they'll have to fly all across the country as far as New York. The big difference from playing in the Pac-12, or should I say Rutgers in New Jersey?
Ironically, not having one of these gigantic television deals with the big checks that come along with it. That was their demise. They didn't bring in an ESPN or Fox and said, hey, help us out here with television distribution.
And so they suffered as all these other leagues and teams. Well, they got big money from television because newsflash, sports is just about the only thing left to sit down and watch that you need to watch live. That's it. What else are you watching live? Every sitcom and show and Netflix, this and Amazon, that. You binge watch it. You watch it when you feel like it. In the case of sports, you watch it when it's on. When it's off, you're screwed. I mean, it's even in the world we live in right now, it's even difficult to say, you know, I'm going to be home late. I'm going to record the game and watch it after because, man, you can watch it on your phone.
And if you want to watch it when you get home, you've got to avoid the Internet period to hope you don't get spoiled. There's a reason why somebody like Jason Tatum is making three hundred and fourteen million bucks. It's like, yeah, there's butts in seats. But there's so much value in sports. It's not just a catchphrase for Hulu. There's so much value in live sports.
You got to watch it. And that's where the money is. And so the Pac-12 is cooked.
It's done. They turned their signal off last night at midnight. If you have the Pac-12 network, you got it. You can turn it on. It says the station no longer exists.
What is also pretty sad and pretty miserable. If you go to the Pac-12's Web site, you start clicking around. There's only two teams there. And it's still called the Pac-12. All you see is Oregon. All you see is Washington. That's it. And nothing exciting on that page.
Looks pretty lonely. Think about UCLA, USC, going to the Big Ten, following the big bucks. I want to know what the Pac-12 does. Are they going to start trying to recruit teams in?
Well, they're just going to cease to exist. With all of the changes that we've had in the world of college sports and not just from an athlete's perspective with NIL and licensing and what have you, conference realignment has been driven due to money. It's like teams woke up and said, well, damn it. Well, we can't control the players the same way that we used to. These guys are getting money.
They're going into transfer portals or getting name image and likeness deals. So how can we make money? Well, we can leave. We can leave our conferences.
We can align with other schools just to go out there and get the bread. And this is this is just the start. Nobody knows what college football is going to look like over the next decade. Nobody has a clue. Like, what are the conferences?
What are we what are we doing? Are we still even going to have a power five or group of five? Is a Pac-12 going to exist? Is the Big Ten just going to eat up the world? Are we in store for some super conferences are going to be east versus west?
I have no idea. Eventually, somebody is going to come in with some big bucks and a big solution to try to figure this out. And so as much as in the last break, I talked about the Los Angeles Lakers kind of like hitting you with a whimper right now and free agency, hoping that somebody shows up. The Pac-12 officially, well, they they turn off their lights.
After 12 years, 12 years. Not only is the Pac-12 station cooked. Pac-12 is probably cooked as well. You know, you're in a bad spot when you go from having your own television network. To having your games displayed on the CW. No disrespect to the CW, but I don't know what come. Nick, you have any idea what the hell comes on CW? Uh, Mets games and that's about it. It's the only thing I can think of. Yeah, there's not a damn thing on CW. That's a low- Pac said live golf to a fan here. Oh, yeah. Great, great company with live golf.
Live golf is distributed on YouTube and now the CW. Great, great stuff. Hey, good luck to, uh, I'd say good luck to the Pac-12, but it apparently is already dead. 855-212-4227.
That's 855-212-4227. That's depressing as hell to be called the Pac-12. You got, you got two teams. Y'all supposed to have all the championships. All them teams are gone.
What a sad state of affairs. It's the JR Sportbree Show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. We're going to take a break when we come back. The Lakers are looking for help.
Maybe Damar. The Pac-12 is done and dead. And I want to tell you about a team. They're not doing too good in free agency either.
And, uh, they just won a championship two seasons ago. I'm going to fill you in on a team that might need some help. It's the JR Sportbree Show on the Infinity Sports Network. You're listening to the JR Sportbree. It's the JR Sportbree Show here on the Infinity Sports Network. 855-212-4227.
That's 855-212-4227. Before we went to break, I told you about the Pac-12 Network. It's done. I know the world is changing, people are streaming, and sports has big value. Pac-12 basically doesn't exist anymore because they couldn't keep up. All their teams went for greener pastures called money as they went ahead and chased bigger television deals. It's done for the Pac-12.
Over. Before I told you about the Pac-12, I took a look at the Los Angeles Lakers. I'm not prepared to say that they're over, that they're done, because they're not.
Okay? Demar DeRozan could sign, and I guess that could be the most exciting thing that would happen for the Los Angeles Lakers, but they got time. I mean, LeBron James doesn't have too much time, but yeah, there's time there. I want to tell you about a team, also in the Western Conference of the NBA. They're kind of getting beat up here in free agency.
As a matter of fact, I don't know how much time that they have. They won a championship two years ago, and this past season, well, Minnesota Timberwolves said goodbye after they eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers. I'm talking to you about the Denver Nuggets. Earlier today, we learned that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, KCP, is going to a younger team that's on the up-and-up in the Orlando Magic. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope reportedly is going to Disney World, the Mickey Land, a three-year contract, $66 million. Now, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope does a few things. This man can knock down threes at a high clip. He does not need the basketball. He shows up to work.
There's no drama. I don't know what the hell he sounds like. I just know that he balls the hell out. He plays defense, and he knocks down threes. What else do you want from him?
Well, from him. And when you're Nikola Jokic, he's the perfect complement, right? Nikola Jokic can go out there and play point and kick the ball around and just say, hey, knock down the shot. So what the hell happens next for the Denver Nuggets?
Let's think about this. Last offseason, they lose a key contributor, someone who can go out there and play defense and knock down a three. And Bruce Brown, gone. This man ends up signing with the Indiana Pacers, gets traded up to the Toronto Raptors. Big piece missing in regards to depth. Just the past 24 hours, KCP goes down to Orlando to play for the Magic.
That's another big piece from the championship, gone. And when you think about the NBA and the fact that we haven't had a team repeat since the Golden State Warriors, this is one of the reasons why. Because when you actually have success, it's tough to pay your own players. I mean, this is the whole intent and purpose of what the NBA wants. It wants its talent spread all over the place and not hoarded on one particular team.
There's so many rules that kind of put a stop and a pause to who you can sign and when you could sign them and how much money you can go out there and offer. And so when you think about the Nuggets, yeah, they didn't even get back to the West Finals. They still have Jamal Murray. They still have Nikolay Jokic. And they still have Aaron Gordon.
But when you think about the depth on the team, that's going to be a big ol' issue. Michael Porter Jr. at times just looks lost on the basketball court. He doesn't know if he wants to shoot, which I think that's all he wants to do. He doesn't know when he needs to pass.
I think sometimes that's probably more often than not. He needs to move the rock around. And then they have so many other young players, guys like Christian Brown, Peyton Watson. These dudes are going to have to step up.
And so it's tough going right back out there trying to compete for a championship. When you got younger, unproven players who haven't been there before, as long as they have Jokic, they're going to be perfectly fine. But man, is it a possibility that we've seen the best of these Nuggets?
I'm not sold on the younger guys until I actually see them play. And we talked earlier in the show about how things have already changed in the West. The Denver Nuggets, man, they've taken some hits here. And you'd be dishonest to take a look at the Nuggets and just think that they're just going to keep on rolling when you've had some of their key players to a championship that have departed. Every team is retooling.
Every team is looking to get better. I don't think the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to get worse with the experience that they just got and then adding someone like Isaiah Hartenstein. I don't think the Minnesota Timberwolves are going to be worse knowing that they've been through the fire, got close to competing for a championship, and then flamed out at the end. I don't think they're getting worse. The Mavericks adding Klay Thompson. I think they'll be the same, if not a little better.
The Suns, for all of the distractions and noise, this is a team that still almost won 50 games last year. The Pelicans, last Friday, sat right here on the airwaves and told you about the Pelicans adding De'Jaunte Murray. They should be good.
By the way, Valen Chunas is now a member of Washington. Have fun with Kuzma and Poole. That should be a lot of fun. Golden State Warriors, we don't know what they're going to do. Probably get worse with no Klay Thompson.
We'll see what big trade or what individual that they can swing. The Rockets, I expect them to get better. The Grizzlies were in the toilet in the basement last year with injuries and suspensions. With a healthy John Morant, there should be no reason why the Grizzlies aren't competing. And the Blazers, they have to get better, right?
Possibly. So for the Denver Nuggets, yeah, they finished second. They got the Lakers to help win out the playoffs. And then they ran into a Minnesota team that just flat had their number. And so this should let you know that the parity right now in the NBA is at a level that it's never been before.
Who is the dynasty? The Celtics? Don't they have to go out there and win another one? I mean, they've been the most successful team over the past few years going to the playoffs, going to the finals, losing in the finals, going to the East. Like the Celtics have been that model of consistency. But when you think about a dynasty, it's not about how close you got. It's about what you've actually done when you got there.
What were the results at the end of the year? And so for the Boston Celtics this season, it's a championship. And they'll be the favorites to go out there and win it again next year. But for the Nuggets, it's like they're going backwards. And we've got a full changing of the guard here in the NBA. So many conversations about who's the lead player and who's the best guy, who's the face of the league. Look, the NBA is still LeBron James playground. LeBron James still gets respect unlike anybody else. But when LeBron James is done and I don't know, two years, three years, whenever he's finished.
That whoever the hell that next guy is, is there's not one. I can only imagine it being Victor when Benyama. And I'm so happy that he was able just to stay healthy this past season and looked as amazing as he was hyped to be.
But then we got to see it for another year or two. We got to see how Victor when Benyama improves. But outside of Victor when Benyama, there's not another flag bearer for the NBA. It's not another team that just says, oh, man, we're going to we're going to drag this along and we're going to be at the top of the totem pole for the next bunch of years.
It doesn't exist. Nick, when you take a look at the league, is there is there a team or individual that you look at and say, hey, they got next? Not really. Like you said, I guess most people are going to say Celtics are the favorite. But there's like so many wildcard teams out there. You don't know what the Knicks could be. If they all stay healthy, they could definitely be contenders. Yeah, it's really like you said, it's all parody right now. There's no like standout team.
Yeah, everything. I mean, for the past six seasons, the past six seasons, the NBA has crowned a new champ like this is in stark contrast. And you could also say the big part of this is free agency. We don't we don't got the Celtics and Lakers destroying each other for the better part of a decade. Wouldn't you also say it's a little better that there's more parity now that you're not always seeing the same teams winning because those teams a chance?
Oh, absolutely. It's it's great for the league. It's great for fan bases. It's great for fans. The NBA has done an amazing job just over the past bunch of years. I don't want to say being NFL like, but they've been able to take a system and say we're going to produce news all year long. The NBA is a it's a digital property. It's a television property.
It's a it's a brick and mortar show up and be seen. And if you're the New York Knicks and you're or you are the Sacramento Kings, you want to be able to have that much juice. There was a point in time where, man, you you you can still do it for a bad team mate. Hello to Detroit. But if you're like the Pistons. Man, they can turn things around pretty quickly if they're not being ran into the ground and people are showing up to the games. People have interest. And this isn't a matter of all this team is so awful and terrible that nobody's seeing them.
Everybody got a chance. And if you're stuck in a doldrums, it's just a matter of bad management like the Chicago Bulls. And we know for the Bulls, they play in an arena with with 20 plus thousand people.
As bad as they've been, you still get fans who show up for the Bulls. And so the parity in the league, the talent is spread out. It's strong. Everybody's making money hand over fist.
And it's good. I mean, what's the point of having this is the opposite of baseball. What's the point of having a team in a city? And, you know, that team is going to suck. I mean, what are Angels fans doing right now? Like, if you're an Angels fan, what are you rooting for? For the season to end? Do you even care?
Are you paying attention? You just want to see if Mike Trout, what are the odds that he's going to wake up and actually be pain free? Like, what is there to look forward to in the NBA? Yeah, you got teams out of bad, but that bad with no hope.
No, it doesn't doesn't exist. So you got a team like the Nuggets who just won a championship. And now the Denver Nuggets, well, some of their best players, the players who helped them win that that title are gone. And the Celtics, we talked about how their ownership group is ready to sell the team.
I don't think it's a coincidence that they have to write all of these checks to keep all of these players. And now that they won a championship, the second championship, you know, they had that one with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Now that the organization has won its second championship under their leadership, like what better time to bail than right the hell now? They've hit the jackpot. With respect, the Celtics are like, man, I can I can walk away with five to six billion and make make my day, make my day. It's the J.R. sport re-show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. 855-212-4227.
That's 855-212-4227. I mean, there was so much talk about the Boston Celtics now, you know, building a dynasty and they're built to compete for the next bunch of years. Yeah, hell yeah, they are. Are they going to do it? That's a better question.
That's a more difficult question. Takes a little bit of luck. You know, you got to hope that nobody gets hurt on your team. I mean, every now and then you can catch a break with another team getting hurt on their side.
Ain't nothing easy about winning a championship with the NBA. Hey, things are more spread out than they've ever been before. The J.R. sport re-show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. We're going to take a break. And when we come back on the other side, Nick brought up a great point. He's just like, isn't this actually better for sports?
Like, like parity. To have teams competing and winning and losing and drafting and getting better and going through the cycle instead of a team just being in the toilet in perpetuity. We'll talk about it on the other side. Which league does it the best?
Which league sets its fans up for fun and success? We'll talk about it on the other side. It's the J.R. sport re-show on the Infinity Sports Network. Look around. What do you see? Cars? Lots of them. And guess what? They're probably on Auto Trader.
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