We Have To Appreciate What Shohei Ohtani Is Doing In Baseball

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Shohei Otani is on a big league bump. He's into his wineup. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Talking about Otani's first start as a Dodger, you mentioned just one or two innings. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.

This is the Dodgers' way of just getting them out there. The Rich Eisen Show. The Padres do get one in his Dodger pitching debut. Earlier on the show. From ABC Shark Tank and four-time New York Times bestseller, Damon John.

Coming up. ESPN NBA reporter Dave McMenamin. U.S. Open champion JJ Spawn. And now, it's Rich Eisen.

Hour number two of The Rich Eisen Show is on the air. And, you know, not to get too deep into the weeds of how the sausage gets made, we're starting an hour with two different types of cliches linked in one big long cliched sentence. But. Um, you know, we like talking football around here a lot, so I reached out to. Uh my NFL network colleague and friend and noted Padre's lover.

Daniel Jeremiah last night to say, Hey, how'd you like to come on Tuesday's show? Um, and talk about what's going on in mini camps and everything else, and just let's talk some ball. You know, you could talk about. the Dodgers starting Otani against your Padres. Not knowing what would happen, right?

He responded this morning saying, I'm jammed up today. I could do something Thursday or Friday. By the way, we chose Thursday. He'll be on Thursday's, Richard Eisencheck. And then he finished his text with saying, Man, I hate the Dodgers.

You know, obviously, this is deep. It's deep-seated. And I'm not telling any tales out of school. He, he, you know, or betraying any. uh privacy uh here He'll tell that to anybody that has a pulse and can fog up a mirror.

But it kind of adds on top of it when the Dodgers get past the Padres last year to eventually win the World Series. And here they are leading the National League. West going into last night's game over the Giants. Um by a game and a half and over the Padres by three. And treating this Monday night game.

um on June 16th as if it is A rehab start night. You know what I mean? Like they go into the game saying, Let's start Otani. You know, first time, let's pitch Otani's first time as a Dodger. And let's do it.

Um for just an inning. Because, you know, simulated games are one thing. And real life baseball is another. Normally. You'd just send the pitcher down to the miners to do a rehab stint or two or three there, build up arm strength there.

But when you've got. One of the best hitters in the history of the game. Um in the same Person You can't do that. They're not going to take Shoe Otani out of the lineup and say, you know. Go to Rancho Kucamonga for a week and a half.

You know, I'm sure it's lovely. It's uh, you know, it took the wrong turn at Albuquerque, like Bugs Bunny, you know, I mean. Hey. Mm-hmm. Let's just start him against the Padres.

You got a three-game lead, right? There's room to play with here. We just won a championship last year. I mean, Otani's not taking his salary for another decade and a half. What else are we going to do?

You know? It sounds so disrespectful. And then the first two reach, Tatis singles and Louisa Riya sends him a third. And the first two reach, and now suddenly Padres fans were probably pissed off about this potential, just wee bit of disrespect. They're like, oh, Otani's not ready.

We'll take it. They score a one off of him in the first. And. That was Otani's night. That's it.

One inning, two hits. That one earned run. 28 pitches, 16 for strikes. Atta boy, O'Tani, grab a bat. Down one nothing.

Strikes out in his first at-bat. And I'm thinking to myself, This is what Chris Brockman is going to come in and say on. Tuesday's show. Why are we wasting our time pitching this guy? Why?

And there's no point here. He is throwing 28 pitches to start this like clear bullpen game. You know, the Dodgers are treating. This game against a bitter rival in a tight. contest in their division.

as a rehab start game. You know? And uh and here he is now. All tired out, and he strikes out in his first at bat. What are we doing?

you Well, it's a nine-inning game. And it's a six-month season. And In terms of the nine-inning game itself, Otani's next at that. He was kind of. Doing what he normally does.

Uh when he's not hitting. Sitting on his ass. Not on the mound. As a designated header, And uh Shohei Otani comes up, and it comes up his next at that two-out double. For a run bat at in.

to tie the game and then his At bad after that. a two-run to outsingle As a capstone to a five-run inning against Dylan Sease. Who's just, you know, your regular starter. He doesn't need any rehab starts. He's not like a.

Middle of the season rehab start for him. This is just a regular start, and the Dodgers beat up on him. And the Dodgers wind up using seven relievers in all. And beat the Padres anyway. and now have a four-game lead on NEM.

And two and a half on the Giants. And Otani having 28 more pitches of live action. under his belt as he comes back. To be the two-way star that they paid him all that money to be. Two for four.

On a night where he gets 28. pitches under his belt against the Padres who lose anyway. Roll tape on the cat that ate the canary manager of the Dodgers, Dave Roberts. I thought it was great. Obviously, you know, it gave up a run, but I thought the stuff was really good.

Much better as far as the fastball velocity than I think anyone anticipated. I just think that we've done everything the right way as far as the process.

So it's not like we were kind of nervous as far as how he was going to feel or anything like that.

So I wouldn't say relief. I think we're just kind of excited that we finally got that first one under our belt. Yeah, and he's healthy. He touched 100. That one point.

Let me just think of this again. I know you're saying don't do it, whatever. I don't want to really get into that because he's going to do it. He's going to keep doing it. He's going to keep doing it again.

Certainly, with Blake Snell out and, you know, their whole. I mean, it's been two years now, right? And Kershaw is beginning to Return to form.

Okay. Shoe Otani is going to pitch and he's going to hit. But just we just gotta sometimes just stop. and understand what we're seeing. We are seeing one of the greatest hitters in the history of the game.

Start a game. And touch 100 miles an hour in this game in Major League Baseball. And he's also. A 50 stolen base guy too. Truly, one of the greatest, what would you say, six tool players ever?

Six tool, he's the greatest six-tool. Right, the greatest six-tool because he, you know, the Bambino wasn't stealing bases, right? Right. Unless his f his We don't We're talking with tools figuratively, right? Yeah.

For the BEM, for the BEM. Yeah. Right? I mean, seriously, the guy was drilling back in the day. Listen, nobody's done what we've seen Shohei Otani.

It just happened in last night, and it's the Dodgers getting it now. Rich getting richer. Yeah, it seems super fun being a Dodger fan.

Well does it? Mm-hmm. And in that regard, let's talk about the Boston Red Sox. It's like a fun time. Good news is.

Your guy, Roman Anthony, hit his first career home run last night, the rookie who's going to... He did it in Seattle last night where there aren't very many home runs. Ironically enough, Raffy Dever's first career home run also came in Seattle. How about that? Because these kids that appear to be all right.

for Boston, this is what's going to be focused on.

Now that Rafael Devers is a San Francisco giant. And I believe he makes his giant debut this evening. Correct? Um Three games against the Red Sox starting Friday night. Couldn't have waited like five days to make this trade.

I know you would think that, but the minute. The Boston Red Sox heard from the Giants that they would be willing to pick up every penny of his deal. They would be like sold. And they're not going to tell Devers, you know. You now suddenly have Something wrong with your hamstring.

For the next five days, he had said that he's been dealing with a groin.

Well, guess what? It's like, okay. He cares about the team enough to play through that.

So The Boston Red Sox. Met with the media yesterday. Not exactly. They had a Zoom make its statement Sam Kennedy, the president, and Craig Breslow, the GM, wasn't exactly standing on the podium and taking fire from the local media.

Well, I hear you. He's the chief baseball officer of the Boston Red Sox, Christopher. Yeah. That's what he is, the chief baseball officer. I don't know which is more of a.

Under fire CBO right now. Yeah. That or the budget office in charge of the big beautiful bill. Um But Craig Breslow had this to say that kind of jumped off the screen when I read it. Um On a uh on a pull quote meme, but let's let let's hear what it sounds like.

Hit it. When you move a player of Rafi's caliber, when you take that bat out of the lineup, how could I sit here and say that we're a better team? And I acknowledge that on paper, we're not going to have the same lineup that we did, but this isn't about the game that is played on paper. This is about the game that's played on the field and ultimately about winning the most games that we can. And in order to do that, trying to put together the most functional and complete team that we can.

And so, you know, I think when you consider the flexibility, the ability to give some of the young players some run, the opportunity to maybe repackage some of the resources and fill some voids in the roster as early as approaching this year's deadline and being really intentional about the environment that we create for these young players to thrive in, then I do think that there is a real chance that at the end of the season, we're looking back and we've won more games than we otherwise would have. How can you say that with a straight face?

Well, they're 1-0, dude. Above 500 without them. Cool. They scored two runs. And by the way, speaking about Rafi Devers, like he's a guy in his mid-30s and we're nearing the end of his career and we're moving on from an all-time legend, he's 28.

Still considered young as far as, you know, if I look it up, yeah, 28, still young. And he's going to be a San Francisco giant for the rest of his career, one would think. You know what's going to really suck? No. Is when Devers goes into the Hall of Fame and he's got an SF on his hat.

You think Devers is going to go to the Hall of Fame, huh? He's on a pace. I mean, it's tracking. I will just say this to start here. Um that is a very um bold statement.

that at the end of the day Addition by subtraction of Raphael Devers.

Well net more wins than losses. I don't see how that could be said. Unless he was such a pain in the ass. In that clubhouse. Maybe.

that the subtraction of that ass pain is so significant. that it would lead to More wins. Better vibes? Which way do you think? I don't know because you've got the manager who can handle the.

pains and the vibes in a really You know what I feel about Alex Core? Um Guy's really good at his gig. Yeah. To the point that they rehired him after firing him over That whole cheating stuff. That they were like, yeah.

He's clear from that. We're cool with. him and he's back. And he handles his business really well, dude.

So I I don't know. I don't understand why it happened. Face front. Although the person who I've been hearing from And I I I think he said it on a podcast somewhere. Big Poppy.

said he reached out to Devers multiple times to try and get him to you know, potentially realize His actions require more pride swallowing? I think I'm paraphrasing what he's saying: that he was kind of trying to help him on that front, and Devor's never. Welcomed it or responded to it or took it to heart or anything. One a year? I wasn't expecting Big Poppy to do damage control for the team.

That doesn't even be interesting. Interesting. Qualify. Also, I'm interested to hear from more of the players after this and what the vibes in the locker room are.

Well, they're not going to say a word. Why would they say an absolute word? This thing is a page turn now, pal. Roman Anthony just went yard. The son of Anthony Etchie, the son of Tony Anthony just went yard.

Yeah, Jared Duran is kind of hinting at, you know, look, it's one guy gone. There's still 25 left.

So it maybe seems like, you know, Rafi wasn't. you know, rubbing people the right way. in the clubhouse since, you know, since all the stuff that happened in spring training.

So Still tough to say that you're going to be a better team when your team leader in war, home runs, RBIs, OPS is not in the lineup. And then one of the guys that you acquire is sitting in AAA right now.

So, yeah, that's a tough sound. There's two other prospects, and then there's. One other pitcher who's currently on the aisle with a toe injury. Right. With a toe injury.

Tough sell of the thing. And to say that by the end of the day, those guys will either contribute significantly enough. or the guys that now will get the at-bats with Devers gone. and the void of Devers Maybe in that clubhouse is going to be all put together in the hands of a terrific manager like Alex Cora, will lead. to more wins than losses.

The Red Sox were one game over 500 by... The day after sweeping the Yankees and then trading Devers, they're now two over 500. You think they're going to be Below 500 by the end of the year? Because again, I don't know. When the season started, I thought they had a potential to win 90 games, but that was with Devers in the lineup.

Your chief. Baseball officer says that by the end of the day. Last day of the regular season, we will look back, and the Red Sox will be more than. Oh well. One game over 500.

We'll see what happens between now and the deadline. Between now and the deadline is a huge stretch because are they going to be buyers or sellers?

Well, Bregman's going to come back. I would hope so, but he is essentially on a one-year deal.

So, is he so? What does that matter? We're talking about 2025. And I think Jeff Passon was right in saying when he was here yesterday: what does this tell Red Sox fans about 2025? It doesn't tell a great story.

And you would agree with that assessment. I would. Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox just said with a very straight face, albeit. In an odd setup, uh, where a step and repeat is behind him, but the camera was so wide you could tell it's a step and repeat in a room that looks like you know somebody's getting uh you know like a leg massage, yeah, you know, yeah. It looks like somebody's somebody's uh Hanging out in the getting a little therapy.

You want to be on the couch therapeutically. But anyway, he's sitting there. Saying We will be by the end of the day above 500. We will win more than we lose. I think I would be shocked at that.

That means you're not making the playoffs. That means you'll be below 500, but you're one team over 500 when they're 181 team. That would be a shame. We stink. It's over.

What is the incentive to not just trade Alex Bregman at the deadline? He's on a one-year deal. And if he's not going to come back, seeing how things are being treated and it's just going to be a total youth movement, why would he want to stick around? I don't know. I know one team that could use him at third base.

Oh, he's going to play third base, right? Yeah. Oh, right, right. Yankees could use a third baseman, right-handed hitter. Seems like the guy they just got sent out of town was told something else.

or not told anything at all, and then that's an even bigger problem. Oh boy. But the Red Sox have won six in a row. Six in a row. Highest even baseball.

Oh geez. Just to wrap this thing up. Shoot me in the face. Hold on a minute. Don't say that.

I have right here. Jay Felly did it. It is a baseball fandom transfer. Red Sox to the Dodgers. This document certifies that lifelong Red Sox fan and certified mass hole Chris Brockman is transferring his fandom from the cheap-ass Red Sox to the free-spending and glamorous Los Angeles Dodgers.

By signing this document, Chris will be terminating his status as a Sox fan in perpetuity. Wow. He will not be allowed to return under any circumstance. This MLB fandom transfer in no way affects Chris's allegiances to the Patriots and Celtics.

Well done, sir. Did you seek legal counsel for this language? Yes, Mr. Ken Tulow is my legal counsel. I don't believe he's a lawyer by any stretch, but he is a producer and a writer.

Catua Esquire. That's all right. I'm not a notary.

Well, you sign this right now. Let's see. Roman Anne III, first career home run last night. Did get a win. Hottest team in baseball.

Of course, you do know what perpetuity means, right? Is that forever? It's a mighty long time. They're in Anaheim next week. I would like to go see them and root for them.

But still rocking the Savannah Bananas hat. And let's just. Let's just keep our finger on the piece there. Oh, my God. I don't know what's happening over there.

Like, you got Del Tufo becoming a Dodger fan. You're considering it. What the hell's going on? I'm the only one that's fine. They look like they're having fun, and their fans enjoy the experience.

They do look like that. It does appear that way. Let's take a break. Dave McMiniman of ESPN, kind enough to zoom into this program to talk about what happened last night and what's going on in the association. Otherwise, we'll be joined by Dave when we come back.

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ESPN's Dave McMiniman is here. Radio audience comes back in two minutes, but let's pop him on since we were the ones who were late. He was on time. Good to see you, Dave. How are you, sir?

I'm doing great. How are you, Rick? I'm fine. Let's let's go. Do you mind talking on the air a little bit?

What we just discussed off the air, Dave, about your college buddy, Chris Brockman? Crying in his Red Sox suit right now. It's a little disappointing. It's a little disappointing. Now, one of my college buddies, who's also from the Boston area, uh, sent me a clip of him going on.

I should be able to cite the name of the program. I was driving when he said it, so I didn't really pay attention. But he said he waited about a half hour to go on local sports talk radio, maybe it was WEI, to rant for a good two minutes about how uh disappointed he was in the Deavers trade.

So, uh, Listen, I get it from afar. Like that, I covered the Mavericks fans and the fallout this past season of Luca being traded, you know, and the shocking factor of that.

So I have empathy for you as a fan. I would say the Red Sox have delivered you multiple championships as a franchise that you've rooted for.

So maybe stick with that. Through the lean times and recognize those wonderful memories that this franchise has provided for you. Christopher, your college friend is telling you to suck it up. What do you think, Chris? Look, Dave, there are six-year-olds who've never seen a Red Sox championship parade.

Like, what about the kids? Don't answer him.

Okay. So, the only way you get out of this is that, oh, well, my son was born in LA.

So, he's growing up a Dodgers fan. His friends are Dodgers fans. And this is a great way for him to ride. It's make him a baseball fan. And what can I say to a guy who loves the sun?

So you're here's the deal. The cage dig in bed this morning was like, Dad, I know that Raffy Ding, we call him Raffy Ding Dong. He's like, I know Raffy Ding Dong got traded to the Giants. He's like, It'll be okay. Thanks, Buddy.

Yeah, no more Raffy Ding Dong in the Wally hat. No more Raffy Ding Dong. Pretty sad. Give your son a hug. Sad.

I don't think you mean that. Dave McMenamin, kind enough to stop by once again here from ESPN after the. Oklahoma City Thunder took a three games to two lead last night. I guess the first question for you is: what is exactly wrong? with Tyrese Halliburton's calf muscle, Dave, and how serious is this?

Yeah, my understanding he's undergoing an MRI on it this morning, and that'll determine just how bad it is.

Now, he told reporters after game five that there was no way you're going to get him out of that game, and there's no way he's not going to be suiting up for game six and what could be their final chance.

Now, listen, he was not good. You know, I'm not going to try to stretch what we saw 0 for 4 from the field. you know but he did find ways to still be effective Late in that third quarter, early in the fourth.

Now, late in the fourth, when they had that collapse, he was partially to blame for it because that pressure defense got to him just as it did to his teammates.

However, I I have a hard time believing no matter what that MRI returns, whatever grade of a strain it might be, that he would just say, you know what, my season's over. I think we have to anticipate him playing in game six. It's just how effective he can be. And if he looks like he's not. Going to be as effective as he can be.

I think Rick Carlisle is going to have this very interesting decision to make. Do I go with TJ McConnell early? Because we saw what he just did in game five. Really, he's the only reason they had a chance to win game five because of what TJ McConnell did in the third quarter. And I'm kind of, you know, sheepish to start our conversation with Halliburton's.

status because that might somewhat um Lend less credence to what we're seeing of what Oklahoma City is doing. I'm starting with Halliburton because if he is not going to be the type of player that we've seen throughout the rest of the playoffs and even in early parts of this series, Dave, and the Thunder are getting 71 from their top two stars, including the. MVP of the league combined. This thing's a wrap. You know what I mean?

It's much of a wrap as what's on his Halliburton's right leg right now. You know what I mean? And I kind of. I don't think I'm telling any details here, right? Yeah, I mean we if we start to start look at some of the accomplishments the Thunder are racking up throughout this postseason run.

I think I saw something this morning that there's been 10 straight 30 plus Scoring home games in the playoffs by Shea Gillis-Alexander, passing Wilt Chamberlain for the all-time postseason record. There's been 15 30-point games by Thunder players during the postseason run they've been on. That also puts them into elite company with guys like Shaq and Kobe and Michael, et cetera, et cetera. This has been incredible. Jalen Williams has a legitimate argument if the series ended today to be MVP, obviously coming off that 40-piece, but it's not just his scoring penchant.

In game four, after the Pacers Really handled the Thunder in game three, and Shake Giller's Alexander looked to be tired. They changed things up. Jalen Williams played a lot of point guard. It preserved SGA's energy for the fourth quarter, but also it got Jalen Williams going. And so he was getting into the lane with relative ease late in that game.

And then he carried over the confidence that he built in game four to just a tremendous game five.

Some of the finishes he was having, either hand, off-glass, step-throughs, Euro steps. He has a ton of skill. And the fact that we're talking about a guy who's 23, 24 years old, he could be, you know, maybe in line at some point, not just to win finals MVP, to be knocking on the door for a regular season MVP while they have another guy who's MVP in shape.

Well, I mean, you know, kid from Santa Clara making good like this. You got a story about his story. Because now he's as front and center as you can get in the NBA with, as you pointed out, a 40-piece and a pivotal game five of an NBA Finals in front of the whole country. Dave, but it's cool. He has his younger brother.

Cody plays for the jazz.

So, you know, we've spent a lot of time talking about the ball family over the last couple of years.

Well, here's another brother tandem that is making their mark in the league. I did a story a couple years ago when they were unveiling the Kobe Bryant statue. And I reached out to all the guys in the league wearing number eight or number 24. And I spoke to Jalen about it. He wears eight because of Kobe.

His lock screen on his phone every day as he looks down at his cell phone is a collage of Kobe Bryant photos. He has Kobe Bryant blankets at his house, figurines, magazines, et cetera. He's obsessed with the guy. Uh he recognizes he doesn't necessarily play like him as he's Made his bones in the NBA, and he told Malika Andrews this the other day on countdown that he just tries to bring the same type of will to win and consistency with his competitiveness every day that Kobe Bryant obviously brought. And he only saw it from afar, but now that he's in the throes of NBA playoff basketball, NBA finals basketball, he kind of recognizes more what the whole Mamba mentality is about.

Love it, man. And I appreciated that insight right there in many different ways, weaving your own reporting. In with promoting your own network and your better half, and what she was able to pull out of Jalen Williams story-wise as well.

Well done, Dave. I mean, that was next level. There's something extra in your paycheck as well as when you get home, Dave. I mean, that's really well. I'm very, you know, speaking of somebody whose wife sits in this chair when I'm not here, I'm.

That was extra special. Let's talk about what's going on outside of the NBA finals right now. Kevin Durantson play, yay or nay, and with who? And are the sons finding it Difficult to get what they're asking, or they're asking too much. I'm hearing so much, and I'm wondering what's going on.

So he's certainly in play, and they will move on from Kevin Durant. I anticipate at some point, probably, you know, as early as draft night. When they hired Jordan Knott, their new head coach, who's a brilliant guy, 40 years old, was really had a lot to do with the success that the Healing Cliff Liers had this past season. The idea that Kevin Durant's got to be moved on from. And there's the handful of teams that has been whittled down to Kevin Durant's top three, according to Sean Shirania.

You have the Houston Rockets, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Miami Heat. Listen, I've reported that the Minnesota Terra Wolves made an offer to the Suns back around the trade deadline. They maintain interest in Kevin Durant, not only to certainly recognize that he's someone that their star in Anthony Edwards looks up to, but I covered that Western Conference finals. About a month ago, and their offense just ground to a halt. They need more scoring with that group.

And, you know, if you can do it, the salaries match up for someone like Rudy Gobert. You throw in maybe either Mike Conley or Dante DiVincenzo, and then you can sweeten the deal with Rob Dillingham, who was a highly touted rookie last year. Didn't get a ton of burn, but that could be looked at like a high-level first-round pick, a little draft compensation. And then you look around what the other offers might be that that could be as good as any of the others.

Now, the question mark is: will the Suns be willing to move Durant to a destination that he doesn't consider his top three, or do they want to really be great trade partners with him to find that spot? And can Kevin Durant and his representative Rich Kleiman make it be known that by no chance would he be signing an extension if he doesn't go to one of those top three? Three markets. If that's the case, then maybe Minnesota says, you know what, I'm not going to give you all that in the package because we can't get a guarantee here.

So that's the dance that's going on right now. One thing I've added interesting: top three destinations, no state taxes. In Houston, San Antonio and Florida.

So perhaps he's starting to think about how he can maximize the money he can earn, recognizing he doesn't have that much time left in this league. Yeah, I hear you. Is it true? That um The Suns asked for Steph Castle in the second overall pick. For Durant?

Is that true? I cannot confirm that. Right. That would be certainly a steep ask for a guy who's on the other side of 35. And Kevin Durand has one of the best scores we've ever seen.

It's nothing against him. But I mean, listen, if you start the conversation there, right? All you can do is. Go on down the roster.

Now, again, I can't confirm that that was the ask, but yeah, I think that would be a bit of an awkward ask for where Kevin Durant is right now. Kevin Durant coming off of two championships with the Warriors, that's a different conversation. Yeah, I know, for sure. Um, so who else is in play? I mean, big name guys.

Um, Between now and I guess a week from tomorrow night when the draft is hitting, Dave, who else is in play, do you think?

Well, there's been a lot of talk about the Memphis Grizzlies after they traded Desmond Bain to the Magic and they got those four first-round draft picks along with Katavius Caldwell Pope. But my understanding is that they will not be moving on from John Morant and Jaron Jackson Jr.

Now, because they made that trade and I think drew a lot of attention from the trade, they're going to continue to get calls from around the league. And sometimes those calls can create a trade package or scenario that maybe the team hadn't anticipated. And that can make them change their tune. But I don't anticipate them breaking things up further. I think you look around, you know, obviously on the Laker side of things, there's been some speculation as to whether they will move Austin Reeves, basically sell high before he would be eligible for a big-time extension.

I don't think. Think that will happen. And again, it would have to be kind of a scenario or a package that landed at their feet that they weren't anticipating that could make them change. The out-sense of Chikupo, we've been talking about for two months now. And, you know, I spoke to one of his teammates.

In the offseason, who was training out here in LA, and he told me that, well, why would. Yeah, I just want to leave. He has everything with that franchise he could ever ask for. He has say-so when it comes to personnel decisions, say-so when it comes to coaching decisions, he has a chance to be a single solo franchise guy like Dirk or Kobe. And the Eastern Conference is the easier conference.

And so you could have a bit of a down year recognizing that Dame Lillard is going to be missing time with his Achilles, but then you can rebuild quicker than, say, you were traded to the Western Conference, where you have 13 teams that have a viable pathway to a playoff spot next year. And so, you know, he's someone that I wouldn't anticipate moving. I wouldn't be shocked if he was, but I think we're not quite there yet. And again, what would motivation would my Milwaukee have to do it? You know, he is the single player that makes their franchise relevant.

And he's still young and still has a lot more. Great basketball left to play. And so that's one I'm not so sure is going to happen. You know, I think as we work our way around the league, I'm keeping my eye on the Atlanta Hawks. They had a changeover in their front office.

Trey Young. I think there's legitimate questions to be had whether he can be the number one player on a championship contender. And if he's. Cast in that role he currently is in. It's going to be tough for Atlanta, I think, to really make strides in the Eastern Conference.

And, you know, maybe either you got to. Get some more help for him, uh, or are you going to move on from him? Um, so those are just a few that come to mind. But, like, listen, we could go through because there are so many teams that think they have a chance in this parody, even-level type of league right now. I think there's going to be a lot of movement.

And, you know, as we saw with Bain, it could be happening as soon as today. And I don't know if it's going to take Cooper flags drafting by Dallas next Wednesday night to finally. Get us to stop talking about the Luca Donchich trade. Anthony Davis, Dave, but the Desmond Bain acquisition. uh caused us all to go really four number ones for him Um and not a single, you know, multiple Number ones for Luca.

You know what I mean? It's just, are we going to continuously take a look at these trades and just always go back to the prism? of the shocker. from Dallas pocket listing. Luka to the Lakers, Dave?

You know, I think we will. It will continue to be looked at as one of the more lopsided trades in league history.

Now, Again, Dallas. Let's see how long Kyrie's out with the injury and obviously how quickly Cooper Flag equits himself to the NBA style play. But Dallas has a chance to be really, really, really good next year. And I think that will change the conversation. None of us will forget it because that will be a reference point for trades.

for years to come, quite frankly. You know, when you see deals, I mentioned Rudigo Baer earlier, when you see deals like, for instance, when Rudigo Baer was traded from Utah to Minnesota, the hall of draft picks that went for him, I recognize he's a multi-time defensive player of the year and a consistent performer in that realm of the game. And even not Luka Dodges, right?

So I think those are the conversations that will continue. And listen, I think then it becomes incumbent upon the Lakers to recognize that, hey, we got this sweetheart deal. We better make the most of it now that we got it, because we were able to hold on to that 2031 draft pick. Let's use that to make this team better so we can maybe make some noise before LeBron James retires. Because for all we know, LeBron James in year 23, in year 22, will be the best teammate that Luca Dodgers ever pairs with in LA.

Like, so while you have him, make sure you add some more pieces around that group so they can make a legitimate run. Dave, thanks for the time, brother. You're going to go to game seven if there is one. Is that what you were saying to us?

Okay. I'll be there if there's game seven. I kind of feel like we're going to see it. I'm kind of feeling that way too. You know, I mean, but maybe it's just because we really.

Don't want the season to end, can't quit the season. It really has been quite something. And maybe we see it. And I hope to see you when it's all over for short days. All right.

Good deal. You got it. Stay McMenim and everybody right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Um listen. Maybe that's why the Knicks have no interest in Kevin Durant, apparently.

Is that if the Sun's at. Listen, Kevin Durant is. Top 50 all time, right? You could make it. You could even go further up, right?

Dude, uh I mean Tom 50 NBA players is as rarefied air as you can possibly get. That's true. Of 20? You know, of a larger number. All right, fine, whatever.

Top 20. I'm fine, obviously, saying that. He is as great as they come, he is as great as they are now as well, but he's getting longer in the tooth. If the Suns asked for Stefan Castle and the second overall pick in this year's draft, with all due respect, the answer would be similar to what Shyam Shirania gave. as a description of what a firm rejection sounds like.

You know what I mean? Yes. And if so, if they're if what would it be the same Knicks version as that? Obviously, the Knicks don't have a second overall pick in a draft with a very talented young player coming in. I don't know what that would be, but whatever that would be, if they're asking the Knicks for something similar.

Okay. No thanks. No, thanks. Obviously, getting a coach first would be the. Most important order of business, and I'm assuming they are through the knocking on the doors asking for.

coaches under someone else's contract portion of their coaching search. I assume they're done with that. Unless they're waiting for Rick Carlisle to be done. Mike Brown, your favorite to be the Knicks coach, according to the odds. And I will just.

All right. For another day. That is that that is um Uh you know. Not what people were thinking when they bounced Tibbs. That's for sure.

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My day kicks off with a refreshing Celsius energy drink, then straight to the gym. Pre-K pickup, back home to meal prep. Time for my fire station shift. One more Celsius, gotta keep the lights on. When the three alarm hits, I'm ready.

Celsius. Live, fit, go. Grab a cold refreshing Celsius at your local retailer or locate now at Celsius.com. Is there anybody that Coach K would bring in or be around? No, you know what?

Coach was on the program. Coach K was always good at doing his own. He did it himself. He needed to bring anybody in. Rich, there's this one story.

It's unbelievable. I've never seen anything like this before.

So we're, it's before one of our first games, and it was during the time when the movie Gladiator came out, okay? One of my all-time favorite movies, by the way.

So we're all sitting in a row like this, okay? We're all sitting down like this, and there's a huge screen in front of us, and there's a doorway to the left. And the screen comes on, all the lights go off, and it's the part where he's riding back in front of his crew, and he says, you know, if you're dead, don't worry about it. You know, for you or an Elysium, something like that, one of those lines like that. And they all get up and they go to battle.

The lights come on, we're all ready to go. Out of nowhere, there's an arrow that comes on fire, an arrow that comes on fire from the doorway, hits a dartboard.

Okay, so we're all like this. Like, what the hell? What the hell's going on? It's an arrow. Flaming arrow, flaming arrow through the dude, through the door to the side.

It's the dartboard here. We're sitting there like, Wow, this is really happening. What's happening? And out of nowhere, there's a solution basketball, right? At Solution on the side, and it was like these old kind of balls, and the ball started to roll in through the doorway.

So, air on fire, ball rolling in, we're all focused on the ball. And out of nowhere, Coach K runs in the room and dives on the ball. He's wrestling with the ball like it's a bear, okay? And he's like, Effing, fight with me, fight with me. And everybody gets up, and everybody's like.

Yeah! And everybody runs out of the room. My shoelace literally snaps. I come back in the room. All I see is Coach K on the ground.

My hip. My hip. He apparently threw his hip out. He's like, just get out there. I gave him get out there.

And it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life. And he came out there, he coached the game, and we won the game. But this was pre-game? This was pre-game. He does.

You have to ask any Duke player that you ever have come on here. Have them tell you one of the funniest pre-game stories of all time because he does this stuff every year. He comes up with his own stuff. And he just gets so into it. He always says, I have goosebumps.

I get goosebumps talking about this. It takes him to a different place.

So did he see Gladiator, you think, or did someone? Oh, he's seen Gladiator. He's seen every, I mean, he's an Army guy.

Okay. So he's a West Point grad.

So if there's any movie that deals with war, he's seen it.

So he says, come fight with me. He gets an arrow to flame up and throw in there. Come fight with me. You guys all go run. Come back in because I have to change shoes still on the ground.

Musician holding the basketball. I can't use, because last time I got reprimanded for using bad terminology on the show, so I will refrain from doing so this time. But he released, he unleashed hell on me. Oh, my. It was one of the best moments ever.

Jay Williams, many appearances here on this program, youtube.com/slash rich eyes and show for our entire uh archive uh on that front um Why are our colleagues at ESPN getting grief for talking about Dak's legacy in the middle of June? You seen that? All over the place, like that was from yesterday.

So it's you know, it's getups programming yesterday. It's the middle of June. Like, what are who?

Well, there was an NBA Finals game, the Stanley Cup, and it wasn't the only thing they talked about. And it seemed like they lingered on Dak Legacy for a long time. Basically my whole point that I try to make. And There are other things to talk about. That were going on in the sports.

Mark had a huge weekend in early 2014. That's true. That's true. We saw there was a big three-fight, obviously, we talked about it. That's true.

We touched upon that. There were lots of other topics. I don't know. I don't know. Dak Legacy maybe wasn't the one.

Yeah. Didn't need to be. Disgusting. It's the middle of June. Yeah, so let's talk about some middle of June stuff.

Okay, back here on the Rich Eisen Show, everybody. We got Sean in Cincinnati wanted to. Talk to us about something very important. What's on your mind, Sean? Hey Rich, how's it going?

What's on your mind, Sean? Well I was thinking about it. And I wanted to do the Commanders win lost game, but I had something more important that I wanted to bring up.

Okay, what is that? Fact the fact that Uh The rest of everyone in Cincinnati have absolutely zero sympathy for Chris Brockman and the rest of Red Sox. Why is that, Sean?

Well Our team as consistently traded or let go of Pretty much. Every single good hitter or pitcher that we've had in the last ten to fifteen years between Castellanos, Castillo. Uh so where is Tyler Malley, Jonathan India just this past year.

So as a small market team fan, Most of us don't really feel bad, at least I don't. Um And we're kind of waiting for a better situation. But uh yeah, I saw the Deavers news and How bad of a haul they got for him, and I just kind of figured. Yeah, I'm to that. All right.

So you can call back and do the commanders win-loss game anytime you want. Certainly, if you want to. Omaham and crap on Chris. We'll take that. We'll take it, but I guess, Chris, your point is that you're not a small market team.

Bingo. and that your team is being run. with some small market mentality. And with all due respect to the Great people of Cincinnati. Great people of Cincinnati.

Awesome ballpark. We love Ellie Dela Cruz. Can't wait for him to be a Yankee. 1990 the last time they've won a World Series.

Well, that's his point. They had some really good players, and they don't. They don't know we get a lot of things. Is that right, Sean? Did we get it right?

Yeah, I mean, you just said you were waiting for Ellie to become a Yankee, and at this point. I wouldn't be surprised.

Okay. Because RGM is incompetent and can never do anything right. It seems like to get a winning season put together, let alone make the playoffs, or We're in a playoff series. Sean, I'm extending my arms. We're going to give you a bro hug.

Okay, here we go. Sean, there we go. Tap, tap. There you go. There you go.

That's a Sean in Cincinnati Bro Hug. Thank you for the call. That's Sean in Cincinnati. Yeah, Hoskins, Reds fan. Two and a half out of the wild card, and just one two out of three.

So, you know, they're but they're trending.

Okay. Good to know. Yeah. JG Spawn coming up, everybody. Ella Cruz, did he homered in four straight games?

Dela Cruz? Yeah. Yeah, he's as good as they come. As good as they come, baby. He's a treat.

And I didn't mean to, you know, make fun of Sean there by saying I can't wait for Ellie De La Cruz to be a Yankee. I mean, I can't wait for him to be in Boston and then for us to eventually trade him for nothing.

Well, I mean, you'd let him go to something uh all Red Sox are now migrating to California. I mean, I did it, so it's it's it just makes sense that everyone else, yeah. They're just following you. Except when they get here, they didn't drive any beat-up car. No, that eventually died on the side of the 101.

That's your. My old Chevy Tahoe. Your old Chevy Tahoe. Yeah. Yeah.

RIP Stew got away from the middle of the city. How was your dinner last night, TJ? Oh, it was delicious. What'd you have? Oh, I had a little Ville Pomme.

The chicken pump. My deal or chicken? Chicken. My bad. It was a chicken pump.

My bad. Oh, so good. It was so good, I was just... Devouring.

Okay. You took some home, though, didn't you? Yeah, there was like a little bit left. He goes, I'm going to throw this out, or you want to take it? No, you took it home, huh?

Yeah. Okay. Very good. Gonna keep that box hopefully less longer than your ping pong table.

Well, it's already in the trash. Oh, is it really? The ping pong table is in the trash van. No, the box from the chicken parm. Oh, you already ate it for breakfast?

Last night. Oh, last night. Oh, wow. Wow. See, I had to finish watching Monday Night Raw, you see, because I got a podcast got to talk about it.

Then I had some of the game recorded, so I sat there a little bit, kind of watched the game.

So you didn't finish your chicken parm at Craig's? Took it to go and ate it that night. That's generally how to-go food works. Not that night. No, you then eat it later, but not like that night.

Who says who? Should we take a poll? How often. Do you like when do you eat Whenever you want leftovers, you bought them home. Or a day later, two days later.

Right. That night, one day later, two days later. I don't think that night's going to win this poem.

So I just changed the way I live then? Because. You get so sensitive. Do you really think that was sensitive? Come on, bro.

I hope you'll be able to get it. I don't know. It just sounds surprising that somebody's like, I'm not finishing here in the restaurant. I will take it home. But an hour later, I got it.

You know what I mean? Dessert, too. You had a little dessert? I had a half a cookie.

Okay. Not that anybody's noticing. Bread pudding was phenomenal. Wasn't it good? Oh my gosh.

Susie ordered that. She's the queen of ordering something that she doesn't eat.

Well, I think I ordered it and they brought it to your end. My apologies, Sally. JJ Spawn's coming up, everybody. If you work as a manufacturing facilities engineer, installing a new piece of equipment can be as complex as the machinery itself. From prep work to alignment and testing, it's your team's job to put it all together.

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