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Shop today in stores online at Nordstrom.com or download the Nordstrom app. That's Arias Ace Bailey from Rutgers University. Earlier on the show, host of the Club 520 Podcast and NBA All-Star Jeff Teague. Coming up, co-host of All the Smoke Podcast, Matt Barnes.
Plus, your phone calls, latest news, and more. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Ah yes, our number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air.
844-204-RICH is the number to dial. We'll take your phone calls in a matter of moments. Matt Barnes is making his way to our studio. We'll check out what's going on in his brain. He's going to come into the smokeless environment of the Rich Eisen Show. So should we rename our show None of the Smoke? Maybe he'll bring some of the smoke. Maybe he will.
TJ Plus. I mean, we still have to see if that's legitimate. I was thinking about that. What do you mean? What do you mean? A follow-up?
You're saying our listeners? Take a ride. We always joke about it, but I'm like, did he really do that? Santa Barbara's not far.
I just wonder if it's really existing out there and it might get in the cut of its proceeds. Fun chat with Jeff Teague as well. Phone lines are lit. Look at this, guys. Look at us on the final Thursday of June, huh?
Phone lines are lit. I guess this is the smoke. Exactly. Come on, Rich. You get it.
Very good. Fitz in Dallas wants to talk to us. What's up, Fitz? Hey now, gentlemen. Hey now, Fitz.
What's up, Fitz? Greetings to you all. I'm still riding high right now because while I live in Dallas, I grew up in Oklahoma.
Yes. And I was blessed to go to actually the team name announcement when they were actually called, you know, the name of Thunder. And, I mean, I just couldn't be more proud to have such a team. They are just, not only are they impressive on the court, but they're just great young men. Just outstanding. Giving back to the community, everything. But I will tell you that, in my opinion, our most valuable asset we have, and I know everybody has talked about this, but Mr. Sam Preston. Preston.
Yeah, yeah. I mean, just a stud. I mean, look at what we did last night. We had the 15th pick and we had a stud out of Georgetown.
Six foot ten. So, again, I was going to call you all when I was on the ground at the parade. I actually drove from Dallas and went to the parade, but no cell service. Well, I really appreciate it, guys. I just wanted to, you know, get my voice out there and just say how proud I am.
Thanks again. Thanks to the call. Fitz in Dallas waving the Thunder flag.
And why not? He mentioned what the Thunder did last night. Thomas Sorber out of Georgetown.
Yeah. He was drafted 15th overall. And interestingly enough, the Thunder acquired that pick in a trade.
Isn't that weird? From the Clippers. That was the trade, the first round pick. Second to last first round pick that they had remaining from the Paul George acquisition years ago. So the ripple effect of that building block that brought them SGA, the MVP of the NBA this year to help them on an 84 win season, including the playoffs. Amazing.
That trade gave them a draft pick last night. By the way, how many more centers can they use? Right. How many yachts do they want to water ski behind? Right.
All of them, I guess just best player available. Oh, and by the way, you know what they did? They had the 24th overall pick last night as well. They traded that away to Sacramento for guess what? My first round pick next year, next year, where they'll have their own, the last first round pick from the Clippers. And the one that they got last night for shoving the 24th overall selection into next year's draft. So by the way, they could draft Nick Clifford out of Colorado State, have him stole up to the podium. I'm sorry.
And a thunder hat. And then and then say he's really he's really a Sacramento King, everybody. He's really it's the visual on the screen does not match the actual facts on the ground. I'm sorry. I don't mean to keep beating the drum like like I'm SVP, but you feel a certain type of way about drafts.
No, it makes sense. And here's why I think if if I speak for Scott to listen, we're all partners in the same game here, right? We are.
We really are. I mean, we'll call out what we see fit of being called out from a league or an association or team or what have you. But the bottom line is a thriving NBA draft for shows like this or like Scott's last night that had to follow the draft. It's better if you're interested or not. Right. Yeah, for sure. Clearly. We want to talk sports that you're interested in. OK. And it makes it more difficult for us to keep you interested or explain what the hell's going on if you're confused by the visual.
Not matching the facts that reporters or hosts are saying. Help us help you. At least that's my that's my impetus here. And I imagine that's it for Scott, too, because it's such an easy thing.
Just let him put the damn head on the team that's acquiring him. Like, imagine. Right. Imagine two months ago. Right.
Tell the lawyer to do it enough. Comes out and he's taking all the pictures, wearing the Browns hat and the Browns jersey. And then that's just in. Oh, hold on a second.
In a couple of weeks, he's actually going to be a Jaguar. So just like throw those out and then take new pictures. Yeah.
What do we do? Take new pictures. It's like one last thing. I'll make one. It's like taking a picture with your ex-girlfriend on your wedding day. These are pictures that you're going to be looking at for the rest of your life.
It's going to be an album. But wait a minute. It's not really the one that you're getting hitched to. It's the one that got away. It's the one that was your first.
That sounds like it's more set song. Yeah. This draft is like a free ride when you've already paid. I just saw three guys. Good. That would have been bad if Travis Hunter green light when you're already late. Did you Google that? No. OK. TJ knows.
He just got in. You're going to tell you that I want to produce the concert series of a line. OK. Green light when you're already late. That's what this is. Hey, it's a picture forever, except I never played for that team on the water and died the next day. Now you Google that. See? Oh, OK. Now, Brockwood knows this.
You really? That's still Jeff Teague. OK. That's that Brockwood. Derek and Missouri are one of our long time.
Not first time. What's up, Derek? Hey, Reggie, you guys were talking about Michael Jackson's passing earlier. That was a bizarre week, I don't know if you remember, but that same day. Farrah Fawcett, one of the original stories, angels passed away in the three days beforehand.
The great epic man also passed. Huh? That was the three that week, huh? Look at you, Derek.
That's some interesting information. And if the Teague family was crying over the passing of Michael Jackson on his draft day, then my my teenage self was crying about the passing of Farrah Fawcett. Majors. What's on your mind, Derek? So I wanted to give my take and my two cents about what you guys were talking about yesterday. So, hey, Tony and Aaron Judge, have they retired today in the Hall of Fame? OK, for me, I would say so.
Hey, obviously, it'll be just because what he's already accomplished. And for me, the judge, I mean, with all due respect, Rich, I mean, for me right now, it's a hard no, because you've got to have that World Series ring. You know, I mean, you've got the stats and records and such, but the ring matters much, too, as well. And one more thing before you let me go, because I've got a side question for all three of you, if I may.
Yes. Name me the best quarterback, running back and wide receiver that are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame that don't have a Super Bowl ring. All right, hold on a minute here. You're kind of reverse engineering if players currently in sports are already Hall of Famers that they don't play anymore. You're reverse engineering saying who's in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is a quarterback, running back and wide receiver who has never won a ring. And thank you for the call, Derek.
I will give you right off the top of my head. Marino is the quarterback. Barry Sanders is the running back and the wide receiver.
That's a good one. Randy Moss or Tio. Megatron, too. Tio never won a Super Bowl. So it would have to be Moss, Tio or Megatron, I would think. I think Randy Moss trumps all those guys. I don't know, man.
I look at these debates all the time. A lot of people will put Tio. We didn't stutter Marino or Sanders, right?
I mean, we're simple. We're good on those, right? You could also put Daniel Tomlinson, Jim Kelly. That's a good one, too. Jim Kelly. Thurman Thomas.
That's a good one, too. Andre Reid. You could name anybody from that building.
Yeah. A dynastic team that never won a Super Bowl. I was telling Hoskins that yesterday after the show. I was like, I don't think we give Jim Kelly enough credit. No, please. Let me just quickly give Jim Kelly his credit.
Please do. Oh, I know. When you see the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the stadium next door, named after Tom Benson now, it's been totally renovated. It used to be just a, I guess, I shouldn't say, but run of the mill, if you will, high school stadium.
Don Descript. And the Pro Football Hall of Fame always had their induction ceremonies in front of the steps of the Pro Football Hall of Fame between the steps and I-77. OK. And there was this grassy area that used to fit all the fans that were coming until Jim Kelly got it. And you could draw a line from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from Buffalo, New York, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Can't know how. You could just draw a straight line and fans went from one through the other through the other to get to see Jim Kelly go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And they had to move the ceremony to the stadium. And that's when they said, you know what, this is kind of a better setup.
And let's keep it here. Jim Kelly's the reason why the ceremony is now inside that stadium and for anybody who goes into the Hall of Fame and is sitting on that stage, everyone enshrined from that day forward. And anybody who was enshrined in the previous days who are fortunate enough to still be around and also ambulatory enough to attend. All those football heroes on the stage. If they at one point figured looking down at their watch, it's been a couple hours, I could use a libation. There's a green room just off to the side. I was told once upon a time it was under the stage to start. That was created by Jim Kelly, who is like, these things go on for hours. We need a drink.
We need some, I guess, some speech oil and let's go. And it used to be actually initially in an area. Because again, there's a school there and that's where our green room is inside of a conference room in the school.
Yes. Just off of like a cafeteria space where kids are normally going to school, but obviously school's out for summer when the Hall of Fame is happening. The initial green room was in the school.
It kept stuff on ice in the school because Jim's like, we got to go somewhere where it's cool and we could get something that is cool. Right. And I mean, Jim Kelly, you know, is a Hall of Famer in many respects. Don't you have another story where there was something going on at the bar and it was too slow and he hopped over? Chris was there. You want to tell that part, Chris?
Sure. So the hotel where all the Hall of Famers and a lot of the people who are there for the weekend have been staying, there's there's one bar downstairs. And we were there one of the years and it's just afterward and it is just packed Hall of Famers everywhere. We were talking to Jonathan, Jonathan Ogden.
Madden was holding court in one of the corners in one of the last years that he was there. And there was one bartender tending bar for all of those 150 people maybe. And it was not going quickly at all. Jim Kelly on the other side was just like, all right, I got to jumps the bar, goes in and starts helping serve everyone.
And needless to say, we got our drinks fast and they were heavy pours. Only one word. Only one word can describe that. And that's leadership. Right.
Absolutely. He's a leader. Yeah, he's a leader.
Hall of Fame leader. I didn't. It was a great night. And but he also noticed the the the bartenders and waitstaff were overwhelmed by the number of patrons. Insanely overwhelmed.
I will jump on a bar and help out. And we all got absolutely blitzed. I had no idea this was going to turn into a Jim Kelly toast.
Here we go. He could let me tell you something. That man is also a Hall of Famer reader of the Blitz. He was a little shocked. He could notice the blitz.
Yeah, he was not using was a measurement. God bless. I test Jim Kelly. I'm so glad that got brought up. So long story short, the wide receiver we're throwing in here would be anybody that Jim Kelly threw to.
He's a T.O. or Randy. Randy or Megatron.
Megatron. Yeah. Interesting. And those are Hall of Famers who did we mention?
The ones who don't have a ring. And, you know, I mean, listen, I love El T. And he's as great as Barry Sanders. Oh, yeah.
I'm just giving you another example. Obviously, it's Barry. All right. Interesting. Those are the Hall of Famers that don't have a ring.
And now I guess that leads us to the latest edition because we started this on our Wednesday show and we're going to keep doing it because I think we kind of dig it. We have tons of names to throw your way of the concept. Who, if is currently an athlete that one hundred percent. Is terrific.
If this person decided not to play another game, are they are they or couldn't? Are they in the Hall of Fame with what we've already seen? It's a segment we call Who Wants to be a Hall of Famer?
And today's subject is speaking of the Buffalo Bills quarterback, Josh Allen. Who wants to be a Hall of Famer? Is that your final answer? All right. I like it. I like the drop.
I like the graphic. Well done, Smitch and Hoskins and all the the folks part of the Rich Eisen Show production squad. All right, TJ, you broke the tie yesterday. Do you want to start us off right now? Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills quarterback. Let me give you his numbers.
OK. All right. He's got he's an MVP of the league right now. Three time Pro Bowler, two time second team All-Pro. He's seventy fifth all time in passing yards with thirty six thousand. He's fifty ninth all time in passing touchdowns. He gets five this year, which he will.
He'll have two hundred in his career. He's rushing. He's seventh in rushing yards for quarterbacks. Forty one hundred forty two rushing yards. Sixty five rushing touchdowns.
And second in that regard. One of the greatest, as you could see, rushing quarterbacks ever. He's won five consecutive AFC East titles. First player ever with five straight seasons with forty or more total touchdowns.
No one's ever done that. Is that enough T.J. Jefferson to make him a Hall of Famer? Is he if he decides no more football?
This is tough, right? That's why we that's why we chose him as the first NFL player, because this guy wants to be a Hall of Famer. Stats are incredible for, you know, where he's at in his career. But you've got to look at some of the great quarterbacks who aren't in the Hall of Fame.
Right. And you kind of you put his career up against theirs. And I think right now, a lot of people would say no. But you see, I feel a little different about Josh Allen. I might be biased.
And this is the reason why this is why. Do you have any questions for me? Is T.J. in there? He is. T.J.'s right there. Go for it.
I think night before draft, I had an interview with I think I gave him like his first interview on your show. OK. Very true, Josh Allen. Very true, brother.
How are you doing, man? Is that is that right? That is right. You did. It was we were leaving that we were leaving the AT&T Stadium. I caught you. I asked, could I talk to you? You were like, sure. We took a little short walk to the bus.
The most important part of this story, T.J., what is that? I said, I'm from the Rich Eisen Show. Can I talk to you? I was like, of course. Sure. Rich Eisen.
I was like, I'm in. Oh, my gosh. OK, so you obviously production value and self congratulations. I mean, well, I've sold your doctor if you need medication to combat that. Well, this is just helping my argument.
So sometimes you need something to put a thumb on the scale, as Brockman like to say. So because of that, because Josh Allen is my man and because he remembered that moment, Josh Allen. Yes, I'm putting him in the Hall of Fame. That's absurd. I mean, Josh Allen is a fine player.
Really? I really enjoy watching him, despite the fact that he plays for the Buffalo Bills. But he's only been in the league seven years.
He has the graphic was there was a typo. He's only has twenty six thousand career yards. He has eight thousand yards less and fifty touchdowns less than someone you love.
T.J., Tony Romo, like I get the MVP last year, but make a Super Bowl win a championship. Let's play. Let's play a little bit longer. Let's double your career.
Then you're going to get there. He's on he's on a nice path. But as of right now, if he never played again, Josh Allen not getting a gold.
Twenty nine years old. Twenty six thousand four hundred thirty four passing yards at seventy fifth all time. He does have the franchise record for the Buffalo Bills for single season passing yards and touchdowns. I just I I think one day I'm going to see him in the Hall of Fame. I think one day he will have a bust in the Hall of Fame. I just think he needs more days as an NFL player for that to happen, just knowing, just knowing how the voting process takes place.
And whenever I do, whenever we do this segment and it's an NFL player, I'm going to be a little bit more well informed than maybe other sports because of having intimate knowledge of the voting process. I just know that when Philip Rivers comes up for votes, it's going to be a hot debate. And Eli Manning isn't in yet. And it took a few rounds for Kurt Warner to get in that. These numbers are not going to get him in. Despite him being one of the best in the league, despite him being an MVP one time, he's not made it to the Super Bowl. And these numbers just do not support him being in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, despite him being clearly one of the best, clearly one of the best Buffalo Bills at the position of all time. He's on an amazing five year run right now. Clearly being one of the most athletic players to ever play the position.
Clearly a Hall of Fame person. That does help, too, by the way. That's why he got my vote. And all of that combined, though, he does need to do this more. Let me interview him? No, I do think he needs to do this more what he's been doing. And, you know, right now, he's the one of the foils to Mahomes.
And we need I need to get him to to be the foil if he beats Mahomes and wins the Super Bowl. Now, next year. Yeah. Are you told if you're we might be still still not. It's still tough. I mean, look, first ballot.
Iseman, he still needs more time. I think Josh Allen is a much better quarterback than Eli Manning. Let's just put that out there. Not as accomplished as the thing in terms of Super Bowl victories. But Eli Manning was never close to sniffing an MVP. He's a five hundred quarterback in terms of record. Whether or not you think QB, you know, QB wins is a stat.
It should be a stat. I mean, Josh Allen wins. He's 75 percent of his games right now. But on top of the running ability, no argument that he's damn close, though, right? Allen on the path to Hall of Fame right now. He's he's close.
No, not not really. I mean, doesn't even have thirty thousand yards passing. It doesn't mean by the end of this year isn't even at 200 touchdowns yet.
He will by the end of this year. I find the Eli argument really funny because all we do is talk about Super Bowl wins and how you have to win Super Bowls. And this time the third. Well, he's got two rings and yet people are still like, no, no, no, no.
Normally that will put you in, certainly since you've beaten the goat twice. Right. Right. With one throw that was helmeted and another one that was dropped perfectly in the bucket to Mario Manningham. Those were the two moments from these Super Bowls.
Those games were more about the Giants defense. No, no, I get it. Yeah. All right.
All right. Eli's a Hall of Famer. He definitely is going to be a Hall of Famer. But, you know, the rest of it may be that first first ballot.
Correct. So Josh Allen, the latest subject of our who wants to be a Hall of Famer. What say you eight four four two or four rich number to don that Barnes is here. Let's take a break. Let's bring out the money. Come back. We'll have some smoke.
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That's OReillyAuto.com slash Eisen. Back here on The Rich Eisen Show on the Roku Sports Channel. Your experience returns in two minutes. Ladies and gentlemen, a 14-year veteran in the NBA, a UCLA Bruin, and along with Stephen Jackson, brings you all the smoke.
Ladies and gentlemen, Matt Soren. Good to be back. Good to be back. What's up, fellas?
You're in the smokeless environment of The Rich Eisen Show. Well, I made sure we took care of that earlier. Understood. Understood. Good to see you. Good to be seen. What's going on?
Nothing much, man. We're just hanging out here, just trying to take in last night's draft. Yeah, interesting. What did you find interesting about it? It was the first draft I watched in a while because I'd kind of been following this crop of kids. Interesting to see how Ace Bailey does.
I think he's a tremendous talent. And I think his antics or his management antics had him slide a few slots that he didn't want to slide to. Don't you think? Well, I mean, he was one away from apparently completing the mission.
I guess what he wanted. So it almost happened. It almost happened.
It almost happened. But it just takes one team to just say, oh, we don't care if you don't want to be here. And Danny Ainge is that kind of guy. That's why I like Danny Ainge.
Danny Ainge put a plug in that. So really interesting because, I mean, tremendous talent, seeing him play live, got a chance to see Cooper play live. Like I said, this is kind of the class I got a chance to see.
So I'm really excited. What I kind of found interesting was, and I think this is kind of the disconnect from my era to this era, is a lot of these kids you don't know anything about. Like there's no storylines. You couldn't really follow them in college and understand what they had. Because there's a lot of overseas guys and or the one and done. So there's a lot of kids that went in the first round that I was just like, I think I know this game pretty well, but I have no idea. And that's not a knock on their talent by any means.
They're just not really names that you've got a chance to grow accustomed to yet. Right. And that's again, we were just talking about it before. You know, the NFL draft, when somebody is drafted, you're like, oh, you know the storyline. So I saw that guy light it up in the Big 12.
I saw that person light it up in the SEC. I know that's a defensive player of the year from, you know, from the Big 10 that just led to the fourth round. Here, it's just like, oh, I guess I got to Google the Adriatic League. And then sometimes you look at their numbers and their numbers aren't overwhelming. And you're just like, OK, well, let's wait and see what happens.
So I think that's the only thing I kind of took away is like they're not. And I wouldn't I guess you can call some college guys household names, but I just remember my era, like you said, to the football point you just made, you kind of got to see their trajectory and know their past body of work and then, you know, have expectations for them once they make it. But with basketball now, it's so young and the one and done and the influx of talent from overseas. You just don't know any of these kids. Yeah, last year, a lot of last two years, a lot of G League at the top.
And now you're seeing this was more of, I guess, of an international influence as well. Matt Barnes of all the smoke here on the Rich Eisen show. You said, Ace Bailey, you saw him play.
What do you think? Yeah, put the ball in the basket. It was interesting, too, because obviously he was listed at six ten, but I guess without shoes, they said six seven. So he's probably six, eight, six, eight and a half. But outside of that, his ability to put the ball in the basket is incredible.
His length, his three level scoring, just really impressed. But I didn't know him at all as a person. So that was the kind of the one thing that I just, you know, you hate to see young players, whether it's them or their representation, kind of get them off to the wrong foot in this league, because this league is kind of like high school from a standpoint of everyone's always gossiping about someone.
And a reputation can really harm you or harm your money. And I just hate for guys to get into situations and harming their money before they get a chance to actually show their talent. But I liked every time he spoke, he's like, hey, I'm keeping the main thing, the main thing. Basketball is my main thing, and that's what I'm going to focus on. So, you know, moving forward, Utah probably wasn't the landing destination he wanted to be in, but he's there now and I'm sure he's going to put his best foot forward. Obviously, I'm you know, I chalked up a lot of his comments where he was keeping the main thing, the main thing I'm talking about, basketball, as somebody was just like, just say that.
Just say that. Even if it doesn't fit, we'll get you through the interviews and get you drafted and get you done. Because he's 18 and he's just taking the advice. I imagine, you know, that said, I couldn't imagine the Sixers, if it is true, that Bailey's like, yeah, I don't want to come to do dinner. I'm not breaking bread unless you give me a guarantee that you're taking me. How can you draft that player after they say that and then look at the rest of the organization and say, you know, please do what we're asking of you when we asked it of somebody who's not even part of our organization and then made him part of our organization. It's tough.
Tough call. But I say with all due respect, I would much, 10 out of 10 times rather be in Philly than Utah. You know what I mean? So I just think from a city standpoint, obviously there's talent, talent in Utah.
Excuse me. There's talent in Utah. But, you know, talent in Philly, it's a little up in the air.
What Embiid and PG are going to be to that franchise moving forward. But, you know, you have Maxie and the kid that got hurt this year. You know again. Jared McCain. Yeah.
Jared McCain. Yeah. You know, so you put those two with an up and coming 6'8 score. I mean, I think that's what you're building for the future regardless of what PG and Embiid situations are.
So I don't know. I would have been probably the same if I'm in a GM position. I'm saying F your demands. I'm like Danny Ainge and I'm going to take the best player available. So I would have definitely took him at three knowing what the upside is.
And again, being 18, he was probably heavily influenced by his camp. And you just, you know, hope that basketball is basketball. So you think the Sixers should have just taken a minute? I think so.
I think so. Because of what, because the eye test, talent over everything? Talent. Yeah, talent. And again, at a young age, I was even immature in my 20s.
You know what I mean? So you always know that people are going to outgrow the immaturities that they may possibly come into the league with. And his talent is undeniable. So I'm really excited for him.
He's landed somewhere and we're just going to have to see what happens. You got a comp for what Cooper Flagg's career is going to wind up being? I mean, I think that the sky's the limit for this kid. I think what I love about him is his motor. You know, I got a chance to see, and I coach in this AU space and it's a lot of entitled kids that think they're better than they are.
But the one thing I loved about him was, yeah, it's bad. This kid had a motor on both ends of the ball and I think he actually may be better on the defensive end as he continues to improve his level of his scoring, but his athleticism, his defensive prowess, how hard he plays. And then landing, I don't know how this happened. And I think that the Mavericks' job is, the only job is to not screw this up with management, to be able to be a team that has that type of roster, that caliber of coaching, and land the number one pick. I think that was some, they were playing with the balls, no pun intended. Nice. For that to happen.
But extremely excited to see what he is on this level. Did you just throw out a conspiracy thing on it? I think it happens every once in a while.
For Bron to land somewhere, to Derrick Rose to land somewhere, for Bron to leave, and Kyra to land somewhere, I mean, I think there's a business of basketball behind that. Kind of like what O'Shea was saying. O'Shea Jackson Jr. said that in that chair. Did he? Yeah, just two days ago. I'll say this, but, okay. How does that happen in your life? I don't know. Crazy. Is there a meeting somewhere?
Crazy. Like Adam Silver tells somebody else, tells somebody else, this is what's going to happen. Clearly don't tell the 29 other franchises, because we've decided to put the thumb on the scale for a franchise that made a deal that almost burned their entire house down, okay, with the fan base going crazy. But let's do them a solid and hand them the number one overall pick, and let's bring in a CPA firm. Let's put their reputation on the line.
How does this work? You know what I mean? I think it might be above both of our pay grades and our classification levels. All right. But- It's not a Zoom?
It's not a Zoom? No, that can be cracked. No memos?
No paperwork? I think it's down in a dark tunnel with people you probably can't see. It's lightly, you know, the lights are dim.
Okay. A darkness retreat? They go through Aaron Rodgers to create this thing? It's a secret society. All they ask is trust. Oh, I like that.
Then how come Zion didn't end up on the Knicks? Yeah. Good call. Maybe- You only get it once, I guess.
Yeah, it's not full growth. They got a Ewing that was the- Right. They got the, hey man, you got one in the freezer back in the 80s. You know, we're not going to give you another one.
Like storing eggs? See, do you want to, you mentioned, Matt Barnes here on The Rich Eyes, you mentioned you're an AAU coach. You want to take a stab at the idea that these Achilles injuries that are happening are maybe born out of?
I do. I think, you know, I was born in 1980 and I think my generation of kids, and I don't know if anyone else in here was, we played outside and we played every sport under the sun. And as I've become a father, my twins are 16 now, I just felt like everything has become more specialized, and if you play another sport or two other sports, you kind of get behind in your main sport. I was someone who lettered in four sports in high school, football, baseball, basketball, track, all American and football and basketball, and I felt like the cumulative work from all those different sports helped me, you know, achieve what I achieved in the league, but also from a standpoint of, you know, you're seeing little kids' arms blown out of, you know, you're seeing Tommy John at a younger age. You're just seeing so sports specific, so young, and I feel like year round, we never had year round anything.
Everything was always seasonal. Basketball for me was, you know, you got some school basketball, and then when I was in high school, you had AAU for two or three months, and there was no 15, 16, 17. As a freshman, if you're good enough to play AAU, you're playing against the best kids, you're playing against the 18 year olds, so there was only one type of basketball. But I say all that to say, just year round doing the same training, the same conditioning, the same, that's just wear and tear on your body, on top of just how dynamic and explosive and how these kids start and stop now. You know, it looks beautiful on paper, the way Shay can go full speed and stop on a dime and step left or right or step through, or tatum and all these other stars are doing. But it's got to be, you know, it's got to have some wear and tear on your body, whether it's the shoes. I think the shoes could play a small part. I don't necessarily... Yeah, Nick Van Exel said, you wrap your ankles up, that the low riders are a problem.
I don't think so, because I mean, when you tape your ankle, like I don't think there's a shoe out there that's going to keep an Achilles from coming, from tearing. I just don't see it that way. I just see it more as these kids are playing 100 plus games in the summer.
Some of them are. You know, I don't allow my... And I think where the excess games come is where kids are jumping from team to team and getting a ton of run, which could help their growth. But at the same time, it's the wear and tear on their body. But again, Rich, the likeliness of these kids, making it to the league is, you know, a better chance of getting struck by lightning. So these kids are playing a lot of basketball. But if you are able to get to that top level, which is the NBA, I just feel like if you've gone through four years of AAU, you've probably put anywhere from two, three, four years of grind on your body by the time you get to the league. And then the league is no joke. The pace of play is high as it's been since the 70s. And again, how fast and athletic and how these kids are stopping on the dime and moving the way they move.
It's scary how many... It's kind of like the new ACL tear. There was a way where ACL tears were the wave for a while in the league. Now, unfortunately, Achilles tears are the wave.
And I just, you know, as a fan of the game, I just hate to see it. And I wish that whether it be shoe companies or doctors or whoever needs to figure this out for this league to kind of help prevent this. So it's sort of a ticking clock the minute you start to specialize only in one sport. It seems like it.
So it goes back to the way you're being developed as a teenager or late adolescent? You're pounding. I mean, I didn't train and some people probably can say like I see through your game. I didn't train for the league until I was in the NBA.
You know what I mean? Like I did everything else. I went from sport to sport. In college, I played a lot of basketball in the off season, but it was never real training. These kids are training now at six, seven, eight years old. And again, if it's basketball is what their parents think they're going to make it in.
It's just basketball training from the time they start until hopefully the time they make the NBA. And it's the same movement on your feet, movement on your hips, movement on your knees. It's just the same.
It's the same repetition. You don't ever get to go to another sport where you're training different muscles and different parts of your body. So I firmly believe and again, being entrenched in this system, the kids are playing way too many games, I think on the flip side.
And I think this also carries into why you see such an influx of Europeans in this game. The European kids will practice for five days to possibly play a game or two on the weekend. We might get one practice in to play six games on the weekend.
You know what I mean? Where are you developing? Where are you learning the ins and outs and the execution of the game? Really it's just about what tournaments you win. I'm seeing 17 year old freshmen and 18 year old, 19 year old sophomores.
It's just AAU is an absolute mess right now. Let's talk sleep number people. If you're like me, then you are just not yourself when you get a bad night's sleep. Look, sleep plays an important, crucial role in recovery.
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Your summer favorites are ready at Starbucks. Back here on the Rich Eyes and Show, Matt Barnes is here. I'd love to get your opinion on this as well. The first 12 years of Adam Silver's commissionership, nine different franchises of one. And the reason why it's not 12 for 12 is the Warriors won three other ones, including one that you were part of. Yeah.
Do you have any thoughts on why we're seeing so many different franchises have a crack here? I mean, I think it's a good thing. First and foremost, I mean, Adam's first year was my year with the Clippers when he banned Donald Sterling. That was kind of his first executive action. So he came in the hot seat hot and I think he's done a good job. Obviously there's things that can be improved, but what would that be? You could wave a wand right now. What would you make a change? You put me on the spot.
I'm providing some smoke right here. I would say bringing back defense. I think allowing, I mean, it's crazy because it's something that's taught like defense isn't even a necessity again in the AU and ranks. But I think in the playoffs, we were able to see a little bit more physicality and guys, you know, outside of Shea, you know, get to the foul line a ton. It was more just flow of the game and guys were getting, you know, you could play a little bit more physical. I think there needs to be a balance because I also think at the same time, the explosion of the offensive game has helped the game grow internationally because people don't want to see those old school.
I grew up in the eighties, again, pistons and bulls and Lakers and Celtics and your clothesline and Kurt Ramison only getting a technical foul. Like I grew up on that kind of basketball, so obviously they needed to kind of balance that out. It was a little too physical for the liking, but I think there needs to be some kind of balance of, you know, bringing the game back to the defensive side and allowing people to really play defense. I think that would probably be the one change that I would make. I think I'd make playoff basketball more regular season basketball. What about moving the three point line back? Because it just seems like everybody's hoisting from three now and you're seeing transition threes more than ever because threes more than two, right? Crazy. And it definitely does not look good. It's a tougher watch from time to time.
It's nasty there. You'll see, you'll catch spurts of games where there's, you know, six consecutive, seven consecutive threes shot and all missed. Back and forth.
All missed. Right. Back and forth. And it's because we were learned, you run for layups, you know, now kids are taught to run to the three point line, which is, you know, a little bit backwards. But you know, I think, you know, we credit Steph for so much of evolution of this game, but I also think people that have kind of adopted his style of play or Klay's style of play don't shoot like them. Klay's simple guys don't shoot like, okay, I want to be like Mike, you don't jump or play like him. And now I want to be like Steph, but you don't shoot like him. So where's kind of the balance of, you know, understanding good possessions and then you throw analytics in the game where they say only a three or, or, or layup and no mid range. And I just think, I don't know, I just, I think we've got away from the eye test and just the IQ of basketball.
And I think if we can get back to both those, I think we can balance the game out. But I'm not someone, I'm not one of these older players like up here. I love the game. Still. I still love to watch it. And I'm not one of these older guys complaining, but if you're asking questions on what I think can have some improvement, it would be probably the corner three eliminating the corner three.
That's where I made my money. I'm not trying to eliminate that, but that's, yeah, that's the whole point is three, right? Yeah.
It's only 22 feet. But I would be interested in seeing like, is that I would still think because of the way the game is, I would still think, and I would be interested to see, I have someone check it out. I would still more above the, above the arc threes because that's what people are running in transition. You know what I mean? I think the swing, swing, swing, get you the corner threes, but I think in transition people are running to the arcs and letting it fly.
Matt Barnes will take us to the end of the hour here. What was your draft like for you, your second round, second rounds tonight. And there's a lot of kids waiting to hear their names like you were back in 2002. It was kind of just, man, hope it works, hope it works out. Where were you? I was at a friend's house.
I was at a pool party on barbecue at a friend's house. And I was, I want to say like the 42nd pick. So the 12th pick in the second round, you're a 46th, 46 pick. There you go. I'm getting older.
I forget. So just hoping that it worked out and hoping that I landed, landed in a situation. So I was drafted to Memphis and traded for Wesley person to Cleveland and never really got a lick in Cleveland. So I went from two weeks of training camp, maybe in Cleveland to the, it used to be the D league back then. And it was, it was D it was nasty.
Fayetteville, North Carolina. But to me, Rich, that, that, that experience, because I think a lot of kids exhale when they get drafted. Like, oh, I've made it. And it's the furthest thing from the truth that the journey has just begun once you've been drafted. So you were drafted by the Grizzlies on the spot draft day. Yeah.
For Wesley person. One of those, one of the, again, that's, what's kind of confusing for a lot of people because the newly year is after the draft that these, you got to go through these moments where it's not like, well, look, who's on the clock right now. It's the calves.
No, it's the Grizzlies doing it for the calves. What happened? Um, so did, did somebody from Cleveland call your cell phone? They might've called my agent.
I didn't get nothing. I just heard, oh, you're drafted to Memphis. And then five minutes later, actually you're going to Cleveland. I'm like, oh, okay.
Both are nasty cities, but let's do it. So then when, when did you finally, you think it, your head screwed on right where you knew what professional basketball was and to become a champion or whatever. I was mixed up in the, in, in, in numbers because I wasn't necessarily getting a chance to play. I, I, I did what I was supposed to do in the G league or excuse me, D league, got a 10 day with the Clippers. And I think where I messed up was this is when I went to the Clippers in 03, they were just a bad team.
And this was the same time that Sacramento Kings were winning. So every summer, although I wasn't necessarily in the league, I was still, Chris Weber was my mentor, my big, my big bro. So I got to work out with Sacramento in the summertime and had an opportunity to go back for a two year minimum deal with the Clippers.
But this is the wave of Sacramento versus Lakers. And I'm just like, man, I'm back at home and I'm training. And Adelman saw me training that summer and like what he saw.
So I was just like, Hey, I'm going to respectfully pass on the opportunity with the Clippers and I'm going to take this deal in Sacramento. And then I got traded with C web to Philly and the marathon began and I was tough sled. And I went out to Philly for the first time with no coat, Chuck tailors and just sweatshirts. And I was just like, Oh, I was, it was a really, I didn't have no shoes, no coat, no nothing. I was miserable. What happened? I mean, when shopping is what you did.
Yeah. Web and web took me shopping. AI took us to this place where everyone gets their stuff and give me your favorite Allen Iverson story.
Please. Favorite story. I can tell.
Nice. No, AI was amazing, man. I had a lot of fun cause I wasn't playing. And again, I was kind of like Chris's little brother. I was kind of just guilty by associate. I got to drag along with stuff, but there'd be times where we would, uh, you know, land off road trip and there'd be a limo waiting and we'd go to Atlantic city that night and all three of us would get our, and I didn't pay for nothing. So I somehow got a penthouse suite and Louis the 13th was available. I'm just like, can I touch this stuff like, yeah, whatever you want, you know, I didn't realize back then that, you know, for gambling, they would give you whatever. And uh, you know, I just, I had some fun times, kind of eye-opening experiences, um, you know, being with one of the greatest players, um, of all time and kind of just being kind of like a, like a little tag along. I was, you know, 21, 22 years old.
Yeah. This is, who was the coach in the affiliate at the time? First we had a Jim O'Brien who was, and then Mo Cheeks who was, I mean, Mo, I almost, my career almost ended before it started cause I almost fought Mo Cheeks. He was caught on still kind of being a player and I, and it broke my heart cause I was a Mo Cheeks fan of what he was able to do for that team and the way he led that team. But when he became the coach, he just kind of was too joking for a lot of people's liking, but particularly mine and I wasn't playing.
So I treated practice like games and I would always do what you're supposed to get the extra work in. And I remember one time I was shooting with, and it was funny, I just talked to the shooting coach Buzz. We found each other on social media and he, and uh, I was shooting after practice one time and he came in and it was just me and the shooting coach like, I don't know why you're shooting. You're not going to get to shoot here.
Ha ha ha. You're the head coaches saying that and then maybe a week later we're in practice and again, practices are my game. So I, you know, I took a shot that I guess he thought was ill-advised and stop practicing. You don't shoot that here. That's not what you're here for.
That's why you don't play. So I kind of took off. I was going to pounce on him and luckily Chris grabbed me and yeah, and stopped me from doing it. But I was going to, I was going to put pause on Mo Cheeks and to this day I don't dislike anyone.
I dislike still to this day, Mo Cheeks. All the smoke. I've heard that. I've heard you tell that story. I was wondering. I don't talk with explicitives because I know we can't talk the way we talk, but yeah, but you get the gist.
I just still just the way he treated me and it treated other guys was not cool and it's probably why he, you know, he's a lifelong assistant. Chris Weber's hall of fame hands came into the grip. So all the smoke is just crushing it, you and Steven Jackson and check it out on I heart as well. Right? I heart is the, and then you guys have your own label as well. So yeah, we launched all the smoke productions January of last year and it's been such a tremendous blessing. I mean, obviously we had verticals in basketball, which we're doing well. We're launching our football department, so all the smoke football's coming. We already launched all the smoke fight, which is MMA and boxing. So we have Roy Jones and Andre Ward kind of the head of the boxing side.
We're in the fight side. Major League Baseball reached out to us and actually with their take there, they're having us come out to all star in Atlanta in July because they want a little bit more of our demographic and it's on work with my brother CC on that. So it's just been incredible. I mean, partnerships with Netflix and Amazon, it's been a great transition, but a learning curve.
It's kind of learning the backside of, I've been the talent in front of the camera, but learning the backside and understanding these deals and how they work and just kind of learning the game has been fun. So is the first or the latest fight pod of all the smoke about the big three and Steven can we get them on the smoke fight vertical? We need to, there was a lot of action for the big three. I'm happy for Q because the big three was, you know, questionable for a while and then they started selling these franchises and then all the drama that happened week one. I think to me it's all good promotion for the league.
So, you know, I'm happy for Q. Well, I mean the video of Steven's postgame speech, if you want to call it that, I mean have the Knicks reached out? If you want to call it that, yeah, I mean reached out for permission. My brother's turn, he's turned over a new leaf, but you know, sometimes when you push those old buttons, old, old instincts come out and, and, and. There was malice.
Yes. There was almost malice. Thankfully there wasn't, but um, again, cooler heads prevailed, but again, it all, it brought a ton of attention to the league. No doubt. No doubt. Which brings attention to you guys in your podcast.
So it's, you know, it's a trickle down effect. I'm not mad at it. So the name, right? Right.
It's called VIG3. Matt, this 05-06 Philly team, interesting characters on it. Lou Will rookie here, uh, Kyle Korver and his second year Iguodala rookie. Oh yeah. Yeah.
A lot of fun guys on that. Uh, uh, Rodney Rogers was an OG there too. Zen Don Hamilton. Yeah. Zen and Hamilton. Yeah. Uh, Kevin Ali, Samuel D'Alembert, Aaron McKee, web, C-web, one of my favorites, man. Interesting squad.
They sent him out there to die off. Unfortunately. Oh boy.
Well, congrats on everything, man. I'm thrilled to hear about the, so the NFL vertical, huh? NFL. Yeah. I can't officially say who's going to be the head of that because we're in negotiations with them right now, but we got a, we got a, uh, a good name to kind of head that, that space. So yeah, it's, it's, it's been fun.
And again, I'm, I'm a huge baseball fan, so looking to really jump in that space and then hopefully by the end of the year golf as well, golf, all the smoke and golf of it. All right. That'd be interesting. Hand in hand. We teamed up to real quick. We teamed up with Netflix to do the happy Gilmore 2 launch. So that's coming out.
And I think we're doing that in the middle of July or July 27th, if I'm not mistaken of July. So, uh, that was really exciting for me. First of all, being able to team up with Netflix just at first and foremost, but just such a huge fan of happy Gilmore and what that meant to my teenage years. So it's an honor to, uh, to be able to be a part of that. Great to see you, Matt Barnes. Don't be a stranger, man. Come back anytime. And congratulations to your guys.
Thank you very much. Look at all of us. There's smoke. Smoke in the green room.
We'll see you guys a little bit. The United States soccer Federation presents the U S soccer podcast inside the opening 45 seconds. With that cannon of a left foot. Never miss a game. Shot for distance. What a goal. Never miss a moment. Can he finish the U S soccer podcast phone listen on your favorite platform.
