REShow: Eric Pincus - Hour 2 (7-6-2022)

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That's 877-ASK-DELL to save up to 48% on our latest technology. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Goats have home lives too. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Rich Eisen. Hello Rich Eisen. Rich Eisen. Oh that's Susie Eisen's husband. The Rich Eisen Show. And now, sitting in for Rich, here's Brian Weber. It's another hour of the program. Great to have you with us on a jam-packed Wednesday. Hop aboard. 1-844-204 Rich.

1-844-204-7424. You can always get the conversation started on Twitter. That's B.W. Weber. Weber with two B's. Try my best too.

Not bludgeoned you with guests. Just had a quality college football consolidation conversation with my friend, Pete Futek. collegefootballnews.com in 40 minutes. We'll bring in our second and final guest. The latest on NBA free agency, Summer League. Conversation. Chad Holmgren's going to the Hall of Fame. I don't care that he weighs 180 pounds based on what we saw last night.

We'll get into all the details with Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. So, given that I can and I try to have four and a half hours worth of content that we move with an energetic pace to get it done in three hours. I don't want to be that myopic. If you want to be a part of the program, pick up the phone.

Hit me up on Twitter. Otherwise, as the substitute gym teacher used to say when my gym teacher at Illinois Elementary School in Pelham Manor, New York. I had a view of the Hutchinson River Parkway because my old man was thrifty. The cars went by so frequently. I could see from my room. It helped me sleep well because there was that nice mmm mmm mmm. But when Mr. Ganey, who was related to Bob Ganey of Montreal Canadiens fame, was out and we had the substitute gym teacher, he would say, hey kids, I can play kickball all day long. So I'm happy to get interactive with you or I can do my job, which after all is why I am here. Coming up in 20 minutes. I have not been trying to avoid the National Football League, but because this is still a fallow period and because we're about to go all in with the start of training camps and because we're still waiting for the league justice for Deshaun Watson, I've tried to be patient. I want to pace myself, but we'll talk Deshaun Watson and the future of Baker Mayfield. Should the Browns try to make up with Baker, we'll get there in 20 minutes. A reminder, you can catch the show wherever you go.

The terrific Odyssey app. If you miss anything, we got the podcast that will be posted just after we are done. Before I dive back into the NBA, and I don't want to do three hours of going through every permutation. The big words are flowing today.

I might have been stuttering through that Pete Futak conversation because I'm so wrapped up in my beloved Pac-12 conference and it's conversion happening right now. But Kevin Durant can be exhausting because to make a potential deal work, to get the level of compensation Danny Ainge got for Rudy Gobert fleecing the Minnesota Timberwolves, I think the Nets are going to have to get three, maybe four teams involved. So rather than get bogged down in all those details, here's how I want to frame the Durant plus Kyrie Irving conversation in this hour of the program. Would Kevin Durant be so committed to forcing his way out of Brooklyn, he'd be willing to sit out. We just saw it with Ben Simmons, he got his way and just had the back surgery. It had one more level of uncertainty surrounding an enigmatic player.

But would Durant pull the only card he has left to play, the ultimate form of leverage, a good old fashioned holdout, I'm not playing unless you change your mind and capitulate to my demands. We'll talk about it in five minutes. I do want to hit briefly on baseball. My first love, I know Rich talks a ton of baseball and with Rich coming back on Monday, I'll be listening and watching on Peacock. I might imagine a man who has his Michigan photo on his avatar, a proud alumnus of that terrific school in Ann Arbor. I think Rich is going to have a vastly different view of the Big Ten poaching USC and UCLA than I did, but that's the beauty of what we do.

We all have different perspectives. But since Rich talks a lot of baseball, I want to maintain the spirit of the program. Are you excited that Aaron Judge could potentially get to 65 home runs this year?

And I think the answer to that question might come down to where are you listening to the program currently? Or are you a Yankee fan? If you're in the New York tri-state area, and I know the Yankee empire extends internationally, but if you love those pinstripes, like the line from Christopher Walken when he's playing, Leo DiCaprio's father in Catch Me If You Can, why do the Yankees win so much? Because the other team is mesmerized by the pinstripes. If you're a Yankee fan, I get it.

And you should be reveling. Feels like the Yankees of my youth, 77-78. If you haven't looked at the standings, that's okay. I still get a newspaper delivered.

Yes, I am that old. Yankees have a 13-game lead in the AL East. I realize we have wildcards and different paths to the playoffs. 13-game lead. Now, if you want to be a historian, I remember a team in Boston in the late 1970s that had a 13-game lead in August, and Bucky freaking Dent came walking through that door at Fenway. So we understand baseball can be witchcraft.

Weird stuff happens. But I don't see the Yankees squandering that lead. And more to the point, are they going to be even more lethal by loading up at the trade deadline?

But I don't want to get into transactional stuff right now. To me, Judge is fascinating for a couple reasons. If you're looking for a historical comp, Dave Winfield comes to mind in terms of the most lazy analysis. Tall guys who played in the Bronx.

But remember, and if you don't know, we use that term unicorn a lot these days. Dave Winfield was a unicorn. Dave Winfield was one of the most freakishly gifted athletes we've ever seen. Drafted by all the leagues. In fact, drafted by the ABA and the NBA, plus the NFL.

He could do it all at 6-6. Judge, slightly taller, 6-7. Leaner, the problem for a Judge contract, and I'm not suggesting he's not going to get a massive payday, the problem for, and I think it'll be the Yankees writing the check, if not George Steinbrenner will emerge from his grave and strangle his kids. I'm Brian Weber, in for Rich Eisen, Wednesday edition of the Rich Eisen Show. You can slide in, 1844204 Rich, coming up in 35 minutes, NBA analysis from Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. But let's just say that Judge finds a better deal, and there's always one more sucker across MLB, the teams that actually spend money, and we'll follow up on that momentarily.

I think you've got to structure the deal to protect the interest of the club, knowing that there aren't a lot of comps for a player 6-7 having success deep into his 30s. We were talking about it on Independence Day with Keith Law from The Athletic. Frank Howard is a name from yesteryear that comes to mind, but that's all the future. Let's talk about the present. Judge is having a magnificent season.

And were this 1986, well I don't think the show would exist, but you catch my drift, this would be what we're talking about. Judges on pace, dot dot dot dot. You would see in that newspaper I still get, as I just opened up the sports section to read you the standings, there'd be the side-by-side comparison. Babe Ruth on this day had so many home runs, Roger Maris had X, Judge has Y. Well, clearly, everything changed after Maguire, Sosa, and Barry Bonds, so the record doesn't have the same kind of resonance because the entire record book has been ginned up by the steroid error.

Still, if we presume Judge is clean, and I'm not trying to be in any way provocative, there's no reason to suggest that Judge is not doing this naturally. But, wouldn't it be interesting if Judge gets to 63-64 home runs, what do we do as fans? Who's the home run champ?

Because I know what the record books read, but I also know what Mark Maguire has admitted to doing. We know what Sammy Sosa did, and I covered the San Francisco Giants on a daily basis from the moment that Barry Bonds arrived at Candlestick Park and saved the franchise. They were on the verge of moving to Florida, and I watched the evolution of his body, and his head getting bigger, and suddenly he's hitting 73 home runs. So, I do think not only is baseball not captivating us the way it used to, because it's all football all the time, and now we're consumed by NBA free agency in the first week of July. There is the steroid issue that still haunts baseball and has mucked up the record books, and then beyond that we just don't care about baseball the way we used to. So, it would be a remarkable achievement, and a wonderful conversation point about who is the quote unquote true single season home run king. But, if Judge maintains this pace, and we've seen guys have phenomenal first halves and then tail off, but let's say he's in the Hudson September.

I don't see this being the dominant topic, because in September all we care about is football, plus college football. So, just wanted to address a little bit of baseball. While I peruse the standings, do you realize how many abysmal teams there are now in Major League Baseball? I'm talking should be relegated. Another English Premier League reference.

My goodness, I am working hard to show you my knowledge. The Orioles have been bad I think since Earl Weaver passed, or more to the point, Cal Ripken walked away. The Royals are playing like the Royals again. The Oakland A's are doing everything they can to alienate the seven fans they have left, not to show up so they can feel better about going to Vegas. Well, you knew the Nats would be rebuilding. Did you think they would be 22 games out in the National League East?

The Reds are abysmal, with ownership that is clueless, and the Rockies are 17 games back. Baseball has a real competitive problem in terms of the overall balance of the league, but since most of you don't care about what was the foundation of my fandom in the early 1980's, I can't try to motivate you to somehow get riled up about this, and nothing's going to change because the owners refuse to accept a salary floor, and we know the players don't want a real cap, in a lot of ways a luxury tax works as a cap, but we're not going to have the kind of financial stability we have in the other leagues because baseball was fundamentally broken. Okay, let's shift to the NBA in advance of our conversation with Eric Pincus from Bleacher Report coming up in 30 minutes. So, as I try my best to be creative with an assessment of Kevin Durant, I do think this is the fundamental point.

How much would Kevin Durant be committed to pushing this situation with the Brooklyn Nets to the limit, and simply refusing to play? Now this is the oldest technique of them all, we don't see it much in professional sports. In the NFL, go back to Emmitt Smith, remember?

He took it all the way the regular season, Cowboys started 0-2, Jerry Jones finally found his wallet, and they won the Super Bowl. It's a different structure now in modern sports, plus the money is so big if you miss game checks, we're talking about real financial consequences. But, the comp is right in front of us, in fact it's a current teammate of Kevin Durant so long as he stays on the Brooklyn roster. We saw last year, Ben Simmons did not want to be a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, and they shut it down.

Now there was a degree of agreement between the team and the player, but we knew what was going on. I'll give you another example, John Wall didn't play because Houston didn't want him to play, and he still made amazing amounts of money. So the NBA is just different. But what if the Nets decide, because of some straightforward reasons, they're miffed, they need more time to come up with a coherent way to put together a multi-team deal to get the kind of assets that they would need to justify moving to Durant.

And one quick footnote to the conversation we had about the Warriors on Independence Day, do a little more research. I gave you the names that came to mind that the Warriors could offer, and Jordan Poole, and James Wiseman, and Jonathan Kaminga. Take Andrew Wiggins off the list, he cannot be moved because of some nuances of the collective bargaining agreement, doesn't matter. The Warrior deal is not going to happen, primarily because I don't think Kevin Durant wants to go back to the Warriors.

Case closed. The whole reason he's in Brooklyn is because he left the Warriors, because he got tired of Draymond Green yelling at him, and he wanted to prove he could do it on his own. He could be the architect of his own success, and the problem is, he teamed up with the wrong partner. Bet on yourself, I get it. But in the NBA, you need two stars, maybe three. If you have Hall of Famers, you can go two and a half.

A good complimentary third. The biggest error and judgment Durant made was presuming he could count on Kyrie Irving, and this is before COVID. Nobody thought we'd have to navigate and maneuver through a global pandemic, and then you have Kyrie thinking he knows more than a, let me say it slowly, epidemiologist. Ooh, I got it out.

So, we know how we arrived at this predicament. Durant's not going back to the Warriors. No Warrior fan that I know wants that, because they love the fact they finally won without him. And Steph Curry finally got the NBA Finals MVP. I'm aware the Warriors won without Durant prior to him taking his talents to the San Francisco Bay Area, but the notion was he took that franchise to even greater heights beyond what they did that regular season with the 73 wins. And you know how things came together in the Finals, but Warrior fans who suffered through decades of being abysmal, they were the Clippers of Northern California, love the notion that Durant left them and they still want another title.

So it's not going to happen. And in fact, if David Stern were still with us, he would block the trade for competitive reasons, just as Chris Paul never made it to the Lakers. Adam Silver has a different mindset, but I think even the league would have to get involved. So let's take the Warriors out of the equation and then run through, and we'll do this in detail with Eric Pincus coming up at 40 past the hour.

Check out his great work from Bleacher Report, as well as how I'm going to ease into the final hour of the program. Durant to Miami, okay, but you can't trade Ben Adebayo because of the CBA, and Miami doesn't want to give up Jimmy Butler. Durant to Phoenix, makes sense, but now you've got to work on the DeAndre Ayton sign and trade. Is that enough with Mikel Bridges and other players?

Toronto makes sense, Boston makes a lot of sense. You can't deal Jason Tatum because of the collective bargaining agreement. So I'm going to give you more tangible potential outcomes, but I think we're going to move in that direction because Kevin Durant loves basketball so much, he's not going to use the ultimate leverage that he has and just sit out. Say, I'm not going to play unless you cave in to my demands, and that gets us back to where is he going? How long is it going to take?

I am pleased with myself. I have avoided Kyree to the Lakers for an hour and 15 minutes, but it is part of my responsibility, so we'll also talk Kyree potentially reuniting with LeBron as I come to you from our studios here in Southern California. Let's go ahead, we'll tackle some football. With all the uncertainty surrounding Deshaun Watson, will the Browns and Baker Mayfield make up?

Plus, is there really now a mystery team? Interesting to Baker, it's my favorite as we go through all of the round and round of trade talk. First, here's a word from our friends at Callaway. When Callaway engineered ChromeSoft to be the best tour ball, it didn't just make the best players better, it made everyone better.

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But when you add it all up, it's pretty simple. ChromeSoft is better for the best and better for everyone. Find out which ChromeSoft is right for you at CallawayGolf.com slash ChromeSoft. I'm Brian Weber, and for Rich Eisen, you're listening to the Rich Eisen Show. Does your antiperspirant keep you dry all day? Dove Men Plus Care Dry Spray goes on instantly dry for a cleaner feel and offers 48 hours sweat and odor protection.

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Goes on dry, clean feel all day. I'm Brian Weber, always having a good time with you. In for Rich Eisen, it's the Rich Eisen Show. In 15 minutes, we say hello to our second and final guest, talking much more NBA with Eric Pincus. A Bleacher Report straight ahead. We will make the move for the first time to the NFL. Say hello, Cleveland.

Some thoughts on the impending league discipline for Deshaun Watson and the future of Baker Mayfield. I give out the phone number for a reason. Not just because I'm a radio guy who over-enunciates and believes in the formatics of our medium, but because I do want to have a conversation with you. The tweets have been good, but a phone call is even better. 1-844-204-rich.

1-844-204-7424. And let's say hello to Elijah in Appleton, Wisconsin. Hey, Elijah.

Thanks for joining us today. What's going on? Hello, I was just curious, do you think there's any shot of having Kyrie Irving come to Milwaukee? Alright, what are you giving up, Elijah? Give me your fantasy trade package. Maybe some of our trades from next year, like maybe a few first round picks and then maybe Wesley Matthews or something? Okay, I appreciate the phone call.

Thanks so much for being a part of the show. We could go through a lot of different scenarios, but here would be my fundamental takeaway for Milwaukee. Why would you bring Kyrie Irving in there? You have a terrific situation, primarily because of the cohesion. And this team, to me, reflects the personality of Giannis Antetokounmpo. What a remarkable story. We should talk more about his journey. I don't want to get too wrapped up in the odyssey coming from Greece, but you know that backstory and beyond that, he's a good dude.

They have a culture that works. And the problem, and thanks for the phone call, if you add Kyrie, is that you got to deal with Kyrie the human being. Nobody is in any way questioning what Kyrie does when he's on the court. The problem is, when is he on the court? He hasn't played a full season in years because of many reasons.

Vaccination status, his commitment to social justice. Remember it was Kyrie when the bubble plans were coming together, was wondering, should the NBA continue at all? We expect that opinion, we can have the conversation, but you get the point I'm making.

Your best ability is availability, and he just has not been out there enough, and then there's everything else that comes with him. So no, if you're the Bucks, I don't think you're even open to that trade. And as we, and I'll get back to this coming up with our Eric Pinkus conversation from Bleacher Report, and we'll go heavy on the NBA in the final hour of the program. If Kyrie does not either stay in Brooklyn with Durant and agree to the extension, and some of that's going to be proving that he can act like a reasonable adult in the remaining year left on his contract, or doesn't wind up with the Lakers, it might work with the Lakers because if LeBron wants to, he knows how to manage the personality of Kyrie. Although we all change as we get older, who's to say that the relationship between LeBron and Kyrie will be the same as it was in Cleveland? I know Kyrie's here in Southern California a lot, and I'm sure they hang out, but it's very different when you get into a dispute in a locker room than it is when you're kicking it at Spago or Craig's on Melrose.

So I think those are the only possibilities that make sense. Kyrie stays in Brooklyn or he winds up with the Lakers because LeBron thinks he can make it work, and if you're Milwaukee with a healthy Chris Middleton, you're still the team to beat in the East. I love what Philadelphia is doing. James Harden, who I've been extremely critical of, is showing that he's an adult. He took less money. He opted out to hop back in, and according to agent Wojnarowski of ESPN, could happen later today, Harden's going to agree to a three-year deal.

Not a four, not a five. Now it's still life-changing money for somebody who's already exceptionally wealthy, but he did it to give the team more flexibility because of, presumably, his relationship with Daryl Morey. They were together in Houston, and he realizes he's landed in a good spot with Maxey and Embiid. The question with Embiid is, unfortunately, just as a basketball fan, he can't stay healthy, and you throw in the pickup of P.J. Tucker.

Very underrated move, but I like. You need a glue guy in the NBA. So no, I don't see the Bucks doing anything, and if nothing changes in the East, if you want my way-too-early power rankings, I still think Milwaukee, had Milton been healthy, would have defeated Boston, so I got Milwaukee 1. Miami could make some more moves, but let's just talk about rosters as currently constructed. I have Miami and Boston on the same tier. Philadelphia, probably, I might slide a little bit ahead, but they're all slightly lower than Milwaukee, and then Brooklyn, what are you getting out of Ben Simmons?

A lot to be seen. Alright, I wandered into more NBA conversation, but I do want to live up to what I told you I was going to delve into. Let's spend a few minutes on the Cleveland situation, and I want to be up front. I'm not that comfortable talking about Deshaun Watson in too much depth, because the allegations are just so salacious on a big word Wednesday. They're just so tawdry, and while I use a lot of big words, and I was a poli-sci major, I'm not a lawyer. I read a lot, and I respect, say, the view of Mike Florio, who is a trained attorney and a great friend of this program. Rich often has.

The mogul behind Pro Football Talk, I used to fill in for Mike as well, so they pass me around, because I love to be on the radio. So let's take the details of Watson out of the equation and just focus on the future. There has to be a suspension of some kind. There is growing speculation based on how the league framed its case to the federal judge who handles the first round of discipline. But remember, if the league's not satisfied, they can appeal to a designee from Roger Goodell, or he'd just step in on his own. So just because we hear from this federal judge doesn't mean it's the end of the story.

But let's just say the judge comes back with a recommendation or her finding. It's an eight-game suspension. Ten-game suspension. Not the indefinite nor season-long suspension that the league apparently has been looking for, because we get all these leaks via the Washington Post and other reputable outlets.

That's what the Brains Trust at 345 Park Avenue, the league headquarters in New York City, wants. Okay, if Watson's out eight games, don't the Browns have a real incentive to make it work with Baker Mayfield? And this ties together nicely with Kevin Durant, because now we're dealing with feelings. And Baker has a lot of pride. That's how he parlayed limited athletic ability to being the number one overall pick, which he should not have been.

That was a clear error in judgment. But it's not his fault. Somebody overdrafted him and overpaid him. Baker had to believe in himself and fight and scrap to get to the league.

Now, part of that, to me, has led to his issues. He throws too many interceptions because he believes, maybe just through sheer willpower, he can get it into that tight window. Plus, we knew he wasn't fast at the combine, and I've been lucky to cover a couple combines in person. I don't care that much about 40 times, but if you have to rely on mobility to extend plays, as Baker does, because he's scrappy and tenacious, you better be quick. And he just can't outrun the second level of defense trying to get to the sideline.

So we know the limitations at the same time. I can't overlook what he did when he was healthy a couple years ago. Magnificent year and then he got beat up last year. So isn't it in the best interest of both the Browns and Baker Mayfield to put aside their differences and make it work for this year and this year only? If Watson is suspended for the whole season, I think it gets a little bit more complicated. Because now Cleveland will try to, in my opinion, get back into that contract, see if they can claw back some money. They're going to need a long-term solution under center. If Watson is suspended for the entire year, or if it's more ambiguous, ambiguity, that's my word power of the day, if it's more murky, they're going to need somebody they can count on in the future. And clearly, they don't believe that's Baker Mayfield. And Baker wants out. But there hasn't been a logical destination, mostly because Cleveland's still playing hardball.

They don't want to eat the majority of the salary he's due. So you hear about Carolina. You hear about Seattle. And if Seattle doesn't land Baker Mayfield, just say it out loud.

Tank you very much. They are tanking to maximize their draft possibility. Because you can't wheel out either the ghost of Geno Smith or Drew Locke, who got crushed by the U.S. Open tennis Twitter account the other day. That's how his career has gotten so mired in lousy play. But Seattle's either just bidding for a better deal from Cleveland by slow playing this, trying to get the Browns to eat more of the contract. But where else could Baker be going? The Falcons, to me, have not been discussed enough. While Marcus Mariota is a serviceable player, Baker Mayfield is better. No question.

Now, maybe all of this is just a matter of timing. Or there's a team that will jump in, given the Sam Bradford precedent. Talk about a guy who made a lot of money under the terms of the old CBA. Remember, Teddy Bridgewater got hurt in Minnesota, not too far away from the start of the regular season in August. Philadelphia liked what they saw early on. Small sample size from Carson Wentz after drafting him with the number two overall pick coming out of North Dakota State. Bradford goes to Minnesota, and the Eagles actually got something in return. So that's another path that would get Baker off the roster. But if this is a bridge situation, and Watson will be back in 8-10 games, why can't Baker and the Browns put their differences aside, massage his ego, it gives him a chance to audition for his next contract, and he's got incentive to ball out, to get paid by somebody else. This just makes too much sense to me, other than we're dealing with, unlike fantasy football, where you and I can bicker about which defense we want to take in the seventh round.

We're talking about real human beings with real emotions. And just a final thought, because I have no life and I printed up the schedule. Let's say it's eight games for Watson.

I think it's going to be more, but we're running through scenarios here. Here is the Browns' schedule to start the year. At Carolina, should be a win. Rich Eisen's Jets, I know they're improved, should be a win. Taking on Pittsburgh, who's the quarterback?

Mitchell Trubisky could be a win. At Atlanta, they're rebuilding. Home for the Chargers, Chargers never travel well to the Eastern time zone. Home for New England, you really think that Mac Jones is going to the Hall of Fame? At Baltimore, that's a loss.

Home for the Bengals. That is a manageable schedule. And you plug in Baker, rather than going with Jacoby Brissett, who's the only other quarterback on the roster, I think you can make your way through that bunch of games with a winning record, and you're still in playoff contention.

So, a lot of different things to consider. Step one is the league justice for the Deshaun Watson case, and everything I'm reading says we may not get the ruling from the federal judge for another few weeks. The league wants this done, at least the first step to be wrapped up prior to the start of training camps. Well, we're still two weeks away from that. So, in the immortal words of my first boss in broadcasting, keep it where it is.

Stay tuned, because much more is on the way. I'm Brian Weber, in for Rich Eisen. We do appreciate the phone call, and the final hour has no guest on the agenda.

So, if you want to be a part of the show, you can pick up the phone. 1-844-204-RICH, 1-844-204-7424 straight ahead back to the NBA. In addition to everything we've already dissected, if the Nets pick up Russell Westbrook, adding him to a roster that already has Ben Simmons, who are you going to count on to actually make a shot?

Wouldn't this be the ultimate team that could not shoot straight? We'll find out when we chat with Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. I'm Brian Weber, in for Rich. It's the Rich Eisen Show. Brian Weber back with you, in for Rich Eisen. It's the Rich Eisen Show, getting closer to the final hour of the program, with more opportunities to take your phone calls.

1-844-204-RICH. You can always hit me up on Twitter. That's B.W. Weber, Weber with two B's. Good thing I just checked the old Twitter machine, and what a coincidence.

Sometimes I get lucky. I wish I could claim that I had formatted the show with the notion, based on my vast array of sources, as a former studio host at NFL Network, that indeed, just as I was talking about the future of Baker Mayfield within the last seven minutes, the report from NFL Network, Baker Mayfield has been traded to the Carolina Panthers for a 2024 conditional fifth round pick, but as importantly, it's all about the money, according to Ian Rappaport of NFL Network, colleague of Rich Eisen, the teams are going to split the financials to make it happen. Those are his words, verbatim, meaning, Cleveland's going to eat a big chunk of the salary. So, obviously, we will tear up the rundown.

Should I do it right now? Here we go. Rundown is destroyed, now Baker Mayfield dominates the final hour of the program. Still, I want to talk more NBA, and it's always a pleasure to say hello to a terrific NBA analyst, my friend Eric Pinkus of Bleacher Report. Eric, how are you?

Doing well, thanks for having me on. I appreciate you listening to me filibuster there, but when I have breaking news, I have to react to it. A lot like the NBA.

Now, here's the difference. I thought we would get some clarity on Baker Mayfield sooner rather than later. Let's now shift to your expertise, and start with Kevin Durant. If, in fact, he is going to be dealt by the Brooklyn Nets, how long do you think this process is going to take, because it feels like it might involve three, four teams? Now, based on what Danny Ainge got for Rudy Gobert, the Nets have to ask for a Kings ransom, right? Yeah, I mean, definitely. The big question that I have is how much leverage does Kevin Durant have in deciding where he's going to play next, because if he doesn't have that leverage, because he's got four years left on his deal, well, then he doesn't have leverage to force a trade, and the Nets will just keep him.

So, I think there is some level of weighing, is it better to try to fix this situation? I cover out of Los Angeles back in the day, Kobe Bryant asked for a trade, and the Lakers looked around, they talked to teams, talked to Chicago, and ultimately decided not to do it. And then, later that year, got Paul Gasol, went to the Finals, you know, rest is history. The Nets can move him, they can move him quickly, but it doesn't necessarily make sense to do so, unless they're getting back, like you said, something similar to what the Jazz got for Gobert. If there's a timeline, it might be related to DeAndre Ayton. If he's a part of the equation for the Nets, he's a restricted free agent, he's not going to wait that long. So, if they want Ayton back, and if Durant reportedly, Phoenix is on his short list of Miami, Miami has almost nothing to offer when it comes to picks, not much more than Tyler Herro, won't get it done without BAM out of bio, who they won't do. So, if Phoenix is that favorite of those two teams, then you can't really make that move.

You can't wait too long, because Ayton, at some point, is going to have to decide where his next home is. Talking Hoops with Eric Pincus, check out his outstanding work at Bleacher Report. Eric, I think the general reaction across the NBA when the notion was floated the Warriors could have interest, and certainly have the assets, when you're talking about Camango, Wiseman, Poole, I know Wiggins, and you can fill me in, Wiggins couldn't be a part of that deal because of the CBA, right? There's an issue there, he's off of a, he's in the last year of his rookie scale extension, so yeah, he's a designated player, and so is Ben Simmons. So, you know, I'll just throw out that, like, in theory, you know, this is not rumor or anything, in theory, the Nets could also trade Ben Simmons.

Okay, but it would be complicated, but let's just take a step back. Would Kevin Durant accept a trade to the Warriors? He left to do his own thing. I mean, that goes back to our question, how much leverage does he have, and if he doesn't have that kind of leverage, then why are they trading him in the first place? So, I think you can argue that obviously Harden didn't work out, Kyrie not working out. I'd heard that they were interested in resetting, and so while they could try to force KD to stay, try to build around him, and that is certainly an option being explored, that maybe getting closure on all this and going in a different direction would be the right way. I mean, Sean Marks built this team up from nothing when he got, I mean, they were in as negative a position as you're going to be with all their picks going to the Celtics, which turned into Jason Tatum, all that from the old KG trade, Paul Pierce, all that. And Sean Marks built up a team, he found, you know, got an all-star in D'Angelo Russell, turned D'Angelo Russell into KD, got Kyrie, all that. It's a great story for, you know, that is unfortunately, you know, ultimately not working out when it comes to winning a title. And so, you know, the Warriors, they could certainly make a run, they could make a pitch for him.

I don't know if it's necessary to do so. I mean, they've already won a championship. I don't know if they want to revisit those kind of relationships.

It was complicated. He did leave. And I, you know, I don't, I don't see that in, in the cards. I think Wiggins is a really nice role player for them.

All-star starter, but ultimately a nice fit as like a complimentary player. I don't think the Warriors end up in the mix, but I mean, I could see Toronto getting involved. I think KD has expressed in years past a lot of affection for Toronto. They certainly have some of the assets. They're not going to give up Scotty Barnes, I don't think, but they could get into the mix and certainly the Pelicans could get involved.

I mean, anybody, really though, I mean, you have to have KD on board and I don't know if he gets on board to go back to the Warriors. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Eisen. It's the Rich Eisen Show.

We're 10 minutes away from the star of the final hour of the program, which will be devoted almost exclusively to the breaking news. Baker Mayfield traded from the Browns to the Panthers, all the details coming up, but we continue our NBA conversation with Eric Pincus. Eric, it's always fascinating to play the what if game, who's going where. So, since you've laid out so many of the details so well, how about Durant to Phoenix and DeAndre Ayton in the side and trade, Bridges and whomever else you want to throw into the package to make it work. Durant plus Booker plus an agent Chris Paul. Are they better than the Warriors?

I don't know about that. You would have to see how do they flesh out the rest and I think we're seeing more and more in this league. You can't have non players.

You can't have guys who are just adequate. You need to have good players, at least eight of them to otherwise someone's going to get exposed or if you don't have a guys or maybe you can get by with seven, then you're overtaxing the stars, especially in the playoffs and they wear down. So, you know, fortunately teams are allowed to make, you know, more than one move so that it becomes a question of, you know, who do they keep? Who do they hold on to? If they don't make that trade, if they make that trade, who do they not send?

And then how do they fill the rest of those pieces, which is not an easy answer. And then also how much appetite do the Suns have to spend because they haven't been a team that's been willing to go into the tax. And when you pay Chris Paul what you're paying, I think the issue along with Bridges and Booker, the issue becomes why they're not signing Ayton in the first place.

It's like, it's just too much money for something they're not as committed to because they don't want to spend the next few years in luxury taxes. And so, you know, I think that the Suns could be a true competitor just off of those three players. If you say it's just Chris Paul, who and you soon he's healthy for a year, which is a stretch, but let's say he's for the full year, KD, Devin Booker, you've got all the offense you need there. So then it's just a question of getting good role players and I think Warriors and stuff, they're the world champions.

You know, the Suns would certainly be in the conversation. Got about a minute left. Last time we chatted you laid out all the particulars of all the great stuff going on in Vegas. So sports business classroom, is it underway?

What should the listeners know? Well, we're starting up on the 10th, so I'm actually going out to Vegas tomorrow. We've closed our registration, but if you reach out to me or go to sportsbusinessclassroom.com or at Eric Pincus on Twitter, E-R-I-C-P-I-N-C-U-S, I'm happy to fill you in because a couple of students, one of my students actually got a job with the team.

So we had to leave our program, which is wonderful. So that's really our goal is to help people get jobs in the industry and it's the most fun you'll have doing this sort of thing. It's like basketball fantasy camp, except you have a real chance to get a job at the end of it.

Wow, what a wonderful goal to get gainful employment. Eric, you're the best. Thanks for being flexible. I had to handle the Baker Mayfield news, but I really wanted to talk to you as well. I appreciate the information. Alright, anytime. Thanks, Eric. Eric Pincus, Bleacher Report, a good dude. Breaking news! Oh my goodness.

I had so much quality content mapped out for the final hour of the program. I'm not doing 60 minutes. I sound like Mike Franceso. Look, I'm not doing 60 minutes of Baker Mayfield talk, but I will give you more details. Among them, NFL Network reporting, the Browns are going to eat $10.5 million of his salary due this year. The Panthers are paying Mayfield $5 million to get out of Cleveland.

He's agreed to cut $3.5 million off the base salary. That's how badly Baker Mayfield wanted to leave the Browns. So, where does this leave the Browns? With Deshaun Watson's status unknown. Watson, will he be sidelined for 8 games, 10 games, the entire season? Is Jacoby Brissette really the answer?

Could Cleveland be interested in Jimmy Garoppolo? NFL talk just fell in my lap, and I'm happy to facilitate the conversation with you. You got thoughts on Baker, go on to Carolina, pick up the phone.

1-844-204 Rich, hit me up on Twitter. BW Weber, Weber with 2B. More Baker Mayfield talk on the way with the final hour straight ahead. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Eisen.

Now it's a breaking news edition of the Rich Eisen Show. For the real story behind some of wrestling's biggest moments, it's something to wrestle with Bruce Prichard and Conrad Thompson too. All-time Hogan opponents, Macho Man's got to be in the conversation. Where's Andre for you? I've always said Andre was number one.

Wow. Because even going back before Hulk Hogan was a babyface, Hulk and Andre were able to go in and headline at the New Orleans Superdome. at Shea Stadium in Japan. Wherever they went, that was an attraction. Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.